Now that the proverbial dust has settled from the 2010-2011 men’s college basketball season, it’s time to reflect a bit on the season past and pick out of a few of the headlines, highlights, or otherwise newsworthy items that seemed to define this season. Obviously it was a great season for Buckeye fans, and one item of note for college basketball fans in general was the play of our team, and particularly Jared Sullinger, but for now we’ll save the Buckeye-centric comments and take a broader view.
There is always a lot of chatter about the different major conferences, comparing their strengths and weaknesses, arguing for which conference is the toughest, and celebrating wins over teams from other conferences early in the season. This season was no different in terms of the boasting, but in a number of ways this really was the Season of the Big East. This isn’t an argument for the Big East’s superiority – just an observation that week-to-week the Big East was getting a lot of attention due to its number of quality teams. Certainly the Tournament Selection Committee bought into that impression, granting 11 NCAA Tournament berths to teams from the conference, including a #1 seed for regular season Big East champion Pittsburgh. Although three of the four most highly seeded Big East teams lost in only the second round of the tournament (Pitt, Notre Dame, Syracuse), it was Big East Tournament winner UConn that took care of business, claiming the NCAA Tournament title as well.
The ACC has traditionally been the conference of prime basketball, and indeed, despite a relatively unremarkable year the ACC had three teams in the Sweet 16 (Duke, UNC, Florida State), which was more than any other conference. Does this mean that the Big East hype over the course of the season gave way in the end, revealing the ACC still atop the heap? Probably not, although college basketball viewers who wrote off the ACC should look at this end-of-season comparison.
Moving from conferences to teams, this season we saw some projected power teams fall and some lower-profile teams rise. Perhaps most notable among the teams in the former category is the Big Ten’s own Michigan State, who began the season at the top of the rankings and steadily declined as the losses piled up. Although the Spartans faced some personnel issues this year, with key players leaving the team for various reasons, it wasn’t entirely clear why things weren’t clicking in East Lansing. The Spartans hung onto their top 25 ranking for as long as they could, riding their reputation, and even after they had fallen out of the polls most fans expected another Izzo-led return to glory for MSU. A couple big wins at the end of the season got Michigan State into the NCAA’s, but a first-round exit short circuited any hopes of an extended postseason. Kansas State was another team that brought high expectations into the season and saw their stock drop quickly. Frank Martin’s team faced some personnel issues of their own, but managed a bit more success in making a comeback bid toward the end of the season. Still, a second round tournament exit was not exactly the cherry on top for the Wildcats and pre-season All-American Jacob Pullen. Villanova, an early top 10 team, and Baylor, who failed to even make the NCAA Tournament, also provide examples of teams from power conferences that did not rise to the occasion in this tough season.
In contrast, we saw the likes of San Diego State play very well throughout the season and garner some well-deserved attention. The Aztecs made it to the Sweet 16 before being ousted by UConn, and had much to celebrate from a 34-3 season and Mountain West Tournament championship. Of course, San Diego State’s performance ended up being overshadowed by the amazing run of Virginia Commonwealth in the NCAA’s, as Shaka Smart’s team pulled upset after upset on their way to the Final Four. We know that lower ranked teams can go deep in the tournament, as proven previously by the Commodores’ conference counterpart George Mason, but in a way VCU’s run wasn’t a Cinderella story this year so much as a testimony to parity throughout college basketball. VCU clearly exceeded expectations, and were appropriately viewed as an underdog in their match-ups, but were they really the traditional Cinderella?
It is likely that VCU’s run will be used as fuel for the argument in favor of further tournament expansion. While it is true that this year demonstrated how one of the play-in teams could be just as formidable as any other team in the tournament, it is important to note that the concept of “anyone can make a run” doesn’t automatically mean everyone deserves a chance. It’s hard to believe that VCU was really any more likely to make a run than any of the other 11’s, and adding additional layers of opportunity to make it into the field of 64 seems to diminish its significance.
Further narrowing our scope, we can look at some of the individual performers from this past season. If it was the Season of the Big East, it also had to be the Season of Jimmer. However, while BYU’s star got a lot of press and put on some scoring bonanzas for the Cougars, it was another first-name-basis guy that stole the show in the end. Kemba Walker’s point totals through the tournament went like this: 18-33-36-20-18-16. Thoughts? Other than possibly recognizing the pseudo-bell curve, I would say those point totals reflect a guy who produces. The 18’s and the 16 might suggest lackluster performances…but only in the context of scoring 33 and 36 in the same span! A point total of 16 is a major contribution in a college game and will often lead a team in scoring. Walker did it on his “bad night,” which was an unusual championship game anyway. Kemba was a true winner for the Huskies and likely solidified a high spot in the upcoming NBA draft with his performance.
Despite their name recognition and stellar play during the season, odds are that next season you’ll have largely forgotten Kemba and Jimmer. Quick – how many All-Americans immediately come to your mind from last year?
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Did you get any? Be honest, did you forget that guy named Evan? Well, can’t blame you, because fame is fleeting. However, although many of the memories from this season at large will quickly fade into obscurity, we’re lucky as Buckeye fans that it really was a memorable season, and there is more to look forward to in the coming year.
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