The bluebloods love to claim Kentucky is the center of basketball. Hoosier fans swear the game belongs to Indiana. UCLA makes a historic stake for the west.
They all better learn one thing — don’t mess with regional schools ringing the nation’s capital.
Georgetown, Maryland, Virginia and Virginia Commonwealth advanced to the NCAA Tournament’s second round while No. 12 Old Dominion made a strong upset bid. Aside from George Washington getting waxed, it was a pretty good advance into the field of 32 for regional fans.
Georgetown is still a trendy title pick when facing Boston College on Saturday. The No. 2-seed Hoyas needed a few minutes to dispatch Belmont in the opening round, but the pressure of these games sometimes stun highly-seeded teams. It’s longshots like No. 11 VCU that come out loose against No. 6 Duke in the Richmond school’s 79-77 upset.
Just think — George Mason might have made a move again this year if it hadn’t blown a late lead to VCU in the Colonial Athletic Conference championship. That could have been Mason beating Duke.
Maryland was the one with the shakes, though. Davidson is a decent team, but the No. 4 Terps needed their depth to advance, 82-70. The win gives Maryland a 7-0 mark against teams from North Carolina this season, its first sweep of the state since 1932-33. If Maryland faces North Carolina in the title game, you know who to bet on.
Virginia quickly led, 19-2, in dispatching Albany as one of the opening blowouts. The Cavaliers could be the sleeper in the weakest regional.
VCU aside, the first round largely went as expected. Everyone’s alive in the pool aside Dookie V. The second round usually isn’t that hard to pick, either. Chalk usually rules until the Sweet 16. Maryland gets its second mid-major in Butler on Saturday. The Terps really can’t complain about the opening weekend’s bracket. Facing defending championFlorida in the third round is a killer, but that’s next week’s problem.
Butler is too slow, too short, too inexperienced to make a real run in the tournament. Then again, the Bulldogs beat Notre Dame, Gonzaga, Indiana and Tennessee earlier this season. Maryland fans know the Terps can lose to anyone. The first meeting between schools should be a mismatch given Maryland’s stronger frontcourt, but it’s not a sure thing.
Georgetown over BC is a better bet. The Hoyas just needed an extended warmup to return to their late-season form in crushing Belmont by 25. BC can run, but they can’t match up underneath with Georgetown.
You wonder if JT3’s ring will be bigger than the old man’s?
VCU wants to be this year’s Mason, but they’re one-and-done Saturday when meeting No. 3 Pittsburgh. VCU better live outside because it sure won’t do anything underneath against the Panthers. Still, beating Duke in the tournament always makes for a successful season.
A great season? Pretty much sums up the region’s overall success. Somebody remind Florida it’s a football state. Leave the roundball to the mid-Atlantic.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Contact him at [email protected].
