From Sweet 16 to Final Four in one short weekend

It seems almost unbelievable to think that less than one week ago there were 16 teams vying for this year’s national championship in both men’s and women’s basketball. The round to pare down to eight started with a bang on Thursday night with Butler – yes, Butler – knocking off Syracuse in a great upset:

The next three games went as the seeding gods predicted, with Kansas State, West Virginia and Kentucky surviving and advancing. Kansas State, though the #2 seed, did not have an easy time getting to the round of eight and their epic 2-overtime bout with Xavier was perhaps one of the best basketball contests I have seen not only this year, but ever. It was most definitely one to remember.

The Friday winners that joined the Elite 8 also included one ‘upset’ in the four games. Tennessee knocked off Ohio State and the other three went as planned, with Michigan State and Baylor knocking out Cinderfellas Northern Iowa and Saint Mary’s. Top-seed Duke also joined in on the fun and perhaps solidified all that pre-tournament talk that the Blue Devils’ bracket was a breeze of sorts.

Saturday’s two games to get into the Final Four saw two lower seeds win, with Butler defeating Kansas State and becoming the mid-major ‘coming home’ for the Final Four and West Virginia disposing of Kentucky, the third #1 seed to fall in this year’s tournament. The last two in to the last weekend of the dance were Duke, who beat out Baylor and Michigan State, after taking care of Tennessee with last-second free throws sealing the deal for the Spartans. 

The women’s bracket also started with an upset, as the Baylor ladies took down #1-seed Tennessee on the way to the Elite 8 after a ridiculous 27 points and 10 blocks from freshman phenom Brittney Griner. The rest of the Saturday scores follow the seedings, with Duke and Xavier advancing, as well as Stanford after a 37-point win over Georgia.

For the ladies, the second day of 16 to 8 saw a pair upsets, save the 74-36 shellacking the Connecticut women gave to Iowa State and Florida State getting past Mississippi State. The first Sunday upset was #3 Oklahoma taking care of #2 Notre Dame in an overtime game. And the second was Kentucky knocking off Nebraska and handing the Huskers just their second loss of the season.

The Baylor Bears didn’t want to stop at the Elite 8 and knocked off Duke to earn a spot in the San Antonio Final Four that is just a quick drive down I-35. Another Big 12 team, Oklahoma, will be joining the Bears from the other side of the bracket in their ’home region’. Also into the last weekend of the college basketball season are the ever-dominant teams from both east and west in Connecticut and Stanford.

One thing is sure, even if the television ratings folks aren’t pleased with the men’s and women’s Final Four teams and stories, I am eagerly awaiting these last six games of the 2010 college basketball season. And since the Nielson box isn’t in my house, I suggest you add one more person to the viewership of the conclusion of March Madness.