How the West is Won

Can You Say Upset?!

By Ryan Frisco

Wow, only one day into the NCAA March Madness tournament, and already the big boys are falling.  Now I may not know much about NCAA basketball, but I definitely know enough to realize that a #14 seed beating a #3 seed is quite a feat, and not something that happens every day.  Let's take a look at yesterday's results.

Photo Cred www.wbur.org

#14 Harvard 68 - #3 New Mexico 62: I went to bed last night before this game even started. Looking at my bracket, I was in fair shape going into it.  I had picked a couple of poor choice upsets that didn't happen, but nothing to kill my hopes.  New Mexico would pull this one out, and I'd be smooth sailing into Friday.  Turns out, I picked the wrong upset.  

In my recent memory, I can't remember an Ivy League school ever winning a tournament game.  Harvard had never won one, and I assumed there'd be no shot of them winning against a great #3 seed New Mexico squad.  That was not to be the case.  Harvard came out this year ready to go.  Last year they were just excited to make the tournament, as it was their first appearance since 1946.  This year, they had a different goal in mind; winning.  And they did.  Behind a stellar defense, Harvard held New Mexico's top shooters in check and cruised to their six point victory thanks to the hot hand of Laurent Rivard, who nailed five 3-pointers in the game. 

Photo Cred www.sportsillustrated.com

The question now; is one tournament win enough?  The obvious answer is no, but do the Harvard Crimson have what it takes to knock off another good team in Arizona?  My gut feeling is they don't, but you never know. I've got someone in my work pool who picked Harvard to win the Title!

#1 Gonzaga 64 - #16 Southern University 58: Wow.  That was close.  Gonzaga was sweating some bullets there.  When it comes down to it, I'm pretty sure no #1 seed will ever be able to blow the first round of the tournament. It's just never happened, and I think the pride of being #1 will always prevail when it comes down to it.  But man, there have been some close calls through the years!

It wasn't a crazy comeback to win like we saw with Marquette.  It wasn't that Gonzaga got too comfortable with a lead and let it slip.  It was just a close game, start to finish.  The Zags never pulled away, the Jaguars never slowed down.  If not for a big 17 point second half from the big man Kelly Olynyk, Gonzaga may very well be the sole blemish among #1 seeds in first round play all time.  But, nonetheless, the Bulldogs came out on the other end on top, and live to play another day against the Wichita State Shockers, which brings me to my next game...



Photo Cred www.cardiachill.com



#9 Whichita State 73 - #8 Pittsburgh 55: This game was not supposed to go this way.  The seeding is only one spot different, but the Pitt Panthers were supposed to win this game.  Now granted, most people probably thought the game would be close, but the outcome was shocking.  An 18 point blowout?!  What in the world happened?!

Somehow, someway, the Shockers held Pitt's leading scorer, Tray Woodall, to two points.  That's insane.  Without Woodall's leadership on the court, the Panthers had no shot.  I feel for Woodall.  In his final collegiate game, he had arguably his worst performance as a college athlete.  He was obviously emotional after the game.  But, I can't say I'm surprised.

I had a feeling the Shockers would come out on top in this game.  Pittsburgh is a choke artist.  Pitt Basketball, Pitt Football, probably Pitt Shuffleboard teams.  They always have and always will be.  I picked Whichita State to win this game, and was pleasantly unsurprised.  So can they dethrone Gonzaga?  My guess is no.  Gonzaga showed some jitters first round, but that was from being ranked #1 for the first time in school history.  They made it through and are in their zone.  Now that Wisconsin is out of the picture (they just lost!!) Gonzaga will roll over the Shockers (who only have one Shock in them) and into the Elite 8 with ease.

Photo Cred www.wbtv.com

#6 Arizona 81 - #11 Belmont 64: Nothing real special about this game.  Arizona was the lower seed in the matchup, Arizona should have won the game, Arizona won the game no problem.  On to round two against a Harvard Crimson team with a head of steam!  I'm thinking this game will be a better game than it should be, and better than expected.  I'm still calling Arizona in round two (for the sake of my bracket!).

I'm currently watching the scores coming in today, and I can't wait to report these tomorrow.  It's MADNESS out there!  As for my bracket, I'm toast...as is most other people, except for that one person who chose Harvard as the Champ.