Signs of spring: Brackets, time changes and water ice
The first Monday after springing forward an hour can be kind of rough, but today is the day I can head to my local Rita’s Water Ice location and buy some water ice and custard. That makes today a very good day. What also makes it a good day is getting a chance to fill out my NCAA bracket and pretent like I know anything about half the teams in the field. Today, we are all bracket experts. Enjoy it while it lasts, because the northeast is about to be slammed with snow (meaning we don’t want to go buy water ice) and your bracket is likely to be busted within the first 72 hours of the tournament.
Villanova, Kansas, UNC and Gonzaga take No. 1 seeds
Defending national champion Villanova, Kansas, North Carolina and Gonzaga took the top four seeds in this year’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament bracket, which was to be expected. By now you have probably seen the full bracket and are busy filling out any number of brackets that will be ready to toss in the shredder by Sunday afternoon anyway. What a waste of perfectly good paper.
With the brackets out, the overanalyzing of the brackets has already hit its stride. It does that right in the middle of the selection show, but were there really any glaring atrocities out there?
A few quick notes about this year’s bracket:
Teams by conference
ACC – 9
Big East – 7
Big Ten – 7
Big 12 – 6
SEC – 5
Pac-12 – 4
A-10 – 3
American – 2
West Coast – 2#SelectionSunday
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 12, 2017
Michigan was probably going to get into the tournament, but their journey from Ann Arbor to winning the Big Ten is one for the ages. After being delayed to getting to the Big Ten tournament following an aborted plane takeoff to Washington D.C., the Wolverines had to play their first game in makeshift uniforms and the ride continued all the way to Sunday with a solid Big Ten championship game victory over Wisconsin.
That awkward feeling when a co-worker is paid way more than you despite never accomplishing anything. pic.twitter.com/V18mXWJpxi
— SportsPickle (@sportspickle) March 12, 2017
As if the plane crash story wasn't enough… Michigan is the lowest seed to ever win the Big Ten Tournament
— Mike Hall (@BTNMikeHall) March 12, 2017
Michigan caps off one of the craziest #B1G seasons ever as tourney champ from the No. 8 seed.
Incredible run
— talking Big Ten (@talkingB1G) March 12, 2017
Michigan is 10-2 since Feb. 7. Four of those wins are over Purdue and Wisconsin.
— Kyle Rowland (@KyleRowland) March 12, 2017
Congratulations to Northwestern. Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who has a son playing for the Wildcats, had the most appropriate celebration GIF to mark the occasion.
We're going to the dance, boys! @NUMensBball making history! #proud #B1GCats #poundtherock #NCAA @marchmadness pic.twitter.com/TpuoqtvxRV
— Julia Louis-Dreyfus (@OfficialJLD) March 12, 2017
Northwestern is not the only school dancing for the first time, however. Other first-time dancers include Jacksonville State, Northern Kentucky, North Dakota, and UC Davis.
When bracketologists say you're going to miss the NCAA Tournament and you get in anyway. pic.twitter.com/3SyF5y7PLA
— SportsPickle (@sportspickle) March 12, 2017
And here’s another first for the tournament. This will be the first year a father and son are each coaching a team in the tournament, with Rick Pitino at Louisville and his son Richard Pitino at Minnesota. Don’t count on seeing a father vs. son coaching matchup in the tournament however, unless you think both Louisville and Minnesota can reach the Final Four. Louisville can get there, but that’s a tall order for the No. 5 seed Gophers in a region with North Carolina as the No. 1 seed, Kentucky, Butler, UCLA and last year’s surprise Cinderella Middle Tennessee in the first round matchup.
How about this for some bracket history?
This is the first time ever North Carolina, Kentucky and UCLA have been in the same region of the NCAA Tournament …
— Bob Vetrone Jr. (@BoopStats) March 12, 2017
So, who is the favorite? Let’s check some of the early odds…
Updated NCAA basketball national champion odds @LVSuperBook pic.twitter.com/x1bg4B5Sri
— Jon Campbell (@JonnyOddsShark) March 12, 2017
As for getting all worked up over the seedings in the tournament, I’ll refer to you the one and only Bomani Jones, who hits the nail on the head…
so much fun watching the arguments about who got seeded where in a legendarily unpredictable single elimination bracket. it'll fix itself.
— El Flaco (@bomani_jones) March 12, 2017
I’ll also endorse the bracket strategy employed by USA Today college football writer Paul Myerberg. While his colleagues were filling out their basketball brackets and sharing them with the masses, Myerberg stays in his own lane…
Tips for filling out your bracket:
1. Print bracket
2. Incorrectly pick 75% of Final Four
3. Wait five months
4. Enjoy football season
— Paul Myerberg (@PaulMyerberg) March 12, 2017
NCAA trolls Syracuse with NIT matchup we all should have seen coming
Along with the unveiling of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament bracket came the additional tournaments to keep gamblers busy, including the NIT. After being left out of the big dance for the second time in three years, Syracuse was given a No. 1 seed in the NIT. In a stroke of pure brilliance from the NIT selection committee, Syracuse’s first opponent will be UNC Greensboro. Considering how last week Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim ripped the city of Greensboro as a host city for the ACC basketball tournament, we can expect there should be some good interest in the result of this one in the city of Greensboro.
"No, wait, it gets better…guess who they're making him PLAY in the NIT?" pic.twitter.com/jvjTAcM9Sy
— SportsChannel8 (@SportsChannel8) March 13, 2017
The Best Jerry pic.twitter.com/8GYpYt04TO
— Freezing Cold Takes (@OldTakesExposed) March 12, 2017
If only the NIT had the stones to send Syracuse to UNC-Greensboro for the first round matchup.
Indiana is the first team to beat two #1 seeds in non-conference play and miss the tournament.
— Jerry Palm (@jppalmCBS) March 13, 2017
Elsewhere in the NIT, we have No. 3 Indiana giving up a home game in the first round to play at No. 6 Georgia Tech (Indiana is on spring break, and the atmosphere in Hoosierville may not be all that pleasing for Tom Crean should Indiana struggle in this one). Cal picked up a No. 1 seed after being left out of the big tournament and will face CSU Bakersfield in the first round. Illinois State and Iowa picked up the remaining two No. 1 seeds, and the Hawkeyes getting a top seed appeared to confuse one loyal sponsor…
Ummmm?????? pic.twitter.com/2pvLrPMe02
— Mark Woodley KWWL (@MarkWoodleyKWWL) March 12, 2017
If you are still searching for some postseason basketball fun, enjoy the CBI or the CIT…
Sorry about the web site. Here is a png of the bracket. Best of luck to all the teams. pic.twitter.com/ntxDZ9vDKX
— College BBall Invit. (@CBITourney) March 13, 2017
NASCAR FIGHT!
After getting spun out by Joey Logano, Kyle Busch sought out the man who cost him some valuable points in the NASCAR standings and it got a little heated. Watch as Buch sternly walks right over to Logano’s spot on pit row and throws a punch before getting taken to the ground by Logano’s pit crew. Busch was escorted out of the fray by an official, with a noticeable blemish to show for it.
Sometimes those boys can get a little hot under the collar, and sometimes those emotions boil over. I guess.
Quick Hits
Sure, NASCAR fights are mildly entertaining, but the ice is still a place to see some good fistacuffs. That said, we have never seen one from this vantage point before. God bless the ref cam!
If only we got a ref cam for this brutal battle between Sam Bennett and Jacob Trouba…
One more note from the ice this weekend. A playoff game between Storhamar and Sparta Warriors in Norway took 217 minutes and 14 seconds to play, a new world record. For those keeping track, that is three full periods of regulation (60 minutes) and seven full overtimes (140 minutes) and almost a full eighth overtime.
Der var det over: 217 minutter og 14 sekunder er den nye rekorden! Grattis, Storhamar! https://t.co/ln31K7dQNi pic.twitter.com/j937JopVah
— TV 2 Sporten (@2sporten) March 13, 2017
How is the team feeling after a such game?
The team is tired. Daniel told me that body said no, but his mind just made him keep going.
— Aivis Kalniņš (@A_Kalnins) March 13, 2017
Look, daylight savings time can be rough on everyone, but there is simply no excuse for a professional basketball player letting something like this happen…
Walking into Monday after #DaylightSavings like… <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/2.2.1/72x72/1f602.png" alt="