The "Madness" Begins

The second season of College Basketball kicked-off this week as teams began their conference tournaments. These tournaments will shape the field of 64, (really 65 with the play-in game) that will take the court next week to determine who is college basketball's National Champion. Already we've seen a quite a few upsets in these tournaments but four really stick out. Two of the top teams in both the Big East and Big 12 lost in the quarterfinals. These teams were all in line to be either first or second seeds and now will have to wait and see if their early exits cost them. Lets take a look at some of the upsets and what it will mean.

The 7th seed West Virginia Mountaineers upset the 2nd seed Pittsburgh Panthers:
West Virginia stunned Pittsburgh, who is not only the 2nd ranked team in the Big East but also the 2nd best team in the nation, with a 74-60 win. The Panthers, who won this tournament a year ago and had made the finals in seven of the past eight years, got into early foul trouble and struggled from beyond the 3-point line (missing all 8 attempts). The Mountaineers led by two at the half, never let the Panthers get close in the second half.

What it means for West Virginia? The Mountaineers were already going to be in the NCAA tournament, now with wins against Notre Dame and Pitt they are looking to move up a couple seeds. Before the the Big East Tournament WVU looked to be in the 8-10 seed range but now should be in a solid between a 6-8 seed. If West Virginia can beat Syracuse in the Semi-Finals and either Villanova or Louisville in the Finals they could move up even higher.

What it means for Pittsburgh? Pitt was considered a lock for a number 1 seed and probably the favorite to win the Big East Tournament. The Panthers had not lost at home or at a neutral site all year before last nights game. Pittsburgh will be no lower than a 2 seed in the tournament and could still maintain their number 1 seed. Now the Panthers will have to wait and see how the bracket shapes up as they no longer control their own destiny.

Check back later today as we review three more upsets: Syracuse over Connecticut, Oklahoma St. over Oklahoma, and Baylor over Kansas.