March Madness's Madness Before the Games
2009 NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament Snubs and Sleepers
Mar 19, 2009
Once the middle of March falls upon us it can only mean one thing, the NCAA Basketball Tournament and the hysteria known as March Madness. Aside from the action which everyone is witness to on the court there are plenty of debates that begin even before the games do. Debates such as which teams could be sleepers and surprise others and which teams deserved to make the tournament but were snubbed by the selection committee.
Sleeper One: Clemson Tigers
Here are four teams who are considered sleepers for the 2009 NCAA Basketball Tournament and other teams and bracket challenge participants such watch out for. The first would be Clemson who finished the year with a 23-8 record and were named as a number seven seed in the South region. Clemson should give Michigan problems in the opening round with their pressure defense and could easily coast to the sweet sixteen without breaking a sweat.
Sleeper Two: VCU Rams
The second sleeper to watch out for is the Virginia Commonwealth Rams who finished the season 24-9, won the Colonial League regular season and tournament titles and are the eleventh seed in the East Region. In the first round they are matched-up against UCLA and could very well do to them what they did to Duke two years ago and send home another national power in the opening round of play.
Sleeper Three: Siena Saints
Sleeper number three would be the Siena Saints who finished the year at 26-7, won the MAAC Conference regular season and tournament crowns and have been named the number nine seed in the Midwest Region. Last year Siena made some noise during the NCAA tournament as a thirteenth seed that knocked off the fourth seeded Vanderbilt Commodores in the first round. This year with a much better seeding Siena could easily advance to the second round again and possibly beyond.
Sleeper Four: Cleveland State Vikings
The final sleeper for the ’09 tournament would be the Cleveland State Vikings who finished the season 25-10, while winning the Horizon League Tournament and claiming a thirteenth seed in the Midwest Region. During the Horizon League tournament the Vikings made lots of noise en route to winning and made a believer out of many sports journalists and analysts, including myself. Even though they face a tough opponent in the first round with Wake Forest looming, the Vikes have a very legitimate shot at advancing.
Now for the teams who were snubbed by the selection committee and were not allowed entrance into this year’s big dance.
Snub One: UNLV Runnin’ Rebels
The biggest snub this year has to be UNLV; after finishing the season 21-10 it would seem that the Running Rebels would have a ticket to the dance, especially once you consider who they beat along the way to that record. UNLV knocked off four separate teams during the regular season that will be dancing very soon; Arizona, Louisville, BYU and Utah. How these guys didn’t get in will baffle all throughout the entire tourney.
Snub Two: Penn State Nittany Lions
The next snub to speak on would be the Penn State Nittany Lions who finished the year 22-11 and knocked off four teams who are participating in the tournament as well. Penn State defeated Purdue, Minnesota, Michigan State and Illinois, twice. That’s actually a total of five opponents and still that wasn’t enough for the selection committee to invite for a dance.
Snub Three: Auburn Tigers
Auburn finished the season at 22-11 beat Tennessee, LSU and Mississippi State, twice and it still wasn’t enough for them. San Diego State had a record of 23-9, knocked off Utah and BYU and no dance for them. Last year’s Cinderella team the Davidson Wildcats wound up with a 26-7 record in 2009, have a major, major star in Stephen Curry and it still wasn’t enough to get a tourney nod from the committee.
The Other Snubs
Florida (23-10), Creighton (26-7), St. Mary’s (26-6), New Mexico (21-11), and Virginia Tech (18-14) are amongst some of the other snubs and should have been considered slightly more for a spot in the tournament.
All-in-all, every year there are snubs and there is nothing that anyone can do about that, except the selection committee so by now everyone is use to it by now. Unfortunately at least four teams are legitimately left out every year.
