Despite all the wild finishes, the close calls and unbelievable endings, the top seeds emerged from the first two rounds on top of the NCAA Men's Basketball tournament.
Of the 16 teams remaining, 15 are a 5 seed or better and the only remaining double digit seed, No. 12 Arizona, faced another double digit seed in No. 13 Cleveland State in the second round. While the underdog did not come out on top in this year's tournament (or last year's for that matter with all No. 1s making the Final Four) that does not mean college basketball has lost the parody that we all love.
In fact, I think it means the opposite. Even though the lower seeds lost, they gave the top seeds a run for their money. With a few exceptions, blowouts have not been the rule in this tournament or last year's tournament, for that matter. Games are coming down to the wire with the top schools able to just out last their lower seeded opponents.
But I believe the wins by the big boys are because teams no longer take games for granted. Even in the regular season a team can't go into a game and assume they will earn the win. Three-point shooting, press defenses and run-and-gun offenses have made any team into a potential threat for the upset.
So when the tournament comes around, these top seeds know that whoever they get matched up with, they are in for a fight. Gone are the days where teams will just saunter onto the court, play at half speed and still earn a 20 point win. The top seeds have fought all year trying not to be the Goliath to some schools David and have carried that attitude over to the tournament.
The good thing about all this is looking at the teams left, we should be in treat to see some very good basketball being played over the next few weeks.
Standing 10 Count
Blake Griffin should be a lock to earn player of the year honors but if for some reason his pro basketball career doesn't work out, maybe he should try the UFC or MMA. Not only did Griffin suffer a concussion earlier this year, but he in the tournament, he has been flipped, beaten and bruised. Saturday, Michigan cut his elbow and gave him a bloodied nose.
But through it all, Griffin has stood tall and elevated his game leading Oklahoma to the Sweet Sixteen and a date with Syracuse.
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