STANFORD, Calif.-- We're back after a lengthy Spring Break. Currently, I'm sitting in the elevated press row at Maples Pavilion with my WRSU colleague Kevin O'Rourke taking in the second round NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament game between Stanford and Iowa (Rutgers lost to the Hawkeyes on Saturday).
On the men's side, there is no doubt that this weekend was the most exciting start to March Madness of my lifetime. Here are a few lingering thoughts from a wild four days of hoops.
Down Goes My Champ!
So much for my ability to pick national champions with ease. Kansas was the first No. 1 seed to go down this year and the Jayhawks' All-American starting five couldn't even make it out of the first weekend.
Cedar Falls was in a frenzy as the University of Northern Iowa pulled off the stunner of the decade on a clutch (albeit gutsy) 3-pointer by Ali Farokhmanesh. You have to love coach Ben Jacobson trying to rationalize the shot attempt the next day, but hey, it went in.
Bill Self may be one of the most overrated tournament coaches in the country. If not for a buzzer-beater by Mario Chalmers, he would have nothing to show for all the times he's led teams to No. 1 rankings in the regular season.
GO BIG RED!
As you read on this blog weeks ago, Cornell is legit. Steve Donahue is one of the best coaches in the country (here's to hoping he stays to establish an Ivy League dynasty) and Ryan Wittman can really shoot it.
The boys from Ithaca were the easiest No. 12 seed, Sweet 16 pick I've ever seen-- an overrated Temple team and an offensively-anemic Wisconsin squad were exposed by them.
Now, they get to play No. 1 Kentucky at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse-- only an hour from campus. Wildcats coach John Calipari appealed to Big Blue Nation on Twitter with regard to scooping up tickets, as upstate New York is going crazy over both the Orange and the Big Red advancing into the second weekend.
CBS Sidebar
Being in California this weekend, I must have gone into the Bill Raftery twilight zone because Vern Lundquist and him dominated the West Coast CBS coverage.
Bill had a couple great lines this weekend. "A Kiss to Remember" on a shot during the Saint Mary's win over Villanova was almost as good as his line earlier in the game about a multi-colored mouthpiece. "That's a man who must have a lot of confidence (pause) with the ladies."
Hoosiers Speeches
While Cornell and Saint Mary's will have to give underdog speeches in their locker rooms next weekend, only coach Brad Stevens and his Butler Bulldogs squad can embrace the true nature of a Hoosiers-like scenario.
Not only do they get to face the best offensive team in the nation in Syracuse, but they actually play their home games at Hinkle Fieldhouse-- made even more famous by the legendary movie in question.
Stevens may look 20 years old, but as long as he can keep Matt Howard-- his power forward of that age bracket-- out of foul trouble, Butler can give the overconfident Orange an interesting challenge. Basketball philosophy will be on full display, as Stevens will look to shoot over and cut behind the 'Cuse 2-3 zone.
I'm not sure you can beat the intensity of the games we saw this weekend, but it's worth a try. March Madness is truly the best!
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