Two rounds are in the books in the NCAA Men's basketball tournament. And what a two rounds it's been. We've seen a double-overtime thriller between Ohio State and Siena (probably the best game so far), thirteen-seed Cleveland State upsetting the four-seed Wake Forest in the first round, and three of the four 12-seeds upsetting the five-seed they were paired with in their first round with one of those 12-seeds (Arizona) making it all the way to the Sweet 16.
What have we learned so far in the tournament? First off, it's good to be a top seed this year. For the first time ever, all 12 teams with a one-, two-, or three-seed made it to the Sweet 16. Of the two four-seeds not to make the second weekend, one was beaten by a five-seed, which isn't exactly a major upset. However, all the top-seeds haven't looked invincible, but they have won their games which will give them time to return to form.
Pittsburgh, everyone's trendy pick to win it all, hasn't looked good at all. Levance Fields' injury has to be way worse then anyone at Pitt thought it was or revealed to the press because he has looked terrible. His stats haven't looked too bad, but he just hasn't looked the player that helped lead the Panthers to their first ever #1 ranking in the polls.
It hasn't helped the Panthers that Fields' backcourt mate Jermaine Dixon has been terrible, shooting just 1-7 from the field in two games while racking up as many turnovers as assists. Not exactly what one would hope for from a player who averaged 8.7 ppg and 2.1 apg. Luckily for the Panthers, Blair has been his usual dominant self and Sam Young has been a stud in the first two games. That being said, the Panthers will need Fields to get better in a hurry and for Dixon to remember how to play ball if they want to cut the nets down in the Banknorth Garden and move on to Detroit.
UNC and Louisville have both looked impressive but somewhat vulnerable. UNC is still obviously hurting from Lawson's injury, but they've been able to overcome it. With Gonzaga on their plate however, they will need Lawson to return to form. They might have enough in them to beat the Zags with Lawson at less then his normal self, but they'll need him against the winner of Oklahoma and Syracuse.
Both Oklahoma and 'Cuse have looked pretty good in their weekend of games, but in different ways, or more, because of spectacular play from opposite positions. Blake Griffin doesn't look to be showing any lingering effects from his concussion (though that is one hard foul or dive after a loose ball from changing) and Johnny Flynn has played like he always does, great. Too bad 'Cuse still have Devendorf, otherwise I could really get behind this team.
And don't think I'm just a jaded UConn fan bashing Devendorf. In asking any of my friends what they think of Devendorf, I get one of two responses. The first is "I hate him" and the second is "Who's he? I don't care about college basketball at all. Why are you asking me this?" The second group actually I can't consider friends until March ends... I'm only half kidding. But included in the first group of Devendorf haters are Syracuse alumni. If the alumni even hate him, what chance does the nation have? Sorry Devendorf, but that's what you get for being a drug-dealer who beats women.
Duke still has yet to impress me. They were very close to being upset by Texas, and probably should have been. They have won the same way they have all year, being money from deep, but that won't last. It can't last. Can it?
I mean, Duke has gotten absolutely nothing from their front court except for foul trouble. If they go cold on a given night, their run will end. The one question remaining is, will they be able to stay hot? They've done it all season long, so how hard would it be to believe that they could keep hitting for four more games? They're still the hardest team for me to figure out because even more so then usual for a Duke team, this year's squad is entirely reliant on the deep ball.
I'm sticking with UConn, Louisville, Oklahoma, and Villanova to meet in Detroit though. You may have noticed it took me this long to mention UConn, even though they have become the clear favorites to win it all based on their domination of Chatanooga and Texas A&M. Frankly, I'm not surprised as even without Dyson I liked them to win it all, but that was before Stanley Robinson started playing to a level he is capable of athletically but has never really achieved. Plus, AJ Price has been down right nasty and is my new co-favorite to win the tournament MOP with Jeff Adrien.
But the reason I won't further discuss UConn beating Oklahoma in the finals is because UConn has already dominated the tournament, and not just because of their play. Between Jim Calhoun being in the hospital during the Chatanooga game because of dehydration and now the recruiting scandal, UConn has gotten enough publicity. Anyways, I'll probably add to that publicity anyways tomorrow...
But that's where we stand, about the same as we were a week ago. But what do you expect to happen in a tournament so devoid of upsets? The teams that were the best at the beginning are still the best (except Pitt which has lost its luster, which helps Duke, even if I don't know how they are winning) since they're all still in it. The door didn't open up randomly for anyone because all the better teams are still there.
After all, the only upset in the second round was #5 Purdue over #4 Washington. Arizona is the highest seeded team remaining at #12, but they beat #13 Cleveland State in round two. Still some great basketball being played, but the higher seeds have kept winning the nail biters. So, as this tournament advances to its second weekend with the clock past midnight on Cinderella, I still look forward to the last two weeks of the best month in sports. I suggest you do too.
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