Early Rounds Are an Upsetting Experience

So now it is on to the round of 16, time to get serious about this tournament, and isn’t it good to be done with all the riffraff?

You know, Kansas, Connecticut, Syracuse, Wake Forest, Oklahoma, Florida, Gonzaga, Boston College and Georgia Tech.

For those who prefer a chalky flavor to their Sweet 16, the third-round field of the 2005 NCAA tournament certainly shapes up as an acquired taste.

Two rounds in, and already half of the tournament’s top 16 seeded teams are gone.

Two rounds in, and both of last year’s finalists, defending champion UConn and runner-up Georgia Tech, are finished.

Hopes of a North Carolina-Kansas regional final matchup, aka “The Game To Haunt Roy Williams In His Sleep,” didn’t make it out of the first round, thanks to No. 14 Bucknell taking out Kansas on the tournament’s first Friday. Finally, Williams catches a lucky break in March.

Of the six Big East Conference teams entered in the field of 64, only two made it through the opening weekend: Villanova, seeded fifth in the Syracuse Regional, and West Virginia, No. 7 in the Albuquerque Regional.

There will be no Wake Forest-Georgia Tech final in the Albuquerque Regional, but there could be Louisville-Texas Tech.

Three No. 3 seeds didn’t make it to the third round. But two double-digit seeds, No. 10 North Carolina State and No. 12 Wisconsin Milwaukee, did.

If you want to know why the casual sports fan can’t resist the NCAA tournament, and why betting on this thing is absolute insanity, take a look how the top four lines have fared.

No. 1 seeds: All four advanced, extending the all-time record of No. 1 seeds against No. 16s to 84-0. Duke, however, flirted with history on Sunday, unable to shake No. 9 Mississippi State until the final five minutes before eventually pulling away for a 63-55 triumph.

No. 2 seeds: Only two advanced: Oklahoma State and Kentucky. Wake Forest lost in double overtime to West Virginia on Saturday, with UConn following suit Sunday, beaten by North Carolina State in the final seconds, 65-62.

No. 3 seeds: Only Arizona made it to the second week. Kansas stumbled in the first round, Gonzaga and Oklahoma in the second.

No. 4 seeds: Louisville’s still standing but that’s it. Syracuse dropped out on Friday, Boston College on Saturday and Florida on Sunday. Since reaching the 2000 final, the Gators have failed to move beyond the second round, stopping there again in a 76-65 loss to Villanova.

Three No. 6 seeds elbowed their way into the Sweet 16. Utah and Texas Tech staked their claims on Saturday, with Wisconsin holding off Bucknell, 71-62, on Sunday to join them.

The Chicago Regional came closest to holding form, with No. 1 Illinois, No. 2 Oklahoma State and No. 3 Arizona all moving on while suspiciously eyeing that interloper from Milwaukee, which ambushed Boston College after ambushing Alabama.

Amid the towering timbers crashing to earth this weekend, some history was made and some history revisited.

Duke’s hard-earned victory over Mississippi State left Coach Mike Krzyzewski with 66 all-time NCAA tournament victories, one more than the previous record-holder, Dean Smith. Third place belongs to John Wooden, with 47, but two coaches still alive in this tournament are closing in: Texas Tech’s Bob Knight, with 45, and Arizona’s Lute Olson, with 44.

Villanova’s triumph over Florida had a familiar, dog-eared feel, and not just to Florida fans getting tired with this two-and-out routine. Twenty years ago, Villanova completed a fantastic voyage to an improbable NCAA championship, culminating with its legendary title-game upset over Patrick Ewing and Georgetown.

That team and that game are getting the commemorative treatment this month; HBO is planning to air a special on the 1985 final, titled “Perfect Upset,” later this month. Right now, there’s a run on ’85 Villanova-Georgetown nostalgia.

Where are they now?

Ed Pinckney, star player for the ’85 Wildcats, is still a member of the Villanova basketball program, serving as an assistant coach.

Villanova is back in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1988, bracing for a matchup this Friday with North Carolina.

Georgetown? Well, the passage of time hasn’t been kind to the Hoyas. Tuesday night, Georgetown will play host to Cal State Fullerton in the second round of the NIT.

Villanova and West Virginia are all that’s left of a Big East contingent that began splintering as soon as the tournament tipped off. First, Pittsburgh lost to the University of the Pacific. Then Syracuse to Vermont. Boston College couldn’t handle Wisconsin Milwaukee. And Sunday, Connecticut’s defense of its 2004 championship was stifled by another program trying to recapture its 1980s glory, North Carolina State.

This is how, and why, no school has repeated as NCAA basketball champion since Duke in 1991-92:

Connecticut had just tied the score on a loose-ball scramble and a put-back by Charlie Villanueva with 15.8 seconds remaining. One more defensive stand and maybe the Huskies could regroup in overtime.

But Connecticut freshman Rudy Gay, assigned to defend Wolfpack senior Julius Hodge, tripped and fell as Hodge made a move to his right, opening a clear path to the basket for Hodge, who scored and was fouled with 4.8 seconds left.

Hodge’s three-point play sent North Carolina State into the round of 16 for the first time since 1989.

Meanwhile, Connecticut became the third defending NCAA champion in the last 10 years to fail to get out of the second round. The other two? Connecticut again, in 2000, losing in the second round to Tennessee. And, yes, UCLA was a first-round loser to Princeton in 1996, back when a first-round loss in the NCAA tournament were still a bit shocking at UCLA, instead of the new definition, the last act to a “successful” Bruin season.