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On Wednesday, Bo Ryan’s Wisconsin Badgers defeated #6 ranked Duke to help the Big 10 finally win the Big Ten / ACC challenge.   This moved Wisconsin to 5-1 with wins over Arizona, Maryland & Duke and they will likely be ranked in the top 25 when the new polls are released.

Bo Ryan calls out his doubters.

Credit: Mark Hoffman

Early in the year,  projections were not very kind to Wisconsin.  Most had them finishing anywhere from 7th to 9th in an improved Big Ten conference.  At the time, I found these projections to be silly.  Wisconsin was 20-13 last year and finished 4th in the Big Ten.  They had loss starters Marcus Landry and Joe Krabbenhoft, but neither guy seemed irreplaceable.   So, why bet against Bo Ryan and pick the Badgers to finish so low this season?

Since Bo Ryan became the coach of Wisconsin (2001-2002), they have never finished worse than 4th in the Big Ten.   They have won three Big Ten Conference Titles and racked up two 30 wins seasons.  They have won over 20 games in six of the seasons, and never finished with any lower than 19 wins.

The graduations of Landry and Krabbenhoft represent the loss of two quality players, but Bo Ryan has lost better players in the past with Devin Harris, Kammron Taylor, Alando Tucker & Brian Butch and continued to churn out 20 win seasons.

I imagine Wisconsin will once again finish towards the top of the Big Ten Conference and make it to the Sweet 16.  I wonder if those who write projections for the 2011 Season will remember not to bet against Bo Ryan.

Well, my bracket is in awful shape. I’m missing 3 of my Elite 8, but my Final Four is still intact. So, lets look at Today’s games.

UConn over Purdue.
I’m really rooting for the Big Ten in this one, but I think UConn will be too much. Robbie Hummel is really good though, so maybe he can carry them into the Final Four.

Pittsburgh over Xavier.
I picked Pitt, but I’m going to root for Xavier. They really impressed me in their win over Wisconsin. Normally, I instantly hate any team that defeats Wisconsin in the tournament, but Xavier remains likable.

VIllanova over Duke
First off, I hate Duke. I also watched Villanova absolutely destroy a UCLA team I picked to go into the Elite 8. I think Nova was the benefit of home court and some questionable calls, but they still dominated.

Memphis over Missouri
Even though I’m a Wisconsin resident, I’m not much of a Marquette fan. I find it fitting that they lost to Missouri because of a sloppy turnover. Missouri is similar to Xavier in how solid they are. Memphis is my championship pick, so I’m going to have to take them in this.

Well, even though I hit 7 of 8 picks, the one I missed was yet another Elite 8 team. Thanks a lot UCLA. This means that I only have one unconventional Elite 8 pick still alive (Arizona State). If they lose, I think my chance of having a winning bracket is gone.

Today’s picks:
Arizona State over Syracuse
Xavier over Wisconsin (I hope I’m wrong)
Kansas over Dayton (I originally had West Virginia in this)
Arizona over Cleveland State (I originally had Wake Forest)
Pitt over Oklahoma State
Missouri over Marquette
Michigan St over USC
Louisville over Siena

I was correct in only 11 of 16 games, and I lost two Sweet 16 teams in West Virginia & Wake Forest. The West Virginia loss really hurts since I had them going to the Elite 8. As long as my other two 6 seeds (UCLA & ASU) make it to the Elite 8, I’ll be fine.

Photo: Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images

Outside of the poor day I had with my bracket, I am absolutely ecstatic over the Wisconsin win. That layup with 2 seconds left that Hughes hit needs to be talked about more. That was a tough, tough shot. I thought the game was over when they were down 31-19 at the half, but they came back strong in the 2nd half with unexpected production from Keaton Nankivil. Xavier is going to be tough, but I think Wisconsin matches up well. More importantly, the Badgers actually came thru in a close game this season.

Alright, my picks are below:

UCLA over Villanova
Memphis over Maryland
UConn over Texas A&M
Purdue over Washington
UNC over LSU
Oklahoma over Michigan
Gonzaga over Western Kentucky
Duke over Texas

I’m really looking forward to the UCLA/Villanova game.

Well, Day 1 went ok. Only 11 of my 16 picks were correct, but I didn’t lose anyone in my Sweet 16. I was disappointed that Gus Johnson wasn’t calling any of the games yesterday, but he’s doing the Minnesota games today.

Here are my picks:

Louisville over Morehead St.
Ohio St. over Siena
Utah over Arizona
Wake Forest over Cleveland St.
West Virginia over Dayton
Kansas over North Dakota St.
USC over Boston College
Michigan St over USC
Marquette over Utah St.
Missouri over Cornell
Pittsburgh over E. Tennessee St.
Tennessee over Oklahoma St
Wisconsin over Florida St.
Xavier over Portland St.
Arizona St over Temple
Syracuse over Stephen F. Austin