Top-ranked Ohio State can thank the NCAA Tournament selection committee for sending it to Cleveland for second-and third-round games, just 140 or so miles up the road from Columbus.
Beyond that, well, not so much.
What happened to all those benefits for earning the overall No. 1 seed in the 68-team field? The East Regional is the toughest in the bracket. Ohio State’s path to the Final Four could include Villanova in the second round, Kentucky in the Sweet 16 and either Syracuse or North Carolina in the Elite Eight.
It wouldn’t be any fun for the Buckeyes to face Syracuse and its rabid fans in an East Regional final in Newark, N.J., if it comes to that.
Ohio State coach Thad Matta took Selection Sunday in stride.
“It’s the NCAA Tournament; you’ve got the best teams in the country,” Matta told The Columbus Dispatch. “If you’re fortunate enough to win, the one thing I’ve learned over time is the next opponent is always going to be better than the opponent you just beat.”
A blessing? Says who?
It’s difficult to tell if being the overall top seed is a blessing or a curse.
Since the NCAA Tournament was expanded to 64 teams in 1985, of the 26 teams that entered as No. 1 in The Associated Press poll, only 14 reached the Final Four.
There’s more. Only four teams ranked No. 1 in the media poll or gaining the overall top seed were able to claim the tournament trophy: Duke in 1992 and 2001, UCLA in 1995 and Florida in 2007.
Only three overall top seeds have reached the Final Four since the selection committee began ranking the No. 1s in 2004.
Does UConn have anything left?
With its 69-66 victory over Louisville on Saturday at New York’s Madison Square Garden, Connecticut (26-9, 9-9 Big East regular season) became the first NCAA school in history to earn a conference tournament championship by winning five games in five days.
Tired legs? Don’t ask.
“That’s where mental toughness comes into play,” said UConn center Alex Oriakhi.
“I’m not tired. I feel great,” added All-America guard Kemba Walker.
Connecticut starts NCAA play in Washington, but if it wins two games it will hop on a cross-country flight to Anaheim, Calif. Actually, that will be just fine for the Huskies. They came out of the West Regional to win national championships in 1999 and 2004.
From hot seat to hero
Pressure? What pressure?
Two Big Ten Conference coaches that may have needed good seasons to keep their jobs — Penn State’s Ed DeChellis and Michigan’s John Beilein — ended up guiding their teams to the NCAA Tournament.
DeChellis began this season, his eighth with the Nittany Lions, with an overall record of 95-123. Beilein stood 46-53 after his first three seasons in Ann Arbor.
All aboard tournament train
Research by Seattle Times college basketball writer Bud Withers revealed that Gonzaga’s Mark Few is the first Division I coach to reach the NCAA Tournament in his first 12 seasons.
Granted, it’s a bit of a technicality because Roy Williams’ first Kansas team (1988-89) was ineligible for postseason play because of NCAA rules violations under previous coach Larry Brown. But for Few, or any coach, it’s an impressive accomplishment.
Few expects nothing less than March Madness being an annual rite of spring for the Zags, er, Bulldogs.
Which brother had more fun?
Wofford senior Noah Dahlman, from Braham, Minn., needs nine points today against BYU to reach 2,000 career points. He was the 2010 Southern Conference player of the year and 2011 league tournament MVP, and was a three-time all-conference first-team selection.
Isaiah Dahlman, a year older and also 6-foot-6, was the more highly recruited of the pair. He signed with Michigan State and rarely got off the bench in four years with the Spartans, completing his eligibility in 2010.
However, and this is a big however, Isaiah has two Final Four rings.
“That’s a tough question. I’ve got more playing experience. He had experiences I may never get,” Noah said.
Who would have thought?
Today in Tampa, Fla., a second-round game pits No. 7-seeded UCLA against No. 10 Michigan State. MSU (19-14, 9-9 Big Ten) was the consensus preseason No. 2 team, behind defending champ Duke. Sporting News had the Spartans as its preseason favorite to win the NCAA title.
Instead, Michigan State probably needed its win over Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament to be assured of an at-large bid.
UCLA (22-10, 13-5 Pac-10) was expected to challenge for the top spot in its league standings. But the Bruins were erratic all season long.
Don’t count out the possibility that either team could get on a tournament run. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo and UCLA’s Ben Howland have taken teams to the Final Four a combined nine times.
Looking ahead to juicy matchups
How about . . .
Notre Dame (No. 2 seed) vs. Purdue (No. 3) in a Southeast Regional semifinal: Irish forward Scott Martin started at Purdue and was a member of a star-studded Boilermakers recruiting class that included JuJuan Johnson, E’Twaun Moore and Robbie Hummel.
Texas (No. 4 seed) vs. Arizona (No. 5) in the third round of the West Regional: A battle between Arizona’s 6-8, 240-pound sophomore All-American Derrick Williams and Texas’ 6-8, 230-pound freshman Tristan Thompson would delight NBA scouts.
Syracuse (No. 3 seed) vs. North Carolina (No. 2) in an East Regional semifinal: The last time these storied programs faced each other in the NCAA Tournament? Somebody named Carmelo Anthony scored 20 points and Syracuse won the 2003 national title in New Orleans.
What might have been
One of the nation’s top freshmen, 6-9, 230-pound Kentucky forward Terrence Jones, hails from Jefferson High School in Portland, Ore.
Some may forget that last spring Jones called a news conference at his school to announce that he would sign with the University of Washington.
Within half an hour, however, Jones was on the phone with Kentucky coach John Calipari.
Washington made it to the NCAA Tournament, but think the Huskies could have used Jones?
Getting support after mom’s death
Not only does top-seeded Kansas have two of the nation’s top post players in 6-foot-9, 225-pound Marcus Morris and 6-10, 230- pound Markieff Morris (junior twins), the Jayhawks have a three-headed monster in the paint when sophomore Thomas Robinson (6-9, 230) gets into the game.
Robinson will have spectators rooting for him throughout the NCAA Tournament. His mother, Lisa, died of a heart attack Jan. 21 in Washington at age 43.
“Thomas handled it as well as anybody could,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “He will never forget the outpouring of love he received from his team and from Kansas fans.”
Robinson and his 7-year-old sister, Jayla, had already lost their maternal grandparents during the previous three weeks.
“After my situation, I realize how special this town (Lawrence, Kan.) is and how special the people are,” Robinson told The Kansas City Star.
Game of the day
SOUTHEAST REGIONAL
No. 5 Kansas St. vs. No. 12 Utah St.
7:57 p.m., TRU: Utah State thought it was seeded two or three spots too low, so the Aggies come in with a chip on their shoulder. This is going to be extremely physical in the paint. Watch for Utah State guard Brian Green, who shoots 47.2 percent from 3-point range. Controlling senior guard Jacob Pullen is the key to beating Kansas State. The Aggies start four seniors and a junior.
Also
EAST REGIONAL
No. 5 W. Virginia vs. No. 12 Clemson
10:15 a.m., KCNC-4: Clemson looked good in dismantling UAB in a first-round game Tuesday. Clemson’s defensive pressure bothered UAB; can it do the same to the Mountaineers? Clemson’s big men played well against the Blazers, but WVU’s physical frontcourt is another matter. This should be a grind-it-out affair. Guard Andre Young — the Tigers’ only true 3-point threat — needs to make a few shots behind the arc.
No. 4 Kentucky vs. No. 13 Princeton
12:45 p.m., KCNC-4: Princeton’s motion offense can be tough to deal with on a short practice schedule. The Tigers have to get some open looks on the perimeter if they are to keep this close. Princeton is going to have all sorts of trouble with Kentucky’s athleticism, and UK freshman forward Terrence Jones could have a huge game inside.
SOUTHEAST REGIONAL
No. 8 Butler vs. No. 9 Old Dominion
10:40 a.m., TRU: Last season’s mid- major darling meets a team that fits the criteria this season, assuming it had gotten a seed more in line with what it had accomplished. ODU is an extremely physical group that scores a bit more than 40 percent of its points off offensive rebounds. The Bulldogs need star Shelvin Mack to recapture his NCAA Tournament form from last season.
No. 1 Pitt. vs. No. 16 UNC Asheville
1:10 p.m., TRU: UNC Asheville won Tuesday night’s first-round game against Arkansas-Little Rock. The Bulldogs play good defense, but they won’t be able to handle powerful Pitt unless the Panthers get extremely sloppy with the ball and shoot extremely poorly.
No. 2 Florida vs. No. 15 Cal-Santa Barbara
4:50 p.m., TBS: Cal-Santa Barbara guard Orlando Johnson is a high-level athlete, and his 6-foot-5 size is going to cause trouble for Florida’s small backcourt. The Gauchos’ second-best player, 6-7 swingman James Nunnally, should have some offensive success too. But the Gators should own the post.
No. 4 Wisconsin vs. No. 13 Belmont
5:27 p.m., TRU: Wisconsin has looked awful in its past two games (a big loss to Ohio State in the regular-season finale, then an excruciatingly bad offensive performance — 33 points — in a Big Ten Tournament loss to Penn State). Belmont is extremely deep — 11 players average at least 10.4 minutes — and can hit the 3-pointer (38.1 percent).
No. 7 UCLA vs. No. 10 Michigan State
7:20 p.m., TBS: Both offenses are spotty and both teams generally produce good defensive performances. Michigan State has been a huge disappointment this season and UCLA needs forward Tyler Honeycutt to produce.
WEST REGIONAL
No. 7 Temple vs. No. 10 Penn State
12:10 p.m., TNT: Both are defense-oriented squads, so this could get ugly. Penn State must get a big game from star guard Talor Battle — one of four senior starters for the Nittany Lions — in order to win. Temple, which hasn’t won a tourney game since 2001, could have some success beyond the arc.
No. 3 Connecticut vs. No. 14 Bucknell
5:20 p.m., TNT: While Bucknell has a deep group of guards, center Mike Muscala (averaging 14.9 points and 7.0 rebounds) must come up big if the Bison are to pull the upset. The Bison hit a superb 40.2 percent from 3-point range this season. UConn’s big guys are a lot more athletic and a lot more physical than their counterparts. Bucknell’s foes have hit just 39.2 percent from the field.
No. 6 Cincinnati vs. No. 11 Missouri
7:50 p.m., TNT: Big East member Cincinnati plays aggressive, physical defense. Mizzou’s defense, meanwhile, hasn’t been up to coach Mike Anderson’s standards. Still, the Tigers force 18.3 turnovers per game. Cincinnati turns the ball over just 11.6 times per game. Mizzou comes in on a four-game slide.
