The first long weekend of the NCAA tournament has come and gone, and neither the Billikens, nor the Tigers, nor the Illini have survived to fight in the Sweet 16.
For the second straight year under coach Frank Haith (and third straight season overall), Mizzou failed to advance past of the round of 64. The Colorado State Rams hammered the Tigers on the boards (36-18) and on the scoreboard (84-72) last Thursday. If point guard Phil Pressey returns for his senior season (and he should), he'll have plenty to prove after a year marked by repeated disappointments.
SLU's season came to an end on Saturday in the round of 32, at the hands of the Oregon Ducks. The biggest difference was three-point shooting: Oregon connected on eight of its 11 attempts (72.7 percent!), while SLU made just three of 21 from long distance. The final score was 74-57, and it didn't seem that close. As tournament champion in the Pac-12, Oregon was worthy of much better than a No. 12 seed, and the selection committee's disrespect for the Ducks worked to SLU's disadvantage, putting the teams in the same part of the bracket. But despite disappointing all of the bracket prognosticators who had pegged them as a Final Four sleeper, the Billikens should be proud of their season, an inspired A-10 championship campaign worthy of Rick Majerus' legacy.
The Fighting Illini came the closest the making it past the opening rounds. They beat Colorado, then led Miami with less than two minutes to go in last night's game. But a key out-of-bounds call went against Illinois (seemingly incorrectly); Miami guard Shane Larkin hit a game-winning three-point shot; and the Hurricanes held on for a 63-59 victory.
For the tournament's first couple of days, fans (at least the ones sitting next to me at the sports bar) seemed dissatisfied. Sure there had been some upsets, but more games were being decided by 20 than by two. That sentiment changed yesterday, when game after game went down to the wire. Ohio State beat Iowa State 78-75, when Aaron Craft hit a tie-breaking three-pointer with less than a second left. Indiana beat Temple 58-52, with Victor Oladipo nailing a clutch three in the closing seconds. La Salle continued its Cinderella run with a 76-74 win over Ole Miss; Tyrone Garland hit the winning scoop lay-up with two seconds left in that one. And then there was the tense match between Illinois and Miami.
But the biggest basketball story of the weekend was the Eagles of Florida Gulf Coast University. On Friday night, the No. 15 seed in the South region upset the No. 2 Georgetown Hoyas. Yesterday, as St. Louisans were huddled inside to avoid the unprecedented spring snowfall, FGCU did it again, beating No. 7 San Diego St. to become the first No. 15 seed to ever advance to the Sweet 16.
FGCU is not your typical Cinderella. They haven't won by slowing down the game or hitting miracle shots at the buzzer. They have simply run their opponents off the floor, with alley-oop dunk after alley-oop dunk, a breathtaking display of aerial acrobatics. I watched the game with friends, and none of us could believe what we were seeing. Where did Florida Gulf Coast get guys who could dunk like that? And when the Eagles are done thrashing their opponents, they do the chicken dance.
This is a team that has only been in Division I for a couple of years. During the season, the Eagles lost to the Lipscomb Bison—twice. And now they are in the Sweet 16. They might be the most fun underdog team in the long history of fun underdog teams.
So here's an idea, St. Louis. Our favorite teams are out of it. So let's adopt a new one. We are all Florida Gulf Coast University.
