Opening NCAA Tournament Weekend Recap, Upsets, and Teams You Love to Hate
There were many great games, near upsets, and indeed a few David's slaying Goliath. To wrap up a previous conversation with Bob there were a couple of 5-12 upsets, but for those that really knew something about college basketball the Villanova game wasn't a surprise. They've had more upsets as a lower seeded team in modern day history than any other school. Toss in free throw shooting by Clemson and the fact that other than coming close with UNC they played some close games with mediocre teams in the ACC that didn't make the tournament.
A lot is made of the Hilltoppers of Western Kentucky making it to the sweet Sixteen, but how much of an upset is it when the selection committee pitted two Mid-Majors against each other for one less Mid-Major to challenge the power conference teams. San Diego played their hearts out and sure the loss of UConn's guard and leader played a major factor in the game, but here's where the real challenge begins for a solid WKY team. Drake was a good team than ran into the wrong style of play as most teams do when they get bounced from the tournament.
Watching USC & KSU play one another and the Duke Belmont game proved to be some of the most entertaining games of the night. Who wasn't rooting for Belmont at that point? That would have been 'the' upset of the tournament. By far this isn't the greatest Duke team as Coach K has even re-engineered his offense to a three guard spread offense. The best teams that have won six in a row usually have a mentally tough and challenged team that has an unstoppable inside/outside game with solid role players. So it shouldn't have been too surprising that a gritty bunch of players banned together to take on the juggernaut that is Duke and win. The question wasn't if WVU could beat Duke, but if Huggins could defeat Coach K.
As the party was flowing Friday night at The Sports Freak's pad, the assessment was made again this year that Duke's cheerleaders must come in 65th place in the tournament once again. It's of little consolation that this is the most beautiful looking squad in years and that's not saying a lot. Someone mentioned that it was the field hockey team. The following day Big Money Tony & I were watching the Stanford Marquette game while having some dinner when we saw a very cute girl in the Stanford band. BMT clarified that a Stanford band geek beats a Duke cheerleader. What a rough week for Duke.
Speaking of Cheerleaders every sports fan should read Bill Simmons aka The Sports Guy on ESPN, but this article in particular should be read for his trip to Anaheim to watch the NCAAs and the Cornell Cheerleading squad Bill Simmons aka The Sports Guy
Duke losing so early in the tournament would usually be enough for folks to enjoy but loyal Terps fans and maybe some G'town haters around the country rejoiced as Curry and his Davidson teammates bounced the Hoyas from the tournament. Curry, who scored only five points in the first half, took control of the game in the second half with poise and precision. The same player that gave UMD fits in last year's tournament gained his victory this year with more help from his teammates. Maybe Georgetown won't fear the losing recruiting territory and honor the return home game at UMD or even play for charity in the local BB&T classic that GW, AU, and GM have played in the past.
