The NCAA Tournament started just this afternoon, and I can
already see my bracket crumbling before my eyes. There have already been
several first round upsets that I, along with 99% of the people in America, did
not see coming. I don’t know why I'm even surprised because this happens every
year. Upsets always happen. Although I do not really follow college basketball
whatsoever, I am always disappointed with how my bracket turns out. And since I
really don’t follow the whole season that much, I, like many others, rely
heavily on statistics. ESPN provides its users with an abundance of statistics
and comparisons to help people make informed decisions while filling out their
brackets. I often make choices that statistically make sense, only to see the
team I chose suffer a crushing upset. And I know I'm not the only one this has
happened to. But what I've come to realize, it's not our fault!
It's
important to remember that this is not the pros. They're all inconsistent
college kids, obviously things are going to go wrong. Looking at many of the
upsets just today, Little-Rock over Perdue for example, there is no reason they
should've won that game. While looking over the comparison of the two teams a
few days ago, Perdue were better in every statistical category: BPI Rank,
points per game, points against per game, field goal%, free throw%, etc. But that’s
why you play the game. If we relied on stats we wouldn't even have a tournament
in the first place. Upsets and unexpected moments are what make March Madness,
and all of sports for that matter, exciting to watch.
It really is all luck with a tournament like this- where one loss and a team is out and they play the games in such a short time frame. One injury or an important player having an off-day and a team is out. I guess that's where the fun comes from, though!
ReplyDelete