We saw 64 teams suit up on Thursday with the hopes and dreams of cutting down the nets on April 4th on the line. After four chaotic days and two rounds completed, the field has been narrowed to 16 teams vying for one National Championship. So far March Madness 2011 has lived up to all the expectations fans so desperately crave. Brackets have been busted, buzzers have been beaten and Cinderella's slipper is still lying in wait for its rightful owner. Let's look at some of the burning topics from a fantastic weekend of college hoops.
The Giants come and the Giants go...
Every fan loves to see the true underdog wreak havoc on the big bad favorite (unless of course your bracket looks anything like Charles Barkley's does now because of it). In any case, this past weekend provided a number of giant killers who broke the hearts of teams with the intention of playing basketball in April. The likes of Louisville, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Purdue, just to name a few, have had their tournament dreams shattered early and are licking their wounds on their way back home.
This years Sweet 16 is a tale of two sides of the bracket. I'm serious, take a look at your bracket and tell me what you see. The left side, with the exception of #11 seeded Marquette sneaking in, looks pretty much as it should with a seed no higher than Arizona at 5. Now, look to your right side, if anyone out there is ready to convince me that you had that set of 8 teams lined up in your sweet 16 I bow down to your vast knowledge, expertise and lack of conscience because you are lying to me through your teeth.
We saw a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 seed all fall to a lower seed in the Southwest and Southeast regions. Kansas, as I write this article, is sending thank you memos to Purdue, Notre Dame, Louisville, Vanderbilt and Georgetown for all laying eggs this weekend. This sets Kansas up with a chance to make the final four by beating a seed no higher then 8. Not to mention that top seeded Pittsburgh fell by the wayside as well which leaves Kansas in a position to not see another 1 seed until the National Championship game. Dear Kansas, if you screw this one up I would advise you not to return home too soon.
Who's got the slipper?
Now, with all these upsets occuring there was one which really stood out to me. We all knew Butler was a veteran laden team with a bunch of sharp shooters and a hard nosed defense, so their upset of Pittsburgh came as no huge shock. Richmond has the reputation of being a giant killer so when they knocked off Vandy I don't think anyone was in utter disbelief. Also, if anyone saw the Morehead St - Louisville game they could understand that Preston Knowles' injury and Peyton Siva's foul trouble led directly to that upset. But can someone explain to me how the VCU Rams are playing in the Sweet 16 right now?
The Rams were a team that analysts were up in arms about when they received an at-large bid and were completely counted out of their play-in game against USC much less any further games. If we exclude Ohio St and Duke, VCU has the highest point differential of any team in the tournament at 36. They have two straight 18 point wins, one of which came against a powerhouse Purdue team playing a borderline home game in Chicago. The Rams shot 56% from the field against Purdue and have hit 20 three balls in two games in the tourney so far. They get a stiff test this weekend as Florida St boasts one of the best defenses in college basketball, but VCU looks like a team playing with a chip on their shoulder and something to prove to the world which is a bad combination if you are a Florida St fan.
Unbeatable?
March Madness is such a renowned tournament because of its unpredictability, shocking moments and heart pumping drama. We need to remember that these are just kids playing at a national level, mistakes will happen when the pressure mounts. Case and point, the best (or worst depending on how you look at it) ending to a game on the weekend was arguably the Pittsburgh - Butler game where we saw a basket, a foul, a missed free throw, another foul and a game winning free throw all in the span of 2.5 seconds. How Pitt coach Jamie Dixon even allowed Nasir Robinson to be in that position is beyond me, but the fact is college kids make mistakes and that is why this tournament is so much fun to watch.
However, going into the sweet 16, is it not starting to look to anyone else like the Ohio St Buckeyes are like men among boys? Their pummelling of Texas-San Antonio was expected, but their utter dismantling of a very good George Mason team was maybe the most impressive win of the weekend. If anyone else watched that game, it was 11-2 George Mason about 4 minutes into the game when Ohio St awoke from some narcoleptic slumber to put up 98 points and embarrass the Patriots by 32. The Buckeye's shot 61% from the field and a whopping 61% from beyond the arc, draining 16 three balls in the process. Combine that with the 12 three's they hit in their first game and Ohio St has been unconscious from beyond the arc. I guess it is safe to say that the pre-tournament favorite is living up to its billing so far.
If the Buckeye's fall, who wins it all?
Assuming Ohio St does not continue it's dominance over just about everyone that steps on the court with them, who has the inside track at carving their name into college hoops history as the 2011 National Champion? Well, if you have been reading this article I think you can revert back to my earlier breakdown of the southwest bracket and figure out why Kansas should be next in line. Arguably the second best team in the nation playing against competition far beneath them, as long as they keep their focus the Jayhawks should throw it into cruise control until at least the final four.
The Southeast is an interesting bracket, but I am officially back on the Jimmer bandwagon after back-to-back 30 plus point performances. The most exciting player in my opinion in college basketball, Jimmer Fredette has decided that with or without Brandon Davies, BYU will not go quietly into the night. Anytime this guy is on the floor BYU has a chance to beat any team in the nation, and until someone figures out a way to guard him I would not be surprised to see Kansas and Jimmer meet in the final four.
The only two other teams I see with a legitimate shot at winning this tournament both come out of the West bracket. Duke and UCONN look like they are headed for what I think will be the best elite 8 game and the right to most likely play Ohio St in the final four. With the return of Kyrie Irving from injury, Duke has to be considered even more of a threat alongside Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler. The Blue Devils, however, will have to deal with possible number 1 pick in the upcoming NBA draft Derrick Williams and the Arizona Wildcats in order to accomplish this. UCONN, meanwhile, is riding the Kemba train right through March. Down 10 points early in the game to Cinncy, Kemba took the Huskies on his back and scored 8 straight while barking out orders on the defensive end to lead the Huskies to an 11 point victory. He has looked like a man on a mission since the beginning of the Big East tournament and slowing him down seems like a tall order.
Well, the first four days brought us all the madness we could handle. All we can do is hope the next four will continue the trend. God I love March Madness.
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