BYU, Boise State Basketball Teams Slide into NCAA Tournament

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I dodged a few bullets with this year's NCAA Basketball Tournament. Not only did BYU (25-9) and Boise State (25-8)  make the playoff field, but they avoid playing each-other, despite being in one of two play-in games involving the exact same seed (#11). And did I mention that #11 is a lucky number in Boise?

This marks the first time since 2013 that the teams have made the NCAA Tournament. Thanks to a win at Gonzaga, Collinsworth's triple double record and Tyler Haws's all time scoring record, BYU fans should remember this year for a long time. Derrick Marks, who shoots almost 50% from the field, was key in guiding this year's squad from Boise, which had a pretty strong start and finish to the season (in the middle of the season they lost 4 games in a row due to the injury of Anthony Drmic).

NCAA Basketball Tournament Championship 2014

Hardly anybody anticipated that the University of Connecticut and the University of Kentucky would find themselves in the National Championship Game of the NCAA Tournament. The Connecticut Huskies were seeded number seven in their region, and the Kentucky Wildcats got an eight in theirs.

The Huskies defeated St. Josephs 89-81, Villanova 77-65, Iowa State 81-76, Michigan State 60-54 and Florida 63-53 to get to the big game. Kentucky won their games by very narrow margins. They beat Kansas State by a score of 56-49, Wichita State 78-76, Louisville 74-69, Michigan 75-72 and Wisconsin 74-73.

For Kentucky, James Young lead the team in game points with 20. Husky Shabazz Napier scored 22, including 4/9 on three pointers. Connecticut lead by 15 points in the first half, but Kentucky came back little by little. In the end, Connecticut won 60-54 and is the 2014 NCAA Basketball National Champion! The team also recently won the Championship, back in 2011.

El Partido Campeonato Nacional 2014 de baloncesto NCAA

Casi nadie anticipaba que la universidad de Connecticut ni la Universidad de Kentucky se hallaran en el Partido Campeonato Nacional del Torneo NCAA. Los Huskies de Connecticut fueron posicionados número siete (número uno es lo más prestigioso, 16 lo de menos prestigio) de su región, y los Wildcats de Kentucky recibieron posición ocho en la suya.

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Los Huskies derrotaron a St Josephs 89-81, Villanova 77-65, Iowa State 81-76, Michigan State 60-54 y Florida 63-53 para llegar al partido grande. Kentucky jugó y ganó a Kansas State 56-49, Wichita State 78-76, Louisville 74-69, Michigan 75-72 y Wisconsin 74-73.

Para Kentucky, James Young lideró al equipo en puntos en el partido con 20. Shabazz Napier de los Huskies anotó 22, incluso 4/9 en triples. Connecticut lideró por 15 puntos en la primera mitad, pero Kentucky remontó poco a poco. Al final, Connecticut ganó 60-54 y es el Campeón Nacional 2014 de baloncesto NCAA.

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Florida, Wichita State Head NCAA Tournament

Before Wichita State's magical 34-0 season this year, no team had gone undefeated with 34 victories. Although the schedule wasn't very difficult, Wichita State showed that they deserved a number one seed by "running the table" with little trouble. One game went to overtime, and just a handfull of other games were within single digits, but most of the games were blowouts.

Florida (32-2), however, received the most poll votes and the number one overall seeding in the tournament. The team went undefeated at home and lost two close games against tough opponents on the road. They had a number of close games, including a one point victory over both Florida State in November and Kentucky in the Championship Game of the Southeastern Conference.

Arizona (30-4) and Virginia (28-6) hold the other top spots in the tournament.

As usual, the Tournament selection had some surprises. Kansas received a two seed despite nine losses, and VCU (28-8) has a five seed and plays a potential bracket-buster in SF Austin (27-2).  SMU (23-9) is a team that just missed the tournament. Southern Mississippi (25-6) is another team that got snubbed, who had the exact same RPI as BYU (22-11), a team that was selected as a 10 seed, to the surprise of some. 

If you count the play-in-games, the 68 team tournament starts Tuesday, March 18; The "Round of 64" starts Thursday, March 20.