Cinderella In The Southwest

The Southwest regional this year was the first time in NCAA history that there was a region with three double-digit seeded teams. And after the dust settled, it was a number 11 seed that was heading to the Final Four – only the third time since 1979 that an eleven seed had done so.

How so, you might ask? Wasn’t it a foregone conclusion that Kansas would advance? With a number one seed in the Southwest, and number two seed overall in the tournament, and seeds numbered 12, 11, and 10 remaining in their region, you had to seriously wonder how Kansas wouldn’t be punching a ticket to Houston for the Final Four.

All the bracketology “experts” in the land must be scratching their heads right now. This is yet another reminder of why they actually play the games. And what a game it was.

The first regional semifinal - Kansas – Richmond - was a yawner for the ages. Although a lot of good things had been said about the number 12 seed Spiders, I knew something was very wrong when their spider mascot looked more like a Texas fire ant than any other insect. The reality of a #12 vs #1 appeared, and Kansas rolled to a 77 – 57 victory. The Spiders didn’t challenge the Jayhawks in any way whatsoever. The paint was never attacked - even when one of the Morris twins had two early fouls. Add to that the inability to take advantage of a Brady Morningstar technical foul (absolutely ridiculous to take that one, Brady, when you’re up by 20), and you have the makings of a tough game. Boring.

Game 2 on Friday was far more entertaining. It went down to a final shot in OT. VCU – ye of small conference school status, #11 seed, and an extra play-in game to boot, looked solid. But wait, there’s more – much more.

Sunday’s Kansas – VCU matchup looked like David and Goliath on paper. What it did was provide the world with the beauty of March Madness. Cinderella made an appearance in the Southwest Region.

Prior to the game, one of the Morris twins told VCU guard Joey Rodriguez “the run ends here”. What he didn’t know was who’s run was about to stop. From the early stages, KU never really knew what hit them. They were down by 14 points at half time. VCU hit 75% of it’s three point shots in the first half. And even when KU put in a run of their own in the second half, much as everyone would expect, the unexpected occurred. VCU stood tall – and counter-punched. Hard. To the tune of a 71 – 61 victory. They were not intimidated by the Kansas big men or their shooters or their bench. They played them as equals – on a hardwood court that hasn’t changed it’s shape, dimensions or composition for any of the 68 teams. In any given tournament game, anything can happen. Just ask Kansas.

The VCU fan base was a blast. They didn’t have a quarter of the fans that KU had, but they were vocal. Of the 14, 299 fans in attendance, I can’t imagine any more than 2,000 of them wearing black and gold. They cheered loudly on every made bucket. They embraced and supported their team and coach Shaka Smart. And they knew how to have a good time. Isn’t that what March Madness is all about?

The Jayhawks were on track to have what appeared to be one of the easiest roads to the Final Four in recorded history. How about #16 Boston University, #9 Illinois, #12 Richmond, and #11 VCU? There were no tests along the way. Frankly, the Regional Final is not the time to have your first major test of the tournament. Kansas fell victim to the draw – not because of having difficult seeds, but because they never really had a challenge along the way. They then faced a big-time gut check and smack-down with a school from Virginia that wasn’t going to let them off the hook or be intimidated by their record or their jersey.

I can say that this was, without a doubt, one of the finest games I have attended. It was the definition of March Madness. I have no doubt that I will look back on it as one of the great upsets of the NCAA tournament. And in case anyone was wondering, the lowest seed to reach a Final Four was, yes, a #11 (three times) … with a #8 (Villanova) being the lowest seed to ever win the National Championship (1985 vs. Georgetown).

Cinderella, thanks for making your appearance in San Antonio. It was a treat. Now go out and shock the nation for one more weekend. And keep reminding us of what can happen when you go out and play your hearts out and – believe in yourself.

Photo credits: abesselink