-The ratings for the NCAA Tournament are through the roof this year. They are always high, but they are DAMN high this year! I don’t know if it’s because we didn’t get one last year. I don’t know if it’s because we had fewer games that were staggered. I don’t know if it’s because more people typically watch TV on Monday than on any other night of the week, and this year we’ve had games on Mondays. But whatever the reason, we are seeing some of the highest ratings in close to thirty years.
-Oregon State fell behind early to Houston, but battled back and actually tied it late in the second half, but just couldn’t hold on. Houston is back in the Final Four since the days of Phi Slamma Jamma. While it’s disappointing for the Beavers, their run was still historic. I believe it is only the second time that a team who was seeded outside the bubble advanced to the Elite Eight (the other being Loyola Chicago the year they made the Final Four). I know Missouri also got to the Elite Eight as a #12 seed in 2002, but they were actually selected as an at-large that year. So was VCU in 2011 when made the Final Four.
Another bit of trivia is that even though Loyola was a #11 seed in 2018 and Oregon State was a #12 this year, they were both #46 on the committee’s seedlist and both were seeded behind the last at-large team. So, what Oregon State did this year is not something that is commonly done. And…ROCCO MILLER CALLED IT!!!!!
-Arkansas battled Baylor for pretty much the entire game, but were doing all of their battling from behind. While they were never out of the game, Baylor was seemingly always in control of it. This is a damn good Bears team, and they’ll face another former Southwest Conference foe in the Final Four.
As for tonight’s games…
-It is worth noting that earlier in the year Gonzaga blew out Kansas, and that was really the first time we realized that there seemed to be a big canyon separating the Zags from everyone else. But, just last week, USC also blew out Kansas! By even more! So, is it so crazy to think that USC might be able to play with Gonzaga tonight?? I don’t think so. I think the Zags win, but watch out for USC because they are smoking hot right now.
-Michigan has looked like one of the more dominant teams in the tournament, and UCLA has played in the most exciting games of the tournament. Logic tells me that Michigan should totally run away with this, but UCLA is a good defensive team and I don’t think Michigan is just going to walk all over them.