Since the calendar has turned to March, that means only one thing in the world of sports: March Madness. While in my eyes, the World Cup is the most exciting tournament in the entire world, the NCAA Tournament is not far behind. The first two weekends of the tourney are full of basketball, basketball, and more basketball. Stars are born, spectacular finishes are the norm, and unpredictability abounds.
What makes the tournament so special is not just the spotlight that shines on young players across the country, but the teams that come out of obscurity to knock off the big name teams. It is guaranteed to happen, and the tournament is so special because even though we know it will happen, we are still shocked every time it does. Whether it was Richmond beating Syracuse in 1991 to become the first #15 seed to ever beat a #2 seed, Princeton beating defending national champion UCLA in 1996, or Florida Gulf Coast beating Georgetown last year, the upsets seem to come fast and furious during the first weekend of the tournament. However, while those upsets are thrilling, the team celebrating their stunning victory often times loses soon after, and fades back into obscurity to the casual college basketball fan.
In the recent past though, we have seen some of those upset-minded teams advance much further in the tournament than we ever have before. Little known George Mason University, a #11 seed, advanced all the way to the Final Four in 2006, and knocked off some big name competition along the way. Virginia Commonwealth, also a #11 seed, marched all the way to the Final Four in 2011, after their at-large selection to be in the tournament in the first place was seriously questioned by many people. 2011 was also the second consecutive year that previously little known Butler University advanced to the national championship game. They lost both times they got there, but the fact that they made it that far, especially in consecutive seasons, was a huge accomplishment. Last season, we saw the aptly named, #9 seed Wichita State Shockers advanced all the way to the Final Four, shocking many people along the way. Only about an hour ago, Wichita State won the Missouri Valley conference tournament, and by doing so, earned an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. However, their NCAA Tournament status in 2014 is a whole lot different than it was in 2013.
By beating Indiana State this afternoon, Wichita State moved its record to 34-0. The only other team to win its first 34 games of the season was the UNLV Runnin' Rebels in 1991, but that record included games in the NCAA Tournament. The Rebels eventually lost their 35th game to Duke in the Final Four. So that means that Wichita State will be entering the tournament with a better record than any other team has. They are certainly not flying under the radar now. With Selection Sunday now officially one week away, the question is no longer if the Shockers will be in the tournament, but it is how high they will be seeded.
Wichita State is currently ranked second in the country in both the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll. Florida is #1 in both polls, and Arizona is third in both. Barring any unexpected losses (which are possible since, don't forget, it is March) in the early round of the SEC and Pac-12 tournaments, I think Florida and Arizona will be #1 seeds going into the official tourney. The ACC Tournament will likely decide the third of four #1 seeds. Duke is currently ranked fourth in the country, Virginia is ranked at #5 (although they did lose this afternoon to an unranked Maryland team), and Syracuse is ranked at #7. It is highly unlikely that all three of those teams will slip up early in the ACC Tournament, and if one of those three win the conference, I think, in all likelihood, that team will also be a #1 seed. Then, there are the Shockers.
Florida played six teams that were ranked at the time of the game, and their only two losses came against Wisconsin and UConn, both of whom are still ranked in the Top 25 right now. The fourth ranked Duke Blue Devils played seven games against ranked opponents, Virginia had five such matchups, and Syracuse had seven. The first argument against Wichita State being a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament is the fact that they played zero games against nationally ranked opponents. The Shockers won multiple games by large margins over teams like Loyola, Drake, and Emporia State. They did, however, beat Saint Louis, and while the Billikens were unranked when they played Wichita State, they are currently ranked 17th in the nation. Still, the fact remains that Wichita State's schedule was far less challenging than the schedules of Florida, Duke, Virginia, and Syracuse. There is though, one team that I have not yet mentioned as far as schedule strength goes, and that is the Arizona Wildcats.
At 28-3, Arizona seems to be a near lock to secure a #1 seed in the tournament, thanks in large part to playing in a "major" conference. However, when we look at their schedule, we see a whole lot of names, but not very many numbers next to those names. How many games have the Wildcats played against ranked opponents? One. Have they beaten anyone who was unranked at the time of the game, but is ranked now? No. The ranked team they did play though, was Duke, and the Wildcats did win that game, which looks just as impressive now as it did on November 29. Arizona's three losses came against Oregon, California, and Arizona State. While at least two of those teams will probably make the field of 64, none of them are exactly juggernauts. So why is it then, that Arizona is considered by most to be a near lock to be a #1 seed? I'm not too sure, but playing in a major conference, as opposed to a mid-major conference like Wichita State does certainly plays a huge factor in it.
When one thinks of college basketball powerhouse conferences, the Missouri Valley Conference surely is not the first one to come to mind. That is why teams from the SEC, Pac-12, and ACC will all be #1 seeds in 2014. That still does not diminish what Wichita State did this season. In my mind, people who immediately write off the Shockers based solely on their conference are foolish. It is even more foolish when we look at the roster of the Shockers. Nearly all of the players who have played significant minutes this year were on the team last year, and that team reached the Final Four. Along the way in 2013, the Shockers beat Pittsburgh (who at the time was a Big East team, but this year is a member of the ACC), Big 10 member Ohio State, and gave eventual national champion, and Big East champion Louisville, its closest game of the entire tournament in the Final Four. Louisville won that game 72-68. If a team from a major conference followed up a Final Four appearance with a 34-0 season, they would unquestionably be a #1 seed, and anyone who thought otherwise would be laughed at. However, because in this case the team is from a mid-major conference, people still feel the Shockers are unworthy of a #1 seed. In my eyes, that should be laughed at.
In 2014, Wichita State has become to college basketball what Boise State was to college football only a few seasons ago. Boise State never got a chance to play for a national championship (thanks to the bowl system, which will FINALLY be gone in the upcoming season), but the Broncos proved they could play with the big boys when they beat the Oklahoma Sooners in the Fiesta Bowl in 2007, in what was undoubtedly one of the greatest college football games to ever be played.
No matter where the Shockers end up seeded a week from today, they will go into the tournament saying all the right things, put their seed aside, and play whoever is put in front of them. Also, unlike Boise State, the Shockers do have a chance to play for the national championship. So does their seed going into the tournament really matter as much as some might think? Probably not. Nonetheless, I think that they do in fact deserve to be the first Missouri Valley Conference team to be ranked as a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament since Larry Bird's Indiana State team in 1979. The 2014 Wichita State Shockers do not have a player with the star power of Larry Bird, but 34-0 speaks for itself. Put Wichita State in the tournament with the advantages of a top seed, because their 2014 resume is thus far unblemished.
Daily Rangers Update: Henrik Lundqvist won his 300th career game this afternoon at Madison Square Garden, and the Rangers blanked the Detroit Red Wings, 3-0. Because of the extremely tight nature of the NHL standings each and every year, with 17 games left to play, the Rangers could legitimately end up anywhere from the third seed in the East to out of the playoffs entirely. Six of the team's next seven games will be on the road, with the lone home game coming against a very good San Jose Sharks team. The upcoming schedule will not do the Rangers any favors, so they need to continue to raise their level of play and consistently play well each and every night they take the ice.
Daily Nets Update: After getting their record to above .500 for the first time all season, Brooklyn dropped their last game to the Celtics, and they are currently 30-30. With under six minutes to play in the second quarter, the Nets currently have a double digit lead against a bad Sacramento Kings team. If they can keep their foot on the gas tonight, the first place Toronto Raptors will visit Barclays Center tomorrow night with the Nets having a chance to cut Toronto's lead in the division down to 2.5 games. 22 games to play, and still a whole lot of possibilities for the Nets.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: The DBacks are in the ninth inning of a tie game with the San Diego Padres right now, and their season officially begins in Australia in 13 days. Brandon McCarthy has looked very good thus far on the mound, and Martin Prado has been hitting the cover off of the ball at the plate. Archie Bradley won his second start yesterday, and has still not surrendered a run in his two appearances. We still may not see him on the Opening Day roster, but if he keeps pitching as well as he has been, it will be impossible for the team to keep him out of the rotation for very long in 2014.
Daily Giants Update: Not a lot of news right now, but free agency begins this week, and the Giants will likely be pretty active. Hakeem Nicks was in the news over the past few days, and it appears he will not be back with the team for next season. That means that the Giants will need a #1 caliber outside receiver. There are some pretty nice names that will be available, but I'm not too sure that any of them will be as good as Nicks was over the course of his entire tenure with the Giants. The team has needs at multiple positions, and the upcoming week will be the first step in filling those holes.
No comments:
Post a Comment