Madness Before March #1

It is almost that time my friends, where tears are shed while dancing, for triumphs and heartbreaks. If you ask me we are approaching the best time of the sports year with all of these professional seasons entering the home stretch along with College Basketball. In the past few weeks, there have been an incredible amount of upsets and a stark number of buzzer beaters just like last night when LSU knocked off #17th ranked Kentucky. This is the most wonderful time of the year and I can hardly contain my excitement.

Player of the week: Jamal Shead – By no stretch of the imagination is Houston a team who scores a lot. No player averages more than fifteen points per game, which is unheard of for a top twenty-five team let alone a national title contender. Jamal Shead has the highest defensive rating among any College Basketball player since 2010 which is when the statistic started being recorded. On Monday, he was an offensive weapon, putting up twenty-six points against sixth-ranked Iowa State where he played all but two minutes. He has this team ready to compete for a national championship next month and playing like they did in 2021 when they last made the Final Four.

Power Rankings:

1) Houston Cougars – The Cougars of Houston moved to the Big Twelve this season in what people including myself see as a power move that was most necessary. Houston found themselves last season in a situation where they played a high stakes postseason game in which they were not ready for because of their schedule. This season their schedule is among the toughest because they are now in the second-best conference in the nation and have made the most of it. This past week they brushed Iowa State and Texas aside proving themselves to be national title contenders. This is my favorite to win the title as they were last year, I just think the experience will push them over the top. They go to a Baylor team on Saturday who is looking to bounce back after a tough road loss against BYU.

2) UConn – The top-ranked Huskies lost to Creighton the other night. Sorry, Creighton embarrassed the Huskies last night in blowout fashion. Now that is okay considering the Huskies are the defending national champions, this is just their third loss of the season, and it was to a top-fifteen team. This road loss is not great but is one that will put what UConn has done so far this season into perspective. The Huskies will have to be careful in the next month to be firing on all cylinders to avoid an early upset and make a deep run come dance time.

3) Arizona Wildcats – The transfer of Caleb Love has made them a true title contender if they were not already. The Wildcats have won six in a row and eight of their last nine. Last year Arizona suffered a first round exit at the hands of the fifteenth seeded Princeton. Currently, Arizona is hitting their stride right before March which will make them favorites to win their region in March Madness. The addition of Caleb Love adds a depth they will need come dance time because he has been to big dance before.

4) Purdue – The Boilermakers look almost identical to the team they had a year ago. On the positive side, Purdue kept their national player of the year Zach Edey, but on the negative side, the faults they had last year are the same as this year. They play amazingly against good teams, meaning Purdue has more than a chance to win a title this year because they show up when the lights get bright. All three of Purdue’s losses this season have been to unranked opponents, which will leave them susceptible to an early round exit.

5) Tennessee Volunteers – The consistency the Vols have shown all season has been beyond impressive. They have lost three games in conference play in which is the best conference in the country. Tennessee showed the world their strength earlier this month when they beat Kentucky on the road. In the coming week they will face Texas A&M where they will have a chance to avenge one of their losses. They will also play fifteenth ranked Auburn at home in the next week and a half before going to see Alabama on the road.

Team of the Week: Penn State – Illinois led by seven with forty seconds to go and the ball. In the next forty seconds, a complete collapse transpired. Two players from Illinois collided when trying to get a rebound with thirty-seven seconds left which led to a three nailed by Jameel Brown. The next Illinois possession, star Terrence Shannon Jr. turned the ball over which led to the Nittany Lions closing the lead to two. Coleman Hawkins of Illinois was then sent to the free throw line where he could have stretched the lead to four but missed both free throws.

On the last defensive possession of the game Illinois committed the one deadly sin you can never commit when leading, fouling on a three-point attempt. Zach Hicks was sent to the line and knocked down all three free throws to complete the improbable comeback. Penn State will more than likely miss the tournament as they have a losing record right now and Illinois will be a threat to make a run come March which is what makes this story so incredible. Illinois is currently the twelfth ranked team in the country, and they proved just three weeks before Conference Championship week, anything can happen in this sport. One thing is for certain, do not hedge your bets on any team in the coming month and a half because that is normally the team that breaks the hearts of everyone.