So, after a busy weekend...where shall we begin? Well, where else...with March Madness.
The one great thing about the Big Dance is this: It never disappoints. Even in the worst tournaments (and this year's been pretty good), there are things that happen every year in this thing that make your head spin. I could go a number of different ways, but there are a few specific things that caught my eye.
First of all, obligatory Kentucky greatness take: How great do you have to be when Cincinnati takes its best shot at you, you win by 15 and people complain about how much you win by? Cincinnati played pretty close to the best game they could play and UK didn't play all that great and yet Cincinnati stood no chance in that game.
That said, Arizona didn't play a great game either and still beat Ohio State solidly in the second half. They got absolutely nothing from some of their better players including Stanley Johnson and still won comfortably. I still think Arizona is the only team that could beat Kentucky, with Wisconsin and Duke close behind.
Even as a Big 10 fan, the best conference this year by far is the ACC. The Big 10 is still competitive as Wisconsin and MSU are always tough this time of year, but the Big 10 is in a down year. ACC on the other hand...five teams in the Sweet 16, including three of the major schools from Tobacco Road. And may have been six if Virginia hadn't lost Justin Anderson at one point this season.
Jim Rome mentioned it on his radio show today, but the Triangle in North Carolina has to be through the roof right now...maybe the only place that can consider itself basketball heaven more than Wichita, Kansas. In addition, Notre Dame and Louisville have very good teams and should represent themselves well next weekend. Oh and I think Duke is Duke again, at least for this year. They played in a rugged conference, and played a pretty solid San Diego State team in the round of 32 and beat the crap out of them.
North Carolina is a good, solid team, but I'm not sure they are capable of playing 40 minutes against the Badgers, and if they aren't on their Ps and Qs the whole game, they aren't going to win that game because Wisconsin always is prepared and always works their game plan to perfection.
I think the Big 12 isn't falling apart, but it's also apparent their teams weren't quite as good as everyone said they were. Iowa State acted like they could just show up and win against UAB, and Baylor had a total meltdown against Georgia State. West Virginia and Oklahoma survived to play this week, but the losses by Texas, ISU and Baylor on the first day really hurt the Big 12's reputation on the national scene.
They won't beat Kentucky, but I love that Bob Huggins is back in the Sweet 16. The tournament is always better to me when Huggins can take a team deep, and even better when he's doing it for his alma mater.
And finally: Wichita, Kansas, home to basketball heaven or at least it's got to be, you would think...thanks to Wichita State. Now we know why Kansas wouldn't play Wichita State since 1993, well other than the fact that KU feels it doesn't have anything to gain by playing them. Wichita State is just better. Don't get me wrong, they should still play Wichita State every year. I get that Kansas has nothing to gain, but in-state opponents should not dodge each other. Those battles are great for the fans and are also key recruiting battles.
I think the one thing this game did for the Shockers was that it took them to the next level. They've been to the Final Four, and they've beat some good programs, but they've never had to go through big, bad Kansas because Kansas didn't feel like WuShock was worth its time. Now, not only are they a perennial contender, they are champions of the state of basketball-mad Kansas. That's a pretty good deal for Wichita State, even if they lose to Notre Dame.
Oh and one other thing: I don't know if it will happen because the Shockers have to beat Notre Dame to get to the final 8, but I'd love to see WuShock play Kentucky again. That was one of the best games of the tournament in 2014 and WuShock has most of its team back, so they aren't unfamiliar with how Kentucky goes about its business.
Couple of NFL notes now: So the NFL decided to suspend the blackout policy for 2015, which required that teams sell out their stadiums in order to get games in their home market. It's a silly rule, an outdated rule and one that needs to be scrapped, period.
Texans are hoping to get Clowney back by August; O'Brien has made some very good moves this offseason and if they can somehow, someway have Clowney, Wilfork and Watt healthy for an extended amount of time that defense is going to be a terror.
From the SEC, a future Georgia recruit had a moment he'll never live down; Ben Cleveland, a 6'7, 325 lb. lineman committed to the Dawgs had to have stitches in his hand whilst taking part in a science experiment at his high school. Might it be safe to say he won't be taking part in any science classes at UGA?
Big week coming up for the Husker baseball team; after going 7-6 to open the season away from home, they've come home and done what they're supposed to do, which would be win the first 10 games against scrubs. But now comes five games against Cal-State Fullerton and Texas. Husker fans will know a lot more about this team after this week.
Until next time...
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