THE LATEST LINE: THIS SCRIBE'S HOOP BRACKET GOT WIPED OUT VERY QUICKLY

I don't know about you, but my NCAA Tournament bracket got pitched about as soon as the final buzzer sounded during last weekend's stunning Rhode Island win over Kansas.

And if I hadn't thrown it out then, I probably would have tossed it Saturday after Utah put a serious whipping on defending national champion Arizona.

Of course, I could have been just as well off throwing it out at various points during the tournament when teams I had picked to do at least fairly well went down in stunning fashion.

But the same reasons that people like me curse their bracket and send it flying are the same reasons that make the NCAA Tournament one of the greatest spectacles in all of sports.

Where else can you have a Valparaiso pull off two big-time upsets and then narrowly miss out on a berth in the elite eight?

And where else can you have a Rhode Island stun Kansas and remain alive for a berth in the Final Four?

Those are just a couple examples of why the NCAA Tournament is so great. Even in the games where the favorites win, often times they have to use all their might to avoid an upset.

In short, the NCAAs are great theater, mainly because -- in a one-game situation -- the best team doesn't always win, which gives all the upstarts at least something of a fighting chance.

And that's why, even if you had to toss your bracket early, you don't seem to mind a bit.

I sure didn't.

* Well, at least one of my Final Four picks -- North Carolina -- is still alive.

I'll have two left if Kentucky beats Duke today in what should be a great game.

But I definitely won't get the NCAA champion right. Don't ask me why, but I picked Kansas to win it all.

Hence, the bracket in the garbage.

* Although he didn't get in the game, former Jackson High basketball star Ben Ressel received some national TV exposure Saturday.

Ressel is a junior reserve forward at Kentucky Wesleyan, which lost to Cal-Davis in the Division II championship game that was broadcast by CBS. Ressel could be seen on the bench several times during the contest.

* Well, we're all still waiting for the announcement regarding the NCAA investigation of SEMO's men's basketball program.

SEMO officials thought they would have heard something by now, but I've been told by some fairly reliable sources that the NCAA doesn't like anything to interfere with it's showcase event of the entire school year -- the Division I basketball tournament.

So there's a good chance we won't know anything until after the NCAA tourney concludes March 30.

* Although I wasn't at the game, everybody I've talked to says Delta really came across some terrible officiating during its 1A quarterfinal loss to Fordland.

And after getting past Delta, Fordland went on to capture the state title.

* Former SEMO baseball player Steve Bieser, who spent part of last season in the major leagues with the Mets, is now with the Pirates' organization.

Saturday, he was reassigned to the Pirates' minor-league camp.

~Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian