One Choking Moment

The NCAA Tournament has its share of upsets. But 2006 was a little ridiculous. There were more chokes in the tournament than at a Manning-family reunion. The Hater Nation is proud to present the Top 10 gag-jobs in our One Choking Moment tribute.

10. Arkansas coach Stan Heath makes fans long for the genius of Nolan Richardson.

9. Tennessee as a #2 would be the worst #2 of the year, were it not for the movie Basic Instinct 2.

8. The LSU Tigers went from heroes for beating Duke, to heels for losing to UCLA in an ugly game. Louisiana hasn�t suffered a beating like that since Hurricane Katri�ah, not going to do it.

7. Pittsburgh was a chic pick to make a run to the final four. They played like a bunch of chicks as they lost to freaking Bradley.

6. Pacific took a 6-point overtime lead and converted it into a 12-point double-overtime loss, ending the career of Christian Maraker. A Swede hasn�t taken a beating like this since Gunny Highway beat down The Swede in Heartbreak Ridge.

5. If you lost to George Mason, you should be embarrassed. Great story, but Michigan State, North Carolina, Wichita State and UConn, you all choked.

4. Betting on a team that snuck into the dance by winning its conference tournament is a sucker�s bet; especially if that team is coached by Jim Boeheim.

3. Indiana had two choices for its coaching vacancy�Iowa�s Steve Alford and Oklahoma�s Kelvin Sampson. Both were eliminated in the first round (by Northwestern State and UW-Milwaukee, direspectively). Lame duck Indiana coach Mike Davis won his first round game. Hard to believe this school produced Isaiah Thomas, eh?

2. Kansas coach Bill Self ruined more pools than Tony Hawk and the Bones Brigade.

1. Gon-gag-a. The Gags continue to disappoint and fail to live up to expectations each season. They really are becoming a West Coast version of Duke.

Speaking of Duke, it�s hard to label what they do as a choke job. It is what you have come to expect from J.J. Manning and the boys. You should have seen Duke's meltdown coming unless you work for CBS or ESPN�you know, guys who get paid to follow college hoops.

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