...Otherwise known as Blackout Saturday for Kentucky residents.
I decided to share my inclinations on what we will see tomorrow night, with Kentucky-Louisville tipping off the first game in New Orleans in a little under 15 hours from now. Of course, these are just my unprofessional insights, and judging by my bracket this year, these predictions are likely to be horrifically inaccurate.
Honestly, I'm not very sure how Louisville got to this point. It wasn't so long ago that I was watching this team struggle early on to beat teams like Miami Ohio at home when they were ranked #4 in the country. I didn't have much expectations for this team all season, yet they came into Manhattan for the Big East tournament and completely took Madison Square Garden by storm. They've been on a roll since opening up with an ugly looking game against Seton Hall in the Big East tournament opener, winning 8 postseason games in a row. Kemba swag has definitely been set to ON for Siva and the Cardinals this postseason.
Kentucky has been a clear #1 team in the country for most of the season now, and have continued to look strong in the postseason despite a tough SEC championship loss to Vandy. Kentucky won the first matchup with their hated rivals in Lexington on Dec 30 of last year, winning by 7 points. This occurred during a time when Louisville looked to be heading in the wrong direction and were riddled with injuries. I personally feel that the Cardinals, being on a hot streak, will be able to really keep this game tight for most of the game, and with their mojo they even have a legitimate shot at knocking off the Wildcats. But in my gut, I feel the Wildcats are still the most talented team in the country and will be too much for Louisville to overcome. After a disappointing showing in ATL last weekend, look for freshman sensation Anthony Davis to come out strong tonight and dominate the boards all game. Marcus Kidd-Gilchrist was an absolute monster in the first matchup, and I expect him to contribute big time tomorrow as well. And if Terrence Jones gets going, Louisville might as well start up the buses early.
For the 2nd match-up, Kansas vs Ohio State, I'm not exactly sure what to expect. Kansas won the first match-up between these schools in Allen Fieldhouse (Kansas) earlier this season, but with limited action from star Buckeye center Jared Sullinger. With this in mind, I expect Sullinger to come out strong looking to makeup for his absence in the first game. However, Thomas Robinson has been arguably the best player in the country this year, helping this Jayhawk team tremendously overachieve all season long. Robinson has a knack for making huge plays in close games (a la vs Mizzou and Purdue) and willing his team to victory, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Robinson shutting down Sullinger beneath the basket. All in all, I feel that Kansas has the momentum going right now, and I expect them to continue that momentum right into the finals with an unfortunate date with Kentucky, who manhandled the Jayhawks in the very beginnings of this season.
For this weekend, the most important thing is that everyone enjoys the last weekend of college basketball for the 2011-2012 season. Good luck to all of you still alive in your bracket pools, although you have one sick mind to have a decent bracket by this point in the tournament. May God bless your troubled soul.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Introductions are in order...
How's it going everyone. My name's Will and I'm absolutely obsessed with college sports of all kind. This blog was initially started as part of a class I'm currently in, but since it's up I figured it would be a great chance to share some of my opions and news on the happenings in college sports. Everything from SEC football to Hockey East men's hockey, I've got you covered. As you can tell, I'm a Gamecock fan/student, but I will try and focus more on college sports in general rather than going on and on about how much better we are than Clemson (just kidding for the Tigers that may read this post). I look forward to sharing my thoughts with the world and hope that some people come across this blog, and if you like what you see please don't feel hesitant to share with friends/family/roommates/doctors/neighbors/mechanics/etc. I would love to hear some feedback, so anytime you feel the need to share something with me please do so.
Hope to keep some of you guys around here and up-to-date. It is my goal to teach the women readers who aren't sports fanatics some sports knowledge for impressing that special man in your life, and for guys you'll be able to win all your sports arguments with your friends and be the smartest guy in the room.
Welcome to threedayweekends.
Hope to keep some of you guys around here and up-to-date. It is my goal to teach the women readers who aren't sports fanatics some sports knowledge for impressing that special man in your life, and for guys you'll be able to win all your sports arguments with your friends and be the smartest guy in the room.
Welcome to threedayweekends.
Friday, March 23, 2012
State of the Students
Many students at big
universities such as USC can recall their first ever day arriving on their
college campus and the excitement that surrounds that day. Whether you follow
your high school friends to college, or decide to go somewhere different than
everyone else, students are introduced to an entirely new student population when
they first arrive on campus. As students begin to mingle with their new
roommates, suite mates, or floor mates, they encounter people from a variety of
backgrounds, often befriending those who live hundreds or even thousands of
miles away. Because of this, a large portion of discussion early on between new
friends in college involves where each other are from and their reasons for
picking the school they now attend. This topic is continuously brought up
throughout the college tenure as students are introduced to new people. To dig
deeper into this topic, I decided to investigate the backgrounds of some of the
student population at the University of South Carolina, including two of my friends
who were floor mates of mine during our freshman year.
The decision to attend college close to home versus
choosing to go out of state has been something of an interest to me ever since
being here at USC, especially the factors involved for deciding either option. To
better understand why people stay or leave home, I interviewed two friends: one
from Cincinnati, Ohio and another from Lexington, South Carolina. It was important
to get the perspective from both out-of-state and in-state students in order to
try and get an idea of what makes these two groups different from one another.
For Emily, my friend from Cincinnati, her biggest reason for leaving home was
the “opportunity to experience a new city.” This statement reflects the
feelings of many out of state students I have had conversations with regarding
the matter. The excitement of being somewhere new, and not confined to the same
environment that one grows up in, seems to be a big attraction for out of state
students.
USC
has enjoyed a nationally recognized and highly regarded International Business
program in its College of Business from well-respected college ranking publications
such as US World News. This recognition was a big selling point as well for Emily,
saying that she “wanted to attend a college with a good business school.” The idea
of being in one of the better Business schools in the nation, therefore,
becomes a very large pull factor for USC to those out-of-state students looking
at enrolling in the College of Business. Emily also expressed her desire to
attend a “good sized school with Division 1 athletics”, and this point is one
that can be echoed by a large majority of students who attend D-1 schools
across the nation. With the opportunity to play on nation-wide platforms like
ESPN, D-1 colleges are able to reach across states to potential students. Success
of college sports teams offers students a separate access of entertainment, and
a feeling of community among other students and fans in the wake of big
sporting events. For out-of-state students like Emily, the opportunity to watch
USC on TV increased the interest in the university, and getting to attend big
SEC games in a variety of sports at USC became another significant pull factor.
I
followed this interview up by talking to my old floor mate and now roommate,
Jon, from nearby Lexington, South Carolina. For Jon, money was the biggest
reason for staying close. “It’s so much cheaper to stay in-state and to stay
close, since I don’t have to travel far to get here”, he replied. For Jon, it
was less about staying close due to home sickness as it was about cost of being
close to home and receiving in-state tuition. The disparity between in-state
and out-of-state tuition is certainly a tremendous factor in many college
students’ decisions as to where to go. At USC, for instance, there is a $19,000
difference between the tuition for in-state and out-of-state students. Being a
public, as well as the flagship, university in South Carolina, it is the
mission of USC to educate as many residents of the state as possible, which
requires making the price of this education affordable for the majority of
residents in South Carolina. The USC mission statement, updated in June of 2010,
specifically identifies the citizens of South Carolina as being the ultimate
responsibility of USC. The mission, found on USC’s main website, states that “the
primary mission of the University of South Carolina is the education of the
state’s diverse citizens through teaching, research, creative activity, and
service.” This responsibility USC undertakes to teach its residents is what
keeps tuition prices for the residents considerably lower than for out-of-state
students. It is this feeling of responsibility for the residents of South
Carolina that keeps many students in the state and allows for students like Jon
the opportunity to attend college a receive education on the highest levels.
Although
there is only mention of in-state students in USC’s original mission, there is
a small statement dealing with the issue of out-of-state students under a
separate section on USC’s website labeled “SC Difference”. The University
declares that “years ago, USC recognized the value that out-of-state students
bring in terms of diversity, backgrounds, opinions, and talents. At that time,
our enrollment began to grow as students from other states entered our system.”
From this, it appears that it has been a fairly recent goal for USC to increase
its out-of-state student population. As of now, the University claims that “USC
students who hail from outside the state represent about 33 percent of our
total student population.” From these figures, we can see that about 67 percent
of the current population comes from in-state, and with USC’s stance on its responsibility
to provide residents with an affordable education, it comes as no surprise.
However, the statement goes on to say that “now nationally recognized- for
athletics, the arts, business, and science- USC brings distinction to our state
and is a driver in economic development. It can be seen that USC has begun to
realize that attracting out-of-state students through things such as athletics
and business (as Emily touched upon during our interview), USC is able to
further diversify the state and to put the state in more of a national
spotlight, and helps to drive economic growth.
From
these interviews and statements from the University, the question of in-state
versus out-of-state, at least at USC, becomes a bit clearer. Opportunities to
explore a new city and be introduced to a new environment, along with success
in programs like athletics and business, generate interest in USC from students
out of state. At the same time, USC’s original mission to provide the citizens
of South Carolina with an affordable education helps keep many students, like Jon,
close to home. Although the numbers are skewed towards an in-state majority at
USC, there is a good chance that each student that you meet will have a very
different background from your own. It is important that students not simply
restrict their learning for inside the classroom walls, but to continue the
learning process as they encounter and befriend other students from backgrounds
so that they may continue to better understand the nation and world around
them.
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