A Promise to Keep | Photography 139

This is my last pitch to get you to join the Roundball Oracles NCAA Tournament Pool for this year. The deadline to enter this year’s pool is approximately 2 hours after this post publishes.

I just wanted to brag on the state of Iowa a little bit. Something I rarely get to do these days. Iowa is the center of the basketball universe. There are 363 colleges that field Division 1 Men’s and Women’s basketball programs. 68 Men’s and Women’s teams make the NCAA Tournament.

Of those 363 schools, only 26 schools got a team invited to both the Men’s and Women’s NCAA Tournament. Of those 26, 3 of those schools are in Iowa!

Check out this graphic from Fox Sports:

The state of Iowa only has 4 schools with Division 1 Programs. Iowa State University. University of Iowa. Drake University. University of Northern Iowa. Despite only having 4 schools that could achieve this feat, Iowa is the only state to have 3 schools do it. Iowa State. Iowa. Drake. Sorry, Northern Iowa. I’m sure you are good at something.

Full disclosure, the stats I’m about to reference are a couple of years old, but if anything, the numbers have went up.

California has 26 Division 1 Schools. 2 accomplished this feat: USC and UCLA
Texas has 24 Division 1 Schools. 2 accomplished this feat: Baylor and Texas (Horns Down!)
New York has 22 Division 1 Schools. 1 school accomplished this feat: Iona
North Carolina has 18 Division 1 Schools. 2 schools accomplished this feat: Duke and North Carolina State
Pennsylvania and Virginia both have 14 Division 1 Schools: They combined to have zero schools accomplish this feat.
Florida, Ohio, and Illinois each have 13 Division 1 Schools. Only Illinois and Miami (Fl.) from those states accomplished this feat.
Louisiana, South Carolina, and Tennessee each have 12 Division 1 Schools. Only Tennessee accomplished this feat.

Iowa, had 3 schools do it.

The Big 12 States of Kansas and Oklahoma combined to have zero schools do it.

To break this down by conference:

Big 12: 4 Schools (Iowa State, Baylor, Texas, and West Virginia)
Big 10: 5 schools (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, and Purdue)
SEC: 3 schools (Alabama, Mississippi State and Tennessee)
PAC 12: 3 schools (Arizona, UCLA, and USC)
ACC: 3 schools (Duke, Miami, and North Carolina State)
Big East: 3 schools (Creighton, Marquette, and UCONN)

My point is that you should be proud (if you are from Iowa) to be from the center of the basketball universe. If you want to play in the NCAA Tournament, go to a school in Iowa. Besides UNI. Go to one of the other 3. The ones that are good at basketball.

So if you still want to play, click on the link below:

Roundball Oracles – Year 18

And remember that the deadline is 11 AM (Central).

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I still talk to you in my sleep
I don’t say much ’cause the hurt runs too deep
I gave you the moon and the stars to keep
But you gave them back to me

The hill I’m walkin’ up is gettin’ good and steep
But I’m still looking for a promise even I can’t keep

I still lay on my side of the bed
I dance alone when the last bottle’s spent
Memories like a river runnin’ through my head
I’ll have me an ocean before I’m dead
-Brandi Carlile

Thursdays are for flowers! This collection of flowertography pictures were taken on September 15 in my yard.