Opening Weekend of March Madness

Where to start? There was lots of talk regarding the Big East after Thursdays games, as they went 0-3. However, they have gone 9-1 since that time and are sending a league leading four teams to the Sweet Sixteen. Jim Nance and Billy Packer are eating their own words. I'll get to that in a minute. The RPI leading Big Ten Conference went a combined 3-6 and are finished after the second round. That's right, the Big Ten is sending no teams to the Sweet Sixteen.

There have been plenty of great basketball games in the first couple rounds. There has been a trend of runs and not just any runs. North Carolina-Wilmington lead George Washington by 18 points in the second half of their first round 8-9 matchup. GW then went on a 19-0 run to take the lead and eventually win the game. Third seed Iowa lead by 17 points over fourteen seed Northwestern State in the first round, before the Demons stormed back to close within two points. With half a second left, Northwestern State threw up a three point prayer that was answered and they won the game 64-63. UConn got into trouble in the first round against sixteen seed Albany. Midway in the second half, Albany lead 50-38, before the top seeded Huskies got their heads out of their rears and played some good basketball. In fact, none of the top seeds played extraordinarily well in the first around against the sixteens. Fifteen seed Winthrop took second seed Tennessee to the buzzer. Tied at 61, the 'Vols hit a fadeaway jumpshot with half a second left on the clock to come out on top 63-61.

There were some upsets that occurred. Twelve seed Texas A&M upset Big East Tournament Champs and five seed Syracuse 66-58 in the opening round. Ten seed NC State beat seven seed Cal in a back and forth battle. Nine seed Bucknell outlasted eight seed Arkansas. Thirteen seed Bradley beat the Big XII Tournament Champs and four seed Kansas. Ten seed Alabama pulled off a slight upset against seven seed Marquette. The enigma that was the Michigan State Spartans fell early, to the eleven seed, George Mason. Another twelve beat a five, as Montana defeated Nevada. Wisconsin-Milwaukee continued their recent early success in the tournament, beating six seed Oklahoma. The upsets didn't just stop in round one, though. Bradley beat fourth seeded Kansas and then beat fifth seeded Pittsburgh to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. Washington pulled off a slight back and forth upset against Illinois. George Mason beat sixth seeded Michigan State and then third seeded North Carolina to advance on to the round of sixteen. They will be facing Wichita State, who beat second seeded Tennessee in the second round. Ohio State was given a test by Davidson in the opening round, but couldn't get past seven seed Georgetown in the second round. There's a 5, 6, two 7's, 11, and 13 in the Sweet Sixteen, including a 7 and 11 going head to head (Wichita State and George Mason). That means, at worst (or best, however you look at it), a seven seed will be playing in the Elite Eight for the chance to move on to the Final Four with one more victory.

Announcers Jim Nance and Billy Packer were hard up on the committee after the selections were announced. They were especially vocal about the selections of George Mason and there being four teams from the Missouri Valley Conference. The Big East had a record eight teams invited to the dance. They lead the way, with four teams moving on to the Sweet Sixteen. The Missouri Valley is tied for next in line, with two teams moving on: Wichita State and Bradley. The Pac Ten, ACC, and SEC are also tied for the second spot with two Sweet Sixteen teams. But, that's not even the kicker. The Mo Valley, just from those numbers, prove that they did indeed deserve to get four teams invited to the tournament. Nance and Packer liked to point out records of the past few years of conferences in the tournament. Packer rambled on and on about how the ACC, Pac Ten, and Big XII were all so much more successful historically than the Missouri Valley in the tournament (all received four invites). This is why that is, Billy. Let's look at this, shall we? The ACC got four invites: a one seed (Duke), a three seed (North Carolina), a four seed (Boston College), and a ten seed (NC State). Three of the four teams are the better seed and by a long shot, as Duke played sixteen seed Southern in the first round (only winning by sixteen and it was even closer than that). North Carolina played fourteen seed Murray State and won by only four points. Boston College played thirteen seed Pacific and won in double overtime. The most impressive opening round win? NC State's six-point victory over seven seed California. The Wolfpack got blown out by second seed Texas in the second round and North Carolina got defeated by eleven seed George Mason. The conference is 6-2 overall. Their average seeding per team is 4.5. The average seeded team they've played against in both rounds has been 10.4. In other words, the ACC has gotten some very favorable matchups. Moving on to the Pac Ten. They received four invites: a two seed (UCLA), a seven seed (California), an eight seed (Arizona), and a five seed (Washington). All four Pac Ten teams were the higher seed in their first round matchups. Their record thus far is 5-2. Their average seed was 5.5. The Pac Ten's opponents have had an average seed of 8.7. The gap is not as large as it was with the ACC, but it's still fairly large. The Big XII also got four teams into the tournament: a two seed (Texas), a four seed (Kansas), a six seed (Oklahoma), and a twelve seed (Texas A&M). Three of the four teams went into the opening round the higher seed. The conference has gone 3-3 thus far, including Kansas and Oklahoma losing in the opening round to thirteen seed Bradley and eleven seed Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Big XII teams had an average seed of 6.0. Their opponents have average a seed of 9.7. Out of the three conferences, the Big XII had the lowest average seed of their teams entering the tournament at 6.0. The smallest gap between their teams and their opponents seedings was in the Pac Ten, where the gap was 3.2. Overall, the three conferences are a combined 14-7. Their average seed is 5.3. The average seed of their opponents has been 9.6. That's an average gap of 4.3. Allright, now let's look at the Missouri Valley Conference. They received four invites: a seven seed (Wichita State), an eleven seed (Southern Illinois), a ten seed (Northern Iowa), and a thirteen seed (Bradley). They have gone 4-2 in the tournament thus far, with their only losses coming in the first round against six seed West Virginia and seven seed Georgetown, who are both representing the Big East in the Sweet Sixteen. Average out the Mo Valley schools and their average seed comes out to be 10.3. The average seed of the teams they have faced has been 5.7. Compare that with the three other conferences Billy. The lowest average seed had been the Big XII at 6.0. The Mo Valley had an average seed of 10.3. The lowest opponent average seed was the Pac Ten at 8.7. The Mo Valley's average was 5.7. The smallest gap between a conference's teams and their opponents, in terms of seeds, was +3.2 (Pac Ten). The Mo Valley was at -4.6. The teams in the Sweet Sixteen: Duke beat a sixteen and an eight to get to where they are. Boston College beat a thirteen and a twelve. UCLA beat a fifteen and a ten. Washington beat a twelve and a four. Texas beat a fifteen and a ten. The Mo Valley schools? Wichita State and Bradley? Beat a ten seed, a two seed, a four seed, and a five seed. There's a reason why the ACC, Big XII, and Pac Ten all had better records than the Missouri Valley in previous tournaments. They're not stuck with the eleven and thirteen seeds. They'll get a two, a four, and a five. Missouri Valley schools have to play those top tier teams in the major conferences in the opening rounds. You place Wichita State against a Seton Hall and they win by twenty. You place a Northern Iowa against a Georgetown, and they fall by only five. Place a Bradley against a Kansas and a Pittsburgh, and they win by four and six. Place Wichita State against Tennessee and they win by seven. We can't compare the Duke's and UConn's of the world to Missouri Valley teams. The two Missouri Valley schools have earned their way to the Sweet Sixteen more so than anyone else outside of George Mason. Give credit where credit is due. Speaking of George Mason, Nance and Packer were uncertain of that selection as well. What have they done? Beaten Tom Izzo's Michigan State Spartans (six seed) and Roy Williams' defending national champion North Carolina Tar Heels (three seed) to reach the Sweet Sixteen to face who? The Missouri Valley's very own seven seed, Wichita State Shockers. Jim and Billy had to eat their words and stuff their faces full of them after this weekend was over with. Hopefully, this will keep up.

Poor Bill Self, the Kansas head coach. He leaves Illinois. Bruce Weber goes there and in Weber's first season, the Illini reach the finals. Self, in his first two seasons at Kansas, has lost opening round games to Bucknell and now Bradley.

There are four matchups I'm really looking forward to in the Sweet Sixteen: Duke vs. LSU, Gonzaga vs. UCLA, Villanova vs. Boston College, and Florida vs. Georgetown. As an underdog favorite, I'll also be looking forward to the George Mason vs. Wichita State game.

Well, that's all I can ramble about for the time being. I didn't do so hot in the opening round, but did pretty well in the second and most importantly, all of my final four teams are still left in the field. I'm nervous, especially about UCLA, having to go through Gonzaga and most likely, Memphis, in order to reach the Final Four, but anything is possible. I can't wait for this upcoming weekend. March Madness was just that this opening weekend, pure madness and I can't wait for some more!