No Cinderella in the Sweet 16? No Problem!

Well hoop heads, since it is currently the off season, for my first actual post I am going to use somewhat of an "archived" writing of mine. Before I actually got around to starting this blog I used to get my thoughts out any way that I could. This particular post comes in the form of a facebook note that I posted before the 2009 Sweet 16. Although its all been said and done for quite sometime now and a new season is just around the corner, I would still love to hear your thoughts on the topic. Enjoy!

The sweet 16 is upon us, and being the college basketball addict that I am I couldn't be more excited. Therefore a combination of insomnia and my current state of disagreement that I am in with most professional sports writers has caused me to do a little bit of blogging on my own. If your looking for Sweet 16 predictions for the sake of arguing with me, read no further because that's not what I am getting off my chest here. I am more here to talk about how this unique sweet 16 is going to be one of the best, because Cinderella didn't get her invite to the ball.

Most professionals around the sporting world are saying the NCAA tournament has become dull. That more and more mid-major teams are being bumped out of the tournament in favor of the "power conference" teams, leaving less and less chance for Cinderella to shine through and have their day in the sun. While this may be true (this is the lowest number of mid-major at large bids we have ever seen) what most people are failing to take into account is the clash of the titans that this unique scenario has given us to look forward to. First of all if your counting Arizona as a Cinderella team just because they are a 12 seed, stop doing so right now. Arizona has 3 future NBA stars (Wise, Budinger, and Hill), beat the elite in the Pac-10 on several occasions, and got a huge helping hand into the second round when Cleveland St. embarrassed Wake Forrest in the first round. So you may find yourself asking, "What do I have to look forward to now that the so called Cinderella teams are gone home packing and we are "stuck" watching the high seeds play the tourney out?" Well my friends strap in because its gonna be a wild ride to the Motor City.

Now there is no possible way I can deny the excitement of a 13 or 14 seed making a run that busts up everyones bracket. Those types of upsets make the opening weekend of the NCAA tournament my favorite weekend in sports aside from Semifinal Saturday. However, what most people are failing to realize is how "Cinderella" can have a negative effect on the later rounds of the tournament. After pulling upsets in the first two rounds to make the Sweet 16, chances are Cinderella is going to run into a Giant of the college basketball world in every round from here on out. This opens up an entire world of problems. First of all many of these teams rely on one or two key players that have carried them this far. By the time they are in the Sweet 16 these teams are TIRED, and generally they do not have the bench to back it up. They are not used to playing teams that are at the level of competition they face in the Sweet 16. The problem with this? Most of the time it results in a stroll into the elite 8 for the non cinderella and a 20 point blow out that has everyone switching to Family Guy before the end of the first half. Before you all jump down my throats with your, "What about George Mason?" and your, "Did you not see Davidson last year" comments, of course there are exceptions to every rule. I enjoyed watching Mason's run as much as the next fan and the game they beat UConn was something special that I won't soon forget. However, lest we forget what happened in the final 4? A blow out loss that allowed Florida to steal a ton of minutes for its power players and eventually crush UCLA in one of the most boring national title games I have ever witnessed. Davidson? They are nothing but Stephen Curry, and when he is down the team is less than subpar and does not deserve to be in the NCAA tournament. Note their games this year where Curry did not play. Note their 6 seed in the NIT. Note their quarterfinal loss to a Mt. St. Mary's team (who many argued should have made the field of 64, however they are another one man team in Patty Mills). Not to mention the last Cinderella that actually went on to capture a national title was a Rollie Massimino lead Villanova team over 20 years ago in 1985. So with Cinderella sitting at home scrubbing the floors, what do you have to look forward to in this year's sweet 16 and beyond?

This sweet 16 is going to be packed full of wire to wire games that will be earned by every team that wins. In the Midwest you are treated to Lousiville vs. Arizona, and a battle between Earl Clark and Jordan Hill that will be fantastic to watch, along with a rematch between Kansas and Michigan State that clashes Goron Suton and Cole Aldrich, two of the premire big men in the nation. Look at the West, UConn against Purdue. Will the grind out style of the Big Ten and play of Robbie Hummel prevail or will the run and gun Big East team with Thabeet come out on top? You cannot ask for a better match up then Mizzou v. Memphis. Tigers against Tigers will provide one of the best matchups in the entire sweet 16. In the East Pitt has been shaky all tournament and Xavier is a guard dominated team that has the chance to shoot them out of the tournament. With Duke making its return to the Sweet 16, the draw a Villanova team that plays the same style of ball as they do. In the South, fans of high scoring games better tune in. Expect UNC and Gonzaga to provide an offensive explosion. Syracuse and Oklahoma are both capable of putting up points in bunches, the Griffins agaist Flynn and Devendorf is a match up that I am already looking forward to. What it all boils down to is the fact that no one has an easy road to the Elite 8 this year let alone the final 4. No matter what the outcomes of the sweet 16 games each winner will face another battle ahead of them in the elite 8 before they can punch their ticket to Detroit. This season we are assured that the 4 teams that will play at Ford Field will 100% deserve to be there as they have defeated the best of the best to make it.

Please do not think for a minute that I have lost the magic that a Cinderella story brings to March. That is simply not the case. I am still on edge when a 15 is close with a 2 or a 14 is about to take down a 3 seed. It just breaks my March Madness heart everyone saying that the tournament has become boring because there are no lower seeds in the sweet 16. The tournament has simply taken on a different face this year that entails the giants battling for the final 4 tickets instead of the Cinderellas. That is the joy of March Madness, every year the story is played out in a totally different way, just as it has this year. So Cinderella, don't fire your fairy godmother yet, the glass slipper will still fit for next year's dance.