What we've learned

When filling out your NCAA Men's Basketball bracket this year, you might not want to over think it, because it is nearly impossible to predict the outcome of 63 college basketball games.

                  Since the year 2000, 41 number one seeded NCAA Basketball Tournament teams have lost before reaching the championship game.  With the addition of four more teams to the tournament there are 68 teams that all have a shot at being crowned the Division I Champion.  Many people are already chalking up the Ohio State Buckeyes as their champion, but you might want to take a good hard look at some of the past NCAA tournaments before you side with the top team in the land.

                  Just last year, the Kansas Jayhawks were expected by many to easily get by their first few opponents.  Northern Iowa, however, had other ideas concerning the fate of Kansas.  In a close game throughout, Northern Iowa edged out the Jayhawks 69-67 in a second round match-up.

                  2006 brought an unfamiliar team to the spotlight in college basketball.  The George Mason Patriots made an unbelievable run at the title, beating the sixth-seeded Michigan State Spartans, third-seeded UNC Tar Heels, seventh-seeded Wichita State Shockers, and the top-seeded Connecticut Huskies in the Elite Eight.  Although the eleventh-ranked George Mason Patriots lost in the Final Four, they made an incredible run beating four teams that were all ranked higher than themselves.

                  The Vermont Catamounts will be playing Cleveland State in the NIT this year, but just a few years ago, they were playing one of the best college basketball programs in the country.  In 2005, the Catamounts upset the fourth ranked Syracuse Orange in a shocking overtime win.  Syracuse is known for its excellent defense, but it's anyone's game once the tournament comes around.

                  Since 1985, only three tournaments have had a Final Four of all number one-seeded teams.  Parity is an understatement when it comes to this tournament, as there are always teams that seem to "come out of nowhere" and surprise a lot of viewers.  The madness in March is simply too hard to predict.