VCU: If The Shoe Fits Wear It

Every year there is a Cinderella who gets invited to the dance and is expected to get sent home right away feeling pretty good about being invited to the big party! This year, Cinderella came to the party with a couple of overnight bags and intentions of sticking around for a little while. This year four double digit seeds have made it to the round of sixteen. Although most don’t realize it, every Cinderella story isn’t the same. See usually Cinderella hangs around, but barely getting by. Cinderella usually finds a way to win a game or two by miraculous fashion or even with some timely luck. Never has Cinderella dominated the way that Virginia Commonwealth has dominated in this years NCAA tournament.

VCU was a fourth place team in the CAA conference and they were a surprise pick by the selection committee. On selection Sunday, the ESPN juggernauts all pegged the selection committee for giving VCU the seed that everyone expected Virginia Tech to get. It appears the selection committee knew more than the crew that ESPN had put together to critique them. VCU’s was forced to earn its way by playing in one of the First Four play in games. What resulted was a swift and brutal beating of USC. The Georgetown Hoyas followed on Friday and the Rams pummeled the Big East outfit. Then Purdue, a #3 seed, and one with an impressive defensive resume, looked like a safe bet to end VCU’s season. Instead the Rams made it three dominant performances out of three with a 94-76 win.

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Kendall Marshall Is The Key To The Tar Heels Engine

Make no mistake about it, Kendall Marshall makes it happen for the UNC Tar Heels. Marshall recently broke the long standing Tar Heel NCAA tournament game assist record (14 assists) held by Kenny Smith as the Tar Heels squeaked by the University of Washington. Interestingly enough the knock on Marshall all year was that he didn’t have the foot speed to compete against premier guards in college basketball. Marshall has disproved that myth and stepped his game all the way up competing and doing well against the likes of Isaiah Thomas and Nolan Smith.

Everyone has become more productive for the Tar Heels since Marshall has become a permanent fixture in the lineup. It is obvious that Harrison Barnes is doing better, but when you look at the numbers, Henson and Zeller have been the beneficiaries of better field goal percentages and points scored. In fact even Leslie McDonald who struggled to get shots in the Drew led offense is even shooting at a better clip with Marshall distributing the rock.

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Did Kyrie Irving Wreck Your Bracket Too

Everyone filled out their brackets early in the week when there was very little buzz around Duke guard Kyrie Irving returning. When the word hit the Bull City, most of us expected that if he did come back, he wouldn’t really be that big of a factor considering that Irving had missed so much time. Let’s face it, Irving has played in only a handful of games and although he is one of the premier guards in the nation, missing that much time could not be beneficial to his game.

In most cases when a guy returns at the end of the year, it’s hard to work him into the rotation. Especially when you are one of the top four teams in the nation like Duke. The Devils have won so many games using a system of plays and substitution that benefit what they had left on their roster after all of the injuries. For real basketball fans, you remember when Jameer Nelson returned to the Orlando Magic in the finals a few years ago and it killed the chemistry of the team. The Magic had a system of guards in place but everyone’s timing was interrupted when Nelson returned.

This year Irving has returned to the Blue Devils, but instead of killing the chemistry, he has improved it. In his first game back against the Hampton Pirates, Irving looked as if he hadn’t missed a beat. He was setting the table for his teammates and also scoring 14 points off the Duke bench. Game two against the Michigan Wolverines was more of the same. Defensively he looked stronger than in game one and he managed to score 9 of his 11 points on the free throw line. His play was aggressive and he seemed to fit his role with the team very well.

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March Madness Has Me Convinced NCAA Football Needs A Playoff

The NCAA Basketball tournament has me even more convinced that NCAA football needs a playoff system. The President wants one and the godfather of football Joe Paterno sees its benefit as well. If they are like me, they love to see people play it out and settle things on the field or court. I understand that football is physical and that adding games may be detrimental but there are plenty of alternatives that schools can take since most of them end up playing about 14 games per year anyways.

Watching lower seeds play some bigger schools rarely happens in college football. College football is based on parity and for the most part, schools shy away from lower level opponents who might possibly embarrass them on the gridiron. We have all heard stories of schools and teams who refuse to play each other in their own home state. If there was a real playoff system in place in division I college football, this thing could get very interesting.

Think about it, right now we have a system in place that brings the coaches votes, the press votes, and computer votes to a logic that no one understands. Let’s make that system even simpler. Let’s leave FCS the way it is but let’s modify the FBS system. Set up a 16 team playoff system. Put together a selection committee like basketball. Wait until everyone finishes their conference championship games. 

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