The big news today, of course, was that No. 9 Northern Iowa upset the No. 1 seed in the tournament, Kansas. Some people are asking if this is biggest upset in tournament history (see the poll at CBSSports.com, and the outrageous amount of people who think it is), but I don't think it's anything other than a classic top-seed-falling-early. (And remember, Bill Self, a perennial early fader, is coaching these Jayhawks.)
This year, college basketball's one major trend was that there was a new No. 1 team every week, and that team, upon reaching the top spot, was quickly deposed with a loss or losses the very same week. Kansas was just the one picked to be top at the end of the season, and, despite the many who thought the Jayhawks were great this year, there are just as many who can show you their weaknesses, poor games, and tendency to fade (Sports Illustrated highlighted this in last week's issue).
It's an upset, yes, but not the biggest one in history. Depending on the next couple weeks (or tomorrow), it may not even be the biggest one of this tournament.
Speaking of upsets, I may have gotten a little too excited about today's possible upset wagon, so for tomorrow's round I'm going to try to calm down my picks a little bit. The Sunday selections:
(8) Gonzaga vs. (1) Syracuse: The Orange have been very strong this season, from being neglected at the start of the season (no Top 25 spot for them) to late dominance. They will hold off a Zags team that has long lost its Cinderella luster.
(10) Georgia Tech vs. (2) Ohio State: With Kansas gone, it's Evan Turner time in the regional. The Buckeyes are too deep for a Yellow Jacket team that is entertaining and enterprising but not exceptional.
(5) Michigan State vs. (4) Maryland: This is the hardest game to pick, with two great coaches (Terps' Gary Williams, Spartans' Tom Izzo) and two perenially great tournament teams. Maryland's strong ACC season will make the difference over the recently shaky Spartans.
(10) Missouri vs. (2) West Virginia: I'd love to take Mizzou in the first upset of the day, but West Virginia, one of the final flickers for the Big East, is too good.
(12) Cornell vs. (4) Wisconsin: I will take at least one upset today. As much as I love Wisconsin and its badger-resembling coach, Bo Ryan, I think the Big Red have a chance in this one. They were hot in the first round and still look good.
(6) Xavier vs. (3) Pittsburgh: Another Big East remnant, Pitt, is too strong for the pesky Musketeers.
(5) Texas A&M vs. (4) Purdue: Not really an upset here: The Boilermakers just aren't that strong without Robbie Hummel, despite their surprising first-round win over Siena, and the Aggies have had a great season.
(8) California vs. (1) Duke: The Blue Devils aren't messing around this year, and the Pac-10 will have to rest its hopes with Washington.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment