The Dagger - NCAAB

The Dagger

Mon Mar 23, 2009 3:38 pm EDT

Is this the most boring NCAA tournament ever?

By Chris Chase

Over the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament there were no major upsets, no classic buzzer beaters and very little fodder for "One Shining Moment". This begs the question, are we in the midst of the worst NCAA tournament ever?

The question is a little hyperbolic; as the first tournament I remember actively watching was in 1988. But looking back at some old brackets, I think it's safe to say that the first two rounds were the worst in recent memory.

There wasn't one first-weekend game that will be instantly memorable one year from now. The Siena-Ohio State and Gonzaga-Western Kentucky finishes were great, but not classics. The biggest upset (Cleveland State over Wake Forest) was a snoozer. A few No. 1 seeds were challenged (Pittsburgh, Louisville) in the second half of their second round games, but each pulled away by the last TV timeout.

The only other recent tournament with as little early excitement was in 2004. But, in that year, two No. 1 seeds were upset in the second round (Kentucky and Stanford), which made for a more interesting weekend. Not that chalk can't be exciting, but it hasn't been this year.

More than 75 percent of the tournament games have been played so far, but there's still plenty of time for 2009 to redeem itself. A couple of good Sweet 16 games and a memorable regional final will wash away all memory of the yawner we had this weekend.

The natural follow-up question is whether this is symptomatic of a larger problem with NCAA basketball? I don't think so. Odds are, there's going to be a stinker every few years. Plus, a lame NCAA tournament is still better than almost anything else.

digg delicious
more

148 Comments

Post a Comment
  1. GorgeForeman
    1. Posted by GorgeForeman Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:38 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Gonzaga-WKU was one of the best basketball games I've ever seen, and the overall quality of play has been excellent.
  2. csr
    2. Posted by csr Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:20 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    No Wisconsin/Florida State?
  3. mattunc
    3. Posted by mattunc Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:28 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    this year hasn't been good but i think 2007 was worse...some close games but the biggest upsets were 11 seeds virginia commonwealth and winthrop taking down duke and notre dame. the second round had xavier pushing ohio state but we had two #1's get pushed this year. the worst seed to reach the sweet sixteen was a 7 and if you watch the one shining moment from that year, about half of it comes from the two good vanderbilt games.
  4. Chris C
    4. Posted by Chris C Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:24 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    I couldn't disagree more, GorgeForeman. (Although I do love the name.) I think the quality of play has been quite shoddy this year. The Gonzaga-WKY game and Pitt-Louisville, notwithstanding, many of the other games have been sloppy affairs (with Kansas-Dayton taking the cake.)
  5. Coach Isiah Thompson
    5. Posted by Coach Isiah Thompson Thu Sep 03, 2009 2:55 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Does anyone agree with Rodney?
  6. Swift
    6. Posted by Swift Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:34 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    The Wisconsin/FSU game was pretty damn amazing, including a 3pt play buzzer beater with 2 sec left in OT for a (slow-paced) team down 12 at halftime, and having Siena/OSU at the same time was exciting.
  7. Swift
    7. Posted by Swift Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:34 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Also, your face has been a sloppy affair.
  8. Bob
    8. Posted by Bob Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:10 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Is Chris Chase the most boring sports writer you have ever seen?
  9. SpartanDan
    9. Posted by SpartanDan Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:11 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    There's been plenty of drama; the problem is it's all been packed in the same time slot (the last one every day). So it seems like there are fewer good games because the ones that are happening are all at once. When you're watching and three of the four sessions end with little or no drama, it feels like less than if two of them have crazy finishes, even if it's the same number of games. Take Swift's example, for instance - if UW-FSU and Siena-OSU were in separate time slots, Friday would have seemed more exciting just because there wouldn't have been three sets of "boring" finishes. (That neither was a huge upset doesn't help - first-round games almost have to be major upsets to become true classics.)
    Has it been as amazing as, say, 2005 (the year of Bucknell and Vermont taking down Kansas and Syracuse in the first round, WVU over Wake in a 2OT thriller in the second round, and three out of four regional finals going OT)? Obviously not. But despite the favorites winning out, there have been several near escapes.
  10. Billy
    10. Posted by Billy Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:08 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    The most boring NCAA tournament ever would be the grossly over-hyped womens' tournament. Why is ESPN shoving this farce down our throats and trying to convince people that it is interesting and bears watching? The NIT game's ratings will be 5x as high as the girly-ballers.
  11. Tay
    11. Posted by Tay Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:31 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Bob- I completely disagree with you. Chris Chase I think your a really good writer. I normally don't comment but you guys get beat up big time and it's just not right.
    The tournament so far has been a yawnfest with the exception of the games you mentioned. I am, however, looking forward to seeing the matchups coming up between UNC/Gonzaga, Villanova/Duke, Mizzou/Memphis etc. Hopefully the fun is just beginning.
  12. Aaron S
    12. Posted by Aaron S Thu Sep 03, 2009 2:58 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    That wisconsin game was pretty awesome travon was pretty good hope badgers improve for next years though cuz im from wisconsin so yeah but it was a great win for us too bad we fell apart against xavier
  13. dubs baby
    13. Posted by dubs baby Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:31 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    how can anyone say this tournet is boring. so many of the games have gone down to the wire and maybe there havent been many huge upsets but cause all the games were freakin sweet, so many close games and well matched up teams has cause so much more fun thatn past years, teams have to earn their wins this year
  14. ClintonP
    14. Posted by ClintonP Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:41 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    So what if there aren't a lot of huge upsets. There have been a lot of games where the higher seed barely pulls out the win. Good basketball is still good basketball.
  15. dubs baby
    15. Posted by dubs baby Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:31 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    how can anyone say this tournet is boring. so many of the games have gone down to the wire and maybe there havent been many huge upsets but cause all the games were freakin sweet, so many close games and well matched up teams has cause so much more fun thatn past years, teams have to earn their wins this year
  16. PaulT
    16. Posted by PaulT Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:23 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Seeing the first several posters defend this snoozefest as if they had a personal or financial stake in it is bizarre. It's been a terrible tourney. It was a terrible selection, with so few mid-majors. And a terrible first two rounds. People watch this thing solely for the upsets. And when there are, first, fewer opportunities for upsets, because fewer true underdogs (Arizona is the big underdog story - ARIZONA!), there are bound to be fewer upsets. And we've had none, really, other than CSU over Wake - which as noted, was boring. The two late night, overtime games were great, but too little to save a tourney. The #16 seeds fighting was great, but they both faded, as did Fullerton. The tourney is already over with, and it's going to drag on a week or more. It's embarrassing. When do the Cubs play?
  17. LoLife
    17. Posted by LoLife Thu Sep 03, 2009 6:56 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Ya it has been pretty lame so far. No close games, no buzzer beaters. The Marquette game he stepped on the line was pretty interseting but other than that. I have a feeling though it may change this weekend.
  18. Tom
    18. Posted by Tom Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:37 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Looking at a bracket and not seeing double digit seeds doesn't make it a boring tourney. I don't understand why if there aren't many upsets then it's apparently boring. While there have been some stinkers, all tourneys are the same, but there have been some great games too. Not to mention a few times where multiple games were ending at the same time. I thoroughly enjoyed UCLA/VCU, Siena/OSU, Marquette/Utah St, Wisconsin/FSU, Tennessee/Okla St., Gonzaga/WKY, Marquette/Missouri, Siena/Louisville, etc. etc. Just because the underdog doesn't win, doesn't make it non-entertaining. The tournament is to find the best team, and with the teams left, the upcoming games should be very exciting.
  19. Marshall A
    19. Posted by Marshall A Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:09 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    People think if every other game doesn't end in a buzzer beater it was a boring game some how. I've seen several games come down to the wire, that's all you can hope for. Only a couple blow outs, that's a good tourny to me.
  20. The Rural Juror
    20. Posted by The Rural Juror Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:38 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    why do there have to be upsets to have exciting games? i mean sure all thats left is all the 1 2 and 3 seeds, and then a 5 and 12, but won't that just make the remaining games that much better? i mean really, who wants to watch unc beat etsu by 75 points in the final 4? or watch uconn play csu northridge in the elite eight and beat them by 50? those would just make for terrible remaining games, even though theres a "cinderella" team. at least now the rest of the games should all feature teams that are good match ups
  21. vin v
    21. Posted by vin v Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:36 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Calling this tourney boring is foolish. These kids play their hearts out, and thus we get treated to some great basketball! I cannot remember a "boring" NCAA tournament..
  22. Nicolas B
    22. Posted by Nicolas B Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:32 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Anything Chris Chase writes simply sucks. He's a disgrace to sports journalism.
    The tournament is great so far.
    Keep whining, your loss.
  23. P K
    23. Posted by P K Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:03 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Hey Chris......
    I know for sure that you must be commenting on years past. I sat in a sports bar Sunday afternoon, and watched the station flip between 3 and 4 games. With less than 5 minutes to go, all those games were either tied or within 2 points...................
    Hey Chris, you really should watch this years tournament.
  24. Fresh
    24. Posted by Fresh Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:03 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    wow, he could not be more wrong
  25. jam12
    25. Posted by jam12 Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:16 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    i'm a UD guy and that Kansas game was horse [profane]. i've never seen them play that bad ever! what a terrible, boring game!!! combine the fact that there are no upsets and how badly that game sucked, its official. the whole tournament sucks.

The Dagger

Add to My Yahoo! RSS

Jeff Eisenberg

The Dagger is a college basketball blog edited by Jeff Eisenberg. Email him, and follow him on Twitter.

Contributors:
Chris Chase, Matt Norlander,

Related Photo Gallery

More NCAAB Photos »

Featured NCAAB Video

More Videos »

Y! Sports Blogs

The Dagger Recent Readers

(provided by MyBlogLog)