By the time Sunday night’s games ended, the Sweet 16 included 14 teams from five of the power conferences and along with the Atlantic 10’s Xavier, a team that finally got it right after a season of getting it wrong and Ohio, a team from the long forgotten Mid-American Conference.
After an historic first night when one team (Western Kentucky) overcame the largest last five-minute deficit (16 points) and another (Brigham Young) came back from the largest deficit (25 points) to win, followed by a Friday that included the unprecedented exacta of 15 over two that took out Missouri and Duke, rationality returned to the NCAA Tournament Saturday and Sunday.
By the time Sunday night’s games ended, the Sweet 16 included 14 teams from five of the power conferences and along with the Atlantic 10’s Xavier, a team that finally got it right after a season of getting it wrong and Ohio, a team from the long forgotten Mid-American Conference.
The Big Ten dominated, getting four through with a record of 9-2. The Big East is 11-5 after Cincinnati topped Florida State, 62-56. The champions of the two leagues (Michigan State and Louisville) are still playing along with Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio State, Marquette and Syracuse.
The other power teams are Kentucky (what seed would they get in the NBA’s Eastern Conference?), North Carolina, Baylor, North Carolina State, Florida, Kansas and Cincinnati.
The SEC is 5-2 and the ACC fell to 5-3 after Cincinnati beat Florida State.
BEST TEAM
Still, Kentucky. That 10-minute run against Iowa State in Louisville? It was 42-42. Then, UK scored 36 points in the next 10 minutes and won comfortably. It was devastating. If this team makes jump shots, nobody has a chance.
In two games, UK is 61-for-110 (55.4 percent) from the field. If that keeps up, it is over.
UNLUCKIEST TEAM
Has to be Missouri. Since the three-point shot came to the tournament in 1987, every team that has shot 50 percent or more, made 10 threes and had fewer than 10 turnovers has won _ until Mizzou did that in its 86-84 loss to Norfolk State, a 21 {-point underdog.
The key play down the stretch was a Norfolk State airball that resulted in a three-point play. Norfolk State, a 31 percent three-point shooting team, was 10-for-19 from the arc.
Norfolk State, which did not even win the MEAC regular season and lost, 68-36, at Illinois State on Dec. 18 while shooting 21.7 percent, absolutely deserved to win. The Spartans played a beautiful game with great heart, but you have to feel a little sorry for Mizzou, a team that got caught up in something that was unprecedented.
MOST IRRITATING TEAM
Has to be Wisconsin. The Badgers drove Vanderbilt crazy in a three-point win, taking charges, running the shot clock down, taking 33 threes, chasing down the misses and refusing to let the Commodores get any offensive rhythm. The only team Bo Ryan probably does not want to play is his alma mater, Chester (Pa.) High, which has won 56 straight. Instead, the Badgers get an easy one Thursday in Boston against No. 1 seed Syracuse.
- Dick Jerardi, MCT Campus