March Madness Winners and Losers

After a crazy two weeks the Final Four is set, and four very surprising teams are about to converge on Houston. Just like the games on the court, the tournament has produced a variety of winners and losers. The Short Hops and Air Balls take on the tourney is below.

Losers:

• Pittsburgh: A #1 seed with one of the easiest draws in tournament history loses in the second round to Butler. They lose in a game where they shoot 57% from the field, and 55% from the three point arc. How is that possible? The sting of the loss is probably lessened by the fact that Butler is in the Final Four and all the other number one seeds lost as well, but in my eyes it still doesn't excuse the early exit.
• The Big East in general. The Big East was widely regarded as the toughest conference throughout the regular season, and they were rewarded with a boatload of teams given bids into the dance. In the end though, only Marquette and UConn advanced to the Sweet 16. UConn making the Final Four after winning 5 games in the Big East tournament is a great run, but overall the conference largely disappointed.
• CBS: Say what you want about how great it is that VCU and Butler made the Final Four and that no number one seeds made it, but I guarantee you that CBS hates it. Kentucky and UConn are major college programs, but they play each other, so I predict the ratings will be down for the Championship game. You have to watch though, and make sure to stay awake for 'One Shining Moment', it's always good.
• The biggest loser of all, my bracket. Go back and read my Sweet Sixteen preview, it's not very good. I can admit when I'm wrong and I missed big time overall, but really blew it with teams like Louisviille, who I predicted would do great, and Arizona, who I predicted would lose in the first round. I didn't get any of the Final Four right, and it's been a long time since that has happened.

Winners:

•  NCAA: Originally the NCAA wanted to extend the tournament field to 96 teams, which is a horrible idea, but they eventually settled on 68. Even only increasing the field by four teams they had some detractors, but one of the last four teams to get in, was VCU. The little engine that could from Richmond, VA punched their ticket all the way to the Final Four, and you can bet that the NCAA is going to use that as ammunition to look to increase the field again in the next few years.
• Brandon "Big Balls" Knight: Kentucky's freshman point guard from Ft. Lauderdale, FL has had an up and down tournament, except at crunch time, when he's been way UP. He didn't have a single basket in their first round game against Princeton, until the last shot that he made on a sweeping, driving layup. Then against Ohio State, he hits the game winner as well. He led the team in points and assists during the regular season, and as a freshman he's carving out a nice legacy in the Kentucky legend.
• Brad Stevens and Shaka Smart: The head coaches from Butler and VCU respectively are two of the youngest coaches from the entire field, and both of them are leading teams without a superstar. Both of them coach with a lot of energy, and the thing I like about both of them is they are fearless. They aren't afraid to follow their instincts and change their strategy at any point during the course of any game. As a coach myself I really admire how they handled themselves and their teams during this three weeks. Plus, his name is SHAKA SMART! Are you kidding me, how great is that name? If VCU wins the whole thing, every baby born in Richmond, VA for the next week should be named Shaka.
• Good vs. Evil: As I mentioned above, I really like how Stevens and Smart have their led teams. As much as I love them, I HATE John Calipari and Jim Calhoun. Both of them are corrupt, cheating coaches, who lie, steal, and cheat their way to success. I honestly don't really care who wins the VCU/Butler game, but whoever wins, I hope they win the whole thing.

Well, I wasn't even close on the Sweet Sixteen, but here's my Final Four predictions. I'll take VCU over Butler in a close game continuing the Cinderella dream. On the other side I think Kentucky beats UConn in a game dominated by guard play. In the final, as much as it pains me to say it, I'll take Kentucky over VCU. The Wildcats are the most talented team remaining, they've got good balance, and they can defend. Unfortunately VCU doesn't get the slipper, but what a magical run.