Promise: There will be Motor City Madmen when this thing ends in Detroit and they won't be doing the "Wango Tango."
The Ides of March are upon us, so is “Selection Sunday.” The field will be chosen much to the delight of 65 teams while some teams will be left pondering what could have been. The 2008-2009 NCAA Men’s Basketball season has been one of the most unpredictable, hardly fought tournaments ever. Few spectacles in sports provides the drama and excitement of the tournament where office pools run wild bringing co-workers together who might never know who each other are aside from names on a bracket standings list. How hilarious it is when somebody who just wants to be a good team player wins the kitty while the hardcore sports fans with intricate bracket strategies stand empty handed. The fun begins tomorrow night when the field is announced.
For starters, seven of the top ten teams in the AP poll have lost their final games. Only Louisville and Memphis are winners. Duke has one game left against Florida State for the ACC championship. For good measure, Kansas, last year’s champ in #11, lost their final game in their conference tournament too.
How crazy has this year’s March Madness been so far. Nothing could tell the story more clearly than what happened in Madison Square Garden with #3 Connecticut facing #18 Syracuse in the quarter final. In a marathon fought over six overtime periods, Syracuse pulled out the victory to advance to the Big East final where they’d fall to #5 Louisville. What happens to the Big East candidates given Pittsburgh was #2, Connecticut #3, and #5 Louisville. Only Louisville stands triumphant after their conference brawl was finished in New York. Meanwhile, top 25 ACC teams, #8 Wake Forest and #17 Clemson barely put up a fight in their conflicts. Things were also topsy-turvy in the Big Ten as well where #7 Michigan State fought for the top bracket they failed to advance into the power rounds falling to #24 Purdue who faces Ohio State, not ranked, in the Big Ten final. Penn State, Michigan, and Illinois all fell in earlier rounds. Tournament fans might ask what happened to the once mighty Hoosiers from Indiana, they finished the year in dead last, a program in deep trouble.
How’s life down yonder in Dixie? The SEC tournament would also prove madness prevails. Mississippi State defeated Western Division leader LSU to advance to the final round against Tennessee. Should Mississippi State make the Tournament some better known big shot will go home in tears. Go a little further west, #6 Oklahoma lost to in state rival, Oklahoma State while last year’s NCAA champ Kansas is also gone, while Missouri wins the title. Go all the way out west to the PAC-10, Washington at 14-4, UCLA at 13-5, as well as California and Arizona State at 11-7 couldn’t nail down the title, that honor goes to USC who at 9-9 go home with the west coast banner.
The less prestigious divisions are full of surprises too, some of the highlights include: Binghamton only recently a member of the American East conference won their tournament against UMBC, but the Baltimore region does get to smile for Morgan State winners of the MEAC. Other surprises include: Robert Morris, NEC; Portland State, Big Sky; American, Patriot; Radford, Big South; and last year’s Cinderella, Davidson will be nowhere to be found as Chattanooga wins the Southern even though Davidson went 18-2 during the regular season (26-7, overall including nearby North Carolina rivals), three games better than Charleston who took them out of competition while Chattanooga stood at only 11-9, 18-16 overall.
Nobody said fate was kind.
Where this year’s tournament will stand over all remains to be seen. Memories of Magic Johnson for Michigan State facing Larry Byrd for Indiana in 1979, Michael Jordan shooting a buzzer beater to win 1982’s championship for North Carolina’s victory over Georgetown, or Jimmy Valvano’s underdogs prevailing to win the championship for NC State the following year in 1983 are legendary accomplishments for the ages. There might never be super teams like those of the late 70’s and early 80’s when the tournament had just become a national spectacle with players leaving early in their college career or opting out all together like Koby Bryant or Lebrun James. Super teams like the 1982 Tarheels with Matt Daugherty, Sam Perkins, James Worthy, and Michael Jordan might never be seen again, but with the lack of superstars playing together until their senior year creates a closer field where parity becomes the norm.
They don’t call it March Madness for nothing. Let the games begin.
The Ides of March are upon us, so is “Selection Sunday.” The field will be chosen much to the delight of 65 teams while some teams will be left pondering what could have been. The 2008-2009 NCAA Men’s Basketball season has been one of the most unpredictable, hardly fought tournaments ever. Few spectacles in sports provides the drama and excitement of the tournament where office pools run wild bringing co-workers together who might never know who each other are aside from names on a bracket standings list. How hilarious it is when somebody who just wants to be a good team player wins the kitty while the hardcore sports fans with intricate bracket strategies stand empty handed. The fun begins tomorrow night when the field is announced.
For starters, seven of the top ten teams in the AP poll have lost their final games. Only Louisville and Memphis are winners. Duke has one game left against Florida State for the ACC championship. For good measure, Kansas, last year’s champ in #11, lost their final game in their conference tournament too.
How crazy has this year’s March Madness been so far. Nothing could tell the story more clearly than what happened in Madison Square Garden with #3 Connecticut facing #18 Syracuse in the quarter final. In a marathon fought over six overtime periods, Syracuse pulled out the victory to advance to the Big East final where they’d fall to #5 Louisville. What happens to the Big East candidates given Pittsburgh was #2, Connecticut #3, and #5 Louisville. Only Louisville stands triumphant after their conference brawl was finished in New York. Meanwhile, top 25 ACC teams, #8 Wake Forest and #17 Clemson barely put up a fight in their conflicts. Things were also topsy-turvy in the Big Ten as well where #7 Michigan State fought for the top bracket they failed to advance into the power rounds falling to #24 Purdue who faces Ohio State, not ranked, in the Big Ten final. Penn State, Michigan, and Illinois all fell in earlier rounds. Tournament fans might ask what happened to the once mighty Hoosiers from Indiana, they finished the year in dead last, a program in deep trouble.
How’s life down yonder in Dixie? The SEC tournament would also prove madness prevails. Mississippi State defeated Western Division leader LSU to advance to the final round against Tennessee. Should Mississippi State make the Tournament some better known big shot will go home in tears. Go a little further west, #6 Oklahoma lost to in state rival, Oklahoma State while last year’s NCAA champ Kansas is also gone, while Missouri wins the title. Go all the way out west to the PAC-10, Washington at 14-4, UCLA at 13-5, as well as California and Arizona State at 11-7 couldn’t nail down the title, that honor goes to USC who at 9-9 go home with the west coast banner.
The less prestigious divisions are full of surprises too, some of the highlights include: Binghamton only recently a member of the American East conference won their tournament against UMBC, but the Baltimore region does get to smile for Morgan State winners of the MEAC. Other surprises include: Robert Morris, NEC; Portland State, Big Sky; American, Patriot; Radford, Big South; and last year’s Cinderella, Davidson will be nowhere to be found as Chattanooga wins the Southern even though Davidson went 18-2 during the regular season (26-7, overall including nearby North Carolina rivals), three games better than Charleston who took them out of competition while Chattanooga stood at only 11-9, 18-16 overall.
Nobody said fate was kind.
Where this year’s tournament will stand over all remains to be seen. Memories of Magic Johnson for Michigan State facing Larry Byrd for Indiana in 1979, Michael Jordan shooting a buzzer beater to win 1982’s championship for North Carolina’s victory over Georgetown, or Jimmy Valvano’s underdogs prevailing to win the championship for NC State the following year in 1983 are legendary accomplishments for the ages. There might never be super teams like those of the late 70’s and early 80’s when the tournament had just become a national spectacle with players leaving early in their college career or opting out all together like Koby Bryant or Lebrun James. Super teams like the 1982 Tarheels with Matt Daugherty, Sam Perkins, James Worthy, and Michael Jordan might never be seen again, but with the lack of superstars playing together until their senior year creates a closer field where parity becomes the norm.
They don’t call it March Madness for nothing. Let the games begin.
No comments:
Post a Comment