Let the Madness Begin...

The first ticket has been punched to the Big Dance by Harvard. Over the next 8 days we'll learn the fate of 67 other teams. But how much do you really know about the NCAA Tournament. This is a special guest blog by Lord Jim McFather giving you all you need to know about the craziest month of the year...

With it being the first week in March one can’t help but think about what this month will bring.  This year March features the beginning of day light savings time, Mardi Gras, and St. Patrick’s Day and the beginning of Spring. However, March is the most exciting month of the year due to the sole fact that it is time for the BIG DANCE! This is no ordinary dance nor is it for the faint of heart. There will be triumphs, downfalls, heart stopping moments, agonizing defeats, early exits, and improbable victories. This of course all equals up to one thing, MARCH MADNESS!

In order to comprehend how big this is let’s have a brief history lesson of how this tournament came to exist. The original tournament consisted of 8 teams which lasted from 1939-1950. Oregon won the first championship 46-33 over Ohio State. The tournament has now expanded to 68 teams from all over the nation. The 2013 tournament averaged 10.7 million viewers which is the highest since the Fab 5 era. However, the NCAA tournament has not always been as highly regarded. In the early years the NIT tournament was considered more prestigious. The NCAA tournament did not become more prestigious than the NIT until the 1950’s. Teams were allowed to participate in both tournaments up until 1971. There has been only one team to win the NIT and NCAA tournament in the same year. Do you have a clue as to what team this could be? Duke, North Carolina, Kansas, and teams of this high status would be good guesses. Yet, you would be wrong. In fact if you even came close to the answer I would be surprised. The only team to accomplish this feat of winning both tournaments in the same year would be the 1949-1950 City College of New York.

The Big Dance and March Madness are commonly known phrases to call the tournament and anyone who hears them will more than likely know you are referencing the NCAA tournament. The term Big Dance is believed to have come from an interview by Marquette’s coach Al Maguire after he won the title in 1977. Kevin Byrne, who was the Sports Information Director at Marquette said “The year we won it all [1977], Coach McGuire wore a lucky blue blazer. At the end of the season, a reporter asked him if he’d keep wearing it during the Tournament. Al said, “Absolutely. You gotta wear the blue blazer when you go to the big dance.” With a quote like that from Coach Maguire it makes you wonder how many coaches since then have won a title without a blue blazer. In 2000 the NCAA been copyrighting the term Big Dance for the championship. It is safe to say the phrase is here to stay. Now on to March Madness and where the phrase originated. You have to go all the way back 1939 again, but not for the first NCAA championship, instead to the state of Illinois high school basketball tournament. Henry V. Porter, the assistant executive secretary of the Illinois High School Association was the first person to put this term on paper in reference to a basketball tournament. This was in an essay to commemorate the state basketball tournament in which he also wrote, "a little March madness may complement and contribute to sanity and help keep society on an even keel.'' I can certainly agree to this statement as I always anxiously await the tournament. This is an excellent phrase to describe the NCAA tournament situation, but it wasn’t until 1982 the term was used for the NCAA tournament and it came from non-other legendary broadcaster Brent Musberger. After long disputes by the IHSA and the NCAA the two now have joint rights to the phrase for their tournaments.

Why is the tournament so amazing and watched by so many? The upsets are one thing that keeps everyone watching and talking. The upsets would hardly ever happen in football or at least at the rate that they happen in the tournament. It seems that every year there is a huge upset that leaves the college basketball ball world spinning. With this always lingering in the air, it gives you a sense of suspense, even though you are waiting for it with baited breath. You know it is bound to happen, but no one knows when or where and this is what keeps you watching round after round. Let’s talk numbers for a second. UCLA has the most titles with 11, followed by Kentucky at 8, North Carolina and Indiana with 5, Duke has 4, Kansas UCONN, and Louisville all have 3. There are a handful of teams that feature Florida, NC State, and Michigan State that have two titles. The title game has been decided in overtime only 7 times, one of which saw North Carolina defeat Kansas 54-53 in triple OT. UCLA Coach John Wooden leads coaches with 10 titles with 7 coming consecutively. Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski and Kentucky’s Adolph Rupp have 4 apiece making them 2^nd all time. I mentioned Wooden won 7 straight and to illustrate how hard this is to accomplish the last team to even win back to back titles came in 1991 and 1992 as Duke won back to back under Krzyzewski. The last team to go back to back title games and come away with loses in both was the Butler Bulldogs under Coach Brad Stevens. They provided plenty of drama as they were a clear Cinderella that came within a half court length shot that rimmed off to lose to Duke. The next year they were back making improbable wins that featured last second shots to pull the foot from the jaws of defeat. They once again came up short against UCONN.

To show how truly amazing the tournament is some links will provide you with footage from previous tournament upsets, spectacular plays, and an unprecedented atmosphere that only March Madness can provide:

1) Valpo vs. Ole Miss. Cinderella stays alive at the Dance. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuZANaChWYc

2) Northern Iowa vs. Kansas. Kansas was the number 1 seed and predicted by man to go all the way this year. Northern Iowa had other ideas however, and put on a 3 point clinic along with tremendous hustle to outlast Kansas. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzUFz-58PPA

3) Butler’s crazy moments for two consecutive years in the tournament. This video shows you how Butler somehow continued to manage to match big shots with any team they played. These teams played with calmness and unshaken mentality to hit big shots no matter how much time was left on the clock. A truly amazing roller coaster ride for this team. Notice the fans reactions as their almost unheard of team at the time gave them all they had to win the title. Unfortunately they met disappointment in the final game each year but made their fans exceptionally proud and put their school on the map. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz4V1QQD7NU

4) NC State defeats Houston’s Phi Slamma Jamma. NC State barely made the tournament as they had to win their conference title to receive a bid for the NCAA tournament. They had more comeback wins in games than any team that I have heard of. If you haven’t seen the 30 for 30 Survive and Advance it is definitely one for the ages. Phi Slamma Jamma featured Akeem the Dream Olajuwon and Clyde the Glide Drexler, both which went on to be NBA Hall of Famers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICZ8HO8c9bw

5) Florida Gulf Coast Univeristy AKA Dunk City. They showed what it means to put it all on the line. They showcased spectacular dunk after dunk while creating noise in the tournament. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZG7dNKDVoAY

6) Duke vs Kentucky. The Shot is one of the biggest moments in sports. It has been rated as the best buzzer beater of all time by some people. Christian Laettner hits an amazing shot to go to the Final Four. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3_IT622Sbc

7) Upset central. This is a compilation of upsets throughout March Madness. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pes91XdfJsM

8)  Buzzer Beaters. Some of the best buzzer beaters in the history of March Madness. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8q6X-N4sJ1o

9) Greatest calls by Gus Johnson. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqoQpboaTUg

10) March Madness greatest moments. There are many parts to this but here is the link to part 1 and you can decide if you want to watch the rest. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_06IWeqmZRU

Now that you have a brief history I hope that you have an even deeper appreciation for the NCAA tournament. Tune in for selection day on the 16^th to see what teams will be playing in March Madness. Fill out your bracket using whatever strategy you like. Pick improbable upsets every game or go with the higher seed. Keep in mind that Warren Buffet is offering a billion dollars for a perfect bracket. The odds of this being done is supposedly 1 in 9.2 quintillion. I have not the slightest clue as to how large of a number that is but good luck none the less. Regardless of you winning your bracket I am positive you will find yourself fully engaged and hanging on the edge of your seat pulling for teams you haven’t even seen all year. You will fall in love with a Cinderella team and agonize for teams that suffer defeat. Relish the moment you will witness as it happens once a year. These athletes will play all out and it is only fair that we as fans tune in for a miraculous show. With that said ladies and gentlemen the road to selection day is on. Who will make it in? Will there be conference tournament upsets to reach the Big Dance? Who will make this year’s unforgettable run? Prepare yourself because the time for March Madness is here! As Dick Vitale says, “It’s Awesome Baby!”

-L.J.M.