Other journalists have called yesterday “one of the most thrilling opening days in memory.”
It’s hard to disagree.
Quick recap: After my beloved mountaineers beat Clemson, we had four straight basketball matchups with game-winning shots. ODU fell to Butler on a game-winner that was playing chicken with the clock- the ball literally left the shooter’s hands with less than .1 seconds left. Morehead St upended Louisville on an incredibly impressive shot from way behind the arc in an effort to completely trash my bracket as early as possible (good thing I took them out of the national championship game on my bracket, right?). Penn St hit a go-ahead game winner, only to be answered by Temple’s game winner with essentially no time left on the clock. And finally, after Princeton brought Kentucky to the brink of an all new definition of one and done, Brandon Knight’s first field goal of the day was the game winner, a runner off the backboard with 2 seconds left.
What an afternoon. No matter what was in store for the night, the day was already to be declared epic. But seriously, four game winning shots? How do you top that? What’s the least expected thing then? Answer: Chalk. Lots and lots of chalk. After Richmond upset Vandy, just about every favored team won. The only “upset” was a peaking Gonzaga team over an injured St Johns team, which hardly qualifies as an upset. Many people saw upsets without upsets even occurring, like Cincinatti soundly beating Missouri in a game many people thought Missouri would easily win.
So what should you look for today? Most of the top teams are in action today, including 3 of the top 4 and 5 of the top 8. If you’re looking for good matchups, check out UNLV vs Illinois and Xavier vs Marquette. If you’re looking for big storylines, check out infamous yet still mid-major George Mason taking on a Villanova team that’s lost 10 of their last 15 games, the last to lowly South Florida. Alternatively, you can watch VCU in its second game against a Georgetown team that no one really knows what to expect from them with Christ Wright at an unknown level of play after returning from (non-shooting) hand surgery. And if you’re looking for some possible upsets, look no further than Oakland v Texas. The tremendously talented freshman from Texas, Tristan Thompson, will be showcased against an Oakland team with their own first-round pick (Keith Benson). This kid is not just a built up kid from some team you’ve never heard of. Much like Kenneth Faried, he’s legit. Ask Louisville. One other upset to watch for is a consistently inconsistent Florida St team taking on Texas A&M. While the game is sure to be incredibly boring (lots of defense, no offense), the implications of the winner are incredibly interesting as they will most likely face Notre Dame in the second (or perhaps third now?) round. In fact, I have my winner of this game upsetting Notre Dame this weekend. But I’ll save that surprised for later.
My predictions? Look for UNLV to dominate inside as Illinois’ lack of inside game hurts them too much, and the mountain west sweeps its first round. As far as Xavier goes, everything points toward a musketeer victory… yet my gut tells me Marquette. So I’m going with them. George Mason will euthanize Villanova, and VCU will pull as stunning upset as Georgetown’s chemistry is irreparably damaged with the likes of Wright’s hand. As far as the upsets listed above, as good as Benson is, I can’t see Oakland putting it all together against a team that is vastly underseeded and was even in contention for a #1 seed at one point. Also, I like Texas A&M to beat Florida St in a game that is close down to the end but very boring for the first 36 minutes.
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