Sweet 16 Action

Is it just me or has the Tournament lost a little bit of luster. Sure, there are the underdog/cinderellas still out there (UNI, Cornell, St. Mary's, Washington... and Butler?), and there are the cagey 4/5/6-seeds (Michigan St., Purdue, Tennessee, Xavier... and Butler?) that may have been undervalued, and 6 of the top 8 seeds are still alive. I guess I'm just not sure who to root for... do I go with Cornell or UNI or Butler? Or do I go with a Big 12 team that has a favorable match-up line (Baylor, KSU)?
Tough call...

Midwest:
UNI over Michigan State... had the Panthers had to turn around and beat Sparty two days after pulling off the greatest upset since Bradley over kU, I would have taken Michigan State. But, they've had some time to re-focus, they seem like a smart team, and I see them getting a ton of points inside.
Ohio State over Tennessee... the Vols road has been anything but bumpy. I'd like to think their pressure defense should wear down the 6-deep Buckeyes, but I don't see them scoring much against the 2-3 zone.

East:
Kentucky over Cornell... they beat Temple and Wisconsin because neither team scores points. I'm pretty sure Kentucky is 10 times faster and scores much, much more.
Washington over WVU... Missouri was 4 or 5 makes away from pulling off the upset, and without depth at point, the Mountaineers are due to fall. Washington can play any style they need, WVU's only hope is to pull out the 1-3-1 early and force a ton of turnovers.

South:
Purdue over Duke... they're like a freight train... a pissed-off, out-of-control freight train. The pundits should take note. When a team dominates a strong conference for 90% of the season, then loses their best player and drops a few games down the stretch, give them the seed they deserved with the best player. Purdue is a 2 (maybe a 3). Flip them with Ohio State and everything is right in the world... watch out Dukies.
Baylor over St. Mary's... Udoh vs. Samhan. Wow. Take the lanky, agile, shot blocker.

West:
Syracuse over Butler... I just see the zone frustrating the smaller Bulldogs, it should be REAL close, though.
Xavier over KSU... they've got to fall at some point. They're too out-of-control, too whiny, too physical, too fast. They finally have an opponent with better guards and they're playing far away from Manhattan now.

Round 2: 11-5
Total: 36-12