Anyways, you can tell by the name what this in going to be all about; the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. It was the very first thing that I started this site with in a post called, "My Hello" in which I talked about the amazing upsets that were happening all over and was changing the way that I had always viewed the NCAA Tourney as a place where only the strongest survived. And I got to be honest, I feel quite embarrassed and ashamed that I did not consider that from the start after being a person that has been able to beat out some big names in things.
The very first tournament watched was when the 2009 NCAA Tournament, where I laid witness to one of the best championship games I've ever seen in the modern era. The game featured the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Michigan State Spartans. The Tar Heels were stacked with talent that would hit the NBA level with Ty Lawson, Tyler Hansbrough, Danny Green, Ed Davis, Wayne Ellington, and Tyler Zeller. The Spartans may have had only one [eventual] NBA player in Draymond Green and a stud athlete in Goran Suton, but as a whole team, Tom Izzo was able to lead them all the way to the dance. At the end, North Carolina's head coach Roy Williams was cutting the net down and cheering as his team beat Michigan State 89-72.
Now that tournament was almost a given by most experts and fans. Hell, even people that did not know anything about the game really could see that either one of those two teams was poised to make a run. The very first tournament I wrote and started the website on was 2014 NCAA Tournament, which left me scratching my head, and also pulling my freaking hair out left and right. I'm shocked that I'm not bald yet after that year. But I have to say that I am glad that I was able to witness it because that year gave the perspective I needed to make sure that was not going to be a biased person in the media world of sports, as so many others can be that work for certain networks.
In that year alone, we saw the return of the Florida Gators to greatness, Virginia enter back into the talk of being an elite force, the Arizona Wildcats were primed and ready, and what was my favorite part of it all was that the Wichita State Shockers had gone 34-0 going into the tournament. Of course, there were also those teams that we knew would be dominate in the tournament like Duke and Kentucky. But that year was also the year in which Dayton stunned everyone by beating Ohio State, Syracuse, and Stanford before finally losing to Florida in the Elite Eight. Along with Dayton, we saw a small school by the name of Mercer University play against the all-powerful Duke and future NBA draft pick Jabari Parker and show the world that sometimes a name is just a name. An then there was Connecticut, who stunned everyone the most by doing it all and winning the championship that year against a highly talented Kentucky Wildcats squad that included a number of future NBA players.
Now of course, I do understand that over the history of time, there have always been upset by the smaller teams coming up and winning big or winning it all. In fact, one of my favorite documentary series, ESPN's 30 for 30, has a movie called, Survive and Advance, which tells the story of how Jim Valvano led the 1983 North Carolina State Wolfpack team to the championship in, what many consider, as one of the greatest moments in sports history and history in general.
So why write about all this on the eve of the 2016 NCAA Tournament? Well one reason is as a chance to remember where I started to how I got here. the other and most important out of this article is because I have to say that this year is, quite possibly, the hardest tournament for me to feel committed to a team to win in my history of doing brackets and writing on the website.
Seriously, I know that Kansas and Michigan State are right now the top favorites by the masses of people that have filled out brackets out there, but even with those two teams, I can only look with some certainty at them both and just say, "Yeah, they both have a shot" because really, even they could lose in the first round. I wouldn't be the first time, and I can promise, It's not going to be the last.
This year's NCAA tourney has a lot of focus buzzing around the team that I love and support so much, the North Carolina Tar Heels. Most of the talk has centered around how they may be the biggest upset to happen this year, by potentially losing to #16 seed Florida Gulf Coast Eagles in the first round. Now some of you newcomers and youngsters may be wondering how that could be, and I would agree because I just could not see that happening. But if you had seen the 2013 NCAA Tournament, then you know you cannot turn your back on that team. That year, the # 15 seeded Florida Gulf Coast Eagles changed the everything by upsetting #2 seed Georgetown in the second round and #7 seed San Diego State in the third round before eventually falling to the #2 seed Florida Gators 62-50.
Regardless, that team still showed the strength to combat and compete against some tough teams and may have something to say this year as well. A favorite story of mine, similar to Wichita State's 34-0 record, is VCU in 2011, when a group of average looking ball players came together and made a run a potentially winning a national championship. They made it all the way to the Final Four that year and for the first time their school's history. That year, the team earned the 11th seed in the tournament, from which they defeated #11 USC in the First Four, #6 seeded Georgetown in the second round, #3 seeded Purdue in the third round, #10 Florida State in the Sweet Sixteen, and #1 seeded Kansas in the Elite Eight. Unfortunately, they lost to another formidable underdog opponent in #8 seeded Butler 70-62.
In the end, we can all fill out brackets till our heads pop, hope, pray, guess, say we know, be certain, think we have the answers and so on and so forth. But at the end of the day, none of us know what is going to happening this tournament this year. The regular season was fun and so-so overall, but now everyone is on a even playing level with a 0-0 record in the tournament, and with just one loss, that is the end for your team's chances of capturing the title. So if you think you know who is going to win it, whether it be the favorites or the underdogs, let me know and we'll see what takes place tomorrow (or today if you're reading this while the tournament has already started.
Seriously, I know that Kansas and Michigan State are right now the top favorites by the masses of people that have filled out brackets out there, but even with those two teams, I can only look with some certainty at them both and just say, "Yeah, they both have a shot" because really, even they could lose in the first round. I wouldn't be the first time, and I can promise, It's not going to be the last.
This year's NCAA tourney has a lot of focus buzzing around the team that I love and support so much, the North Carolina Tar Heels. Most of the talk has centered around how they may be the biggest upset to happen this year, by potentially losing to #16 seed Florida Gulf Coast Eagles in the first round. Now some of you newcomers and youngsters may be wondering how that could be, and I would agree because I just could not see that happening. But if you had seen the 2013 NCAA Tournament, then you know you cannot turn your back on that team. That year, the # 15 seeded Florida Gulf Coast Eagles changed the everything by upsetting #2 seed Georgetown in the second round and #7 seed San Diego State in the third round before eventually falling to the #2 seed Florida Gators 62-50.
Regardless, that team still showed the strength to combat and compete against some tough teams and may have something to say this year as well. A favorite story of mine, similar to Wichita State's 34-0 record, is VCU in 2011, when a group of average looking ball players came together and made a run a potentially winning a national championship. They made it all the way to the Final Four that year and for the first time their school's history. That year, the team earned the 11th seed in the tournament, from which they defeated #11 USC in the First Four, #6 seeded Georgetown in the second round, #3 seeded Purdue in the third round, #10 Florida State in the Sweet Sixteen, and #1 seeded Kansas in the Elite Eight. Unfortunately, they lost to another formidable underdog opponent in #8 seeded Butler 70-62.
In the end, we can all fill out brackets till our heads pop, hope, pray, guess, say we know, be certain, think we have the answers and so on and so forth. But at the end of the day, none of us know what is going to happening this tournament this year. The regular season was fun and so-so overall, but now everyone is on a even playing level with a 0-0 record in the tournament, and with just one loss, that is the end for your team's chances of capturing the title. So if you think you know who is going to win it, whether it be the favorites or the underdogs, let me know and we'll see what takes place tomorrow (or today if you're reading this while the tournament has already started.
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