A Monumental Week 1 of Madness

This column can be seen in the March 25 issue of the Pirate's Log

Excitement, execution, captivation, drama, inspiration, madness. These are just some words that could be used to describe the first week of the 2010 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Almost everything that could happen, well, happened. When the first week concluded and the Sweet 16 fell into place, the official bracket looked like the bracket your crazy friend fills out in jest before the tournament starts just to pick the upsets. It’s been wild, but beautiful at the same time.

The tournament started off on Thursday, March 18, with the BYU Cougars winning a double-overtime thriller over the Florida Gators, the mid-major Robert Morris Colonials nearly defeating the Villanova Wildcats as a 15-seed, then mid-major Murray State defeating Vanderbilt via buzzer-beater, all within the early game segments. At this point, is seemed as though nothing could possibly top the theatrics of the 13-seed Racers of Murray State defeating A.J. Ogilvy and the Vanderbilt Commodores. As we would soon find out, it was merely the beginning.

The first day of the tournament would culminate in a monumental upset by the 14-seed Ohio Bobcats over the 3-seed Georgetown Hoyas, an upset by the 11-seed Old Dominion Monarchs and epic letdown by Luke Harangody and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and an impressively miraculous play in the final seconds by Quincy Pondexter to lift the 11-seed Washington Huskies over the Marquette Golden Eagles.

That first day immediately became the most action-packed first day of the NCAA Tournament in recent history, and possibly the greatest first day ever. Somehow, the rest of the week lived up to those entitlements.

Friday leveled out some, but Saturday wouldn’t disappoint. The Butler Bulldogs would cool down Murray State in a thrilling 54-52 victory, and the Saint Mary’s Gaels of California would upset the Villanova Wildcats behind a dominating performance by Omar Samhan (32 points, 7 rebounds, 13-16 from the field). Once again, it seemed like nothing would surpass the excitement and emotion of this day, until the Panthers of Northern Iowa faced off against the top-ranked Kansas Jayhawks.

Kansas was the closest thing to a consensus pick to win this year’s tournament. The Jayhawks were a sure-fire Sweet 16 team and were thought to have no trouble until they met the likes of Michigan State, Maryland, or even Ohio State in the later rounds.

Led by senior Ali Farokhmanesh, Northern Iowa would get off to an early lead and never look back. As a 9-seed, the Panthers would shock the world and defeat one of the top teams in the country, 69-67.

From Farokhmanesh’s sharp shooting early in the contest; to his dazzling behind-the-back pass early in the second half; to Kansas’ antagonizing full-court pressure that UNI would eventually overcome; to the jubilation of the Panther bench and fans after Adam Koch’s outstanding offensive rebound and slam with just over a minute remaining; to Kwadzo Ahelegbe’s subsequent blunder of stepping out of bounds once the Panthers regained possession with 51 seconds remaining and a three-point lead; to Sherron Collins’ attempt to wipe away his horrendous performance by putting the game in his hands and getting the Jayhawks within a point with 42 seconds remaining; to the ensuing heroics of Farokhmanesh’s fearless three pointer after breaking the press with 35 seconds remaining, this game had historical significance written all over it.

When comparing this to tournaments of recent memory, it ranks with the drama and inspiration of the 2006 Final Four run by George Mason University, and the excitement and captivation of Stephen Curry, the Davidson Wildcats and their Elite 8 run in 2008. However, those tournaments consisted of one magical storyline while 2010 has produced many.

When recollecting those tournaments, they could be described simply as the “George Mason Tournament” or the “Steph Curry Tournament.” This year’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament may only be a week in, but will inevitably need classification when it’s all said and done. The only hard part will be figuring out the title.