February Frenzy just as good as March Madness
This past weekend marked the beginning of everybody’s favorite month during the college basketball season: March Madness. March has become synonymous with conference tournaments and the big dance. There’s no question some of the most memorable moments in NCAA basketball history have come during this month.
Who could forget Connecticut’s improbable run of winning five games in five days as the #9 seed in the Big East Tournament. Then they went all the way and won the NCAA Tournament as a #3 seed.
You also can’t forget the thrilling finish in the 1983 National Title Game when Lorenzo Charles dunked the air ball of teammate Derrick Whittenburg as time expired to give North Carolina State the win over Houston.
There’s no question March Madness is the most exciting month but creeping up slowly is the February Frenzy that occurred this season in college basketball.
This past February has provided some of the best games of the year in college hoops as well as multiple upsets. It seemed like a top 10 team was getting upset every night in February. An unranked opponent beat a top 10 team 17 times during the month!
Kansas was ranked in the top 10 most of the month and lost three times to unranked teams. February 2nd, they lost at home to Oklahoma State (which was an upset at the time). February 6th, they lost at TCU which was 0-8 in the Big 12 prior to the game. February 9th, they lost at Oklahoma for their third straight loss.
Florida, who was also in the top 10 the majority of the month, lost three times as well. They lost at Arkansas, at Missouri and at Tennessee.
Indiana was ranked #1 when they lost at Illinois and at Minnesota. Duke lost at Maryland and at Virginia. Arizona was also upset twice by unranked teams in February.
Aside from all of the upsets that took place, this February also gave us in what I would say is the “game of the year” so far. #11 Louisville traveled to South Bend to take on #25 Notre Dame on February 9th. It was an ugly low scoring game that was back and forth until Louisville started to pull away late in the second half. Louisville was up 56-48 with 50 seconds to go in regulation so it looked like the game was over. Notre Dame guard Jerian Grant made sure this game wouldn’t end in regulation though.
He made 3 three pointers and had a 3 point play after making a shot and finishing with a free throw. Louisville sprinkled in some free throws but at the end of regulation Grant’s 12 points in those 50 seconds tied the game up at 60.
From that point on the overtimes kept coming and coming. It wasn’t until the 5th overtime when the Irish started to add to a slight lead over the Cardinals. It was 104-101 and a desperation 3 by Louisville didn’t fall down.
This instant classic lasted 3 hours and 36 minutes and a whopping eight players fouled out of the game. It was surely one to remember.
February is becoming one of the more intriguing and exciting months in college basketball. It’s right smack dab in the middle of conference play where we start to see the good teams separate themselves and push toward the NCAA Tournament. It’s also the time where the annual “bubble watch” begins.
College basketball fans always look forward to March Madness, but it’s safe to say that because of the February Frenzy this season that fans should anticipate all the future college basketball games every February.