The Cavaliers took one on the chin today and were knocked out of post season play by the Volunteers of Tennessee. The editors here at Double Wahoo believe the outcome would have been different if JR Reynolds hadn’t come up gimpy on a twisted ankle; however, those are the breaks. Tennessee also hit their final 9 free throws after struggling at the line earlier in the game to earn their date with Ohio State University.
All four of the #1 seeds moved on, but the first 2 seed lost, in Wisconsin. They were outplayed by the Running Rebels of UNLV with their father son tandem, Kevin and Lon Kruger leading the way. 3 of the 4 5-seeds moved on (that’s a loaded sentence) with Virginia Tech being the only 5 seed to fall. They were also the final hope of the ACC getting a second team through to the Sweet 16. Instead, all hopes for the ACC ride on the shoulders of UNC.
Strongest conference in terms of Sweet 16 reps: tie between the SEC and Pac-10 with 3 a piece. The Big 12 and Big East each pushed through two teams, and the Big Ten and ACC join some other not so recognized conferences with only one team each in the round of 16. Overall a pretty poor showing for the ACC with 1 out of 7 advancing to the round of 16, but they had some tough match-ups along the way with teams that were under-rated due to playing in said “mid-major” conferences. Granted, UVA lost to Tennessee, an SEC school, but Maryland and VTech were both knocked out by solid mid-major schools, Butler and Southern Illinois respectively.
This further emphasizes why the NCAA men’s (and women’s) basketball tournaments truly are the best way to decide a national champion. Regardless of conference or division you are matched up in a bracket and you get to play your way to the next day. There’s nothing else an athelete could ask for. Much better than having to hope that a committee thinks that your 11-1 season is better than another team’s 11-1 season. Just a thing of beauty: the true winners shine.
Before everyone gets down on the Cavs, let’s remember they have two shooting guards coming in next year, Jeff Jones and Mustapha Farrakhan (yes, that Farrakhan) who are both bigger 2 guards (6′4″ each) who will provide a nice complement to SS in the backcourt. Zeglinski, Singletary’s replacement at both Penn Charter School and now UVA also comes in next year to learn the ropes, and UVA is still one of six schools in the running for the services of Patrick Patterson the number 2 rated power forward in the nation out of West Virginia. Locking him down would be a huge boon for the Cavs, but we’re butting heads with the likes of Duke and Florida, so let’s see that new arena and a successful season pay off.
