2008 Bracketbusters Gallery




This is the first year in the history of the tournament that all 4 1-seeds reached the final 4, which means less upsets on the whole.

Opening weekend had 8 upsets in the first round and 3 in the 2nd. 2nd weekend there were 3 more upsets (2 mild ones): 10-seed Davidson over Wisconsin, 3-seed Louisville over 2-seed Tennessee, and 3-seed Texas over 2-seed Stanford. 14 total upsets out of 63 games for a percentage of 22.

The following highlights some of high's and low's...




The Big Daddies...

There were critics of Bill Self because - to this point - he'd never got Kansas to the Final 4, but now they're national champions (their first title since 1988 - Danny Manning).
CDR dunks over Love, sending a message to the less athletic Bruins. 1 more win.
Love celebrates a trip to the Final 4 with a piece of the net hanging from his cap. On the right, Aboya is deep in thoughts after losing to Memphis in the F4.
Ellington celebrates a trip to the final 4, but Tyler and the Tar Heels are shocked after getting ousted by the Jayhawks.



The Upsets...



Siena coach Fran McCaffrey and Kenny Hasbrouck embrace after the 13-seed beat Vanderbilt on opening day. This upset was pretty big as only 7 of our 148 entries picked it. Siena lost in the 2nd round to Villanova.
San Diego Toreros upset conference rivals St. Mary's and Gonzaga en route to a surprising WCC tourney championship and auto-bid. Rob Jones and Gyno Pomare celebrate as they continued their winning ways in knocking off 4-seed UConn. Once again only 7 brackets had them pulling the upset. Toreros lost to Western Kentucky in the 2nd round.
Reggie Redding and Shane Clark celebrate after Villanova (a bubble team) shocked the nation with a big upset over 5-seed Clemson. As mentioned above, Villanova won their 2nd round game against Siena before losing to Kansas in the Sweet 16!
Davidson slays Goliath. During the regular season, Davidson had played and lost (fairly close games) to UNC, Duke, UCLA, and NC State. Come tourney time, they found a way to beat the big dogs. Led by Stephen Curry (son of Dell Curry), the Wildcats (a 10-seed) upset 7-seed Gonzaga, then knocked off the Georgetown Hoyas and Wisconsin Badgers in the biggest back-to-back upsets of this year's tourney. Kansas ousted them in the E8.
Ty Rogers celebrates after draining a prayer of a 3 pointer at the buzzer to knock out 5-seed Drake in the first round. After that they beat San Diego before losing to UCLA in the S16.
Da'Sean Butler shows who owns the house after Bob Huggins' Mountaineers upset 2-seed Duke (after knocking off 10-seed Arizona). Xavier ousted them in the S16.
On the left, USC's OJ Mayo looks on as Bill Walker gets pumped up and (to the right) he gives Michael Beasley a bump during their upset of USC.


Other upsets...

1st round

9-seed Arkansas over 8-seed Indiana
9-seed Texas A & M over 8-seed BYU

2nd round

5-seed Michigan State over 4-seed Pitt

3rd round

10 Davidson over 3 Wisconsin
3 Texas over 2 Stanford
3 Louisville over 2 Tennessee


Other action...
Mississippi State's Charles Rhodes is ecstatic after taking out the Oregon Ducks in round 1. They lost to Memphis in their 2nd game.

Doesn't he look like Bill Walker above? Uncanny.

"Yeah boy". Xavier's Stanley Burrell is pumped after they get past Purdue in the 2nd round. They got pasted by UCLA in the Elite 8.
Wazzu's swarming defense allowed only 40 to Winthrop and 41 to Notre Dame, but they fell victim to North Carolina.



... And then Depression sets in.
Take a stroll down tear-jerker alley...


Davidson after losing to Kansas.
Padgett drips on the court after the Heels did the deed in the round of 8.
Stanley Burrell squeezes tears after getting ousted by UCLA in the Elite 8.
Augustin and Pittman walk off after losing to Memphis in E8.
Belmont's Keaton Belcher waves the towel in celebration as they seemingly have Duke beat in round 1. Moments later he's weeping after the loss.
Cal State Fullerton looking dejected after their first round loss to Wisconsin.
Jonathan Cox cries in his jersey after the surprise season comes to a crashing halt for the Drake Bulldogs in the first round.
What gallery wouldn't be complete without a dejected Dukie? Gerald Henderson and Duke bow out after getting dumped by West Virginia.
Billy Humphrey and the Georgia Bulldogs made a spectacular run through the SEC to earn a bid after only having 4 conference wins during the regular season. Unfortunately, they must have spent all their energy winning the tourney championship because they didn't have enough in the tank to hold off Xavier.
Another favorite entry of mine. Gonzaga is stunned after getting ousted by Davidson.
DJ White is a bit upset after losing to Arkansas in the 1st round.
Mike Scott and Al Fisher need a hug after losing to UNLV in the 1st round.
Michael Beasley looks for answers from coach Martin during their 2nd round loss to the Wisconsin Badgers.
Mississippi Valley State cries after scoring 29 points in a 1st round loss to UCLA. Afterwards Kevin Love said, there's no mercy out there.
Kentucky Wildcats are ousted in the 1st round by Marquette.
USC's Taj Gibson wonders what the hell happened against Kansas State.
No cinderella stories to share about Winthrop this year.