Sixteen lessons from first- and second-round action

By Yoni Cohen on Sun Mar 19, 2006 at 08:32:38 PM EST

PHILADELPHIA -- 1. Hofstra ought to have received an at-large bid; the Pride defeated George Mason twice in the three weeks before Selection Sunday.

2. The Big Ten was very far from the best conference in America; nary a single conference club advanced to the Sweet 16.

3. The Pac-10 was throughout the season underrated; UCLA and Washington won two games each, and Arizona played Villanova (and Wisconsin) tough.

4. Roy Williams and Bill Self are no substitute for experience; both the Tar Heels and Jayhawks lost in large part thanks to their youth.

5. Brandon Rush is a mensch; he's coming back for his sophomore season.

6. The "Bracket Buster" has helped level the playing field; the event assures mid-major clubs a high-profile game, well preparing the George Masons, Wichita States, and Northwestern States of the world for the bright lights of the NCAA tournament.

7. April anarchy will soon be upon us; the biggest coaching carousel in history is just around the corner.

8. Offensive efficiency is necessary but not sufficient; Tennessee, Michigan State, Illinois, Alabama, and Air Force all lost despite ranking in the Top 25 in points per possession scored.

9. Defensive efficiency may be even less important; Iowa, Kansas, Texas A&M, Pittsburgh, Southern Illinois, and UNC-Wilmington all lost despite ranking in the Top 25 in points per possession allowed.

10. Marcus Williams should have been a first-team All-American -- even though he only played a single semester; he singlehandedly led Connecticut past Albany and Kentucky.

11. The NCAA tournament is not about the size of the dog in the fight, but about the size of the fight in the dog; mid-majors have upset numerous BCS-conference schools.

12. Blogs are mainstream; witness ESPN and CNN/SI.

13. Players win regular-season games, but teams win tournament games; Gonzaga, for one example, could not have won without a big game from J.P. Batista.

14. The selection committee was wise to include Memphis rather than Ohio State as the fourth No. 1; the Tigers beat the Bucknell Bison handily while the Buckeyes lost convincingly to the Georgetown Hoyas..

15. More fans need to attend first- and second-round action; the Wachovia Center was half-empty for the opening game on both Friday and Sunday.

16. March Madness is the best event in sports; dozens of close games and numerous upsets.

Commentary ::


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Sixteen lessons from first- and second-round action | 16 comments (16 topical, 0 hidden)

Add Pitt... (none / 0)

To the list of top defensive efficiency teams to lose -- they were No. 9.

What's the general public's take on Pitt's Carl Krauser. Pitt fans (not I) are arguing that the Panthers will be better of without him. Any opinions out there (his thug antics aside)?


by KBWpitt on Sun Mar 19, 2006 at 08:53:56 PM EST

A few comments (none / 0)

  1. I think the MVC, UW-Mil, and Geo Mason performances further illustrate the fact that Missouri State and Creighton deserved to be in this field. (While Hofstra may have been deserving also, I still say they rank behind these MVC teams and also behind Mason when you evaluate the entire profile).

  2. I have to strongly disagree here. Why should the voters completely ignore the first semester?

  3. I used to attend 1st/2nd round tournament action, but don't plan to again. I MUCH prefer having my pick of all 48 first weekend games on DirecTV Mega March Madness rather than attending in person. The 1st round is very tiring on the fans who watch all 4 games in the arena.

  4. Jim Nantz and Billy Packer deserve to be assigned to the DC regional so they can call the WS-GM game (but I seriously doubt this will happen).

by Jeff79 on Sun Mar 19, 2006 at 09:40:38 PM EST

nantz and packer (none / 0)

Those 2 should be forced to publicly apologize to Craig Littlepage. They were so disrespectful and denigrating to Littlepage during the selection show.

And Littlepage's committee was closer to accurate than Nantz and Packer.

Enough of those 2 morons.

CBS needs to bring in some fresh play-by-play and analysis.


by Anonymous Hero on Mon Mar 20, 2006 at 03:25:18 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Big ten (none / 0)

This year's tourney was certainly on off year for the Big Ten.  They may have been overrated or it may be the result of tired teams from a battering big ten season where there were no gimme games like there has been in the past.  Probably not though, my guess is that it's just an off year.  This year makes up for every other year where the Big Ten goes into the tourney underrate and consistently outperforms.

by Anonymous Hero on Mon Mar 20, 2006 at 08:58:14 AM EST

Totally unrelated (unless you mean NIT also)... (none / 0)

...but is there any doubt that Mike Brey should not be coaching at Notre Dame this time next year? They're losing two of their best players (Chris Quinn and Torin Francis) and, in the year they've been building for for a while, failed to make the Big Dance (for the third year in a row). The good news is, this Notre Dame team can expect to be in the NCAA Tournament in 2007-2008, with consecutive strong recruiting classes. However, if they struggle like I expect them to next year, is any of that going to matter anyway to Mike Brey?

by SetonHallPirate on Mon Mar 20, 2006 at 10:01:41 PM EST

Wachovia Center (none / 0)

I disagree w/ your comment about the crowd in Philly on Sunday.  I was at that game & there were some open seats for the UONN game but it was far from "half-empty".  

by PhillyPhan on Tue Mar 21, 2006 at 11:46:19 AM EST

Marcus Williams, All-American (none / 0)

First Team?!?

Please point me to any non-NCAA tourney game where he qualified for this distinction.

I take it Patrick O'Bryant also should have been a first-teamer.


by mental on Tue Mar 21, 2006 at 11:56:59 AM EST

Marcus Williams (none / 0)

It could have been the triple-double he had against Notre Dame; the 13 games he had at least 8 assists; his 2.5 to 1 assist to turnover ratio; he has never fouled out of a game; or the fact that he has carried the most talented team in the country the past few games.

by Anonymous Hero on Tue Mar 21, 2006 at 07:19:32 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Marcus Williams (none / 0)

I'll concede that Williams was the key to that win over ND -- his putback forced OT. But where was he when UConn blew their 19-point lead in that game?

And how far can you say he carried a team that was 11-0 (with 3 wins over tourney teams) without him?

Putting him in front of Redick, Foye, Ray, or Roy seems to greatly overstate his value. Welcome to Rodney Carney territory.  


by mental on Tue Mar 21, 2006 at 08:32:57 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Marcus Williams (none / 0)

I agree that he shouldn't be First-Team, but I think that he should be a second-teamer.

My first team is Roy, Foye, Redick, Morrison, and Williams.


by Anonymous Hero on Wed Mar 22, 2006 at 01:06:14 PM EST
[ Parent ]

PAC-10 (none / 0)

This PAC-10 (and Arizona) fan is very proud of what the conference has shown so far.  I'm just frustrated that my Cats didn't play that way all year.  Had they shown that kind of heart all season, they wouldn't have had been put in the unfair position of playing an actual away game in what is supposed to be a "neutral court" tournament--for the second year in a row.  The pod system has to go if it means that teams get to play in their own cities (or even their own states, as Illinois got to do in the third and fourth rounds last year).  Even as a #1 seed, the closest Arizona has been to home in years is Albuquerque, New Mexico.  Yet, Duke has played in North Carolina many times, Villanova plays in Philly and Illinois played in Champagne last year.  The committee needs to knock that off, or just drop the pretense of "neutral sites" and start playing on actual home courts like the women used to do.  

by Anonymous Hero on Tue Mar 21, 2006 at 06:23:01 PM EST

Correction (none / 0)

As previously noted by another poster, the Illinois game was in Chicago (rather than Champaign)--but still in state and far too close to be a "neutral site".

by Anonymous Hero on Tue Mar 21, 2006 at 06:28:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Just win the games.. (none / 0)

Where was all this companing in 2004 when OK state went to East Rutherford and beat St.Joe's? Philly is about an hour drive from the meadowlands and I dont remember the Cowboys complaining because they won. The only teams that have a right to complain are the higher seeded teams playing a "road game". If you're any lower its your body of work during the season that put you there. Arizona kind of has a complaint last year BEFORE the game, but when you blow that kind of lead your complaint holds no water, Oklahoma has a legitimate complaint in 2003 when they played Syracuse in Albany. But this year's Arizona team has no complaint. They were an 8 seed and at the mercy of the committee, too bad.. One more thing, lets give Villanova some credit. NCAA rules state that you cannot play more than 3 regular season games at a site in order to play there in the tournament. Vilanova basically forfeited money in order to try to win a national title. They could have played every game at the Wachovia Center and made much more money for the school. Instead they wanted to give the kids a chance to win. I think this one time its nice not to see the business side of sports.

by RS on Wed Mar 22, 2006 at 12:07:36 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Why couldn't Villanova have... (none / 0)

...played some other games at the First Union Spectrum across the street?

by SetonHallPirate on Wed Mar 22, 2006 at 01:17:09 PM EST
[ Parent ]

crowds (none / 0)

the answer is not necessarily bigger crowds for the 1st round but rather playing in more intimate arenas, preferably on campus. Rather than playing in the cavernous Wachovia Center, for example, the tourney could have been in what certainly would have been a sold out Palestra for a unique college basketball experience.

by Anonymous Hero on Tue Mar 21, 2006 at 08:47:30 PM EST

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by zoe on Thu Aug 14, 2008 at 03:30:12 AM EST
Sixteen lessons from first- and second-round action | 16 comments (16 topical, 0 hidden)
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