UConn't do that in the tournament

It's amazing that UConn's laziness hasn't caught up with them yet. Or rather, it's not, because they've been handed by far the easiest regional... but it's still impressive that they've been able to play three games, been scared in all of them, but managed to play, basically, about twenty minutes of good basketball combined in the three and have that be enough for 3-0 and an Elite Eight berth.

Far be it for me to defend Duke, but this talk of them as the #1 overall seed plays like a bunch of shit. I'm really starting to think that the committee did that so they could set up UConn and Villanova for a possible Final Four rematch, because that would be a good story. Let's compare the regions as far as champions go:

West Region
Tournament Champions: #1 Memphis, #2 UCLA, #3 Gonzaga, #4 Kansas, #9 Bucknell, #11 San Diego State, #12 Kent State, #14 Xavier, #15 Belmont, #16 Oral Roberts
Regular season Champions: #1 Memphis, #2 UCLA, #3 Gonzaga, #9 Bucknell, #11 San Diego State, #12 Kent State, #16 Oral Roberts

Midwest Region
Tournament Champions: #3 Florida, #5 Nevada, #11 Wisconsin-Milwaukee, #12 Montana, #13 Pacific, #14 South Alabama, #15 Davidson, #16 Monmouth
Regular season Champions: #2 Ohio State, #5 Nevada, #11 Wisconsin-Milwaukee, #13 Pacific

South Region
Tournament Champions: #1 Duke, #3 Iowa, #5 Syracuse, #9 UNC-Wilmington, #11 Southern Illinois, #13 Iona, #14 Northwestern State, #16 Southern
Regular season Champions: #1 Duke, #2 Texas, #4 LSU, #8 George Washington, #9 UNC-Wilmington, #14 Northwestern State, #15 Penn, #16 Southern

East Region
Tournament Champions: #14 Murray State, #15 Winthrop, #16 Albany
Regular season Champions: #1 UConn, #7 Wichita State, #14 Murray State, #15 Winthrop, #16 Albany

One of these things is not like the other... one of these things just doesn't belong...

So of all the teams in their region, there is just one besides UConn in the top thirteen seeds that has either a regular season or tournament title to their name. And that team isn't from a power conference - the Missouri Valley was good this year, but having the Missouri Valley regular season champ at #7 isn't quite the same as having the Big 12 regular season champ at #2 (as Duke did in Texas). There is little to dispute that Tennessee was the weakest #2 seed. And now UConn's path to the Final Four is obscured only by a #11 seed that didn't win its conference tournament, didn't win the regular season (though they finished second only on a tiebreaker in favor of NC-Wilmington), and had never won an NCAA Tournament game prior to this year.

Did Jim Calhoun schedule this region? Is it December?

All this and Connecticut still should have lost its latest game in which no one but Marcus Williams showed up (someone probably told him the winner got free laptops). When Mike Jensen - who, if this were the NFL, would have been cut immediately following the game - fouled Williams on the and-one with ten seconds to go, I noted to Alma (who had, I presume amused by it, asked me to do color commentary) that "that's not a good foul by Jensen... he should have just conceded the layup. Now even if Washington hits both at the other end, it's only a one-possession game." I could not have been more dead-on - after Roy made his two free throws, UConn tied the game on a three with 1.8 left (of course). And anyone who thought Washington was winning in overtime was nuts.

The funny thing is, UConn has this ridiculously easy road with no seed higher than a #5, and yet they aren't even winning well. Their average margin of victory is 8 ppg, and that includes the "it was closer than this" 13-point win over Albany. Average margin in four games against their low-seed cakewalk in 2004? 17.5. Average margin in four games against their low-seed cakewalk in 1999? 15.5. It's abundantly clear that, despite the preposterous series of games the Huskies get to play (or really because of it), this is easily the weakest of those three teams. And if this team does somehow win the title, if it suddenly manages to stay interested for a full game - something that hasn't happened now since, oh, February 26 against Villanova - this will be one of the lousiest teams ever to do it. Not in terms of raw talent, mind you, but in terms of actual quality of play. In a better year, this team would already have lost by now (or with a fairer draw, instead of the worst #8 seed in the tournament who still nearly beat them and a #5 that was known for underachieving for much of the year); in 2006, with its unthinkable level of parity and lack of more than a handful of teams of significant quality, UConn can afford to coast. And it just makes me upset.

Oh yeah, other games. Glad Nova and Florida hung on to give me the right Elite Eight over there. And I'll be interested to see if Mason can hang with UConn like everyone else has. They should have the defense... man, if Mason goes to the Final Four? Can that please happen? I swear, if UConn loses to Mason the entire rest of the tournament is just gravy.