The Tournament Marches On by Ryan

This years NCAA Tournament has been unbelievable! After only two rounds it has been one of the most memorable tournaments I can remember. It's always great to be on a college campus during March Madness. Inevitably, after the first one or two rounds of play, many college students seem to suddenly realize that they are the same age as the athletes competing. It's fun to then see the new respect they have for the athletes and the renewed enjoyment they get for the games.

As I've walked around campus, I've heard many students discussing the games. With Syracuse being a #1 seed this year, I've seen many lines drawn between Syracuse supporters and those who can't stand SU. One of my friends filled out a bracket and had Syracuse losing in the first round, just because he "couldn't stand hearing any more Syracuse fans." It might not have been the most popular strategy, but with all the upsets this year his bracket is probably doing decently well.

When it comes to the upsets, they have been plentiful and fantastic. In the first round, quite a few minor upsets happened, and a couple of major upsets were threatened that polarized the country. Teams like #10 Georgia Tech, #11 Washington, and #10 St. Mary's beat favored teams, but it was teams like #12 Cornell, #13 Ohio, and #13 Murray St. that at times brought me to my feet at home cheering. The two most exciting games were near-upsets filled with great basketball: #1 Kansas vs #16 Lehigh and #2 Villanova vs #15 Robert Morris. Both potential upsets, if they had happened, would have made for the undisputed most exciting first round in tournament history. In the second round, the great play continued, as #4 Wisconsin fell to #12 Cornell, #3 New Mexico lost to #11 Washington, and #10 St. Mary's became a media darling by knocking off #2 Villanova. The greatest upset of all ,though, shook up the brackets of millions of people. #1 Kansas, the top ranked team in the entire tournament, fell to lowly #9 Northern Iowa. Everyone I know was stunned at the news. Syracuse fans like myself were thrilled, because Syracuse would have potentially had to play Kansas in the Final Four, and the road to the championship became much easier.

Tonight begins the first games of the sweet sixteen. Everyone is waiting for more upsets, as so many double-digit seeds are still in the running. Look for great action some great games to discuss next week!

-Ryan