Tourney Time

In just 4 days, 3/4 of the tournament teams have been sent packing. Obviously the big story is the 3 shocking, brave teams that have lead a mid-major revolution into the Sweet 16: Wichita State, Bradley and George Mason. And along with the other upsets, there was one that almost happenned: Albany over UConn. It would have been the biggest upset ever, and up 12 late in the second half, I'm sure the Albany campus was going nuts. So it's fair to say, that while there are still powerhouse programs, the rest of college basketball is catching up.

What I find very interesting is that all 4 of last year's Final Four teams have already been eliminated. And only 1 team that was in the Elite Eight last year, is still alive this year. So what team has the only chance of making it back-to-back elite 8 seasons? Of course, the dominant power that it West Virginia.

In fact, 12 of last year's Sweet 16 is already gone. The repeat offenders: Duke, Washington, West Virginia and Villanova.

This shouldn't be a big surprise, none of the 2004 elite eight teams made it back in 2005.

And only 3 teams made the Sweet 16 in both 2004 and 2005: Oklahaoma State, Illinois, Duke.

So while Wichita State, Bradley and George Mason shouldn't be content to get to the regionals and lose, they should realize that even making it this far is a feat worth celebrating, and is hard to do year after year.