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maybe people were watching the news?
2) The 67th Academy Awards were held 3.27 that year. Could this have impacted it?
same thing that hurt monday night football: overexposure of the sport.
college basketball peaks during the first weekend and selection sunday. thats when the most schools are still alive, most people are interested, everyone is still in their office pool. by the second and third weekends, its really down to the the hardcore fans and handful of people still alive in pools.
people are all “college basketballed” out and are off to focus on opening day of baseball and the nfl draft.
with so much attention to the sport these days, the national championship isn’t what it used to be. same with monday night football, as its just another game. it used to be more, but with all games on tv and the internet and espn, its not the same.
kayarn, I think you may be onto something. Perhaps when every game began to be televised on CBS [instead of just primetime games] it dulled the interest in the final game.
I’ll see if I can find out when that happened.
By Ann Marie on Mar 16, 2008 | Reply
Could it have something to do with low seeded teams winning? If you’re out of the office pool early, why watch? And as a Clemson alumni, I have to say I hate those blue bastards from UNC.
Anne Marie, I think the significant advancement of low seeded teams is hyped by the media a lot more than it actually happens. Being a numbers guy, if I can get some good data on that I will post it.
My hatred of the Tar Hells has cooled significantly since Dean Smith left. He truly was evil. I cannot get myself to hate a Roy Williams coached team to nearly the same extent.

tvbythenumbers.com

WASHINGTON — On the first day Bob Huggins held practice at West Virginia, he dragged a treadmill to the side of the court, plugged it in and left it there.
No one thought much about it. Treadmills and stationary bikes are commonplace for injured players who need extra workouts and still want to watch practice.
Then John Flowers messed up. No one remembers the exact infraction, but he did something Huggins didn’t like and the coach told Flowers to hit the treadmill.
“It’s on 15 miles per hour for at least 45 seconds,” Joe Alexander explained. “And you can’t hold on to anything, so if you don’t run fast enough, you just fall off.”
Everyone except Darris Nichols has hit the treadmill this season — “and he should have been,” Alexander said — punching tickets to sprint for anything from not boxing out to not listening to not playing hard enough in Huggins’ estimation.
“You’re pretty dead when you get off,” Flowers said. “Then you have to go right back into the drill, and if you mess up again, you’re back on the treadmill. But no one has been on it that much lately.”
No doubt. On the heels of its surprise run to the Big East tournament semifinal, West Virginia — a team barely on the NCAA radar as recently as February — is in the Sweet 16. Combining a second-half defensive swarm with an offensive clinic, the 7-seed Mountaineers steamrolled No. 2 seed Duke 73-67.
Less dramatic than the Mike Gansey-Kevin Pittsnogle Elite Eight dash of 2005, this West Virginia push to the second weekend of the NCAA tournament is no less unexpected. When John Beilein bolted to Michigan, he left behind a team used to playing a finesse game.
Enter Huggins, a man who has about as much finesse as John Goodman in a tutu.

sports.espn.go.com

How they got here: Beat No. 10 Alaska-Anchorage 4-1, 3-2 (OT)
What they’re playing for: Other than their first Broadmoor Trophy win, the Tigers are looking to wrap up the No. 1 seed in the West Regional, which will be played at home in Colorado Springs. Right now, they’re sitting in one of those slots as the 4th overall seed, but they’ll probably need at least a win to lock it down.
Outlook: The Tigers have been remarkably consistent for basically the entire season, never losing two in a row all year with the exception of a long road trip to New Hampshire followed by a trip to North Dakota. They’re 10-2-0 since the beginning of February, and they did exactly what they were supposed to do last weekend by sweeping the Seawolves. Still, they may face a challenge in the semifinal regardless of their opponent — they haven’t faced Minnesota since the first weekend of the season, and St. Cloud State is the only WCHA team to beat the Tigers twice.
"It’ll be a great matchup either way," coach Scott Owens said. "Those are two teams that we aren’t looking forward to from a possible result standpoint, but from an excitement standpoint it should be great."
If the Tigers do claim their first tournament title, expect freshman netminder Richard Bachman to be the key, as he has been all season.
How they got here: Beat No. 9 Michigan Tech 4-0, 2-3 (OT), 2-1
What they’re playing for: Like Colorado College, the Sioux have their eyes on a top seed in the NCAA tournament, which they seemed to be in very good shape for until their shock loss to Michigan Tech in Game 2 of their playoff series. Now, sitting in the No. 5 slot overall in the Pairwise, North Dakota needs to re-prove its mettle in the Final Five, likely by advancing to the Broadmoor title game for the third straight season.

collegehockeynews.com

Omaha buzz: No. 16 over No. 1 sooner or later
No. 16 over No. 1 sooner or later
Will a No. 16 seed ever topple a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament?
Portland State coach Ken Bone, whose 16th-seeded Vikings play top-seeded Kansas today, seems to think so.
“It can be done. It will be done,” Bone said. “I’m not saying it will be done (Thursday) morning or the next day or next year, but at some point, sometime a 16 will beat a 1. I think we all know that. It’s just a matter of when it happens.”
Kansas coach Bill Self agrees.
“It’s going to happen,” Self said. “I hope it’s not anytime in the very near future. But it’s going to happen.”
Self talks up Portland State
Speaking of Portland State’s seeding, Self thinks the Jayhawks’ first-round opponent is better than a No. 16 seed.
“After watching tape, I told our guys, ‘How are these guys a 16 seed?’ ” Self said. “They do a lot of the same things we do. They play fast. They share the ball. All of them can pass. All of them can stretch the defense from the perimeter.”
Portland State has won a school record 23 games this season and went 14-2 in the Big Sky Conference.
“I really like their team. That’s not coach speak,” Self said.
The hideous elbow injury that Wisconsin’s Brian Butch suffered last season became a cult classic.
More than 130,000 viewings of it on YouTube.com made Butch famous. But he isn’t among those who have taken time to watch the injury that ended his season.
“I have not seen it, and I don’t plan on seeing it,” Butch said. “It was pretty ugly just the way it felt. I can only imagine how it looked. I tried to actually look at it once during the offseason, and I had to turn my head.”

kansascity.com

Penn State NCAA Qualifiers
Mark McKnight Weight:125 Grade:Sr. 2008 record:13-9 Key victories:Dave Tomasette, Hofstra; Javier Maldonado, Chattanooga Career record:101-43
First-Round matchup: No. 12 Tyler Shinn, Oklahoma State, 15-6
Previous NCAA appearances: 2004 (2-2), 2005 (4-2), 2007 (2-2)
The skinny:McKnight is a four-time national qualifier — barely. Big Ten coaches decided to give the inconsistent senior one of the conference’s two wildcard spots. McKnight, a 2003 PIAA Class AAA champion, finished eighth at the Big Ten Championships, losing three of his four bouts…McKnight started his career at Buffalo where he advanced to the NCAA Round of 12 twice.
Garrett Scott Weight:141 Grade:Fr. 2008 record:18-5 Key victories:Kellen Russell, Michigan; Matt Kyler, Army; Nick Gallick, Iowa State
Career record:18-5 First-round matchup: Carter Downing, Wyoming, 21-5
Previous NCAA appearances: None
The skinny:Scott, a three-time PIAA Class AA champion, emerged from a season-long competition with 2007 All-American Jake Strayer to claim the 141-pound spot. In a cruel twist, Scott sustained a knee injury during the Big Ten Championships yet managed to pin Michigan State’s Jeff Wimberly to take seventh place…Scott has lost to Iowa’s Dan LeClere twice, Harvard’s J.P. O’Connor, Wisconsin’s Kyle Ruschell and Oklahoma State’s Nathan Morgan. All four wrestlers have spent most of this season in the Top 10.
Bubba Jenkins Weight:149 Grade:So. 2008 record:22-5 Key victories:Jordan Bur-roughs, Nebraska; Lance Palmer, Ohio State; Ryan Lang, Northwestern Career record:45-17
First-round matchup: Bryce Saddoris, Navy, 32-8
Previous NCAA appearances: 2007 (1-2)
The skinny:An offseason weight shift with Dan Vallimont dropped Jenkins into the 149-pound division after he competed at 157 as a true freshman. Jenkins has looked spectacular at times — he defeated 2007 NCAA finalist Ryan Lang — but he struggled during major-decision losses to Iowa’s Brent Metcalf and Michigan’s Josh Churella during the Big Ten Championships…Jenkins has performed well in major tournaments and he won a junior world freestyle title last summer.

centredaily.com

With his contribution to the Super Bowl pool long forgotten, Stephen DeAnda knows it’s time to kick $5 into the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament office pool. (Illustration by Nacho L. Garcia Jr. / El Paso Times)
With his contribution to the Super Bowl pool long forgotten, Stephen DeAnda knows it’s time to kick $5 into the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament office pool.
“It’s something I look forward to ever year,” said DeAnda, who manages a local tire company. “All our employees look forward to it. It’s great for morale because everyone talks about why they made certain picks.”
The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament will begin Thursday — though there is a play-in game tonight — but the real March Madness began weeks ago as college basketball fans started to think about one of the most hallowed March traditions, the office bracket pool.
“The popularity of office pools during the NCAA basketball tournament is amazing,” said Rosario Kaufman, office manager at an El Paso car dealership. “Its funny because some people, mostly the men, get really into it and and spend days analyzing the field. Me? I just go by gut feeling.”
Sunday, the NCAA filled out the 65-team field that will lead to the promised land of the Final Four on April 5 in San Antonio. The championship will be April 7.
You can almost guarantee that millions of Americans had their brackets e-mailed or faxed to the person in charge of the office pool long before that.
Kaufman, who is in charge of the $10-a-bracket pool, doesn’t remember who won the NCAA
tournament last year (it was Florida), but she does remember who won the office pool.
“It came down to our general manager and one of the sales guys,” she said. “It was fun watching those guys going at all the way up to the championship. It was good, clean fun.”

origin.elpasotimes.com

Dallas Morning News college basketball writer Kate Hairopoulos answered questions about the NCAA Tournament in a live chat on Monday, March 17.
Kate Hairopoulos: I’ve been informed Bob Knight, Mr. ESPN, and I picked the same Final Four: UNC, Kansas, UCLA and Pitt. While I’m mulling over the other similarities the General and I share, let’s talk NCAA Tournament brackets …
redraider08: Do you think the Longhorns have a good shot at winning it all with their regional in Houston and the Final Four in San Antonio?
Kate Hairopoulos: Texas clearly got one of the best draws of the tournament. A No. 2 seed certainly didn’t hurt the Longhorns. I know a home-state advantage will be a huge boost … but it wasn’t enough to put Texas A&M through after playing the regionals in San Antonio last year. I love Texas’ starting five, but I really worry about its depth in a tournament environment. And Stanford, Pitt and Memphis are awfully good. If the Horns advance, D.J. Augustin and A.J. Abrams get more help, and the bench play improves.
Rock Chalk: Which of the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds is most vulnerable to an early-round upset?
Kate Hairopoulos: Top-seed Memphis has a really tough draw. After UTA in the first game, the Tigers could have a tough Mississippi State team with a great guard in Jamont Gordon or the Pac-10’s Oregon. Up ahead is Pitt and Texas. No. 2 seed Duke didn’t finish the season well, so it wouldn’t be shocking to see a loss to West Virginia or Xavier. Second seed Tennessee could also have trouble with underseeded Butler in the second round.
March Madness: How do you see Texas A&M faring in the tournament?
Kate Hairopoulos: Who really knows about those up-and-down Aggies? I will say that their showing in the Big 12 tournament went a long way in restoring my faith in their potential. BYU isn’t an easy first-round game – the Cougars beat Louisville and hung with North Carolina early this season. Lee Cummard was the Mountain West player of the year. If A&M does advance, it’ll face a monster of a test in UCLA. I wonder if Mark Turgeon and Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie will chat while they’re in Anaheim.

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Now that the NCAA Tournament brackets are set, the time has come to figure out who will get to the ultimate stage. For all of the NCAA Tournament’s early upsets, the Final Four is usually made up of the usual favorites and slightly lower seeded teams from power conferences. George Mason was the exception two years ago, but last year’s Final Four had a more stable offering of two number 1 and two number 2 seeds. This year, it would appear that the NCAA Tournament favorites have a clear path to the Final Four. But who will come out of each bracket for real?
East Regional Bracket- North Carolina Tar Heels
The Tar Heels are the overall number 1 NCAA seed, with only two losses at home this season. With the likely Player of the Year in Tyler Hansbrough, the Tar Heels have a clear mission to overcome their come from ahead loss in last year’s Elite 8. In addition, all of the Tar Heels potential games in the East Regional would be in the state of North Carolina.
Behind them, Tennessee has been on top of the SEC most of the year, having only slipped down to a number 2 seed in the final weekend. However, the Volunteers will always be suspect since they don’t have a big men’s basketball tradition. In addition, they could get tripped up in the second round by mid-major powers Butler or South Alabama.

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Saves you time. Saves you money. Makes you smarter.
THE PICKS: First-round winners: UCLA, Texas A&M, Drake, UConn, Purdue, Xavier, Arizona, Duke.
Advanding to the Final Four: UCLA.
Most over-seeded: Xavier had a great season and it was nice to see the Atlantic 10 get some respect. But no way are the Musketeers better than UConn.
Most under-seeded: C’mon, now. The SEC tournament champ as a 14 seed? The red-hot Georgia Bulldogs will have a chance the case about Xavier.
Best first-round matchups: The committee should be ashamed for matching two potential Cinderellas against each other as they’ve done with Drake and Western Kentucky. Mid-major conspiracy theorists are circling this one. And Arizona was a surprise entrant for some experts, but the Wildcats should give West Virginia all its wants.
Player worth paying to see: UCLA’s Kevin Love is an old-school talent who will make you think of Bill Walton with his passing skills and smooth touch.
No. 1 seed UCLA won the Pac-10 regular-season crown and also led the league in scoring margin (plus-15.5 ppg). Bruins star freshman Kevin Love’s uncle is Beach Boys lead singer Mike Love, and his father is former Oregon Duck and Baltimore Bullets role player Stan Love. . . . Although Bruins coach Ben Howland made his big-time college basketball name at Pittsburgh, he’s a West Coast guy who attended Weber State. . . . Duke has the most victories of any team in the country since the 1999-2000 season.

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