100318 NCAA preview 12
1
12 | THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 2010 NCAA TOURNAMENT PREVIEW CROSSFIT DURHAM Women’s Self Defense Seminar Saturday, April 24th, 12pm-3pm Open to all members of the Duke Community FREE Community Workout - every Saturday at 11AM 410 West Geer Street Durham, NC 27707 (571) 224-3706 “The magic is in the movement, the art is in the programming, the science is in the explanation, and the fun is in the community.” Greg Glassman, Founder of CrossFit www.crossfitdurham.com 800 W. Main St. • 682-4197 4600 Durham Chapel Hill Blvd • 489-6468 25% discount with Duke ID* *Discount for Main St. & Chapel Hill Blvd only. Excludes alcohol and Fiesta Platter. Dine in only. Authentic Mexican Cuisine The Dining Place for Students Voted “2008 Best of the Triangle” ~ The Independent Welcome Duke Students and Employees Daily Drink Specials Catering Available Call us at 641-3872 to cater your next event. (next to TJ Maxx) THE CASE FOR THE FIELD Rash of upsets show No. 1 seeds are as beatable as ever by Vignesh Nathan THE CHRONICLE There are 64 teams in the NCAA tournament. Out of those squads, only four can lay claim to a No. 1 seed. So, what are the chances of any of the other 60 teams taking home the title? 60 out of 64, right? Probably not—Syracuse, Kan- sas, Kentucky and Duke were giv- en top seeds for a reason. However, don’t let this mislead you—this year’s tournament field has the potential for steep com- petition, upsets and everybody’s favorite—Cinderella stories. Indeed, you can bet this year’s NCAA Tournament will be as com- petitive as they come. Don’t expect a perfect No.1 seed-laden Final Four like that of 2008, and here’s why. For starters, look at the volatil- ity of this year’s AP Division I poll. In addition to the current top four, teams such as Texas, Michigan State, Villanova and Purdue have spent time within these elite ranks. Other teams such as Kansas State, Ohio State and West Virginia have been regulars among the Top-10. At any moment, any one of these teams could steal the spot- light as national title contenders. Scottie Reynolds might just lead his experienced Villanova team on yet another run to the Final Four. National Player of the Year candi- date Evan Turner may carry Ohio State all the way to Indianapolis. The Kansas State Wildcats showed they could compete with, and nearly beat, the nation’s best team when they lost to No. 1 Kansas this past January in overtime. Who says the fourth time isn’t the charm? It could be. Truthfully, any of these teams could do it. But there are teams outside the Top-10 that could also make deep runs this March. Take a look at some of the lower seeds and their accomplishments this year. Maryland shared this year’s regular season ACC champion- ship with the Blue Devils. Louis- ville beat Syracuse not once, but twice. Georgetown embarrassed Duke earlier this year. Pittsburgh finished second in the Big East standings, ahead of teams such as the Hoyas and West Virginia. If nothing else, Championship Week proved the true potential of the field teams. Various confer- ence tournaments such as the Big East’s were full of upsets and upset bids. Just to name a few—George- town beat Syracuse, Marquette beat Villanova and Cincinnati was tantalizingly close to beating West Virginia, the eventual champions. In the Big 12, Texas A&M kept it close against Kansas. With the SEC tournament crown at stake, Mis- sissippi State took Kentucky into overtime and lost by just a point. Remember, come tourna- ment time, the winner of each game is determined by a 40-min- ute performance. Sure, the No. 1 teams might be better overall, but these field teams have prov- en that over the course of those forty minutes, they can compete with anybody in the nation. And even after all of the above- mentioned teams, there are even those schools that rarely ever grab the national spotlight. This year, Old Dominion clinched a berth when it won the Colonial Athletic Association Conference. Though no team from the CAA has ever won the NCAA Tournament, the Monarchs showed some tal- ent this season when they beat Georgetown in December. Honestly, nobody will expect Old Dominion to go far. Those prognos- ticators are probably right. But don’t let that decision come without an af- terthought—the history of this tour- nament is full of surprises, which only adds to the excitement. Think back to the Big Dance in 2006, when a little-known George Mason squad out of Fairfax, Va., LAWSON KURTZ/CHRONICLE FILE PHOTO Austin Freeman and Georgetown received a No. 3 seed to the NCAA Tournament. made a surprise run to the Final Four after defeating powerhouses Michigan State, North Carolina and Connecticut. In 2008, David- son, led by current NBA rookie Ste- phen Curry, knocked off Gonzaga, Georgetown and Wisconsin before losing to eventual national cham- pion Kansas in the Elite Eight. So yes, John Wall might be the first pick in the NBA Draft. Kan- sas might boast the nation’s best center in Cole Aldrich. Syracuse may have the best record in a conference dripping with talent. But the last 18 weeks have shown that they are all fallible. And starting today, if they so much as stutter for a moment, you can bet that one of the teams from the field will rise to the oc- casion and watch them fall.
-
Upload
hon-lung-chu -
Category
Documents
-
view
219 -
download
0
description
Call us at 641-3872 to cater your next event. 410 West Geer Street Durham, NC 27707 (571) 224-3706 wi th Du ke ID * 800 W. Main St. • 682-4197 4600 Durham Chapel Hill Blvd • 489-6468 Voted “2008 Best of the Triangle” by Vignesh Nathan NCAA TOURNAMENT PREVIEW “The magic is in the movement, the art is in the programming, the science is in the explanation, and the fun is in the community.” The Dining Place for Students ~ The Independent 12 | THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 2010 THE CHRONICLE
Transcript of 100318 NCAA preview 12
-
12 | THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 2010 NCAA TOURNAMENT PREVIEW
CROSSFIT DURHAM
Womens Self Defense Seminar Saturday, April 24th, 12pm-3pm
Open to all members of the Duke Community
FREE Community Workout - every Saturday at 11AM
410 West Geer Street Durham, NC 27707
(571) 224-3706
The magic is in the movement, the art is in the programming, the science is in the
explanation, and the fun is in the community. Greg Glassman, Founder of CrossFit
www.crossfitdurham.com
800 W. Main St. 682-4197 4600 Durham Chapel Hill Blvd 489-6468
25% discount with Duke ID*
*Discount for Main St. & Chapel Hill Blvd only. Excludes alcohol and Fiesta Platter. Dine in only.
Authentic Mexican Cuisine The Dining Place for Students
Voted 2008 Best of the Triangle ~ The Independent
Welcome Duke Students and Employees Daily Drink Specials Catering Available
Call us at 641-3872 to cater your next event.
(next to TJ Maxx)
THE CASE FOR THE FIELD
Rash of upsets show No. 1 seeds are as beatable as ever
by Vignesh NathanTHE CHRONICLE
There are 64 teams in the NCAA tournament. Out of those squads, only four can lay claim to a No. 1 seed. So, what are the chances of any of the other 60 teams taking home the title?
60 out of 64, right?Probably notSyracuse, Kan-
sas, Kentucky and Duke were giv-en top seeds for a reason.
However, dont let this mislead youthis years tournament field has the potential for steep com-petition, upsets and everybodys favoriteCinderella stories.
Indeed, you can bet this years NCAA Tournament will be as com-petitive as they come. Dont expect a perfect No.1 seed-laden Final Four like that of 2008, and heres why.
For starters, look at the volatil-ity of this years AP Division I poll. In addition to the current top four, teams such as Texas, Michigan State, Villanova and Purdue have spent time within these elite ranks. Other teams such as Kansas State, Ohio State and West Virginia have been regulars among the Top-10.
At any moment, any one of these teams could steal the spot-light as national title contenders. Scottie Reynolds might just lead his experienced Villanova team on
yet another run to the Final Four. National Player of the Year candi-date Evan Turner may carry Ohio State all the way to Indianapolis. The Kansas State Wildcats showed they could compete with, and nearly beat, the nations best team when they lost to No. 1 Kansas this past January in overtime. Who says the fourth time isnt the charm?
It could be. Truthfully, any of these teams could do it.
But there are teams outside the Top-10 that could also make deep runs this March. Take a look at some of the lower seeds and their accomplishments this year.
Maryland shared this years regular season ACC champion-ship with the Blue Devils. Louis-ville beat Syracuse not once, but twice. Georgetown embarrassed Duke earlier this year. Pittsburgh finished second in the Big East standings, ahead of teams such as the Hoyas and West Virginia.
If nothing else, Championship Week proved the true potential of the field teams. Various confer-ence tournaments such as the Big Easts were full of upsets and upset bids. Just to name a fewGeorge-town beat Syracuse, Marquette beat Villanova and Cincinnati was tantalizingly close to beating West Virginia, the eventual champions.
In the Big 12, Texas A&M kept it close against Kansas. With the SEC tournament crown at stake, Mis-sissippi State took Kentucky into overtime and lost by just a point.
Remember, come tourna-ment time, the winner of each game is determined by a 40-min-ute performance. Sure, the No. 1 teams might be better overall, but these field teams have prov-en that over the course of those forty minutes, they can compete with anybody in the nation.
And even after all of the above-mentioned teams, there are even those schools that rarely ever grab the national spotlight. This year, Old Dominion clinched a berth when it won the Colonial Athletic Association Conference. Though no team from the CAA has ever won the NCAA Tournament, the Monarchs showed some tal-ent this season when they beat Georgetown in December.
Honestly, nobody will expect Old Dominion to go far. Those prognos-ticators are probably right. But dont let that decision come without an af-terthoughtthe history of this tour-nament is full of surprises, which only adds to the excitement.
Think back to the Big Dance in 2006, when a little-known George Mason squad out of Fairfax, Va.,
LAWSON KURTZ/CHRONICLE FILE PHOTO
Austin Freeman and Georgetown received a No. 3 seed to the NCAA Tournament.
made a surprise run to the Final Four after defeating powerhouses Michigan State, North Carolina and Connecticut. In 2008, David-son, led by current NBA rookie Ste-phen Curry, knocked off Gonzaga, Georgetown and Wisconsin before losing to eventual national cham-pion Kansas in the Elite Eight.
So yes, John Wall might be the first pick in the NBA Draft. Kan-
sas might boast the nations best center in Cole Aldrich. Syracuse may have the best record in a conference dripping with talent. But the last 18 weeks have shown that they are all fallible.
And starting today, if they so much as stutter for a moment, you can bet that one of the teams from the field will rise to the oc-casion and watch them fall.
/ColorImageDict > /JPEG2000ColorACSImageDict > /JPEG2000ColorImageDict > /AntiAliasGrayImages false /CropGrayImages true /GrayImageMinResolution 200 /GrayImageMinResolutionPolicy /OK /DownsampleGrayImages false /GrayImageDownsampleType /Average /GrayImageResolution 300 /GrayImageDepth -1 /GrayImageMinDownsampleDepth 2 /GrayImageDownsampleThreshold 1.50000 /EncodeGrayImages true /GrayImageFilter /DCTEncode /AutoFilterGrayImages true /GrayImageAutoFilterStrategy /JPEG /GrayACSImageDict > /GrayImageDict > /JPEG2000GrayACSImageDict > /JPEG2000GrayImageDict > /AntiAliasMonoImages false /CropMonoImages true /MonoImageMinResolution 400 /MonoImageMinResolutionPolicy /OK /DownsampleMonoImages false /MonoImageDownsampleType /Average /MonoImageResolution 1200 /MonoImageDepth -1 /MonoImageDownsampleThreshold 1.50000 /EncodeMonoImages true /MonoImageFilter /CCITTFaxEncode /MonoImageDict > /AllowPSXObjects false /CheckCompliance [ /None ] /PDFX1aCheck true /PDFX3Check false /PDFXCompliantPDFOnly false /PDFXNoTrimBoxError false /PDFXTrimBoxToMediaBoxOffset [ 0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 ] /PDFXSetBleedBoxToMediaBox true /PDFXBleedBoxToTrimBoxOffset [ 0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 ] /PDFXOutputIntentProfile (None) /PDFXOutputConditionIdentifier () /PDFXOutputCondition () /PDFXRegistryName () /PDFXTrapped /False
/CreateJDFFile false /Description
