Saturday, March 1, 2008

Introducing a New Feature: "Best Qualities of March Madness"

On a semi-daily basis, I will reveal the 21 Best Qualities of March Madness. Why 21? Because that's how many ideas I could come up with in the ten minutes I spent making the list. On to number 21:

#21 - Gus Johnson

Not only do the best players shine in the month of March, but so do the best announcers, and many consider Johnson to be the best of the best. It's hard to argue with that, especially after his call of today's Georgetown-Marquette game. To check a recap of that exciting game, check out this link.

Hopefully CBS learned a lesson from last year's James Brown debacle, and we'll have even more games this year to appreciate the excitement that Gus Johnson provides.

So It Begins

Well, a couple of things begin actually. March began today, this blog begins with this post, and the first round of today's important games have already reached a conclusion.

A few thoughts:

Duke found a way to get Coach K his 800th win today, 87-86. A few weeks ago, I would have placed Duke among the teams who could make a run to the Final Four. But after losing two games in a row on the road (against mild talent), and nearly losing again today, Duke's prospects aren't looking as great as they did after they beat UNC in Chapel Hill. A team's road record is usually a pretty good indicator of how a team will do come tournament time. By the way, that rematch with UNC will happen next Saturday.

Syracuse collapsed at home against Pitt. That's 3 losses in a row for Syracuse, and unless they win their final two regular season games and make a run to the Big East title game, they'll be NIT-bound this year. Important win for Pittsburgh - they've had their share of road woes.

Exciting game from the Horizon league, courtesy of Wright St. and Valparaiso. Wright St. made a furious comeback in the second half and forced OT, but came up short to a scrappy Valpo team. The Horizon could be looking at two teams in the tournament this year - both Wright St. and Cleveland St. played league leader Butler tough this year, and could win the Horizon tournament.