NCAA Tournament Bracket - 2013

New Mexico beat writer rage-quits after Lobos’ unexpected loss to Harvard



When our team loses, there's heartbreak. Frustration.
Agony. But we almost always come back, again and again, season after
season.

But sometimes the pain is just too much. Sometimes, we just can't take any more. Such is the case for Dennis Latta, freelance writer for Rivals.com's Loboland and a 33-year veteran of the New Mexico beat. After Thursday night's stunning and, yes, humiliating loss to Harvard, Latta had had enough.

In his farewell column,
Latta fires a shot across the bow — or, really, through the hull — of
the New Mexico program: "I really thought that the University of New
Mexico finally had a men's basketball team that earned the loyalty of
their fans." He lists all the virtues of this year's New Mexico team —
"real potential," accomplishments in both the regular season and the
Mountain West Conference, strong players across the board — but then he
undercuts each one of those plaudits with "I was wrong."

[Photo gallery: Best photos of the NCAA tournament]

And then he drops the hammer:

<blockquote>
But I won't be wrong again. It was a lot easier to take when
expectations were lower. Losing was acceptable because UNM had almost
always lost when it really counted. You didn't have visions of
greatness, only to have them dashed. After the pitiful performance UNM
put up against a team that doesn't even offer scholarships, I've given
up. Having all five starters back next season means nothing on a team
that can just disappear like that. I'd be back to wondering when it
would collapse, have a terrible game and lose to an inferior team again.

No, I've had it. I've been to my last Lobo basketball game after covering the team for much of the last 33 years.

Good-bye Lobo basketball.

</blockquote>
You can see Latta's frustrations. You put in over three decades with a
team, you expect some kind of payoff somewhere down the line, right?
And hey, perhaps Harvard could use someone to cover their next games.
(Sorry, Dennis.)


http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaab-the-dagger/mexico-beat-writer-rage-quits-lobos-unexpected-loss-225527394--ncaab.html#more-id

Jeff Withey saves Kansas from historic loss to No. 16 seed Western Kentucky




Center Jeff Withey saved No. 1 seed Kansas from an infamous loss Friday night in its opening game in the NCAA tournament.

Withey seemed to be the only Jayhawk who didn't struggle in a hard-fought 64-57 win
over No. 16-seeded Western Kentucky. The Jayhawks didn't make a
3-pointer for the first time in more than five years (Feb. 9, 2008) and
had their fans breathing a sigh of relief afterward.

A 16 seed has never beaten a top seed in the tournament but not many
have come this close. Kansas's margin of victory was seven points, but
Western Kentucky pushed the Jayhawks right up to the final seconds and
if one or two more shots had fallen for the Hilltoppers, this could have
easily gone the other way.

It wasn't exactly a confidence builder for Kansas.

Withey scored 17 points and grabbed six rebounds but it was his seven
blocked shots that made all the difference. Those blocks contributed to
the Hilltoppers making just eight of 40 field-goal attempts in the
second half after making 48 percent of their shots in the first half to
take a one-point lead at halftime.

Kansas's reward for surviving is a Sunday game with North Carolina
and former Kansas coach Roy Williams, who earned the 700th victory of
his career Friday when the Tar Heels topped Villanova in game between 8
and 9 seeds.

North Carolina has won nine of its past 11 games. The Tar Heels
turned around their season in February when Williams began using a
four-guard lineup.

Kansas will have to be much more on top of its game offensively to
topple the Tar Heels. Friday's performance, while concerning for coach
Bill Self, seems more like an aberration from the Jayhawks and a very
good defensive performance from Western Kentucky. One that almost made
history.


http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaab-the-dagger/jeff-withey-saves-kansas-historic-loss-no-16-053512826--ncaab.html

Best of the NCAA tournament: Day 2





1. Only six No. 15 seeds had ever won an NCAA
tournament game. Florida Gulf Coast made it seven. The Atlantic Sun
tournament champion Eagles stunned second-seeded Georgetown, and they did it in style too,
throwing down an array of alley-oops, put-back dunks and transition
slams. Florida Gulf Coast's victory came in its first ever NCAA
tournament appearance and in only its second year of NCAA tournament
eligibility after beginning the transition to Division I six years ago.
Georgetown, meanwhile, has not made it out of the opening weekend since
its 2007 Final Four appearance.

2. The opponent for Florida Gulf Coast will be San
Diego State, which helped salvage a disappointing opening round for the
Mountain West by outclassing Oklahoma 70-55. As a result, a mildly
disappointing season for the Aztecs suddenly could include a Sweet 16
appearance next week if they can just do what Georgetown couldn't and
vanquish the No. 15 seed. Another shooting night like Friday from
reserve James Rahon would certainly help the Aztecs' cause. The
sometimes erratic Rahon sank 6 of 11 shots and had 17 points off the
bench.

3. If there's a theme to this tournament so far, it
might be teams considered to be NCAA tournament underachievers failing
to shed that label. First to fall were Mountain West stalwarts UNLV and
New Mexico on Thursday. Then came the Georgetown stunner on Friday
evening. And finally, another Notre Dame flop on Friday night. The
seventh-seeded Irish were so bad in their 76-58 loss to 10th-seeded Iowa
State that players said they'd have preferred a nail biter. "We got our
butts kicked," Pat Connaughton told the Chicago Tribune. "And that's something that hurts worse."

4. In a battle between two coaches whose jobs may be
in jeopardy, Tubby Smith extended his stay at Minnesota at least two
days longer. The 11th-seeded Gophers emerged from a season-ending skid
in which they had lost 11 of 16 games, throttling UCLA 83-63 behind 28
points from Andre Hollins and a strong defensive effort from the entire
roster. If this was Ben Howland's final game at UCLA, it was a
disappointing ending to a tenure that included three Final Four
appearances between 2006 and 2008. The Bruins, playing without second
leading scorer Jordan Adams, generated little offense, shooting only
31.7 percent.

5. Most successful conference of the opening round:
The Atlantic 10, which is sending all five of its NCAA tournament
entrants on to the round of 32. Temple survived NC State and La Salle
stunned fourth-seeded Kansas State to join Butler, VCU and Saint Louis.
Runner-up to the Atlantic 10 was probably the Big Ten, which flexed its
muscles and proved itself worthy of its regular season accolades. Of the
league's seven entrants, only Wisconsin was eliminated.


http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaab-the-dagger/best-ncaa-tournament-day-2-045559872--ncaab.html

How many people picked Florida Gulf Coast to win the national title?



Believe it or not, the members of the Florida Gulf
Coast basketball team weren't the only ones who believed they could
upset second-seeded Georgetown on Friday. Here's a look at the FGCU data
from the over 3 million brackets that were entered on Yahoo! Fantasy Sports' Tourney Pick'Em contest. Yes, the dream of a FGCU national title remains a possibility for 337 dedicated and delirious souls.

· 47,950 brackets (1.5 percent) picked #15 FGCU to win their game over No. 2 Georgetown
· 18,583 picked them to also win their Round of 32 game and make the Sweet 16
· 4,982 picked them to also win their Sweet 16 game and make the Elite 8
· 1,591 picked them to also win their Elite 8 game and make the Final Four
· 696 picked them to also win their Final Four game and make the Championship
· 337 picked them to also win the NCAA Championship

Despite those 337 brave souls, FGCU was close to the least supported team in terms of title hopes (they ranked 61st out of 68 teams on our pick distribution).
Here's a breakdown of how many times the No. 15 and No. 16 teams were
picked to win the title. It's interesting to note that each 16 seed
finished on top of all the 15s, though we suspect that's just the work
of a solid group of wisenheimers.

1. #16 Western Kentucky — 776 brackets
2. #16 North Carolina A&T — 580 brackets
3. #16 James Madison — 574 brackets
4. #16 Southern — 377 brackets
5. #15 Albany — 372 brackets
6. #15 Pacific — 340 brackets
7. #15 FGCU — 337 brackets
8. #15 Iona — 322 brackets


http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaab-the-dagger/many-people-picked-florida-gulf-coast-win-national-030207618--ncaab.html

This is the year of the underdog! Lower seeds rule! Lol! :shock: