The Blue Workhorse

Tennessee basketball is back and better than ever, and coach Bruce Pearl will forever be loved by Tennessee Volunteer fans.

Or will he?

Attendance is up, significant upgrades have been made to the arena, and most importantly, the basketball Vols are winning. There is no doubt these positive strides began with the arrival of coach Bruce Pearl on the campus of the University of Tennessee, but when it is all said and done will Bruce have done more damage than resurrection at the end of his time on Rocky Top?

The weak were weeded out. What once was a field of 65 is now down to 4.

Everyone thought all four #1 seeds wouldn’t make it to the Final Four, but they proved the naysayers wrong. UCLA, North Carolina, Memphis, and Kansas each punched their tickets to the Final Four. Each will head to San Antonio with thoughts of national championship, and it is only thanks to some great individual performances throughout the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

But who had the most outstanding individual performance in the Elite Eight? Who has earned the right to be named the ‘Elite Eight Workhorse?’ In honor of the elite eight, here are the eight candidates:

While there have been some great team performances this year in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, it has been the individual performances of players such as Stephen Curry, Kevin Love, Michael Beasley, and Tyler Hansbrough that everyone is talking about.

So who had the single most outstanding performance? Who deserves the honor of being the ‘Sweet 16 Workhorse?’ The candidates:

I got an e-mail earlier today suggesting I check out YouMail and their voicemail greetings. I was skeptical at first, but since we recently got some love from SicEmDawgs.com, DawgSports.com, and on a message board at DawgRun.com, I figured I’d at least check out YouMail.

I’m not a big technological person when it comes to my cell phone since it really only works when it wants anyways, but I was impressed by the personalized team NCAA messages the site is promoting for March Madnes.

The NCAA men’s basketball tournament is traditionally about great and, often improbable, team runs spurred by uncanny individual performances, and this year’s tournament has been no different. There have been upsets and a lot of near upsets as any of the four #2 seeds could tell you after their second round contests as they each had to battle down to the wire against three #7 seeds and a Goliath-slaying #10 seed in Davidson. Those contests each had their own outstanding performances.

But who had the most outstanding performance to make them worthy of the distinction of being named the ‘2nd Round Workhorse?’ Here are our candidates (in alphabetical order):

There were several great games in the first round of this year’s NCAA men’s basketball tournament, whether it has been an upset (San Diego over Connecticut, Siena over Vanderbilt), a near upset (Duke surviving Belmont), or double-digit comebacks (Villanova over Clemson, Drake against Western Kentucky only to fall in OT), and each of the great games has had key players.

But who had the best game of the first round and has earned the right to be deemed the “1st Round Workhorse” or most outstanding performance of the first round of the NCAA tournament?

Here are our candidates (in alphabetical order):

University of Georgia seniors Sundiata Gaines and Dave Bliss watched as there once 11-point lead slowly slipped away to the #3 seeded Xavier Musketeers in the first round of the NCAA national tournament. The Bulldogs fell 73-61 but the score was not indicative of just how well UGA played throughout the game. They led by 7 with less than 10 minutes remaining and trailed by only 3 with just over a minute remaining before Xavier ended the game on a 9-0 free throw run.

The game was the culmination of the season and a span of over a week that saw UGA go from basketball obscurity to miracle run. It was also the culmination of Dennis Felton’s first five years at the helm of the Georgia Bulldogs men’s basketball program and four years of struggles that included trials, tribulations, transfers, and tragedies for Bliss and Gaines.

At about 9:30, a foul was called and suddenly everyone started looking up towards the roof of Atlanta’s Georgia Dome, where the SEC tournament is held, as a roaring noise scared many out of their seats. The fabric on the roof of the dome was harshly rippling, the catwalk/standard above the court was swaying back and forth, and in at least three areas (according to one of the broadcasters) the fabric was torn and debris fluttered down to the floor.

The players cleared the floor and many fans rushed into the concourse area. It appears very severe winds struck the dome, possibly even what could be classified as a tornado.