Two "Northern" Schools Could Topple Giants Come March

The NCAA Tournament, otherwise known as "March Madness", is my favorite time of the year. The reason being, the "Mom and Pops" occasionally take down the "IBMers". In fact, there is at least 1 upset in every NCAA tourney that no one is expecting.

However, in the case of Northern Iowa, those who call themselves "experts" on the science of Bracketology (those such as ESPN's Bracketologists Andy Katz and Joe Linardi) will agree that the Panthers have the talent to advance at least past the first round of the tournament.
A year ago, Northern Iowa, out of the Missouri Valley Conference, nearly took out Big Ten power Purdue University. Way back in 2004, they took eventual national runner up Georgia Tech down to the wire. A long, long time ago, the Panthers actually did take out the #3 seed Missouri on a last second shot in the first round of the 1990 NCAA Tourney. UNI was the #14 seed. I can actually tell you where that game was played: The Richmond Colosseum in Richmond, VA.

UNI has a terrific point guard that , like many great players in Mid-Major conferences, doesn't get the publicity because he doesn't play for a school in a "power conference". His name is Kwadzo (pron. Kajo) Ahelegbe. This year, his Senior year, Ahelegbe is averaging 11.8 points per game and 2.6 assists per game. He is a tremendous outside shooter and is capable of knocking down three pointers. The Panthers' top scorer is 6'8 Senior Forward Adam Koch. Koch is averaging 12.9 points per game and 4.4 rebounds per game. the Panthers have already beaten Boston College from the ACC, Iowa St. from the Big 12, and Iowa out of the Big 10. They are certainly the best college basketball team in the state of Iowa.

UNI had the nation's second longest winning streak until they were beaten by Wichita St. Tuesday night and were ranked #22 in the country. They are currently 16-2 on the year and 7-1 in the MVC. Unless they have a monumental collapse, Northern Iowa will once again make the field of 65 and will be a tough out for their first round opponent. Being that Ahelegbe and Koch are Seniors, they will want to go out with at least an NCAA Tournament win.

The other "Northern" school that may give someone worries, should they make the tournament, is Northern Colorado, who hails from the Big Sky Conference. The Big Sky has had some success in the NCAA Tournament, most recently #12 seeded Montana upsetting #5 seed Nevada in the first round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament. On two occasions, Weber St. won their first round games, defeating #3 seeded Michigan St. in 1995 and #3 seeded North Carolina four years later.

The Bears of Northern Colorado will need more than history to not only make the field of 65 but to win and advance. They are currently 16-4 on the season and are 5-2 in conference play. They stand in second place behind Weber St.. They came very close to upsetting Oklahoma in Norman, but lost 80-79. The Bears' top player is Senior Guard Will Figures. figures is averaging 16 points per game and 2.7 assists per game. His partner in the back court, Junior Guard Devon Beitzel, is averaging 14.6 PPG and 2.3 assists a game. Beitzel is a prolific three point shooter who on three occasions hit 5 trifectas and hit six threes in a 93-69 win over San Jose St. back on 12/21/09.

The Bears have 10 games left, one of which is against NCAA Div. ll foe Johnson & Wales. Should they win out, they will have an outstanding record of 26-4 going into the Big Sky Tournament and will have the selection committee's attention. The problem is that they don't have any big wins against the "power conferences". A win over Big Xll opponent Oklahoma would have helped. What will most likely happen, in my opinion, is that UNCO will lose two conference games and finish the regular season at 24-6 before the conference tournament. should they win the tournament, they're automatically in. However, a couple of wins in the tournament, yet not winning it, might get them an automatic bid. It will depend on their RPI rating along with the performance of teams throughout the country. If Northern Colorado does make it to the "Big Dance", they will be a tough out in the first round.