See this picture here?  That ought to be like manna from heaven for every college hoops fan not in Durham, North Carolina.  Duke losing in the second round, how freakin' awesome is that!!  Greg Paulus, go cry in Coach K's arms!

I didn't get to enjoy this moment one bit.  Why?  Because I had Duke in my Final 8.  And this could royally screw up my bracket.  And that ticked me off!!

What the heck is wrong with that?  I mean, 20 years from now, what am I going to remember?  Watching Duke go down, or how that screwed up my bracket...well ok, both for me, and that probably says something about my capacity for holding useless knowledge.  But regardless, shouldn't we be rooting for the teams we want to get through?

Truth be told, when I was filling out my bracket I felt like Xavier had a good shot at knocking off Duke if they got there (suuuure you say, and you probably had Western Kentucky in the Sweet 16 too...well I had that, so...take that for what it's worth).  But, I learned through my early bracket picking experiences that you're better off betting against the local teams, mostly because everyone else is giving them the homer bonus, and if they tank out early you're in the catbird seat. 

So, I pick against my heart, and then look what happens; I'm a freakin' Dukie for a day, and I end up getting depressed when they lose.  Couldn't psychiatrists set up practices based on this school of thought?  Take one Tarheel Blue, one Burnt Orange, and a Razorback Red, and call me in the morning.

And now it gets worse.  Because I'd really love to see Xavier make a Final Four run.  But at the same time, I know that a WVU win would pretty much wipe out a lot of other brackets, and that'd really help me.  And this is leaving me seriously conflicted.

So that begs the question: at what point do you sell your basketball soul to root for a team that you picked in your bracket?  When do you start cheering like mad for a team that you wouldn't even consider lifting a finger for during an early February conference game?  And when do you turn on a team that you'd much prefer to see move on, just because it might mean a greater gain for your bracket (and likely pocketbook)?

The patient is in, I'll be seeing doctors now.  Give me your best prescription for therapy.