March Madness Continues Tonight

The third round of the Tournament kicks off tonight with four games. Friday will feature four more games, and Saturday and Sunday will both feature two regional finals.

March Madness is such a great time of the year, but there are still some things that I'm not looking forward to in the next few days (more commercials, shots of Stephen Curry's mother on TV, watching all of my brackets get busted). Hopefully all of the things that I am looking forward to will not disappoint:

1. Badgers, Badgers, Badgers

There's a very good chance that UW fans will get to watch the Badgers twice this weekend. They play Davidson on Friday, 6:10 pm, and should the Badgers advance they would meet the winner of Kansas/Villanova on Sunday. The last time UW was playing for a shot at the Final Four was in 2005 (a team featuring someone I recently interviewed). Badger fans are also lucky in that Gus Johnson will be announcing UW's games on TV for CBS.

2. Michael Flowers vs. Stephen Curry

In his four years at UW, Flowers has had the opportunity to guard some of the nation's best guards. He will no doubt be tested once again tomorrow night by Curry, who collected 70 points in Davidson's first two Tournament games. It will be interesting to see how Flowers and the rest of the Badgers do against Curry and how it will impact the result of the game. Even if Curry collects 30 or 40 points, he's going to need help from the rest of his teammates in order for Davidson to advance.

3. Offense vs. Defense

Whether it's fair or not, North Carolina and Washington St. are both teams that have been criticized for being too focused on one aspect of the game. Some analysts have called the defense of UNC uninspiring, and some analysts have said the same about Washington St.'s offense. Even though it's a cliche, this game will be one of tempo. If Washington St. is able to disrupt and disturb the UNC offense this game could be a lot closer than a lot of experts are predicting.

4. Small vs. Big

Texas has been one of my favorite teams to watch this year, and it's mostly because of the stellar backcourt of D.J. Augustin and A.J. Abrams. Texas depends heavily on the play of these two, while Stanford will depend heavily on the inside game of the Lopez twins. Just like the Marquette/Stanford contest, this is a game that features many unique matchups. Hopefully when Texas and Stanford clash, it will be just as exciting.

5. UCLA

UCLA has not looked as dominant as UNC and Kansas have so far in the Tournament, and came close to an early exit against Texas A&M. It will be interesting to see how they respond against Western Kentucky, the Tournament's real Cinderella (a No. 12 seed). W. Kentucky has nothing to lose at this point, which could be dangerous for UCLA. The best case-scenario for UCLA would be to jump out to an early 20-point lead in the first half, which would allow them, their fans, and everyone who picked them to win it all, to breath a little easier.

6. Watching Memphis Shoot Free Throws

Do you remember a few years ago when Memphis guard Darius Washington missed a free throw to send the Tigers into the NCAA Tournament? That was a truly gut-wrenching scene. This year, Memphis' woes at the free throw line have been more comical. But as the stakes get higher and the opponents get tougher, someone from Memphis' team will likely be in that same situation as Washington was in a few years ago - except with the stakes a tad higher.

7. The Final Four

At the end of the weekend, the Sweet Sixteen will be whittled down to the Final Four. There are so many talented teams still alive right now that won't be playing next weekend, and it will be very interesting to see how it all shakes out. A lot of people think this could be the first year that all #1 seeds advance, but I don't see that happening, especially with the tough road ahead for Memphis. It will also be interesting to see what conferences are represented in the Final Four. I know a lot of people in this area of the country are hoping for two Big Ten teams to advance, which would be a nightmare for a lot of the so-called expert analysts.