Was this the year a mid-major would crash the NCAA men’s basketball final four ? Depending on which talking head you listened to, a Cinderella was inevitable.

Surprise, surprise, as the field is narrowed to 16: No Loyola of Chicago and Sister Jean. No Butler University. No Murray State. No Northeastern. No Wofford. Few upsets. No mid- majors to be found.

Check the four regionals and its chalk city baby. The East, Duke versus Virginia Tech and Louisiana State versus Michigan State. The West is true to form with Gonzaga playing Florida State and Texas Tech going against Michigan.

The Midwest Region has North Carolina playing Auburn and Houston playing Kentucky. Better have P.J. Washington for this one. The Wildcats won with defense against Wofford. The Cougars and Kelvin Sampson can score.

Louisville and the KFC Yum! Center host the South Region this week. Top-seeded Virginia gets a break against  No. 12 Oregon. Purdue and Tennessee will clash in other matchup.

Midnight has come and gone, and Cinderella has gone back to scrubbing floors.

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By Ed Peak

Ed Peak has covered UofL sports since 1973, as a student reporter, as a correspondent for the Courier-Journal, a freelancer for the Associated Press and United Press International, as well as ScoreCard, Fox Sports and CBS radio.