For Pete's Sake

Pitt basketball fans seem to be suffering from delusions of grandeur. 

Fans have mostly been expressing excitement that head coach Jamie Dixon packed his bags for his alma mater TCU this week.

Sure, the program trajectory hasn’t been great recently, 45-45 in the ACC over the past five years with one NCAA tournament win. However, Dixon built on Ben Howland’s success elevating a doormat into a perennial top 25 finisher over the past 13 years.

The NCAA tournament is all about the underdogs. 

That’s why Friday’s first round action has been such a thrill. It’s the first time in tournament history that a 13, 14 and 15 seed (Hawaii, Stephen F. Austin, Middle Tennessee) have all won on the same day.

How much fun would the underdogs be having if the tournament committee had not doled out so many snubs on Selection Sunday?

The committee opted to give tournament bids to several middling high-major teams over the mid-majors. That group included:

Vanderbilt: 19-13 record, 63rd in RPI

Oregon State: 18-12 record, 33rdin RPI

Syracuse: 19-13 record, 72nd in RPI

Michigan, 21-12, 57th in RPI

Tulsa: 20-11 record, 58th in RPI

The mid-majors that missed the cut included:

St. Bonaventure: 22-8 record, 30th in RPI

San Diego State: 25-9, 41st in RPI

Monmouth: 27-7 record, 52nd in RPI

St. Mary's: 27-5 record, 38th in RPI

Valparaiso: 24-6, 49th in RPI

If you’re keeping score those middling high-major teams have a 2-4 tourney record, with one win guaranteed from play-in game between Michigan and Tulsa. 

Meanwhile, those snubbed mid-majors are tearing up the NIT Tournament with a combined 5-1 (only St. Bonaventure lost).

I hope this is a one-year aberration. I don’t want the deck stacked in favor of college sports power brokers because when given the chance the underdogs prove their worth. 

The first day of the NCAA men’s tournament gave us seven upsets by seed. We had to wait until Friday afternoon for the first true bracket busting win.

We just broke every bracket in the world. RAIDERS WIN! RAIDERS WIN! RAIDERS WIN! Final Score: MT 90, MSU 81

— MT Basketball (@MT_MBB)

March 18, 2016

Middle Tennessee, a 15 seed, toppled 2 seed Michigan State, 90-81, in a wire-to-wire win. The Blue Raiders became the eighth 15 seed to pull off an upset. It is the fourth 15-2 upset in the past five years.

Expectations were huge for Michigan State which brought back most of its key players from a Final Four run last year. While shocking Middle Tennesse’s win is not the biggest upset in touranment history.

That belongs to Norfolk State, which defied the 21.5-point spread and stunned Missouri in the 2012 first round, 86-84.

The Blue Raider win is historic in another way. No. 2 ranked Michigan State became the highest AP-ranked team to lose its first round game.

College basketball has been topsy-turvy all year. The teams ranked in the top 10 lost a combined 80 games and the four No. 1 seeds (Kansas, Oregon, North Carolina and Virginia) lost a combined 23 games, both of which are the most all-time.

That has some thinking the ultimate upset could happen. In the NCAA men’s tournament No. 16 seed teams are 0-124 against No. 1 seed teams.

CBS college basketball analyst Seth Davis believes that No. 16 Florida Gulf Coast has a shot against the No. 1 North Carolina. But I believe No. 1 Virginia is more at risk this year.

The Cavaliers like to play at a deliberate tempo averaging roughly 62 possessions per game. That means each possession is magnified and if 16-seeded Hampton has a great shooting day (they average 30.8 percent from three-point range) it puts a lot pressure on Virginia.

March Madness is always one of my favorite times of the year. There’s nothing quite like rooting for the underdogs against college basketball’s blue bloods. 

It’s hard to fathom that one-third of the 2014 MLB season is already in the books. While divisions are not won during April and May, they can certainly be lost during the past couple months. The same can be said of my preseason MLB predictions. A few are looking a lost at this moment.

AL East: Tampa Bay Rays Current Standing: 5th Place (23-32)

The Rays have had more 90-win seasons in the past six years (five) than any other team in baseball. With a strong youthful rotation anchored by Cy Young contender David Price, I figured they’d be in the mix again.

What’s gone wrong? The Rays haven’t been hitting at all, 13th in the AL in runs scored, and the starting pitching has been porous. Starter Matt Moore, lost to Tommy John surgery, and his 17 wins has been severely missed, while Price has not been sharp posting a 4.27 ERA and giving up 12 homers.

AL Central: Detroit Tigers Current Standing: 1st Place (31-20)

No more Prince Fielder, no problems. The Tigers still boast one of the best 1-2-3 starting pitching combinations with Cy Young winners Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, along with 2013 ERA champ Anibal Sanchez. This is more defensive oriented team that past year’s, and the Tigers seem to be on track for another deep postseason run.

AL West: Texas Rangers Current Standing: 3rd Place (28-27)

With a rebuilt lineup around lefties Prince Fielder and Shin-Soo Choo, Texas appeared to get that offensive push to get back to the top of the AL West. Especially, with Oakland looking vulnerable after losing starters Jarrod Parker and A.J. Griffin to Tommy John surgery.

What’s gone wrong? In one word: injuries. The Rangers’ roster looks like a MASH unit, with six everyday players on the DL, headlined by Fielder being sidelined for the year. While Oakland has plugged in new arms and kept on winning.

AL Wildcard: NY Yankees (29-25) & LA Angels (30-24)

These picks are on track so far. The Yankees went back to being the Yankees adding Masahiro Tanaka, Jacoby Ellsbury, Carlos Beltran, Brian McCann and Hiroki Kuroda. As for the Angels, they were .500 team with zero production from Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton. Given the potential pitching issues in Oakland and Texas, and their own rebuilt rotation, the Halos seemed poised to contend for the playoffs.

NL East: Washington Nationals Current Standing: 3rd Place (27-27)

Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, Gio Gonzalez and offseason acquisition Doug Fister meant the Nats had the best NL rotation on paper. With the Braves losing several pitchers to Tommy John surgery, the window was again open to take to control.

What’s gone wrong? The pitching has been great, but the offense has been middle of the pack in the NL. Washington needs Bryce Harper and Ryan Zimmerman to come back soon and start slugging.

NL Central: St. Louis Cardinals Current Standing: 2nd Place (30-26)

The Cardinals are still the best team in the NL Central, despite sitting in second place at the one-third season mark. What I didn’t expect, the Milwaukee Brewers would win 20 of 28 in the opening month of the season. The 2014 Brewers should fade, because the team is in the bottom five in walk rate (6.8 percent). Walks equal baserunners, and baserunners generally lead to runs. The lack of free passes will inevitably lead to an offensive collapse or an overreliance on the pitching staff, either of which will be trouble in August and/or September.

NL West: San Francisco Giants Current Standing: 1st Place (36-20)

It is even numbered year and San Francisco’s pitchers should be fresh since they didn’t have a deep playoff run. With Buster Posey, Hunter Pence, Pablo Sandoval and Michael Morse, the Giants should score runs and have been. The Giants are third in the NL in runs scored.

NL Wildcard: LA Dodgers (30-27) & Pittsburgh Pirates (25-30)

The Dodgers remain the best team in baseball on paper. With four players earning $20M-plus and 10 players making $10M-plus, they probably have this season before the locker room becomes too toxic and implodes. There’s no reason LA should miss the playoffs.

The Pirates ended a 20-year losing streak, made the playoffs and pushed St. Louis to five games in the NLDS. I figured Pittsburgh might take a small step back, the roster is still stocked with talent led by MVP Andrew McCutchen. I figured with top prospects Jameson Taillon and Gregory Polanco ready to be called up they’d get a needed both mid-season. What’s gone wrong? The starting pitching outside Gerrit Cole has been terrible. There’s still time to play their way into contention, but the rotation needs so help.