Half-Baked Thoughts on the Round of 16: Thursday Edition.

It's much too quiet around here, considering we've only got two weeks of college basketball left (and considering that there's a good chance this place is going to get downright goofy when the season ends and we've got nothing to talk about.  You'll see what I'm talking about when I unveil my TAN TOMMY'S USED CAR LOT recurring feature two weeks into the off-season).

Plus, the only way we're going to get over Marquette's loss is to ignore it and talk about other things.  Trust me: I once watched a movie where somebody played a psychiatrist.  It's fool-proof therapy.

So: let's talk Sweet Sixteen!

(But, before we do, can we talk about how unwatchable The Real Housewives of New York City has become this season?  In seasons past, some of the women -- and I almost called them 'characters' right there, which, at this point, might be a more appropriate description -- showed the slightest possibility of being minimally-decent human beings.  Now?  Between Luann's divorce meltdown and Jill's need to invent drama at every turn and Kelly's horrifyingly awkward exchange with her pre-pubescent daughters about her (Kelly's) nudie pics in Playboy and whatever the hell has happened to Bethenny ... there isn't a single redeeming quality amongst the lot of them.  It's mortifying, and I think I might be done with it.)

(Before you judge me: if you don't watch that one, you watch another Housewives or Jersey Shore or something equally mindless.  We're all sinners.)

Butler vs. Syracuse (6:07:28 p.m., CDT): Here's a question I haven't seen answered yet: if The Selection Committee knew that Arinze Onuako wasn't going to play in the tournament -- and, since he's still not practicing, it looks like a long shot that he'll play even if the Orange make it to the Final Four -- does 'Cuse get knocked down to the 2-line, and West Virginia bumped up to the last No. 1?  I don't think so, but I bet Huggy Bear does.

This game also features Butler's Gordon Hayward, who caused many a Marquette fan to exclaim: "Holy ****, was Marquette playing tonight?" when they saw: "HAYWARD: 25 pts, 7 rebs" scrolling across the bottom of ESPN's ticker on a random Tuesday in January.  (Fine. Maybe I'm the only one who made that mistake.  And, yes, before you start: I should have seen the "BUT" next to Gordy Hayward's name.)

Washington vs. West Virginia (6:27:59 p.m., CDT): By 9:00 tonight, the Big East could be bounced from the tournament completely.  After last year's success, that's a sobering thought.

And because I'm not reading to talk about Washington yet, here's a quote from a popular American television series: "She’s saying good-bye to someone named Q. If she can get past his security system, she’s going to tell him it’s over."  First person who can tell me: (1) what show the quote is from; (2) who "Q" is; (3) who was going to see "Q"; and (4) what that has to do with Washington gets a shiny American nickel.  (NO GOOGLING.  I will know if you Googled it.)

Xavier vs. Kansas State (approximately 33 minutes after Butler vs. 'Cuse ends): Sorry, K-State: Jesuit Solidarity.  Let's go, Musketeers. 

Cornell vs. Kentucky (31 minutes after UDub vs. DubVee ends): I'll make a deal with you, National Sports Columnists: if the Biggish Red pulls off the upset here, then we can start talking about what a goofy tournament this was.  Until that happens, I'm with Warrior Brad: early round upsets happen every year.  Move along, people.  Nothing to see here.

Whoyagot?