How about the Big Red!?! We've been touting the Cornell prowess all year, and boy did we get to look brilliant Wednesday night in Kansas. Yes, the Jayhawks won later thanks to Sherron Collins taking over the last 50 seconds, but anyone who doesn't feel a nervous flutter when they see Cornell lurking as a mighty Cinderella in their first weekend bracket is crazy. All year I've been calling them the 13 seed you really don't want to face. After watching the game Wednesday they feel more like an 11 or 12. Assuming of course they beat Harvard and win the Ivy. Could the Ivy be a two bid league???
How crazy is the Colonial this year? It seems like every game is decided either in OT or by less than 2 points. William & Mary beat Deleware by one in overtime, Old Dominion wins by two at home against James Madison, and VCU gets dropped by three at Drexel. It makes for great fun, but also makes for dangerous one-bid potential parity. VCU looked like an at-large contender two weeks ago; now they sit 1-3 in conference play.
BYU got a huge win knocking off UNLV 77-73, moving to 13-1 in the process. Also in the MWC, San Diego State notched a huge home win over New Mexico. The Lobos are still a near-lock tourney team and the MWC is looking like a 3 or 4 bid league.
Is there a better overall team than Duke right now? I'm not sure there is. Their backcourt is steady, sensational but not flashy and their defense is stiffling. The mainstream media seems to enjoy bashing Duke, but it is hard to find any holes in this team right now. Their 22 point win over Iowa State on a neutral floor isn't the most jaw-dropping win, but it is another legit oppoentent the Devils dismissed with staggering ease (like Charlotte and Gonzaga).
The Big East is just fantastic. Marquette got an "upset" (Maniac pet peeve alert: a major sports outfit called it "stunning upset") over Georgetown. The Warriors are 1-2, but could easily and probably should be 3-0 after last second losses to West Virginia and Villanova. The Warriors are really good, and might not finish higher than 8th in conference.
Jamie Dixon is fantastic too. Pitt is off to a 3-0 start in conference and two of the wins are on the road at Syracuse and Cincinnati. After they lost to Indiana a month ago, I wrote the Panthers off as a possible NCAA tournament team; after the first two weeks of conference play they are no worse than a 5 or 6 seed. Will they keep it up? I'm not completely sold, but I have learned we might not want to keep betting against Dixon.
Welcome to Big Ten play. Michigan State defended their homecourt in an ugly 54-47 win over Wisconsin. It may not always be pretty but Big Ten play is always competitve. Is this the start if Michigan State's annual surge?
Welcome BACK Evan Turner. Ohio State looked lost without him. Instantly they looked like the team I thought could contend for the conference crown when he returned. Turner is back startlingly early from his back injury, and The Maniac, for one is thrilled. If he is healthy, we might actually still have a race for National POY... or at least someone who can be in the same sentance as John Wall.
Reports of the demise of Tennessee might be premature. After the Grand Theft Auto re-inactment, and subsequent dismissal of four player, including senior Tyler Smith, most of us figured the Vols left for dead. They promptly came out and hammered Charlotte and looked to be a cohesive unit ready to play. Perhaps the team will grow tighter without their suspended gangsters...er.... teammates.
Thursday featured a big battle in the Sun Belt, with Western Kentucky clipping South Alabama in OT. The only game that really matters for these two will be the likely rematch in the conference championship game; this is a one-bid league in all liklihood, but it is always fun to see two top conference teams square off in an intense competitive early-season game.
Want More? Have something to Say?
Read, Rant, Agree, Disagree...Curse at Us (nicely please)
Do it all @ MarchManiacs.com
Read, Rant, Agree, Disagree...Curse at Us (nicely please)
Do it all @ MarchManiacs.com
No comments:
Post a Comment