Yesterday was a good day for the uninsured and underinsured, for several elected leaders, for mid-major conferences, and in some ways for the NCAA DI selection committee, whose optimism about mid-majors' chances-- giving at-large bids to the Horizon League and the Sun Belt Conference, among others-- was certainly vindicated.

It was a bad day for insurance companies, for BCS conference teams, and in some ways for the committee, which had to be surprised, if not displeased, by the upsets right and left.

1. Vermont took out Wisconsin. I've never seen a Badger team this decade that looked confident in a close game, and this one (though I didn't watch it) seems to have fallen hard: UVM lost, and then retook, the lead. Courtney P scored 25; she, along with outside shooter Kotsoplous, played nearly the whole game.

2. Arkansas-Little Rock took out Georgia Tech, and decisively, too.

As usual in these sorts of big upsets, the mid-major team lost the battle of the boards but shot pretty well from long range; GT is known for its athletic press, but the Trojans apparently ran right on through.

"It felt like winning a national tournament," claimed UALR coach Joe Foley. His team will now face the Sooners, on the Sooners' home floor.

3. Green Bay took out Virginia, though this one was hardly decisive: UWGB came away with a two-point victory even though their two best players, Hoewich and Tetschlag, fouled out, and even though they failed to score a field goal for the last twelve minutes of play, wilting badly against UVA's press. UWGB did do ridiculously well from the line.

Their second-round contest against the Cyclones in Ames promises a remarkable three-point-shooting contest, since both teams are known for their success from long range.

4. Petrel at Swish Appeal deploys some math to find out which teams, and which coaches, tend to out-perform or under-perform their seeds. Unsurprisingly, Geno and Pat do well; worst yet (in terms of not living up to high seeds) is Jim Foster at Ohio State.

I like a lot of things about Gail Goestenkors, but I wonder where she'd be on Petrel's list: her Texas team got ambushed by the speedy Aztecs of San Diego State.

SDSU's Jene Morris scored 32 despite foul trouble. "We just came in confident," she said; the Longhorns looked lost, even though they were playing at home.

5. And then there's the upset that wasn't: Middle Tennessee came in with high expectations, thanks to mega-scorer Alysha Clark. Her Blue Raiders led for 39 minutes against Mississippi State, but that last minute was the most important: the SEC team will advance.

The hero for the Bulldogs, who were arguably, despite their higher seed, the underdogs? Long, agile defensive stopped Chanel Mokango, who held Clark to 17 and 14.