In no other place in the world is there a phenomenon like college sports, especially the college basketball tournament. The United States is unique. One of the biggest themes that arises throughout the tournament is the underdog. Underdog, what a concept! The origin of the term is unclear but the concept it not. The underdog is the team/person who isn't supposed to win. Almost everyone loves the underdog, the idea that the best team doesn't win and the little guy succeeds. In honor of the the NCAA tournament, I'm going to list my top 5 underdogs of the NCAA tournament of the past 5 years (in no particular order).
#10 Davidson, 2008, lost to the #1 seeded and eventual national champion Kansas Jayhawks 59-57 in the Elite Eight. Stephen Curry was so good.
#5 Butler, 2010, lost to the #1 seeded Duke Blue Devils in the national championship game, 61-59. Butler barely missed a buzzer beater shot slightly inside half-court that would have won the game. The following year the #8 ranked Butler Bulldogs lost to Connecticut in the championship again.
#11 Virginia Commonwealth (VCU), 2010, lost to #8 Butler in the Final Four after winning their play-in game and beating 4 straight teams ranked lower than them including #1 Kansas in the Elite Eight.
#9 Northern Iowa, 2010, lost in the Sweet Sixteen after upsetting the overall #1 seeded Kansas Jayhawks in one of the biggest upsets in tournament history.
#12 Cornell, 2010, lost in the Elite Eight to #1 Kentucky, but were fun to watch and even pretty good - did I mention they're an Ivy League team?
http://www.cbs.com/sports/video/?pid=gk_WSsA_EYZFQEZ215C1_gAHCYRz9IKP
...time to enjoy some great basketball!
There is absolutely nothing like March Madness! These videos are definitely still fresh in my memory and all are great examples of the underdogs that rise during this tournament. I don't follow college basketball too much outside of the Big Ten, but one team I really like this year as an underdog is Cincinnati. They are a 6-seed in the tournament, but have recovered nicely from their infamous December brawl with Xavier (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgbvdFW5qoQ) and are playing well going into the tournament. I always like teams that carry a chip on their shoulder, and I think Cincinnati is ready to prove to the world that they have moved on from the brawl.
ReplyDeleteI will probably be wrong, but I can't wait to watch this years tournament! In a one-game sudden death situation, I'm convinced almost any team can beat one another. Who will be this years VCU or Butler or Northern Iowa? Lets find out!!!
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