INDIANAPOLIS'While the UW men's basketball team will not take the Conseco Fieldhouse court until 1 p.m. today, exciting things have already occurred in the Big Ten Tournament. From Iowa Hawkeye senior guard Luke Recker's nine for 10 shooting performance to Michigan junior forward LaVell Blanchard's 26 points, good basketball was abundant on the opening day of action Thursday.
However, the most significant, yet unappreciated, aspect of the first day is the finality of a single-elimination tournament. This phenomenon, common to college basketball and professional football, can bring grown men to tears.
Unlike college basketball, if a team loses a postseason game in, say the National Hockey League playoffs, the players know that they have another game to make things right.
For fans, the postseason tournament's concept is easy to comprehend'survive and advance.
After losing one of these games, it is very common for players and coaches alike to be at a loss for words, in part due to this survival mentality and the sudden end to a season.
\I think the finality is that you don't get to play,"" Penn State Head Coach Jerry Dunn said after Minnesota defeated the Nittany Lions 84-60. ""I think the best thing about the tournament format is that you have the opportunity to advance to the NCAA Tournament.""
Even if a team has a good chance of playing in another tournament, such as the National Invitational Tournament, losing any tournament game is gut-wrenching because the players and coaches alike are not guaranteed anything beyond the upcoming game.
But the one-and-done system of college basketball can hold lessons for the future.
""For our seniors' sake, I told them that as you prepare for life, you have to be prepared for adversity and have a response to it that turns out positive in the future,"" Purdue Head Coach Gene Keady said after his Boilermakers lost to Iowa 87-72 to end the year with a 13-17 record.
The final game can also provide the opportunity for reflection on the season past, especially for seniors who are team leaders.
""I don't think the team as a whole bought into [Coach Keady's] defensive philosophy this season,"" Purdue senior center John Allison said. ""When we did, it was too late.""
Yet the flip side is also true, as teams that advance understand they gave themselves the opportunity to extend their season by one game.
Penn State senior forward Tyler Smith said a tournament format gives everyone an equal chance to make the NCAA Tournament, even if the team has a bad regular season.
""I love the Big Ten Tournament,"" Smith said. ""It gives you a new sense of hope.""
Whatever the case may be, it is abundantly clear that emotion, both good and bad, is inexorably linked with the single-elimination tournament format. This is the beauty and the curse of March Madness.
