Upside Down Weekend

A simply amazing weekend of sports highlighted by the NCAA Tournament. The Final Four in Indianapolis is now set and in what has been the most unpredicatable tournament ever (look at my bracket for amusement) the remaining four teams are LSU, UCLA, Florida, and George Mason. No teams from the Big East or Big Ten are still playing (unless you count Michigan and Louisville in the NIT). Who would have thought we would arrive at this point?

While this weekend has quite possibly brought the end to many bracket pools nationwide, it is a highlight of what makes the tournament so great. Miracles still can happen, teams and fans can still dream big. More than any other year, this tournament has allowed fans of all schools to believe in the impossible. Before this season, nobody in their right minds would have had ANY of the teams in the Final Four that are currently sitting there.

So how did they do it? A look at these four unlikely journeys to Indianapolis:

• UCLA: Probably the easiest team to pick for cutting down the nets out of the Oakland region. After winning the PAC-10 Conference and earning the region's second seed, the Bruins made short work of Belmont in the first round. That's where the fun began, as a surprising Alabama team took them to the wire. Outrebounding the Bruins by 11 and making 14 more free throws, but Jordan Farmar's three point shooting proved to be the difference in their 62-59 triumph. Then came Gonzaga in the Sweet 16. The Bulldogs dominated the Bruins early, holding a 13 point lead at halftime, leading by as much as 17 points, and leading by nine with three minutes remaining. Still, the Bruins managed to score the final 11 points, including Luc Richard Mbah a Moute's go ahead basket with 10 seconds left that gave UCLA their first lead of the game. Finally, the Bruins knocked off top seeded Memphis in the lowest scoring regional final ever as both teams combined for 95 points. UCLA physically dominated Memphis throughout the game and won by a score (50-45) that makes the game seem much closer than it was.
• LSU: The regular season SEC champions suffered a setback against Florida in the SEC Conference Tournament and looked less than impressive in a first round win over Iona. The struggle continued in the second round as Texas A&M took a 57-55 lead in the closing seconds and looked like they'd win until Darrel Mitchell drained a clutch three-pointer with 3.9 seconds remaining to give LSU a 58-57 victory. All that was left was to beat the top two seeds in the region as they squared off with Duke in Atlanta. LSU dominated Duke physically in a way I had not seen all season as they held player of the year candidate J.J. Redick to 11 points and ended the game on an 11-2 run to win 62-54. Against Texas, it took 45 minutes for LSU to punch their ticket to the Final Four. The game was close throughout regulation and was tied at 52 going into overtime. It was there when LSU exploded, outscoring the Longhorns 18-8 in the extra frame, key player of this game was Glenn Davis (or Baby Shaq). Davis put in 26 points, including a rare three-pointer in overtime to send the Tigers to Indianapolis.
• Florida: The SEC Conference Tournament champs continued their momentum in the Minneapolis region. The third seeded Gators dominated in wins over Southern Alabama and Wisconsin Milwaukee to reach the Sweet 16. It was there when Florida faced the most physical team they faced all year (including LSU) in Georgetown. The Hoya's led by one late in the game until Corey Brewer's three point play with 27.5 seconds remaining gave Florida the lead. Darrel Owens had a wide open look at a go ahead three, but drew iron with 6.6 seconds remaining, Florida made their free throws and that game was over. The last step was top seeded Villanova, and Florida was riding high. Dominating them inside time and time again as Joakim Noah registered 21 points and 15 rebounds, leading Florida to a 75-62 win and the team's first Final Four appearance since they lost to Michigan State in the 2000 title game.
• George Mason: All the 11th seeded Patriots had to do to reach the Sweet 16 was defeat half of last season's Final Four, including the defending champions. With Tony Skinn suspended against Michigan State, the Patriots shocked the Spartans behind Folarin Campbell's 21 points. The Spartans had no answer in the second half and George Mason scored a big win 75-65. In the second round, defending champion North Carolina jumped out to a 16-2 lead and led by seven at the break. George Mason kept fighting and eventually pulled into a tie with 3:02 to go and outscored the Tar Heels 11-6 to close the game to win 65-60. After defeating two of the big names in the tournament, George Mason faced a hot Wichita State team. The Patriots never trailed in the contest and led by as many as 19 points to cruise to a 63-55 win, sending George Mason to the Elite Eight. It was there that the Patriots faced top seeded UConn in what would be their toughest test yet. After trailing by 9 at the break, Jai Lewis and Will Thomas played great and really outplayed the Huskie's vaunted frontcourt. After Denham Brown's reverse layup dramatically tied the game and force overtime, George Mason looked as though they finally ran out of gas, but they kept fighting in the overtime and rode the play of Thomas and Lewis to take another two point lead late in the game. Denham Brown tried to be the hero twice, but his three pointer went off iron as time expired to send George Mason to an improbable Final Four appearance.

So there you have it, Saturday will see LSU against UCLA in one contest, with George Mason and Florida in the other. So many unlikely heroes and stories in this tournament. Watch these games, if they are ANYTHING like the games last weekend were, you're in for a show.