The NCAA men’s basketball tournament isn’t the only big college championship on right now. With a couple more underway, it’s time to take a look at tournament time.
March “Mad”ness
Oh, the good ole’ days (last Thursday) when brackets were still perfect. But if there is one thing about the brackets, what is good will never last. After a good start, my bracket has just fallen apart.
Villanova and Duke, I am looking at you.
But the odd thing about the first weekend of the tournament was the lack of upsets on day one. Thursday saw just two low seed victories.
Those “upsets” were No. 11 Xavier over Maryland (43.5 percent of ESPN brackets had the upset) and No. 12 Middle Tennessee over Minnesota (42.9 percent). Those were the third and fourth most picked double-digit seeds on ESPN brackets.
And it wasn’t like they were the only games with upset potential. UNC Wilmington looked good against Virginia. VCU should have had a shot against Saint Mary’s. Vermont had the nation’s longest active winning streak until they ran into Purdue. Plus, did someone say Dunk City?
Day two saw just three more double-digit seeds win. It is worth noting that Wichita State was under-seeded at No. 10, so their win against Dayton came as no surprise.
A similar number of upsets were seen in the second round, but at least those were of higher quality. Any time a top-two seed falls on opening weekend it’s exciting.
Wisconsin defeating Villanova proved I may have been wrong in doubting the Big 10. I also feel obligated to note Michigan’s achievements as well.
As for Duke, you got tripped up again, so can we put a rest of these Grayson Allen jokes?
Now comes the Sweet 16 and beyond, and once again, my hopes for a good bracket rest on UNC. What can go wrong there?
NCAA Tournament comes to Fargo
There is going to be a lot of green in Fargo on Friday, but it won’t be NDSU green.
No, it will be the green from the north, as the NCAA Men’s Hockey Tournament kicks off at Scheels Arena.
The University of North Dakota will host first and second round action starting on Friday. The Fighting Hawks will face off against Boston University at 2 p.m. Friday, followed by the nightcap of University of Minnesota Duluth and Ohio State.
Despite the rivalry between our schools, UND plays some good hockey. It might be worth checking out and there should be a good atmosphere in the arena.
A note for those who feel like our northern neighbors should lose, the Fighting Hawks are 0-5 this season against the Bulldogs, should the teams face off Saturday night.
Huskies still streaking
The Connecticut Huskies women’s basketball team’s win streak sits at 109. That is tied with Penn State Volleyball for longest win streak in any sport.
UCLA will stand between the Huskies and win 110. Four games separate them from yet another title.
Other story lines of the women’s bracket are the feel-good teams of Oregon and Quinnipiac. They are the highest seeds remaining, and the latter have made the Sweet 16 for the first time.
The Ducks copied the South Carolina men, defeating No. 2 Duke to punch their ticket to the second weekend.
Quinnipiac will face an injury depleted South Carolina side, but still face an uphill battle to continue the Cinderella story.
At the end, it looks like a clear path for the Huskies to take home the title yet again.