Detroit players rock, but the tourney committee rules

	Who would've thunk it? As a 3-seed, Oregon is the Cinderella of the Elite Eight. Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images
	SI Writers at the Tournament MANDEL: Gators pass another tough test MANDEL: Porter breaks out for Ducks WINN: Green rescues Georgetown WINN: UNC the latest No. 1 to escape DAVIS: The walk that wasn't, other thoughts WAHL: Five thoughts on Friday's action GALLERY: Best shots from the Sweet 16 March Madness Archive | Women's Tournament Tourney Home Page | Complete tourney schedule

SAN ANTONIO -- Five things we learned on Friday (while sharing a table at Waxy O'Connor's sports bar with our buddies Adam, Charles and Ron):

1. The tournament committee nailed the top seeds. Let's do the unthinkable and raise a glass to the NCAA tournament committee, which got it almost exactly right with the top eight seeds -- including, perhaps most impressively, Memphis as a No. 2 seed. Think about it: the eight remaining teams feature seven of the top eight overall seeds, along with a No. 3-seed (Oregon). Let's just say I wish I had the committee's bracket in my office pool. As a neutral fan, I've never been more excited about the regional finals than I am this year. Saturday and Sunday will be a blast.

2. Detroit can still produce the players. It's been years since anyone reared in the Motor City has made a huge impact on the NCAA tournament. (The last one we can remember is Shane Battier.) But after a dry spell, Detroit is a major hotbed again. You've got Chris Douglas-Roberts, who's led Memphis into the Elite Eight. You've got Oregon's Malik Hairston, who's finally starting to live up to the hype. And, best of all, you've got the Ducks' mighty-mite Tajuan Porter, the headbanded 5-foot-6 wonder who drilled eight threes (and scored 33 points) to sink UNLV -- and became the college hoops answer to Earl Boykins. Detroit resident Worldwide Wes was flashing the "Dynasty" triangle here in San Antonio on Thursday night, and we know what he means. Viva La Famiglia.

3. The questioning of the referees is out of control. If CBS dissects the Jeff Green "travel" one more time, I think I'm going to wretch. Referees make mistakes. It happens in every sport. If you come out on the short end you have to deal with it and accept responsibility for what you didn't do to win the game.

4. The mid-majors can hold their heads high. Butler and Southern Illinois couldn't pull off mega-upsets of Florida and Kansas, but they did show, without a doubt, that the difference between the mid-majors and big boys is getting smaller and smaller. Florida and Kansas are the nation's most talented outfits, but they were forced to play at the slower paces of their opponents the last two nights -- and had to sweat out tighter-than-expected wins in both. The only reasons they survived came down to raw height and athleticism.

5. San Antonio has a year to upgrade its sports bars. Come on, San Antonio: You're hosting the Final Four again next year, yet it's nearly impossible to find a bar that's showing the regional-semi games side-by-side. Thank god we finally found Waxy O'Connor's, a Riverwalk tavern that had all the games and (shock of shocks) a Wi-Fi signal. (There's nothing like nursing a Smithwick's and putting together a Web column.) I'd forgotten how much fun it is to watch tourney games in a packed sports bar with half the patrons cheering for Butler and the other half wearing orange Florida shirts and going nuts for the Gators. How great is the NCAA tournament?

Sports Illustrated senior writer Grant Wahl covers college basketball for the magazine and SI.com.