The Second Round
I was feeling all guilty because I had to go away to an academic conference and didn't get to blog at all about the first two days of the tournament...yet when we look at the games as they played out, there wasn't much to blog home about, was there? The opening round of the tournament produced:
- Exactly two (2) double-digit seeds advancing to the second round, which is the lowest-ever total since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985.
- Remarkably little carnage among the power conferences. The Big Ten went 5-1, the Big 12 went 3-1, the ACC was 5-2, and the PAC 10 was 4-2.
- Remarkably few compelling games. Duke/VCU, Boston College/Texas Tech, Virginia Tech/Illinois, Winthrop/Notre Dame, and Georgia Tech/UNLV were all very tight contests, if not necessarily great games.
- Remarkably few enduring visuals. Of the few that there were, only Eric Maynor's game-winner against Duke will probably survive for future generations, while others (such as Ibok's elbow) will hopefully pass into YouTube legend.
It's important to remember, however, that a paucity of upsets in the first round often leads to a highly competitive second round...and boy, have we had that so far. Let's recap:
- Ohio State gets a game handed to them, thanks to an officiating crew too afraid to call a clear intentional foul on Greg Oden and a Xavier player's inability to knock down a clutch free throw that would've iced things. Give the Buckeyes credit for pulling it out in overtime, but it shouldn't have even gotten to that stage.
- Butler proving that their #5 seed was warranted, pulling off a perimeter-oriented victory against ACC stalwart Maryland.
- Louisville running one of the worst final possessions in recent tournament history, losing a virtual home game to a surprisingly tough-minded Texas A&M squad.
- Boston College throwing up a junk zone and nearly knocking off Georgetown, before the Hoyas started to assert themselves at the end.
- Vanderbilt's perimeter game exploding in the second half, winning in double overtime against Washington State. I would like to personally thank the Commodores for single-handedly resurrecting my bracket.
- The referees trying (and failing) to give Pittsburgh the victory over VCU at the end of regulation, only to try (and succeed) in giving it to them at the end of overtime.
What a day so far. Six games complete, three overtimes (one of those a double), and every game contested until at least the final two minutes.
In other news, the University of Michigan finally woke up and realized that they haven't been to the NCAA since before the Monica Lewinsky scandal. The Maize & Blue fired head coach Tommy Amaker today, a decision that should really ratchet up the intrigue level for this off-season's coaching carousel. With the Michigan job in the mix, schools like Minnesota, South Florida, and New Mexico will have to ratchet up their contract offers or risk missing out on top candidates. (Granted, Michigan will have to do the same, but it's by far the biggest "name" job out there now).
- Exactly two (2) double-digit seeds advancing to the second round, which is the lowest-ever total since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985.
- Remarkably little carnage among the power conferences. The Big Ten went 5-1, the Big 12 went 3-1, the ACC was 5-2, and the PAC 10 was 4-2.
- Remarkably few compelling games. Duke/VCU, Boston College/Texas Tech, Virginia Tech/Illinois, Winthrop/Notre Dame, and Georgia Tech/UNLV were all very tight contests, if not necessarily great games.
- Remarkably few enduring visuals. Of the few that there were, only Eric Maynor's game-winner against Duke will probably survive for future generations, while others (such as Ibok's elbow) will hopefully pass into YouTube legend.
It's important to remember, however, that a paucity of upsets in the first round often leads to a highly competitive second round...and boy, have we had that so far. Let's recap:
- Ohio State gets a game handed to them, thanks to an officiating crew too afraid to call a clear intentional foul on Greg Oden and a Xavier player's inability to knock down a clutch free throw that would've iced things. Give the Buckeyes credit for pulling it out in overtime, but it shouldn't have even gotten to that stage.
- Butler proving that their #5 seed was warranted, pulling off a perimeter-oriented victory against ACC stalwart Maryland.
- Louisville running one of the worst final possessions in recent tournament history, losing a virtual home game to a surprisingly tough-minded Texas A&M squad.
- Boston College throwing up a junk zone and nearly knocking off Georgetown, before the Hoyas started to assert themselves at the end.
- Vanderbilt's perimeter game exploding in the second half, winning in double overtime against Washington State. I would like to personally thank the Commodores for single-handedly resurrecting my bracket.
- The referees trying (and failing) to give Pittsburgh the victory over VCU at the end of regulation, only to try (and succeed) in giving it to them at the end of overtime.
What a day so far. Six games complete, three overtimes (one of those a double), and every game contested until at least the final two minutes.
In other news, the University of Michigan finally woke up and realized that they haven't been to the NCAA since before the Monica Lewinsky scandal. The Maize & Blue fired head coach Tommy Amaker today, a decision that should really ratchet up the intrigue level for this off-season's coaching carousel. With the Michigan job in the mix, schools like Minnesota, South Florida, and New Mexico will have to ratchet up their contract offers or risk missing out on top candidates. (Granted, Michigan will have to do the same, but it's by far the biggest "name" job out there now).
posted by Thermocaster at 5:58:00 PM
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