Photo from Google Images
The first game of NCAA tournament and we are already on upset alert!
But was it really an upset? Of the brackets completed on ESPN, only 14.9 percent of them picked ODU to advance although they were the slight favorite.
The 11th seed Old Dominion University Monarchs knocked off the 6th seed fighting Irish of Notre Dame. The luck of the Irish held for most of the game until a 3-point attempt from Carleton Scott in the closing seconds that rolled off the rim and the Monarchs to a 51-50 victory and a second round game.
But for those of us who know anything about college basketball we know that the CAA (Colonial Athletic Association) is a conference that can make a lot a noise. Remember the Cinderella story of 2006? We were all cheering for George Mason as they upset Michigan State, North Carolina, Wichita State and Connecticut.
VCU upset Duke in the first round of last year’s tournament (only the second time Duke has ever lost in the first round in the last 25 years).
In the last six seasons, ODU won 145 games; a school record and the most wins among Virginia’s division I schools. No wonder Virginia Tech’s Seth Greenberg ended their contract to play Blaine Taylor’s Monarchs; the Monarchs are 4-1 over the Hokies.
Greenberg knows the chant goes O-D-U!
The beauty of March Madness is when your brackets are busted! Who would have thought the Sweet 16 would be without Georgetown, Villanova AND number one seed Kansas? Who would have thought Cornell and St. Mary’s looked so sweet? I LOVE it!
To me, Cameron indoor is one of the 8th wonders of the world and it’s an experience that any college basketball fan should add to their bucket list. But, the next best thing in college basketball is the MADNESS of March Madness.