March Madness Appetizer: Louisville Cardinals Topple Syracuse Orangemen

Let’s start at the top where Louisville took down The Syracuse Orangemen for the second time in this season.

Does Denny Crum have some sort of voodoo doll of a two-three zone buried in the bowels of Freedom Hall somewhere?

The Cardinals have been the perfect foil for the Orangemen this year because they are physical enough to win the battle of the backboards which allows them to control Syracuse’s transition game, placing a premium on creative guard play in the halfcourt.

It just so happens that Syracuse’s Achilles heels is the lack of a bona fide creator at the guard position. The win makes Louisville a lock for a tournament bid but the Orangemen still get to keep their one seed. With another tournament bid, the real winner was the Big East conference. Until…

UCONN spit the bit against South Florida sealing their fate with the NIT. A team as talented as UCONN shouldn’t lose three games in a row against average conference opponents with a tournament bid on the line. It simply shouldn’t happen to a team of this caliber.

It would have been nice to see Kemba Walker and Jerome Dyson in a tournament setting, out from under the watchful eye of Big East scouting reports, but oh well. The Huskies would have been a tough out, and are the odds on favorite to win the NIT if they’re interested.

In other Big East news, what a huge comeback win for Notre Dame after trailing a really good Marquette squad by six with 60 seconds to go. Notre Dame tied the game on a last second three-ball from Carlton Scott to send the game into overtime. Chalk up a huge win for the Irish. Unfortunately for the Golden Eagles, they become yet another victim of coaching dogma by refusing to foul to prevent a game tying three at the end of a game. It’s lunacy not to. As for the Irish, do you give them UCONN’s spot? Perhaps.

Top seed Kansas vanquished conference rival Missouri in its final Big 12 game, and in dominating fashion. The Jayhawks locked up their No. 1 seed and probably a No.1 overall seed barring an early upset in the Big 12 tournament.

The other top seed, the Kentucky Wildcats, overcame some mental lapses on offense and some hot shooting from Florida to hold on for a win that capped off a perfect conference home record. The Wildcats showed that they’re susceptible to scoring droughts which is something to watch for come tourney time.

Duke made a convincing case for a one seed with a 32 point drubbing of the North Carolina Tar Heels. I think they’ll get the fourth one seed but I think Ohio State is probably the better team at this point.

Finally a couple of sleeper teams to watch.

The UTEP Miners overcame a poor shooting performance and some foul trouble that limited super-star guard Randy Culpepper knock off UAB on the road in a game that most good teams would have lost. Keep an eye on the Miners who can make some noise in the tournament from the 7 or 8 line.

The Siena Saints are another sleeper to watch for in the tournament. They’re a very experienced team led by terrific senior point guard Ronald Moore, senior wing Edwin Ubiles, as well as senior forward and the team’s leading scorer Alex Franklin. The other two starting spots are filled by junior forward Clarence Jackson and junior post Ryan Rossister.

Four of the five starters average double digits, while lead guard Ronald Moore averages seven points per game and an astounding eight assists to just two turnovers. The Saints are as athletic as most teams in America, but more importantly, their experience means that they are extremely comfortable in their own skin.

They know their roles and play good team basketball as a result. If you get a chance, catch them tonight in their MAAC Championship Game against Fairfield. If they win and get into the Big Dance, they’re going to upset a four, five, or six seed. Bank on it.

What games did you watch this weekend?

This article originally appeared on March To March

Follow Kevin Berger on Twitter: @MarchToMarch