Monday, March 22, 2010

Top Ten Moments of the Weekend of NCAA Tournament Action


A quarter of the Sweet 16 are mid-majors. A quarter of the Sweet 16 are seeded 9th or higher. The biggest dog on the block has been ousted. What a weekend (Thursday through Sunday) of college basketball. Love it!

So what were the top ten moments for me of the first two rounds? Let's see.

BONUS-WOFFORD/WISCONSIN: Two things about this game. This would have been sweet to see tourney newbie Wofford beat Wisky (they were right there at the end, but couldn't get over the top). But my favorite dumb moment of this tournament was when the ball got stuck in the back of the backboard between cords and CBS' basket camera. The game was delayed several minutes as they had to find a stick long enough to knock the ball back down.

10-MICHIGAN STATE SQUEAKS BY NEW MEXICO STATE: One of the disappointing moments of this dance was how Michigan State beat NMSU. I'm not saying that the Aggies were robbed of a win (they were down two points when this happened), but I think they got hosed on that "free throw lane violation" that allowed the Spartans to add another point to their lead. That switched the strategy since NMSU had to go for a three instead of a two in the closing seconds. Look, I've watched a ton of basketball this weekend and after that game I noticed so many "lane violations" that weren't called. It just sucks that the season had to end like this.

9-ROBERT MORRIS GETS SCREWED: I don't even want to talk about this anymore. It was horrible.

8-MURRAY STATE'S BUZZER BEATER: The first buzzer beater of the tournament was awesome. Danero Thomas' jumper as the buzzer sounded to beat Vanderbilt still might be the top individual shot so far in the tournament.

7-BYU/FLORIDA: This game gets lost in all of the hub-bub of the weekend. Yet one of the first games on the entire tournament was gripping throughout and ended up going to two overtimes. At the end of regulation and the first overtime, the Gators held the ball for the last shot -- and missed. The story of this one, though, was the Cougars' Jimmer Fredette who slashed and weaved his way to 37 points. And think about this: Florida entered the game on a 12-game NCAA Tournament winning streak. Since their last loss in the dance (in 2005), they won back-to-back national championships.

6-CORNELL DOMINATION: Cornell became the first Ivy League school to win a tournament game in over a decade. They liked it so much that they did it again. It isn't that Cornell is in the Sweet 16 but how they got there. They dominated a tough Temple team in the first round before bowling over Wisconsin in the second round. Now they get the tournament's top remaining seed in Kentucky.

5-WAKE FOREST'S ISH SMITH: People forget about Wake Forest after they were run out of the building by Kentucky. But Ish Smith's shot to beat Texas and complete the Longhorns epic demise was quite the moment.

4-MICHIGAN STATE/MARYLAND: Maybe the best finish of any game in this tournament. The last minute was stunning. The Terps take a one point lead (their first since the beginning of the game) on a Greivis Vasquez floater; Spartans strike back on Green's jumper; Terps retake the lead on another Vasquez floater; then Korie Lucious' three point strike when the buzzer sounds.

3-OMAR SAMHAN: This is a guy that pretty much all of us have never heard of when the tournament began. Right now, he's playing better than anyone in the dance. St. Mary's Samhan has averaged 30.5 pointsand 9.5 rebounds. He is 24-of-32 from the field thus far ... including an amazing 13-for-16 effort against Villanova. And it isn't like this kid is coming on strong all of the sudden; he's been one of the best players in the WCC all year long. His true stardom could be coming from his post-game news conference antics. This is a cat to watch from here on out.

2-OHIO BEATS GEORGETOWN: I know that the No. 1 moment in this list is the biggest shocker, but Ohio's win over G'town may be the biggest upset thus far. A Mighty Big East team gets completely run over by a team that finished 9th in the MAC??? How does that happen? Ohio shouldn't have even been anywhere near this tournament before the MAC tournament started. Then they go and spank the Hoyas. Amazing.

1-NORTHERN IOWA BEATS KANSAS: This is a complete stunner. Kansas was the heavy favorite to win their 2nd NCAA title in three years. Yet, Northern Iowa from the Missouri Valley Conference shot down Goliath.

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