Madness and insanity have arrived
(Bonus if you get the St Patrick's Day related reference above)

It's been a very busy last few days. I finally got into the lab and polymerized some polystyrene, definitely feels good to accomplish something other than mundane schoolwork, for once. Surely cannot complain about being paid to go to school though. For those of you who don't know, and for the much smaller population of you who actually care, I work for Frank Bates and Tim Lodge in the polymer group at the University of Minnesota, where I will eventually (hopefully) obtain a PhD in chemical engineering. On top of my first polymerization, I also had undergraduate separation processes exams to grade, which has led to some long hours the last two days. It naturally follows that I have had little time to look at the NCAA bracket until last night.

Let it be known that this time of the year is easily my sports mecca. If you have not already noticed, I tend to enjoy the NCAA tourney. The real beauty of it is how wide open it is; everyone loves when little Bodank University upsets NBA Draft U (except for those with alot of money on the big school of course). Which brings me to the second beautiful aspect of the tourney...office pools. How could you not enjoy filling out a bracket, trying to predict the outcomes? Anyone can do it, even those with no knowledge of college hoops. Hell, my ex-girlfriend won a pool last year because her brother goes to Syracuse, which proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that anyone can win; she hates basketball.

As for me, despite being a "master bracketologist", I haven't a clue what's going to happen in this tournament. The parity of college basketball has made it such that a team that dominated all year (St. Joseph's) is not remotely a lock to even reach the sweet 16 (although I think they will). In no way am I in any position to offer tips on filling out a bracket. So naturally that's exactly what I'm going to do.

First of all, you have to realize that certain teams aren't any good. Teams in this category (in my opinion, which very well may turn out to be wrong) are Kansas, Syracuse, Seton Hall and Arizona (who ironically are playing each other). Then there is the traditional 5-12 upset, look for Manhattan and BYU this year. Also, remember "Hell hath no fury like a conference scorned"; don't be surprised when a Big 10 team makes the Elite 8 or possibly even the final four. They got dissed on Selection Sunday and now they will prove their worth. Finally, don't buy into the hype on certain teams. Maryland played absolutely horribly before their ACC tourney run, no reason to think that can't return. North Carolina, for all their star power, have not been consistent all year...why start now? That doesn't mean these teams cant make a run, I'm just saying maybe you should think about it before banking on them.

Ok so after all that, what is my final four?

Kentucky
Wisconsin
Texas
Connecticut

There goes my entry money.