The Diff: Round Two, Day One

"Cinderella" is such a dumb metaphor for all of this. For one thing, this isn't women's basketball; where I come from, calling a dude a lady will get you into a knife fight. Also, none of our teams get to ride a magical McDonald's All American to the Dance who turns into a pumpkin at midnight. I think this is more like trying to climb Rapunzel's hair.

Defeating a school with a lot more money to spend on athletics is hard. But two? That's doubly difficult! Until there really are magical beans and fairies and slippers, mid-majors will have to rely on team play, innovative coaching and unexpected individual performances to overcome the big money teams and advance at the Dance. All figures, once again, are from the U.S. Department of Education.

Murray State and Butler will square off for a guaranteed Mid-Majority Sweet 16 slot in Salt Lake (break out the kettle corn!) Our schedule sure is top-loaded today, and we'll know the fate of all six of our teams by around 9 p.m. EDT, so enjoy your evening off. Are there any good movies in the theaters that you'd recommend? Would love to catch a late show at Providence Place.

[10] Saint Mary's vs. [2] Villanova - 1:05 pm

South (Houston) Region - Providence, RI
Athletic SMC: $10,917,912 NOVA: $23,925,128 ($13m diff/43% of NOVA's)
Men's Basketball SMC: $1,563,065 NOVA: $4,930,726 ($3m diff/25% of NOVA's)

[13] Murray State vs. [5] Butler - 3:20 pm

West (Salt Lake City) Region - San Jose, CA

[14] Ohio vs. [6] Tennessee - 3:35 pm

Midwest (St. Louis) Region - Providence, RI
Athletic OHIO: $20,448,176 TENN: $87,420,752 ($67m diff/23% of TENN's)
Men's Basketball OHIO: $1,432,379 TENN: $6,551,454 ($5m diff/16% of TENN's)

[9] Northern Iowa vs. [1] Kansas - 5:40 pm

Midwest (St. Louis) Region - Oklahoma City, OK
Athletic UNI: $14,180,945 KU: $65,707,112 ($51m diff/22% of KU's)
Men's Basketball UNI: $1,543,869 KU: $9,386,335 ($8m diff/11% of KU's)

[11] Old Dominion vs. [3] Baylor - 5:45 pm

South (Houston) Region - New Orleans, LA
Athletic ODU: $17,974,306 BAY: $44,151,764 ($27m diff/39% of BAY's)
Men's Basketball ODU: $2,229,772 BAY: $3,356,126 ($1m diff/67% of BAY's)

Resources

Bally Club Signup/Activate
Bally Club Message Board
Basketball State
Women's Basketball State
TMM9 Summer Camp
Mid-Merchandise Shoppe
Mid-Major Radio
Contact TMM via The Form™

The Game

				Pts
			Hickory Picket Fences	27629

			The Hopping Cats	21526

			Ballyfest Destiny	18919

			Under a Blood Red Line	10379

			Jen Folds Five	6895

			Prestige Worldwide	1614