Buckle Up for the best three weeks in sports as the NCAA basketball tournament begins
It’s March and that means that the constant warm weather of spring looms around the corner. It also means that it’s time for the madness of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament.
Normally, the average college hoops fan would say “let the madness begin,” but this year, the insanity began with the postseason conference tournaments, as only 10 of 31 top seeds won their respective tournaments. Also, the four No. 1 seeds in the field of 68 (North Carolina, Kansas, Oregon and Virginia) have a combined 23 defeats, which represents the highest number of losses in history.
The purpose of this column is not necessarily to make brash predictions because anyone who would take bracket advice from this writer should have his or her head examined.
The selection committee had a particularly tough job to do. As usual some teams made it in that shouldn’t have and then, of course, you had your share of snubs.
Among those in the field that should have been NIT bound is Vanderbilt. The Commodores underachieved all season. They were 2-7 against the RPI Top 50 and lost to a bad Tennessee team (which finished 15-19) in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals. The committee probably kept ‘Dores coach Kevin Stallings out of the unemployment line – at least temporarily, as the Dores lost its play-in game against Wichita State by going ice cold from the floor in the waining minutes of the game.
Other teams who made the field on name recognition alone included Syracuse (which lost to one-time Big East rival St. John’s), and Michigan (which also had a First Four showdown against Tulsa). Sure, the Orange beat Duke and the Wolverines knocked off Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament. But those things shouldn’t have been enough to keep King Rice’s Monmouth squad (which did what the selection committee indirectly asked it to do; go on the road and beat powerhouse teams like the Tar Heels and others). They also beat St. Mary’s, which won the West Coast Conference regular-season championship and lost just five games all season but did not make the Big Dance.
One last gripe: How does the Big Ten Tournament Championship not get a No. 1 seed? Virginia got the last one and didn’t win any share of the Atlantic Coast Conference and many folks were surprised at the announcement of Oregon on the top line. Maybe this could motivate an already dangerous Michigan State squad.
Now, let’s look at some storylines for those who made the field, and there are some good ones.
Two teams will go dancing for the first time. Stony Brook will play Kentucky and California State University-Bakersfield will take on Buddy Hield and Oklahoma in first round matchups. Stony Brook will look to duplicate its baseball team’s success from a few years back (when it beat LSU in an upset). The school’s hoopsters will get a shot at one of basketball’s Blue Bloods, and don’t look for the underdogs to make things easy for the Wildcats. Meanwhile, the Roadrunners were once a Division II powerhouse. Former Ole Miss coach Rod Barnes will lead his squad into the first round against the Sooners. CSUB’s defense could make life tough for Hield and the boys for a while.
On the other end of the spectrum, Gonzaga makes its 18th consecutive tournament appearance under coach Mark Few (who has never failed to make the Big Dance during his tenure in Spokane). The Bulldogs (26-7) are an 11 seed in the Midwest Region and get Seton Hall. The Zags could upset the Big East champs and make a long run.
Few has never missed the tournament, nor has his 18-year old son. Few joked about that packing some extra pressure in the WCC Championship Game against St. Mary’s. Judging from Gonzaga’s unusually low seed, it’s safe to assume that the streak may have come to an end if the Bulldogs hadn’t beaten the top-seeded Gaels, who might’ve gone dancing if not for two losses to Pepperdine.
Other potential teams that could be dangerous are: Texas A&M, Hawaii, Baylor, Cincinnati and Connecticut. The Aggies took Kentucky to overtime in Sunday’s SEC Championship Game and picked up the third seed in the west. Connecticut won the American Athletic Conference Tournament and broke the Bearcats’ heart in the semifinals.
The Rainbow Warriors won the Big West and may be the best team that nobody knows about. They’ll get Cuonzo Martin’s California Golden Bears (23-10). Cal is a talented team that underachieved. “Cal is the most talented team in the field other than North Carolina,” Charles Barkley said during the CBS Selection Show. “I don’t know how they lost 10 games this year.”
Bringing Back Programs From the Dead: At Texas Tech, Tubby Smith has the Red Raiders dancing again. Tubby has now taken five teams to the NCAAs (Tulsa, Georgia, Minnesota, Kentucky and Texas Tech). The Red Raiders were barely a blip on the radar since Bob Knight retired. They won’t likely make a long run but they’re on the way back.
At the University of Southern California, Andy Enfield has the Trojans relevant again. USC beat crosstown rival UCLA three times this year and get a first-round matchup against a slumping Providence squad.
Enfield once took Florida Gulf Coast to the Sweet 16. His former team is back in the dance and is a No. 16 seed and will play UNC. A No. 16 has never beaten a No.1, and it won’t likely happen here. If it happens, and if the Trojans knock off the Friars, Enfield will face his old team in the second round. What a story that would be.
The First Blue Blood out this year: Duke is overrated and over seeded. If the Blue Devils beat UNC-Wilmington and Baylor survives against Yale, (which is making its first tournament appearance since 1962), the Bears, with their physical style, could be too much for the Blue Devils, who just aren’t very deep.
Other possible Cinderella stories in the field include: Northern Iowa (who once sent Kansas packing early), Oregon State, Saint Joseph’s (which is no stranger to making noise this time of year) and Stephen F. Austin.
Most underseeded team: That honor goes to Arizona. The Wildcats (25-8) are a sixth seed and they will get the winner of Vanderbilt-Wichita State. If the ‘Cats survive that one, they could go a long way.
