Posts tagged March Madness
March Madness is Here
Finally it is here, the long awaited month of March the all the great basketball that comes with it. One of the most anticipated months of the year for sports fans and more importantly college basketball fans; the “Big Dance” kicks off
tomorrow with the opening round game. However, the real action begins the 18th with the start of the first round. Whether you are an avid fan or just interested in team mascots the NCAA tournament is always a good time to test your ability to predict who will go home early and who will stick around for another round. If you have yet to fill out your bracket you still have some time left. Use some of our bracket science to help you make those picks that are just too close for comfort.
Bracket Science:
- Historically not a single number one seed has lost during the first round
- Two out of every three tournaments results in the upset of a number three seed during the first round.
- Only 12 number 1 seeds have failed to reach the sweet sixteen.
- 14 seeds have the highest percent chance of an upset, due to their past records, high scoring offenses, strength of schedule
- 5 vs. 12 seed match up during the first round is historically where it no longer pays to give the higher seed an automatic bid to the next round.
- 6 seeds are more likely to advance to the second round than 5 seeds.
- The hardest pick to determine during the first round is 8 vs. 9 seeds; hope you have good luck
- The keys to a 13 seed walking away with a win in the first round are strong defenses, offenses that are consistent, and head coaches that have previous tournament experience.
If you still dont have your bracket CLICK HERE to get one and get in on all the action.
- Launch Player Check out this link to watch the games live on your computer.
Big Games In The Big East
The Big East tournament has reached the semi-finals but not without some upsets and buzzer beaters. The top two seeds, Syracuse and Villanova both lost their first game of the tournament. Syracuse lost to George Town 91-84, the Hoyas reminded the Big East that it’s still got the talent to make every game a dog fight. Marquette topped Villanova 80-76 even without their big time scorer’s. The Golden Eagles match up with fellow upset team George Town in the Semi’s for a battle of the better underdog.
With more on the upset special Notre Dame, downs Pitt with a slow paced sloppy 50-45 victory. Notre Dame was once a NIT-bound team, now after 6 straight wins over quality opponents has proven to be a threatening team to win the Big East and make a run in the Tourney. They are hitting their stride at the right time. They will be facing West Virginia tonight at 9 ET. West Virginia took on Cinnci last night, and it took a buzzer beater to squeak by. Da’Sean Butler’s big shot was icing on top of a crazy day at the Big East tournament.
The Big East has been the best conference tournament to watch thus far but there is more to come and the championship is up for grabs. Look for the action not to let up and tune in for quality college basketball and some prepping for the big dance.
In Or Out? The Fighting Illini!
Before I even start with this, I am going to admit that this will be slightly biased in favor of Illinois since I am a student here. So lets get it started. The question is, will the Fighting Illini make it into this year tournament?
Strengths and Weaknesses:
I really like that the Illini are a young team and can still pull off big wins. They only have one senior on their roster, who receives relatively low playing time, plus they have some big play freshman and an even better recruiting class next year. Sorry about that tangent; its this year we are worried about!
Their lack of leadership makes them relatively inconsistent: they have won huge games away against Wisconsin, away against Clemson, home against Michigan State, and home against Vanderbilt. One the contrary, they have lost games they should have won against weak teams such as Northwestern and Utah, and had an embarrassing performance against Minnesota the other night, scoring only 14 points in the first half.
Along with these loses, the fact that only 6 of their 18 wins have been against opponents ranked higher then 149 is going to hurt them. If they want to be guaranteed a spot, they need to win at least one of their two next games, against tough opponents Wisconsin and Ohio State, along with at least one or two wins in the Big 10 tournament.
In or Out?!
So its all been laid out.. are they in or out?
My vote puts them IN! This team is a young talented team capable of big wins. They would be a great addition to the tournament and deserve a spot.
