As the clock ticks ever so slowly toward the resumption of NCAA March Madness, tournament fans can take solace in the fact that there is another bracket that is still in action. The 2012 BMC is going strong with the Egregious Eight.
Advancing in the Busted Mug Championship takes similar stuff to winning in the NCAA. It takes talent, a will to win and even a bit of luck. It's a contest of match ups and, given the right opponent, even the lowliest seeds have a shot at Busted Mug glory.
The Miller region is the only one to not see a #1 seed advance. In fact, both lower seeds on this region staged upsets in the first round. Much like the Ohio Bobcats or Xavier Musketeers, these BMC Cinderellas carry the torch for all the ugly underdogs.
Name: Tyler Zeller (3)
Team: C, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Tarheels.
Path to Glory: Unlike his #1 seeded mates in the NCAA tourney, Zeller wasn't supposed to get this far. He was supposed to fall in the round of 16 to Darius Johnson-Odom's superiorly screwed up visage. The big ugly from UNC, though, persevered and advanced.
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Name: Carlos Lopez (4)
Team: G, University of Nevada Las Vegas Runnin' Rebels.
Patho to Glory: Lopez's Rebs may have been taken down by the upstart Buffaloes of Colorado, but he didn't let that dash his title aspirations. No doubt using his condor-like ears to gain an advantage, he soars into the Egregious Eight after knocking off a formidable #1 seed in West Virginia's Darryl "Truck" Bryant. Lopez was the only 4 seed to advance. Can he ride the 'mo to a BMC title?