Spring Break
Let the madness begin
Adam Loghides
Issue date: 3/11/09 Section: Sports
Every year the calendar turns, the weather warms up (allegedly, at least) and sports fans turn their attention to the college hardwood.
It's March, baby!
We all think we know it all and fill out our brackets for the NCAA tournament, picking upsets and our Cinderella teams along the way. Even the casual sports fan becomes a "genius" in March. Every year I always say, "I don't even know why they are playing the games because I have the whole thing played out already."
I have never, ever, won a tournament pool, by the way.
I have learned some things along the way, though, so here are some tips for filling out your 2009 March Madness brackets.
Aside from last year's anomaly-filled March when four top seeds reached the Final Four, there will be a team (or two) in the Final Four that's decent, but that virtually nobody expects to be there.
Pay attention to teams like LSU, Clemson, Marquette and Arizona State. It was only three years ago that the Final Four included none of the top seeds from the four regions.
Over the last five years, the average seed of Final Four teams is 2.5. The last five champions have averaged 1.6. So even though the first couple of rounds are chocked full of upsets and exciting Goliaths threatening Davids, the Final Four is full of good teams that spend the majority of their time in the top 10 of the country.
Louisville and Wake Forest seem to fill that bill perfectly this year. Neither is likely to be a top seed, but both have hovered near or been in the top 10 all year.
Does playing in a tough conference help a team get to the Final Four? You bet it does. Over the last five years, 18 of the 20 Final Four teams have come from major conferences. Only Memphis last year and George Mason from the CAA in 2006 are the exception to the rule.
Even though there have been surprise teams that make it to the National Semifinals, they are usually teams from major conferences. Since 2004, there have three teams seeded fourth that have made it. They have been from the Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC. Sorry, Gonzaga fans.
It's March, baby!
We all think we know it all and fill out our brackets for the NCAA tournament, picking upsets and our Cinderella teams along the way. Even the casual sports fan becomes a "genius" in March. Every year I always say, "I don't even know why they are playing the games because I have the whole thing played out already."
I have never, ever, won a tournament pool, by the way.
I have learned some things along the way, though, so here are some tips for filling out your 2009 March Madness brackets.
Aside from last year's anomaly-filled March when four top seeds reached the Final Four, there will be a team (or two) in the Final Four that's decent, but that virtually nobody expects to be there.
Pay attention to teams like LSU, Clemson, Marquette and Arizona State. It was only three years ago that the Final Four included none of the top seeds from the four regions.
Over the last five years, the average seed of Final Four teams is 2.5. The last five champions have averaged 1.6. So even though the first couple of rounds are chocked full of upsets and exciting Goliaths threatening Davids, the Final Four is full of good teams that spend the majority of their time in the top 10 of the country.
Louisville and Wake Forest seem to fill that bill perfectly this year. Neither is likely to be a top seed, but both have hovered near or been in the top 10 all year.
Does playing in a tough conference help a team get to the Final Four? You bet it does. Over the last five years, 18 of the 20 Final Four teams have come from major conferences. Only Memphis last year and George Mason from the CAA in 2006 are the exception to the rule.
Even though there have been surprise teams that make it to the National Semifinals, they are usually teams from major conferences. Since 2004, there have three teams seeded fourth that have made it. They have been from the Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC. Sorry, Gonzaga fans.
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