Cinderella Misses the Ball: March Madness 2014

Go Blue!

The media will talk differently, but in my opinion, a genuine Cinderella did not make the Sweet Sixteen.  There are some surprises, and a few intriguing underdogs, but no Cinderellas.  How so?  Herewith now, the patented Strait classification of Sweet Sixteen Competitors -

 Overdogs - these are the teams whose seeding indicates they are supposed to be in the Sweet Sixteen.  They are teams seeded 1 to 4.  Mathematically, they were seeded to survive.  They may be great teams, with supportive followings, but being in this group is expected.  Included in this group are a whopping 10 out of the 16 teams; Florida, UCLA, Virginia, Michigan State, Iowa State, Arizona, San Diego State, Wisconsin, Louisville and Michigan.  They include my favorites, Michigan Wolverines (my alma mater) and Michigan State Spartans (the team that was my father's favorite - he followed Spartan basketball more closely than any other sport or team in his final years).  

Surprises -  these are the teams who indicate they are quality teams, but are not the first line in who would expect to be there, seeds 5 to 8.  There are three Sweet Sixteen teams in this category.  Connecticut, Baylor and Kentucky are all teams that are a surprise to be there, but certainly within the range of normal possibilities.  All three are teams with great basketball pedigree, with Connecticut being a past winner, and Kentucky being perhaps the best program in the history of college basketball.

Underdogs - these are teams that no one really expected to see in the Sweet Sixteen, but have managed to endure.  Seeds 9 to 12, they have talented teams, but ones not expected to compete on the same level of the first two categories.  There are three teams remaining in this category; Dayton, Stanford and Tennessee.  Dayton is the most fascinating, as they come from a less prominent conference (Atlantic Ten), and beat both in-state rival Ohio State and Syracuse to get here.

Cinderellas -  these are the genuine jawdroppers, the ones no one saw coming, the ones when they win they make movies about.  They are seeds 13 to 16, and this year there are - NONE, NADA, ZIP!  Oh, well.  Maybe next year.  The enjoyment of teams making it into this category is the rarity, anyways.  There was one upset of the ages, when 14 seed Mercer beat perennial powerhouse Duke in the first round, but alas, Mercer was beat by Tennessee in the second round.

But don't lose faith, Cinderella fans!  Seeding definitions change as the tournament advances.  By the final four, seeds 2 to 4 become the surprises. 5 to 8 the underdogs, 9 and higher are the new Cinderellas.

Only either Dayton or Stanford will make it to the Elite Eight, as they play each other next.  Tennessee, of course, will be dismantled by Michigan in the next round. Soooo.......

Go Flyers! Well, at least until you get beat by MSU!

Here's to the Blue AND the Green!