NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament: On to the Elite Eight
Just like that, the carnage continues. Okay, maybe carnage isn't the best word for it. In fact, there were actually very few upsets this weekend. For the most part, the games went about how you would probably expect. I was actually hoping for a couple more upsets, but alas, that was not in the cards...
Saturday brought us a decent upset, but probably not the biggest one of the weekend. It was 12 seed Oregon State over 8 seed Loyola Chicago. It was actually a pretty great game and I was personally happy to see Loyola get knocked out since they are the team that busted my bracket by taking down Illinois.
I was hoping the Baylor/Villanova game might be a little closer and to be fair the Wildcats played a heck of a game, but unfortunately, the Bears came out on top.
The Arkansas/Oral Roberts game was probably the best game of the day on Saturday even though it didn't end up with an upset. It almost did though. Two points is all that kept the Golden Eagles from taking the Razorbacks into overtime. Who knows what could have happened then...
I didn't stay up late enough to watch the Houston/Syracuse game, but it looks like it was a bit of a snoozer anyway. 62 to 46 is a really low score.
Unfortunately Sunday only brought us one upset as well and it wasn't in the game I hoped it would be. After Michigan pulled out a commanding victory over Florida State, I was pretty much done with basketball for the day. I really wanted them to lose. I have said this before, I don't think they deserve the 1 seed and while they are good at times, I don't think they are as good as some people think.
Gonzaga easily handled Creighton, USC took out Oregon pretty convincingly in what I thought would probably be the most exciting game of the day. Instead, it was UCLA over Alabama in overtime by ten points. I guess the Crimson Tide just ran out of steam.
The crazy thing is, the teams don't really get any rest.... The Elite Eight starts today. I guess the commentators call it the "regional finals", but I will always call it the Elite Eight.
Houston is matched against Oregon State, and Baylor takes on Arkansas.
Tomorrow, Gonzaga go up against USC, and Michigan is matched up against UCLA.
Based on these pairings, I wouldn't be shocked to see Michigan, Gonzaga, Baylor, and Houston in the Final Four.
Hopefully, UCLA comes into the game with a fire under them. It would be cool for the same team that took out Michigan State in the early rounds to knock Michigan out as well.
I seriously think I will lose my lunch if the Wolverines make it to the finals. They are just classless. Don't believe me, read the backstory on why Juan Howard and Mark Turgeon got in a fight at one of the games.
So there you have it, by next weekend we will be into the Final Four and setting ourselves up for what everyone has been waiting two years for.
Check back this week to see how things shape up!
Good recap. I differ with your opinion about Michigan. Even though I don't really like them for most of the year, I'm still rooting for them in the tourney. They are from the Big Ten so I have that conference bias. I'm shocked by how well the Pac 12 is doing. Four teams in the Sweet 16 and three on to the Elite 8. We never see them during the year and this year, with covid, be barely saw them play and out of conference games so...pretty amazing. All that said, it looks to me like we will be having our first undefeated national champion in decades. That would be kinda cool to see. Especially since Gonzaga is fueled by a local Minnesota kid, Jalen Suggs. I actually reffed a couple of his games the last couple of years. He's a beast in D1 college. You can only imagine how much of one he was in high school. That said, he may not have been the best player on his team. There's another kid coming out this year who is considered the number 1 overall recruit in college basketball by multiple ranking bodies. 7 feet tall and plays like a guard. Shoots 3's, blocks shots all over the court, and can take it coast to coast on the dribble. Skinny but could be a monster. He hasn't committed anywhere yet but...he'll be fun to watch next year as well.
Fingers crossed he comes to Michigan State! I understand wanting to support the conference, but I just can't do it. See, I don't think a lot of states can understand how hard it is to have two teams in the same conference inside your state. Indiana gets it, Illinois too, but Ohio, Minnesota, Wisconsin, most of the others will never be able to fully grasp the divide. Sure, they have rivalries, but nothing like you get in Michigan. I agree about the Pac 12. Looking monstrous. Totally crazy!
Oh, I do get it. Just not in basketball. We have that here in hockey. Although even there, I tend to root for the other Minnesota teams when mine bows out. So, maybe I actually don't get it. lol All the same, I'm still going to root for Michigan the rest of the way. I get why you can't but....it's been way too long since we've had a Big Ten national champion. We're due. That said, like I said above, I don't see anyone beating the Zags. And with their Minnesota connection, I have a good rooting interest there as well. We'll see. Either way, it should be entertaining.
It's the universe's way of telling you "eat my shorts".
That one kid is a punk. The rest of the team are probably good kids. I just can't handle all of the Michigan fans filling up my Facebook feed with their stupid crap!
That hatred runs deep doesn't it :P It's been a pretty exciting tournament full of upsets. Since the games are on at ridiculous times over here I normally get my updates from you too!
Heck they are on at ridiculous times here too! The U of M / UCLA game didn't come on until 9:45 last night. Not bad if you have insomnia, but I dig my sleep! I am glad you are finding my updates useful! I have another one coming in a couple minutes here.
You got your wish. The Big Ten is done. UCLA took out both of the Michigan squads....
I am glad it was them. It is very fitting.