The madness continues...

As March continues, so does the tournament that attracts so much attention. I cannot help it but this is one of my favorite times of year. So much college basketball and so little time. This time of year brings out the best basketball played, an example is DeJuan Blair of Pittsburgh. He is not the tallest big man in the country but his is wide, strong, and determined. In their win against Oklahoma State he was guarded by four guys, missed the layup, got his own rebound, scored and was fouled. He then missed the free throw but the ball was loose on the ground and the 6-7 265 pound forward dove on the floor and tied up the ball, giving Pittsburgh the ball back again. This is the type of play that I would show to youth playhers as what to strive for. As I look at the first weekend there are a few things that come to mind...


1) The western bracket was ripe full of upsets the first day...Cleveland State, Arizona, Dayton, and USC. Please don't get me wrong I was tied to the screen when Siena beat Ohio State, but by no means is a #9 seed beating a #8 seed a huge update. I love that these same people are complaining that there are no upsets and that there is no cinderella story. Anyone hear of Arizona? They weren't supposed to make the tournament and now they play Louisville in the sweet 16.


2) I have listened to a lot of different sports guys and believe that they are wrong. I love the upsets and the cinderella stories but I also love the matchups that are left. Duke playing Villanova is something to watch while I am intrigued by the Oklahoma/Syracuse match up.


3) I cannot stand to watch basketball on CBS. I have long talked about writing down the little things that bother in broadcasts. Examples would be that someone is out with a hamstring and mispronouncing someones name. Is it really that hard to say injury? Noone is out with a hamstring, they are out with a hamstring injury. But the one that really gets me is the "dribble drive". Only on CBS will you hear about the dribble drive. I am sorry but anyone that has ever played basketball that you cannot run drive or pass drive. I think that most people know that when you are driving that you are dribbling...you are not just running with the ball or without it for that matter. So please, please do not say dribble drive.

4) As I live in ACC country but was born and raised a Big East guy, I just have to say that it seems that the Big East continues to be the basketball powerhouse. Yes I know that Duke and North Carolina remain to be two of the most dominant programs in NCAA history. But if you look at things past the top two teams of the conference...the Big East has 5 teams in the sweet sixteen. At the same time, 4 ACC teams lost in the first round (Clemson, FSU, Wake, BC) and only Duke and UNC won their second round game.

5) And finally it is the end of a very long streak...Ball State beat the Tennessee Lady Vols. I know that very few people actually watch women's basketball, but the Lady Vols have never lost in the first two rounds of the tournament. They were 42-0 before this season. Ball State played a great game and beat the defending champions.

I can't wait to see how this tournament ends...