Wow. This year’s NCAA
Tournament was full of upsets, dramatic endings, and emotional stories. A worthy champion in Louisville was crowned
and you couldn’t have asked for a better National Championship game. In the end the best team won, even though
there were some bumps in the road. Here’s
a recap of the entire 2013 Tournament:
The
Tournament began with 68 teams, each one dreaming of making it to Atlanta for
the Final Four and a chance at a National Championship. Several teams had their journeys cut short,
while others progressed farther than they were expected. Gonzaga, a #1 seed out of the West Region,
lost to eventual Final Four participant Wichita State (#9 seed) in the Round of
32. Probably the most shocking upset
came from #15 seed Florida Gulf Coast, when they shellacked #2 seed Georgetown
in one of the most surprising results in recent memory. FGCU didn’t stop there, as they beat #7 seed
San Diego State to advance to the Sweet 16, the first time that a 15-seed or
worse had advanced that far. The school
from Fort Myers eventually lost to third-seeded University of Florida, but it
was a memorable journey that made them “America’s team.” The East Region’s #1 seed, the University of
Indiana, had their championship dreams cut short when they were outplayed by a
stifling Syracuse team, who progressed to the Final Four. The South Region’s #4 seed University of
Michigan, the eventual NCAA runner-up, had to complete a miracle comeback
against #1 seed Kansas in the Sweet 16 to keep their season alive. As the Wolverines had been ranked #1 at
mid-season, many fans thought they were a dangerous team and had a chance to
make it to Atlanta. Sure enough, after
destroying Florida to advance to Atlanta, they fought off a huge rally from
Syracuse which gave them the win and a place in the National Championship game.
Louisville’s
journey was going according to plan as they breezed through the first three
rounds, eventually going up against #2 seed Duke University with a spot in the
Final Four on the line. What happened
during that game would prove, unfortunately, to be the lasting image from the
entire tournament. Midway through the
first half, Louisville reserve guard Kevin Ware jumped to contest a Duke
3-pointer. He came down awkwardly and
immediately collapsed. Then, his
teammates and coaches fell to the ground, some crying and covering their
eyes. What they had just witnessed was what
CBS analyst Clark Kellogg called the most gruesome injury that he had ever
witnessed and was one of the most visually unappealing sights seen on
television in recent memory. His right
tibia was broken and the bone actually came through the skin. CBS showed the replay of the injury, but
decided that they would cease showing it due to its graphic nature. In total, 10 minutes passed from the time the
injury occurred until play resumed. At
the time, Duke was leading and had the momentum. The Cardinals had two options: they could rally
and use Ware’s injury as motivation to win the game for their teammate or they
could come back from the stoppage of play still in shock from the injury and
not ready to play. They came out with
the inspiration and passion that was unmatched by Duke. After leading 35-32 at halftime, Louisville
outscored Duke 50-31 in the second half to post an emotional win. On a personal level, Louisville coach Rick
Pitino was able to get some revenge on Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, whose team
had beaten Pitino’s Kentucky team in the 1992 Elite Eight on the famous
Christian Laettner buzzer-beater. As an
added bonus, what made the win special was that Ware went to high school near
Atlanta, so the Cardinals wanted to win the game especially for him.
The Final
Four included #1 overall seed Louisville, who was riding plenty of emotion and
confidence; #4 seeds Michigan and Syracuse, who were both extremely confident
after posting emphatic wins in the previous round; and #9 seed Wichita State,
the champions of the West Region and the surprise of the Final Four, but
certainly worthy of being there based on their performance throughout the
season. Louisville and Wichita State
opened up on Saturday, with the Cardinals staging an impressive comeback after
trailing by double-digits in the second half.
Michigan and Syracuse met in the second game and the Wolverines’ offense
proved to be too much for the Orange, despite a valiant comeback by Syracuse.
The stage
was set: Louisville and Michigan would be competing for a National title on
Monday night in front of 70,000+ fans in the Georgia Dome. Michigan came out firing on all cylinders to
begin the game, with backup guard Spike Albrecht scoring 17 points, a
career-high, in the first half. However,
Louisville’s Luke Hancock made three consecutive 3-pointers to get the
Cardinals back into the game. At the
half, Michigan led 38-37. It was a
see-saw affair for the first 10 minutes of the second half as neither team
could separate itself. Then, with
Michigan guard and National Player of the Year Trey Burke sidelined with four
fouls, Louisville made its run. The
Cardinals held onto the lead for good, eventually prevailing 82-76. CBS analyst Greg Anthony called it the best
National Championship game that he had ever watched. Louisville earned its third National
Championship in school history (first since 1986) and Coach Pitino became the
first coach in NCAA history to win a title at two different schools (he won his
first title with Kentucky in 1996).
Hancock was named the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player, after
scoring 20 points against Wichita State and 22 against Michigan, while coming
off the bench in both games. After
receiving the trophy, each Cardinal player cut a piece of the net as a memento
and even Kevin Ware was able to cut a piece of the net after the basket was
lowered for him. It was a storybook
ending after such a tragedy was witnessed only eight days earlier.
All in all, the NCAA Tournament
proved why it’s the greatest three weeks in sports. The Tournament was a direct resemblance of
the regular season, in that it was unpredictable and there was some uncertainty
as to who the best team was going in.
Fortunately, Louisville made a profound statement and proved why they
were worthy of their overall #1 seed.
They proved to the country that they were truly the best team.
So now
college basketball fans can take some much-needed time off and recharge the
batteries after an exhilarating, yet long, season. The 2013-14 season commences on October 15th
with the first day of practices. Teams
are already thinking about winning the title at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington,
Texas, for the 2014 NCAA Tournament. Let’s
hope it will be as good as this year’s.
And let’s also hope my bracket-picking improves, as I think most of you
do as well!
