Play-In Game Plays in Dayton

The Niagara Purple Eagles will face the Florida A&M Rattlers tonight in the odd but loveable “play-in game” in Dayton, Ohio.  This match up will be the official start of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, and will determine the team that plays the Western Region’s No. 1 seed Kansas Jayhawks. 
 

The Drive to 65 will be over by tonight, and then the tourney will be down to 64 teams, a good, even number that will be required for a tournament like this to operate fairly and properly. 
 

Due to some complicated conference set-up, the NCAA Tournament includes 65 official teams.  Niagara and Florida A&M are both listed as the # 16 in the West, and each will officially be credited with an NCAA Tournament appearance.    
 

The Kansas Jayhawks will probably be hoping the Rattlers upset the Purple Eagles.  Niagara is the favorite to win by a healthy margin, and many players in the Niagara program felt that a #16 seed was below them. 
 

Of course, they also felt that not pulling a fellow Niagara University baseball player out of his car and jumping him was below them, because actually, most of the players on Niagara did do that very thing earlier this season. And that’s why they’re a #16 seed, though their players should have been suspended and their season should have been over by now.
 

It’s probably too late to get NCAA Tournament tickets to the play-in game, but if you want great seats to any other tourney game, check out StubHub.com.       

Permalink - Posted in General on March 13, 2007 - Post a comment

Fresh Meat for the NCAA Tourney Grinder

Pat Forde of ESPN.com believes that freshen will have a big impact on the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.  Several of the tourney’s top teams will place their future in the Dance on the shoulders of college hoops rookies. 
 

Not that that’s particularly a bad thing.  The general consensus around the sporting world is that this year’s class of freshmen is one of the best in recent memory.
 

The two frosh receiving the most coverage all year, by both the college hoops world and the lottery-bound NBA teams, have been Kevin Durant and Greg Oden, the backbones of Texas and Ohio State, respectively.  Both the Longhorns and the Buckeyes will depend on freshmen and sophomores to carry the load of minutes and points if they are to advance.  
 

The Number 1 seeded Tar Heels will feature an army of freshmen starters and bench producers, including Brandon Wright, Wayne Ellington, and Ty Lawson. Plus UNC’s star big man, Tyler Hansbrough, is only a sophomore.    
 

Typically, teams are made stronger by the presence of senior leadership, but that appears to be at a premium this year.  Kansas, Duke, Notre Dame, Louisville, Arizona, and Davidson all will need their greenhorns to step up if they hope to prevail in the tourney.  
 

Savvy veterans of StubHub.com will be mature enough to know that the best NCAA Tournament tickets are just a few clicks away.

Permalink - Posted in General on March 13, 2007 - Post a comment