Close Calls

The top two teams in college basketball yesterday won by a combined 6 points against unranked opponents. #1 Kansas squeaked by Memphis and #2 Michigan State fought off Gonzaga. Besides the top 2 teams in the country, #13 UConn had trouble putting away Hofstra and #20 Georgetown scored only 46 points against Temple, winning by 1 point. If these early season match-ups are any indication of the season ahead, all college basketball fans are in for a treat. On any given night, an unranked, mid-major team can give a top tier team a run for their money. I'm not saying that Hofstra will go deep in the tournament or Temple will win the National title, but with the rising level of talent across the country, it has become less clear who will make the sweet 16 and who won't make the tournament at all. Since 2004, 8 teams seeded #10 or lower (10-16) have made the sweet 16, 2 teams have made the elite 8, and 1 team has made the final four. It is still a long and difficult road for these lower ranked teams, but if George Mason in 2006 could upend 6-seeded Michigan State, 3-seeded North Carolina, 7-seeded Wichita State, and 1-seeded UConn before losing to the eventual National Champion Florida Gators in the final four, anything is possible. Come March, it would not surprise me to see another 10-seeded or higher team in the elite 8 and possibly even in the final four.