Seeding is believing

If this is the year of final-second brainlock, head-scratching officiating and Gus Johnson earplugs in the NCAA Basketball Tournament, it's also the year of the double-digit seed, as no less than four teams seeded 10th or higher have danced their way into the Sweet 16.

Marquette (above, 10th), Florida State (10th) VCU (11th) and Richmond (12th) are all still alive, marking the second-most double-digit seeds to have gone this far since the 64-team format was introduced in 1985.

This is about the time you should be asking, "When was the most?" Funny you should ask, as this is also about the time for us to tell you the record is five double-digit teams in the Sweet 16, accomplished during March Madness in 1999.

Gonzaga (10th), Miami, Ohio (10th), Purdue (10th), Southwest Missouri State (12th) and Oklahoma (13th) were among the final 16 teams that year. Unfortunately for the underdogs, only Gonzaga made it to the Elite Eight, and subsequently lost to Richard Hamilton and eventual NCAA champion UConn -- a little something for this year's upstarts to chew on this weekend.

We do know that at least one double-digit seed is guaranteed a spot in the Elite Eight, as Florida State and VCU will face each other in the Southwest Region semifinals. The other two survivors will have the cards stacked against them: Marquette has No. 2-seed North Carolina, while Richmond squares off with No. 1-seed Kansas.

There have been 12 times since 1985 that at least three double-digit teams made it to the Sweet 16. Here's a closer look:

1985 / 3 / Kentucky (12), Auburn (11), Boston College (11)

1986 / 3 / LSU (11), Cleveland State (14), DePaul (12)

1988 / 3 / Washington (11), Valparaiso (13), West Virginia (10)

1991 / 3 / Connecticut (11), Temple (10), Eastern Michigan (12)

1997 / 3 / Providence (10), Tennessee-Chattanooga (14), Texas (10)

1998 / 3 / Washington (11), West Virginia (10), Valparaiso (13)

1999 / 5 / Southwest Missouri State (12), Purdue (10), Oklahoma (13), Miami, Ohio (10), Gonzaga (10)

2001 / 3 / Gonzaga (12), Temple (11), Georgetown (10)

2002 / 3 / Kent State (10), Missouri (12), Southern Illinois (11)

2008 / 3 / Villanova (12), Davidson (10), Western Kentucky (12)

2010 / 3 / St. Mary's (10), Washington (11), Cornell (12)

2011 / 4 / Marquette (11), Florida State (10), VCU (11), Richmond (12).

Maybe not so dumb, after all

After watching sports all my life, it's amazing enough to see something you've never seen before. But to see something you've never seen before twice within moments of each other, especially with one incident more inexplicable than the one before, well, that's something else again. A perfect storm.

It's even more amazing, inspiring, even, when the perpetrator of said most inexplicable act might even be able to turn it into a life lesson.

You may not know the name Nasir Robinson (above, left), and hopefully for his sake, the junior from the University of Pittsburgh won't find himself rubbing elbows in perpetuity with the likes of Bill Buckner, Chris Webber, Steve Bartman and Fred Merkle when it comes to being in the wrong place at the wrong time in sport annals. But this morning, Robinson's definitely in the same room.

With 1.4 seconds left in Pitt's NCAA tournament game against giant-killer Butler Saturday night, Robinson was standing as a defender while Pitt teammate Gilbert Brown hit the first of two free throws to tie the game 70-70. Seconds earlier, Brown had been the victim of a mind-boggling foul by Butler's Shelvin Mack, who bumped Brown at midcourt with Butler holding a one-point lead.

Now, it looked like Butler would pay the price for such a mindless act with Pitt at the line with a chance to somehow steal the game. And after Brown sunk the first free throw, at least this would be decided in overtime.

That is, until Brown missed the second shot, which put Robinson in the spotlight. The rebound came down to Butler's Matt Howard (above, right), who only had to hoist a full-court prayer, and make it, and do it all in 0.8 seconds for the game NOT to go into OT.

Which is what should have happened, until Robinson's left arm, for some reason, came down on Howard's right arm. Foul. Butler's Howard to the line, and one free throw later, it was over, as the Bulldogs escaped with a 71-7o win.

That all brings us back to my earlier point, which is why Robinson might be able to sneak out the back door before Bartman offers to buy a round for the house.

"I take the blame, man. I take the blame for the loss," Robinson told the Associated Press afterward. "I've been playing basketball my whole life and I know I shouldn't have done that. It was a stupid play. It wasn't the ref's fault. It was my fault."

The fact Robinson was able to face the criticism and spotlight he never wanted speaks volumes for his maturity and accountability. It's hard to fathom now, but one day he may be able to look back and say the experience helped him.

He's only a junior, so he'll get another chance next season on the basketball court, and then for the rest of his life off it.

I'm rooting for him. And you should too.

The bad seed

Admit it. When you were filling out your brackets before the Madness of March officially began, you really didn't want to hand one in that had all four No. 1 seeds headed to the Final Four. Because if you did, you'd be banking on something that has happened only ONCE since the NCAA began seeding tournament teams in 1979.

Sounds logical, doesn't it? You'd think choosing ostensibly the best four teams in the land to reach the Final Four would be the way to office pool superstar.

Fact is, we all know the only way to have a shot at ascending to that atmosphere is to be lucky enough to nail those upsets we know are coming (see Butler, Northern Iowa, Cornell and St. Mary's). It's just that nobody knows where and when the sneaker will drop. One reason is because it's simply so rare when the top four seeds in the tournament are that much better than many of the other 60 teams playing for the national championship. Also, every opponent will be playing in the biggest game of their lives, and every time a top seed takes the floor, everyone's looking to knock them off.

At least the Lehighs, Vermonts and Arkansas-Pine Bluffs made it to the party this time, which is more than can be said for the likes of frequent dancers UConn, North Carolina, UCLA, Indiana and Arizona. But that's another story for another time.

The only year all four top seeds made it to the Final Four was 2008, when Kansas, Memphis, North Carolina and UCLA all survived their regions, with Mario Chalmers and the Jayhawks eventually winning it all.

With all the upsets in this year's tournament, it got me thinking about Final Fours that didn't feature ANY top-seeded teams. Had Baylor hung on to oust Duke in the South Region Final last night, it not only would have clinched winning the bracket pool I entered (sorry for digressing), but it would have marked the third time since 1979 that the Final Four contained no top seeds. It happened in 2006, when UCLA (2), Florida (3), LSU (4) and Cinderella George Mason (12) made it, with the Joakim Noah-led Gators winning it. Before that, you have to go all the way back to 1980, when Louisville (2), Iowa (5), Purdue (6) and UCLA (9) vied for the title, eventually taken by Darrell Griffith and the Cardinals.

So, hard as it may be to believe, it's statistically more likely that the Final Four will be comprised of NO top seeds (twice) than it is to have ALL top seeds (once). Chew on that when you're handed your empty bracket for the 2011 Final Four.

As it is, the Dukies are the only top-seeded team headed to Indianapolis, a scenario that has occurred 10 times prior. Of those 10 Final Fours, the lone No. 1 seed has won the championship five times (Michigan State in 2000, UCLA in 1995, Arkansas in 1994, Duke in 1992 and UNLV in 1990). So statistically speaking, the Devils have a 50 percent chance of cutting down the nets a week from tonight.

We'll see what Michigan State, Butler and West Virginia have to say about that.

Three you later

I was all set to write this morning about how the common script usually unfolds during the NCAA Tournament: Inspired, nothing-to-lose lower-seeded team takes early lead against higher-seeded, playing-on-their-heels higher-seeded team. Lower-seeded team, forgetting what got them to this point, gets greedy and begins to fire up a barrage of misguided 3-point shots that find nothing but rim. Higher-seeded team grabs rebound, ignites fast break and scores in transition, cutting into lower-seeded team's lead.

Repeat until higher-seeded team collects itself and wins.

Quick digression: I'm reminded of a scene from when I covered the Pat Riley-led Knicks in the mid-'90s. The Knicks were playing the Sixers in Philly, and our media seats were on the baseline, about 15 feet from the Knicks bench. Greg Anthony, now a commentator on ESPN and then a sometimes-undisciplined point guard, dribbled the ball up court. With about 19 seconds left on the shot clock, Anthony threw up a ridiculous 3 attempt that bricked off the rim. The Sixers got the rebound, flew down court and scored on the fast break. Riley immediately called time. As the Knicks sat in front of him, Riley said nothing, glaring at Anthony. Finally, with the 30-second break about to expire, Riley screams at Anthony, "What the f--- were you thinking?!?" With that, the buzzer sounded and the Knicks quickly retook the floor.

Back to the present. The scenario at the beginning of this post unfolded twice Thursday night; Xavier connected on only 12 of 28 from 3-point range in a double-OT loss to Kansas State (8-for-19 from 3), and the erstwhile-Cinderella Cornell was only 5-of-21 as it was ousted by mighty Kentucky (only 2-of-16 from 3).

Leave it to someone to buck the trend, though. The Butler did it.

The Bulldogs shot 6-of-24 from beyond the arc against Syracuse, but the Orange -- taking its usual bracket misstep -- fell prey to Butler's defense and was outscored 11-0 down the stretch on the way to a 63-59 elimination. Syracuse, the best 3-point shooting team in the NCAA during the regular season (7-for-19 on Thursday), thus joins Kansas as top-seeded tourney teams that will be watching the Final Four from their living rooms.

So keep a keen eye on the 3-point numbers on Friday -- especially from upstarts Northern Iowa (vs. Michigan State) and St. Mary's (vs. Baylor).

And we'll see if these longshots keep shooting short from far away.