March Madness is Truly "Mad"

Mike — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:43:49 +0000

Wow…

That is as sophisticated as I can explain the first day of this year’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. The rest of the tournament has a lot to live up to after one of the wildest days in College Basketball history.

There were three games that went to overtime, one of them was double overtime (BYU-Florida).
7 of the 16 games had the lower seed win (5 double digit seeds)
The Big East – that saw 8 teams make the tournament – was 1-3 (the three losses were upsets)
7 of the 16 games were decided by 3 or less points
Of the 7, 3 were decided by 1 point
Powerhouse Georgetown, predicted by many to get to the Elite 8 (not me), didn’t just lose to #14 Ohio, they got destroyed by 14 points
Danero Thomas of Murray St. was calm and collected as he nailed a buzzer beater to send #4 Vanderbilt packing
Villanova got all they can handle from Robert Morris in an overtime thriller

All of this great action, with all of these upsets and there was still some upset disappointment. Probably the most popular upset pick of the first round – #12 UTEP over #5 Butler – didn’t happen. UTEP took a six point lead into halftime, but Butler came out of halftime with a 22-4 run that proved too much for UTEP. Butler tied the first round record with 13 three pointers (10 after halftime).

I can not wait for the rest of this tournament!

What do you think was the best moment from day one action?
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March Madness: Big East Breakdown

Angel Rios — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:33:50 +0000

The Big East Conference is one of the most if not the most, talented conferences in the country. There are numerous talented players and teams that are playing their butts off every single night, just to hopefully have a spot in NCAA Tournament. But, what really is intriguing is that even though the conference is full of talented and amazing teams, there is no dominant team. However, that is not to say that not one of these teams do not deserve a chance to be chosen come selection Sunday. Here is an updated report on the top teams in the conference.

Syracuse – Jim Boeheim’s “2-3 Zone” is the best zone defense I have ever seen. Their 2-3 Zone defense shut down incredible teams including Villanova, which is one of the top shooting teams in the country. Syracuse is very athletic and could be a clear example of the old saying, “Defense wins championships.” Syracuse is ranked number one in the Big East in field goal shooting.

Villanova – Although they had a weak performance against Syracuse recently, the Wildcats still have a very tough team that can easily make it to the final four. Villanova is filled with slashing guards and tough big men. They also have a tremendous leader in Scottie Reynolds, who is fifth in the big east in points per game.

West Virginia – The wolverines are often overlooked in the conference. However, they have a very talented team that can easily take home the Big East Championship. Every team they have lost to in the Big East, they have also defeated. He is not very big in the paint, but there is no doubt that senior forward Da’Sean Butler, who is averaging 17.2 points per game, is a tremendous player. Even though Syracuse is the favorite in the Big East, West Virginia is not far behind and I would not be surprised if they win the postseason title.

Georgetown – They are not ranked very high in the Big East conference standings. Even though they have the talent, especially with top pro prospect Greg Monroe, Georgetown does not have a very good chance on winning the postseason title. However, they will most likely be playing in the NCAA Tournament later this month.

MikesPickz.com » Georgetown

March Madness is Truly "Mad"

March Madness: Big East Breakdown