twist staff writer looks back at ames' march madness
March 26, 2012
Jamie Steyer/Staff Writer
With many teams around the state qualifying for the NCAA or NIT season-ending
tournaments, many fans have had the same thought: the madness is here.
Whether your team is in the tournament or not, it’s easy to get in the swing of the
most exciting time in college basketball. Ames hosted the first and second rounds
of the women’s NCAA tournament March 16-20, including the hometown Cyclones who
lost in the first round. Also in the women’s tournament were the Hawkeyes of Iowa City,
losing in the first round as well.
More excitement came to central Iowa as Des Moines hosted the regional final,
including the phenomenal dunking Brittney Griner and her Baylor Bears. Fans of the
team and casual observers alike watched in amazement as Griner threw it down with
both hands with little effort.
Dunks abounded in the men’s tournament, which the Iowa State Cyclones
qualified for in only coach Fred Hoiberg’s second year. Pulling off the upset in the first
round against defending champs UConn, they were eliminated by championship
contender Kentucky.
Another interesting storyline of the tournament was very familiar to students of
Ames. A remarkable three graduates of Ames High made it to at least the second round
of the tournament. Bubu Palo with Iowa State, Doug McDermott of Creighton, and
Harrison Barnes of UNC all advanced past their first round games.
A unique situation arose with all this: player of the year candidate McDermott and
Barnes squared off against each other in the round of 32. The high school teammates
battled it out and eventually UNC came out on top. Many Ames students had tweets
and Facebook posts supporting either team, but in the end the honor of watching
schoolmates on such a large stage was a victory in itself.