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It's noonish on the Thursday we've all been waiting for, so naturally I'm on the couch watching basketball. The Lord and the selection committee combined in some fashion to bring me Duke v. UNC-Wilmington as the tournament's first game, so that's what I'm watching. Obviously, I'm cheering against Duke.
Except... not unreservedly so. Don't get me wrong, I want Duke to lose, but with a 13 over 4 in the first game a certain descent into chaos for the tournament. I can't prove that these things happen in bunches, but that doesn't stop me from believing that these things happen in bunches. If favorites start falling early, what's to stop them from falling all weekend.
You can see where I'm going with this. Xavier earned a two seed this year. For the first three rounds of the tournament, the more boring the better for X. I don't need Harold "The Show" Arceneaux or Bryce Drew or Ali Farokhmanesh showing up to slow me down. For the first time in a long time, I can't rationalize my Xavier fandom and my desire to see chalk fall. I'm already scared.