Karma is a bitch.
I left work a little early yesterday, because I saw that both Maryland and Syracuse were playing at 2:00, on ESPN networks, and I was finished with my meeting in time to catch most of the second half. Not only did I get home to find that the Maryland game was only on pay-per-view, but both of them lost. Syracuse lost by six in a game where they shot 16-28 from the free-throw line (at one point, they were 9-20), while Maryland played a horrible game and lost to Miami. They did have a shot to tie, but really, there’s no excuse for falling behind a 12-19 team by fifteen points in a single-elimination tournament.
Of course, Maryland’s loss is at least part of a pattern. Not just a pattern of losing to Miami this season, but the larger ACC pattern of lower-seeded teams winning: Florida State edged Clemson in the 8-9 game, NC State beat Duke in overtime, and Wake Forest knocked off Georgis Tech in a wild double-overtime game that took place after I went to bed.
This is clearly part of a ploy by the ACC to try to get all 12 teams into the NCAA tournament this year.