Gordon Hayward and Butler came up just short of winning the NCAA title.

While Duke University officially won the 2010 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship with a 61-59 victory over Butler University, there were truly no losers on the court.

Butler came up just short of their storybook ending, but the Bulldogs will forever live in basketball lore as the little team that played gloriously on the big stage.

Though neither Duke nor Butler has more than 8,000 undergraduate students, this was a battle of the big establishment of college basketball against an upstart program from a little conference.

Butler proved throughout the 2010 NCAA Tournament that they truly belonged with the “big boys” of college basketball.

That they nearly pulled off the shocking upset of perennial contender Duke illustrates that the gap between the “big boys” and the “little schools” in today’s college basketball is very minimal.

With two likely NBA players and a strong supporting cast, Butler’s team in 2010 was as legitimate a contender for the NCAA Championship as any squad in the country.

There have been higher scoring and perhaps better played NCAA title games, but the battle between Duke and Butler was a heavyweight fight in which neither team backed down.

The largest lead of the game was a six-point bulge by Duke in the first half (26-20) and in the second half the largest margin was only five points.

Instead of one team pulling away, this was a back and forth game in which both teams took turns making the big shot.

Duke led 60-55 with 3:16 remaining in the game, but Matt Howard made a pair of layups to cut the margin to a single point.

Coach Mike Krzyzewski and Duke claimed their fourth NCAA title and first in nine years.

Having made it to the finals through their tenacious defense, the Bulldogs came up big defensively in the final minutes and had the ball and a chance to win the title in the final seconds.

Gordon Hayward’s final drive with three seconds remaining was on-line, but hit the back of the rim and fell to Duke center Brian Zoubek, who was immediately fouled.

Zoubek made one of two foul shots (the only Duke point in the final 3:16) to make it a two point game with three seconds remaining.

The final attempt by Hayward from nearly half court was tantalizingly close to being the most memorable shot in NCAA history as it hit the rim before falling away to give Duke the title.

What should strike fear in the rest of the college basketball world is that unless superstar sophomores Hayward and Shelvin Mack, the Bulldogs could be even better in 2011.

With fewer than 4,000 undergraduate students, Butler University has a smaller total enrollment than the typical freshman class at most of the large public schools that usually are playing for NCAA Division I titles.

For the first time since 1985, the two teams facing off for the NCAA men’s basketball championship will both be representing private institutions. If Butler University is able to come away with the national title it will take a monumental performance akin to what Villanova pulled off against the mighty Georgetown Hoyas 25 years ago.

Typically, the Division I men’s basketball championship is controlled by large public schools with undergraduate enrollments in the tens of thousands.

That will not be the case in 2010 as the combined undergraduate enrollment of Butler and Duke is right around 10,000. There are another 8,000 or so graduate students between the two schools, but even that combined total is only about equal to the number of undergraduate students at 2010 champion North Carolina and well below the undergraduate totals for other recent champions Kansas and Florida.

In fact, other than Duke with three championships, the only other private school to win the NCAA men’s basketball title since 1985 was Syracuse University in 2003.

That a private school will win the title this year amid all the talk of tournament expansion is great irony because the tournament expansion will likely make it even harder for these small, private schools to compete with all the big public universities and their massive enrollments and athletic budgets.

While Duke has bucked the public school trend before, it is the presence of Butler in the title game that strikes the most fear among the big boy conferences because this program from the Horizon League is indeed their worst nightmare.

The reality is that there have always been small, private schools capable of winning the NCAA title, but the system has always been geared against them.

Whether it be budget restrictions or the inability to craft a schedule that would allow for a high enough seed in the NCAA Tournament, schools like Butler have usually needed a super-human performance just to make it into the second weekend of the tournament.

However, because college basketball is such a diluted product in 2010, Butler really hasn’t had to play above their potential to reach the finals.

To the contrary, they were ranked 10th in the nation in the preseason and earned a respectable fifth seeding for the NCAA Tournament.

They survived the opening weekend with a pair of tough victories over fellow mid-major programs then pulled a pair of mild upsets with wins over top seeded Syracuse and second seed Kansas State.

Due to the injury to Michigan State guard Kalin Lucas, the win by the Bulldogs over Michigan State in the national semifinals really wasn’t much of a surprise.

What would be a surprise is if they somehow are able to deny Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski his fourth national title.

Coach Krzyzewski and Duke is one of only two private schools to win the Division I men's basketball title in the last 25 years.

Duke has struggled in recent years to maintain their perch among the national elite. This season marked their first trip to the Final Four since 2004 and they are back in the finals for the first time since 2001 and the eighth time in Krzyzewski’s coaching career.

If anything, this appearance of two private universities in the finals may have been the final straw that guarantees the expansion of the NCAA Tournament to 96 teams.

Much has been written about how the expansion is purely about money and that is partly true. However, it is also about power and the big conferences ensuring as much of the growing pot of money for themselves.

As I outlined in an earlier column, expanding the tournament will mean most of the small conferences that now have a spot in the 64 team field will now be forced to win a game just to get into that field of 64. This will ultimately get more teams from the large conferences into not just the field of 96, but also the field of 64.

Because conferences receive a greater share of revenue based on the further teams from their conference go in the tournament, this will undoubtedly result in increased money in the hands of the major conferences.

So, enjoy the Duke-Butler final. It promises to be an amazing game and likely the last of its kind as it could be at least another 25 years before you see two private schools again vying for college basketball’s top prize.

If the NCAA Basketball Tournament expands, Northern Iowa would likely need to win two games before getting a chance at a top seed like Kansas.

I guess it is debatable as to whether sports were ever really about the fans, but in case you help out some naïve believe that fans mattered, you need look no further than decisions that are being made by the NCAA to realize that cash is king and everything else doesn’t really matter in today’s sports world.

Over the last several decades, football and basketball have developed into the marquee sports for college athletics. The Division I men’s basketball championship has evolved into “March Madness” and captivates millions of Americans in a three week love affair with office pools and Cinderella stories.

Few people like the current Division I college football championship structure of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS), but there is no denying the immense popularity of the sport.

A multitude of fans and critics have spent years calling for the NCAA to create a system for college football that is more like the playoff system used in college basketball and in football for all other divisions of college football.

Conversely, whenever it has been suggested that the NCAA basketball tournament might increase the number of teams, the debate is more divided with a majority seemly believing the status quo is working and adding to the field would cheapen the tournament and hurt the magic.

So, you can guess which championship looks like it will undergo some major revisions for next year.

Let me give you a hint, it isn’t the one that currently keeps most of the money with the “big boy” conferences.

Yes, in a greed play reminiscent of a robber going back into the bank because he forgot to take the bankers watch, the NCAA powers appear poised to increase the number of teams in the NCAA Basketball Tournament to 96.

This will make sure that top leagues like the Big East, Big 10 and SEC now get as many as 10 or 12 teams in the tournament in a given year and pretty much make sure that the likelihood of non-power conference teams like Butler and George Mason getting to the final four decreases even more than in the past.

The NCAA seems more concerned with giving a 9th place basketball team from the Big East a chance to play for a national title than it is to give an undefeated football team from Boise State the same chance.

So why would the NCAA change a tournament structure that over the last 25 years has been responsible for growing the tournament into the sports giant that it has become?

If you don’t know that answer then you haven’t been paying attention. It is of course, the ultimate four letter word: C-A-S-H.

By increasing the field to 96 teams, the NCAA can add an entire weekend of games to the tournament and thus extort even more money from CBS to maintain exclusive tournament rights. Or, more likely, it will force CBS to share the tournament with the deep-pocketed folks at ESPN.

While I’m not aware of a formal proposal for how the additional round will be played, the likely scenario is that the top 32 teams will get a first round by and the remaining 64 will play an extra round to reduce the field back to 64.

Though the first 32 games of the current tournament are played in just two days, watch for the NCAA to spread that round out over three or four days to give the most exposure and give the top 32 teams even more time off.

Then, after the big play-in weekend the new field of 64 would play the three week tournament that culminates with the Final Four.

While expanding the field would help some non-BCS leagues that are on the edge of deserving a second bid each year to have another team or two in the tournament, more than anything else the additional opportunities would allow for more schools from the power conferences to earn a spot in the field.

Instead of playing in the NIT, Connecticut, Virginia Tech, North Carolina and Illinois would be playing on the opening weekend of the tournament and likely getting the chance to play the winners from the conferences such as the Atlantic Sun, Northeast and American East.

Thus, instead of having a 64-team tournament that includes more than 20 teams from conferences that receive only one tournament bid, most of those schools would be eliminated in the first round and the 64-team tourney would include even more of the big boys.

So, in essence, the NCAA is much more concerned about ensuring that the 9th place team in the Big East (in 2010 South Florida with a 20-13 record and Seton Hall at 19-13 tied for 9th) gets a chance to play for the NCAA Basketball Championship than it is in trying to ensure that an undefeated football team from Utah or Boise State gets to play for the NCAA Football Championship.

While you can certainly argue that making this move helps the integrity of the field as a 16th seeded Illinois team would have a better chance against top-seeded Kansas or Kentucky than Prairie View A&M, I can’t help but think the new format would have some negative impact on the feel of the tournament.

Jim Calhoun's Connecticut team was 17-15 following the Big East Tournament, but would have probably earned an NCAA Tournament spot in the expanded field.

One of the attractions of the NCAA Tournament has always been that the small schools get a chance to play the big boys on a neutral court where anything can happen.

While no top seed has lost in the opening round of the tournament since it was expanded in 1985, there have been upsets of other high seeds in the opening round. In addition, Kansas this season became the latest example of a top seed losing to a non-power team in the opening weekend.

If the tournament is expanded next year, Northern Iowa would have needed to win two games before getting their crack at Kansas.

While we could debate all day whether the new format is good for the tournament and who gets the biggest benefit, the point is that because of money, the NCAA is likely adding another week to the basketball tournament (whatever happened to concerns over keeping the student-athletes out of class?) while doing absolutely nothing to address fans concerns about the college football championship.

Because of the deep pockets of the top bowl games and BCS conferences, the current system in college football is likely here to stay.

While many fans dislike the current system, coaches and administrators like it because it provides multiple opportunities for teams to end their season with a bowl appearance.

Of course, there are only so many bowls between teams with 6-6 records that I can handle, but it makes the schools feel like their season wasn’t a complete disappointment and ends the season on a positive note for players and coaches.

As I said in the opening, I’m not really sure if fans ever were part of the equation when it came to decision making in big-time sports. But I am very sure that in today’s culture the only part of a fan that major sports administrators (both college and pro) care about is their wallet.

Seeding the Underdog Lover’s Best Tournament Ever

33-year-old Brad Stephens has led Butler to the Final Four.

The only thing that would have made March Madness an absolute straight flush for underdog fans is Duke losing to Baylor last night. But they came close enough for underdog fans. And this being the tournament in my memory with the most upsets and the most low seeds advancing to the Sweet 16 makes it the Underdog Lover’s best tournament ever.

The great thing about being an underdog fan is that even a nail biter, having to wait until the last minute to know the outcome of a David/Goliath match-up is almost as good as victory.

Now that Duke enters the Final Four as the only surviving one-seed, underdog lovers everywhere can begin focusing our voodoo attacks on a single target and hope to see them crash in the semi’s.

Before going any further with our March Madness analysis, it is necessary to explain the criteria we use to evaluate underdogs in a sort of reverse seeding. In other words, the top seeded dog would be the lowest seeded competitor.

What Makes an Underdog?

There are classic underdogs, and there are relative underdogs. That is why we can only get excited, early in the tournament, about the smaller schools, the long-shots, and the new arrivals.

For the first round we favor “Firsts,” “Worsts,” “Small,” and “The Wall.”

Firsts

First appearance or, lacking this, first in so many years.  This year, it was Arkansas Pine Bluff. Of course as the tournament continues the definition of firsts shifts to the point of advance. For instance, Butler has advanced to the Final Four for the first time in history. While they weren’t a tournament first, they are now a first by virtue of surviving to the semi-finals.

Worsts

Lowest seed, lowest RPI ranking, or least difficult schedule. Again, this year it was Arkansas Pine Bluff at the bottom, thus our pre-tournament top.

Small

Xavier pushed Kansas State to double overtime before losing in the "Sweet 16."

Smallest school, smallest market if applicable, small in socio-geographical, demographic-economic status—in other words, from somewhere not frequented by the beautiful people. One of the smallest schools in the tournament this year was Xavier.

The Wall

Up against it, trapped behind it, some sense of being cursed or star-crossed, or a record of failure and disappointment in the Dance if they’ve been there before. Believe it or not, despite their status in the Big East and in virtually every other metric, Syracuse does make our underdog list by this criteria alone.  Despite winning one championship, they have come so far, gotten so close so many times, that they could qualify as an underdog depending on who they play. They also tend to get less respect than they deserve, much of the time, from the press and the rankings.  

Second Round

In the subsequent rounds, as the pure Cinderellas are eliminated, we move from absolute criteria to the laws of relativity, and the criteria shifts. This year, many true Cinderellas survived to the Sweet Sixteen or the Elite Eight. But as the tournament progresses underdog status becomes more relative and less absolute. At some point, the lowest seed still surviving becomes the highest seeded underdog remaining. But after the first round we move from “Firsts,” “Worsts,” “Small,” and “The Wall,” to “Survivors,” “Drama Queens,” “ Destiny’s Children,” “Luck Strikes,” and “Davids.”

Survivors

The lowest-seed surviving at any point in the tournament becomes our favorite. In the event that it is, as 2008’s disaster, a final four of top seeds, we give up. Short of that, even a No. 2 seed versus a No. 1 seed gets our blessing in most cases. But, we reserve the right to make exceptions.

Drama Queens

Sometimes events during the tournament create an unanticipated Cinderella. It could be some human drama or a daunting comeback capped by a buzzer beater from downtown. We’re always watching for a new dog to emerge.

Destiny’s Children

Similar to the Drama Queens, but different by nuance, are teams that are not seeded in the top two but begin to create a sense of destiny as they progress. By the Sweet Sixteen and beyond, we’ll jump on any bandwagon smelling of destiny.

Lucky Strikes

Some upsets are pure luck. Lucky Strikes this year would include, Murray State, Ohio, Old Dominon, and perhaps Washington.
We celebrate all upsets, and the bigger the upset the more we celebrate, but we prefer upsets that are more strategy than luck. Those come from teams we call “Davids.”

Davids

Every year the NCAA Tournament features a number of matchups between David and Goliath.

Giant killers—you know, like Goliath.

Amazing things happen once the field is whittled down. At this point in the process it has more to do with who we oppose than who we support. The last thing true underdog fans can tolerate is a “predictable” winner.

Our perspective shifts from championing the lowly, to bringing down the mighty. Polls, seeds, and point-spreads all identify the enemy and, by contrast, who we now oppose and who we must support. That being said, sometimes we can have our cake and eat it too. Sometimes the Davids are also original dogs. This year, that would be Cornell and Northern Iowa. As the tournament progressed Butler morphed into David by defeating Syracuse.

Additional Considerations and Tie-Breakers

While we aren’t bound by applying the following criteria, we do some math to use as a corrective to our subjective analysis, and/or to break subjective ties. When looking at a team’s progress through the tournament we subtract the seed of their opponent in each round from the underdog’s seed, and do a reverse credit for actual final point spread between the underdog and the favorite when the underdog is finally defeated. For instance, if a 16 seed beat a one-seed, they would earn 15 points. In the next round if they beat a four-seed they would earn an additional 12 points. If they then lose to a five-seed, they would earn the differential in seed (seven points) and if the final losing score were 70-69 they would lose one point. Their final score would be 33 points. We would consider these scores in making final evaluations but, as already stated, are informed by the values, but not bound by them.    

Underdog Seeds: A Dynamic List

Unlike the NCAA brackets where seeding is set and remains static, our seeds change as the competition moves on. As explained above, the first round seeds are determined by the team’s status coming into the tournament. Our final seeds, announced just prior to the Final Four, reflect tournament outcomes prior to the semi-finals.

Given that, I would have to crown Cornell the ultimate Underdog in the tournament. The fact that a team having no scholarships, coming from a league that hasn’t won a NCAA tournament game in 39 years makes Cornell the top seeded underdog this year. Cornell also scores well in the math (“Additional Considerations and Tie-Breakers”).

I was disappointed that more wasn’t said in the analysis of the Cornell/Kentucky game about how well Cornell controlled the pace of the game for a good portion of the game and the fact that after losing a big lead and falling far behind, they battled back to within 6 points late in the game before finally succumbing.

The pundits acted as if they were so relieved that John Calipari’s Wildcats finally turned the basketball world back right side up, that they almost completely ignored how well Big Red managed one of the greatest mismatches in the history of the Elite Eight.

On the same vein, Northern Iowa takes the second underdog seed. Like Cornell, they have no history of success in the tournament. More importantly, like Cornell, they came in with a well-devised strategy for neutralizing the top ranked teams. They, like Cornell, were the sports equivalent of David taking his time selecting five smooth stones for his sling shot before finally taking aim at Goliath. Both Northern Iowa and Cornell were able to win two games with superior strategy against teams with massively superior talent and pre-tournament success.

That leaves Butler and West Virginia among the remaining four. As it is Butler’s first trip in history to the Final Four, adding the fact of their defeating Syracuse, combining their history and their ability to get to the semi’s, they get some extra subjective points. On the other hand, they were a 5th seed in the tournament and have begun to advance in the tournament on a regular basis, so that cancels out the subjective marbles they just earned.

Using the math, Butler comes out somewhat higher than West Virginia but lower than the other underdogs that made noise in this tournament. Therefore, we rank the Bulldogs ninth.  

West Virginia, being a member of The Big East, and given the fact that they are a second seed pushes them down to tenth on our final underdog scale..

Thus, our favorites in the Final Four are, first Butler, then West Virginia. If both lose, we may not even watch the championship game.

Representing the non-scholarship Ivy League, Cornell was the ultimate underdog in the 2010 NCAA Tournament.

Here are our Final Underdog Rankings.

1 Cornell
2 Northern Iowa
3 St. Mary’s
4 Washington
5 Murray State
6 Old Dominion
7 Ohio
8 Xavier
9 Butler
10 West Virginia

“But you forgot Michigan State,” someone says.

No, we wish we could have forgotten them. Here’s the deal.

I am ambivalent about Michigan State. They are a large school. As representatives of the Big Ten they also come from one of the “Super Six” conferences that traditionally dominate. They are scholarship laden and talent laden.

True, they come from Michigan, having a sentimental attachment to Detroit, underdog city extrordinaire, given the economics of the auto industry and the ripple effects of their demise that has left Detroit in physical as well as economic ruin. It is also true that Tom Izzo scores underdog points by being the kind of coach who values chemistry over talent and is a master-chemist.

But in spite of that, I still can’t do it. Michigan State only qualifies as an underdog in my scheme by being less than a top seed, and only when they play a higher seeded team. In other words, The Spartans are not intrinsic underdogs. They are relative underdogs. They draw any status they have, relative to their opponent.

Therefore, in a Duke/State match-up, the Spartans, as last year when playing North Carolina, would be our reluctant pick. At the same time, we would watch such a contest with very little enthusiasm—if we watch it at all– and would mourn a Spartan loss less than we would mourn a Duke victory. We’ll seed State as the lowest (for our purposes) of the five seeds in the tournament, making them 45th (of 65) on our underdog scale, in the tournament.

The beauty of this year’s tourney is that never have so many schools ranked so low, achieved so much, with so much disparity in rank. Thus, to wax musical in the vein of Frank Sinatra, the Chairman of the Board, we’ll say,

“In the year, 2010, it was a very good year,
it was a very good year for Cin-der-ellas making the Ball,
and taking it all,
at least more than has been,
in the year 2010.”

Cornell made it to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.

Whenever it was going to come to an end, the Cornell Men’s Basketball team wasn’t going to go quietly this year. The most successful season in program history saw the Big Red post victories over Alabama, Massachusetts, Vermont, Davidson, and St. Johns in the regular season. After winning its’ third straight Ivy League Championship it was onto the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year where they notched their first ever NCAA win with a 78-65 victory over fifth-seeded Temple.

Their second ever NCAA win followed with an impressive 87-69 win over Big Ten foe Wisconsin (No. 4 seed) which sent Cornell to their first ever NCAA Sweet 16, the first Ivy League school to do so since Penn in 1979. Along the way, The Big Red set a school and Ivy League record with 29 victories, finishing 29-5. While Cornell’s NCAA Tournament run ended with a 62-45 loss to top-seeded Kentucky in the NCAA East Regional Semifinals at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, NY on Thursday March 25, the Big Red played with Kentucky nearly the whole game. Refusing to let the Wildcats run away with it, Cornell gave a spirited performance behind the leadership of its’ senior laden team and 10-year veteran head coach, Steve Donahue.

To say the 12th-seeded Big Red were the underdog against Kentucky would be accurate, but not do Cornell justice. Being the lowest seeded team to reach the Sweet 16 certainly meant that they were going to face tougher competition. Yet it didn’t bother the Big Red.

This was a team that took preseason No. 1 Kansas to the wire this year on the Jayhwaks’ home court before coming up on the short end, 71-66. Kansas earned the tournament’s top overall seed and was favored by many to win it
all before losing to ninth-seeded Northern Iowa 69-67 in the second round. Against Kenutcky, the Big Red was in the game nearly the  whole 40 minutes and controlled the tempo throughout the majority of the game.

With Cornell excelling in their halfcourt offense and Kentucky liking to get out and run, this was a game of contrasting styles. Yet each team came out a bit tight as both squads missed their first two shots. It took several possessions before the first points of the game were scored.

Big Red senior 7-foot center Jeff Foote scored on an inside pivot play 1:31 into the game as Cornell grabbed a 2-0 lead. The Big Red surged out to a 10-2 lead in the first 4:44 of the game as hundreds of Cornell fans erupted with cheers.

Jeff Foote of Cornell goes for the block as Kentucky's DeMarcus Cousins shoots.

The opening run had a typical Big Red feel to it as all five players on the court moved well without the ball to get quality shots. The 10 points came from Foote’s lay-up, a 3-pointer by Ryan Wittman on his first attempt from behind the arc, and five points from Louis Dale who started 2-for-3 from the field including one trifecta.

Cornell’s defense was strong in the first five minutes as they limited the Wildcats to one shot on several possessions and had three different players account for its’ five rebounds. The Big Red had the early lead and momentum with their fans fully behind them. While Cornell would be outscored 30-6 the rest of the first half and trailed 32-16 at intermission,
they regrouped at the break.

Kentucky’s 16-point halftime lead was mostly a product of outscoring the Big Red 24-6 in the paint and 13-0 on the fast break. Donahue and his coaching staff made some great adjustments at the half. The Wildcats had only a 12-6 edge in points in the paint in the second stanza and a 2-0 edge in fast break points.

Before the game, if one knew that Cornell would not score any fast break points and allow Kentucky to have a 36-12 scoring advantage in points in the paint, most would think the Big Red would have been blown out. Yet, that was not the case. Statistics don’t always tell the whole story.

Although The Wildcats had a 41-28 edge in rebounds, Cornell’s team effort on the boards kept them in it. Foote lead the Big Red with six rebounds and was one of eight Cornell players to pull down at least two boards.

The Big Red also did a great job of contesting Kentucky’s shooters as the Wildcats finished just 2-for-16 from behind the 3-point line which included an 0-for-7 effort in the second half.

If there was one statistic that hurt Cornell, it was turnovers. Entering the game, the Big Red forced an average of 13.6 turnovers a game and 50 more on the season than they committed. Against the Wildcats, Cornell scored just six points off 13 Wildcat turnovers while Kentucky scored 19 points off 15 Big Red turnovers to make Cornell pay. While that eventually doomed the Big Red, it didn’t stop them from competing to the very end.

Louis Dale moves around DeAndre Liggins to gather a loose ball for Cornell

Both teams came out cold in the first two and one-half minutes of the second half as Cornell missed its’ first four shots and did not capitalize on a steal by Dale. Meanwhile, The Big Red defense was holding steady as the Wildcats committed three turnovers and missed their only shot, a trey.

Dale scored the first points of the second half on a lay-up at the 17:29 mark. That would be part of an 18-8 run that pulled Cornell within 40-34 following a Dale 3-pointer with 5:42 to play. The leadership and experience of the Big Red coaches and players had weathered the storm and kept Cornell in it.

With hundreds of faithful Big Red fans standing and shouting “LETS GO RED”, it was anyone’s game. Then Kentucky scored six straight points to double its’ lead, 46-34 with 3:54 left to play. Wittman hit a 3-pointer nine seconds later to pull Cornell back to within nine at 46-37. However that is as close as the Big Red would get the rest of the way.

Knowing that he had guided his team to the brink of eliminating Kentucky

Seated from left to right are Cornell's Ryan Wittman, Jeff Foote, and Jon Jaques, all seniors.

(who many people picked to win it all after Kansas was upset), Donahue pulled his starters with 35 seconds left to play. It was to a standing and loud applause from all of the Cornell faithful in attendance as Wittman, Jaques, Wroblewski, and Foote all exited a basketball court for the final time this season with Wittman, Jaques, and Foote all doing so for the final time as collegians.

The ovation continued back home in Ithaca, NY on Friday March 26 when fans greeted the Big Red players and coaches as they exited the team bus back on the Cornell Campus. Foote, a local favorite who graduated from nearby Spencer-Van Etten High School, signed autographs. While the season ended sooner than anyone wanted it to, it was obvious that the Big Red had just completed a special and unprecedented season.

Here is a look at some of the Big Red’s individual and team achievements in athletics and academics this season:

PLAYER HONORS AND STATISTICAL MILESTONES:
·Senior forward Ryan Wittman became the fifth Ivy League player to reach 2,000 career points during his 24-point effort in the NCAA win over Wisconsin, ending that game with 2,018 points. With 10 points against Kentucky, Wittman finished his career with 2,028 points, extending his record as Cornell’s all-time leading scorer.

·Wittman’s selection as Ivy League Player of the Year made him only the third Cornellian to receive the league’s top award. He joined Ken Bantum (1984-85) and Louis Dale (2007-08). Wittman was a unanimous pick for first team All-Ivy honors for the third straight year.

·Seniors Wittman, Louis Dale, and Jeff Foote were all named first-team All-Ivy marking only the seventh time in Ancient Eight annals that three teammates were named to the first team in the same season and the first time since Brown placed three in 2003 (Jason Forte, Earl Hunt, and Alai Nuualiitia).

·The Ivy League awarded a Defensive Player of the Year for the first time following the 2008-09 season with Foote garnering the inaugural award. He won it again in 2009-10.

·Ryan Wittman was named to the United States Basketball Writers Association All-District II team for the second time in his career. He was among 10 players from Division I schools in the states of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Eight of the players joining him on the team play in the Big East, while the 10th plays in the Atlantic 10. Joining Wittman on the team are Lavoy Allen of Temple, De’Sean Butler of West Virginia, Austin Freeman and Greg Monroe of Georgetown, Ashton Gibbs of Pittsburgh, Jeremy Hazell of Seton Hall, Wes Johnson and Andy Rautins of Syracuse, and Scottie Reynolds of Villanova. Interestingly, Wittman and Cornell played against Temple’s Allen (won 78-65 in the NCAA first round on March 19), Seton Hall’s Hazell (lost at home 89-79 on Nov. 20, 2009), and Johnson and Rautins of Syracuse (lost 88-73 at Syracuse on Nov. 24, 2009), while going 1-2 against those players’ teams this season.

·Ryan Wittman has been invited to compete in the Reese’s College All-Star Game and the ESPN 3-Point Shootout during Final Four weekend and will participate. The Reese’s College All-Star game will be held on April 2 and be broadcasted on CBS College Sports at 4:30 p.m. Two teams comprised of some of the top senior student-athletes in the country will be invited to play and there is no admission to the contest. It is the 22nd annual event, with the slam dunk contest and 3-point shootouts televised live on ESPN on April 1 from 9-11 p.m. Past participants and champions in the shootout include Aaron Brooks, Steve Nash, and Kyle Korver. Witttman will be one of eight seniors selected to participate in the 3-point competition.

·Cornell senior forward Mark Coury played two seasons for the University of Kentucky, including starting for a majority of the 2007-08 squad. He averaged 2.0 points and 1.7 rebounds while starting 29 of 31 games for an 18-13 team that reached the NCAA Tournament. He also earned ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Honors that season. He was a key reserve for the Big Red this season as he played in all 34 games and averaged 2.4 points and 2.4 rebounds.

·Ryan Wittman finished his storied career at Cornell as the school’s all-time career leader in seven statistical categories. They include points scored (2,028), field goals made (696), field goals attempted (1,520), 3-point field goals made (377), 3-point field goals attempted (875), games played (121), and minutes played (4,145).

·Ryan Wittman led the team in eight statistical categories in 2009-10 including points scored (596), scoring average (17.5), field goal attempts (439), field goals made (208), 3-point field goal attempts (256), 3-point field goals made (109), minutes played (1,154), and average minutes played (33.9).

·Ryan Wittman’s 109 3-pointers this season was a single season career high and set Cornell and Ivy League single season records as well.

·Ryan Wittman was named the Ivy League Player of the Year, joining Louis Dale (2007-08) as the only active teammates who have won their league Player of the Year awards.

·Sophomore guard Chris Wroblewski was an honorable mention All-Ivy pick.

·Senior Louis Dale ended his career as just one of five players in Ivy League history to record 1,400 points, 400 rebounds, 400 assists, and 100 steals in a career. Dale finished his career with 1,452 points, 432 rebounds, 470 assists, and 128 steals. In doing so, he joins Penn stars Michael Jordan (1,602, 443, 469, 146) and Jerome Allen (1,488, 482, 505, 166), Brown’s Jason Forte (1,597, 401, 514, 192), and Harvard’s Jeremy Lin (1,456, 485, 400, 222) in this selective group.

TEAM ATHLETIC ACHIEVEMENTS:
·Cornell is the first team besides Penn or Princeton to win three consecutive outright Ivy League Championships.

·Prior to its’ 62-45 loss to Kentucky in the Sweet 16, Cornell was 1-0 all-time against the Wildcats. The Big Red shot 58 percent from the floor and won 92-77 on Dec. 28, 1966 in Lexington, Ky., defeating the Wildcats who were the defending national runner-up. Gregory Morris, a 6-0 junior, scored 37 points on 16-of-21 shooting for the Big Red and grabbed 11 rebounds while Walt Esdaile scored 18 points. Basketball Hall of Famer Pat Riley scored 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds while Louie Dampier added 18 points for Kentucky.

·Following their 62-45 loss to Kentucky on March 25 (top seed in the east region), Cornell played against three of the number one seeds in this year’s tournament with Duke (top seed in the South Region) being the lone exception. The Big Red lost at Syracuse (top seed in the west region) 88-73 on Nov. 24 and lost at Kansas (top seed in the midwest region) 71-66
on Jan. 6.

·The Big Red won its’ fourth Ivy League Title in school history and its’ seventh conference title of any kind with a 95-76 win at Brown on March 5.

·Cornell’s 74-60 home win over Brown gave the Big Red its’ fourth 20-win season in program history. It also secured three straight 20-win seasons for the first time in 111 years of Big Red basketball.

·Cornell set team records for points (2,545), field goals made (913), 3-pointers made (326), blocked shots (127), and games played (34) in 2009-10.

·The Big Red earned its’ first victories over a Big East team (St. Johns) and an SEC team (Alabama) since 1969 and 1972 respectively.

·Cornell finished first or second in the Ivy League in 16 of 22 team statistical categories and led the conference in 10 this season.

·Cornell’s 50-47 home victory over Princeton on February 26 notched the Big Red’s third consecutive 10-win league season, something it had not done since posting at least 10 league victories from 1964-65 to 1966-67.

·Cornell is 38-4 in Ivy League play over the last three seasons and 47-9 over the last four seasons.

·Cornell climbed as high as No. 22 nationally in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll, the program’s first national ranking in 59 years.

TEAM STATISTICAL NUGGETS:
·The Big Red finished the 2009-10 season:

·21-1 when outrebounding its’ opponent.

·2-4 when trailing at halftime

·0-4 when trailing with 10 minutes left to play

·1-4 when trailing with five minutes left to play

·7-5 when committing more turnovers than its’ opponent

·18-4 when the game was decided by 10 or more points

COACH DONAHUE HONORS:
·Cornell head coach Steve Donahue has steadily built the Cornell program. Since going 2-12 in the Ivy League in his second year in 2001-02, Cornell has won more Ivy League games each year peaking with an unblemished 14-0 mark in 2007-08. After finishing 11-3 in 2008-09 when they won their second straight league title, Cornell went 13-1 in 2009-10 en-route to their
third straight Ivy League Championship and NCAA Tournament bid.

·Steve Donahue has been named the National Association of Basketball Coaches District Coach of the Year and was named the mid-season Hugh Durham Coach of the Year by collegeinsider.com as the top mid-major coach in the country.

·Steve Donahue is also a finalist for both the Hugh Durham Award and the Jim Phelan Award for national coach of the year.

·Steve Donahue has also been named one of four finalists for the Clair Bee Award. The Clair Bee Coach of the Year Award honors a Division I men’s basketball coach who through his actions on and off the court makes an outstanding contribution to the sport of college basketball. The criteria for this award include a coach’s ability to inspire, motivate, coach, and educate his team to achieve its fullest potential while insisting upon and demonstrating outstanding character and academic success. Missouri’s Mike Anderson was the 2009 recipient of the award.

TEAM ACADEMIC HONORS:
·As a team, Cornell sports a 3.2 cumulative grade point average.

·Under head coach Steve Donahue, Cornell has had a pair of ESPN The Magazine Academic All-Americans, including a first-teamer in Graham Dow ’07, who was a Rhodes Scholar candidate.

·Five Cornell players (Jeff Foote, Alex Tyler, Adam Wire, Ryan Wittman, and Chris Wroblewski) are enrolled in Applied Economics and Management, the No. 5 undergraduate business program in the country by Newsweek.

PLAYER ACADEMIC HONORS:
·Senior reserve guard Geoff Reeves and sophomore guard Chris Wroblewski were named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District 1 team. Reeves sports a 3.54 grade point average in Agriculture Sciences, while Wroblewski has a 3.58 GPA in Applied Economics and Management.

·Senior forward Ryan Wittman (Applied Economics and Management) was named to the 2007-08 and 2008-09 Academic All-Ivy League teams.

·Senior Mark Coury (Applied Economics and Management) and freshman Eitan Chemerinski (Applied Economics and Management) were both members of the 400 club, joining an exclusive group of Cornell student-athletes to post a grade point average of 4.0 or better this past fall.

Cornell faithful cheer on their Cinderella team.

Back in the day when I was not even a teenager yet, I developed a strong interest for sports. Soccer was my first interest and the first sport that I played competitively. Soon to follow was football, basketball, volleyball, softball, baseball, field hockey, and swimming.

While I did not compete in all these sports, playing just some leisurely, I had developed a fascination for sports to include even croquet, ping pong, badminton and bowling. Growing up in Ithaca, NY, the small city did not have any minor league, major college, amateur, or professional teams. To this day it still does not.

Cornell University and Ithaca College have provided most of the local sports scene along with the high schools generation after generation after generation. Ithaca College has won three Division III national championships in football (last in 1991) and Cornell has won three national titles in lacrosse (last in 1977) while reaching that sport’s final four two of the last three years. Coaches like the late Jim Butterfield of Ithaca College football and Richie Moran, who coached Cornell lacrosse back in the 1970’s, stand tall in the history of the schools.

Ed Marinaro (placed second in the Heismann Trophy voting in 1971 behind quarterback Pat Sullivan of Auburn), Derrick Harmon, and Chad Levitt were all great running backs for Cornell while defensive ends Tom McHale and Seth Payne were great on the other side of the ball. Payne played with the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League. Quarterback Todd Wilkowski and running back Jeff Wittman were on Ithaca’s 1991 national championship team and are two of the programs more successful players.

Yet, while each school has produced great players and had eras of success, nothing has been like what Ithaca has been treated to from the Cornell men’s basketball team the last three years. Three straight outright Ivy League Championships sending them into the NCAA Tournament. Penn and Princeton are the only other Ivy League teams to accomplish that feat since the inception of the Ancient Eight.

You couldn’t envision this back in my early years. I remember going to Cornell basketball games with family and friends at the old Barton Hall (still exists on campus), when the court was set up in the middle of the building and they only used partial bleacher style seating. Cornell would come close but never be able to get over the hump, except once.

The only other time Cornell won the Ivy League Championship prior to this three-year run was the 1987-88 season. They were a 16^th seed and lost 90-50 on March 18, 1988 in the NCAA first round to an Arizona team featuring Tom Tolbert, Sean Elliott, and Steve Kerr. However, as this web site states, That was Then, This is Now.

Ryan Wittman is one of the senior leaders for the Big Red.

The Big Red (29-4) went 20 years between Ivy League Championships. In the span of three days, they have made a name for themselves while becoming the first Ivy team since Penn in 1979 to reach the “Sweet 16.” They have done it with size, offensive efficiency, high energy bench play, hot shooting, senior leadership, and strong defensive play.

Cornell, seeded 12^th in the East Region and the lowest seed left in the tournament, will meet top seeded Kentucky (34-2) in the East Regional semifinals on Thursday March 25 at 9:57 p.m. inside the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, NY. Syracuse is only about an hour away from the Big Red’s Ithaca, NY campus giving Cornell an edge in proximity and fan support. The other semifinal pits second-seeded West Virginia against 11^th-seeded Washington in the evening’s first game.

The Big Red’s combination of 7-foot center Jeff Foote, 6-foot-7 forward Ryan Wittman, and 5-foot-11 guard Louis Dale, all seniors, was lethal in Cornell’s first-ever victories in the NCAA Tournament. In the first round against Temple on March 19, Cornell won 78-65 as Dale (21), Wittman (20) and Foote (16) all scored in double figures. Foote lead the Big Red with seven rebounds while Dale dished out a team high seven assists as Cornell won its’ first ever NCAA Tournament game in program history.

Both teams committed 11 turnovers but Cornell made the Owls pay with an 18-5 scoring edge off of them. A jumper by Wittman with 17:17 left to play in the first half gave Cornell its’ first lead at 6-5 and the Big Red would never trail again. Cornell took care of the ball and passed it effectively to find open shots, converting at a 56.3 percent (27-for-48) clip while holding Temple to 51.9 percent shooting (27-for-52).

Cornell players celebrate at the end of their 87-69 win over Wisconsin

The win over Temple sent the Big Red into the second round where they beat the fourth-seeded Badgers of Wisconsin 87-69 on Sunday March 21. This time, Cornell started quickly by jumping out to an 8-0 lead before Wisconsin scored its’ first point of the game nearly three minutes into the game. Using an active defense, Cornell forced six Badger turnovers in the first half alone and turned them into 11 points.

Wittman’s jumper with eight seconds left to play in the first half gave the Big Red a 43-31 halftime lead and capped a 14-point first-half scoring effort for the senior sharpshooter.

Wisconsin got no closer than nine points in the second half as Cornell maintained its’ offensive efficiency behind some blistering shooting as they shot 61.1 percent for the game (33-for-54) and 53.3 percent (8-for-15) from behind the 3-point line. The Big Red was lead by Dale’s 26 points on 10-for-17 shooting while Wittman added 24 points on 10-for-15 shooting and hit a trio of baskets from behind the three-point line. Cornell held a 29-21 edge in rebounding and got 12 points apiece from Foote and sophomore guard Chris Wroblewski.

While many observers and television analysts from ESPN or CBS say Cornell is a Cinderella, that can be debated. What is known for sure is that Cornell is playing its’ best basketball of the season right now. With that comes momentum that can only help them continue to win. Kentucky would be smart to take notice.

Noteworthy:

*Cornell senior forward/center Marc Coury (6-9, 240) transferred from the University of Kentucky who Cornell will meet on Thursday. Coury started 29 of 31 games for the 2007-08 Kentucky team that reached the NCAA Tournament and finished 18-13. Coury had to sit out the 2008-09 season due to NCAA transfer regulations.

Northern Iowa is just one of several lower seeds that have crashed the party at the 2010 NCAA Tournament.

Whew, it is finally time to catch your breath after an amazing weekend of college basketball in the first two rounds of the Division I Men’s Championship.

As could be expected considering the lack of great play among the top conferences this season, the opening games included lots of surprises and big names going home early.

Below are some observations from the opening rounds:

REVENGE OF THE MID-MAJORS: Much has been written in recent years about how the five BCS conferences seem determined to conquer the college sports world. They have made it almost impossible for a non-BCS league school to win the College Football Championship and have also done everything possible to ensure that as much money from the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament stays with the big boys as possible.

Until this season, the number of at-large teams in the tournament from non-BCS schools had been making a significant decline in recent years. That number increased to eight this year (after only four a year ago), but part of that reason was that the BCS leagues (especially the Pac 10) were appreciably weaker than in recent years.

It should be obvious from the opening weekend that while major conference college basketball is not as strong in 2010 as in past years, the mid-major conferences are as strong as ever and deserve to be noticed and appreciated.

Throwing out opening round matchups between BCS and non-BCS schools that featured the top three seeds from each region, there have been a total of 20 games in the tournament featuring a BCS conference school against a non-BCS school.

Given how superior most college basketball analysts want us to believe the BCS conferences are, you would expect the record to not be close. However, BCS schools have won only 11 of the 20 total matchups. They were 6-5 against non-BCS schools in the opening round and 5-4 in the second round.

Experts have anointed the Big East as the best conference in college basketball, but their teams struggled against non-BCS teams. Georgetown lost to Ohio in the opening round and Villanova barely defeated Robert Morris before losing to St. Mary’s. Pittsburgh and Notre Dame were also eliminated by schools from non-BCS leagues.

When BCS schools face non-BCS opponents in the regular season the games are generally played at the BCS-school and come with all the trapping of a home game including gym familiarity, home crowd and officials from the host conference.

In the NCAA Tournament, those trappings are no longer present and the fact that in games of seeds four through 13 the BCS schools hold only a slim lead shows that there is much more parity in college basketball than the experts who rely on the support of the big conferences would lead you to believe.

With five non-BCS league schools among the final 16 and at least one in each region, this could mark the third year in the last five (George Mason in 2006, Memphis in 2008) that a non-BCS school crashes the big boys final four party.

SEEDING DOESN’T MATTER: While mid-majors have been the big winner in the tournament, lower seeds in general (regardless of conference) have performed well in the first two rounds.

Ten teams seeded ninth or lower advanced to the second round and eight teams seeded fifth or worse are still dancing.

As a number 12 seed, Cornell is the lowest remaining seed and arguably the greatest story of the tournament. The Big Red are a senior laden squad that has been building for this moment for four years and have risen to the occasions.

Cornell didn't look like a 12 seed in their dominating win over Wisconsin.

After defeating Temple and Wisconsin they will be facing top seeded Kentucky in a game that will be played only about an hour from their campus.

That a 14 and 13 seed each won a game in the tournament and that there remains a 9, 10, 11 and 12 seed in the final 16 illustrates that the margin between teams in the tournament this year was miniscule.

It will still be a challenge for a lower seed to reach the Final Four, but there certainly seems a likelihood that at least one team seeded 5th or lower will still be playing when the Final Four tips off on April 3rd.

WE PICKED THE WRONG NUMBER ONE: With 40% of all participants in the ESPN Bracket Challenge selecting them to win the title, Kansas was a significantly greater tournament favorite than North Carolina (28%) was a year ago.

In a year when it seemed apparent that there was no really dominant team, Kansas did show signs of being that one team you could count on being there at the end.

Of course, that ended with their upset at the hands of Northern Iowa.

It now is evident that while the Jayhawks were very good, they did have flaws that were exploited by the upstarts from the Missouri Valley Conference.

While the Jayhawks were defeated in the second round, the other three top seeds all looked dominant in advancing to the Sweet 16.

In fact, while lower seeds gave just about every other higher seed in the tournament fits, the three remaining number one seeds all posted easy double digit wins in both of their games. The 15 point victory by Duke over California was the closest game amongst the top three in the second round.

There will not be four number one seeds in the tournament, but there very well could be three number ones in the building when the Final Four plays in Indianapolis.

Northern Iowa harassed top seeded Kansas throughout their improbable victory over the Jayhawks.

If you had any doubt that there really was no “great” team in college basketball this season, Northern Iowa’s shocking 69-67 victory over number one Kansas in the second round of the NCAA Tournament should confirm the fact.

While it isn’t the greatest upset in tournament history based on seeding, it is definitely notable simply because Kansas was the prohibitive favorite to cut down the nets in Indianapolis (40 percent of participants in ESPN’s Bracket Challenge picked the Jayhawks to win the title).

The last time the overall number one seed lost in the second round of the tournament was in 2004 when Kentucky lost to Alabama-Birmingham in the second round. Interestingly, that year was very similar to 2010 in that there were a number of very good teams, but no team considered to be great. Of the four number one seeds in that tournament (Kentucky, Duke, St. Joseph’s and Stanford), Duke was the only one to reach the Final Four and they lost in the semifinals to eventual champion Connecticut.

Fast forward to 2010 and experts have said all season that major conference college basketball was down this season and the first three days of the NCAA Tournament have reinforced that assertion.

This has been a tournament in which seeding has meant very little. It started with a dominating victory by 14th seed Ohio over #3 Georgetown and has continued through the second round.

Already advanced to the Round of 16 are an 11 seed (Washington), 10 seed (St. Mary’s) and a 9 seed (Northern Iowa). There is also a good possibility that 12th seed Cornell could punch their ticket to the Sweet 16 tomorrow.

Every year there is a pre-tournament debate about whether mid-majors deserve opportunities ahead of the major-conference teams. Of the 23 opening round matchups between teams from BCS conferences and those from non-BCS leagues, six were won by the non-BCS school.

That may not sound all that impressive, but if you take away the matchups that included the top three seeds from each region, the non-BCS conference actually won five of 11 meetings between teams seeded between four and 13.

There is already three non-BCS conference schools in the Sweet 16 and that number could continue to grow as we complete the second round.

It may be too early to predict that one of the lower seeded teams can repeat the magic of George Mason in 2006 and earn a spot in the Final Four, but circumstances certainly seem ripe for one of the lower seeds to make such a run.

So, for all of us who had Kansas winning the title, we can take solace that the chances are that the upsets are just starting.

After all, it isn’t known as “March Madness” for nothing.

Tre'Von Willis and the Runnin' Rebels could not pull out a victory in their NCAA Tournament opener against Northern Iowa.

Junior forward and UNLV’s team leader Tre’Von Willis put it best. “Losing in the first round is a little disappointing,” Willis said. “But overall, we had a good season. We’re definitely going to have our good days ahead of us.”

That is exactly what this Rebels fan and reporter will focus on within the scope of this report.

Yes,surely the 69-66 loss to a very good Northern Iowa team was disappointing and yes there were enough flaws in the Rebels performance that the outcome was anticipated early enough in the game when the Runnin’ Rebels jumped out to an eight point lead, despite some very erratic shooting, and couldn’t continue the onslaught.

Let’s give the Northern Iowa Panthers credit. They played a very smart defensive game which is their signature and when it came down to the last 11 seconds left in a tie game with no time outs remaining, they were able to find an open man 26 feet from the basket and Ali Farokhmanesh, try saying that name five times fast, simply fired away to put the Panthers up by three.

The Rebels then got two tries to tie the game with 4.9 seconds left. After the inbound pass the ball was knocked away from Oscar Bellfield going out of bounds leaving the Rebels with 1.6 seconds left. They were never able to get off the shot when time expired.

So ends the 2009-2010 season for UNLV. This year, just like for the entire Mountain West Conference, was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Runnin’ Rebels. They lost three key Seniors including four year starter and one of the most exciting players I have ever seen to step out on Jerry Tarkanian Court. That of course was Wink Adams who will always be one of my top five Runnin’ Rebels of all time.

Both the Panthers and Rebels fought hard for 40 minutes.

With Wink gone as well as Joe Darger and Rrene Rougeau this Rebel team was made of of underclassmen and Junior College transfers trying, under the able leadership of Coach Lon Kruger, to blend into a well run machine capable of causing havoc on the defensive side of the ball.

Their overall record of 25-9 speaks volumes of their success. Their two wins over BYU and one over New Mexico as well as defeating Arizona and Louisville ,is a tribute to the fine job Kruger has done. With most UNLV home games being close to sell out crowds at the Thomas and Mack center, Kruger has pumped the life back into this towns love for Jerry Tarkanian’s legendary teams.

The future is extremely bright for the Rebels for the 2010-2011 campaign. They bring back their staring five as well as their key players off the bench. This years Freshman class of Anthony Marshall and Justin Hawkins will only get better and they will still be back ups for Tre’Von Willis and Oscar Bellfield.

With a healthy Derrick Jasper back in the lineup and excellent recruiting class plus a couple of red shirts from this year things are definitely looking up for the Rebels’ The emergence of Chase Stanback and Matt Shaw along with the stellar play of Tre’Von Willis plus the ever improving Brice Massamba will make the UNLV a force to be reckoned with not only in the Mountain West Conference but also nationally as they continue on their path to return to the elite of Men’s College Basketball.

I will continue to cover the two remaining teams from the MWC, BYU and New Mexico throughout the NCAA Tournament and wish them success. Now that the entire country has witnessed the amazing Jimmer Fredette let’s hope for a Sweet Sixteen or more from our two remaining teams. This has been a great year for the Mountain West Conference and it will only be getting better in the years to come.

The time has arrived in both Football and Basketball for the Mountain West Conference to be part of the BCS and be recognized nationally as a major conference.

Christian Laettner's game-winning shot ended one of the great games in NCAA Tournament history.

Welcome to the third and final part of the Ultimate March Madness List.
This installment features the top 20 moments in the history of the NCAA Tournament.

20. 1998 Valparaiso-Ole Miss
With 2.5 seconds left and trailing 69-67, Valpo’s Jaime Skyes throws a 60-foot pass down the length of the court that is caught by Bill Jenkins, who then passes it over to Bryce Drew (the head coach’s son), who then proceeds to drill a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give #13 seed Valparaiso an improbable 70-69 victory over the #4 seed Ole Miss Rebels in their first round game.

19. 1990 Connecticut-Clemson
With exactly one second left, Uconn guard Tate George catches a full-court pass from Scott Burrell, lands, then squares up to shoots a jumper that goes in the basket at the buzzer to give the Huskies a miraculous 71-70 win over the Clemson Tigers and send Connecticut to their first ever Elite Eight.

18. 1991 Duke-UNLV
One year after losing to UNLV 103-73 in the championship game, Duke avenges that humiliating by knocking off the undefeated and defending national champion Runnin’ Rebels 79-77 as Christian Lattener hits two free throws with 12.7 seconds left.

Duke would win the national championship two nights later as they defeated Kansas 72-65 to give coach Mike Krzyzewski his first national title after five trips to the Final Four.

N.C. State ended UCLA's run of seven straight national titles in 1974.

17. 1974 N.C. State-UCLA
UCLA’s run of seven straight national championships comes to an end as the Bruins blow a 11-point lead against the N.C. State Wolfpack in the second half of their national semifinal, then blow a seven-point lead in the second overtime as N.C. State goes on a 13-2 run to pull out the 80-77 victory and send the Wolfpack to the title game where they would defeat Marquette.

16. 1973 UCLA-Memphis
One year earlier, UCLA center Bill Walton gives a near-perfect performance as he hits on 21 of 22 shots for a championship game record 44 points to give the Bruins their seventh straight national championship with a 87-66 victory over the Memphis Tigers.

15. 1990 Loyola Marymount
Playing just two weeks after the death of All-American Hank Gathers during the West Coast Conference Tournament, the Loyola Marymount Lions make an emotional and heartwarming run to the Elite Eight.

The Lions entered the tournament as a #11 seed in the West Regional and faced New Mexico in their first round matchup.

When Bo Kimble, Gathers’ best friend and teammate since high school, went to the free throw line for the first time in the game, he shot his first free throw left-handed, the way Gathers shot free throws, in his friend’s memory.

The free throw was good and Kimble went on to score 45 points in a 111-92 win over New Mexico.

Kimble would repeat this act in the Lions’ second round matchup with #3 seed Michigan as the Lions defeated the Wolverines 149-115 in the highest scoring game in NCAA tournament history.

Kimble did not go to the foul line in the Lions’ Sweet Sixteen game with the Alabama Crimson Tide, but Loyola Marymount came away with a 62-60 win to advance to the Elite Eight where Kimble would make his left-handed free throw for the third time in a 131-101 loss to eventual national champion UNLV.

14. 1989 Michigan-Seton Hall
Assistant coach Steve Fisher takes the head coaching duties at Michigan right before the tournament begins, after head coach Bill Frieder was fired because he accepted the head coaching job at Arizona State, and leads the Wolverines to the national championship.

Michigan point guard Rumeal Robinson nails the game-winning free throws with three seconds to play in overtime after a controversial foul to give the Wolverines an 80-79 victory over the Seton Hall Pirates.

Larry Brown and Danny Manning led Kansas to a surprising national title in 1988.

13. 1988 Kansas-Oklahoma
Player of the year Danny Manning scores 31 points, grabs 18 rebounds, and makes five steals while his other unheralded Kansas teammates combine for 22-of-31 shooting as the Jayhawks upset their conference rivals, the Oklahoma Sooners, 83-79 in the championship game.

The Jayhawks, a #6 seed out of the Midwest Regional, become the first team with at least 10 losses to win the NCAA tournament and become immortalized as “Danny and the Miracles”.

12. 1981 Second Round
The craziest single day in NCAA tournament occurs in the second round of the 1981 NCAA tournament as the top two ranked teams in the country and the defending national champions are all eliminated by last-second shots in the same afternoon.

#1 ranked DePaul and the Mideast Region’s top seed is knocked off by St. Joseph’s when John Smith makes the game-winning layup with three seconds left for a 49-48 victory.

#2 ranked Oregon State, the 1 seed in the West Region, is stunned by Kansas State when Rolando Blackmon makes a 16-foot jumper from the right corner with two seconds left to give the Wildcats a 50-48 win.

But perhaps the most remarkable event of this day occurs in the Midwest Regional matchup between Arkansas and Louisville, the defending national champions, when Razorback U.S. Reed makes a buzzer beater from beyond half court, giving Arkansas a 74-73 victory.

11. 2008 Kansas-Memphis
Kansas guard Mario Chalmers hits a 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 63 and send the game into overtime, where Kansas would outscore Memphis 12-5 for a 75-68 win and the school’s first national championship in 20 years.

Memphis held a nine-point lead with 2:12 to go but missed several free throws down the stretch to set up Chalmers’ heroics.

10. 1957 North Carolina-Kansas
Just one night after defeating Michigan State 74-70 in triple overtime of their national semifinal, North Carolina plays another triple overtime game this time against Kansas and center Wilt Chamberlain.

North Carolina center Joe Quigg makes the game-tying and game-winning free throws with six seconds left in the third overtime to give the Tar Heels their first national championship with a 54-53 victory.

9. 1993 North Carolina-Michigan
Michigan forward Chris Webber etches his name in infamy as he calls for a timeout with 11 seconds remaining and his team trailing 73-71, not realizing that Michigan was out of timeouts.

The miscue results in North Carolina getting two free throws and possession of the ball which results in two more free throws and securing head coach Dean Smith’s second national championship with a 77-71 victory.

8.2006 George Mason-Connecticut
#11 seed George Mason out of the Colonial Athletic Association completes its Cinderella run to the Final Four as they rally from a nine-point deficit in the second half of their East Regional Final against UConn and hold off the top-seeded Huskies in overtime for a 86-84 win, to become the second #11 seed to reach the Final Four.

During their memorable run, George Mason knocked off Michigan State, North Carolina, Wichita State, and Connecticut.

Keith Smart hit the game winning shot to give Indiana the national title.

7. 1987 Indiana-Syracuse
Following a missed one-and-one by forward Derrick Coleman, Indiana guard Keith Smart nails a 16-foot baseline jumper with four seconds to play to put the Hoosiers ahead and then steals the inbounding pass on Syracuse’s last possession to give Indiana a 74-73 victory and the national championship, the third for head coach Bob Knight.

6. 1982 Georgetown-North Carolina
The legend of Michael Jordan begins as the freshman sensation hits a 16-foot jump shot with 17 seconds to play, which turns out to be the winning basket in the Tar Heels’ 63-62 victory of the Georgetown Hoyas in the title game.

The win is secured when Georgetown’s Fred Brown throws the ball away to North Carolina’s James Worthy on the possession following Jordan’s basket, giving head coach Dean Smith his first national championship in his seventh trip to the Final Four.

5. 1979 Michigan State-Indiana State
Indiana State guard Larry Bird and Michigan State guard Earvin “Magic” Johnson begin their legendary rivalry in the national championship game, in the most watched college basketball game of all time.

However, the game does not live to the hype as Bird is limited to just 19 points on seven of 21 shots while Johnson pours in 23 points as the Spartans go on to a relatively easy 75-64 win and the school’s first national championship.

Still, this game is seen as the birth of March Madness.

4.1966 Texas Western-Kentucky
Texas Western, with an all-black starting lineup, defeats Adolph Rupp and his all-white Kentucky Wildcats in a game that is considered the “Brown v. Board of Education” of college basketball as teams that were not integrated began recruiting black players.

3.1985 Villanova-Georgetown
Villanova, the #8 seed from the Southeast regional, plays the perfect game as the team shoots 78% from the field (22 out of 28 shots) to knock off the top-ranked and defending national champion Georgetown Hoyas 66-64, to become the lowest seed to ever win the NCAA tournament.

2. 1983 N.C. State-Houston
N.C. State complete perhaps the greatest run in the history of March Madness as Wolfpack forward Lorenzo Charles catches Derrick Whitenberg’s 30-foot air ball, and dunks it as time expires to give NC State a 54-52 upset win over the Houston Cougars and their “Phi Slama Jamma” team.

The last-second win is the fourth win for the Wolfpack in which they trailed in the second half and had to come back to win during the tournament (Pepperdine in the first round, UNLV in the second round, and Virginia in the elite eight).

The image of N.C. State head coach Jim Valvano running onto the court after Charles’ basket and looking for someone to hug is one of the most famous images in March Madness history.

1. 1992 Duke-Kentucky
It is the moment that is replayed every March.  It is “The Shot” or the Laettner game.

With 2.1 seconds to go in overtime and trailing 103-102, Duke forward Grant Hill throws a full-court pass that is caught by Christian Laettner at the top of the key.

Laettner dribbles once after the catch and shoots an 18-foot fade away that goes through the net as time expired to send Duke to the Final Four for the fifth straight year.

Laettner finishes the game with 31 points as he makes all ten of his shots and all ten of his free throws in what most experts consider to be the greatest game in NCAA tournament history.

Check out the other articles in the countdown:

Ultimate NCAA Tournament Moments 40-21

Ultimate NCAA Tournament Moments 65-41