March Madness, 2010 Style
It's that time of year again folks...the busiest three weeks of the year as far as lost productivity at work, and everyone thinking they're an expert on college hoops has come upon us sure as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. March Madness is here, where sixty five teams harbor visions of winning the NCAA Tournament. While there are sixty five teams in it, let's face reality: there are realistically perhaps a half dozen teams, ten at the most, with real, true aspirations of cutting the nets down in Indianapolis come April 5th.
Along the way there will be Cinderella stories, upsets that people wouldn't expect, and players that make an impact we may have never heard of. We'll see fringe players step up, marquee players step back, and coaches make or break their teams' chances in the blink of an eye. It's a great time of year to sit down on the couch with some snacks and a couple of your favorite cold beverages, and settle in for wall to wall hoops action.
The fun and excitement kicks off tonight with the play in game, taking place in Dayton, Ohio. Winthrop tangles with Arkansas-Pine Bluff, with the loser getting the title of "first team eliminated in the tournament" and the winner known as "that team that will probably get walloped by 50 in round one by Duke." That's how I look at the play in game...it's kind of a lose lose situation: if you get beat, your season is over. If you win, and go on to play Thursday or Friday, let's face it, your season is over. A sixteen seed has yet to beat a 1 seed in the tournament since it expanded to 64, and now 65 teams.
I have to be brutally honest...it's nice for teams like Lehigh, East Tennessee State, whoever wins the play-in game and Vermont to be in the tournament, but the ride will come to a quick, abrupt halt. Yes, I know Vermont beat Syracuse a few years ago in round one, and they have a rematch here, but times are different, and so are the teams involved. Jim Boeheim won't let his team fall flat on its face here when it a) is a number one seed, b) they have something to prove after flopping in the Big East Tournament to Georgetown, and c) with the team having hopes for a title.
One thing that has come predominantly clear when it comes to games in March Madness from the perspective of people picking brackets or laying down money that is still remarkably overlooked is the fact that upsets DO happen. Almost every year, at least one twelve seed beats a five. Sure, you see lower seeds like 13s and 14s pulling upsets too, but not nearly as often. That said, if you were going to look for one twelve seed to pull the trick, I'd probably go with Cornell over Temple. Temple may be the A-10 champs, and play good defense, but Cornell plays in the Ivy League, a league where there is no postseason conference tournament. You win the league in the regular season to get in, or you go home. It's not a league where multiple teams get in.
One of the oddities this year in the tournament would be the absence of traditional powerhouses. For the first time since 1966, the quintet of Indiana, Arizona, UCLA, defending champion North Carolina and Connecticut failed to have at least one of their brethren make the tournament. Instead, it's become a wide open affair, as mid major conferences saw more teams get in. You have schools like Houston, which stole a bid when they knocked off UTEP in the Conference USA tournament's championship game. You have Ohio, who was a number nine seed in the Mid American Conference, in the Big Dance. Other teams like Utah State, Robert Morris, Northern Illinois, Wofford, Murray State and Oakland all get a crack at it too. Don't go making out your wedding napkins for Cinderella and the tournament title however.
The one thing for certain out of all this is that there will be a new national champion with North Carolina hitting the skids. Who will it be? Duke? Kentucky? Kansas for the second time in three years? Michigan State making a return to the title game after losing last year? Perhaps a potential dark horse candidate? We'll have to wait and see how it all plays out over the next few weeks, but the certainty lies in this:
There's no better way to welcome spring and get ready for the start of baseball season than by enjoying the uncertainty and excitement that March Madness brings to the table. Whether you're a hoop junkie or just a random Joe who likes filling out the brackets based on mascots or what school you like, you can't beat it. Stay tuned as we take the day by day action as they come down over the next few weeks until we see the champion crowned on April 5th.
Along the way there will be Cinderella stories, upsets that people wouldn't expect, and players that make an impact we may have never heard of. We'll see fringe players step up, marquee players step back, and coaches make or break their teams' chances in the blink of an eye. It's a great time of year to sit down on the couch with some snacks and a couple of your favorite cold beverages, and settle in for wall to wall hoops action.
The fun and excitement kicks off tonight with the play in game, taking place in Dayton, Ohio. Winthrop tangles with Arkansas-Pine Bluff, with the loser getting the title of "first team eliminated in the tournament" and the winner known as "that team that will probably get walloped by 50 in round one by Duke." That's how I look at the play in game...it's kind of a lose lose situation: if you get beat, your season is over. If you win, and go on to play Thursday or Friday, let's face it, your season is over. A sixteen seed has yet to beat a 1 seed in the tournament since it expanded to 64, and now 65 teams.
I have to be brutally honest...it's nice for teams like Lehigh, East Tennessee State, whoever wins the play-in game and Vermont to be in the tournament, but the ride will come to a quick, abrupt halt. Yes, I know Vermont beat Syracuse a few years ago in round one, and they have a rematch here, but times are different, and so are the teams involved. Jim Boeheim won't let his team fall flat on its face here when it a) is a number one seed, b) they have something to prove after flopping in the Big East Tournament to Georgetown, and c) with the team having hopes for a title.
One thing that has come predominantly clear when it comes to games in March Madness from the perspective of people picking brackets or laying down money that is still remarkably overlooked is the fact that upsets DO happen. Almost every year, at least one twelve seed beats a five. Sure, you see lower seeds like 13s and 14s pulling upsets too, but not nearly as often. That said, if you were going to look for one twelve seed to pull the trick, I'd probably go with Cornell over Temple. Temple may be the A-10 champs, and play good defense, but Cornell plays in the Ivy League, a league where there is no postseason conference tournament. You win the league in the regular season to get in, or you go home. It's not a league where multiple teams get in.
One of the oddities this year in the tournament would be the absence of traditional powerhouses. For the first time since 1966, the quintet of Indiana, Arizona, UCLA, defending champion North Carolina and Connecticut failed to have at least one of their brethren make the tournament. Instead, it's become a wide open affair, as mid major conferences saw more teams get in. You have schools like Houston, which stole a bid when they knocked off UTEP in the Conference USA tournament's championship game. You have Ohio, who was a number nine seed in the Mid American Conference, in the Big Dance. Other teams like Utah State, Robert Morris, Northern Illinois, Wofford, Murray State and Oakland all get a crack at it too. Don't go making out your wedding napkins for Cinderella and the tournament title however.
The one thing for certain out of all this is that there will be a new national champion with North Carolina hitting the skids. Who will it be? Duke? Kentucky? Kansas for the second time in three years? Michigan State making a return to the title game after losing last year? Perhaps a potential dark horse candidate? We'll have to wait and see how it all plays out over the next few weeks, but the certainty lies in this:
There's no better way to welcome spring and get ready for the start of baseball season than by enjoying the uncertainty and excitement that March Madness brings to the table. Whether you're a hoop junkie or just a random Joe who likes filling out the brackets based on mascots or what school you like, you can't beat it. Stay tuned as we take the day by day action as they come down over the next few weeks until we see the champion crowned on April 5th.
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