Monday, March 23, 2009

The Upset Nobody Knows About

One of the biggest upsets in NCAA tournament history happened yesterday, and hardly anybody even knows about it. If you didn't fill out a women's bracket this year (don't lie-I know you didn't), than you weren't paying attention. Yesterday in a stunning upset, Ball State of the Mid-American Conference beat defending champion Tennessee in the first round 71-55.

If you aren't familiar with the format of the women's tournament, there are few upsets compared to the madness on the men's side. The committee sets the games up so that the higher-ranked teams play closer to home to draw more fans. On top of that, there is a great divide between the great teams in women's basketball and the good teams. The parity doesn't exist. (See: Connecticut's undefeated regular season rampage.) If you aren't familiar with Tennessee women's basketball, they don't lose in the first round. They never have. They have a coach in Pat Summitt (See: Legend) that just won her 800th game this season, and they also happen to be the two-time defending champions of this tournament. If you aren't familiar with Ball State women's basketball than join the club. I didn't have much of a chance to follow women's basketball in the MAC this winter, but I do know Ball State wasn't even favored to win their conference tournament this year. Their prize for winning their tournament was getting shipped to Kentucky to play Tennessee in the first round. This should have been a blow-out for Tennessee. It wasn't and that is what makes March Madness so great.

I am blogging about this today because of the timing of it all. Yesterday I had a conversation with a gentleman who didn't even know there was a women's tournament. I know most people don't follow women's sports like I do, but why not try it out this March? You may just catch some upsets or a history-making win like this one. Happy Women's History Month Ball State!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Michele,I knew about it and i was impressed with the upset.YEA MAC

Anonymous said...

xoxo rozzy