Bust your brackets with this weekend’s lineup

Everybody drank the Kool-Aid when it came to hot mid-major programs – teams from conferences… Everybody drank the Kool-Aid when it came to hot mid-major programs – teams from conferences considered just below the big-name leagues – entering the NCAA Tournament. It was the brand new thing, the fad, the genesis of Joe Smarter Than You’s belief that his brackets, because they feature two or three upsets by the mid-major teams, were better than yours.

But that was all speculation. It was based on success in previous years by the same team or teams from its conference. Accurate projections were hard – none of the big-time programs wanted to play mid-major teams because there was a significant risk of a loss. In other words, no one could measure how well a team like Butler would do against North Carolina or Duke in the past because North Carolina and Duke didn’t want and never will want to play the Butlers of college hoops.

Luckily, we have a relatively new way to measure the actual ability of these mid-major programs. It’s called BracketBusters, an ESPN bonanza of mid-major basketball jam-packed into three days of games.

On Friday, Davidson, a team that received votes for a ranking in the preseason top 25, travels to Winthrop for the opening matchup at 7 p.m. on ESPN. As a No. 11 seed in last year’s NCAA Tournament, Winthrop defeated sixth-seeded Notre Dame, 74-64, in the first round. Davidson pushed fourth-seeded Maryland for 35 minutes before the Terrapins pulled away and won.

On Saturday, the action picks up. Virginia Commonwealth, the leader of the Colonial Athletic Association, plays at Akron at 11 a.m. Then we will be treated to a handful of thrillers: George Mason at Ohio, Creighton at Oral Roberts, No. 16 Drake at No. 8 Butler, Rider at Cal State-Northridge and Kent State at No. 23 Saint Mary’s.

Sunday’s capper is Wright State at Illinois State.

It’s like ESPN prepared to create a college basketball holiday for hoops junkies when it started BracketBusters six years ago.

By the weekend’s finish, we’ll know a few things about these teams. Is Davidson, which is undefeated in conference play but without any marquee wins despite a tough schedule, for real? Can Creighton, George Mason, Wright State or Illinois State pick up a big win that could push them off the bubble and into the NCAA Tournament? Which team is truly the mid-major team to watch: Saint Mary’s, Drake or Butler?

We’ll know it all by Monday.

Joe Smarter Than You won’t be feared. You, too, can do your homework. I suggest you watch – you could win some money in your bracket pools.

Let’s get to the rapid fire.

– Boy, Pitt is struggling, Roc. Tonight’s game is humongous. If the Panthers lose here, they really have to beat Louisville on Sunday. It helps that the Cardinals are coming here, but they are the hottest team in the conference and one of the top teams in the nation. Don’t panic, but start worrying.

– Jason Kidd is the most overrated NBA player of our generation. There, I said it.

– Hillary Clinton and her campaign are starting to sound like the popular girl in high school who can’t have her way so she just resorts to name calling and dirty tricks.

– In other news, John McCain’s pulse is not artificial; he’s actually alive!

– TRIVIA: I’ll give you a hearty pat on the back, Roc, if you can tell me what Pitt’s biggest loss in Big East competition under Jamie Dixon is.

– Pink and her husband Carey Hart split up. Maybe the divorce will inspire more awful music from Pink.

– TMZ.com features a photo of David Beckham squirting a water bottle during practice.

– I always wondered how Brian Roberts, who is 5-foot-9, 170 pounds, could hit double-digit home runs in a season. Now I know: steroids. Duh!

– I will go see Will Ferrell in “Semi-Pro.” And I will love it.

– Dear Lindsay Lohan, thank you.

– Indiana’s DJ White is good.

– LeBron is better than Kobe.

– I hate Marquette.

– Roc, I hope Scottie can sell hot dogs again. I like hot dogs.

– I’ll keep saying this until the show is canceled: “American Dad” is not funny.

– TRIVIA ANSWER: Pitt’s biggest Big East loss under Dixon came against Marquette on Friday night. The Golden Eagles crushed the Panthers, 72-54.

– Parting thought: Why go to class when you could play video games, sleep, eat bad food, watch TV, sleep, hang out with your friends, drink or sleep?