Buckeye Fans May Want to Go Directly to Item No. Welcome to a special academic-themed edition of BracketRacket, your one-stop shopping for all things NCAA on tournament game days. Ohio State fans may want to go directly to item No. Everyone else begin here: March Madness isn't just about basketball. It's not the only championship this month. It's not even the only one that makes heavy use of a pool. In case you missed it, Ohio State, with a basketball team plenty good enough to cut down the nets in New Orleans, just won the U.S. Collegiate Synchronized Swimming championship. Neither is a coincidence. Decide for yourself whether that's a good thing. On the one hand, if we want Olympians in minor-minor sports, they have to come from - and train - somewhere. And you can't do better than Ohio State. On the other, the Buckeyes nudged out tiny University of the Incarnate Word to win, and almost-as-small Lindenwood finished a distant third. Those two, combined, probably could squeeze into the OSU cafeteria. When we spoke to NCAA boss Mark Emmert last week, he said one of his toughest tasks was keeping the playing field level when teams that spend $5 million a year play those that spend $150 million. He's got some good ideas, and a few will make it into his "State of the NCAA" speech on the eve of the Final Four. Kansas State's Jordan Henriquez, center, loses the ball as Syracuse's C.J. Fair, left, and James Southerland (43) defend in the second half of an NCAA men's tournament third-round college basketball game Saturday, March 17, 2012 in Pittsburgh. Syracuse won 75-59. Then the pages they're printed on will be rolled up and used to light the pipes of the university presidents who control the NCAA and keep Emmert on a short leash. To save paper - and breath - Emmert simply should hand out the synchronized swimming results and walk out of the room. But this really isn't about synchronized swimming; it's about what you saw on the court last night. After a couple of stunners Friday night, the remaining members of college basketball's 1 percent managed to pull off their gloves, a few just in the nick of time. Ohio State over Gonzaga. Kentucky over Iowa State. Indiana over VCU. Marquette over Murray State. Louisville over New Mexico. Big over little, have over have-not. That's no coincidence, either. Put down your pencils and go to the 1:30 mark for an a capella version of "One Shining Moment" here: http://apne.ws/yUOSdf CBS, eat your heart out. Schooling wasn't the starting point when AP golf writer Doug Ferguson stopped PGA Tour pro Brandt Snedeker (Vanderbilt '03) on the course the other day. March Madness was. Snedeker talked up Vandy's game against Harvard as the "Battle of the Book," and the "Battle of the Nerds." Mercifully, he didn't trot out the "Harvard of the South" comparison, which is what grads from good schools in every region of the country say, even though their Harvard counterparts never, ever return the compliment. Anyway, what Snedeker said next nearly wiped the smirk off Ferguson's face. I think you'd be surprised how many guys go to Vanderbilt for the right reason, They go for the education, and use athletics to get it. Ferguson practically worships Oklahoma, so you can guess where this was headed. You went for an education? Snedeker wasn't kidding. You think I went to that powerhouse just to play golf? Got a free education out of it.