Alright, the votes from Round 1 were compiled and shared yesterday so today we move on to Round 2 of our own March Madness competition. It's the quarterfinals so the matchups are starting to look a bit tougher.
So far the voters have only chosen one upset and that was the Exclamation alley oop dunk courtesy of Ivan MacFarlin over Bryant Reeves shattering the backboard during a warmup. But now that great dunk has to take on what may be the favorite to win the entire tournament--Lucas's game winning three over St. Joes to send OSU into the Final Four. Can IMac's Exclamation Point pull another upset and continue to advance?
In the Southeast bracket, Hannon's Cannon will take on Byron Eaton's game winning drive in what we are labeling the "Old Timers versus the New Pups" vote. I'm really looking forward to seeing how people decide this match up. One one side, Byron Eaton put the game on his shoulders and delivered his patented "drive to the hoop and somehow score while getting fouled" move. On the other, the Pokes beat the number one team and defending champs, Louisville, on a buzzer beating halfcourt runner. Too bad the ESPY's weren't around back then for that one.
On the other side of the bracket, Boggan's triple OT game winning shot goes up against Victor Williams' buzzer beating game winning shot over OU. This matchup is intriguing for a couple of reasons. For one, both shots were game winners against Big 12 South opponents. Second, while Boggan's shot provided the finale of an instant classic, you cannot deny that there is something very special about beating OU in such a dramatic fashion as Victor Williams provided.
Finally, in the southwest bracket we have what I think will be the closest matchup of this round. Bryant Reeve's halfcourt prayer against Mizzou versus Eaton's unbelievable circus shot against Texas. Reeve's game tying and buzzer beating basket was destined to go in from the second he lifted his arms after he released the shot. It was epic. Fast forward a decade and meet a shot that can rival it. Byron Eaton's basket was something you'd see in a trick shot competition and even then it would only be made once every ten tries. Eaton did it in the middle of a game with the shot clock winding down to zero. Like I said, I'm really curious to see how the votes turn out on this one.
Here is the bracket for this round's matchups. Cast your votes below and check back in on Friday to see who you voted to advance to the Final Four and who will be left behind.
