With one weekend of the men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments in the books, I can truly say it has been an educational experience.Here’s a short list of things I learned from watching the tournaments — in no particular order. 1. Never doubt LSU when the deck is stacked against them. I lost points in my bracket pool and $5 from my wallet because I was stupid enough to doubt coach Trent Johnson’s boys and follow popular opinion. I had Butler beating the Tigers in the first round. Wrong. I also made a side bet for the second round game that North Carolina forward Tyler Hansbrough would score 30 points against LSU’s interior defense. Super wrong. 2. Wake Forest is possibly the most inconsistent team this year. This team beat Duke, UNC and blew out Florida State in Atlantic Coast Conference play. But the Demon Deacons lost to Cleveland State in the first round of the big dance. 3. Don’t pick teams based on the nationality of their post players. I have an affinity for Australian big men when it comes to basketball. I love Vanderbilt sophomore center A.J. Ogilvy, former Georgia Tech standout center Luke Schenscher and former Chicago Bulls great Luc Longley. But those three guys are no reason for me to put Utah in my Sweet 16 just because they have a 7-foot Australian center in senior Luke Nevill. 4. The Southeastern Conference really was that bad. The conference only had three teams in the tournament, and none of them made it out of the first weekend. Mississippi State got dismantled by Washington. Oklahoma State squeaked by Tennessee. And UNC beat LSU by double digits. It’s pretty shameful.5. The Big East really was that good. Of its seven teams to be included in the field of 65, the conference had five teams advance to the Sweet 16. At least two of its three No. 1 seeds appear warranted after the clinics Louisville and Connecticut put on their opponents last weekend. But the jury is still out on Pittsburgh though. 6. There’s a reason not many mid-majors were included this year as at-large bids. Thirteen of the 16 teams playing next weekend are from major conferences. The only teams from mid-major conferences to win two games last weekend were Xavier, Gonzaga and Memphis. In addition to the Big East’s five teams, the Big 12 has three, the ACC and Big Ten each have two and the Pac-10 has one. 7. I am better than President Obama. The president chose the winners of 12 of the first round’s 32 games incorrectly in his official bracket. I, on the other hand, only chose nine incorrectly. Take that, commander in chief. He was 14-2 in the second round while I was 11-5, but it doesn’t prove his superiority — just that he can choose chalk. Here’s a few lessons from the women’s tournament as well. 8. LSU is pretty good. The Lady Tigers’ win against Wisconsin-Green Bay on Sunday night marked the program’s 10th-straight trip to the second round of the NCAA tournament. The women have history on their side as only one of those tournament appearances ended in the second round. That being said …9. Anyone can be beaten in the tournament at any time. Tennessee, who had been to 27 straight Sweet 16s, lost its first round game against Ball State. The Lady Vols were 51-0 against teams seeded lower than them.10. Well, almost anyone can be beaten. The Connecticut women will win the title. This team is too good to be bothered with losing any games. The Huskies defeated Vermont by 39 in the first round, and sophomore guard Maya Moore only scored 13 points. I’m sure there will be more lessons to be learned about the tournament next weekend. —- Contact Johanathan Brooks at [email protected]