Hazardous Growth

It has finally happened; the NCAA has expanded the tournament field to 68 teams. I know that more basketball is always a good thing, but I'm not really huge on the added games simply because I feel like the only reason they were created was because the NCAA wanted to allow more at-large bids so that the power schools have better chances of getting in. Schools like UVM are going to be relegated to the play-in game, and some of them will never get to see the teams like Syracuse that beat the Catamounts this year. I realize that this is a business move because having more games will generate more revenue through advertising, ticket sales, etc. However, I feel like this usurps the power of each conference receiving a bid because some of these schools from non-basketball conferences won't even be able to make the field of 64 and not have that "one shining moment." I know that the little team never has much of a chance versus the powerhouses, but it's definitely fun to have that one try. Sometimes, upsets happen, and people like me get very excited. Now, all of these teams who have the opportunity to pull off the biggest upset will have to play one game before the one seed and already be tired. I love March Madness, but I think that we need to preserve the tournament as a showcase of the best from each conference and not allow all of these at-large bids to come in and more ACC or Big East teams.

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SUPRISE!

Wow, Butler has pulled it off and made it into the Final Four! Who would have thought that Syracuse and Kansas State would topple at the hands of Butler? I guess a lot of people probably did, but after watching Syracuse a few times throughout the year, I had thought that they had a pretty easy path to at least the Elite Eight. Well, I was right there, but my next prediction about them making it to the Final Four was obviously wrong. Butler has been to the NCAA tournament quite a few times in recent years, but why is it that many teams who are so-called "mid-majors" do not get the recognition that they are proving they deserve

Well, one obvious reason is media coverage. This area is improving due to efforts such as ESPNU and other networks that focus on college sports. Because there are so many NCAA teams and only so much network time on ESPN and ESPN2 for college sports throughout the season, the few games that are broadcast often feature Duke, UNC, Kansas, or any other university that has become all but a perennial powerhouse. While Butler has been very successful, they have yet to develop that national image that will secure them a spot on the major networks. Because of this, many average sports fans will overlook the mid-major. Even I underestimated Butler; I knew they were good, but I never thought they could topple the Orangemen.

Another reason that Butler could be seen as a surprise by people such as myself is because of geography. Syracuse is much closer than Butler; Boston College plays in the ACC, so teams such as Duke and North Carolina come closer to home. When the local teams are covered as they should be, that leaves limited time for teams from faraway lands such as Indiana. Those flat states often times get forgotten in Vermont simply because we like to think that the more local teams that we have watched all season.

However, none of this constitutes a viable excuse for my neglecting Butler. I guess I need to be more aware next season in order to make a bracket that doesn't end up being covered in red ink.

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Comeback?

Hopefully, I am watching the first time a 16 seed will beat a one seed in NCAA history. All right, I may be dreaming about this, but imagine the pandemonium that would ensue in Burlington. The only two NCAA tournament victories and University of Vermont history would be against the dreaded Orange. However, as it stands right now, we are somewhat behind due to ice cold shooting. The only way Vermont, or any other 16 seed, will ever pull off the ultimate upset is if they're able to shoot well and consistently throughout the entire game. Lehigh played with Kansas last night simply because they were able to shoot for the first 30 minutes of the game. Of course, as the final score shows, they totally fell apart over the last 10 minutes and lost by 20, but they still showed that low seeds can be dangerous when they are hot. So, I don't really know how Mike Lonergan is going to remedy this right now. However, he needs his boys to start hitting their shots because UVM quite simply does not have the size to get any second chances against a very long Syracuse team. However, I am not going to say that this game is a lost cause; you never know what might happen in 23 minutes.

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Why Would I Write About Climate Change on a Sports Blog?

In society today, climate change has become a buzz phrase. While typically applied to environmental climate change (a.k.a. global warming, even though ironically enough some areas will become colder as a result of global warming), it would be impossible not to mention the climate change that is devouring the NCAA tournament right now. As I'm writing this at 10:09 PM, there have been six upsets and six "predictable" outcomes. To compare, in the 32 games last year, there were 10 upsets. We are on pace to have six more upsets than they had last year. For crying out loud, right now I am watching Lehigh up 12-4 on overall number one Kansas with 14 minutes left in the first half (note: Kansas has since made a run and is in the lead). I realize that there is a ton of time left and Kansas will probably come back to win, but what is happening to the high seeds? Honestly, I think the change is that prospects are electing to go to mid-majors where they now they will be the star and see significant playing time right from the beginning. Why go to Duke and get buried on the bench when you can go to University of Ohio and be a star with much more playing time? Think about Stephen Curry who went to Davidson, a classic mid-major in the Southern Conference, became the leading scorer in NCAA, led his team on a deep run into the NCAA tournament for which he was largely credited, and all of the sudden became the number seven pick in the 2009 NBA draft. If he would have gone to a classic power school even though he had immense talent, any success would not have helped build his legend because there would have been several other great players who would have been attributed some of the credit. Obviously, not every player is Stephen Curry, but I do believe that mid-majors are on the rise due to the success of programs such as Davidson and George Mason that show prospects that mid-majors are not necessarily a step down; they be a step to amazing fame and legendary status.

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