At this point in NCAA Tournament, people might have a few questions rattling around in their brains. More than a few, actually.
They may be wondering what on earth happened to their beautiful brackets.
They also may be wondering how CBS basketball commentator Gus Johnson has yet to literally explode with excitement.
Then again, they just might be awakening from a Frito-and-March Madness On Demand-induced coma and wondering where they are and how they got there.
Regardless of where exactly you stand, as the second weekend of the tournament rolls around, you should probably be asking an unfortunate question: “where is all the madness?”
With the exception of an Arizona team that underperformed in the Pac-10 Conference all season, the Sweet 16 remains entirely bereft of Cinderella stories. Plus, Arizona’s basketball-rich tradition kind of undermines their status as tournament cinderalla thus far. In fact, other than the Wildcats, the lowest-seeded team is fifth-seed Purdue (who also happened to come on strong at the end of the season and win the Big Ten Tournament).
When Arizona and the Big Ten Tournament champions are the lowest seeds remaining in the tournament, you know it has been a little too predictable.
Although lowly Cleveland State beat down a Wake Forest team that certainly had better all-around talent, Arizona quickly knocked out that feel-good story. Unlike in years past, I can say with a fair amount of confidence that I can actually find the general location of every school in this year’s Sweet 16 on a map with very little hesitation (unlike Davidson or George Mason in past years).
Before you start to become teary-eyed and whine about no Cinderella stories, consider the positive aspects of such a strong remaining field of teams.
With the exception of Louisville versus Arizona, every remaining game could be a complete toss-up. Sure there are favorites; however, each game could logically be argued for one team or the other without being called an idiot. Not to belittle Arizona of course, especially not after Louisville’s below average performance against Siena in the second round, I’m just saying that Louisville will be the overwhelming favorite to win that game.
It also does not hurt that two Jesuit basketball powerhouses remain in the field and conceivably advance. Gonzaga suffered a thorough beat-down at the hands of Memphis during the regular season; nevertheless, they might be the team to take advantage of some of the tournament magic that has been stingy so far. They will seek a spot in the Elite Eight when they take on a powerful North Carolina team. It will be no easy task for the Zags, especially if Ty Lawson is up to his old tricks.
On the other hand, who knows what will happen to Xavier? After a sluggish finish to Atlantic 10 play, I think many people (myself included) had the Musketeers losing in the second round. After two very solid performances, it is very conceivable that Xavier could come out on top against a Pittsburgh team that coasted through the first weekend of the tournament.
Those happen to be just a couple of the excellent matchups that are prevalent in the next round of the NCAA tournament, which begins Thursday evening. That being said, it’s pretty hard to complain about a Sweet 16 in which literally all of the games could conceivably come down to the wire.
