Well, the 2012 edition of the NCAA men’s college basketball tournament is underway. March Madness certainly has provided a tumultuous and rollicking first week of action, with a pair of shocking upsets and several rousing games that went down to the wire as the field has been whittled from 68 entrants to the Sweet Sixteen who will compete later this week.
Most unfortunate for area fans, one of the two major upsets in the first week was Norfolk State’s shocking defeat of Missouri, 86-84, last Friday afternoon in the West Regional. For the first time since 2001, a No. 2 seed (Missouri) was defeated by a No. 15 team. Incredibly, that happened again just a few hours later on Friday when Duke lost to Lehigh.
If your bracket entry was blown out of the water by those incredible defeats of Mizzou and Duke, don’t feel alone. ESPN reported that, out of more than 6 million national participants in its $1 million sweepstakes, absolutely no one remained eligible after the first round of action. Even one of the Norfolk State players joked that he had ruined his own bracket selections with his team’s improbable victory.
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The fact that No. 7 seed Florida totally dismantled Norfolk State after the Cinderella team’s defeat of Missouri two days later really rankled many Mizzou fans. They were further annoyed on Monday when Mizzou coach Frank Haith was named winner of the Henry Iba Award for national coach of the year by the United States Basketball Writers Association.
Hold on for a minute, though, anyone who is irate about these developments. It’s important to understand that the USBWA award is based on accomplishment during the regular season and that the ballots are turned in before tournament play. Additionally, Haith guided Mizzou to 30 victories this year, one of the highest totals in the school’s entire history.
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Don’t forget that Missouri was undefeated before the Big 12 season began, or that Mizzou more than held its own against vaunted rival Kansas in its home-and-home series with the Jayhawks, while also defeating NCAA tourney entries Baylor, Iowa State and Texas twice each. Only Kansas State had Mizzou’s number during the season.
The Norfolk State game was a stunner and severely disappointing, but so it goes in the tournament. Does anyone really think that Duke fans are calling for head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s head right now? I seriously doubt it.
At the other end of the spectrum, Rick Majerus and his Saint Louis University Billikens distinguished themselves with a most credible showing in the tournament, beating a very tough and physical Memphis squad before succumbing by just five points to the Midwest regional’s top seed, Michigan State. Interestingly, both head coach Majerus and CBS sportscaster Tim Brando told me on my “E-Mak Show” on Monday morning that they believe Michigan State will win the national championship.
Tom Izzo, head coach of the Spartans, said after his team’s victory over the Bills on Sunday afternoon that the game against the Billikens was one of the hardest-contended they played all year. He gave allegiance to Majerus’ reputation as one of college basketball’s most respected and strategic coaches.
Majerus has the devotion and respect of his players as well as the admiration of his colleagues. He also is fiercely determined that his players take their education seriously and prepare for life beyond the hard court. Majerus is a proven leader in life as well as in sports. He’s restored belief and respectability not only among his players but among the students and faculty of Saint Louis University and Billikens fans throughout greater St. Louis and beyond.
Sure, we’d love to have seen Missouri and SLU play well into the tournament, and even contemplated the serious possibility of Mizzou being crowned the national champion. With their recent defeats, though, the two schools had differing tournament results and end-of-season feelings despite successful regular seasons for both.
Maybe, if Mizzou played SLU during the regular season, it’d be more ready for the Norfolk States of the college basketball world come tournament time.
Evan Makovsky
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