NCAA “March Madness” reaches new level
The 70th year of the NCAA Tournament got underway this past week.
For the first time in 28 years, both teams from last year’s NCAA Championship game (Florida & Ohio State) failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament this year. The traditional powerhouses did make it to the tournament. UCLA (11 national titles, 17 Final Fours); North Carolina (four national titles, 16 Final Fours); Kansas (two national titles, 12 Final Fours); and Duke (three national titles, 14 Final Fours).
Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC), American, Texas-Arlington and Portland State will make their first appearance in the tournament.UMBC, who has a $9.3 million athletic budget for example, will get $1.2 million over six years to split with the other nine schools in it’s conference. The NCAA Tournament maybe a multi-million dollar machine wrapped in tradition.
The biggest attraction for the fans are the stories that surround “March Madness” ….
The Drake Bulldogs
Last year the Drake Bulldogs finished 17-15, it was their first winning season in 20 years. There wasnt reason to believe the Bulldogs would do better this year, they lost 4 of the 5 starters from last years team. A preseason Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) poll had the Bulldogs finishing ninth, there are 10 teams in the conference.
The Drake Bulldogs surprised everyone, they finished at 28-4 and won 21 straight games (both school records). For the first time Drake won the championship of the 32-year-old (MVC) tournament, this earned them their first NCAA tournament appearance in 37 years.
The turnaround of the Drake basketball team is reflected in their leader. Adam Emmenecker had walked-on to a spot with the basketball team as a freshman 4 years ago. He spent his first 3 years on the bench and didn’t get a basketball scholarship until the day before school started last fall.
While Drake was playing Creighton in the (MVC) tournament semi-final a continuous chorus of “MVP, MVP, MVP” echoed throughout the Scottrade Center. “I’m not used to it yet,” Adam Emmenecker said, referring to the “MVP” chant. “Half the time, I’m thinking they’re chanting for someone else. It’s kind of a new situation for me.”
Adam Emmenecker did win conference tournament MVP, to go along with conference regular season MVP as well as many other awards this year. “We thought that maybe by his senior year he could start for us,” coach Keno Davis said. “But I never had any idea he could do this.”
Adam Emmenecker’s academic record will remain his most impressive accomplishment. As of February 2008, he carried a 3.97 grade point average in four majors— Management, Business, Finance, and Entrepreneurial Management. He was chosen as the 2008 Academic All-American of the Year in men’s Division I basketball.
The Georgia Bulldogs
The season for the Georgia Bulldogs went worse than any fan could have expected. Their 2 leading scorers from last year, were suspended and later dismissed from the team. Georgia lost 10-of-11 games from Jan. 26 to March 2. They entered the SouthEastern Conference (SEC) tournament with the worst leauge record (4-12).
Winning their Conference tournament was the only way Georgia could qualify for the NCAA Tournament. Georgia who won four league games all season, needed to win four games in four days.
Day 1
The Bulldogs don’t play great, Georgia’s Dave Bliss knocks down a bank shot with a second left in overtime for the 97-95 win over the Rebels of Ole Miss.
Day 2
Georgia shows up at the Georgia Dome to play the Kentucky Wildcats. The team is in its locker room on the north side of the dome,when a tornado hits that side of the building, tearing 2 holes into the building. Not knowing whats going on Coach Dennis Felton jokes to assistant Mike Jones about the noise. He says it sounds like sand is falling through the walls. “Must be the rats,” he says, and they both laugh.
They remain in their locker room for more than four hours. It’s nearly midnight before they learn their game is off. “By the time we got to our hotel it was about, I think, 1:30″.
Day 3
The SEC tournament committee decides Georgia and Kentucky will play at noon that day and the winner will play Mississippi State later that night. The winner of the Georgia/Kentucky game will have to play twice in one day, the winner will take on a well rested Missisippi team. No team in the conference has played two games in one day since 1952.
The Bulldogs beat Kentucky 60-56 in overtime on Zac Swansey’s 3-pointer.How do they prepare for another game about six hours later? The players don’t have enough time to sleep, are too tired to watch game films much less practice.
Felton says. “We had five or six guys take IVs”.
“The last thing I told the players before we left the locker room to take the court, I promised them that their bodies had more to give than they know,” Felton says. “I had to remind them in the first game not to pace themselves because if they did, it wouldn’t matter. We wouldn’t be playing anymore, regardless. So I just tried to convince them that their bodies were capable of doing more than they’ve actually ever done for them in their young lives, to just lay it all out and give it all up, and we’ll find a way.”
Georgia beats Mississippi State 64-60, In less than 9 hours they take down 2 of the best teams in their conference.
Day 4
Georgia beats Arkansas 66-57 in the SEC tournament championship. giving them a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
The same Georgia Bulldogs that won 1 game in 37 days during the regular season, won 3 games in 30 hours, the 3 teams they defeated all made it to the NCAA tournament.
If that isn’t impressive enough, the Georgia Bulldogs played these games with only 9 players. More than 1/3 of the players who started out their season were gone.
Both the Drake Bulldogs and Georgia Bulldogs were eliminated in the 1st round of the NCAA tournament this year. Georgia lost to Xavier and Drake to Western Kentucky. “The Dawgs” from Georgia and Drake will get started on next season with the knowledge that anything is possible.
“You can take the dog out of the fight…but you can’t take the fight out of the dog”
HH
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