March had finally appeared back on the sports horizon. We were introduced to the famous NCAA basketball tournament on Selection Sunday. On the ensuing Friday, madness would follow as teams have fallen left and right throughout the first round of the tournament. Some were very predictable upon the experts of the sport. It was no amount of knowledge that could predict what happened throughout the Friday and Saturday of the Round of 64. By the time we hit #13 Ohio knocking off #4 Virginia, all the brackets were busted. It took us less than 2 days for the Madness in March to be so unbelievable. Out of all the big upsets that occurred, who is ready to make it to the Sweet 16.
Oral Robert Golden Eagles
It all started when the #2 Ohio State Buckeyes fell to the #15 Oral Roberts Golden Eagles. OSU didn’t even play the game that poorly. This was not a typical upset of the higher seed playing a lot worse than normal and the bottom seed taking advantage. ORU took OSU down by playing at their own pace. They kept the game within their pace and their feel. It was close the entire game and early it looked like Oral Roberts was getting the beginner’s luck. As the game progressed we saw the upset alert pop up on our phones. Then the overtime alert. Then finally we saw the bracket busted alert. It was a fast start to the brackets already being busted. It happened. ORU played well and found the guys they trusted the most. OSU had a chance to send it into double OT and missed the game-tying shot. Ball game and ORU continue on. It might surprise people that I am giving ORU a shot, but when you knock off good teams you always got a shot. Florida has been very up and down and ORU could take advantage.
Syracuse Orange
My other team to watch on Sunday would be the Syracuse Orange. They did not surprise me by taking down San Diego State at all. They were a good team and played well enough in their game vs Virginia that I knew that they had a chance to win. Not to mention Syracuse’s past in the NCAA Tournament. They have been able to prove themselves in the past and I am very high on this team. If Buddy Boeheim can continue his greatness then this should be another team that you have to follow. They match up very well against the West Virginia Mountaineers and could be the team that makes a deep run. The Orange have great shooting and good defense. If they can contain the WV runs they have a good shot at winning this game. Their next opponent would be Houston if they don’t fall to Rutgers. With Houston and WVU being similar size-wise I could see the Orange be able to dance deep into the tourney.
Ohio Bobcats
Ohio was lead behind the kid Jason Preston who had a killer game in the win over Virginia. This was a popular upset pick among the ESPN basketball experts, but I was not too sure about these guys to start the tourney. They proved me wrong and they played very well against Virginia. It got scary towards the end of the game, but overall this is a team that I would expect to win another game if they can have another solid performance. The team shut down Virginia early on defense and was able to give them a fit on the other side of the court. It was not easy to adjust either. The Cavs tried to make a few runs late, but ultimately it was too difficult and the Bobcats pulled another upset out. They have Creighton on the horizon who isn’t much better than Virginia. They also should be able to defend primarily the same as the offenses are similar.
Abilne Christain Wildcats
These guys are dangerous. They knocked off Texas with two free throws, but they deserved to win the game. The entire game they were putting Texas against the wall and making them score over them. Their defense is statistically one of the best in the NCAA. They are plenty good against solid opponents as we have learned. Turnovers will be their deciding factor in their next game vs UCLA. They were able to get 23 from Texas which I think was a large part of how they won this game. They were also able to grab 18 offensive rebounds which really helped them win this game. They controlled the game and got stop after stop on the Longhorns. I thought Texas was a fantastic team defensively and it showed. The Wildcats were simply better than them on that side of the ball. The only slip we saw from ACU is the last stretch where they almost game away from the game. Heartbreak for UT, but ACU is the most dangerous double-digit team out there.
Top picture by ABC News.