March Madness 2012
Get your bracket and turn on the T.V.!
It is that time of year again! When everything stops and people on the West Coast wait to see if Boston University can pull off an upset and people on the East Coast watch to see if Gonzaga, Pacific, or San Diego State can send a high seeded team packing. The NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament is such an amazing event that sports fans everywhere watch teams that they did not care about or had even heard of before, hoping to see a great show or an upset. Yes, upsets happen every single year and this year should be no different!
A 16th seed has never beaten a number one and I do not think that it will change this year.
This year the tournament appears to have a lot of parody and the experts are calling it wide open. I still think that the final 4 will be loaded with high seeds. I hope not but it looks that way now.
EXPANDING- The field of 64 became 65 in 2002 and this year it expanded to 68! Some coaches like "Hall of Famer" Jim Boehiem of Syracuse University, want to see it expand to 96 teams! Now, what is interesting is that his Athletic Director, Darrell Gross said today ":The tournament needs to come back to 64." Dr. Gross stated that this is a great sports phenomena and needs to be left as it was. This debate will rage on for now, but I hope we go back to 65 teams with only one play in game! Expanding the field to 96 will cheapen it, take away from the elitism and excitement, and yes, will mess up our brackets! Half of the fun is filling out a bracket online or at the office. The NCAA can not take that from us sports fans! Not now, not ever.
A Historic Event -
The Big East Conference has ELEVEN (11) teams in the tournament and for the first time ever, none in the NIT! Every Big East team to have a winning record this year, is in the Big Dance. Eleven teams is a new record that smashes the old NCAA record, held by, that's right, The Big East! Not one bracket has less that 2 Big East Teams and 3 brackets have 3 teams from that conference. That is amazing. This year, I see Pitt, U Conn, and maybe Syracuse and Notre Dame making deep runs. Georgetown and Villanova will head home early.
MY UPSET PICKS-
Look for 10 seed Michigan State to make it to the Great Eight,11 seed Marquette to win at least one. 3 BYU, 2 San Diego State, 2 UNC,and 1 Duke will most likely say goodnight early this year. Kansas must also play like each day is their last! They have to be the team with the most early exits for a number one and two seed. As a Central New Yorker, I will never forget when Tucker Niel missed the game winning shot for 16th seeded Colgate against Ostertag and The Kansas Jayhawks.Later that year, Syracuse made it to the Championship game as a fourth seed.
Now the time has come! Thursday is here so let the games begin!
Enjoy and tell a friend to keep 65 alive and to nix plan 96!
