Not this year, not at Vivint Arena, and mostly not in these first couple of rounds of the NCAA Tournament, though No. 13 seed UC Irvine laid claim to a piece of the action Friday with a win over fourth-seeded Kansas State.
Here, though, the ugly stepsisters win and the would-be sweethearts of the ball go back home to clean the house.
Here the bullies survive, if that’s the word, facing off on Saturday in the second round — more on that in a minute — and surprise is sent packing, hoping for a better day sometime, someplace else.