Sports Nut: Buffaloes, Bruins, and Bulls

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Sports Nut Buffaloes, Bruins, and Bulls There's no easy prey in the Sweet 16 of Slate's NCAA Tournament mascot death match. By Will Oremus Posted Friday, Mar 23, 2012, at 09:22 PM ET If you've read our mascot death match roundups for the tournament's first and second rounds, you know the rules by now. We're imagining real-life fights between the mascots representing this year's NCAA Tournament teams—five-on-five, to the death, in an enclosed gym. In the real tournament, the Baylor Bears eliminated the Colorado Buffaloes in the second round. In our tournament, the buffaloes trampled the bears, with 60 percent of our readers picking the big vegetarians. In other second-round highlights, the tigers nipped the Spartans, the gators chomped the tigers, and the golden eagles clawed the bulldogs. Now that we've reached the Sweet 16, almost all of the matchups are compelling: There are no immobile buckeyes or billikens left in this field. Here's how we see the next eight matchups shaking out. Cast your votes in the survey at the bottom, and we'll run down the Elite Eight next week. South Region No. 8 Iowa State Cyclones vs. No. 13 New Mexico State Aggies A quick refresher: In general, Aggies are people employed in agriculture; aggies in the New Mexico State context are mustachioed Old West types who used to wield pistols but have been reduced to twirling lassoes. Cyclones in general are low-pressure systems characterized by inwardly spiraling winds; cyclones in the Iowa State context are tornadoes. In a battle of things that spiral in the air, we'll take the 100 mph winds over the lazily arcing ropes. No. 11 Colorado Buffaloes ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate The Crazy Arizona Bill That Would Let Employers Discriminate Against Women for Taking Birth Control The Weirdest Book Ever Written About the Civil War What Happened When the French Made a Movie About the American Teen "Pregnancy Pact"	Advertisement
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