NCAA Basketball Tournament: Florida Gulf Coast

We all enjoy Cinderella in the NCAA basketball tournament. This year we have the ultimate Cinderella in Florida Gulf Coast.

A No. 15 seed has never advanced to the Sweet 16 in the history of the NCAA tournament until Florida Gulf Coast crashed the party.

This team didn’t follow the NCAA script. Usually underdogs surprise the favorite in their opening game. The underdog received national praise and talk and then goes quietly in the next round.

But will this feel-good story end Friday when the Gulf boys play big-bad Florida? You would like to see them continue the magic but with the strength of their opponent and natural pressure (as the stakes get higher) the odds are not in their favor.

The beauty is that the game will be decided between a couple of baskets and not in discussion groups.

Win or loss, Florida Gulf Coast Coach Andy Enfield will become a hot commodity. What big time program will want this guy and will he go? You would think the answer to the second question is “Yes.”

Thoughts on the Sweet 16

The NCAA tournament is now officially a beauty pageant. Just 16 teams remain (Sweet 16) out of the 68 teams that began less than a week ago.

No. 13 Ohio University and No. 11 North Carolina State are the only two real Cinderellas remaining in the field. No. 10 Xavier might be considered a Cinderella but recent tournament success disqualifies them in my estimation.

Xavier and Florida greatly benefited from earlier upsets. Lehigh shocked Duke in the opening round giving Xavier a better path to the Sweet 16. Florida’s thank-you card should go to Norfolk State who disposed of No. 2 Missouri. Both Xavier and Florida had tournament history on their side. No 15th-seeded teams have ever advanced to the Sweet 16.

There are plenty of traditional powers remaining. For example all the No. 1 seeds are still playing—Kentucky, Michigan State, Noth Carolina and Syracuse. Then you have teams such as Florida and Kansas. So besides a few bumps on the Final Four highway, the selection committee did another good job.

The window for upsets is becoming smaller. But wouldn’t it be great if Ohio and NC State could keep advancing? I cannot give Xavier any love because the Musketeers play Baylor Friday night.

The Best Part of the NCAA Tournament

I absolutely love the first Thursday and Friday of the NCAA tournament. So, today and tomorrow is my time.

You have 32 games over two days. If you are hearty enough, you can watch basketball basically from 11 a.m. (Iowa time) to midnight both days. These are when the upsets are the most meaningful. You have definite low seeds defeating highly seeds. Cinderella actually develops names. You have big-names schools going home wondering how they just got beat.

Everybody’s wondering who will be this year’s Butler or VCU. Wait, it might be VCU again. The Rams are back in the tournament.

I will focus on two games tonight: Baylor-South Dakota State and Iowa State-UCONN. They should be good games. And if the team I cheer for gets behind (even a large margin), I’ll remember anything is possible. Just ask Iona losing to BYU the other night after holding a 25-point lead.

Enjoy the basketball folks.

Talking Final Four

The college basketball season has come down to four teams: Cinderella Virginia Commonwealth, Butler, Kentucky and UConn. Sixty-Four teams have already gone home unhappy. Two more will join them today and then one more Monday.

So this suddenly long and grueling season is down to only two games. Remember the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday tournaments? They seem so long ago. Even the first week of the NCAA tournament feels like history.

CBS must think the Kentucky-UConn Final Four game will attract the most viewers since it is the nightcap contest. Maybe CBS is counting on those East Coast television sets and Kentucky’s basketball tradition. Some say this winner will take Monday night’s game too.

But if I could only watch one game, I would choose Virginia Commonwealth and Butler. The Rams are playing for history. If they can win tonight and the championship game, they will have collected seven tournament victories. No team has ever done that.

The fact that Virginia Commonwealth is the Cinderella team is reason enough to view this game. The Rams have stolen the routing interest of many Americans and they want to see them go all the way.

Others still favor Butler. This former Cinderella still garners a strong following. The Bulldogs are playing their best basketball of the season and it’s no stretch that they could win two more games.

So prepare for championship basketball. Who do you think will win it all?

No Cinderella Matchup

Some are the calling the Butler-Virginia Commonwealth Final Four game a Cinderella affair. But that isn’t the true picture.

Yes, we do have one true Cinderella team in Virginia Commonwealth. The Rams barely got an invitation to the tournament and were seeded No. 11. They have awakened the college basketball world with five straight tournament wins and knocked out No. 1 seeded Kansas in the Final Four qualifier. Fans are learning all about a school that very few basketball fans know about before the tournament. Yes, Cinderella is Virginia Commonwealth.

Butler is not a Cinderella story, however. Maybe the Bulldogs were in the past, but not this year. They are a veteran NCAA tournament team. Remember last year when they matched Duke toe-to-toe in the championship game? These players know the drill and expect to do well in the tournament. It’s no real surprise that Butler is where the Bulldogs are at this time of year. They did have some hiccups during the season, but once the tournament began, the games faces came on and Butler went into high gear.

What we do have here is a wonderful game between two mid-major schools. It brings rich freshness to the Final Four. Maybe this will force the NCAA brass to invite more mid-majors to the NCAA party. Maybe they can drop some power conference .500 record teams and give the smaller boys a better chance.

Let’s hope they receive the memo.

Virginia Commonwealth Tops Wild Basketball Weekend

The Cinderella slipper firmly remains on Virginia Commonwealth’s foot. The Rams refuse to lose.

Virginia Commonwealth took care of No. 1 seeded Kansas Sunday and earned itself a Four Final berth. This is not a misprint. Your eyes are not deceiving you. Virginia Commonwealth is going to the Final Four.

This is one of the best stories in college basketball in a long, long time. The Rams weren’t given much respect entering the tournament. They were selected as a play-in participant. VCU won that opening test and then an amazing five straight games.

The team with a great named-coach (Shaka Smart) will play Butler Saturday in Houston. That in itself is special. Two mid-major schools battling for a trip to the championship game is indeed priceless.

VCU is suddenly the talk of the college basketball world. The Rams are no longer strangers. They have a new bunch of bandwagon fans hoping to cheer them on to the college basketball promise land.

VCU hopes to still be wearing that slipper championship night. Why doubt the Rams now? That slipper looks pretty shiny.

NCAA Basketball Tournament Talk

Here are some thoughts about the happenings in the NCAA tournament as we await the Elite 8 games today and Sunday.

The national media said Kentucky stunned Ohio State last night. True, the Buckeyes were the overall No. 1 seed, but I think stunned is a strong word. I knew that Kentucky would give Ohio State a good game and I thought the Cats had a chance for the victory.

Cinderella lives on in Virginia Commonwealth. This story grows in its excitement as the No. 11 seed seeks a Final Four berth Sunday. Unfortunately, the Rams play the only No. 1 seed remaining—Kansas. Dreams do come true but against Kansas, it will be difficult. It would be great if the slipper doesn’t fall off.

The Butler story doesn’t seem to grow old. It’s difficult not to cheer for those guys. Florida will throw lots of athletes at them today. It should be a great game. If it turns into a grinder game, that favors Butler. If it’s a track meet, the Gators will prevail.

Has Arizona come back to reality after its upset win over Duke? Can the Cats derail the last remaining Big East team in UConn? Let’s hope so.

Tomorrow’s Kentucky-North Carolina contest should be a battle between loads of young talent. I think this game will feature the best overall talent of the tournament.

The tournament has been entertaining this year. And with a couple more twists or turns, it will remain entertaining.

North Carolina State's Sidney Lowe in Trouble

Sidney Lowe will probably not return as North Carolina State’s coach next season unless his team performs a miracle.

The Wolfpack could start tonight with a road win over Duke. That would shock the basketball world and the NC State faithful. I would say the chances are between zero and none

Frankly, there are little signs of life in this basketball team and the program under Lowe.

Lowe helped the Wolfpack to a national championship as a player, but as a coach he has never led a championship effort. Lowe’s team is a flat 12-10 this season and only 2-6 in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Lowe’s overall mark is only 83-72 and a very poor 22-50 ACC mark. NC State has never gone to the NCAA tournament under Lowe. The Wolfpack has settled for two National Invitational Tournament (NIT) appearances.

Some experts said NC had a top-10 recruiting class last season. But the results on the floor are about the same. The players seem listless and the coach must take responsibility for it.

NC State was hoping for a Cinderella story, but unfortunately this isn’t working out. Lowe knows it. The fans know it. The administration must know it.

Wolfpack fans want to play for championships. They don’t want to play in the NIT.