Facts are stubborn things, but statistics are more pliable. – Mark Twain
By The Numbers
After careful consideration of all the relevant statistics, I made my re-picks. Tonight I went 1-4, lost two of my Final Four, and my National Champ. Stick a fork in me. I am done, which is probably just as well, as it gives me more time to focus on the commentary and giving the rest of you folks hard-earned awards.
- IU vs Syracuse – I don’t want to talk about it.
- Shocking Statistic – The Missouri Valley Conference is 4-1 and has a representative in the Elite Eight, the Wichita State Shockers. Wichita is the first 9 seed to make the Elite Eight in 19 years.
- Conference Counts – Besides the aforementioned MVC, the Big Ten is 11-4 and has 3 teams remaining. The Big East is 8-5 and also has 3 teams remaining. The Pac-12 is 5-4 and has 2 teams remaining.
- Who’s Number 1? – Half of the Elite Eight is now determined, and we have a 2, a 3, a 4, and a 9. Conspicuously missing are #1 Gonzaga, whom many whined didn’t deserve a number 1 seed; #1 Indiana, whom many whined deserved the #1 overall seed; and #2 Miami, whom many whined deserved the #1 seed that Gonzaga didn’t deserve.
- Lightning Strikes Twice – For the second straight game, Ohio State won on a three point shot with two seconds or less to play, avoiding both over time and defeat.
- Zero – That’s how many of the first 52 games of this year’s March Madness have gone into overtime. Try as I might, I could not find a statistic that would tell me if that is unprecedented. If you can find it, send me email or post on the Facebook page.
- IU vs Syracuse – Ok, I will talk about the IU debacle. Any person with two eyes and half a brain could see that Indiana’s Cody Zeller was getting mauled near the basket all night long, mostly with no fouls called. A quick look at the box score shows 18 fouls called against Indiana and 17 called against Syracuse. This may lead one to believe that the game was called “evenly”, but these stats can be misleading. Elias doesn’t keep stats on fouls that were not called but should have been. This is two consecutive games in which one of the most prolific scoring teams in the nation has been held to a point total in the 50s. My observation of this year’s tournament is that this has become something of an epidemic. Games may be called “evenly” in terms of number of fouls called on both teams, but there is way, way, WAY too much fouling going on. Games are low scoring and, frankly, no fun to watch, and we have to listen to Vern and Raf pontificate on how good of a defense the dominant team is playing. Naismith must be turning over in his grave. Anyway, the officiating is NOT why Indiana lost this game. They could not solve the zone. The Hoosiers shot an abysmal 33% from the field, 20% from 3-point range, and a nauseating 62% from the foul line. Jordan Hulls went 0-fer on the night – 0 for 6, all 3-point attempts. Cody Zeller was 3 for 11. About half those misses were no-call muggings. Perhaps the most telling statistics are these: 18 turnovers for Indiana, 12 steals for Syracuse along with 10 blocked shots. Again, I contend that half of those blocks were fouls, but it doesn’t matter. Indiana threw the ball away all night. I can hear the wailing from South Bend to Evansville.
- Odds To Win It All – Now might be a good time to point out that no team has ever lost the first game of its conference tournament and gone on to win a national championship. Can you guess which two of the remaining 12 teams that iron law eliminates? Duke and Marquette.
Contest By The Numbers
- 256 – Number of contestants who through laziness, forgetfulness, or hubris, failed to submit any re-picks before the deadline.
- 9 – Number of contestants who, with the benefit of the re-picks, got all four games correct this evening. No one got all four games with original picks.
- 5 – Number of contestants who earned the contest’s third Scategories Bonus by picking Wichita State with an original pick.
- 12 – Number of contestants who are vying for a fourth Scategories Bonus by picking Oregon to beat Louisville tomorrow night here in Indy. It would be historic, as 12 seeds are 0-13 against 1 seeds.
- 1 – In the true spirit of the original Scategories Bonus, only one contestant out of 661 picked Florida Gulf Coast to make the Elite Eight with an original pick. (Well, it is possible that others did, but if they did, they changed them in the re-pick phase, and who can blame them for doing so?)
- 245 – Number of contestants who had Indiana winning it all.
- 145 – Number of contestants who had Miami in the Final Four.
- 23 – Number of contestants who picked Syracuse to make the Final Four from the beginning.
- 117 – Number of points contest leader Josh Paddack has so far.
- 5 – Number of points behind Josh second place contestant Drew Detamore is.
- 0 – Number of games Gabriel Geiswhite can win for the rest of the tournament. Gabriel gets tonight’s only award, the Lookout Below award, because there’s nowhere to go but down from here.
Tomorrow will establish the remainder of the Elite Eight and perhaps really start to indicate who the front runners are in our contest. More news later. Film at 11.
The Wizard of Whiteland