Despite being touted as a potential Cinderella team, Conference USA's champion, Middle Tennessee, failed to make it past the second round of the NCAA tournament. Many people saw Middle Tennessee as a potential Cinderella story since the Blue Raiders returned a bulk of their players from last year's team that defeated #2 seed Michigan State in the NCAA tournament. Every year the tournament sees upsets, but Middle Tennessee's shocking win over the Spartans gave the Blue Raiders the distinction of being one of the eight #15 seeded teams to win a first round game. After defeating #5 seed Minnesota, the #12 seed Blue Raiders were primed to advance in this year's tournament. However, last night's loss to Butler in the second round ended Middle Tennessee's dream of a Cinderella story. But as much as we love a Cinderella story, not all stories have a fairy tale ending. And in the case of Middle Tennessee, sometimes the slipper just doesn't fit.
So what constitutes a true Cinderella Story? Cinderella stories involve a major upset that happens when an underdog rises up out of nowhere to defy expectations and defeat a team that is largely projected to win. And It seems every year we see major upsets in the first round but because March Madness is a two-week tournament, a team is typically not considered a Cinderella story unless it breaks into the Sweet 16. Over the years there have been various rankings of the NCAA tournament's best Cinderellas and Sports Illustrated has provided a ranking of 16 of the best-ever including the 2002 Kent State Elite Eight team (click web address below for rankings).
http://www.si.com/college-basketball/2015/08/11/best-cinderella-ncaa-tournament-march-madness
Now that Sports Illustrated has identified the best-ever Cinderellas, what really makes an NCAA tournament Cinderella? What's in a Cinderella's statistical DNA? In the article, "March Madness: Three Traits that a Cinderella must have," the author suggests the three traits of a Cinderella are offensive efficiency, turnover margin, and experience. After examining Kent State's 2001-2002 team, it's clear that the Flashes excelled in all three areas. Led by Kent State's all-time leading scorer, Trevor Huffman, the Flashes averaged 75.9 points a game. Both Huffman and Antonio Gates averaged 16.0 points a game, followed by Andrew Mitchell with 15.2, Demetric Shaw with 7.2, Eric Thomas with 5.0, and Nate Gerwig with 4.8.
In the article, "A Run To Remember: The 2002 Kent State Golden Flashes," Brad Ward writes, "The senior-laden Flashes club saw everything fall into place." He states, "They became incredibly efficient offensively, lead by the dominating inside presence of JUCO power forward transfer Antonio Gates and the steady perimeter scoring of guards Trevor Hoffman and Andrew Mitchell." With respect to Kent State's defense, Ward writes, "More importantly they became an aggressive and extraordinarily effective defensive team, smothering opponent after opponent with Demetric Shaw leading the way."
As a testimony to its achievements, the 2001-2002 team was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in Kansas City, Missouri last year and and will have an exhibit on display until next November based on its postseason, as a part of the “Ten Most Memorable Runs In NCAA Tournament History.”
Although this year's team made it to the NCAA tournament, few if any fans really believed it would make a deep run like the Flashes did in 2002. Despite averaging 77 points per game, only senior Jimmy Hall was a consistent scorer all season leading the team with 683 points and 19.0 points per game. Returning only two starters and four lettermen from last year's squad, the Flashes lacked the experience of the Elite Eight team and did not possess its favorable turnover margin.
Hopefully, the Flashes will once again become another Cinderella just like the 2001-2002 team. But until Kent State assembles an experienced squad with offensive efficiency and turnover margin, the Flashes' chances of a Sweet 16 run will be relatively low no matter how badly we wish to see one.
http://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball...rch-madness-three-traits-cinderella-must-have
So what constitutes a true Cinderella Story? Cinderella stories involve a major upset that happens when an underdog rises up out of nowhere to defy expectations and defeat a team that is largely projected to win. And It seems every year we see major upsets in the first round but because March Madness is a two-week tournament, a team is typically not considered a Cinderella story unless it breaks into the Sweet 16. Over the years there have been various rankings of the NCAA tournament's best Cinderellas and Sports Illustrated has provided a ranking of 16 of the best-ever including the 2002 Kent State Elite Eight team (click web address below for rankings).
http://www.si.com/college-basketball/2015/08/11/best-cinderella-ncaa-tournament-march-madness
Now that Sports Illustrated has identified the best-ever Cinderellas, what really makes an NCAA tournament Cinderella? What's in a Cinderella's statistical DNA? In the article, "March Madness: Three Traits that a Cinderella must have," the author suggests the three traits of a Cinderella are offensive efficiency, turnover margin, and experience. After examining Kent State's 2001-2002 team, it's clear that the Flashes excelled in all three areas. Led by Kent State's all-time leading scorer, Trevor Huffman, the Flashes averaged 75.9 points a game. Both Huffman and Antonio Gates averaged 16.0 points a game, followed by Andrew Mitchell with 15.2, Demetric Shaw with 7.2, Eric Thomas with 5.0, and Nate Gerwig with 4.8.
In the article, "A Run To Remember: The 2002 Kent State Golden Flashes," Brad Ward writes, "The senior-laden Flashes club saw everything fall into place." He states, "They became incredibly efficient offensively, lead by the dominating inside presence of JUCO power forward transfer Antonio Gates and the steady perimeter scoring of guards Trevor Hoffman and Andrew Mitchell." With respect to Kent State's defense, Ward writes, "More importantly they became an aggressive and extraordinarily effective defensive team, smothering opponent after opponent with Demetric Shaw leading the way."
As a testimony to its achievements, the 2001-2002 team was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in Kansas City, Missouri last year and and will have an exhibit on display until next November based on its postseason, as a part of the “Ten Most Memorable Runs In NCAA Tournament History.”
Although this year's team made it to the NCAA tournament, few if any fans really believed it would make a deep run like the Flashes did in 2002. Despite averaging 77 points per game, only senior Jimmy Hall was a consistent scorer all season leading the team with 683 points and 19.0 points per game. Returning only two starters and four lettermen from last year's squad, the Flashes lacked the experience of the Elite Eight team and did not possess its favorable turnover margin.
Hopefully, the Flashes will once again become another Cinderella just like the 2001-2002 team. But until Kent State assembles an experienced squad with offensive efficiency and turnover margin, the Flashes' chances of a Sweet 16 run will be relatively low no matter how badly we wish to see one.
http://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball...rch-madness-three-traits-cinderella-must-have
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