Dancing in the streets

This opening weekend of the Tourney left me with 2 discoveries:

1- I can eat a boatload of food while watching the games all day for the opening 2 rounds as I was victim to several food-induced comas.

2- The WI teams can flat out play some ball.

UW-Milwaukee
Holy sh*t! I have not been able to see them play this season prior to the tourney, and I heard they were good, but damn! First they knock off the 5 seed Alabama, then top it off with a thrashing of 4 seed Boston College. BC was "offended" by such a low seeding, and they talked smack to the Panthers and the Panthers handed them an embarrassing loss. How do you like your Big East now Billy Packer? Sorry, I have issues with the Big East and Billy Packer and parsnips (horrible little food).

I was incredibly impressed by their constant defensive pressure and clutch finishing of games. They still attack the hoop and run their offense and do not wither and use the refreshing philosophy of trying to win games instead of trying not to lose them.

Their next game is against #1 Illinois, the team that just about everyone (except Billy Packer) has winning the whole thing. I really like the Panthers chances in this game as they do not have just 1 or 2 scoring threats like most teams, they have 5. Plus, their overall hustle will give the Illini fits. This has the makings of a high scoring game, and right now, the Panthers have the ability to keep up with them.

UW Badgers
Playing with consistency and poise so far this tournament, WI has been a pleasant surprise. I had them going to the Sweet 16 in my own bracket, but thought they would lose in the 1st or 2nd round and disappoint me as they seem to like to do. They have put teams away in the last 4 - 5 minutes of games with their trademark 3 pt shooting and solid defense.

The NC State Wolfpack will be a good test for the Badgers. Both teams are very scrappy and State has played 11 teams in the tourney and had an absolutely brutal schedule this year and still came out with over 20 wins. Knocking off #2 seed UConn has given this team an unbelievable amount of confidence. This is going to be a heck of a game and quite possibly, the last team with the ball could win. I believe that this game will be in the 60's for scoring.

What do both of these teams have in common other than being from the now basketball hotbed that is WI? Outstanding coaching. Pearl and Ryan have instituted their systems into their players and made them understand and believe what it is they want to do. They do not change what has gotten them to this point. That is the biggest mistake that coaches do in the tourney as they get too cute with trying to outhink thier opponents. There are no McDonald's All-Americans on their rosters, no freshmen or sophmores just auditioning for the pros. Just guys who want to hustle and work their asses off because they understand the team concept their coaches want, give me that any day.