Last year I debuted my completely un-original list of things to look for in March Madness. While some predictions worked out well (telling you Illinois was an obvious 5/12 upset candidate) others were…not so much (my Seminoles making a sneaky deep run).

So this year, with another year of research under my belt, I am feeling even more confident. I have started reading anything and everything to prep for dominating Turner and Shadow once again in our bracket challenge but I don’t want to have other’s analysis impact this list so without further adieu here are 32 things to keep in mind as you fill out your brackets and prepare for the glories of Basketball Festivus.

1.  Last year I bragged on FSU and they lost in the first round. Let’s go with the opposite approach this year: if a team scores more than 70 points on FSU, FSU is done. Gonzaga averages 77 points/game. Do your own math.

2.  Of course if enough upsets happen we could see a Florida State vs. Florida game for a trip to the Final Four – how awesome would that be? Then the Gators could suit up Tim Tebow, who would trade in his eye-black for a shoulder tattoo of biblical passages. At this point it could only help his NFL draft stock.

3.  Wofford made its first ever March Madness this year which will lead to a horrendously painful ‘Woe-fford’ pun by Dick Enberg when they fall behind Wisconsin by 20.

4.  Experience matters in the NCAAs. Therefore look for good things from Villanova’s Scotty Reynolds, finishing his 9^th season in the Wildcats lineup.

5.  Your 2009-2010 Tyler Hansbrough award winner for most mentions of his ‘gutsiness’ and ‘toughness’ as code words for ‘big, awkward white guy who tries hard’: Luke Harangody.

6.  The last two years has seen an SEC team sweep through a weak conference tournament to a surprising tournament berth (08- Georgia, 09- Mississippi State). With the Bulldogs loss yesterday, the mantle of ‘team most obviously primed for a let-down’ goes to Washington who won a weak Pac-10 conference tournament Saturday.

7.  Washington narrowly edged out San Diego State for this honor.

8.  The worst first round game will be between Texas and Wake Forest – two teams that only got into the tournament due to their performance in December and January and combined for 11 losses since February 1.

9.  Actually, that could be a really entertaining game: two equally craptastic teams. Assuming they both stay on the court for the entire 40 minutes, that is. They have both faded so badly, just walking out before the games ends is really the only way left for them to further quit on this season.

10.  Clemson and Missouri should thank Texas and Wake for drawing attention from their equally uninspiring play.

11.  On a more inspiring note, I love when a small school gets to play a bigger in-state neighbor. Nothing like being passed over by your competition to get you fired up. Expect an inspired Sam Houston State effort in the first half but Baylor will pull it out by 5-7 points when SHSU wears down in the end.

12.  I am glad that John Scheyer’s parents got so much face time celebrating Duke’s ACC tournament victory this past weekend. At least they will have one last happy memory to finish their son’s career on.

13.  Time to insert my annual warning against picking Duke to win it all. Do you really trust a team with no real inside presence that relies heavily on outside shooters to win it all? Can they put together six straight games of high percentage outside shooting? If you wonder what a big team with a good inside game can do to them – check out the box score of their game at Georgetown earlier this season.

14.  That said, apparently Dick Vitale chaired the selection committee this year because this seeding was an absolute gift to Duke who has by far the weakest region. I don’t trust Duke but when their top competition is Baylor and Villanova it is scary to pick against them as well.

15.  Speaking of annual warnings: You can dismiss Big Ten basketball as being slightly more exciting than high school women’s curling but never underestimate Tom Izzo and Michigan State in the tournament. The guy has taken more ‘sub-optimally talented’ teams further than any coach in the land. He is the anti-Rick Barnes

16.  That was written last year – before Izzo took another team to the championship game. Beating Kansas along the way.

17.  Michigan State could play Kansas in the Sweet Sixteen this year.

18.  If Kansas makes it out of their region they should be national champs. They could potentially have to beat Michigan State and Ohio State or Georgetown just to make it to Indy. If they can make it that far, the rest should be smooth sailing.

19.  It is too bad Ohio State and Kansas could play before the Final Four. After the last week, I am convinced that Evan Turner refuses to lose and has the potential to single-handedly take over games when necessary. He is the Kobe of this tournament. I don’t care who he is playing with I don’t want to bet against him.

20.  The Big East will either be the dominant conference of the tournament and get multiple teams to Indy, or will be exposed as a fraud on scale with Bernie Madoff. The pressure is on Villanova, West Virginia and Georgetown to play above their seeds or we have to start questioning the conventional wisdom of the Big East’s strength.

21.  Murray State will barely edge out Robert Morris as the school that causes the most Google searches to find out where it is located

22.  But that is only because people will still be Googling Murray State on Saturday. If you know what I mean.

23.  The two most obvious 5/12 upset candidates are Cornell over Temple and Utah State over Texas A&M. One of these upsets will happen and the other will be a blow out by the favorite. I say Cornell wins and Utah State gets blown out.

24.  If you’re gonna be a bear, be a grizzly: Cornell, sweet sixteen.

25.  Much like John Calipari’s Memphis teams, Kentucky’s youth will be its Achilles heel. They found a way to pull out a number of close contests in the mediocre SEC but at some point they won’t get the final tip-in they need.

26.  There is no chance all four #1 seeds make it to Indy, despite what the experts say. Have there ever been #1 seeds with more questions? Kansas’ history, Syracuse’s health, Duke’s talent and Kentucky’s youth could all be their downfalls.

And finally, a couple history lessons to keep in mind:

27.  Remember all those years when Memphis would feast on a pathetic Conference-USA line-up and end up with a seed much higher than they deserved? Ladies and gentlemen your 2009-10 UTEP Miners.

28.  Although UTEP didn’t get a high seed, expect a lot of people to pick the upset over Butler. Butler has been here before. UTEP hasn’t.

29.  In 2000, Cincinnati was led by player of the year Kenyon Martin. Entering their conference tournament the Bearcats were the #1 team in the country. In the first game of the Conference USA tournament Martin broke his leg and was done for the season. The Bearcats were dropped to a #2 seed in the NCAAs and lost to Tulsa in the second round.

30.  Try Googling ‘Robbie Hummel’ and ‘Purdue’ this year and draw your own conclusion

31.  Last year Ty Lawson’s bum ankle cost the Tar Heels the ACC tournament and was the big question hanging over UNC coming into the NCAA tournament leading some leading pundits (cough, cough) to not pick UNC to win it all. Ty ended up being healthier than anyone expected and UNC cruised to a title

32.  In a completely unrelated note, Syracuse big man Arinze Onuaku hurt his knee in the Orange’s Big East tournament loss to Georgetown. All indications are that the injury isn’t serious but questions remain leading many to pick against the Orange. You have been warned.

You’ll not see nothing like the Mighty Quinn

Bob Dylan (as recorded by Manfred Mann)

 My first indication that something happened last night was an email from the Shadow blaming me. He saw my inflammatory Notre Dame article as the karmic fuel that last night sent Brady Quinn to the Broncos for ‘Tyler Hanbrough effect’ fan favorite Peyton Hillis and a couple future late round draft picks.

So do I feel guilty about possibly being the cause of this trade?

No, because it is a great trade for the Broncos.

I am not the biggest fan of Quinn. I have maintained since his Golden Domer days that Quinn was a mediocre quarterback who relied on bigger, stronger wide receivers to get open and make him look good. However, let’s face it. He was in a no-win situation in Cleveland, which come to think of it, is really the only situation in Cleveland.

He was surrounded by little talent, both on the field and in the coaches’ offices. He was going into his fourth season under coaches Romeo Crennel and Eric Mangini, two rotted limbs that fell off the Belichick coaching tree and have shown no leadership ability since leaving Bill’s womb that doesn’t involve crying uncle to the NFL that the other team is cheating.

Quinn’s best receiver in Cleveland was either stone-hands Braylon Edwards or rookie Mohamed Massaquoi who was only an average receiver catching passes from Matthew Stafford in the run oriented SEC.

By the way – apparently the brass at the Browns doesn’t read PFB. I can’t be the only one that sees Jake Delhomme starting for the Browns as the worst idea since someone asked Sarah Palin to write a book. Playing against better defenses with worse talent around him? Someone get Vegas on the line. Whatever the Over/Under is on number of interceptions for Delhomme next year, I will take the over.

Will Quinn come into Dove Valley, blow away the coaches and take over the starting role from Kyle Orton? Probably not. Will he be a better back-up than Chris Simms? We can only hope. If he finally gets the apprenticeship denied him in Cleveland and learns from a quality quarterback coach and quarterback that has started (and won) for several years than he can only get better.

Even if Quinn demonstrates that his ceiling as an NFL player is to be Steve Beuerlein, a mostly career back-up that can start in the pinch and is on occasion traded to a team convinced he can start , than Quinn will be a success for the Broncos.

The best thing about this trade is that the Broncos gave up nearly zero for him. Despite the constant pleading of the fan base, Hillis was never going to see significant playing time for McDaniels. Even as the running game faltered late last season, Hillis remained on the bench.

While the fans calling for Hillis to play seemed to have an unspoken (maybe even unconscious) reason for wanting to see Peyton play, McDaniels likewise had an unspoken reason for not playing him.

Whatever the reason, Hillis was never going to be a factor in the Broncos backfield. Whether his one good game as a rookie warranted an opportunity or not, can be debated forever.

After Hillis all the Broncos gave up was a 6^th round pick and a conditional pick. Yes, the 6^th round is special to Bronco fans, thanks to the gift from god named Terrell Davis; but since T.D. descended from heaven to play for the Broncos, the 6^th round has brought players like Greg Eslinger, Chris Myers, Traindos Luke, Josh Sewell and Aaron Hunt. The best players drafted by the Broncos in the 6^th round since 2001 are Jeb Putzier and Spencer Larson.

Whether Quinn comes in to hold a clip board or ends up taking Orton’s job under center, I would much rather have him than someone with as much of an impact as those guys.

So blame me if you want. My only response will be:

You are welcome.