Ness Notes (32 to 16)
SportsThings happen fast in the NCAA tournament. The tournament kicks off on Thursday and by Friday night, the field is down to 32 teams. By Sunday night, there are only 16 teams left with only 15 games remaining before this year’s national champions are crowned!
Throughout the first two days of the tournament, all four No. 1 and No. 2 seeds advanced, but few looked impressive doing so. The top seeds are now 88-0 since 1985 in the first round with the No. 2 seeds increasing their record to 84-4. However, Memphis, the lowest of the four No. 1 seeds (and the smallest favorite), was the only No. 1 seed to ‘cover’ a first-round game, while UCLA was the only No. 2 seed. to cover your game.
That 2-6 ATS record drops the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds to a very unimpressive mark of 31-33 ATS over the past eight years in the first round of the tournament, especially when compared to their eye-popping mark! SU 63-1!
The lowest seed to pull off the first-round upset was Northwestern State (14), which beat No. 3 Iowa 64-63 on Friday as a seven-point underdog. No. 13 Bradley’s win over No. 4 Kansas 77-73 on Friday night was the second-biggest upset of the first round (Bradley opened an eight-point dog and closed around 6 1/2).
Northwestern State becomes the 15th seed out of 14 to win a first-round game since 1985 (88 games). The Demons will meet the sixth-seeded Mountaineers on Sunday, trying to become the 14th third-seeded team to win a second-round game.
Cleveland State was the first to do it in 1986, and Chattanooga pulled off the trick in 1997. However, both schools lost their Sweet 16 games, Cleveland State against Navy (71-70) and Chattanooga against Providence (71-65). West Va opened as a 6 1/2 point favorite.
Bradley’s victory over Kansas makes the Braves the 18th seed and 13th to win a first-round game. As with Northwestern State, history is not on Bradley’s side when the Braves face No. 5 Pittsburgh on Sunday.
Of the previous 17 seeded 13 who won in the first round, only Richmond (1988), Valparaíso (1998), and Oklahoma (1999) won their second-round games. All three lost their Sweet 16 games. Pittsburgh opened as a 4 1/2-point favorite.
The NCAA defines a major upset as the winner being seeded five or more spots below the loser. Using that definition, the first round produced six major upsets. Joining Northwestern State and Bradley were 12-seeded Montana and Texas A&M, who beat five-seeded Nevada and Syracuse on Thursday, plus 11-seeded Wisconsin-Milwaukee and George Mason, who they defeated six-seeded Oklahoma (Thursday) and Michigan State (Friday).
A 12th seed has now beaten a 5th seed in 20 of the last 23 years, with 14 advancing to the Sweet 16 (Wisconsin-Milwaukee did it last year). However, only one of those 14 teams won their Sweet 16 game, Missouri in 2002. The Tigers lost to Oklahoma 81-75 that year, in the regional finals.
Texas A&M and Wisconsin-Milwaukee play on Saturday, facing four-seeded LSU and Florida. LSU is favored by five points over A&M and Florida is favored by seven points over Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
The Big East, which sent a record eight teams to the tournament this year, redeemed itself on Friday. Big East teams went 0-3 on Thursday but came back to win all five games on Friday (3-2 ATS). The Big-10 saw their teams go 3-3 (2-4 ATS) over the first two days and the SEC went 5-1 (4-2 ATS).
The ACC went a perfect 4-0 in the first round (though only 2-2 ATS), while the Pac-10 went 3-1 (3-1 ATS) and the Big-12 went 2-2 (1-3 ATS). ATS ) ). The MVC had four schools in this year’s tournament (the most ever) and saw their teams go 2-2 SU and ATS.
Air Force and Bradley (both 13-seeded) plus Texas A&M and Utah State (both 12-seeded) were considered the “last-in” teams, as they were the lowest-seeded overall teams. Bradley and A&M won their first-round games and neither the Air Force nor Utah State was ashamed of losing to Illinois and Washington.
There also seemed to be many who questioned whether Hofstra (at 24-6 the Pride had the most wins of any uninvited team!) and not George Mason (seeded 11), should have the overall CAA school. The Patriots did well on Friday night, defeating sixth seed Michigan State.
closing note
Duke may not win this year’s tournament, as too often the Blue Devils look like a two-man team. In fact, Redick and Williams had 58 of the team’s 70 points in the Blue Devils’ 70-54 Game 1 win over Southern. However, Coach K has a pretty good track record. His win on Friday gives him 67 NCAA wins, extending his NCAA record (Dean Smith won 65). The closest active trainers to him are Lute Olson at 47 and Roy Williams at 42 (entering the weekend).
If Duke were to beat George Washington on Saturday (the Dookies are about 10-point favorites!), it would secure Duke’s ninth straight appearance in the Sweet 16. The next longest active streak is Illinois, which has made two straight appearances at Sweet 16! Illinois can make it three in a row if it beats Washington on Saturday. Watch out Mike, the Illini program is winning you!