“How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!” – 2 Samuel 1:27
Ok, minions, this one has to be quick. Fellow contestant Brock Zagel is coming for a visit in about an hour, and this has to be done before that. Look for a more complete commentary at the conclusion of day two.
Through The Looking Glass
Mirror, mirror, on the wall, which tournament was the maddest of them all? I’m not sure how this year’s first round will actually stack up historically in terms of sheer number of upsets (yes, I will research and verify tonight), but it certainly feels as if this has been the craziest, nail-biting-est, most shocking first round in recent memory.
- Mea ‘eo [Maya A-O] – That’s how you say “winner” in Hawaiian. The Cal Bears seemed doomed from the start. Their leading scorer, Tyrone Wallace, broke his hand in practice on Wednesday. If that wasn’t bad enough, another top scorer Jabari Bird developed back spasms during warm ups and never entered the game. Add to that a scandal involving a popular assistant coach that developed on Monday, and it was too much to overcome. The Rainbow Warriors, who were already on just about everybody’s upset radar, apparently, pretty much controlled the game throughout, giving us the first truly major upset of this year’s tournament. Suprisingly, 199 minions picked Hawai’i. I don’t feel nearly as smart now.
- Another Overtime – The inability to hit free throws seems to be a recurring theme in this year’s tournament. Last night USC missed the front end of two consecutive one-and-ones and ended up losing on a buzzer beater. Today, Iowa led by three but could not hit free throws on two consecutive possessions. The ensuing Boneheaded Play of the Day – Iowa’s Anthony Clemens fouled Temple’s Quenton DeCosey shooting a 3 with 2.1 seconds to play – led to three made free throws and overtime. Fortunately for Iowa, they won on their own buzzer beater after Daniel Dingle missed a free throw he was forced to shoot with his off hand due to injury to his shooting hand. You can’t make this stuff up.
- “Well, THAT”S Gonna Leave a Mark” – That’s the quote of the day, shared with me via Instant Message from fellow contestant Brad Schafer after the game everyone is talking about, Michigan State’s stunning defeat at the hands of Middle Tennessee State. I can honestly say I would not have been more shocked if all four top seeds had lost to a 16 in the first round. The carnage was vast. 510 of us had Sparty in the Final Four, and 187, including yours truly, had them going all the way. So what happened? For one thing, the Blue Raiders shot over 60% from three point range. Denzel Valentine spent much of the second half in foul trouble. And honestly, the Spartans shot themselves right out of this game. Combine that with silly turnovers and a few dumb decisions, and you have the recipe for disaster. This is very uncharacteristic of a Tom Izzo team, but I guess that’s why they call it March Madness
Midday Awards
As I said, this one has to be quick, but with the shakeup in the standings, I would be remiss not to hand out a few accolades.
- The Best Thing I’ve Seen On Twitter All Day award goes to Nathan Stratton, who replied to my “Never in my wildest dreams would I have picked against Tom Izzo in round one” with this gem: “And that is why you fail” – Yoda
- The Han Solo Memorial Don’t Get Cocky, Kid award goes to our two all-upset pickers Matthew Hickey and Eric Schneckloth who are currently tied for 2nd. Sure, they have guaranteed themselves ALL upset bonus points, but will they have enough winners left to remain relevant? Time will tell.
- The Best Response To The Michigan State Loss In An Alias award goes Bobby “It’s gonna be a long” Roe. It will indeed. Bobby is tied for 688th and had Sparty in the Final four.
- And finally, the Enjoy It While It Lasts award goes to first place minion John “Upset City” Smith. The good news is, you’re in first. The bad news is, you have Buffalo (Buffalo?) winning the whole thing. I suspect your grip on the top spot will not last.
I’m sitting here trying to decide if I should wait until after the Oklahoma/Cal State Bakersfield game is over to post this commentary. Please tell me this isn’t going to be another 2012 when TWO 15’s win a game!
The Wizard Of Whiteland