The University of North Carolina Tar Heels ended yet another exciting NCAA Tournament Monday night.Not only did the Tar Heels win a national title, but they also gave head basketball coach Roy Williams his first ever NCAA championship while simultaneously upending the powerful Illini of the University of Illinois.
Before watching this game, I was thinking that the Illini would most likely pull out the victory. Unfortunately, I was wrong, which is not unusual.
The University of North Carolina is a very talented ball club, and they certainly showed it Monday night. Sean May scored at will in the paint for the Tar Heels as they jumped out to big leads at times, only to see the Illini crawl their way back into the ball game.
Despite losing this game, Bruce Weber and his team have nothing to be ashamed of. Achieving a record of 37-2 in just his second year at the helm of the program is nothing to look down upon. Before falling to Ohio State, Illinois was undefeated on the season. This accomplishment in itself is remarkable.
Although I did not fill out a bracket, Illinois was one of my front-runners to win the title. Since they had been ranked No. 1 for a majority of the season, I would have been foolish not to include them in the mix.
I knew others such as Kentucky of the SEC, UConn and Syracuse of the Big East and ACC powers Duke, the Tar Heels, Wake Forest and last year’s national runner-up Georgia Tech were just a few who had the potential to make a run in the Big Dance.
Heck, every team that made the NCAA Tournament had a shot. It was a matter of who showed up to play.
As far as upsets, disappointments and surprises from the NCAA Tournament, there were plenty for everyone.
Kansas’ loss to Bucknell had to rank near the top of the upsets. It has always been an obvious fact that any team can be beaten on any given night, but I really did not see this one coming. Although Kansas struggled toward the end of the regular season, I figured that head coach Bill Self would have his boys ready to make a run deep into the tournament.
Along with being an avid Nicholls State fan, I am also what some would call a die-hard LSU fan.
Because of this, LSU’s loss to the University of Alabama-Birmingham in the first round could also be considered an upset, in my opinion, because the Tigers came in as a sixth seed and lost to the 11th seed. Maybe I should rephrase that statement. LSU was dominated by an 11th seed.
I know that UAB was a very good team, but LSU proved they could hang with the best when they showed up to play. For Tiger fans everywhere, they did not, and we all had to sit there and watch a lackluster performance.
In terms of disappointments, two come to mind: the Kentucky-Michigan State matchup and the Arizona-Illinois game.
Patrick Sparks hit a shot that should be added to the list of greatest moments in Kentucky basketball history. Sparks knocked down a shot that, after intense review by the officials, was ruled a three-pointer, sending the game into overtime.
Although a great shot, it did not help the Wildcats as they fell to Michigan State in two overtimes.
The last two minutes of the Arizona-Illinois matchup could be described as self-destruction on Arizona’s part. Arizona let Illinois back in the game, blowing a 15-point lead, and then lost to the Illini in overtime.
For surprises, look no further than the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the West Virginia Mountaineers.
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee upset two higher seeded teams in their tournament run. Beating one higher seeded opponent is impressive, but beating two is remarkable. Because of their success, head coach Bruce Pearl was awarded a job as head coach in the SEC at Tennessee.
The University of West Virginia’s run was impressive not only because of how far they advanced, but also because of their outside shooting ability. Their double-overtime win over Wake Forest will be remembered as one of the highlights of this year’s tournament.
Michigan State’s run to the Final Four was also impressive. It’s not so much that they lacked the talent to make a run, but it was more of them being overshadowed by Illinois which was considered the highlight of the Big 10 this past season. Head coach Tom Izzo continues to put a well-refined product on the floor year after year.
Bob Knight leading Texas Tech to the Round of 16, and Rick Pitino and his Louisville club advancing to the Final Four were other great moments in this year’s tournament.
