Written by
The Sports Network
Toronto, Canada (Sports Network) - How's that bracket looking? If you decided
to go chalk for most of your picks you probably aren't feeling too good as the
opening weekend of the 2011 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament saw
Cinderella steal the spotlight.
There were a total of 13 games that saw a lower seed emerge victorious in the
second and third rounds with four double-digit seeds making it to the Sweet 16
for the first time in 12 years.
The sheer number of upsets is an impressive stat in its own right but the
variety we saw in how the games played out is even more intriguing.
We saw the classic "barnburners" that went down to the final possession like
Morehead State's shocker against Louisville or Richmond over Vanderbilt, games
that involved officiating controversy such as seen in Butler's defeat over
top-seeded Pittsburgh and the Arizona/Texas game and even total blowouts
that have most notably been handed out by VCU all tournament long.
The fact that there have been so many upsets and there are quite a few lower
seeded teams remaining tells the tale of the age of college basketball that we
now live in. There's more parity now than there may have ever been and no
team, regardless of regular season ranking, tournament seeding or historical
pedigree is safe.
Just look at the upsets that almost happened to North Carolina, Kentucky and
Duke. All three schools are among the biggest basketball programs in all of
the NCAA and yet they were tested by teams that would never even be on their
radar in the past.
What this all boils down to is that there's a far more even playing field now
and that seeing one of those double-digit seeds make it all the way to the
Final Four wouldn't be all that shocking a sight.
THE (NOT SO) BIG EAST
Emerging as the clear-cut winner on Selection Sunday with a historic 11
tournament bids, the Big East was primed to prove the dominance it had
illustrated all throughout the regular season in the big dance.
Then the games began and the atmosphere of superiority that the Big East had
been walking around with for the past four and half months was brutally
dispelled in four frenetic days.
The conference that many have been trumpeted as the strongest in college
basketball only has two teams remaining - the same amount as the Mountain West
Conference and the city of Richmond.
This is a fairly significant blow to the Big East and has revealed quite a few
wrinkles in how the conference operates. So much is made of the Big East
regular season as the true barometer of how good the teams coming out of there
are when instead there should be more emphasis on the non-conference matchups
that each team must face.
Hopefully the shock of seeing what just happened will clear up the skewed
vision of the competitors in the Big East and have them look at more than
themselves. In order for this to take place the selection committee will need
to limit the amount of bids for one conference to maybe just five or six to
make these teams' overall regular season play matter that much more.
POWERHOUSES
Perhaps lost in all of the upsets has been the steady and dominant play of
number one seeds Ohio State and Kansas.
Both the Buckeyes and Jayhawks cruised to easy victories in their first two
games with no signs of vulnerability from either team.
Between these two teams, OSU has appeared to be the stronger competitor,
winning by an average margin of 30.5 points in its first two games compared to
KU's 16.5. The Buckeyes also have never flirted with the notion that their
opponent had a puncher's chance of beating them, while the Jayhawks sagged
off at times and allowed their opponents into games before finishing them for
good.
The only knock against these two teams, thus far, is the fact that they
haven't faced any real adversity yet. By basically putting it on cruise
control to win all their games there's been little shown in the way of mental
toughness - something that will be required to win the National Championship.
These two clubs will almost assuredly have to face times when everything isn't
clicking exactly in the next round and the possible ones after that so, as
impressive as they've been, Ohio State and Kansas still have a long ways to go
before they can be anointed.
A VERY SWEET 16 TO BE
Even though most of the teams in it aren't the ones many thought would be
there, the Sweet 16 should prove to live up to fabulous second and third
rounds of the tournament.
The lower seeded teams in this round should make for a more intriguing round
of 16 than in previous years and that's because of the way the draw has
matched up all of the teams.
Beginning with the Richmond/Kansas game, which on paper would seem to be an
easy victory for the Jayhawks, but that may not be the case. The Spiders'
unique matchup zone can allow them to do many things defensively that other
teams can't. It's an adaptable defense that can be adjusted very easily mid-
game and could give Bill Self and his coaching staff a real headache trying to
figure out how to attack properly. The real concern for Richmond will be if it
can score enough itself to possibly steal the game.
The other game in the Southwest, VCU/Florida State, should prove to be a good
one since both clubs are very formidable defensively. It may not be the
prettiest of affairs but it'll probably come down to a last possession play to
decide the outcome.
As for some of the other matchups to be played, seeing Ohio State getting its
first real test in Kentucky will make for great television - particularly
because of how strong Brandon Knight has come on. Seeing how the emotions of
escaping with very close wins affects how the Duke/Arizona game plays out will
be very interesting and Butler's flair for the dramatic all tournament long
makes you think that another outrageous end will come in its game against
Wisconsin.
If this Sweet 16 plays out the way it could, we're in for another fantastic
weekend of college hoops.
The Sports Network