A sports blog by and for Midwest Sports Fans
I have done a post like this every year since MSF began, outlining the schedule and tournament sites of each year’s upcoming March Madness season. And even though we are still a long ways from Selection Sunday, I like to get the post out early so that people can start thinking forward with their March Madness ticket and travel plans.
As we inch day by day towards another thrilling and highly anticipated edition of March Madness – because March Madness is always thrilling and highly anticipated – I continue to be struck by one nagging negative thought: there will be no Gus Johnson this March.
While no one can ever replace Gus, there is one clear way that the folks at CBS and Turner Sports can rise and fire a shot in the arm of their NCAA Tournament coverage for this year and into the future: sign up Dan Dakich as a color commentator.
Altogether now: NOOOOOOO!!!!!!
Richard Deitsch informed college basketball fans today that iconic college basketball voice Gus Johnson and CBS could not reach a new deal.
This means that the unthinkable will become reality as soon as next season: March without Gus Johnson.
Let’s just get a few things out of the way:
Connecticut is an incredible basketball team. What they accomplished over the past month is truly something to be admired. They played with an almost unmatched intensity at both ends of the floor, and are certainly worthy champions.
Kemba Walker – not Jimmer Fredette, Nolan Smith, or Jared Sullinger – is by far the best player in college basketball. He is offensively breathtaking, and always gives his all on both ends of the floor. He was an awesome leader on a worthy champion.
Jim Calhoun is a great coach. Even though this championship may not count some day, and his ethics have always been questionable at best, you can’t argue with the numbers: 850 wins, .700 winning percentage, 3 national titles and 11 Big East Championships.
Go ahead and compare those numbers with Bobby Knight…you will be stunned. And trust me, I don’t throw around Bobby Knight comparisons lightly.
Really, I don’t want to take anything away from the Huskies today. They beat Butler at their own game: they won ugly.
All of that said, this loss hurts worse than most.
In the first of tonight’s two Final 4 matchups, the Butler Bulldogs defeated VCU 70-62 to advance to the NCAA Championship Game on Monday night.
In the second Final 4 game, Connecticut led most of the way and held on for a close victory late. Kentucky had a shot for a three on their final possession, but they missed. UConn grabbed the rebound and held on for the victory.
Monday night, the 8th seeded Butler Bulldogs will face the 3rd seeded Connecticut Huskies to determine the 2011 national championship. It’s David versus Goliath, and it’s going to be one hell of a game.
The Butler Bulldogs have advanced to the Final Four, and many people insist on calling them a “Cinderella” team. This is far from the truth, however, as Butler has now advanced to the Final Four for the second year in a row.
A Cinderella team is one that no one expects to advance out of the first round. It can also be a team that few people besides the team’s fans even know anything about.
Butler has bona fide March stars in Brad Stevens, Shelvin Mack, Matt Howard, and Ronald Nored, and is the defending national runner-up. The Bulldogs are not a Cinderella story.
But Shaka Smart and VCU? Now there is a Cinderella story.
If a normal picture is worth a thousand words, the picture below might just be worth sixty-eight thousand words.
There is no chance in hell this is what Brad Stevens was thinking when this picture was taken, but it certainly is what his Butler Bulldogs and their March dominance represent: suck it college basketball establishment.
Yep, tiny Butler from the disrespected Horizon League is headed back to the Final Four.
The 8th-seeded Butler Bulldogs beat the 2nd-seeded Florida Gators on Saturday to win the Southeast Region and advance to their second straight Final Four.
In overtime, with less than a minute to go, a Butler male cheerleader saw the camera while transitioning from a timeout to the action…and he let his Bulldog pride go on full display for the entire nation.
Yep, we’re doing it again. We’re live blogging tonight’s NCAA Tournament action – the second night of Sweet 16 games – with various members of the MSF writing crew as well as our friends from Rumors and Rants.
So once the games start, head on over here and join us for the most riveting, irreverent, humorous and occasionally insightful basketball commentary you will find anywhere. At least, that’s the plan.
Yep, we’re doing it again. We’re live blogging tonight’s NCAA Tournament action – the first night of Sweet 16 games – with various members of the MSF writing crew as well as our friends from Rumors and Rants.
So once the games start, head on over here and join us for the most riveting, irreverent, humorous and occasionally insightful basketball commentary you will find anywhere. I promise. (But I haven’t signed a letter of intent, so don’t hold me to it!)
Kansas entered the NCAA Tournament ranked #2 in the the national polls after winning their fifth Big 12 Tournament in the last six years, and much like previous years they became a favorite to win the Big Dance.
The Jayhawks make it back to the Sweet 16 after being upset by Northern Iowa in the second round in 2010. Kansas has what some would consider the easiest path the the Final Four considering the 10, 11, and 12 seeds are the teams still left in their bracket.
The 12 seed, Richmond, has returned to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1998, defeating Vanderbilt and Morehead State to get there. The Spiders have won 16 of their last 18 games with the only loses coming against Temple and Xavier, who both made the NCAA Tournament.
The 2011 NCAA Tournament has not been one to disappoint if you are a fan of upsets and Cinderella Stories. This year has been one of the craziest years in terms of upsets, and you have to look no further than the Southwest Region where the 10, 11, and 12 seeds all made the Sweet 16.
Many may wonder how are these high seeds winning so many games. The answer to this question has two parts: defense and, most importantly, the three-point shot.
I’ll be damned…Butler is doing it again.
With a thrilling 71-70 victory over #1 seed Pittsburgh, Brad Stevens and the #8 seed Bulldogs are moving on to the Sweet 16.
In the locker room after the game, a jubilant bunch of ‘Dawgs and their terrific coach celebrated what has become commonplace for them: a down-to-the-wire victory over a higher profile, favored foe.
This is the most exciting time of year for hoops fans, and if you’re anything like me you’re already almost burnt out on it.
To this point, exactly 26 hours after the brackets were announced, I am fed up with the following: Duke; the Big East; Mid-Major Bashing; Committee Bashing; “Upset Specials”; “Fill your bracket out Here”; Jay Bilas; Talking Heads talking about all the parity and upsets and then picking four #1 seeds to the Final Four; etc…
Let’s get some things straight: I am a huge basketball fan; it is my favorite sport…but I’m an NBA guy first. I would consider myself to be very knowledgeable about the college game, but in no way am I an expert.
When I was younger, I would spend hours researching each team, and fill out my bracket with the utmost care. Then, I would cringe and groan my whole way through the tournament every time one of my picks was wrong. To be honest, the whole experience was quite stressful.
Then, I figured out the solution: if you don’t want to agonize over every pick; if you want to enjoy the hours of great basketball; if you want to maximize the amount of fun you could have with the tournament, follow these simple steps, and I promise you the 2011 NCAA Tournament will be unlike any sporting event you’ve ever experienced.
