A T.O. with T.H.

My bracket’s first and second rounds have so many x’s over them that it now looks like one of my tests from class. The only bracket I did fill out has turned out to be a joke that is even a little funny to me.

However, this year’s first round did teach me a few lessons about what teams to pick and which ones not to pick.

Here are five things I will keep in mind from now on while picking my brackets.

1) Chalk, Chalk, Chalk

I am usually one who loves picking upsets. There is nothing more entertaining than watching a school I have never heard of beat a big dog.

But because the tournament selection committee has been leaving out more and more little guys and allowing in teams like the Minnesotas and Marylands of the world, it is becoming easier to pick nothing but favorites.

Last season, every number one seed made the Final Four for the first time ever. This year, all of the one, two and three seeds made the Sweet Sixteen (also for the first time ever).

I will pick nothing but favorites from now on. This to me could not be any more boring.

2) Never pick against Purdue
I cannot believe I am saying this, but the Boilermakers are now my team when it comes to the first weekend.

For the second straight season, I picked Purdue to lose in the first round. And for the second straight season, they have spit it right back into my face.

I hate the Big Ten, but apparently the team from West Lafayette, Ind. is a second round guarantee.

3) If they are not UNC or Duke, stay away from the ACC

This might be the most frustrating lesson learned on my list because I still maintain that the ACC is at least one of the two best conferences in America.

But why do I keep making this mistake?

Clemson, Wake Forest and Florida State were all teams I thought could potentially make a deep run in the big dance, but I was so far off that all I could do was put my head in my hands.

While I am on the subject, I don’t know what’s in the water at Clemson, but Death Valley is truly the place where talent goes to die.

Whether we are talking Trevor Booker or “Heisman candidate” C.J. Spiller, for some reason Clemson always seems to be a paper champion.

4) Never pick the “darling”

Every year there is one team that every media expert is positive can pull an upset.

Unfortunately, this is year the darling was our beloved VCU Rams. I drank the Kool-Aid and took the Rams to make a run.

But anyone picking upsets should not listen to the media when it comes to popular upset picks-it is a kiss of death.

Perhaps the Black and Gold’s kiss came when Barack Obama picked them to beat UCLA. After seeing that, I quickly became scared, and sure enough the Rams were not able to knock off the Bruins.

5) The name on the front of the uniform is still important

So I did not pick the Sweet Sixteen run of the Arizona Wildcats. But it was in the back of my mind.

No matter what the seed or the record was, it is still important to remember that teams like Wisconsin and Arizona get talented recruits. Therefore, they are dangerous come tournament time, no matter the circumstances.

Especially because mid-major teams are being left out and bigger names are making it, the tournament still makes for compelling match ups.

Let’s face it, Arizona over Utah is not an upset; I don’t care if it was a 12-5 game.

In conclusion, I will have to archive this article for next season because I made many of these mistakes last season.

Maybe in the future I will learn my lesson.