March Madness: Day 3

The last play of the Cincinnati-UConn game pretty much summed up yesterday’s games: the lower seed tried and tried, but just couldn’t get much of anything to happen. 

The Bearcats missed a layup, missed a lay-in at the rim after a rebound, and then after one last rebound, they missed a dunk. The play capped a day that featured just one upset, No. 8 Butler’s victory over No. 1 Pittsburgh.

My bracket fared about as well as the low seeds did. I finished the day 4-4. And to make matters worse, I didn’t even get to see San Diego State’s double-overtime victory over Temple, or Butler’s victory by the hands of Pittsburgh forward Nasir Robinson after an unnecessary foul with less than a second remaining.

The games I did get to see were fun, but nowhere near as exciting as the ones I missed. Kentucky was able to pull away in the last couple of minutes against West Virginia (although it was a good game for the most part), and it took UConn awhile to finish off Cincinnati.

I’ll have to make up for missing the exciting moments by watching as much basketball as humanly possible today.

There are certainly some enticing games to watch. Michigan plays No. 1 Duke, after dismantling Tennessee by 30 points on Friday. VCU takes on the No. 3 Purdue Boilermakers after beating No. 6 Georgetown. Florida State-Notre Dame and Arizona-Texas also show some promise, and of course there’s our No. 1 Buckeyes taking on George Mason after the Patriots won a thriller against Villanova.

And I can’t wait. I think the Michigan game may be one of the ones I’m most excited about, after the way they destroyed Tennessee the other day. I have Duke picked to win it, but I can’t help but hope it’s a tough one for the Blue Devils. And after the Wolverines picked up the win Friday (a 30 point win, no less) despite hitting zero—that’s right, ZERO—foul shots, it definitely could be a great one. 

And while the Buckeyes are favorites to go all the way, George Mason should provide them with much more difficulty than Texas San Antonio did Friday.

George Mason is a noted “giant killer,” after making an unexpected run to the Final Four five years ago, knocking off Michigan State, North Carolina and Connecticut (teams with 29 combined trips to the Final Four) before losing to the eventual National Champions, the Florida Gators.

 The Ohio State squad they take on tomorrow is the top overall seed in this year’s tourney, and had been to the Final Four 10 times. With just two losses this year, they’ve looked unstoppable—they can kill you inside with Jared Sullinger and Dallas Lauderdale, or they can beat you outside with Jon Diebler and William Buford. What’s more, they can rely on the leadership of senior David Lighty. The Buckeyes are built for March.

Which is why even though George Mason is a good team, a team capable of beating basketball “giants,” there’s almost no way they’re going to beat Ohio State. If you don’t have the Buckeyes in your Sweet 16, you’re crazy.

And not the good, “March Madness” type of crazy, either.

To say the least, I’m pumped for today’s games. If I watch as much basketball as I plan to, and cheer as much as I’m expecting, I’ll NEED the few days off between the round of 32 and the Sweet 16. But I am so very ready.

Let’s do this!