March Madness Tips Off

The NCAA men's basketball tournament kicks off again this morning, with a few items of local interest. The most prominent media story is Cal (23-10, 13-5 in Pac-10), which won the Pac-10 regular-season title for the first time in 50 years. However, Cal comes into the tournament like the first runner up in an ugly contest. The Pac-10 was horrible this year; the only reason two Pac-10 teams are in the tournament is because Washington earned an automatic bid by winning the conference tournament -- by beating Cal. Cal was rewarded with a number eight seed, and will face off against talented number nine seed Louisville. With the game being played in Jacksonville, Florida, Cal's prospects for advancement are even money at best.

Of interest even more local to us than Berkeley is Moraga's own St. Mary's. St. Mary's finally forced its way into the tournament after posting a 26-5 record (11-3 in the West Coast Conference). St. Mary's went 25-6 through the conference tournament last year, but did not make the NCAA tournament. The one-game improvement was a crucial one: a win over conference regular-season champion and NCAA tournament darling Gonzaga to earn the conference's automatic bid into the big dance. St. Mary's, seeded at number 10, has drawn a matchup against Richmond, a number seven seed, to be played tonight in Providence. St. Mary's is a better team than most people realize, and they are a strong candidate to pull the upset. (Gonzaga, long a favorite of the NCAA tournament organizers for its consistent runs to the Sweet 16 from what could be described as a mid-major conference only with a large helping of charity, was given a number eight seed and a matchup against Florida State, a game Gonzaga should win.)

Our personal interests run to our beloved Gauchos of UC Santa Barbara (20-9, 12-4 in the Big West), who return to the NCAA tournament for only the fourth time in their history, and the first time since 2002. UCSB won the Big West conference regular-season title and the conference tournament game. For those accomplishments, UCSB received a 15 seed and a matchup against number two seed and likely Final Four contender Ohio State. At least the high-profile opponent will probably mean that the Gauchos gets some airtime Friday night. That is, until the score inevitably gets out of hand. Of course, 15s have beaten 2s before; this would be a fun upset for us. Go Gauchos!