Straight from the Sports Desk

The 12, the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, had led the 5, Drake, for much of the game, and by as many as 16 points, but Drake rallied to force overtime. During Drake's rally, there were times the Hilltoppers' youth and inexperience showed — particularly a couple of bad turnovers by Tyrone Brazelton — and they looked like they might be another almost-but-not-quite Cinderellas, condemned to be a footnote like Belmont was yesterday.

And as often happens, Drake got the jump in overtime, and led 99-98 with 5.7 seconds left after a pair of free throws by Jonathan Cox. Brazelton — who led all scorers with 33 — took the inbound pass and raced up court to the right wing. Instead of driving to the hoop as the play called for — it was well sealed off — he dropped it to Ty Rogers, who during the timeout had told Brazelton he might dip in behind him. Rogers fired over the three defenders who had sealed off the lane, the red LEDs around the backboard lit up while the ball was in the air, and it fell right through the net, setting off my goosebumps.

(Later on ESPN, Bobby Knight, who's been around high-quality basketball a looooooong time, said that Brazelton's pass to Rogers might have been the single best instance of high-pressure decision-making he's ever seen. That's pretty high praise.)

Sorry, but I don't get goosebumps watching the NFL playoffs unless my Niners are involved. The only goosebump-inducing football game I ever watched that I didn't have a vested rooting interest in was Boise State's win in the Fiesta Bowl. And that was an unbelievably unique event, one ESPN called one of the two best sports highlights in the history of sports highlights.

No, there's just something about watching a little, unknown bunch of overachievers knock off a powerhouse that is inspiring. It doesn't even have to be the D-I tournament. The last time I got similar goosebumps was in last year's D-II title game, when Barton — the team that knocked off CSU San Bernardino by a single point — came back from seven points down in the final 45 seconds to knock off previously undefeated Winona State in spectacular fashion to win the D-II National Championship. If you've never seen it, you really ought to click here.

Western Kentucky's win was just the beginning of the Madness in Tampa, where the uninformed might think a gulf hurricane had ripped through brackets across the nation. By the end of the day, two 4's and two 5's had fallen to 13's and 12's — the first time in Tourney history that all four lower-seeded team won at a venue. The Hilltoppers will battle No. 13 San Diego for a shot at the Sweet 16 after the Toreros knocked off NO. 4 UConn, also in overtime. In the Midwest, 12th-seeded Villanova rallied from 18 down to sink Clemson, and No. 13 Siena blew Vanderbilt out of the water, 83-63.

Not to be lost in the Tampa storm was Davidson which, behind an outstanding 40-point performance from Stephen Curry, knocked off Gonzaga. Honestly, if I had filled out a bracket, I'd have put Davidson into the second round. They were within a point or two late against both North Carolina and Duke, and led UCLA by 17 before falling. That's a prime candidate for a first-round upset.

And as a Stanford fan myself, I certainly don't mind seeing Gonzaga go down early. See, Gonzaga used to be Davidson — a mid-major school that could only get into the tournament by winning the West Coast Conference. But a year after Stanford made the Final Four, the Cardinal came in with high expectations and were knocked off by the Zags in the second round. That win propelled Gonzaga into its current status as a Tournament regular. But now they know how it feels.

Ain't dancin' great?