A few observations from the NCAA tournament this past weekend:
Things the Committee Got Right
The MVC and other small conferences. For all the whining that was doled out by Jim Nantz and Billy Packer that too many small schools got entries over more deserving ones from the power conferences, it must have been pleasantly gratifying for the committee to see the likes of George Mason, Bradley, and Wichita State advance to the Sweet 16 by knocking off major schools from major conferences, including a few elite and storied programs like Kansas and North Carolina.
Things the Committee Got Wrong
Tennessee and Air Force. How Tennessee received a two seed last Sunday was a mystery, and they did nothing to prove any of their naysayers wrong. After barely edging out Winthrop, the Vols were knocked out by seventh-seeded Wichita State. But Tennessee's seed was minor compared to the committee's shock inclusion of Air Force in the field of 64. The Eagles only gave their detractors more grist for the mill after a rather uninspiring loss to the Illini in the first round.
What CBS Did Right
Allowing Billy Packer and Jim Nantz to crucify the committee chairman Craig Littlepage. Not often do we see networks with the temerity to bite the hand that feeds them. Kudos, gents!
What CBS Did Wrong
Deciding not to show replays of controversial calls, whether it be a foul or travel. After, no exaggeration, two billion times of asking "can I get a replay of that terrible call?" I began to lose track. Also, they let Leslie Moonves sue Howard Stern. Lame. Baba-booey.
Be Happy This isn't College Football
You have to prove it on the floor regardless. Should Florida State and Cincinnati have been included? Maybe, but we're arguing about the 65th best team in the country being left out. At least Auburn didn't go undefeated, only to be shut out of the national title because their pre-season ranking wasn't high enough.
It's the Teams, Not the Conferences, Stupid!
The ACC and the MVC have the exact same amount of teams in the Sweet 16. Does that mean the conferences are equal? Who cares? Even if the ACC had four teams ranked in the top 10, does that automatically make the rest of their conference better? Can't there be four really good teams and eight terrible ones? And thus by contrast, couldn't there be six better than average teams in the Missouri Valley, but none of them approaching the lofty standards of Duke? It's not about conferences, it's about the teams, and that being said...
The Big 10 Stinks
Six teams and no one gets out of the second round? Give me break, that's terrible! This was the highest-ranked conference according to the RPI? Thank god the committee didn't rely heavily on that. Michigan's omission can now be retired into the annals of history, not as one of the great injustices as some pundits were referring to it, but as another wise decision the committee can rest its laurels on.
The Return of West Coast Basketball
Gonzaga, Washington, and UCLA have all advanced to the Sweet 16. Arizona was more than respectable against Villanova, and Pacific and San Diego State both almost pulled off first round upsets. The left coast's long climb back to respectability has taken its first steps.
Pittsburgh Still Can't Shoot
Despite an .818 regular season winning percentage over the last five years while playing in one of the toughest leagues in the country, the Panthers remain a tournament anomaly, or more accurately the most unsurprising expected unexpected surprise ouster of every year.
Part of the reason Pittsburgh has failed to advance past the Sweet 16 in the last half-decade is their lack of scoring. Their Big East blueprint of toughness and brute force proves effective against conference foes, but as we have seen the last two years, it's not a style that yields results in the Big Dance.
The Greensboro Announcing Team Needs to Chillax
Kevin Harlan and his partner Dan Bonner (who might be better known to viewers as that guy who screamed and hollered at the top of his lungs anytime anyone made the most rudimentary of passes or baskets as if he were blind for the last 20 years and had just retained his sight the day before) need to chill out and act like they've been there before. And Harlan actually asked when Chris Lofton made a game-winning jumper, "Where did he get the courage to take that shot?"
Good grief! It wasn't so much courage as it was time constraints — there was less than a second remaining when the ball went through the hoop. Feel free to drop the scripted call if the situation dictates otherwise.
And another thing, that play when they call the timeout when falling out of bounds is no longer heady/smart/mature, etc. It might have been back when they started doing it in 1985. Now it's just annoying and the rules need to be changed.
Upsets Come in Various Forms
Northwestern State and George Mason knocked off Iowa and North Carolina in low-scoring affairs, while Bradley and, to a lesser degree, Alabama, achieved their upsets by outscoring high-flying Kansas and Marquette teams. It might help to limit possessions, but it's more important to make your open threes.
Everybody is More or Less the Same
Except Connecticut. If they lose, I will be shocked. They haven't played well, and they still have yet to be in a situation where they are on the brink. And by on the brink, I mean losing in the last minute, not down by 10 to a 16-seed in the second half, that doesn't count.
Otherwise, if anyone loses, it won't be considered a surprise. After Bradley knocked off Kansas and Pittsburgh, would it really "shock" anyone if they got past Memphis? If Texas beats Duke, no one will be awed. Even though it is a cliché, parity rules in college hoops.
And One More Cliché
This is the best annual sporting event America has to offer. It seems as if almost every game in this tournament has come down to the last minute. I always wind up rooting enormously hard for schools where not only do I not know a single player/coach/alumnus, but I have no idea what city/state/region of the country that school is located in.
George Mason? No idea. Bradley? I think it's one of those states that begin with an "I", no? Wichita State? That's Kansas, I was born there. Okay, I know one. Actually, I was born on the Missouri side of Kansas City, thus proving my point that watching this tournament is so much fun it will literally make you forget where you were born.
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