Archive for March 25th, 2013

WATERCOOLER CHAT: FLORIDA GULF COAST WILD RIDE, GONZAGA FALLS, HOOSIERS ON TOP, SWEET 16 NEXT UP

In college basketball, it was one wild weekend in March Madness.

On Friday, there were some unlikely teams that advanced, including the relatively brand new school Florida Golf Coast.  The Golf Coast has been in Division 1 for 6 years, and entered the field this year as a #15 seed.  Their fist test, the #2 seed Georgetown and their tenacious defense.  Except, Florida Gulf Coast absolutely crushed the Hoyas, and with ease.  These guys are not to be taken lightly.  Then, everyone thought they would be a one and done, and would likely fall to #7 seed San Diego State.  But nope, Florida Gulf Coast came out electric again and smoked the Aztecs in the second half.  These guys look like they could beat anybody right now.  Their true championship game comes in the Sweet Sixteen as they’ll take on the state school Florida.  If they take down Florida, it’s going to be bragging rights for a long time to come.

Meanwhile, Gonzaga  (with Spike the bulldog)was trying to prove that they were worthy of a #1 seed and should be taken very seriously in this tournament.  However, the underdog #9 seed Wichita State also wanted to prove that they were worth something.  It was a tough fought battle, but down the stretch, Wichita State hit some extremely clutch shots to take the game out of the Bulldogs reach.  Gonzaga is the first #1 seed to fall, but they had a spectacular season.  For Wichita State, they will advance to the sweet sixteen to play… LaSalle?????  Yep, LaSalle, the team that had to earn a spot in the field of 64 with a play-in game, got past #4 Kansas State and the red hot #12 Ole Miss Rebels.  They look fantastic, and this means that either Wichita State or LaSalle will earn a seat in the Elite 8.

As for the other #1 seeds:  Louisville, Indiana, and Kansas, Louisville advanced to the Sweet Sixteen with ease over Colorado State, but Kansas and Indiana got a true test from North Carolina and Temple respectively.  Kansas pulled away from the Tar Heels in the end, but the Indiana/Temple game came down to the wire.  In fact, it looked like the Owls were going to pull the upset behind their star Khaliff Wyatt.  He was fantastic, but a clutch shot from Indiana point guard Victor Oladipo put the Hoosiers on top and sealed their ticket to the Sweet Sixteen.

The action doesn’t start back up until Thursday, and it’s quite likely we could see a rather strange Final Four this year.  Hope your brackets are going well.

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