Editorial: A March full of sorrow
Apparently, John Cusack and the ancient Mayans were not to far off with their description of the worlds predicted apocalyptic end in 2012.This is the only logical explanation I can come up with to explain what has happened in the world of college basketball this past week.
To say this has been an unpredictable first two rounds would be a gigantic understatement. I knew it was going to be an interesting tourney on the first day when I woke up and tripped over a basketball getting out of bed. Omens are alive and well, my friends. Later on that day, I waved goodbye to Missouri and my perfect final four in round one. This was the first time in 11 years a Fifteenth seeded team beat a second seeded team, and it was the first time ever it happened twice in one tournament. Duke would later have the same fate when they fell to Lehigh.
This tournament has left college basketball fans in a fog of confusion. With the Sweet 16 and the Elite Eigth in the books, several new upsets were added to the already lengthy list, the picture is becoming slightly clearer on who has the best chance to win the championship. If I could go back and make four new Final Four picks it would probably be: Kentucky vs. Florida and Syracuse vs. Kansas.
Kentucky’s chances are hard not to love, with two of the top NBA prospects in college basketball, Anthony Davis and Micheal Kidd-Gilchrest, in the starting Wildcat lineup. John Calipari has created an NBA prospect factory at Kentucky. They have featured several different lottery picks throughout the past few tournaments (Demarcus Cousins, John Wall and Brandon Knight).
Florida was a bit of an enigma this year during the regular season but has raised their level of play substantially in the tournament. Billy Donovan did a great job of recruiting once again. This was by far the most talented team Florida had since their previous repeat national championships in 2006 and 2007. Through the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, Florida beat both their matchups by 26 plus points. However, their loss to a hot Louisville squad leaves me scratching my head once again.
Syracuse was probably the most logic defying team of 2012. Surrounded by scandal, the entire season riddled with molestation accusations and Fab Melo’s sudden ineligibility for the tournament, Syracuse rose above every prediction of failure and shown that there is much more scoring talent on their team than previously realized. Jim Boehim’s famous 2-3 zone defensive system is almost run to perfection on a night-in-night-out basis by the Orangemen. But, Ohio Sate found holes within the Orangemen defense and was able to join Kentucky and Louisville in the Final Four. Jared Sullinger had his way inside. Melo was sorely missed as an inside presence.
Kansas narrowly escaped Purdue in the third round. Some would see this as a sign of weakness, but I saw something special. The Jayhawks are led by junior forward Thomas Robinson and are currently playing some inspired basketball. Add in the rare veteran presence of senior guard Tyshawn Taylor and Bill Self has himself a national championship contending squad. The leadership of Robinson and Taylor showed when they beat a talented North Carolina sqaud in the Elite eight 80-67.
All four of these teams had excellent chances of being crowned the national champs. With Florida and Syracuse ousted from the tourney, Kentucky would be the obvious selection to win it all. With the amount of NBA talent on this squad it is hard to rationally argue against them. If the 2012 tournament has shown college basketball fans anything, it has been that logic has nothing to do with this tournament.