NCAA Tournament

Hello ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls from all over the world and welcome to another edition of 'Life of a Student Athlete.'  In today's edition we are going to talk about College Basketball.  It's March people and you know what that means.  March Madness.  And the tournament is a good one my friends.  For one, my two teams, Syracuse and Miami are still alive and both in the Sweet 16.  Syracuse has to go through Indiana now, the #1 seed in the East Region.  Indiana has been one of the top teams this year, and a lot of analysts have been riding high on the Hoosiers this year, but I’m not too sure.  The ‘Cuse is playing very well so far this tournament, and as a fan, and an ‘‘expert’’ I think the Orange will move on to the Elite 8 for the second straight year.  Miami played a very close game last night against Illinois; they did end up coming away with a 63-59 win though.  The Hurricanes will take on #3 seed Marquette in the East Region.  The Golden Eagles are a team who loves to grind it out in close games, and they have already had a last second layup to win the game.  Although Marquette is a tough team, too much spunk from the Canes will get them through to the next round, putting them in the Elite 8 for the first time in school history.  The biggest story of the tournament thus far though, the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles, #15 seed from the Atlantic Sun Conference.  They have advanced to the Sweet 16, marking the first time in the entire 74 years of the tournament; a 15-seed has advanced to the regional semifinal.  I’ve watched both games they have played, from start to finish, and this is no 15-seed people.  They play like a 1-seed.  They have absolutely dominated their first two opponents.  They beat Georgetown, a team who had high expectations, they beat them by 10.  And they were up by 19 at one point.  Last game they played San Diego State, and they beat them by 10.  At one point they went on a 17-0 run!  They have the swagger, they have the confidence, and I seriously believe they have a chance at this title.  They’re so fun to watch, it is insane.  I’ve fell in love with this team since I’ve laid eyes on them.  Now they take on Florida, the #3 seed in the South Region.  I have a feeling that this team will do something, and will make history.  It’s looking like they have the right foot size for that glass slipper this year. The tournament resumes tomorrow night as the West and East Regions will play their games, Friday night the Midwest and South Regions will play their games. In the West bracket, we saw another huge upset, as the Harvard Crimson upset the New Mexico Lobos. As if the Florida Gulf Coast University upset over Georgetown didn't do, this game was sure to mess up a whole lot of brackets, as New Mexico was projected to be one of the best teams in the entire tournament. Tomorrow we will also see Wichita State, a 9 seed take on La Salle, a 13 seed. Both of these teams have created their own Cinderella stories, as La Salle has beaten Kansas State and Ole Miss, and Wichita State upset Gonzaga (the 1 seed) in their second game. It would be very exciting to see either of these teams make an even deeper run, especially seeing that most brackets across the country do not have either of these teams doing any serious damage. The next game tomorrow night features Arizona, a 6 seed, and Ohio State, a 2 seed. Ohio State is led by Aaron Craft, who has only gained popularity since the tournament has begun. He has earned the reputation as one of (if not the best) defensive guards in the country. In their game on Sunday, Craft hit a 3 pointer with .4 seconds remaining to win the game. Now, with momentum, Ohio State is a team that will be a tough match up for any team, especially a 6 seed. Arizona, however, is not your average 6 seed. Throughout the year, the Sun Devils have lived and died by the 3 ball. The game is as simple as this; if the 3 point game is hot, the Sun Devils have a chance, but if the 3 ball is cold, the Buckeyes will blow the Devils out of the water (or fire, if you will). Another interesting topic is the Wooden Award, which goes to the MVP of the season, NOT the tournament. As they days go by, the standings for this award have changing faster than ever. In my opinion, both Kelly Olynyk from Gonzaga and Otto Porter from Georgetown have been falling off the map due to their teams early exits in the tournament.  Thank your for tuning in to today's episode.  Hopefully your brackets are as busted as mine, and hopefully you all have a very good rest of the tournament.  Oh and Happy Easter!  Goodbye folks!