Now we’re starting to get to the good stuff. Below is our sweetest of Sweet Sixteens in the RTC Modern Bracket.
We have ten national champions still alive, three runners-up and three at-large teams. There were a couple of minor upsets, but one of our #1 seeds has already exited this Dance.
Explanations of each game below the bracket.
Instant Analysis
#1 Duke 1992 def. #8 Arizona 1988 –Lute Olson‘s Wildcats keep this game closer than you might expect thanks to Sean Elliott, Steve Kerr and Anthony Cook, but Coach K’s trio of Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley and Grant Hill pull away in the last 5 minutes. Against most teams Elliott is a nightmare match-up, but Duke has Grant Hill who while not quite at the level he was at in 1994 still can play some solid defense. In the end, Arizona, like many teams, doesn’t have an answer for Laettner who wills the Blue Devils into Sweet 16.
#13 St. John’s 1985 def. #12 Arizona 1998 – While I’m not sure that either of these teams can be considered a Cinderella, we get our match-up of double digit teams. Lute Olson’s defending champs came into the game supremely confident after having knocked off a very good Kansas 2008 team with their next match-up against a team that didn’t even make the the NCAA title game, but Lou Carnesecca’s Redmen have other ideas. Arizona’s heralded backcourt of Miles Simon and Mike Bibby simply run into a better version of themselves in Chris Mullin and Mark Jackson and the Wildcats have no answer for Walter Berry. Next up for Lou Carnesecca, Coach K and the 1992 Blue Devils.
Welcome back. The RTC Braintrust got together tonight and hammered out our 32 first round winners for the RTC Modern Bracket, one step closer to picking the team that we believe is the very best squad of the last quarter-century.
A reminder: we used resume/body of work to select and seed our 64 finalists, but that criterion now takes a step back to how we think teams would perform in head-to-head matchups. So if your favorite team won a title but had a relatively weak inside game, don’t be surprised if a runner-up or at-large from another year with superb inside play knocks you out of the bracket. Yes, we’re looking at you, Illinois fans.
Quick analysis of the numbers: fourteen of our 24 national champions survived the first round, but only eight of our runners-up made it through their first game. Ten of our sixteen at-large teams also survived.
And now, the updated bracket through the first round of matchups, with brief explanations of how we analyzed each game below.
Instant Analysis
#1 Duke 1992 def. #16 Indiana 2002 – Coach K’s best team picked apart the Cinderella Hoosiers while the two Hills – Thomas and Grant – made life miserable for Jared Jeffries.
#8 Arizona 1988 def. #9 Maryland 2002 – In a very close contest, Steve Kerr and Sean Elliott got it done from the perimeter despite Juan Dixon’s heroics to keep Maryland in the game.
#12 Arizona 1998 def. #5 Kansas 2008 – Upset Alert! The defending champs led by Mike Bibby, Miles Simon and Michael Dickerson, took care of a Kansas team that could not bottle up the Arizona guards (think 2.5 Derrick Roses).
#13 St. John’s 1985 def. #4 Arkansas 1994 – Arkansas didn’t want to face a team with a superb PG in this matchup, and they faced one of the best of his generation in Mark Jackson. Jackson continually hit Chris Mullin and Walter Berry for open looks to pull off the upset over the national champion Hawgs.
We’ve been sitting on this idea for some time now, and we figured that the relatively quiet week prior to the 2009 Final Four would be the best time to unveil it for your vetting, review and diligence. So the plan is this: each weekday we’ll advance one round until we get to a Modern Era Final Four on Friday. On Sunday following the F4, we’ll release our two finalists and the Modern Era champion will be crowned on this year’s Championship Monday.
Let’s get down to it with our criteria for selection of the 64 teams:
We selected the 24 national champions (noted in black).
Next, we selected the 24 national runners-up (noted in blue-gray)
Finally, we selected the 16 best at-large teams of the last 24 years (noted in red).
You’re undoubtedly wondering how we chose the last group of sixteen at-large teams, and that’s a fair question. There was no single measure (such as making the F4) that guaranteed inclusion to or exclusion from our at-large field, but we considered each team’s body of work in a particular season when doing so. Criteria such as overall record, conference record, AP poll ranking, NCAA seed, postseason success, general reputation at the time, and team history were included. Similar to selecting and seeding the field every year, the last few teams looked largely the same on paper and in our memories. Some of them will without question inspire debate, but that’s ok, because the point of this entire exercise is to do so.
The same is true for how we seeded each team in the field. As much as possible, we tried to stay away from the Team A would beat Team B analysis (that’s next!), focusing mostly on the team’s full body of work. Of course, comparing teams between eras and even years is nearly impossible in many cases, so there’s a fair amount of subjectiveness that went into the seed placements. Bear with us on that. Additionally, as much as possible, we tried to avoid early-round matchups between the same school and teams from the same season, while still keeping a reasonable amount of competitive balance among the regions.
Enough chatter, here’s our Modern Era bracket. Please leave us comments below telling us your choices for the first round winners. We won’t guarantee that we’ll listen, but you’ll likely know something about these matchups that we don’t. Feel free, and we’ll be back tomorrow with the next round!
RTC asked its legion of correspondents, charlatans, sycophants, toadies and other hangers-on to send us their very favorite March Madness memory, something that had a visceral effect on who they are as a person and college basketball fan today. Not surprisingly, many of the submissions were excellent and if you’re not fired up reading them, then you need to head back over to PerezHilton for the rest of this month. We’ve chosen the sixteen best, and we’ll be counting them down over the next two weeks as we approach the 2009 NCAA Tournament.
Who knew that the 1996 UMass team would have such an effect on our correspondents? We got two unique submissions relating to Coach Calipari’s plucky national semifinalist.
A year after being knocked out of the Sweet 16 by “Big Country” Bryant Reeves and Oklahoma State, the Minutemen were back deep in the dance. I was only 11 years old but I had been a die hard Minuteman fan for all of a year at this point. If someone had asked me who my favorite athletes were, Marcus Camby would have been #2 right after Ken Griffey, Jr.
I thought it was so simple to make noise come March. To me it seemed that UMass was there every year. How wrong I was. Back then I didn’t know about how Marcus Camby got to Amherst, why he chose UMass or how much money he allegedly took fro magents while there. I didn’t understand the recruiting genius that was coach John Calipari. Regardless, right years later when I was accepted to the University of Massachusetts as an undergraduate, it was those great basketball memories that had stayed in my mind all these years. Coack Cal was long gone, that Final Four banner engulfed in controversy, but the memories remained.
March is about loyalty. Staying true to the team(s) that you represent for whatever reason. There are always new sweetheart teams that you fall for but it comes down to those perenial favorites that you live and die with.
Last year UMass was in the hunt. Although they did not make the tournament (after another A-10 tourney blow-up) they did make it to the finals of the NIT. The university had the most embarrassing shirts made: NIT Finalist… but still Massachusetts was again on the national stage.
Remember, come March; stay loyal and Refuse To Lose.
My earliest distinct memory of watching college basketball and really getting into it is of John Calipari and his University of Massachusetts Minutemen went to the Final Four in 1996.
Yes, this was only 13 years ago and I’m still fairly young when it comes to being a college basketball historian.
But I can remember like it was yesterday being a wide-eyed 7 year old watching Marcus Camby reject shots by the minute and John Calipari strut the sidelines as the Minutemen’s young, up and coming coach. I admit, I thought that Calipari with his suits and slicked back hair was one of the coolest guys out there. Let me remind you, I was still 7 at this time.
They were also a team from the northern part of the country and at that age I still felt like an outsider, having just recently moved to Texas from the Northeast. That Minuteman team was somewhat of a surprise, although Camby won a slew of national awards that year, including the Naismith Trophy if I remember correctly.
But I didn’t just enjoy the Minutemen that spring of ’96, I fell in love with college basketball and March Madness. I discovered the joy of preparing a bracket and getting off of school early to watch the early tournament action. To this day, the 7 year old boy in me still longs to watch that #16 seed knock off the #1 in that most unlikely of upsets.
Things have come full circle for me, as I write about college basketball and John Calipari now coaches at the University of Memphis, which is the biggest obstacle to the tournament dreams of my college: the University of Houston.
College Chalktalk is the RTC correspondent for the Atlantic 10 Conference.
By CCT Staff | February 16, 2009
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Chris Wright (So.), Dayton
For Wright, winning the Player of the Week is about more than just numbers. In Dayton’s resume-building victory against nationally-ranked rival Xavier, Wright powered the Flyers with a 19 point, six rebound effort. In the process, Wright shouldered – as a star must – the additional burden for a Dayton squad without the services of valuable contributor Rob Lowery. Wright wouldn’t let his Flyers suffer a letdown after that rivalry win either, following up the Xavier effort with a double-double (17 points, 10 rebounds) in Dayton’s triumph over Richmond. Wright averaged 18 points, eight rebounds and an impressive three blocks per contest for the week.
HONORABLE MENTION: Tony Gaffney (Sr.), Massachusetts; Mike Moore (So.), Fordham; Lamont Mack (Sr.), Charlotte
College Chalktalk is the RTC correspondent for the Atlantic 10 Conference.
This Week in the A-10
By CCT Staff | January 26, 2009
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Ahmad Nivins (Sr.), Saint Joseph’s
Nivins once again put the Hawks on his back and carried them to two victories on the week. In the two contests, Nivins averaged a spectacular 27 points and 16.5 rebounds per outing. Against Duquesne, he set a career-high scoring mark, netting 34 points and pulling down 16 rebounds. The senior forward also had a standout performance against Big 5 rival Penn, scoring 20 points and snagging 17 rebounds. The two strong efforts by Nivins were his tenth and eleventh double-doubles on the season.
HONORABLE MENTION: Rodney Green (Sr.), La Salle; Justin Harper (So.), Richmond
(Note: College Chalktalk’s week runs from the previous Monday through Sunday, given the release of ‘This Week in the A-10′ each Monday morning.)
GAME OF THE WEEK: Jan. 21, 2009. Saint Joseph’s 99, Duquesne 98 (OT)
In a game that featured double-digit leads for both teams, the outcome was decided by just one point and on the final play of the game. By the way, that final play occurred in overtime.
Duquesne broke out of the gates early and opened up a 16-5 lead. The Hawks came roaring back and built a 53-37 margin going into the half. The Dukes rallied once again with a 24-4 run to retake the lead, before Ahmad Nivins scored six straight points in the final 45 seconds to tie the game and send it into an extra frame.
In the overtime, Jason Duty hit a three-pointer with eight seconds to play to give the Dukes a one-point lead. The Hawks had one last chance. Tasheed Carr, playing well of late, had his shot blocked and it fell into teammate Garrett Williamson’s hands. Williamson’s game winning attempt misfired, but Idris Hilliard tipped in the rebound as time expired giving the Hawks a huge early conference win.
College Chalktalk is the RTC correspondent for the Atlantic 10 Conference.
By CCT Staff | January 19, 2009
PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Dionte Christmas (Sr.), Temple
Christmas led the Owls in scoring both games last week, averaging 25.5 points and nine rebounds per contest. In the seven day span, Christmas shot 9-of-17 (53%) from behind the arc, including a 5-for-5 night from deep in a Big 5 battle versus Penn. Against UMass, Christmas had a near double-double as he tallied 26 points and nine rebounds. Overall, Dionte shot a sparkling 58% from the field on 19-of-33 shooting.
HONORABLE MENTION: Ahmad Nivins (Sr.), Saint Joseph’s; Rob Lowery (Jr.), Dayton; Maurice Thomas (Jr.) St. Bonaventure
(Note: College Chalktalk’s week runs from the previous Monday through Sunday, given the release of ‘This Week in the A-10′ each Monday morning.)
GAME OF THE WEEK: January 17, 2009. St. Bonaventure 71, Richmond 67. With 2:55 to play, the Bonnies trailed the Spiders by seven and it looked as though SBU would suffer their first road loss of the season. Last season, this surely would have been the case. Not so fast in 2009. The Bonnies rattled off the final 11 points over that span and made big defensive stops on the way to record their seventh road win of the year. To put this in perspective, St. Bonaventure won eight games all of last season, let alone road games. The star of the night for the Bonnies was Maurice Thomas, who recorded his fourth double-double of the season by netting a career-high 25 points and pulling down a game-high 11 boards.
GAME OF THE UPCOMING WEEK: Xavier @ LSU. In Xavier’s last non-conference game of the season, the Musketeers head south to the Bayou to take on the Tigers of LSU in what should be a very entertaining match-up. Xavier will not be welcomed guests when they arrive in Baton Rouge, as LSU is 13-0 at home on the season. Xavier is 4-0 in true road contests, however, so something will have to give. The Tigers (14-3) are led by guard Marcus Thornton (17.6 ppg) and forward Tasmin Mitchell (15.2 ppg). Derrick Brown, B.J. Raymond & Co. should have their hands full with these two.
This is a huge day here at RTC. Not only will we be blogging with you all day with this BGTD nonsense, but we’ll also have a presence at ESPN GameDay live from Chapel Hill where our man on the ground will be taking questions and comments from you, the readers, so that you can finally ask Erin Andrews what shampoo she uses and where, exactly, does she find such perfectly fitted tops. Or anything else you guys may want to know (within reason, of course).
RTC Live: Miami at UNC will be a sticky at the top of the page all day, so be sure to stop by and check it out as you put off going outside into the semi-Arctic environment known as the East CoastMidwestSouthMountains USA this lovely Saturday.
As for this post, we’ve got the three-tv setup ready to roll, and with Notre Dame-Syracuse starting off the day in a few hours, we should probably try to get some sleep. We’ll be back for that one (and all the others), but in the meantime, feel free to peruse our SYT preview of today’s big games.
11:52am – And we’re back. Let’s get going. Quick note – lamest sign just spotted at GameDay in CH – Everyone Still Predicts National championship? Wow, props for creativity there, er, not.
Noon – What’s on your tv right now? There’s an interesting mid-major on ESPN2 (N. Iowa at Drake). The Noon FC games aren’t too exciting (Maryland at FSU; Ga Tech at NC State; USF at WVU) – we’ll keep an eye on each, but it’s looking mostly like Cuse-ND and UNI-Drake here.
College Chalktalkis the RTC correspondent for the Atlantic 10 Conference.
By CCT Staff | January 11, 2009
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK:
Ahmad Nivins (Sr.), Saint Joseph’s
While Saint Joseph’s only played one game this week, Nivins stood out by recording one of the best single-game efforts of the season by an A-10 player. In the triple overtime win over Rhode Island, Nivins scored 28 points and grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds. The senior forward shot 9-of-15 from the field in the contest and added three blocked shots to his gaudy stat line. The double-double marked the seventh of the season for Nivins; tops in the conference.
Aaron Jackson (Sr.), Duquesne
Jackson has been the leader of the upstart Dukes, guiding the team to a 2-0 record in its first week of conference play. In the two games, Jackson averaged a lofty 25 points, seven assists, and 3.5 rebounds per contest. Jackson shot an impressive 66% (19-29) from the floor over the two game span, including 5-of-9 from behind the three-point arc. In the win over Charlotte, he became just the 32nd player in Duquesne history to reach the 1,000 point plateau in his career.
(Note: College Chalktalk’s week runs from the previous Monday through Sunday, given the release of ‘This Week in the A-10′ each Monday morning.)
GAME OF THE WEEK: January 10, 2009. Saint Joseph’s 92, Rhode Island 86 (3 OT)
Ahmad Nivins did enough in just the one game this week to secure his place as Co-Player of the Week, posting 28 points and 20 rebounds on his way to leading the Hawks to a memorable triple overtime win against Rhode Island. The game initially looked like it would be a laugher, as the Hawks built a 17 point lead going into halftime. The Rams fought back, however, dominating the second half before sending the game into the extra periods, despite a last second tip-in effort by Nivins that was waved off. The Hawks appeared to have won the game in the second overtime, when Darrin Govens hit a three to break a tie with just 4.5 seconds left, but Rhody’s Keith Cothran matched Govens trey as time expired, with an off-balance three of his own, to send it to a third overtime period. The Hawks took control in the third overtime, thanks in large part to Nivins, and dismissed URI with a six point win.
As we mentioned in our BGTD Early Edition today, we’re still tinkering around with a workable format for this feature. So with the West Coast Office taking over as you easterners hunker down for the night, we’re going to try it a little differently this evening. Let us know in the comments if you have any feedback, constructive, destructive or otherwise.
Sidenote: is there a better value than the Fox College Sports package on your cable or dish system? Seriously, for $5/month, you get access to dozens more college games, and at least on ours, the Big 10 Network and the CBS College Sports Network. Great deal, and this comes from we who typically despise our cable company.
Comments Heading into the Darkness.
The only significant upset so far today has been spastic UMass (5-8 ) spanking Dayton (14-1) in Springfield, 75-62.
Staying in the A10, that St. Joe’s – Rhodie triple-OT thriller (92-86 St. Joe’s) at the Palestra must have been something.
3pm/4pm/5pm Games.
There was a mild upset in Lincoln as Nebraska ran out to a big first half lead and held off Mizzou down the stretch. From what we saw, Missouri didn’t look all that interested.
Life on the road in the Big 10 is not going to be pleasant for the Hoosiers this year. The Illini were only up 45-20 at the half.
6pm/7pm/8pm Games.
We caught a good bit of the UConn-Cincy game and continue to wonder when (if?) the Huskies will reach their lofty potential. They seemed to do just enough to make sure that they won the game – nothing more, nothing less. As an example, nine-footer Hasheem Thabeet had three rebounds in 29 minutes.
UCF might just have the ugliest home court in America. Memphis probably isn’t going 18-0 in CUSA this year.
It’s amazing how much harder Cal is playing on the defensive end this year vs. last year. The Bears pulled off the mild upset in Washington and now stand at 4-0 in the Pac-10. The two starting backcourts combined for 120 pts in this triple-OT game.
We caught a bit of the Florida-Ole Miss game and the Gators looked tough (for a half). Still don’t think the SEC has much to show this year.
Also caught some of the Miami-BC game, and well, let’s just say that we have no idea how BC managed to beat Carolina last weekend.
Ugh. Also noticed Illinois St. lost its second in a row (after a 14-0) start to Indiana St. tonight, a 4-12 team.
9pm and Later Games.
Um, Arkansas can beat top 10 teams at home, but not Mississippi St. Nice.
Stanford blew a lead at Wazzu, but neither of these teams look very impressive. NIT for both.
What We Learned Today. Not a lot, actually, other than to not assume Arkansas will roll through its home schedule. Today’s slate of games was rather uninspiring, and it doesn’t get terribly better tomorrow until 8pm, when Wake-Carolina tips off. We love the way the Deacs have been playing lately, and they are at home, so that one could be very interesting. ESPN should have started Gameday this weekend and made that game the focal point instead of the worthless Miami (FL) at UNC game next weekend.
