Let the March Madness Begin!

The month of March got its name from Mars or Marzio, the Roman god of war.  To the naked eye, Mars indeed looks blood-red, a reasonable depiction of what spilled out of combatants from the pure madness of those ancient battlefields. 

 

March and madness!  Perhaps those two could be combined in some way!  And so it was done. 

 

Credit for coining the term ‘March Madness’ generally goes back to 1939 when author Henry V. Porter wrote an essay describing the Illinois High School Association’s basketball tournament.  Porter later embellished the use of the term in 1942 when he produced a lengthy poem entitled, “Basketball Ides of March.”  Here are the first and last stanzas of that creation:

          The gym lights gleam like a beacon beam,

          And a million motors hum,

          In a good will flight on a Friday night;

          For basketball beckons, “Come!”

          A sharp-shooting mite is king tonight.

          The Madness of March is running.

          The winged feel fly, the ball sails high,

          And field goal hunters are gunning.          

                                  

 

          With war nerves tense, the final defense,

          Is the courage, strength, and will,

          In a million lives where freedom thrives,

          And liberty lingers still.

          Now eagles fly and heroes die;

          Beneath some foreign arch.

          Let their sons tread where hate is dead;

          In a happy Madness of March.                                             

The term ‘March Madness’ was not applied to the NCAA Championship Tournament until 1982.  That was when CBS broadcaster Brent Musburger used the term while announcing a tournament game.    

 

Yes, it’s the same Musburger who got into a bit of hot water for going ga-ga over Miss Alabama’s Katherine Webb, girlfriend of quarterback A.J. McCarron, who ultimately led his Crimson Tide to a 42-14 pasting of Notre Dame in the BCS championship game of January 7, 2013. 

Oddly, 1982 was the season that ended with Michael Jordan, who earned Atlantic Coast Conference Freshman-of-the-Year status, hitting a late baseline jumper to give North Carolina a 63-62 title win over Georgetown.

 

The very next season, the March Madness upstart was North Carolina State.  Entering the tournament as a #6 seed, the Wolfpack, led by young coach Jim Valvano, upset the heavily-favored top seed, The Houston Cougars, known as The Phi Slamma Jamma Team of center Hakeem Olajuwon.  Lorenzo Charles won it 54-52 on a dunk at the buzzer off a teammate’s three-point shot that fell short.    The Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer Research was named after Valvano, who passed away from cancer just 10 years later at age 47.

 

In 1985, Villanova, a mere #8 seed in its bracket, led by Coach Rollie Massimino, stunned center Patrick Ewing & his #1 overall seed Georgetown, 66-64 in the title game. 

 

Far more recent March Madness came in the first round of last year’s tournament.  Two #2 seeds were upset by #15s.  The University of Missouri lost 88-84 to Norfolk State while perennial power Duke was upset 75-70 by Lehigh.

 

This year’s NCAA Tournament field of 68 was set earlier this evening.   St. Louis University started the season with a 3-3 record through November 28^th.  That was under interim head coach Jim Crews, who was guiding the team of ailing nationally-renown coach Rick Majerus, who passed away just three days later. 

 

Since then, the Billikens are a resounding 24-3, including their first ever Atlantic 10 regular season championship and today’s conference tournament title, 62-56 over Virginia Commonwealth University at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Crews was been named The Sporting News College Coach of the Year for leading SLU to status as the best pure non-superstar team in the country.  Just 4.3 points per game separates top scorer Dwayne Evans from #5 scorer Jordair Jett.  Sandwiched between them are Cody Ellis, Kwamain Mitchell, and Mike McCall, Jr.  Other top players the past two seasons are Rob Loe and Cory Remekun.

 

The Billikens start the tourney this Thursday in San Jose, CA at 1:10 pm Central time.  The opponent is the #13 seed New Mexico State Aggies, a 24-10 team from the Western Athletic Conference. 

Meanwhile, The Missouri Tigers, longtime of the Big 8/Big 12 Conference, just completed their first season in the Southeastern Conference.  Mizzou is 23-10 overall, earning a #9 seed and will face the #8 Colorado State Rams, 25-8, and runnerup in the Mountain West Conference.  That game will be played Thursday at 8:20 p.m. Central time in Lexington, KY.

Coach Frank Haith’s Tigers had a perfect home record this season, but struggled mightily on the road.  Mizzou is led in offense by Laurence Bowers and Jabari Brown, and on the boards by Alex Oriakhi.  Phil Pressey is the Tigers’ point guard, while Keion Bell and Earnest Ross are also featured players.

Another area team, the University of Illinois, is a Big Ten entry that finished the season with a 22-12 record.  The Fighting Illini earned a #7 seed and will play #10 Colorado, 21-11 out of the Pac-12, this Friday at 3:40 pm Central time in Austin, TX.  Coach John Groce's Illini is led by guards Brandon Paul and D.J. Richardson and former Lafayette High School forward Tyler Griffey. 

 

The overall top seed of the tournament is Coach Rick Pitino’s Louisville Cardinals, a long-time Big East power that finished with a 29-5 record.  Louisville will be in the same half of the 16-team Midwest Region as SLU and Mizzou.  Other #1 seeds are Kansas (South), Gonzaga (West), and Indiana (East).