Thursday, March 27, 2008

Closing in on Midnight! by Jared Whelan

With all this media hype about Davidson, you'd think we're witnessing a Cinderella story of George Mason proportions. But the truth is, we're not. Furthermore, why is Stephen Curry a household name now, while the moniker Courtney Lee remains obscure in the greater landscape of college hoops? I think we need some perspective here…Western Kentucky and Villanova are the lowest seeds remaining in this tournament, and WKU's Ty Rogers is the owner of the biggest tournament shot to date with a three point buzzer beater to take down the mid-major darling Drake. However, these stories apparently are not "sexy" enough for the mainstream media. Why? Two words…Stephen Curry--the son of former NBA sharpshooter, Dell Curry, has lit up the first two rounds of the tournament for 70 points while taking out Gonzaga and the 2-seeded Georgetown Hoyas. Admittedly, the kid is a story. He looks like he gets carded at R-rated movies, barely weighs 150 lbs, was snubbed by his father's alumni, Virginia Tech, coming out of high school, ranks in the top 5 scorers in the country, put 30 points on G'Town….and his mom is hot (thank you CBS for showing Mrs. Curry every chance you got last weekend)!Nonetheless, Davidson should not be such a surprise. They played a greuling out of conference schedule, taking on the likes of North Carolina and Duke, and they fared extremely well. They were undefeated in Southern Conference play, and have demonstrated a history of dominance in that league. Don't get caught up in that little number 10 next to the name Davidson on your bracket. The fact is, Davidson was ranked in the top 25 going into the NCAA Tournament. How a top 25 team gets a 10 seed is beyond me (but I would guess it was the same math used to give Butler a 7th seed as a top 12 team).Tell me the last time the country made such a big deal about a top 25 team making the Sweet 16! I can't remember. The bottom line is that stagecoach is about to turn back into a pumpkin. Much similar to last year's college basketball scene, there are a few teams that are head and shoulders above the rest…and the chalk will remain.For Davidson, they will face the number one defense in college basketball. And Mr. Curry will have trouble getting his numbers against an excellent perimeter defender in Michael Flowers. Wisconsin is too big and too good defensively to lose to Davidson, although both teams' styles can allow for a close game.The same goes for Western Kentucky and Villanova. While they have both made impressive runs, they will run into walls called UCLA and Kansas this weekend. Not many teams in the country can match up with the combination of talent and size that the Bruins and Jayhawks bring to the table.So while the first two rounds of this years tournament have afforded us some great upsets and intriguing stories, that glass slipper will remain in someone's closet (or wherever the heck you keep a glass slipper), because the clock is striking midnight for these wannabe Cinderella hopefuls. I hope the sportswriters can find a new darling to write about next week…Hansbrough is always a good back up plan!

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