The first weekend of March madness was fun as always. Between the first round and the second round and the unexpected high of an upset to the disastrous low of a season-ending loss, the tournament can be a dangerous roller coaster ride for some of these cinderellas. Northern Iowa rode this roller coaster hard and learned the harsh lessons of March the hard way. They probably hit the best buzzer-beater of the NCAA tournament so far to win their first round contest against 6th seed Texas. Not a huge upset seedings wise, but definitely an upset and the relative size of the schools and the programs made it a more impressive as well. Northern Iowa was suddenly a fan favorite and then they took on the 3rd seed Texas A&M on Sunday. They were leading by 12 points with 44 seconds to go and probably their traveling assistant was looking for hotels to stay next weekend for the sweet 16 games. Then a series of unfortunate incidents made sure the UNI kids blew this lead away inexplicably. They did weird things like trying to throw the ball off of a defender right underneath the basket as they were falling out of bounds and twice, gave the ball and a layup to a Texas A&M player on a platter. It was indeed sad to see the small town kids blow a 12 point lead in regulation and then lose in double OT, but thats how the cookie crumbles in March sometimes.
The other cinderella that had the opportunity to make a big noise was 14th seed Stephen F Austin. They had 6th seed Notre Dame on the ropes in round 2, but lost on a tip-in at the end. While the UNI guys were blowing their lead away, Wisconsin hit a buzzer beating 3 to punch their ticket to the sweet 16. That was a fun 7 over 2 game. Gonzaga, a 11, is the lowest seed left in the tournament and are looking good. They get to play Syracuse, who eliminated Middle Tennessee State, another cinderella that shocked the world by upsetting Tom Izzo's highly favored Michigan State. The sweet 16 field is set and for all the attention and excitement that the upsets and cinderellas generate, the higher seeds always seem to bubble up to the top. The only question then becomes things like which 5th seed goes deep versus which one goes home. In some ways, March madness is the most unpredictably predictable event. It was a fun weekend with a lot of close games, buzzer beater, upsets, and one ridiculous comeback. Now the games are fewer and the stakes are higher. Lets hope the level of drama stays the same.
In the pros, the Warriors are 63-7 and the chase for 72 is getting very interesting. They lost to the Spurs and the way they lost was more of a news than the loss itself because the Spurs needed this game way more than the dubs. The Spurs forced Curry into a horrible shooting night and the Warriors scored a mere 79 points. Coach Pop and the Spurs definitely know what they are doing on the defensive end, The Warriors, to their credit, stayed close and almost stole the game despite the horrible offensive performance. I don't know if we learned a whole lot from this game except that if these 2 hookup in the playoffs, the series is going to be legen ...wait for it.... dary as Barney Stinson would say. Both teams showed they can play defense. Both teams showed they are true contenders. Curry showed he can have bad games too. He had another mediocre game yesterday to wrap up the road trip and there is a lot of talk about tired legs right now. The record is indeed putting undue pressure on the team. 72-10 is too cool to ignore and at the same time, these guys can sure use some break before the playoffs. Lets see how Steve Kerr plays this. The Warrior season continues with another great Western Conference matchup against the Clippers tomorrow.
The other cinderella that had the opportunity to make a big noise was 14th seed Stephen F Austin. They had 6th seed Notre Dame on the ropes in round 2, but lost on a tip-in at the end. While the UNI guys were blowing their lead away, Wisconsin hit a buzzer beating 3 to punch their ticket to the sweet 16. That was a fun 7 over 2 game. Gonzaga, a 11, is the lowest seed left in the tournament and are looking good. They get to play Syracuse, who eliminated Middle Tennessee State, another cinderella that shocked the world by upsetting Tom Izzo's highly favored Michigan State. The sweet 16 field is set and for all the attention and excitement that the upsets and cinderellas generate, the higher seeds always seem to bubble up to the top. The only question then becomes things like which 5th seed goes deep versus which one goes home. In some ways, March madness is the most unpredictably predictable event. It was a fun weekend with a lot of close games, buzzer beater, upsets, and one ridiculous comeback. Now the games are fewer and the stakes are higher. Lets hope the level of drama stays the same.
In the pros, the Warriors are 63-7 and the chase for 72 is getting very interesting. They lost to the Spurs and the way they lost was more of a news than the loss itself because the Spurs needed this game way more than the dubs. The Spurs forced Curry into a horrible shooting night and the Warriors scored a mere 79 points. Coach Pop and the Spurs definitely know what they are doing on the defensive end, The Warriors, to their credit, stayed close and almost stole the game despite the horrible offensive performance. I don't know if we learned a whole lot from this game except that if these 2 hookup in the playoffs, the series is going to be legen ...wait for it.... dary as Barney Stinson would say. Both teams showed they can play defense. Both teams showed they are true contenders. Curry showed he can have bad games too. He had another mediocre game yesterday to wrap up the road trip and there is a lot of talk about tired legs right now. The record is indeed putting undue pressure on the team. 72-10 is too cool to ignore and at the same time, these guys can sure use some break before the playoffs. Lets see how Steve Kerr plays this. The Warrior season continues with another great Western Conference matchup against the Clippers tomorrow.
2 comments:
I was surprised to see Villanova make it this far. Historically they've been a team that does well in the regular season but falters (often early) in the tournament (or so I've heard). North Carolina appears to be the heavy favorite and their upcoming match-up against a #10 Syracuse seems too easy on paper. Do you have a prediction coming up? Using my vast (actually zero) expertise in college basketball and predictive powers I think Oklahoma wins it all sending Buddy Hield to the top of most draft boards around the country!
I'd love to see Golden State get to 73. Every game they have left is must-see TV now and the excitement, especially in the bay area, is palpable. Stephen Curry has bounced back nicely (after a pair of duds) and Klay and Draymond are both playing lights out at the same time. Can they pull it off??
The TWolves loss sets them back. but they still have a shot at 73. If not, they may tie 72, which is not bad!
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