March Madness Tidbits

With the field for the Elite Eight almost set, I look at some of the teams that have made it this far and realized how...predictable this year's tournament has been. In the Sweet Sixteen alone, all four regions saw their top three seeds advance, and of those four three of them saw their fifth seed or higher advance as the final member of each region's Final Four.

• Arizona: Ill admit it, I was one of the few people who believed that you would be able to make it past day one of the tournament this year. However, when I saw Wake Forest lose on day one, I realized that 'Zona had a great chance to make a run in the tournament. Unfortunately, you had to play Louisville at some point, but I commend Nic Wise, Chase Budinger, Jordan Hill, and Russ Purnell for the job they did getting the 'Cats this far.
• Purdue: Another team that people were not that high on for some reason, yet they ran to the Sweet Sixteen and played a tough game against UConn only to come away a loser.
• Missouri: Ah, Mizzou. I'll admit that I was excited about the possibility of a Mizzou run, and a date with Memphis in the Sweet Sixteen from the first time I filled out a bracket this year. This run will be remembered as, possibly, the best stretch of Missouri Basketball in school history.
• Pittsburgh: Once again, Pitt, you tried to lose and failed. That makes three straight rounds where you have tried to lose and failed. If you really want to lose that badly, then REALLY lose. Otherwise, play the whole fricken game amd actually look like you are trying to succeed.
• Duke: You went a round longer than I expected, though I still am convinced you should have lost to Texas. Villanova completely dismantled you with hustle and execution, both on offense and defense. The thing is: had 'Nova stayed focused the whole time, Coach K would forget about the 30 point loss to Clemson earlier this year.
• Syracuse: The Orangemen proved me wrong. I believed that their fatiguing run through the Big East tournament would finally catch up with them after a first round victory, but they made it to the Sweet Sixteen. I give credit not only to Jim Boeheim, but his players as well. They played hard throughout the postseason, and showed the definition of Big East Basketball.