After two rounds, what have we learned?

With two rounds in the books, and the Sweet Sixteen set in stone, it is time to look back at the weekend that was in the NCAA Tournament.

Forty-eight teams have already headed home, leaving four cities to host four teams each.

Before we get to those eight games coming up later in the week, what was revealed to us, the participating, crying-because-our-brackets-are-crap (1oth and 11th out of 12 in my own pool) public over the past four days?

• The ACC was not worth a flying flip this year. I don't know how many ACC teams you had in your Sweet Sixteen, but I had five in one of my brackets. For starters, the Almost Competitive Conference went 3-4 in round one, with all four losses coming as the higher seed. Only North Carolina and Duke remain, barely, after Maryland got ran by a strong Memphis team. This was the number conference in RPI entering the tournament, yet the number four conference, the Big East, has five teams heading into the second weekend. Doesn't the RPI weigh heavily into who does and doesn't make the tournament?
• The SEC really did suck this year. After a 1-3 showing in the first weekend, the SEC doesn't have a team in the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in twenty years. After talk began trying to blame the media for putting the SEC in a hole to begin the season, the regular season champ couldn't beat the fifth best team in the Big XII. The other two teams lost to the regular season champs of the Pac-1o and ACC, but the SEC got what it deserved this season.
• Can someone please give me some madness?!?!?! Out of the remaining sixteen teams, the top twelve schools still remain, and 14 of the top 16 are still alive. Of the two teams seemingly out of place, one is a five seed, the other a twelve, but from a power conference benefiting from a first round upset. Out of the first 32 games, only 10 saw "upsets" according to seeding. Half of those games were 8/9 and 7/10 games, and another three were 5/12 games. We all know to look for a twelve to upset a five, but this year was too easy to pick. In other words, the only real upsets were Cleveland State dominating Wake Forest, and Dayton ousting West Virginia. Sure, you may have picked the Flyers, but WVU has been to the second weekend three of the last four years before their first round exit. Sure, last year only saw eight seeded upsets, but there was a 10 and two 12's in the Sweet Sixteen before all top seeds made it to the Final Four for the first time ever. In other words, I want some real madness next year, not just a tease.

So, looking at next weekend, there is no reason not to believe all one seeds will advance to the round of eight once again, but their opponents will be fun. During the week, be on the lookout for some musings on the Alabama coaching search and how other openings and possible firings impact the search.