This is one NCAA test not to take seriously. Those who do will miss all the fun.
For those breaking down brackets, digging out school colors or gettin' on game faces, we're bounce-passing your way our irreverent nickname quiz.
From Aztecs to Wolverines, Billikens to Boilermakers, Engineers to Mountaineers and Jackrabbits to Jayhawks, here's a little pre-tourney tourney to test your nickname knowledge of almost every college in the tournament.
1. Who are the red teams?
2. The blue teams?
3. Some of the fastest teams? (land speed)
4. We're counting lots of cats, as usual. How many can you name?
5. And who let the dogs out?
6. How about the flock of birds in the brackets?
7. Who are the `eer teams?
8. Who's in the Wall Street game?
9. The bears have the NCAA market cornered. Who are they?
10. Who has horns?
11. Teams from Hell?
12. Which teams are climbing?
13. Who's extra pumped for St. Patrick's Day?
14. Your working-class teams are?
15. And your fighter/warrior/patriot-esque teams?
16. Who thinks they're in the NFL?
17. There's more than one lone wolf in the field. Such as?
18. Which teams paint it black?
19. Who's the juiciest team?
20. Which team is a little nuts?
Extra Credit: What's a Billiken?
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Answers
1. Crimson Tide (Alabama), Crimson (Harvard)
2. Bluejays (Creighton), Blue Devils (Duke)
3. Greyhounds (Loyola, Md.), Jackrabbits (South Dakota State), Racers (Murray State)
4. Cougars (BYU), Bearcats (Cincinnati), Catamounts (Vermont), Bobcats (Ohio), Tigers (Memphis, Missouri), Wildcats (Davidson, Kansas State, Kentucky)
5. Huskies (Connecticut), Bulldogs (Gonzaga, UNC-Asheville), Greyhounds (Loyola, Md.)
6. Bluejays (Creighton), Cardinals (Lamar, Louisville), Blackbirds (LIU), Golden Eagles (Marquette, Southern Mississippi), Jayhawks (Kansas), Owls (Temple)
7. Engineers (Lehigh), Musketeers (Xavier), Mountaineers (West Virginia)
8. Bulls (South Florida) vs. Golden Bears (California)
9. Bears (Baylor), Bruins (Belmont), Golden Bears (California), Grizzlies (Montana)
10. Buffaloes (Colorado), Rams (Colorado State, Virginia Commonwealth), Bulls (South Florida), Longhorns (Texas), Blue Devils (Duke), Delta Devils (Mississippi Valley State)
11. Blue Devils (Duke), Delta Devils (Mississippi Valley State)
12. Hilltoppers (Western Kentucky), Mountaineers (West Virginia)
13. Gaels (Iona, St. Mary's), Fighting Irish (Notre Dame)
14. Engineers (Lehigh), 49ers (Long Beach State), Aggies (New Mexico State), Boilermakers (Purdue)
15. Spartans (Michigan State, Norfolk State), Cavaliers (Virginia), Musketeers (Xavier), Aztecs (San Diego State), Commodores (Vanderbilt)
16. 49ers (Long Beach State), Bears (Baylor), Cardinals (Lamar, Louisville), Rams (Colorado State, Virginia Commonwealth), Titans (Detroit)
17. Lobos (New Mexico), Wolfpack (North Carolina State)
18. Tar Heels (North Carolina), Blackbirds (LIU)
19. Orange (Syracuse)
20. Buckeyes (Ohio State)
Extra credit: The nickname for St. Louis comes from a good-luck, elf-like creature with pixie ears, a mischievous smile and a tuft of hair on a pointed head designed by Kansas City art teacher and illustrator Florence Pretz in the 1900s. It was called a Billiken. There are several versions of how it became the school nickname, all involving football coach John Bender, who kind of looked like the Billiken.
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