Tuesday, March 11, 2003
four more schools got their dancin' shoes on last night by virtue of winning their conference tournament championships, and three went as expected, giving added hope to bubble teams across the country (as did georgia's self-imposed withdrawal).
+unc-wilmington makes a return trip (remember their shocking upset of usc last year?) after taking the caa. america, time to say "hello" again to caa player of the year brett blizzard.
+manhattan has been one of my sleeper picks for a good month now. apparently, head coach bobby gonzalez agrees:
"We're a dangerous opponent in the first round,'' he said. "Mark it down. No predictions. Mark it down.''
I love coaches willing to make ballsy statements like that. and he's right. they took care of business in the maac tournament, have a 23-6 mark, and are dancing for the first time since '95. pencil 'em in as a 14th seed, and 3rd seeds, beware; I don't think you're ready for their jelly.
+in case there were any of you still doubting, creighton is in. they should be a five seed, but as we all know, the committee has trouble with seeding (see: gonzaga last year). southern illinois, meanwhile, is hoping not too many people watched them get blown out in the mvc championship game and are still crossing their fingers towards sunday.
+speaking of the 'zags, oops! time for gonzaga to sweat just a little bit, as they lost the wcc final to fiesty upstarts san diego, in for the first time since '87. the 'zags have got a very dance-worthy profile, which means minnesota's probably sweating a little more right now.
three more teams will be celebrating tonight - and at least one more will have a very nervous next five days - as the horizon (butler should already be in, but learned last year that nothing's certain for a mid-major without an automatic bid - and don't think wisconsin-milwaukee's not thinking of that, as well), mid-con (I'm rooting for valpo, of course, but am thrilled that no matter what, another indiana team makes the field tonight, as their opponent is iupui [indiana-purdue indianapolis], gunning for the first appearance in the madness ever), and sun belt (time for western kentucky to deliver on all that early-season promise; middle tennessee state hopes to be the derailers) all play their conference championship games this evening. can you feel the madness spreading? my brackets are primed and ready to go, as am I.
+unc-wilmington makes a return trip (remember their shocking upset of usc last year?) after taking the caa. america, time to say "hello" again to caa player of the year brett blizzard.
+manhattan has been one of my sleeper picks for a good month now. apparently, head coach bobby gonzalez agrees:
"We're a dangerous opponent in the first round,'' he said. "Mark it down. No predictions. Mark it down.''
I love coaches willing to make ballsy statements like that. and he's right. they took care of business in the maac tournament, have a 23-6 mark, and are dancing for the first time since '95. pencil 'em in as a 14th seed, and 3rd seeds, beware; I don't think you're ready for their jelly.
+in case there were any of you still doubting, creighton is in. they should be a five seed, but as we all know, the committee has trouble with seeding (see: gonzaga last year). southern illinois, meanwhile, is hoping not too many people watched them get blown out in the mvc championship game and are still crossing their fingers towards sunday.
+speaking of the 'zags, oops! time for gonzaga to sweat just a little bit, as they lost the wcc final to fiesty upstarts san diego, in for the first time since '87. the 'zags have got a very dance-worthy profile, which means minnesota's probably sweating a little more right now.
three more teams will be celebrating tonight - and at least one more will have a very nervous next five days - as the horizon (butler should already be in, but learned last year that nothing's certain for a mid-major without an automatic bid - and don't think wisconsin-milwaukee's not thinking of that, as well), mid-con (I'm rooting for valpo, of course, but am thrilled that no matter what, another indiana team makes the field tonight, as their opponent is iupui [indiana-purdue indianapolis], gunning for the first appearance in the madness ever), and sun belt (time for western kentucky to deliver on all that early-season promise; middle tennessee state hopes to be the derailers) all play their conference championship games this evening. can you feel the madness spreading? my brackets are primed and ready to go, as am I.
# posted by Thomas : 4:04 AM
