THE GAME EVERYONE TALKED ABOUT (SORT OF)

Death by a Thousand Cuts, I Guess
San Diego 69, #20 Gonzaga 62

We’re going to go out on a limb and suggest that USD’s homecourt advantage played into their surprising run to win the WCC this weekend. No travel … small but loud home crowd … beach, booze, and blonds to distract opponents … and we haven’t even gotten to Tijuana yet. Shit, is it too late to enroll?

The other advantage - their first-year coach, Bill Grier, who spent sixteen fucking years at Gonzaga before moving south. You have to wonder if Mark Few pulled a Bill Callahan and forgot to change the signals or something. The Toreros snatch up the automatic bid, but St. Mary’s and Gonzaga have strong enough profiles to ensure that the West Coast Conference and its Roman sponsors will have three teams dancing.

THE GAME YOU SHOULD HAVE WATCHED INSTEAD

On a night where only five small conferences played tournament games, there wasn’t one for most people. But a team near and dear to our hearts fell in battle last night, and so them we must honor:

Fight On, Fightin’ Christians
#23 Davidson 65, Elon 49

Your humble author grew up in the fine town of Elon, N.C. (then Elon College, because it makes sense to name a town after the academic institution and not the other way around - they switched when the school became Elon U), so we know a little about the school. First, they sent an inordinate amount of hot student teachers to our middle school. Second, they have a massive landscaping budget that makes their campus one of the most beautiful in the South, which is saying something. (Whether said budget affects point #1 … well, we’ll leave that aside.) Third, while they are now called the Phoenix, they will forever be the Fightin’ Christians in our heart because that will never ever stop being the best mascot ever. Ever.

And finally … that Elon has been in Division I for about five seconds, and they were gonna get mauled by a Davidson team with more talent in half of their star player’s genetic code than Elon had on their whole roster. Still, a boy can dream that his hometown school can one day make the dance - and dream on we shall.

We’ll follow you to the gates of Burlington, brothers. (HT on image: Deadspin.)

FOUR TOURNAMENTS WORTH ONE LINE APIECE

Colonial - Little brother William got far, but littlest brother George (who just bought a new S-class, that fucker) is the one headed for the big party.

Metro Atlantic - One innocuous five-letter liberal arts school wins the conference, the other gets to play Rock Band and chase tail while not losing in the first round next week.

Summit - We can’t be the only person who thinks Indiana-Purdue-Indianapolis should stop going by the bodily function-conjuring IUPUI, can we?

Sun Belt - Mid-table big conference teams cringe as a team that actually played well most of the season will now likely “steal” “their” at-large spot.