MIDDLE TENN. STRIKES AGAIN
Win shows ’16 no fluke; Xavier joins party
Upsets are what make the NCAA tournament so much fun. Even if they’re not really up- sets. Everybody’s new favorite party crasher did it again Thursday, as Middle Tennessee State sent a better-seeded Big Ten team packing for the second year in a row. Not to be outdone, 11th-seeded Xavier upended No. 6 Maryland hours later.
Don’t mistake these games for the chaos that sets brackets throughout the country aflame and keeps Warren Buffett’s checkbook safely in his desk, however. These were more like artificially created drama, courtesy of the selection committee.
“Our record speaks for itself and kind of what we’ve done all
year long,” Middle Tennessee coach Kermit Davis said after his team dispatched Minnesota 8172. “I know our players don’t think it was an upset by any means.”
The selection committee has a tough job, no doubt. And for the most part, it has gotten the pairings right so far. Despite some scares early in the day — Princeton, Bucknell, even South Dakota State tried to get in on the fun — the pairings went chalk in all but two of the first 12 games.
But there are times the committee misses mightily, and Middle Tennessee definitely falls in that category.
(I’ll cut the committee slack on Xavier. Hampered by injuries, the Musketeers looked abysmal at the end of the season.)
Middle Tennessee was the darling of last year’s tournament, stunning second-seeded Michigan State. Reggie Upshaw and Giddy Potts, the top two scorers from that game, are back, and the addition of JaCorey Williams made the Blue Raiders all the more dangerous.
They steamrolled through the regular season, with only Gonzaga and Villanova finishing with better winning percentages.
Yet the selection committee saw fit to make them only a 12 seed. Better than their 15 seed last year, yes, but probably two spots below where they should have been. Minnesota, meanwhile, was gifted a 5 seed, a spot or two above where it belonged.
“A lot of people said we got lucky with what we did last year,” said Upshaw, who likely gave Spartans fans flashbacks after scoring seven of his 19 points to halt a late Minnesota rally.
“To back it up with the season we’ve had, now 31-4, tells the nation how mature this team is and just how dedicated and how determined we are.”
After leading by as much as 17, the Blue Raiders watched Minnesota whittle the lead down to six. Williams was struggling, and Potts was in foul trouble.
“In the huddle, I was just telling everybody, ‘They’re making a run, but we’ll make the right plays,’ ” Upshaw said. “We’re used to taking everybody’s best shot. All year we’ve had a target on our backs, and, coming into this game, it was the same way.”
Upshaw drilled a three and followed with a jumper. After Nate Mason’s three on the other end, Upshaw scored a gorgeous fadeaway jumper that probably will be shown a time or 10 in the coming days. Williams was fouled by Mason after a timeout and converted both free throws, and the Gophers never threatened again.
Potts finished with 15 and Williams 13.
“We have a lot of fun, but when you blow the whistle, that team is a focused group,” Davis said. “There was no doubt in their mind that they thought they were going to win the game.”
Which brings us back to those upsets. Part of what makes the first weekend of the tournament the four best days of the year is the teams that play above their seed. Get a few good players, some experience and some swagger, and a team from a school most couldn’t find on a map can hold their own — and then some.
It’s how teams such as Gonzaga and Butler became household names. (MTSU’s opponent Saturday? Fourth-seeded Butler.)
“We were excited last year with what we did against Michigan State, and I think we lost our way against Syracuse,” Upshaw said, referring to Middle Tennessee’s loss in the second round. “It’s a little different feeling. Everybody knows — we’re excited about the win we just had, but we know what it takes.”
An upset. Even if it might only be on paper.