By Ty Hildenbrandt

GOING AGAINST YOUR OWN ADVICE 101

UConn finished another disappointing season by losing to San Diego in the first-round of the tournament. Al Tielemans/SI

To quote myself from Jan. 23:

"I'm nominating Connecticut as this year's 'Team That Will Torch Your Bracket.' Every year there's one; if you can identify the team, you're instantly smarter than everyone else in your pool."

So what does it make you if you correctly identify the team two months before the tournament, go against your own judgment and pick it to the Sweet 16, and consequently, find your bracket setting itself ablaze in a secluded corner of your pool? Sigh ...

Weren't all the warning signs in place for a UConn loss in the first-round, regardless of opponent? An experienced coach? (Check.) A shaky start with no quality wins? (Check.) A torrid winning streak around the time people start paying attention (Check.) An early exit from a power conference's championship tournament? (Check.) A team people pick based on name only? (Check.)

And yet most of us went with the Huskies in round one anyway. Go figure.

BY COMPARISON, A HOUSE OF CARDS LOOKS EXTREMELY STURDY

Given the whole Kelvin Sampson debacle, I guess I'm supposed to cut the Indiana basketball team a break. And I would ... if the Hoosiers' collapse wasn't so ridiculously outrageous. As it stands, I just can't get past the way they fell apart down the stretch.

Consider the following: Indiana won 17 of its first 18 games this season and climbed to a mark of 22-4 while Sampson was still coaching. Since his official dismissal on Feb. 22, the Hoosiers finished out their season with a 3-4 record, including a 29-point loss to Michigan State and an unceremonious, first-round exit at the hands of Arkansas last Friday. A strong testament to the coaching of Sampson? Perhaps. But what's it say about Indiana's team character?

You'd almost expect a few losses in the wake of all the turmoil in Bloomington; however, the way Indiana's season flat-lined is borderline embarrassing. I'm not saying the Hoosiers don't deserve any slack. Not at all. But I am suggesting that the Indiana players deserve at least some of the blame. Say what you want -- this team went in the tank and showed almost no heart in its final seven games. Let's hope that's not reflective of future NBA prospects like Eric Gordon and D.J. White.

GET OFF THE FENCE: 10 QUESTIONS THAT COULD IMPACT YOUR 2008

Send in your answers and rationale...

1. More surprising upset? West Virginia over Duke / Anybody over Tiger Woods

2. Better invention? Wireless Internet / TiVo

3. More likely Sweet 16 upset? Davidson over Wisconsin / West Virginia over Xavier

4. More impressive first round showing? UCLA / Small school cheerleaders

5. Better drinking holiday? St. Patrick's Day / Super Bowl Sunday

6. Better wedding gift? Item from registry / Straight cash, homey

7. Stranger mascot name? Toreros (San Diego) / Hilltoppers (Western Kentucky)

8. Catchier commercial character? "Sven" (ATT Wireless) / Dancing Lizard (SoBe Life Water)

9. More impressive second-round? Louisville / Wisconsin

10. Smarter national championship pick? UCLA / North Carolina

OH, AND FOR YOUR INFORMATION ... YES, WE SAW YOU

To the rabble-rousers sitting in the bottom level of Washington D.C.'s Verizon Center: Yes, we did see you waving at the television cameras ... every single time the television cameras showed a close-up of a player shooting a foul shot. Apparently, getting on national television was just that important? Nearly every time somebody was at the line, there were at least a dozen people BEHIND the play -- and in view of the camera -- making strange gyrations and acting foolishly. So congratulations, people, if your goal was to make it into an up-and-coming sports column; you've done it!

Ty Hildenbrandt writes Campus Quick Slants every week. E-mail Ty at tyhildenbrandt@gmail.com with your comments, questions, and random observations.