Channel Surfing

  I know I didn’t think too much of the Big Ten this season. Nobody really could beat the top teams and they managed to beat each other in conference play. The outlier was Michigan, which went 19-1 in conference during the regular season. Yet the Wolverines couldn’t get past Purdue in the conference tournament final. Purdue was 13-7 in conference play, which tied them for fourth place with UCLA but placed them behind Illinois, Nebraska and Michigan State at 15-5  and Wisconsin, which went 14-6.

The conference which received the most NCAA slots was the SEC. Ten schools made it in. All had 20 or more wins and at least a .500 conference record. Florida was a #1 seed and came into the tournament as defending champion. Texas was a #11 seed and was relegated to a play-in game versus NC State from the ACC; the ACC received 8 bids, with SMU also in a play-in game (versus last team in Miami of Ohio) like NC State. And the once-powerful Big East  only was able to get U Conn, St. John’s and Villanova into the tournament.

Instead, much of the focus was on the Big 12. Arizona was the big team coming from that league.The Wildcats had a 35-2 record this season, 16-2 against its conference mates. Houston was right behind them 14-4 and 30-7 overall. Eight Big 12 schools landed in the Big Dance—Iowa State, Kansas, Texas Tech, BYU, TCU and UCF joined the party. While no school had less than a .500 in conference record, each had 20 or more wins on its resume. 

The NCAA Selection Committee still thought enough of the Big Ten to take nine schools from the Big Ten—all which had a .500 record or better in conference play. The last one in was 10-10 Iowa, which still managed to go 24-12 overall. This was despite the detractors who thought too much of a bias was given to the Power 5 conferences, especially the SEC, Big Ten and Big 12. 

Thus, when the smoke cleared from the first weekend’s battles, the Big Ten had a conference-record six teams left in play in the Sweet 16. The Big 12 had three left. The SEC still fielded four schools in that group. The remainder came from the Big East (UConn & St. John’s) and ACC (Duke). 

Not that this guarantees a clear path to the Elite Eight or the Final Four for multiple Big Ten teams. After Thursday’s games, three of four Big Ten schools in action moved on. Purdue, Iowa and Illinois advanced; Nebraska couldn’t as it lost to conference foe Iowa. Correspondingly, the Big 12 lost #2 seed Houston when Illinois vanquished the Cougars, (somehow unfathomably playing in an arena 2.5 miles from campus) and for the SEC, a highly-underrated Texas team bowed out in a loss to Purdue. 

On Friday before the start of the games, it remained possible that the Big Ten could get four schools in the Final Four, as Michigan State and Michigan had to win on Friday to keep that possibility viable. Michigan State lost to U Conn while Michigan won its game. 

From the Elite Eight, we knew that either Iowa or Illinois was headed to Indianapolis and the Final Four. For Iowa, they had a mini-Big Ten Tournament of their own, facing Nebraska and Illinois in back-to-back contests. 

Furthermore, on Friday, it was up to Iowa State and Arizona to maintain Big 12 pride as it was for St. John’s and U Conn to keep the flame alive for the Big East. Duke was the lone school left for the ACC. Duke and U Conn were victorious. 

The SEC still had Tennessee and Alabama alive. The Volunteers had to face #2 seed Iowa State and Alabama had to play #1 seed Arizona. A true SEC-Big 12 showdown. The Wildcats won, but Tennessee defeated the Cyclones.

By the way—no real Cinderella teams this year. No non-Power 5 schools won more than one game. High Point may have been the best of the lower seeds to win unexpectedly. Over #4 seeded Wisconsin, a Big Ten school anticipated to win handily. 

VCU’s win against North Carolina was nice, but the folks in Chapel Hill are more in turmoil than ever with the firing of Head Coach Hubert Davis, a Carolina alum and despite his top player, potential lottery pick in the NBA Draft, out with an injury. Will the administration go for a big hire like in football with Bill Belichick? Is UNC really even on par with Duke right now? These are questions which will be answered when the next coach is selected—presumably before the April 7 transfer portal opens. 

And how about LSU reclaiming disgraced former head coach Will Wade, who had just lost in the play-in game leading NC State? The guy was involved in a FBI investigation of illegal payments to players before N-I-L came into vogue and subsequent recruiting violations led to his termination. He went on to Mc Neese State and then NC State to continue his winning days. I ask this: is he truly rehabilitated so that LSU, infused with Mc Neese people in their athletic administration, won’t be sorry about this choice? 

In the women’s bracket, six SEC schools made the Sweet 16. The SEC has always been a powerhouse league for the women’s game. The conference began the festivities with 10 members in this Big Dance. So it was really no surprise that so many SEC teams were still playing. Texas and South Carolina were top seeds in their regions (undefeated U Conn and one-loss UCLA were the other two top seeds). 

While U Conn and UCLA drub opponents, there is one other star in the women’s game. Hilda Hidalgo of Notre Dame has nearly single-handedly carried the #6-seeded Irish to wins over higher-ranked opponents. In defeating #-2 seed Vanderbilt, Hidalgo’s statistics read as follows: 31 points, 11 rebounds, 10 steals and 7 assists. 

Thus, the SEC received 10 bids in each tournament. I realize that the field has to be filled to draw it down. But this proves how much a money maker the NCAA Tournament is and how much of a slant it is towards the SEC. Same thing in football. 

Nonetheless, the Big Ten won the College Football Playoffs. Indiana triumphed over an ACC school—Miami (FL). Could this repeat itself—no SEC school wins the Men’s Tournament and a Big Ten team wins the Big Dance too? (It would be the first time since 2000 when Michigan State won) And perhaps the UCLA women knock off U Conn? 

With the way the games are going, I bet the NCAA is happy. So, too, are CBS, Turner on the men’s side along with ESPN, which airs the women’s games. 

Oh yeah—the NBA is now in its playoff push. In the East, Detroit has clinched a playoff spot and remains 4.5 games ahead of Boston. Detroit has gone 8-2 in its last 10 games while the Celtics, who are one game in front of New York, has gone 7-3, just like the Knicks. 

Miami, Charlotte, Orlando Philadelphia are all in pursuit of Atlanta and Toronto, the final teams not residing in the play-in games. Only two games separate the haves from the have nots. Charlotte is 7-3 in their last 10 games and defeated the Knicks at home on Thursday night. Philadelphia has re-united Joel Embiid and Paul George, the latter having served his suspension for using a banned substance; they still miss Tyrese Maxey, their All-Star guard, who is out with a tendon strain in his right pinky finger. They could be dangerous if everybody is healthy. 

In the West, the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder maintains a two game lead on San Antonio for the top spot in the conference. They each have gone 9-1 in their past 10 games, with OKC having had a 12 game streak stopped by Boston earlier this week. 

For slots 3 through 5, two games separate the Lakers, Nuggets and Timberwolves. LAL is also 9-1 in the past 10 games; Denver is surging with a four game winning streak. Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards is now listed as day-to-day with knee inflammation—good news for the team’s chances. 

Portland and the Clippers are battling for the 8-9 spot, and could make a run at Phoenix, which is three up on its pursuers. Golden State is floundering with no Steph Curry; they are below .500, but safely remains in the 10th and final spot. Without a healthy Curry, GSW is toast. He has nine games left to get better and shake off any rust—if that is at all possible. 

I heard a commentator saying that Buffalo, the surprise team this season in the NHL, is starting to swoon. That’s because they lost their last two games in overtime, then suffered a home loss to Detroit on Friday night. That brings the Sabres record in the past 10 games to 6-2–2. Not too many teams can match that—a couple have won seven like Ottawa, Philadelphia and New Jersey. 

Ottawa, Detroit, Philly, Washington and New Jersey have the mathematical chance to catch the teams ahead of them—Montreal, Pittsburgh, Columbus, Boston and the Islanders. It’s going to be a scramble to the finish in the Eastern Conference. Buffalo, Carolina and Tampa Bay all are in good stead to make the playoffs. 

The best team in hockey may be Colorado, which has 106 points and only 13 regulation losses. Dallas and Minnesota seem to have the playoffs locked up. Possibly Anaheim, too. Edmonton, Las Vegas, Utah, Nashville, the LA Kings, Seattle, Winnipeg and San Jose still have a chance to catch someone and make the post-season. 

Yes, it is baseball season. The New York Yankees overpowered the Giants in San Francisco to begin the campaign. Back-to-back shutouts. A franchise record to begin a season. 

Don’t just anoint the Yankees champions just yet. Aaron Judge’s four strikeout Opening Day performance didn’t sit well with the fan base. He redeemed himself with a two run homer in the second game. 

As much as the implementation of the ABS system for contested ball/strike calls will initially create havoc, this first step is way overdue. Too many calls resulted in strikes or balls being called when they should not have been called. 

I hope this works, because a wider usage of the systems is needed to make the right calls more often. For the integrity of the game. It helped Judge on Friday.

Besides watching games on your local team’s network, MLB hasn’t stopped adding partners. FOX, FS1, ESPN, TBS, Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, MLB Network, NBC/Peacock and Netflix will be televising games. 

If you don’t have cable or cannot stream or subscribe to additional services, you are going to miss games. Plenty of them. The day of local over-the-air TV broadcasts has been long gone. 

The prices to watch games in person is ridiculous enough. Add cable and streaming—the cost of watching games over the course of a baseball season is nearly prohibitive for so many loyal fans. 

Andrew Marchand calculated what it would cost to watch all the Yankees games this season. The price to see games on ten networks was a whopping $760. 

This is why salaries are so out-of-whack with reality. The money the owners make is so much and can be shared without denting their considerable profits given the new partnerships in advertising and marketing along with television. 

Wherever money is available, somebody always wants more. Good for the WNBA players to nearly double their salaries in a new contract. It’s the same in baseball, the NBA, NFL or the collegiate ranks with N-I-L. 

Sure, the games are exciting. Playoffs and tournaments are great and the level of competition is outstanding. But when this dollar train is ever going to end, I cannot say. 

For right now, enjoy yourselves watching March Madness and the end of the regular seasons in the NBA and NHL as well as the start of baseball. I will. As long as I can locate the correct network when channel surfing to see the games.