March Gladness, Sadness, and... You Know the Rest
Madness, for those of you too slow to catch on. How the heck is everybody? So much for that New Year's resolution I made. Hopefully, with everything going on in the next couple of days, I'll get back into the swing of things.
How long has it been? Last time I wrote, Maryland was hoping for a three or four seed in the NCAA tournament, and the Portland Trailblazers were still hypothetically involved in the Jason Kidd deal. Wow, how times have changed.
Anyway, yeah. How about those conference tourneys? How does Georgia, the worst team in the SEC this season manage to win twice in one day? Hell, how does Arkansas rise above the rest of the bubble pack and make it into the SEC final?
How do Coppin State, UMBC and American University qualify for the dance while Maryland is left to hold down the NIT (much more about this in a minute, trust me)?
All those stories are definitely interesting, and trust me, I've been quite into all the conference tourney happenings, but, in all honesty, I didn't think I was truly into the whole madness of March (especially after the Maryland loss) until I saw the Boise State/New Mexico game about thirty minutes ago.
I tried watching the Georgetown/Pitt game, but found myself fairly unemotional, feeling like I was just passing the time. I guess it was for two reasons: 1) As good as Georgetown and Pittsburgh might be, the Big East to me has become a fairly mundane, work-the-clock kind of league and, superficial as it may sound, I hate that kind of basketball, and 2)What do they really have to play for? Georgetown could have blown Pitt out and still not have risen above a two seed, and while you can make a good argument for the Panthers having played their way into a three seed, who cares? They're going to the tournament anyway.
That's why I wanted to switch to the WAC Championship Final, a league which in recent years has become a one-bid pony. I wanted to see two teams play who would not take tomorrow for granted. And, I say without hesitation that this was the best game I've seen all year.
When I made the switch with about 11 or 12 minutes left in the game and the Broncos (that is, Boise State for those unfamiliar with Jared Zabransky's now famed "Statue of Liberty play) led the Aggies of New Mexico State by 13. The only thing I truly knew about either team was that the Aggies were the #1 seed and regular season champ, and, upon seeing that score, I figured I would just stick around to see the contrast of emotion on the side-lines: jubilation from Boise State; frustration and utter disbelief from New Mexico State. That, and, ugh, I did not want to go back to that damn Big East Final.
However, the Aggies pleasantly surprised me, using a combination of suffocating defense, guard penetration and, the above all, heart to whittle away at Boise State's lead. After blowing such a huge lead, especially as the underdog in the first place, I expected the Broncos to fold under pressure.
But, down the stretch and throughout all three overtimes, they took every punch the Aggies threw and countered with blows of their own. On the road no less!
I do think that the better team lost in this case, but that's the beauty of March Madness. You can talk RPI this and "record in last ten games" that all you want, but once that (hopefully unbiased and non-mafia-backed) referee throws the ball in the air, wipe the slate clean and play ball.
In terms of brackets, I haven't figured out a strategy quite yet. I have to admit that I'm going into the tourney a little less informed than I have been in previous years, but I can cram. After a couple disappointing years in bracketology, I'll be back amongst the contenders in any pool.
One team I won't have to research will be my Terps, unless I decide to run an NIT pool. I've got to be completely honest: as a Terp fan for the past ten years or so (admittedly I did hop on the wagon late but when I hop I hop as anyone knows), I've seen some inconsistent seasons, as well as some big-time choke jobs. For me, this one has to take the cake. How do you lose to teams like American and Ohio at home, only to beat #1 North Carolina on the road? How does a team blow a 20 point lead with 12 minutes and change in a must-win game (I won't even bring up the fact that it was James Gist's senior night)?
The Boston College game was a microcosm of their season-long dual identity problems. They shoot out to a 21-7 lead early, lead by nine in the second half, and then literally hand the Eagles the game on a silver platter with mind-numbing turnovers, most of which led to buckets. That and, oh yeah: the Eagles finished dead last in the ACC during the regular season.
Despite everything I just wrote, and it goes back to what I said early in the season, I think this was one of Gary Williams' best coaching jobs. "But you just said..." Yeah, I know, but seriously, he took a team that lost at home to American, American, and willed them to the bubble. Us Maryland fans want them to go to the tournament every year and get to the Final Four so we can relive the glory days and blah blah, but we have to take the small victories, too. I know a ton of people won't want to hear any of what I'm saying, but after having had time to think about it, it's true.
Don't fire Gary. Period. Get his guys to be more proactive in getting talent on the recruiting trail, but he should be able to coach there as long as he wants.
Good luck in the NIT, guys.
How long has it been? Last time I wrote, Maryland was hoping for a three or four seed in the NCAA tournament, and the Portland Trailblazers were still hypothetically involved in the Jason Kidd deal. Wow, how times have changed.
Anyway, yeah. How about those conference tourneys? How does Georgia, the worst team in the SEC this season manage to win twice in one day? Hell, how does Arkansas rise above the rest of the bubble pack and make it into the SEC final?
How do Coppin State, UMBC and American University qualify for the dance while Maryland is left to hold down the NIT (much more about this in a minute, trust me)?
All those stories are definitely interesting, and trust me, I've been quite into all the conference tourney happenings, but, in all honesty, I didn't think I was truly into the whole madness of March (especially after the Maryland loss) until I saw the Boise State/New Mexico game about thirty minutes ago.
I tried watching the Georgetown/Pitt game, but found myself fairly unemotional, feeling like I was just passing the time. I guess it was for two reasons: 1) As good as Georgetown and Pittsburgh might be, the Big East to me has become a fairly mundane, work-the-clock kind of league and, superficial as it may sound, I hate that kind of basketball, and 2)What do they really have to play for? Georgetown could have blown Pitt out and still not have risen above a two seed, and while you can make a good argument for the Panthers having played their way into a three seed, who cares? They're going to the tournament anyway.
That's why I wanted to switch to the WAC Championship Final, a league which in recent years has become a one-bid pony. I wanted to see two teams play who would not take tomorrow for granted. And, I say without hesitation that this was the best game I've seen all year.
When I made the switch with about 11 or 12 minutes left in the game and the Broncos (that is, Boise State for those unfamiliar with Jared Zabransky's now famed "Statue of Liberty play) led the Aggies of New Mexico State by 13. The only thing I truly knew about either team was that the Aggies were the #1 seed and regular season champ, and, upon seeing that score, I figured I would just stick around to see the contrast of emotion on the side-lines: jubilation from Boise State; frustration and utter disbelief from New Mexico State. That, and, ugh, I did not want to go back to that damn Big East Final.
However, the Aggies pleasantly surprised me, using a combination of suffocating defense, guard penetration and, the above all, heart to whittle away at Boise State's lead. After blowing such a huge lead, especially as the underdog in the first place, I expected the Broncos to fold under pressure.
But, down the stretch and throughout all three overtimes, they took every punch the Aggies threw and countered with blows of their own. On the road no less!
I do think that the better team lost in this case, but that's the beauty of March Madness. You can talk RPI this and "record in last ten games" that all you want, but once that (hopefully unbiased and non-mafia-backed) referee throws the ball in the air, wipe the slate clean and play ball.
In terms of brackets, I haven't figured out a strategy quite yet. I have to admit that I'm going into the tourney a little less informed than I have been in previous years, but I can cram. After a couple disappointing years in bracketology, I'll be back amongst the contenders in any pool.
One team I won't have to research will be my Terps, unless I decide to run an NIT pool. I've got to be completely honest: as a Terp fan for the past ten years or so (admittedly I did hop on the wagon late but when I hop I hop as anyone knows), I've seen some inconsistent seasons, as well as some big-time choke jobs. For me, this one has to take the cake. How do you lose to teams like American and Ohio at home, only to beat #1 North Carolina on the road? How does a team blow a 20 point lead with 12 minutes and change in a must-win game (I won't even bring up the fact that it was James Gist's senior night)?
The Boston College game was a microcosm of their season-long dual identity problems. They shoot out to a 21-7 lead early, lead by nine in the second half, and then literally hand the Eagles the game on a silver platter with mind-numbing turnovers, most of which led to buckets. That and, oh yeah: the Eagles finished dead last in the ACC during the regular season.
Despite everything I just wrote, and it goes back to what I said early in the season, I think this was one of Gary Williams' best coaching jobs. "But you just said..." Yeah, I know, but seriously, he took a team that lost at home to American, American, and willed them to the bubble. Us Maryland fans want them to go to the tournament every year and get to the Final Four so we can relive the glory days and blah blah, but we have to take the small victories, too. I know a ton of people won't want to hear any of what I'm saying, but after having had time to think about it, it's true.
Don't fire Gary. Period. Get his guys to be more proactive in getting talent on the recruiting trail, but he should be able to coach there as long as he wants.
Good luck in the NIT, guys.
posted by Justin Cherot @ 12:50 AM
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