The Wake

The mayhem is inevitable. The upsets are shocking. With a simple flick of the wrist, ordinary human beings transform into legends. And a simple mistake, such as an inopportune timeout or turnover, can leave a player’s legacy, no matter the skill level, tainted forever. The Big Dance, or the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, is the climax of college basketball and is one of the most anticipated events in American sports. Fortunately, for Minnesotans, the Midwest Regional portion of the NCAA tournament will be held at the Metrodome for the first time since 2003, which means you can be a part of the drama and chaos of March Madness.

History at the Metrodome

For NCAA basketball purposes, the Metrodome appears to be the “House that Duke Built.” Both times the Final Four has been held at the Dome, Duke has won the National Championship (1992 and 2001). The Blue Devils’ coach Mike Krzyzewski has never lost in the dome, with a record of 6-0.
Three years ago the Dome was host to the Dwayne Wade show. His triple-double performance (29 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists) ended the favored Kentucky Wildcats 26-game winning streak and sent Marquette to its first Final Four since 1977. Even rapper Ice Cube was impressed with Wade’s performance by saying he merely “messed around and got a triple-double.”

Tickets

The best place to purchase tickets is through Gophersports.com. The tickets come in package deals of either $90 or $130. The packages include three games: two sweet 16 and one elite eight. Last minute tickets are available, but the choices will be limited and the majority of seats will be in the far reaches of the upper deck.

Tickets can also be purchased through other sources such as Ticket Triangle and TickCo, but the prices are more expensive than Gophersports.com. Through Ticket Triangle, one ticket in section 226 for a sweet 16 game costs $132 plus tax. At Gophersports.com you can purchase one ticket in section 226 to all three games for $130 plus tax. Still, if you have rich parents or an illegitimate job that produces an absurd amount of cash, and you are desperate for lower level seating, then others sources such as Ticket Triangle and TickCo are your only choices for pristine seating.

Minneapolis Regional Games

Florida Gators (3) vs. Georgetown Hoyas (7)

This is a game of redemption. For the Georgetown Hoyas getting to the NCAA tournament recently has been a struggle. They have qualified for the Big Dance 23 times in school history, winning the National Championship in 1984. But in the last four seasons, since 2001, the Hoyas have failed to qualify for the tournament. Finally, this season, Georgetown has not only qualified for the tournament, but has reached the sweet 16. They defeated Northern Iowa 54-49 in round one, and pounded Ohio State 70-52 in round 2.

Meanwhile, the Florida Gators have had no problems getting into the NCAA tournament, but have had a horrendous time winning games. For the first time since 2000, Florida has finally made it to the sweet 16 after losing in the first round twice and the second round three times.

The Hoyas need their aggressive team defense to stymie the surging Gators who have never trailed in the tournament and have outscored their first two opponents by 48 points.

Prediction: Florida Gators

Villanova Wildcats (1) vs. Boston College Eagles (4)

Boston College has finally reached the sweet 16 for the first time since 1994 after beating Pacific (13) 88-76 and Montana (12) 69-56. But things are about to get much more difficult against Villanova (1). The Wildcats survived a surprising scare against Monmouth (16) in the first round winning 58-45, and used precise free throw shooting to prevail over Arizona (8). Villanova remains the team to beat in the Minneapolis regional and should have too much talent for Boston College.

Prediction: Villanova Wildcats

The winners of the sweet sixteen games will face each other on Sunday, Mar. 19 at the Metrodome for a ticket to the Final Four.

Prediction to win Minneapolis regional: Villanova Wildcats