The Beauty of March

As I have stated before, I am not a big fan of the conference tournaments but there were some wonderful storylines Tuesday night.

Princeton beat Penn to send Harvard to its first NCAA tournament since 1946. Shoot, I was even born for 10 years yet in 1946.

Western Kentucky tallied its 15th win last night. It was a big one sending the Hilltoppers to the Big Dance with a 15-18 record. It looks like a definite play-in candidate but I doubt Western Kentucky cares.

South Dakota State won an overtime game from Western Illinois in the Summit League final. The win earned the Jackrabbits their first NCAA bid ever. SDSU recently moved up from the Division II ranks.

Detroit put on an impressive show in the Horizon final. It thumped regular season champion Valparaiso on its home floor. This team has come a long way since Dick Vitale coached them. The Titans are fun to watch.

The week is young and the games just keep on coming. There will be more close games and more unexpected winners. It’s the beauty of March.

Reader Wants Me to Provide Some Love

Reader Paul (great first name by the way) read my blog post on Iowa State yesterday and wants me to extend some love to South Dakota State.

Really, Paul, what have the Jackrabbits done this year to deserve my love? They are no where in the top 25 rankings or even receiving votes. They lost to three average BCS schools (Minnesota Georgia and Nebraska). Granted the Jackrabbits did beat one BCS school (Washington) but that is another average team.

My research also tells me that South Dakota State is 17-6 overall and 9-2 in the Summit League good for second place. Being a mid-major with a good but not glowing overall record means only one thing. They Jackrabbits better win their conference tournament if they want to go to the NCAA tournament.

Paul, if the Jackrabbits accomplish that, get back to me. I will give them some love.

For now, I will give them credit for one thing—a cool nickname.