Tourney Talk: Upset Special

Let's not forget how the NCAA Tournament usually works.

On the men's side, there's usually a Florida Gulf Coast or some sort of Cinderella-type that shocks the field and breaks brackets. That happens a fair amount, even though this year it's different to a unprecedented degree. You have your La Salle, who sneaks into the tournament and then busts off three wins to make the Sweet 16 or your Oregons and Wichita State, who seem to cruise to the second weekend.

You have the Harvards, who knock off New Mexico and get to the second round before meeting their match. This is usually what happens during the NCAAs.

Heading into the first game for South Dakota State against Michigan, I felt like while the Jacks were the trendy upset pick and a possible sleeper, I also got the sense that SDSU's fans and players would feel awful if the Jacks were bounced right away.

The air has been let out of the yellow and blue balloons.

People are probably devastated but this is what happens the tournament. The Jacks weren't favored and their chances of winning were probably close to the 9 percent figure that the NYT's Nate Silver threw out. They are upsets for a reason.

Look at the history of 13's winning in the tournament. It's not as easy as just showing up, winning and becoming Cinderella.

One thing worth mentioning: SDSU didn't play that bad. They didn't make the shots they are used to making. That was probably the most frustrating thing for the Jacks and they said as much. A tough break at a time when SDSU couldn't afford to have one.

Let's move to the women's side now, where SDSU absorbed its toughest loss ever in any postseason since moving to Division I. Similarly to the men, there was a feeling that the Jacks would play well mainly because they were not playing the host school on its home court. That didn't happen and South Carolina showed that they are the better team by a decent margin.

Again, these sort of games happen in the NCAA Touranment but with it being the fifth straight time the Jacks have made the tournament, SDSU followers are probably getting antsy about advancing. Even more so than the men's tournament, lower seeds don't advance in the tournament. It will take a truly special team to get to a Sweet 16. That or home court in the NCAAs. Speaking of which, I was reading through my collection of newspapers from my trip to Detroit last week (more later here) and I came across this AP story about the field and this quote from Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw.

Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw wasn't thrilled when the NCAA women's tournament bracket was released Monday.

Her No. 1-seeded Irish were the latest among the nation's top teams to be put on course for an early round game on an opponent's home court. It's something that's been happening frequently since tournament switched to predetermined sites a decade ago.

"I'm very disappointed that a No. 1 seed wasn't protected," McGraw said. "It makes the regular season seem like it doesn't matter. We earned the right to be a No. 1 seed. The way they had the designated sites is not a fair way to do it ... the top 16 teams need to host. We need to go back to the way that it was done before. But we've got to be able to win, no matter where we're playing."

You want to know how you get an advantage in the NCAA Tournament? Bid and win the first and second round pod. McGraw sounds like a complainer and that's probably because she is. Notre Dame didn't win the bid to host this year and they didn't get sent to Columbus, Ohio, which is the only site of the 16 that didn't have a home team playing there.

They had played at home in three of the previous four NCAA tournaments. They wanted to host this year but, due to circumstances outside the women's basketball office, they missed the deadline to apply.

All top 16 teams hosted the first couple of rounds in the past, but that was ditched in 2003 and there are no plans to go back to it.

"It's completely our fault that we're not hosting," McGraw said. "We could have. You have to play good teams and so we'll start out with a neutral game and see where we go from there."

Oops. If you blew it, don't blame the committee, Muffet. The top 16 seeds hosting would be interesting, for sure. I think there should be a neutral court element to the tournament, if possible but there should be some sort of regular season reward. Right now, the women's tournament isn't perfect but there's a balance between a home court advantage (for those schools with strong attendance) and locations that will support it, even if it means a low seed hosts (Iowa, Gonzaga).

Do it, SDSU. Do it.  / Collegian File Photo

It's for these reasons that I think South Dakota State should apply to host the first two rounds of the tournament. Not Sioux Falls. We're talking Brookings and Frost Arena.

I'm not sure if the SDSU big wigs read this (If you do, hi!), but the Jacks could totally do it. Obviously, the key would be to have SDSU in the tournament. Let's go pros and cons.

Pros

• There's money to be made for the NCAA and SDSU.
• National exposure for Brookings and SDSU.
• Tourism money for the city and region
• Sellout crowd if the Jacks are in it. 2,000? if SDSU doesn't make it. 
• Enough hotels and restaurants in Brookings. 
• I think the NCAA considers South Dakota somewhat "West."Subregional games like this are usually scheduled mostly in the East and South. They might like having the Midwest covered more. 
• Given their track record at the Summit League tournament, South Dakotans probably would want to volunteer and help out. 

Cons

• Not a good tournament if SDSU can't make it. 
• Difficult place to get to, not a large city. 
• Bid cost won't be cheap.
• Hosting requires extra staff and effort. It's tough stuff. 

Of course, I think Sioux Falls would be a viable candidate to host a pod for the women's tournament but I think SDSU could do it in Brookings. If Bowling Green could host last year and Delaware and Gonzaga are hosting this year, why not SDSU?

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More on Tubby Smith's time ending in Dinkytown and the NCAA Tournament experience in the next couple of days.

Sea Lions. Because they're fun.

I'm currently in San Francisco at the National College Journalism Convention. While work is being done, we've done some sightseeing and everyone likes to look at the sea lions at Fishermans' Wharf in the City by the Bay.

I'll post some here because they're awesome. And lazy.