By TORI ADDISON
Staff Writer
Even though March is one of those weird months where students just get a bunch of time off because nothing else exciting really happens, it is quite possibly the best month of the year.
By the time Spring Break ends, all I can do is impatiently hold out for the regular season of NCAA Men’s Basketball to wrap up so things can start getting really intense when the Big Dance rolls around. The beauty of being able to find college basketball on almost any channel at almost any time is as exciting as being able to watch The Christmas Story at any waking moment on Christmas Day.
March Madness allows for those teams who took some time to find their rhythm during the regular season to finally be able to make serious noise when it comes down to nothing more than the win or go home philosophy that all sports fans love.
The regular season held many upsets as always, but perhaps the most shocking was Syracuse’s 25-0 run which would eventually come to end thanks to no other than Boston College. Now, when I say shocking I am talking more about the Orange’s undefeated record than their loss to the second worst team in the ACC. Go figure that the ACC leaves Boston College to do its dirty work and put Syracuse in their place after the Orange claimed victory to perhaps its biggest threats of conference early in the season. If anything, Syracuse’s recent losses and not so impressive one or two point victories over teams like NC State and Maryland have proved that their time in the tournament could be limited. After getting severely whopped by Virginia, the lack of depth on Syracuse’s roster is really starting to confirm just how overrated they have been for pretty much the whole season.
Speaking of undefeated, how about those Wichita State Shockers? Although their strength of schedule may not have been nearly as difficult as other teams, their will to win has taken them far throughout the regular season. But, who knows how much longer they can keep up with an undefeated record once they start matching up against other top-ranked seeds. Props to them if they can remain on top, but I do not think they stand a chance once they dance their way through the first couple rounds of the tournament. As any college basketball fan knows, it is all fun and games until the big boys show up. Hopefully that other team that was supposed to go undefeated with their five-star recruiting class actually makes it to the tournament this year. I am sure if you asked Kentucky fans they would be a lot happier losing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament as opposed to bringing back those bad memories that do not go far past the first round of last season’s NIT after their dreadful loss to Robert Morris University. After the unpredictable season the Wildcats have had, it is hard to tell how they will fare if they earn a seed in the tournament, but as always one will never know.
While Florida, Arizona, and Kansas are just a few of the elite teams to look out for amongst the madness, you can never count out off-the-radar Cinderella teams. While it is no brainer that power house teams are more opt to make it farther in the tournament, let’s not forget what Lehigh did to do Duke back in 2012. Furthermore, other teams such as North Carolina and Michigan State should not be counted out yet, despite their low ranks at the end of the regular season. While their considerate losses during the season may have set them back in the AP Top 25, it is no question that both teams are a threat in the tournament. What most called the most inconsistent team of the season, North Carolina’s recent run is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to their game as they have been notorious for knocking off top ranked teams this season, but also have quite the history of losing to unranked opponents as well. While the Tar Heels may be getting hot at the right time, other teams are following the same route.
If the history of March Madness has taught us anything, it is that you do not have to be of royalty to claim the throne. All it takes is one bad night for the elite to go down and who does not love to watch the underdogs prosper, queue Florida Gulf Coast’s trip to the Sweet 16 last season. The beauty of the tournament is that it forgets about the details. As soon as that ball tips it is no longer about the regular season records or strength of that year’s recruiting class, it is only about who is still standing at the sound of the buzzer.
