March 18, 1993 was the greatest sick day of my life. It was the first time that being sick actually felt like a blessing. It was the day when my sports fandom went from "why watch SportsCenter every day?" to "why is there only ONE 24/7 sports network?". On March 18, 1993, I stayed home sick from school and watched my first NCAA basketball tournament.
The NCAA basketball tournament is a 68-team (formerly 64-team) single-elimination tournament of conference winners and the top teams in college basketball. Due to it's one-and-done nature, it is nerve-racking for all teams and fans. The tournament is unique because household names like Kentucky, Duke, and UCLA are matched up with teams they never play from smaller schools without basketball history like Santa Clara, Florida Gulf Coast, and George Mason. These small schools have little to lose, so they play without reservation while their top-seeded counterparts often play wary of what could happen if they lose.
I remember certain details of that first day, but not all. I can recall the blue quilt that my dad and I spread out on the brown shag family room floor and his first explanation that this tournament would be happening all day, all weekend. Why had no one told me about this before? All of my sports memories started around autumn 1992 with Sid Bream crossing home plate and ending the Pirates' competitive baseball for 20 years, so maybe it was natural that spring of 1993 would be my first exposure.
St. John's beat Texas Tech in that first game. Then, it just kept going, all day, culminating with me falling asleep while Pitt got run out of the gym by Utah, 86-65.
Why do I remember some of these things? Well, to start, most of my childhood memories have something to do with sports. I remember my first Pirates game, my first Steelers game (1993 NFL playoff loss vs Buffalo), and my first Penguins game (generally, 1993 Stanley Cup vs Chicago).
On top of that, the NCAA tournament has just become a part of my life in ways other things have not.
Over the years, I've had a few different plastic/rubber basketball hoops for the kitchen that was probably my favorite toy growing up. That 1992 tournament was played in my kitchen almost as much as in arenas around the country.
The 1993 tournament was the first bracket I picked, incorrectly predicting the first 16-seed (Navy) to beat a 1-seed (Missouri).
In junior high, my social studies teacher and basketball coach, Mr. Wellendorf, had a TV in his room that he'd tune to games.
Come high school, they may as well have not scheduled classes in the afternoon. Any teacher that had a TV tuned to games would be signing hall passes to students who wanted to watch instead of learn. During senior year, my day ended with a few class periods or study halls in the video production room, so I recall sitting there and watching games with my good friend, Brandon. I distinctly remember that tournament because the day it started, March 20, 2003, was also the first day of invasion in the Iraq War.
If it weren't for memories, things like this tournament would not stick. I could go on and on with these thoughts, as I haven't even gotten into college yet. I will simply say that there was nothing more exciting than going to a college like Pitt that was a consistent top contender in this tournament, despite constant underachievement. The things we enjoy most are associated with our favorite memories for a reason; we want to keep living those moments over and over again.
Showing posts with label ncaa tournament. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ncaa tournament. Show all posts
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Sunday, March 13, 2011
March Madness
Today is one of the most exciting days of the year for the die-hard college basketball fan: Selection Sunday. My interest in the NCAA tournament has been exponentially lower over the past few years as my number of night shifts went up, but I'm back on track this season. I've watched more college basketball in the last 3 days than possible the last 2 or 3 years combined.
In preparing for the march madness pools, I have a handful of trends and suggestions that could be helpful. I am no expert, believe me, but I have had my fair share of success when my eye was on the college basketball world more in high school and college. These aren't getting too specific for this year, but instead they're just some thoughts for picking the tournament in general.
Watch out for teams seeded too high.
If you were to look at some of the major upsets over the past ten years, the teams losing have been teams that got a seed they may not have been suited for: Ole Miss losing to Valparaiso, South Carolina losing to Coppin State, and Iowa State losing to Hampton. This also applies to teams who make a run in the conference tournament and run out of gas. A prime example of this theory is the 2005-2006 Syracuse team with Gerry McNamara who won 4 games in 4 days to win the Big East Tournament. They were seeded 5th (too high) and lost to Texas A&M in the first round. Keep an eye out for the Penn States and Uconn's this year because they may get a seed they may not have deserved.
Pick teams to win sub-regions before you get set on an upset or two...
What I mean by sub-regions are the 4-team pods from the first weekend (like, the 1, 16, 8 and 9 seeds in a given region). Maybe you really want to look brilliant like you did last year with Cornell and St. Mary's in the Sweet Sixteen, so you're thinking you like a Penn State. They made a nice run in the Big Ten tournament, showed they could play, so maybe they've got a couple wins in 'em. Well, maybe their sharp-shooting has one more, but watch out for that second round match-up with a Louisville or Florida. Chances are that these teams that an 11 or 12 seed will run into are built for long runs and you don't want to knock out a real contender 4 or 5 seed just to look good with a 1-point first round upset.
...but don't be afraid to put a double-digit seed in the Sweet Sixteen.
Since 1996, there has been at least one double-digit seed in the Sweet Sixteen every year, except once (2007). These lower-achieving top-conference teams (Seton Hall, Georgetown) and high-achieving mid-majors (Butler, Gonzaga) shake things up every year. Pick the right one and you're a genius. Pick the wrong one and you may eliminate the national champion dangerously early.
5-12 match-ups (almost) always produce one upset per year.
This is a common truth in the last 10 years. Almost every year we get a 12-seed knocking off a 5-seed, so look for a good one. Or two. Or three, like in 2002 and 2009. Five-seeds tend to be vulnerable because these seeds tend to be top teams from second-tier conferences (Atlantic 10, Mountain West) or second-tier teams from top conferences (Providence, Alabama, Florida State in past years). With a weak overall tournament this year, the 5-seeds should be particularly careful with projections of Arizona (young team with no key wins) and Xavier (weak top-seed bowing out in first round of A-10 tournament) standing out.
Your Final Four teams are 8x more important than your first round winners.
In the standard scoring (1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32) the first round upsets get too much attention from casual basketball fans. Those of us who have been doing tournament pools for a while recognize that you're not done until your champion is out. So, maybe a bunch of teams get upset in the first round, but you didn't have any of them winning more than a game or two anyways. This clearly won't matter as much as if you had Villanova in the finals last year and they lost in the second round to St. Mary's (I picked St. Mary's btw!).
Most importantly, you can lose a lot of points in the first few rounds and still win if your Final Four is in tact. The eight upsets your buddy picked correctly in the first round got wiped out when they picked Pitt in the Final Four in 2009 and you picked Villanova. Which brings me to my next point...
Pick your favorite teams with your head...
As any good Pitt fan knows, we just can't put them in the Final Four. Until 2009, we couldn't put them in the Elite Eight and expect results. We have a blinded view of how good our favorite team is, which makes it hard to be objective. My strategy tends to be that I'll pick them to lose early so if they win I can be surprised and if they lose I can at least not kick myself for picking them to go further. But double-check and think, can Pitt's frontcourt really match up with Purdue? Could they survive another match-up with Louisville?
...but go with your gut.
1-seeds don't always win, so at times you need to go with a feeling about how a team will fare. I had a feeling about St. Mary's going far last year and Villanova choking, which paid off. I also had a feeling about Cornell surprising a couple, which also paid off. This year, I'm not high on Ohio State, so chances are I won't have them in the Final Four. But college basketball is all about match-ups. Be smart, but ultimately go with your gut. You don't want to be sitting around saying "I almost picked Kansas over Memphis" in 2008 because no one cares about "almost". I also won the lottery, too, but that surely doesn't pay for a new Gibson Les Paul.
Ultimately, you will have your own style. I haven't won a pool in a while, but I've been in the running for a lot of money over the years, so my style has worked at times. Do your homework. Figure out who the hot shooters are and which teams have struggled down the stretch (ahem, Villanova...). Never count out a Jimmer Fredette (BYU), but keep an eye on teams that lose important players late in the season (BYU). See what I mean about relying on your gut instead of your head?
In preparing for the march madness pools, I have a handful of trends and suggestions that could be helpful. I am no expert, believe me, but I have had my fair share of success when my eye was on the college basketball world more in high school and college. These aren't getting too specific for this year, but instead they're just some thoughts for picking the tournament in general.
Watch out for teams seeded too high.
If you were to look at some of the major upsets over the past ten years, the teams losing have been teams that got a seed they may not have been suited for: Ole Miss losing to Valparaiso, South Carolina losing to Coppin State, and Iowa State losing to Hampton. This also applies to teams who make a run in the conference tournament and run out of gas. A prime example of this theory is the 2005-2006 Syracuse team with Gerry McNamara who won 4 games in 4 days to win the Big East Tournament. They were seeded 5th (too high) and lost to Texas A&M in the first round. Keep an eye out for the Penn States and Uconn's this year because they may get a seed they may not have deserved.
Pick teams to win sub-regions before you get set on an upset or two...
What I mean by sub-regions are the 4-team pods from the first weekend (like, the 1, 16, 8 and 9 seeds in a given region). Maybe you really want to look brilliant like you did last year with Cornell and St. Mary's in the Sweet Sixteen, so you're thinking you like a Penn State. They made a nice run in the Big Ten tournament, showed they could play, so maybe they've got a couple wins in 'em. Well, maybe their sharp-shooting has one more, but watch out for that second round match-up with a Louisville or Florida. Chances are that these teams that an 11 or 12 seed will run into are built for long runs and you don't want to knock out a real contender 4 or 5 seed just to look good with a 1-point first round upset.
...but don't be afraid to put a double-digit seed in the Sweet Sixteen.
Since 1996, there has been at least one double-digit seed in the Sweet Sixteen every year, except once (2007). These lower-achieving top-conference teams (Seton Hall, Georgetown) and high-achieving mid-majors (Butler, Gonzaga) shake things up every year. Pick the right one and you're a genius. Pick the wrong one and you may eliminate the national champion dangerously early.
5-12 match-ups (almost) always produce one upset per year.
This is a common truth in the last 10 years. Almost every year we get a 12-seed knocking off a 5-seed, so look for a good one. Or two. Or three, like in 2002 and 2009. Five-seeds tend to be vulnerable because these seeds tend to be top teams from second-tier conferences (Atlantic 10, Mountain West) or second-tier teams from top conferences (Providence, Alabama, Florida State in past years). With a weak overall tournament this year, the 5-seeds should be particularly careful with projections of Arizona (young team with no key wins) and Xavier (weak top-seed bowing out in first round of A-10 tournament) standing out.
Your Final Four teams are 8x more important than your first round winners.
In the standard scoring (1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32) the first round upsets get too much attention from casual basketball fans. Those of us who have been doing tournament pools for a while recognize that you're not done until your champion is out. So, maybe a bunch of teams get upset in the first round, but you didn't have any of them winning more than a game or two anyways. This clearly won't matter as much as if you had Villanova in the finals last year and they lost in the second round to St. Mary's (I picked St. Mary's btw!).
Most importantly, you can lose a lot of points in the first few rounds and still win if your Final Four is in tact. The eight upsets your buddy picked correctly in the first round got wiped out when they picked Pitt in the Final Four in 2009 and you picked Villanova. Which brings me to my next point...
Pick your favorite teams with your head...
As any good Pitt fan knows, we just can't put them in the Final Four. Until 2009, we couldn't put them in the Elite Eight and expect results. We have a blinded view of how good our favorite team is, which makes it hard to be objective. My strategy tends to be that I'll pick them to lose early so if they win I can be surprised and if they lose I can at least not kick myself for picking them to go further. But double-check and think, can Pitt's frontcourt really match up with Purdue? Could they survive another match-up with Louisville?
...but go with your gut.
1-seeds don't always win, so at times you need to go with a feeling about how a team will fare. I had a feeling about St. Mary's going far last year and Villanova choking, which paid off. I also had a feeling about Cornell surprising a couple, which also paid off. This year, I'm not high on Ohio State, so chances are I won't have them in the Final Four. But college basketball is all about match-ups. Be smart, but ultimately go with your gut. You don't want to be sitting around saying "I almost picked Kansas over Memphis" in 2008 because no one cares about "almost". I also won the lottery, too, but that surely doesn't pay for a new Gibson Les Paul.
Ultimately, you will have your own style. I haven't won a pool in a while, but I've been in the running for a lot of money over the years, so my style has worked at times. Do your homework. Figure out who the hot shooters are and which teams have struggled down the stretch (ahem, Villanova...). Never count out a Jimmer Fredette (BYU), but keep an eye on teams that lose important players late in the season (BYU). See what I mean about relying on your gut instead of your head?
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