One of the hallmarks of Notre Dame (ND) football is its independence or lack of a conference. Lots of people have suggested that this year would be the year that ended, that ND needs a conference to get more respect, money or any of a series of other things. That speculation ended Wednesday, or at least it should have, with coach Brian Kelly singing the praises of independence at ND.

Frankly, I think ND has it right and all the big programs should embrace independence. The biggest fights in NCAA Division 1 football over the past few years have been over how conference championships are determined and how the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) works – specifically who gets automatic bids. Those fights would all be moot if the top teams all drop their connection to conferences. Plus, this would make the whole BCS system more fair. For example, if Florida and Alabama both have the unqualified best teams in the country, they should be able to play for the national championship. But because of the way the BCS is structured with them both being in the SEC, only one of them would be able to play in the championship with the other relegated to another, less prestigious, BCS bowl. If they weren’t both in the SEC then they’d be able to play against each other and we’d have a real (or closer to real) national champion.

Sure, smaller teams need the revenue sharing that is provided by a conference and possibly even the structure in scheduling, but the larger programs can handle scheduling their own games and make enough money on their own. Most teams won’t be able to develop the storied history of Notre Dame, the devout following, or barely have a winning season for a decade and still be considered a contender, but if the larger teams in NCAA football drop their conferences we could have a more fair system in the end.

Did the Huskies really have a chance? Now that their run has ended and they are back on campus and Isaiah Thomas is tweeting full-time (he is out having fish somewhere), it’s time for a light touch to begin the healing. Could it be the mascot?

The University of Washington Huskies are faster than their West Virginia opponents in today’s NCAA tournament game. In fact, the Huskies are the fastest team in the tournament, according to their possessions per game average. This gives the Huskies an historic advantage. Read the complete analysis.

It happens every year, some team seeded 11th beats a team seeded 5th. A good candidate for the upset this year is Utah State beating Texas A&M in the South Regional. St. Mary’s at 10 has a decent shot against No. 7 Richmond.  I like Marquette against the Huskies, but if there is another chance for an 11 to move on, that would be it.

Florida State at a 9 seed is a tough matchup for (8) Gonzaga. But of all the possible scenarios, the biggest surprise of the tournament could be BYU winning the West Regional. Don’t bet a pint on any of this, but check back and see how we do.

There is a long shot, with the accent on long, that the University of Texas and the University of Washington could meet in the NCAA tournament. If that happened, it would be in the East Regional Finals. But for that to happen and bring high-school teammates Avery Bradley of Texas and Abdul Gaddy of the Huskies to the same floor at the same time, each team must win three games and therein lies the problem.

Texas, with an 8 seed starts off against (9) Wake Forest. If the Longhorns win, they will face likely face Kentucky, the No. 1 seed in their bracket who opens against E. Tennesee State. If they were to win that, they would have a pretty fair shot against either Wisconsin or Temple. That’s their road, unless other upsets occur.

The Huskies face Marquette out of the box and if they were to win that, they are probably looking at New Mexico, then either Clemson or West Virginia.

Marquette is probably the key game for the Huskies, if they continue playing well on the road, something that hurt them earlier this season, they could ride that win to the East finals the weekend of March 27-28. Obviously, Texas would have to play its best game of the season to upend Kentucky. If they did and the Huskies hold up their bottom end of the bracket, the Bradley-Gaddy matchup could happen. Seems like much stranger things have happened in the NCAA tournament.