In honor of this week’s official start of the national holiday known as March Madness, we’ve asked some of our regular contributors to weigh in with their takes on the tournament. When we last heard from Grandma Susan, she was giving us an eyewitness account of the Hogs’ rout of Florida early last month (we hope she brings that same good mojo to the IU game). Today she starts with the Arkansas-Indiana matchup and then breaks down the entire tournament from there. Read on:

One of these days a #16 seed is going to beat a #1 seed. No, I’m not going out on that limb this year to predict it, but it will happen sometime. Just saying.

So although I don’t see the upset occurring in those games, the first round generally does hold an upset or two. The interesting games I see here are between the #8 and #9 seeds, which are the most evenly matched in terms of stats. Naturally, the most compelling is in the East, where Indiana meets Arkansas. I’m calling it for the Hogs, although we all know that is just out of loyalty. To be fair, the Indiana fans are calling it out of loyalty as well. These teams are very much alike in all respects, including their up and down season, shooting percentage, and record. Certainly, the Hoosiers were hard hit with Kelvin Sampson’s resignation, but they seem to be holding their own. And Arkansas, without Indiana’s excuse, has had about the same kind of season. Seems as though both of them have a tough time showing up for all their games. When they do turn up, both teams defend well and shoot pretty fair, not great. This one could be decided by free throws.

But then what game can’t? Makes me really surly when a fine team shoots itself in the foot rather than in the bucket. Too many of them are too eager to shoot three-pointers and neglect the freebies. They are just kids, after all, and want to go for the drama!

(Read on …)

Grandma Susan is a NW Arkansas grandmother and long-time Hog fan who, for years, has kept friends and family entertained with her insightful and witty reports on college sports in general and the Razorbacks in particular (note: she’s not related to either of the Expats). When we found out that she had tickets to Saturday’s 80-61 rout of the Florida Gators, we asked her to share her observations and she was kind enough to deliver:

Dateline: Fayetteville, Feb. 2

Aggressive. Energetic. Physical. Noisy. Vigorous. Alert. Fast-break. Defense. Dominating. Assists. Steals. Joy. Final score: Hogs 80, Gators 61.

Saturday in Fayetteville was beautiful. Temperature in the 60s, Bud Walton Arena full, Hogs on fire. The crowd was on its feet most of the game, roaring its approval of the team and teamwork that was causing the 20th ranked team in the country to look like a bunch of pretty good high school players.

The Razorbacks shot 54 % from the floor and made 10 of 13 free throws. This was great, but what made the day so exciting and terrific fun for the fans was the fast-paced physical defense. Whew! I can’t remember a game I have attended in the last several years when I didn’t yawn once, my mind never wandered, and I ended up with a sore throat from calling the Hogs. The ball-handling was something to see and marvel over.

I think John Pelphrey has finally got these kids’ attention. He has made it clear he won’t tolerate anything less than full attention and effort from anyone. Nineteen assists and only 14 turnovers showed that this group of kids is finally able to play as a team, not as lone rangers. This is the second game in a row that the boys have stepped up to the challenge; hardly what I would call a streak, but perhaps it is a harbinger of great things on the horizon.

In the meantime……I’m calling the Hawgs with feeling and hope once again!