We really needed more evidence, didn’t we? Well, that’s it!
Belongs to Miami (Ohio).
Not only the first four teams, but also within the 64-team bracket, which most of us consider to be the best team. genuine tournament.
The selection committee had Miami in front of them. That’s enough. The Red Hawks moved SMU out of the way and busted down the door en route to the first round.
Miami provided further evidence as they won the First Four game 89-79 with hard shooting. Seriously, why did anyone think they needed more evidence? – The best teams in the mid-majors make it to the NCAA Tournament, even if they don’t win the conference tournament.
A night after Texas State and North Carolina State laid down the bricks, Miami poured in the points and made 3-pointers one after the other. As Miami fans were roaring in the stands after the recent deep bomb, it occurred to me that this might have been the most entertaining game in the 15 years since the birth of the First Four in Dayton, Ohio.
Bruce Pearl pretends he was ‘expecting’ this performance in Miami (Ohio)
And after Miami made 10 3-pointers in the first half, all Bruce Pearl could do was smile and laugh like a cartoon character at halftime.
“This is kind of what we expected,” Pearl said.
That’s true, Bruce.
Some of you may have expected that, you I didn’t. At least Mr. Pearl acted as if he didn’t think much of Miami by paying the city of Auburn, which employs Mr. Pearl and his son, a shilling.
Using the stage set up by TNT as a propaganda pulpit, Pearl shamelessly pretended that an Auburn team (coached by Pearl’s son, no doubt a coincidence) that had beaten Miami multiple times leading up to the tournament and barely finished above .500 deserved to be selected for the tournament, while pretending that Miami might finish last in the Big East.
It was even bigger than what Pearl had previously told the NCAA litigation team.
Pearl couldn’t have believed even half of the pigs she served. He’s a lot of things, but he’s not stupid.
Still, Mr. Pearl’s relentless surveillance of Miami has kicked a hornet’s nest. More loons have come out of the tree wondering if a 31-1 team deserves a bid or if they should give a bid to the 12th place team in a power conference in the midst of a horribly weak bubble.
Well, despite not being able to fend off a Power 4 opponent, Miami went 32-1.
Miami (Ohio) continues its legacy of upsets in March Madness
And we shouldn’t be surprised. We’ve seen this over and over again, not just in Miami. The best mid-majors are in it – of course they are. They don’t always win, but they win these games often enough that no one was supposed to be fooled by Pearl’s nonsense about a Division 1 team with 30+ wins finishing last in the not-so-good Big East.
Miami answered all the naysayers so forcefully that there’s really only one question left. “How far can you go?”
Consider No. 6 Tennessee, which is wary of an upset.
Who can forget VCU going from the First Four to the Final Four in 2011?
Wally Szczerbiak, anyone? Wally World’s RedHawks advanced to the Sweet 16 in 1999 as a No. 10 seed.
Or how about Manhattan? The Jaspers were the last team to join what was then 64 teams in 1995. Fran Frascilla’s team, seeded 13th, defeated the University of Oklahoma.
“The tournament selection committee is not as stupid as people think,” Frascilla told reporters after the game, adding: “It’s great to show people that we deserve to be here and can play with anyone.”
High-achieving mid-career students continue to prove their credentials even as their credentials are questioned.
Power Four teams have been hesitant to play teams like Miami in the regular season, and even the wins have hurt the strength of the diminutive schedule. But no matter what the bobbleheads say, there’s no avoiding the Miamis of the world in March, at least as long as the selection committee continues to recognize that winning nearly every game is worthy of a bid.
The late Billy Packer was on the verge of being eliminated on Selection Sunday in 2006 when George Mason slipped in as the No. 11 seed. In one of the greatest Cinderella stories of all time, Patriots fans chanted Packer’s name as George Mason advanced to the Final Four with four straight wins.
And in the second half of the game, the pro-Miami crowd in the stands chanted, “Let’s go Red Hawks! Let’s go Red Hawks!”
You could also consider chanting something else.
Shut up, Bruce.
Blake Topmeyer is a columnist for the USA TODAY Network. Email BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow at X @btoppmeyer.
