Weekend thoughts

Some thoughts on the tournament which got wittled down to 16 yesterday:

-Only 4 times since the NCAA tournament field expanded to 64 teams in 1985 has a 15 seed defeated a 2 seed and hadn't happened since 2001 when Hampton defeated Iowa state; it happened twice on Friday in a span of about 3 and a half hours.
-Speaking of lower seeds knocking off high seeds UNC-Asheville became only the 3rd 16 seed since 1985 to go into halftime with a lead over a a #1 seed, however Syracuse prevailed in the 2nd half and Michigan state, UNC and Kentucky all won their games by double figures, so we'll have to wait 1 more year to see a 16 defeat a 1.  Mark my words it will happen...eventually.
-The state of Ohio goes 8-0 in the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament and will comprise 25% of the sweet 16 field next weekend.  This is the first time ever four teams from one state will make the sweet 16.  Cincinnati rivals Xavier and Cincinnati are still on course to play for the championship and ultimate city bragging rights, but first Cincinnati has to get through Ohio state; the final team, Ohio University, the final team from the buckeye state, gets UNC.
-Want a reason why college basketball is better then the NBA?  If Norfolk state Missouri was an NBA series, Missouri would win that series in 5 games.  However, since it's the NCAA tournament and only one game, Missouri is ending their season a lot early then they had planned because they didn't play as well defensively as they had the whole season and Norfolk state shot about 25% over their season average.  If they play 100 times, Missouri wins 99, however the one they lost is the one that counted.
-Watching a game, you can tell which coaches are good and which one's aren't just by how well their teams handle time management in close games.  Good coaches will go over time and situation at a minimum once a week so it stays fresh in the players mind even in crucial moments.  With 8 seconds left down 3, St. Bonaventure failed to get off a tying 3 pointer against FSU and that falls squarely on the coach.  Taking the 2 with 6 seconds is fine, because you can extend the game and at worst you'd still be down 3, but once you get the offensive rebound off that missed 2, what are you doing taking another 2?  You don't have time to foul them, take the 3!  If the coach had gone over time and situation, they may have been prepared better.
-On the women's side of things, chalk mainly held as it usually does with the exception of Marist who knocked off Georgia and is well on their way to making another sweet 16 appearance for the 2nd time in last 5 seasons, both as 13 seeds.  Alls that standing in their way is St. Bonaventure who won their first NCAA tournament game Sunday.
-I would love to see a Delaware vs. UConn championship game.  Delaware is 30-1 on the year lead by a player of the year candidate Elena Delle Donne, who is the 2nd best player who's ever gone to a small school after Jackie Stiles of Southwest Missouri state who leaf SMS to a final four appearance in 2001.  Elena Delle Donne got recruited by Geno Auriemma to play basketball at UConn and was on Storrs for all of 2 days before she decided to go back to Delaware for reasons unknown.  She took a year off for volleyball, went back to play basketball at Delaware and turned them into a top 7 team in the country.  I'd love to be at the stadium should a UConn vs. Delaware matchup take place for the championship.
The Amherst women's senior class went into Holland, Michigan for the D-3 women's final 4 with an NCAA record 124-6 record including a 51 game winning streak dating back to January of 2011...they left Holland and ended their career with only an overall record of 124-8.  That's the second time in 3 years they've gone into the D-3 final 4 unbeaten on the season only to lose in the semifinals.
- I get why you play consolation games (send out teams on a high note), but I don't see why it's neccesary.  The d-3 consolation game (the men got rid of theirs a few years ago and only the women play one now) was between Amherst and St. Thomas.  Amherst was the reining champs riding a 51 game winning streak before losing, St. Thomas had won 30 straight prior to losing as their last loss was on the first day of the season.  St. Thomas was excited to get another game against a quality opponent to help them next year should they get back in this spot, Amherst had no motivation.  Amherst started the game up 10-8, st. Thomas went on a 20-8 run from there to go up double digits, got the lead as high as 20 in the first half, and Amherst never got it below 7 the rest of the way.  Losing in the semi's is bad enough, I think it's time to scrap the consolation game.