What an awesome weekend! Although your bracket is probably buried in a random trash can by now (trust me, mine deserves to be too, but I like to keep it until the end), you probably still enjoyed the way the last four days played out. There was no shortage of great moments, and although we lost some of the top seeds, I think that this coming weekend will be very exciting as well.
Obviously, there were a lot of things that I liked about this first weekend of March Madness. Of course, there are also some things that I wish could have gone differently. Here is my recap of the weekend.
Things I Liked
Mid-MAJOR Performance
Northern Iowa, Cornell, St. Mary’s, Murray State, Old Dominion….and the list goes on. The so called mid-majors definitely showed up to play this past weekend, which always makes the tournament fun to watch. The clutch shots by Ali Farokhmanesh (Northern Iowa) and Danero Thomas (Murray State) are just a few of the highlights put together by this tough bunch of teams that busted many people’s brackets. These kinds of moments are why the NCAA shouldn’t tamper with the 64 team tournament that is as close to perfect as anything in college sports, as it would eliminate much of this drama, but that is a story for another day…
Buzzer Beaters
The three buzzer beaters in the first day of competition matched the number of buzzer beaters in the entire tournament last year. The plethora of close games kept you on the edge of your seat for the entire slate of games, which is exactly what March Madness is all about. The image of one team mobbing each other in center court while the other team looks on in disbelief is what makes the first two rounds so fun to watch. I personally also like running down the stairs at almost midnight, barging into my parents’ room, and asking my dad if he saw “that play”. I’m pretty sure he enjoys that part too.
Things I Didn’t Like
That’s actually a joke…the first round of the NCAA Tournament are the two greatest days of the year for me. Add the fact that it was probably the best first round in the last few years, and this writer was completely satisfied.
I think I’m still recovering from the weekend, because I can’t think of anything else to write about. On Wednesday, I’ll post again with my preview of the Sweet 16, including some teams that could send more top seeds packing. Since my post contains very little interesting material, I want to know what you guys think. What did you like about the first weekend of the tournament, or what didn’t you like? Post a comment or send me an email at aroundthecornsportsblog@gmail.com. Thanks guys.
Oh, and one more thing. The guy who is in first place in ESPN’s Men’s Tournament Challenge goes to my school. That’s right, I know the guy. I’ve always wanted to have a chance to say “I know that guy”. You may have met a famous rock group or be distantly related to Eric Clapton, but I know the guy who is in first place in the ESPN Men’s Tournament Challenge. So my congratulations to you, Jay, because my bracket sucks.
– K. Becks
