NATIONWIDE – If dieters could accomplish what the NCAA Division I Mens’ basketball tournament did last week, no one would be overweight.
In an almost magical, but certainly exciting sequence of events, the NCAA TOURNAMENT to determine the National Champion of Mens’ Division I Basketball has, in the span of six days, reduced itself from 68 hopeful teams to merely16.
In the process, the disappointment and anguish shown by those who lost games, in this “lose and go home” tournament, is exceeded only by the raw elation and pure joy shown by those teams that won and made it to “The Sweet Sixteen” to extend their basketball seasons.
Over the past six days of NCAA basket ball games, those who filled out brackets have come to know how unpredictable this Tournament is. As it happens every year, there are some teams that look to be cinches to advance, and some surprising victories by teams that the odds were against their advancing. Some call them upsets, when a team seeded lower in the official bracket done by the NCAA Selection Committee beats a team that they were not supposed to have much of a chance to defeat.
This year is no exception; upsets and surprises were commonplace, and everyone, including President Barack Obama, found their brackets “busted” early on.
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In what proved to be the first real upset this year, the Villanova Wildcats, the one seed in the East Region, was stunned by eighth seeded the North Carolina State Wolfpack.
The other top seeded teams won their first two games. The Kentucky Wildcats, expected by most to win the National Championship, made it look as if they will do just that by defeating The Hampton Pirates and The Cincinnati Bearcats. Kentucky made it look easy, and will face the West Virginia Mountaineers in their next test.
The good news for the PAC-12 is that the Arizona Wildcats got to play in the West Regional, in Los Angeles by defeating Texas Southern and the Ohio State Buckeyes. Arizona will meet the Xavier Musketeers.
The UCLA Bruins, surprising those who thought that they should not have been included in this Tournament, also advanced. Their opponents next week will be the Gonzaga Bulldogs. Gonzaga has been picked by some to make it to the Final Four. UCLA on the otherhand continues to surprise some and to please Bruin fans. If Tony Parker, the Bruin center plays like he did in leading UCLA tp victory, scoring 29 points and playing good defense “in the paint”, and if Norman Powell and Bryce Alford get hot, the Bruins have a real chance to beat the Bulldogs.
Utah also advanced to the Sweet Sixteen and will take on the powerful Duke Bluedivils, and their formidable young star center, Jahlil Okafor. Okafor, an outstanding defensive presence, displayed all of the tools that will take him to greatness.
In defeating the San Diego Aztecs, the team sporting four Sacramento area players, Okafor scored 26 points to lead the Blue Devils. When the Aztecs, took the floor, all were suffering from a stomach illness, that affected not only the players, but the coaching staff too, but even had they been feeling their best they were unlikely to have beaten Duke. In the losing effort, Laguna High’s Malik Pope did well scoring six points, hitting two three pointers and grabbed two rebounds. Though they lost, the Aztecs showed that they will be a force to be reckoned with, next year, with Malik Pope, and the other three from this area Dakarai Allen, Erryl Williams, and U’u Parker all returning next year.
From the way they played in the Round of 32, the National Championship game just might well be between Duke and Kentucky. If that happens, it will be fun to watch the two talented young centers, Okafor of Duke and Willie Cauley-Stein of Kentucky square off.
The Oregon Ducks, the fourth team from the PAC-12, won their Second Round game by beating the Oklahoma Sooners, but fell to the top seeds of the West Regional, the Wisconsin Badgers in the Third Round.
The Wisconsin Badgers center, also a candidate for Player of The Year, Mike Kaminski, will also promises be a force to be reckoned with in the Badgers game against the North Carolina Tar Heels on Thursday. They will square off in the first game of the West Regional, in Los Angeles, followed by the Arizona versus Xavier game.
The Arizona Wildcats won their Third Round game, but did not look as good as they usually do. Brandon Ashley, the very talented forward from San Francisco, got into foul trouble early on, and ultimately fouled out. So, the floor leader T.J. McConnell patiently guided the Wildcats to victory through stellar offense delivered by Gabe York, Stanley Johnson, and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. York hit three consecutive three pointers early in the second half, while Johnson and Hollis Jefferson scored well and controlled the backboards. In facing Xavier the Arizona Wilcats will need Brandon Ashley to play his usual game, scoring high and avoiding fouls.
While Many expect the Wisconsin Badgers to win the West and advance to the Final Four, others are hoping that the Arizona Wildcats emerge as West Regional Champions, go to Indianapolis, and there, win to face The Wildcats of Kentucky.
While there are many scenarios that will determine which teams will make it to the Final Four, what could be better than a good cat fight in Indianapolis?
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By Luke Conley