I didn’t fill out an NCAA March Madness bracket this year. Nor was I planning to watch any of the games. A mild illness changed my plans on the latter, when yesterday my brain was too impaired for anything but mindlessly watching most of three games as the first tournament weekend concluded. My first impression was that it was just as well that I hadn’t bothered to fill out a bracket, with two #1 seeds and two #2 seeds failing to survive the first weekend. My second impression was that NCAA players shoot much worse than their NBA counterparts, especially beyond the 3-point line. Perhaps this was to be expected, but you’d think college coaches would work on this more, since those few teams that shoot well from distance have a distinct advantage over their opponents. Princeton, a #15 seed, made the Sweet 16 on the basis of their shooting, leaving #2 and #7 seeds in their wake.
Of course, the ultimate example of successful 3-point shooting fueling a deep run in the NCAA tournament would be when Stephen Curry took Davidson College, a #10 seed, to the Elite Eight in 2008, just barely missing a trip to the Final Four in a two-point loss to Kansas, who eventually won the tournament that year. For those who are curious, a visit to YouTube for highlights of the 2008 Davidson games will be a refreshing contrast to the bricks being laid this year.
Perhaps Princeton might follow in Steph’s footsteps and advance further next weekend, maybe even make the Final Four. From what I saw yesterday, it’s not out of the question, and I might even go out of my way to watch them next weekend just to find out.
All eyes will be on Tosan Evbuomwan when Princeton plays in the Sweet 16
