That went well: Opening weekend's 3 most disappointing performances
The NCAA tournament's opening weekend provided a little bit of everything, with a steady dose of bracket-busting taking its usual place as just about the only guarantee the event has to offer.
Sixty-eight teams entered the tournament, and only 16 remain, with many going home sooner than they may have anticipated. No, a busted bracket doesn't give someone the right to be disappointed, but there were a few teams in particular that gave supporters plenty to gripe about after the Sweet 16 was set in stone.
1. ACC powerhouses go up in flames
Question: What do Louisville, Duke, and Florida State all have in common?
Answer: Each had their bags packed and left sitting by the door with a quarter for a cab ride by teams with significantly lesser seedings than theirs.
Granted, due respect must be given to Michigan, South Carolina, and Xavier by pulling off the upsets, but the overall performance from the conference has been abysmal with the lone exception being North Carolina. The Seminoles were embarrassed, especially by getting slapped with a 25-point eviction notice.
Notre Dame was also shown the door by West Virginia, and even though that was a much more evenly matched game, it's still not a good look for the conference that brags about being the nation's best.
2. Villanova freezes in cold Wisconsin March
Villanova entered the NCAA tournament as the No. 1 overall seed and the defending national champions, but the familiar path to the finals had an unexpected fork in it this time around.
The odds of Villanova repeating as national champions were not great. History tells us that Florida (2006-07) and Duke (1991-92) are the only programs in the last 40 years to win back-to-back national titles, but the Wildcats could have mustered a little more than a second-round effort.
Wisconsin played a tenacious game and were rewarded with a matchup against Florida, while Villanova will get an early head start on offseason planning.
3. SMU goes one-and-done to play-in team
The look on Semi Ojeleye's face tells you all you need to know about how SMU felt after its opening-round upset at the hands of USC.
Heralded as a darkhorse candidate by many to make it to the Elite Eight, the Mustangs couldn't make it past the first day of the tournament, losing to a Trojans team that was forced to play an extra game against Providence prior to meeting SMU. A potential matchup between SMU and Duke in the Sweet 16 had some fans salivating at the opportunity for Ojeleye to stick it to his former team, but it was not meant to be, as the Blue Devils also saw their tournament clock run out a round later.
It remains to be seen whether Ojeleye has played the final game of his college career, but for someone who shouldered the weight of his team down the stretch like he did, it's a shame that he wasn't able to be rewarded with a longer tournament run.