March Madness is upon us. Well, already upon us and in more than just full swing. We’ve seen the number one OVERALL seed, Kansas, taken out by a team from the Missouri Valley Conference, Northern Iowa. Need I run that by again? NORTHERN IOWA defeated KANSAS, the number one team IN THE COUNTRY. So, BRACKET BUSTER ALERT! To those who do the tournament challenge and fill out brackets year after year and suffer through agony and pain, I’m sorry for I do feel your pain. My bracket had Kansas winning it all against Kentucky. But that just won’t happen now will it? A team consisted of two possible All Americans, Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich, lost to a team with not one player who can even be a thought in those who consider the All American team. Then again, it is a form of madness for a reason.

Not only was Kansas a bracket buster, but in comes Ohio, a team who wasn’t even the number one seed in their respective conference and only got into the tournament because they won the MAC conference tournament. They played a highly touted Georgetown team with former number one overall recruit Greg Munroe, a 6′ 10″ PF who dominated the paint, scoring and rebound wise. Who cares about top recruits? Apparently, Ohio does not. What Ohio had was a lot of determination and heart and as a result, Ohio beats Georgetown in the first round, 97-83. It wasn’t even a close game! BRACKET BUSTER! According to CBSSports.com, 98.5 % of their users predicted that Georgetown would win. 1.5% of CBSSports.com users apparently knew what was really going to happen. Thankfully, I was part of the 98.5%. Beautiful.Yet again, it is a form of madness for a reason.

And the misery just doesn’t like one or two teams. Oh no it doesn’t. In my case, seems as though misery came in with about ten teams. Villanova, Pittsburgh, Vanderbilt, and Marquette are just a four of the ten teams not present in the real day tournament but seem to be playing in my bracket. And I will mention again, BRACKET BUSTER! Villanova and Marquette hurt most since they were going to make it to the elite eight. Other teams like Notre Dame and Temple I should have seen happening. The one that hurt most was Kansas, as stated earlier. They were to be my champions. Oh delightful.

And now the tournament is clearing up. 16 teams are now separating themselves from the pack. We’ve got the ‘who are they?’ in Cornell, Northern Iowa, and St. Mary’s. We’ve got the favorites in Duke, Kentucky, and Syracuse. All of these teams are looking towards the title of ‘Best Men’s College Basketball Team’ to bring home to their respective schools. Each team has been practicing day in and day out for a shot at the title, beating conference foes and non-conference powerhouses. They’ve been looking over tapes of each game and figuring out what could they strategically do in order to beat them. It is quite the journey and quite the stressful path.

Then again, there is a reason why this tournament is so enticing and mind blowing. There is a reason why Cinderella stories are used on a frequent metaphorical basis. Its the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, or as most of us sports fans refer it to, March Madness.

The Orange of Syracuse had the only remaining undefeated road record, an impressive 11-0, heading into their final regular season game of the 2009-2010 basketball season. More importantly, this was the final game in Freedom Hall which is the home court of the struggling Louisville Cardinals.

The Syracuse Orange and thousands of Louisville fans left Freedom Hall for the last time in the arena’s standing. The only difference, Louisville gave the arena its final win and Syracuse left with its first road loss of the year.

Rick Pitino and his squad were on the verge of missing the NCAA tournament in which they were among the last four remaining only a season ago. With a win over Syracuse on Saturday, the Cardinals won’t have to worry about their tournament hopes any longer. Improving to 20-11 on the season and improving to a much needed 11-7 in the Big East Conference, the Cardinals can finally breathe again heading into their conference finale. Syracuse on the other hand, being ranked number one for the first time since 1990, went home upset.

In the final game in Freedom Hall, an unlikely superstar rose to the occasion to make sure this game will be remembered for an eternity. Kyle Kuric, a sophomore shooting guard who averages 3.6 points per game, was living proof of why Freedom Hall is a memorable place. Scoring zero points in the first half, Kuric played in replace of an injured Jerry Smith.

Let’s just say he picked it up a tad in the second half.

All 22 points came during the final 20 minutes of the Freedom Hall finale which included an outstanding 67% from beyond the arc. He even showed some versatility by energizing the crowd with several ally-oops to preserve a 10-point lead coming down the stretch.  Mix in three rebounds and two assists and I’d say this kid had himself a game.

So what does someone with a larger-than-life game say during a post game interview? Well, I’m sure he would love to say a lot of things, but this humbled player kept his personal accolades to himself as he discussed the importance of such a big game for his team this late in the season.

I think the words we are all looking for are ‘true’, ‘team’ and ‘player’.

Edgar Sosa, Samardo Samuels and Rick Pitino all would agree with that last statement now that their team has momentum heading into the nation’s best conference’s tournament next week. The Cardinals already locked up a sixth seed giving them a direct flight to the second round awaiting the winner of Rutgers and Cincinnati.

Although Monday won’t bring the best news for the former number one Orangemen, the Big East still feels they are the best granting Jim Boeheim’s team a number one seed in the conference. Good for them because this is a sure-fire way for this team to get back on the bus and ride it all the way to Indianopolis.

When everything is said and done, Freedom Hall was closed out with a bang. Kyle Kuric could argue that it was the greatest basketball game ever played in the arena, but he’ll have some competition on that one. If nothing else was learned from this match-up Saturday afternoon, I’ll let you know what I learned:

Come March, no team is safe.

In their final home game of the season, the No. 23 University of Maryland Terrapins upset the No. 4 Duke Blue Devils 79-72 Wednesday night.

It was apparent from the first whistle that despite the Blue Devils’ six-game winning streak against the Terrapins, the rivalry was still as heated as ever.

Maryland opened up with a 7-0 run, signifying to Duke that unlike their previous matchup this year, they were ready to put up a fight. And put up a fight, they did.

The first half of the matchup was completely Terrapin-controlled, up until the three minute mark, when the Blue Devils went on a 12-2 run, cutting Maryland’s lead to 2 points (40-38) at halftime.

The second half was a back-and-forth battle between the two teams, featuring seven different lead changes. It wasn’t until Terrapin Jordan Williams secured a crucial offensive rebound and scored on the put-back, with 1:40 left to play, that Maryland took their final lead.

Following Williams’ basket, Duke missed two 3-point opportunities. Maryland pitched the rebound to senior Greivis Vasquez, who drove into the lane, battling through two Duke defenders to score another crucial basket for the Terrapins.

A missed basket by Duke’s Jon Scheyer, followed by a Greivis Vasquez block, subsequently lead to a defensive rebound and a trip to the line for the Terrapins.

Sean Mosley and Jordan Williams hit back-to-back free throws, putting the Terrapins up 8 points with 0:18 left to play.

A Duke 3-pointer by Andre Dawkins with 0:07 left proved to be ineffective, as Vasquez was sent to the line following the inbound, sinking both free throws and sealing Duke’s fate.

Vasquez finished his final game at Comcast Center with 20 points and 5 assists. Williams added 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Duke’s Nolan Smith had 20 points, and Scheyer had 19.

The win for Maryland put them in a first-place tie with Duke in the ACC. If both teams go on to win their final regular-season games on Saturday, they will finish tied for first place in the ACC; however, Duke will claim the No. 1 seed heading into the ACC tournament.

Right when I start to complain about Virginia Tech being unranked…I am instantly reminded why.

The bottom line is: the Hokies may come up big against top teams like Wake Forest and Clemson, but they fail to beat the teams they should.

On Wednesday night the Hokies traveled to Chesnut Hill, Mass. to face off against the Boston College Eagles.

The game opened up with a 12-2 Boston College run, and although Tech cut the lead to three about halfway through the first half, they were down double digits for the remainder of the night.

If the early Eagle run wasn’t enough to make Hokie fans shudder, Tech forward Jeff Allen picking up his second foul less than seven minutes into the first half sure was. After Allen’s departure, Tech lost any hope for a threat inside.

To make matters worse, it was certainly an off-night for the Hokies’ guards. ACC leading scorer Malcolm Delaney managed to put up a mere six points in the first half, and Dorenzo Hudson had only seven.

Down 15 at the half, the Hokies never managed to gain enough momentum to challenge the Eagles’ large lead.

Although the pressure of their full-court press forced several early Boston College turnovers, it also handed Allen his third foul less than two minutes into the half, severely crippling the Hokies.

Throughout the game, Tech constantly looked one step behind Boston College, forcing themselves into foul trouble.

The Hokies tried a number of zone defenses in order to provide help defense and keep the players from picking up additional fouls. However, their slow shifts only led to wide open shots and lay-ups for the Eagles.

Boston College’s  Joe Trapani lead the team with 17 points and Rakim Sanders followed with 15.

Although Delaney ended up with 21 points — more than one-third of the Hokie’s points — 10 of them were from the free-throw line. It was clear he needed a force inside to balance out his 5-for-16 shooting night from the floor.

The Eagles defeated the Hokies 80-60, complicating their road to the NCAA tournament. Of the three games the Hokies have left in the regular season, it is necessary that they win at least two — and then one in the ACC tournament — to be guaranteed an invitation.

Next up, Tech plays the University of Maryland Terrapins at home on Saturday at 4 p.m. This will be a critical game for both teams.

Will the Hokies be able to come back after this embarrassing loss and remain undefeated at home? I sure hope so.

Malcolm Delaney and the Virginia Tech Hokies rallied back to defeat the #25 Wake Forest Demon Deacons 87-84 at home Tuesday night.

Not many would have predicted a Tech win based on their first half performance. With 11:48 left in the first half, Jeff Allen picked up his second foul, and was forced to sit the bench until the start of the second half. Once Allen was off the court, the Hokies were clearly out-matched by the Deacon’s post players. Because of this, Hokie guards were forced to help out down low, repeatedly leaving Wake guards open for perimeter shots.

At about the 8:00 mark, Tech’s J.T. Thompson picked up his second foul, after a technical foul was charged to both him and Wake’s Chas McFarland, and the Deacon’s low-post advantage continued to increase. At the end of the half, Wake star forward Al-Farouq Aminu alone had 21 points, helping them secure a 40-32 halftime lead over Tech.

In the second half, the Deacons avoided trailing the Hokies until, with 6:46 left, a Delaney 3-pointer–following an 18-7 run–put the Hokies back on top.

The teams aggressively traded leads back-and-forth for the next 3 minutes of play, until another Delaney basket stole Wake’s lead one final time. From that point on, the only thing left to do was protect the ball and make free-throws–and they did just that.

Despite the foul-trouble they found themselves in going into the second half, the Hokies were able to hold Aminu to 25 points–just 4 points in the second half. Once again, the leadership and courage shown by Delaney (31 points) and Dorenzo Hudson (21 points) helped to lift the Hokies up and over a higher-ranked opponent.

Not only did Tech’s win Tuesday night extend their home-game winning streak to 14-0 this year, but it also secured them the second place spot in the ACC.

On Sunday, the Hokies travel to Durham, N.C. to face the only team currently ahead of them in the ACC–the #6 Duke Blue Devils. They will certainly have to step up their first-half play, because a comeback like Tuesday’s will be much more difficult in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Go Hokies!

The matchup Thursday between the Virginia Tech Hokies and the University of North Carolina Tarheels in Blacksburg, Va., was definitely one worth watching. Both teams were coming off of losses, and neither team could afford another. Cassel Colliseum was overflowing with energy.

It was apparent from tip-off that the Hokies were not going to settle for another loss. They got off to a fiery start, leading the Tarheels by 12 points eight minutes into the first half. But thanks to the Tarheel’s composure on offense, their lead was soon shortened. While North Carolina rallied back, Tech appeared to be in a state of panic.

Their offense was rushed, possession after possession. Instead of taking advantage of their lead and slowing the ball down, they rushed off-balance shots and committed unnecessary turnovers. It certainly didn’t help that Hokie Guard Malcolm Delaney was 0-4 from 3-point range. Fortunately for the Hokies, Dorenzo Hudson stepped up once again, and kept them in the game.

On defense, Tech was being outplayed. North Carolina continually benefited from their drive-and-dish offense, and dominated Tech on the boards.

At halftime, the Hokies found themselves down 35-33.

The second half kicked off with a back-and-forth rally between the two teams. Tech took the lead with 14:55 left to play. Then, with 13:14 left, Delaney’s first 3-pointer of the game provided just the burst of momentum the Hokies needed. The fans chanted and cheered and the Hokies began to pick up their intensity.

The Hokies led from that point on, but as the clock started to wind down, it became apparent that they were going to have to make free-throws if they wanted to win. Both Allen and Delaney came up big for the Hokies on the line. It was their made free-throws that extended the Tech lead to 5-points with 0:17 seconds left to play.

As the clock expired, North Carolina’s Larry Drew II sunk a meaningless 3-pointer, and Hokie players and fans erupted in cheers, celebrating their 74-70 win. Not only did their win keep Tech in the race for the NCAA tournament, but it also guaranteed North Carolina an NIT bid.

Next up, the Hokies play the Clemson Tigers, at home on Saturday, in what is sure to be another critical game for them.