Brackets

The NCAA basketball tournament has a way of leading to at least one Cinderella team most every year.  A few years ago it was Virginia Commonwealth, coached by an Oregon, WI native whose name keeps surfacing for head coaching jobs at more big named schools, most recently Marquette. For some the bracket busted in the first weekend of play when Duke lost to Mercer.  Of the teams in Sweet Sixteen, there are two number 11 seeds.  As of this writing one of the two has advanced to the elite 8.  Let us take a look at two teams, who each won last night, one of them being an 11^th seed, the other a two seed.

The University of Wisconsin was a number 2 seed, and an obvious darling of the selection committee who placed them in a favorable bracket, with their first two games in-state, 60 miles east, in Milwaukee, WI.  Last night UW blew out the Baylor Bears, in what was really not a contest.  Playing in the West Regional, the UW will meet #1 seed Arizona on Saturday.  The Badgers are right where the selection committee expected them to be, one of the elite 8.  Michigan, also a #2 seed, plays #11 seed Tennessee today, to determine if they too may advance to the group eight.  Of the four regional's this is the only one able to pit a #1 and #2 seed against each other, thus the selection committee received the gift it desired from the start.  Joy in Madison is shown by the front page of the Wisconsin State Journal which looked more like a front sports page.  The UW web site has the Badger victory and its being in the elite eight as its first of five header slides. 

Wisconsin was able to play all twelve of its players, although four only are credited with one minute of play. in contrast, three of the Wisconsin players played 34 minutes.  Apparently a victory as convincing as this one, where the team was in dominant control from the first half was not sufficient for a coach to play his back end of the bench more than a few fleeting seconds.  Eight Badgers had some hand in scoring part of their 69 points.  Big Frank led the way with 19 points, but also had an amazing six blocked shots.

Of the two 11^th seeded teams, one is the Cinderella of this year’s tournament—Dayton.  They defeated Stanford last night by ten points, a victory which earned them their first visit to the Elite Eight since 1984, and earned them less than 30 words in Wisconsin State Journal.  I think Aaron Rodgers' attendance at the Badger game and his visit to the locker room earned him more words in the newspaper than the snippet on Dayton’s victory.  Like the UW web-site, Dayton’s has their victory over Stanford as one of five headlines that alternate views.  However, while Dayton had a closer game than UW, it has much greater confidence in its bench.  Twelve of Dayton’s players were in the game, but its lowest minute total was four minutes and that was for only one player; and only one player was in the game for more than 27 minutes, and he played 33 minutes.  What is amazing about Dayton is that 11 of its players scored in the game.  Apparently, Dayton has more confidence in their bench, and has likely used it more over the course of the season than has Wisconsin.  But what is most amazing about Dayton, according to Sports Illustrated, is that no member of the team averages more than 12.5 points per game.  Dayton’s type of offense may be key to its need for confidence in its bench, as SI goes on to say: “They got here thanks to a relentless offense predicated on speed, selfless passing (19 assists) and substitution patterns that resemble hockey line changes.” 

But Dayton earns extra points for creativity and imagination. After defeating The Ohio State University, the local newspaper headline was The Dayton University. A nice in your face to the pretensions of Ohio State.  But it goes on, their web headline today was titled—“If the slipper fits…”, and when they advanced they had a piece titled “Walking in Memphis.”  The State Journal headline was a predictable, “Joining the Elite”;  the newspaper does not seem to realize UW is right where they were expected to be at the start of the tournament.

Although, one thing that is great about the NCAA are the upsets, which we tend to remember more than when the #1 seeds advance.  From a statistical standpoint the advancement of the top seeds is more the norm than the exception.  (As of today, only the Midwest regional lacks a number 1 seed, and two #1 seeds have advanced to the elite eight, with one other playing tonight.)  What both Wisconsin and Dayton seem to possess is the idea of not only of teamwork, but team chemistry.  Some smaller schools, like Creighton, have one very good player, but Dayton as a team that is playing well right now.  Duke lost to Mercer, even though led by a man who many consider the greatest coach in college basketball, and a highly regarded freshman player.  Dayton plays in that power house of a conference, the Atlantic 10, which contains teams like Dusquene, and Richmond.   Of course, the UW plays in what is thought to be one of the most powerful in basketball and where three of its teams are in the Sweet Sixteen. 

Statistically, one has to say it looks much better for Wisconsin to advance to the final four than a lowly 11^th seeded team.  But, it is always great to see teams who embody team work do well, and in particular teams that are not afraid to play those who sit at the far end of the bench do well. Or those few lower seeded teams that defy the selection committee advance and make the tournament more enjoyable.  So well it is great to see Wisconsin advance, I give credit to Dayton for having advanced beyond expectations, other than perhaps their own.  On Saturday Dayton will face #1 seed Florida which I view as the overall #1. Whatever the outcome of the next set of games, both teams should be credited with having advanced to this point.