National Title Contenders

Late last week I was halfway paying attention to a college basketball post-game show on ESPNU when they started going over the qualifications, for lack of a better word, needed for a team to win the national championship. Among their qualifications; the team had to have a scoring margin greater than ten points, have at least a 10-game winning streak at some point during the season and finally they must have been ranked in the top 10 to begin the season. Those qualifications narrowed the list of title contenders for this year to Ohio State, Kansas, Duke, Pittsburgh and Purdue.

The hosts of the show said that the last four national champions all fit these criteria. While the sample size associated with these qualifications is pretty much meaningless, it did get me to thinking about which teams are legitimate national title contenders. Taking a quick look at this week’s rankings, I see seven teams with legitimate national title aspirations, another three or four teams that have an outside shot, and with no disrespect to BYU and San Diego State, a few teams that have no shot despite their lofty ranking.

Let’s take a quick look at the teams with legitimate national title hopes and rank them on a 1-10 scale for their likelihood of actually cutting down the nets come the first Monday in April. For comparisons sake on our 1-10 scale, a 1 can be compared to the 1997 Arizona team led by Mike Bibby and Miles Simon (yes, I just wanted to get people reminiscing on that team), the most surprising of the last 15 or so national champions and 10 being 2007 Florida, the most favored champion in recent history entering the tournament.

Ohio State – Anyone who saw Ohio St. dismantle Wisconsin on Sunday saw what was probably the most complete and well-played game that any team has played all season. The Buckeyes have a star in Jared Sullinger on the block, solid shooters around him, a very solid backcourt and experience with David Lighty, William Buford and Jon Diebler; pretty much all of the ingredients needed to win a national title. Ohio State’s one flaw is their lack of depth as they basically play only six guys, meaning Sullinger must stay out of foul trouble and the Buckeyes can’t afford an injury along the way. No team in college basketball is as good or as complete as that 2007 Florida team, but the Buckeyes at their best are the best team in college basketball this season. National Title Ranking: 8.

Kansas – If there is a team out there who can challenge Ohio State at its best it’s the Jayhawks. Kansas has it all; size, speed, shooting, inside scoring, depth, coaching. In my opinion, Kansas has the most well-rounded roster in college basketball in terms of team dynamics. The star power is also there with the Morris twins and freshman Josh Selby to make Kansas my co-favorite to win it all. The one question I continue to have with Kansas is their toughness underneath and on defense. National Title Ranking: 8.

Duke – Can’t help but wonder how good this Duke team would be with injured freshman point guard Kyrie Irving but at this point it is probably safe to assume that the super frosh won’t be back. Still, the Blue Devils are plenty capable of making a national title run with plenty of big game experience and two stars in Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler leading the way. The stars do need more help from the Plumlee brothers and Andre Dawkins among others, but with the right draw and continued excellence from Smith and Singler, you have to give this team just as good a chance at the outset of the tournament as the team that won the national championship last year. National Title Ranking: 6.

North Carolina – Pretty hard to believe that the Tar Heels are this high on the list after a very rough start to the season but North Carolina has played as well as any team in America over the past month or so. UNC’s ascension began with the insertion of Kendall Marshall at the point guard position and watching the kid play it is no wonder. Marshall allows Harrison Barnes, John Henson, Tyler Zeller and the rest of the Hells to play within their comfort zones with his incredible passing and fantastic game management skills. In a normal year, this is probably only a fringe national title contender but in an overall down season, the Tar Heels have as good as shot any team outside of Columbus, OH or Lawrence, KS. National Title Ranking: 6.

Pittsburgh – Pitt is every bit as talented as the two teams I rank above them on this list but until the Panthers get over their post-season hump I just can’t put them on equal terms with Duke and North Carolina. I think the key for the Panthers is Brad Wannamaker’s penetrating ability. The Panthers need Wannamaker to create easy scoring opportunities on the inside and open looks on the outside for Ashton Gibbs to be a dynamic offensive team. Without Wannamaker creating these easy scoring opportunities, the Panthers are too reliant on their offensive rebounding and physicality, something that could haunt them if they run into the wrong officiating crew in the tourney. Anything less than a Final Four run, however, would be a disappointment for this team. National Title Ranking: 5.

Purdue – No team in the country has an inside-outside duo like the Boilermakers do with JaJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore. The qualifications listed at the beginning of this column also represent that this team’s resume is much better than many may have anticipated. The question for Purdue is if it has enough around its two dynamic players to really make a splash. National Title Ranking: 3.

Texas – Texas defends as well as any team in the nation, pounds the glass and plays a physical brand of basketball that most teams cannot rival. Texas’ recent problems have been centered around failing to get the ball inside and relying on too many perimeter shots. If you would have asked me two or three weeks ago this ranking would have been much higher but it is never a good sign when you are not playing well heading into March. Of all the teams on this list, however, a run in the Big 12 tournament would most dramatically boost their stock heading into the Big Dance in my mind. If Texas were to win or make it to the conference tournament finals, I would probably put them back up to the Pitt level but for now: National Title Ranking: 3.

Those are the seven true national title contenders I see. Other teams that could win it that wouldn’t be a total shock include Notre Dame, Syracuse, Florida (who is better than people realize) and a true darkhorse in Georgetown if Chris Wright can get healthy in time for the tournament. But if recent history tells us anything, expect the national champion to come from the group of seven I have ranked above. Remember that when filling out your brackets next week.

Weekend Update

As promised, I pretty much spent my entire weekend watching as many sporting events as humanly possible (along with a little Grammy action throw in to mix things up). There are too many opinions floating around in my head to include in just one post so today I am going to limit my thoughts mostly to college basketball. I will save some of my NBA thoughts for the end of the week as they approach their All-Star weekend and have some Penguins and NHL thoughts in-between. Before I get to hoops, however, I do want to touch upon the one big issue both in Pittsburgh and in hockey circles.

The Penguins-Islanders game on Friday night was an absolute disgrace to the sport of hockey. I am a fan of the game. I enjoy watching good hockey, not just the Penguins, and will often find myself watching two Western Conference teams playing when nothing else is on despite hockey coming in a distant fourth in my own sports preference list. I also do not have a problem with fighting and sort of understand its place and history in the game, not to mention enjoy a good fight…BUT what happened on Long Island was not hockey, it wasn’t sports, it wasn’t anything that should be allowed to happen in this country.

The NHL’s response to what happened was an even bigger joke and did nothing to deter similar events from happening in the future. Trying to sucker punch someone from behind, calling up goons for the sole purpose of getting in as many fights as possible and intentionally elbowing someone in the face and then continuing to attack him when injured were just some of the ridiculous antics that took place. These are things that would be illegal and insane at a sanctioned boxing or MMA fight, let alone a hockey game. If the NHL cannot properly handle, punish and stop these events from occurring, maybe it’s time to take fighting out of the game altogether. I will have a little more on this subject, including Mario’s statement, later this week.

Now, on to hoops…

· Pitt continued its Big East run with a second impressive road victory against Villanova on Saturday despite the absence of leading scorer Ashton Gibbs. Many people are beginning to believe that this team is better than the 2009 version featuring Sam Young, DeJuan Blair and Levance Fields. I don't think this team is as good as that team two years ago, but they are close. This version is definitely deeper and more well-rounded but that team had what should have been two first round NBA picks (maybe even two lottery picks based on current NBA production) while this team has zero draft picks at all right now. College basketball, however, isn't nearly as strong as it was two years ago so this Pitt team has a clear opportunity to achieve more than that team. Jamie Dixon’s squad is definitely one of the few favorites to advance to the Final Four in Houston.

· Speaking of the NBA, I had that exact conversation with my Dad heading to the Duquesne game on Sunday. I do not see why Brad Wannamaker and Gilbert Brown couldn't be decent 10th or 11th men in the NBA. They offer flexibility and the ability to defend two different positions well. It will probably come down to Wannamaker’s ability to play some point guard while it will be Brown’s shooting ability that will determine whether they can earn a jersey on the next level.

· Those that watched Kansas State beat up on Kansas last night in their first game as the #1 team saw what had me worried about this Jayhawks team a few weeks back. Despite its talent and depth, Kansas does not play tough enough underneath and has too many lapses on the defensive end. One game on the road in February means little, but for the team I think is the most talented in the nation they need to improve in those areas in a hurry if they want to accomplish a Final Four run.

· While Kansas’s loss showed some of its deficiencies, Ohio State’s loss was pretty meaningless to me. The Buckeyes looked like the best team in the nation for most of the game until Wisconsin got unbelievably hot in the second half. Those things happen in road games, especially to a good team like Wisconsin who is nearly unbeatable at home. Wisconsin did prove themselves as a team that none of the contenders want to see before the regional finals. Their ability to limit possessions, play solid defense and shoot the three-pointer are going to make them an awfully tough out come tournament time.

· The other two top teams I have yet to mention, Texas and Duke, kept plugging along. The Longhorns continue to win impressively and it wouldn’t surprise anyone if they won the remainder of their games before the Big XII tournament. Duke, on the other hand, has looked less and less impressive as the season has moved on. Without star freshman point guard Kyle Irving, the Dukies have relied heavily on Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler to carry the load. Despite some decent performances from their secondary guys the past couple of games, it wouldn’t shock me to see Duke stumble in a game or two before the Big Dance.

· Another team that is coming on strong is Georgetown who, after a little mid-season swoon, has won eight straight games including five over would-be tournament teams. The Hoyas feature one of the best backcourts in America with Chris Wright, Austin Freeman and Jason Clark. Freeman turned his ankle in the Marquette game on Sunday but all indications are that he should be fine. The Hoyas are still lacking in the interior, as being the nation’s 223rd ranked team in rebounding will attest, but we all know that guard play wins come March and nobody has had better backcourt play than Georgetown over the past month.

· I mentioned that I attended the Duquesne Dukes game on Sunday and it was fun to attend a game that meant something for that program for the first time in decades. Sure the Dukes fell to Xavier (a strong sleeper team for your NCAA brackets in about a month if you want some advice) but Coach Ron Everhart has the program headed in the right direction. The game was played in front of a sell-out crowd of over 10,000 people and just goes to show how people in Pittsburgh will get behind a team that has perennially struggled. The game had me thinking: Can you imagine PNC Park in September if the Pirates are even sniffing that magical 81st win? The place would be a sell-out every night.

Diving Into College Hoops

Football is coming to an end and while I had watched a good amount of college hoops already, I really threw myself into the action over the past two weeks beginning to gear up for March Madness. Here are some of my take-aways from the past couple of weeks and the season as a whole:

· The best team I have seen so far is Kansas. With all due respect to Duke and Ohio State, this Kansas team just has the look and feel of a great basketball team, similar to the Florida teams that won back-to-back titles a few years ago. The Jayhawks have size, shooting, guard play, depth, coaching and experience, pretty much all of the ingredients to make a deep run. One flaw that I did see was lackadaisical defense at times. A few teams, specifically in the second half against Texas and the game at Colorado, were given way too many open looks for my liking. If the Jayhawks can shore up the defense and keep teams off the offensive glass, Kansas could be cutting down the nets for a second time under Coach Bill Self.

· The one thing Ohio State has that nobody else does is Jared Sullinger. The freshman phenom probably reminds many Pitt fans of DeJuan Blair, only taller and a better shooter. Sullinger is an absolute beast on the boards and has an excellent feel for the game and touch around the basket. Despite his lack of top-end height, I haven’t seen a player yet that could stop Sullinger. The only problem I have with the Buckeyes, and it's more of a Thad Matta problem who is known to play a short rotation, is the lack of a bench. In the tournament if Sullinger, Buford or one of the other top six guys gets in foul trouble, or injured, they could be in trouble. The Oden/Conley team was fortunate enough to avoid injury/foul trouble on their way to the championship game four years ago.

· It is very hard to judge this Duke team without freshman point guard Kyle Irving. With Irving, the Dukies are every bit as good as the Jayhawks and Buckeyes and maybe even better. Without Irving, the Blue Devils become too reliant on Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler to score that making another run at a championship could be tough. It will be interesting to see whether Irving, who many expect to be the #1 pick in the NBA Draft if he declares, comes back from his toe injury and if he does how effective he can be.

· Kansas, OSU and Duke seem to be in the first tier and then a big group of teams sit right behind them in my make-believe rankings. At the top of this next group, however, is Pitt. This Pitt team is the best team in the Jamie Dixon/Ben Howland era in terms of talent one through ten. They probably do not have anyone as good as DeJuan Blair or Sam Young but their top seven or eight players are all as good or better than the rest of that team two years ago. The Panthers have depth, size, and the best pair of guards in Gibbs and Wannamaker that they have had during Dixon’s run as coach. Sure, the Panthers don’t have a Kemba Walker who can carry them for stretches at a time if the team is not playing well, but players of that magnitude don’t necessarily grow on trees. This Pitt team has a fine shot at making its first Final Four trip under Dixon and anything less than at least an Elite Eight appearance would be disappointing.

· Speaking of Kemba Walker, this Connecticut team continues to fly just a bit under the radar. I know the Huskies have been ranked highly for much of the year, but it still seems like many are waiting for them to fall off after beginning the year unranked. A team coached by Jim Calhoun with that size and that great of a player in the backcourt is a legitimate Final Four contender. I would put this Connecticut team on par with Villanova and just behind Pitt in terms of the Big East pecking order.

· As great as Walker and Sullinger have been, my player of the year would absolutely be Jimmer Fredette of BYU. I watched the BYU-San Diego State game the other night in its entirety and came away extremely impressed with both teams. San Diego St. is long, athletic and extremely impressive on both the defensive end and the offensive boards. The Aztecs feature a potential lottery pick of their own in Kawhi Leonard and it wouldn’t surprise me one bit to see this team make a deep tournament run. The star of the night, however, was Fredette who dropped 43 points on nearly 60% shooting making a variety of difficult three-pointers and lay-ups in traffic. The game was Fredette’s third 40 point effort of the year (and third in his last four games) and for the year the senior is averaging over 27 points per game while shooting nearly 50% from the field. The rest of this BYU team isn’t great, but they are good enough to hit open shots as a result of Fredette’s game and are going to be a team most of the big boys don’t want to see come tourney time.

· Other teams I have been impressed with or am high on include Texas (very physical inside and have very good guards), Villanova (great guard play as usual), Missouri (force teams to play at their pace), Kentucky (Calipari doing it again with freshmen), Florida State (defense, defense, defense) and Georgetown. The Hoyas faltered there a bit over a 2-3 week stretch but seem to be picking their game back up again. If the Hoyas are playing at the top of their game, they could be right there in the Big East with ‘Nova, the ‘Cuse and UConn.

· Teams that I think are overrated or getting a little too much love include Notre Dame (have looked terrible at times and still too unathletic for my liking), Purdue (too reliant on JaJuan Johnson), Illinois (seen them play four times now, no heart and just awful on the road), Louisville (very dangerous, but overly dependent on the three-ball) and Michigan State. I keep expecting Tom Izzo’s bunch to straighten things out but as evidenced in last night’s loss at home versus a bad Michigan team, something just seems to be missing from this team. I think we have all learned not to dismiss the Spartans too soon, but if they don’t get things turned around in a hurry it could be a short trip to the expanded tournament this year, if they get there at all.

Title Game Prediction

Everyone watched the games Saturday night so there is no need to go with an in-depth analysis. Everyone saw what had to be one of the ugliest Final Four games in history, with Butler failing to make a basket for a ten-minute stretch in the second half…and still beating Michigan State! Everyone then saw Duke dismantle a West Virginia team that had been playing as well as anyone during the tournament. If you had not watched any games all season until the two Final Four games, you would think Duke should easily win tonight in the NCAA Title Game.

Frankly, if you went with that premise I think it would be pretty hard to argue with you. Duke got a big performance from all three of their star players, their role players, and in particular Brian Zoubek, played fantastic, and it was probably the most impressive overall performance we have seen from any team during the tournament. Remember, though, that it was only one game. Leading into their Final Four match-up, everyone had been so impressed with the Mountaineers and their performance against Kentucky. That didn’t help Bob Huggins’ squad against Duke, who shot lights out and when they did miss, there was Zoubek to corral the offensive rebound. So the question begs how does Butler keep this game close, let alone win?

Well, don’t underestimate the Bulldogs. Like I said, that was only one game for the Blue Devils. Jon Scheyer and Kyle Singler have both had their troubles shooting during the tournament. Maybe those poor stretches are behind them, or maybe they were just hot for one night. Butler plays great defense. They are the number six team in the country in defensive efficiency according to Ken Pomeroy, even when adjusting to their weak conference schedule. Further, the Bulldogs have frustrated quality offensive teams in Syracuse, Kansas and Michigan St. on their way to the title game. Butler is also very strong on the defensive glass. They were able to limit Michigan State to only six offensive rebounds in the Final Four game. Offensively, Butler is well-coached, patient and has the ability to run the shot clock with their long sets to shorten the game. When a team plays defense, rebounds and is as well-coached as Butler is, it will never be an easy win.

All that being said, I think Duke wins tonight in a hard-fought, low-scoring game. I am picking Duke for the same reason I have picked them every game in this tournament, they simply have too many weapons for Butler to guard. Once again, Duke has three guys that I trust to put the ball in the hoop more than Butler can. For all the Dukies, it should be a great night as Coach K gets his fourth National Championshp, but don’t expect it to be easy!

Final Four Preview: Be Careful What You Wish For

When I really started looking at the games this weekend, I realized what a terrible Final Four this really is. The three biggest stars involved in the games are coaches. Paul Zeise did an excellent article in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette talking about the lack of NBA talent playing this weekend (you can read it here) so I will not beat a dead horse, but wow is the quality of basketball not going to live up to what we have grown used to in the Final Four. It was great to see Northern Iowa beat Kansas, the unusual number of great games, buzzer beaters and overtimes, but when it gets to the Final Four I think we all want to see the best teams. As the name of this post references, “be careful what you wish for”.

While we are stuck watching the defensive battle between Butler and Michigan State and then the rugged battle between Duke and West Virginia, I will be thinking about how great a Kentucky-Kansas game would have been, or Evan Turner verse John Wall, or Syracuse against Scottie Reynolds and company, etc., etc. etc.

That is to take nothing away from the teams that are here. Each has earned their trip to the Final Four and are more than worthy of their individual berths. Butler knocked off Syracuse and Kansas State, West Virginia beat Kentucky, Duke handled all comers and Michigan State survived despite a season ending injury to their best player. Individually, each team is a great story and deserves their spot in Indianapolis. Collectively, however, I think there is something to be desired. As they say in show business, though, the show must go on! Let us move on to my Final Four picks.

Duke over West Virginia - Duke’s three point shooting will force WVU out of their 1-3-1 zone and into a man-to-man defense, something that they do not play as effectively as the zone. Both teams are battle tested and excellent on the glass, meaning this should be a very physical game. The difference to me will be Duke’s offensive weapons. I trust Duke’s big three, Scheyer, Smith and Singler, to put the ball in the basket more than West Virginia’s big three of Butler, Jones and Ebanks.

Michigan State over Butler – I was really torn trying to pick a winner in this one. As surprising as it is to say, Butler has the two best players on the court in this one with Gordon Hayward and Shelvin Mack, but Michigan State is the better all-around “team”. Usually when a mid-major and a power conference school get together, these roles are reversed. Butler will also be playing with the crowd behind them in their home city. Michigan State, however, is a veteran team that should not be bothered by the crowd and are led by the best tournament coach in the land right now. That, combined with what I am guessing is a happy to be there attitude for Butler, and I see Michigan State advancing to the title game.

Elite Eight Recaps Part Two

Two familiar faces are heading back to the Final Four as Tom Izzo’s Michigan State Spartans and Mike Krzyzewski’s Duke Blue Devils both advanced on Sunday. It would be pretty safe to say that Coach K’s and Coach Izzo’s experience had just a little to do with their teams advancing to their 11th and 6th Final Four, respectively, when both games were decided in the last few minutes (or seconds in MSU’s case). Let’s take a quick look at final two games of the Elite Eight.

Michigan State 70 – Tennessee 69

In what was a great game from start to finish, it is a shame that the game had to be decided on the foul line (don’t get me wrong, that was the right call). Raymar Morgan’s foul shot with under 2 seconds to play sent Michigan State back to the Final Four for the second year in a row and sixth appearance in the last twelve years, more than any other team over that stretch. Both teams came out on fire, with Tennessee starting the game six for six from three point range and Michigan State matching almost every point. The game had a classic feel to it right from the start. You could tell how much this game meant to each team, especially the upperclassmen as seniors Wayne Chism and J.P. Prince led the way for the Volunteers while senior Raymar Morgan and junior Durrell Summers paced the Spartans. Both teams deserved to win but in the end it was a four-year starter in Raymar Morgan nailing the free throw to send his Spartans to the Final Four in what might have been Tom Izzo’s best coaching performance of his six Final Fours.

Duke 78 – Baylor 71

I told my father before the game that I thought Duke might just have one extra weapon than Baylor and that ended up being exactly the case. With Jon Scheyer struggling from the field in the first half and Kyle Singler really struggling (0-10 from the field, 5 points!), it was Nolan Smith who rose to the occasion for the Blue Devils, sending Mike Krzyzewski to his eleventh Final Four. Smith scored 29 points, none bigger than his four points in four seconds with Baylor leading 61-60 with three and half minutes to go. Smith was fouled, made the first of two free throws, missed the second but Lance Thomas grabbed the offensive rebound and immediately kicked it back to Smith who nailed a three-pointer. Just like that, a one-point Baylor lead turned into a three-point Duke advantage and the tide had turned for good. Duke went on a 12-1 run over the next two and a half minutes before Baylor realized what had even happened. The Bears got fine efforts from LaceDarius Dunn, Tweety Carter, Quincy Acy and Ekpe Udoh, but none were enough to offset Duke’s big three, or in this instance big two. Scheyer got hot in the second half and finished with 20 points, leaving the big three right around their season average with 54 points combined, just a tad more firepower than Baylor could offer.

The Final Four is set. Butler will take on Michigan State in the battle of the unexpected while Duke will take on West Virginia in what many will be calling the de facto National Championship. That is probably a bit of an overstatement with Butler playing in its hometown and Michigan State having Izzo on its sideline, but I know that the game I am most looking forward to this weekend will be the Mountaineers and Blue Devils squaring off. Check back Friday as I breakdown the Final Four games and what each team will need to do to win.

Elite Eight Recap

The first two entrants to the 2010 Final Four were decided yesterday as Butler and West Virginia used defense to punch their ticket to Indianapolis. Kansas State and Kentucky tried their best to give us a great finish, but in the end the Bulldogs and Mountaineers were too much. Here is my quick take on the two games yesterday.

Butler 63 – Kansas State 56

Kansas State looked worn out in the beginning, found some adrenaline to make a second half run and actually take a one point lead at one point, and then looked worn out in the end again, allowing Butler to pull away for good. Butler, who has been a great defensive team all season, smothered the Kansas State shooters in the first half and built a seven point lead at halftime. Pullen and Clemente, the Wildcat guards who I thought would be the difference in this one, came out sluggish and only had two points combined at halftime. Kansas State, like I have to remind you, was coming off a double overtime victory just over 40 hours before where they used a ton of energy to hold off Xavier. Butler, meanwhile, made it difficult throughout on the dynamic K-State backcourt as Pullen and Clemente finished a combined 11-30 from the field. On the offensive end, Butler got contributions from a number of players, but it was their leading scorers Gordon Hayward and Shelvin Mack who paced the Bulldogs, combining for 38 points and scoring in a multitude of ways. Butler will go back home to Indianapolis for their first Final Four appearance in school history. The Bulldogs knocked off both the number one and number two seeds in the West region and deserve every bit of the accolades they will receive back home.

West Virginia 73 – Kentucky 66

I probably do not need to say too much for this game as I am sure everyone watched for themselves. This game was being built up from the day the brackets were announced. While the game itself was pretty good, I do not think it lived up to the hype it was receiving. Kentucky, the team with the most talent, played a poor game and saw its Achilles heel, three-point shooting, really kill them when it mattered most. Kentucky missed their first 20 (that’s amazing just to type) three pointers of the game, and finished 4-32 from deep. Everyone questioned this aspect of the Kentucky game coming in and it sure proved to be true in this one. WVU, meanwhile, lived on the three pointer as the Mountaineers shot 10-23 for the game from deep. More importantly, however, was the Mountaineers eight first half three pointers when the team failed to make a single two point basket yet held a two-point halftime lead. Individually, the hero for the Mountaineers was Joe Mazzulla, finally 100% healthy after offseason shoulder surgery. Mazzulla scored a season high 17 points after coming in averaging less than 3 points per game. Bob Huggins will take his alma mater back to the Final Four for the first time since 1959, and it will be Huggins’ first Final Four trip since 1992 with Cincinnati.

Well I was a solid 0 for 2 on my predictions yesterday and it was due to one key factor in each game. My total underestimation of Kansas State’s fatigue and the inability to see Kentucky shooting the ball that poorly left me eating my words. Hopefully, I can make up for that today.

I look for Tennessee to ride their momentum off a great win against Ohio State and just be a little too much for a depleted Michigan State team. I hate going against Tom Izzo in the tournament, but there is something about this Tennessee team that has grown on me.

I am also going with Duke. Though I picked Baylor at the outset of the tournament to make the Final Four, I am switching gears and going with the Blue Devils. I think the Duke experience, combined with just a tad more offensive firepower than Baylor, will be the difference in this one.

Sweet Sixteen Day Two

Day two of the Sweet Sixteen did not have the signature game like Xavier and Kansas State, but we saw some good basketball, big plays, and another top seed packing their bags. Here is a quick look back at the four games from Friday night and a quick look forward to the first two Elite Eight games this evening.

Tennessee 76 – Ohio State 73

The best game of the day was first and was the most surprising to me of any of the Sweet Sixteen games. I have been on the Buckeye bandwagon from early in the year and thought they would cruise past Tennessee and the Michigan State-Northern Iowa winner into the Final Four. That did not happen, however, and the Buckeyes have no one to blame but themselves. Ohio St. gave up way too many easy baskets to the Volunteers, allowing Tennessee to shoot 53% from two point range with many of those being dunks and lay-ups. I don’t want to minimize Evan Turner’s greatness, but playing out of position at point guard he had too many turnovers and forced a few too many tough shots, finishing with six turnovers and shooting only 10-23 from the floor. Turner was not helped much by Jon Diebler, who finished with three points on 1-8 shooting after scoring 43 in the Buckeyes’ first two tournament games. This is not to take anything away from Tennessee, who got a great game from Wayne Chism (22 points and 11 rebounds) and very good contributions from a number of players, but this game was about Ohio State losing it and not Tennessee winning it to me. Even the Buckeyes last possession, trailing by three, was executed poorly. Turner, who looked like he had a chance for two clean looks, took too much time and could not get off a good shot on either attempt.

Baylor 72 – St. Mary’s 49

This game was over in a hurry. Baylor jumped out to an early 19-7 lead and never looked back, extending the lead to 29 points by halftime. Baylor was simply too athletic for the Gaels, forcing previous tournament hero Omar Samhan into a 7-17 shooting night and pushing the pace to an uncomfortable level for St. Mary’s. Baylor looks to be hitting their stride at the right time and should make for a great match-up with Duke for a trip to the Final Four. Besides, who doesn’t love a team with guys named Tweety and LaceDarius.

Michigan State 59 – Northern Iowa 52

Northern Iowa put up a great fight for most of this game, even leading by seven at halftime. Michigan State’s size and athleticism was too much in the end, however, and it was Kalin Lucas’ replacement, Korie Lucious, who played hero down the stretch. Tom Izzo is doing it again, this time with an injury-ridden roster, proving to quite possibly be the best tournament coach in recent history. This game was a well-played, defensive battle throughout with both teams limiting turnovers and keeping the opposition off of the offensive glass. The difference in the game became the Spartans ability to hit a few key shots down the stretch, including Lucious’ spinning, one-foot fade-away that probably sealed the deal for Michigan State.

Duke 70 – Purdue 57

This was a battle of offensive ineptitude for much of the first half, but in the end Duke just had too many weapons for the Robbie Hummel-less Boilermakers. The big three for Duke, Kyle Singler, Nolan Smith and John Scheyer, combined for 57 of the Blue Devils’ 70 points and were too much for the Purdue defense to handle. E’Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson did everything they could to try and keep Purdue in the game, combining for 41 points, but it was obvious that the Boilermakers were one weapon short in this one. Hummel’s absence was missed on the boards as well, with Duke dominating on the glass to a tune of 45-22 and 15-4 on the offensive glass. Matt Painter did a great job getting this Purdue team to the Sweet Sixteen and putting up a valiant fight in this one, but when you lose your 2nd leading scorer and rebounder, eventually you are going to meet your match.

Now a quick look at Saturday’s Elite Eight contests:

Butler vs. Kansas State – Butler has gotten here on the strength of its defense and that has been K-State’s calling card all year long. I am expecting a hard-fought, grind-it-out, who can make the most plays in the end kind of game. I think the difference in this one could be the Kansas State guards, Denis Clemente and Jacob Pullen, who have been playing as good or better than any backcourt in the tournament so far.

West Virginia vs. Kentucky – This is the game going all the way back to Selection Sunday that everyone has been pointing to as what could be the game of the tournament. These teams are big, athletic, skilled and play defense as well as anyone in the country. This game will probably come down to West Virginia’s ability to put the ball in the hole. No matter how great WVU’s defense is, Kentucky will find ways with all that talent to put the ball in the hoop. The question will be whether the Mountaineers can score enough to limit the big runs Kentucky has been putting on everyone else. I think this will be a close game for the most part, but in the end one big run by Kentucky will be the difference.

Sweet Sixteen Day One Breakdown

The first day of the Sweet Sixteen started just as we left off the first weekend, with a ton of excitement. We saw an upset, a fantastic finish, and two of the favorites showing their might. Here is a short breakdown and my thoughts from the four games last night. Let’s hope Friday night’s action is as good as Thursday’s.

Butler 63 – Syracuse 59

Butler had basically four days to prepare for the Syracuse zone and it showed. Butler remained patient on offense, even when Syracuse made a charge in the second half to take a 54-50 lead with under four minutes to go. Brad Stephens, Butler’s head coach and only 33 years old, did a great job preparing his team for what Syracuse was going to show them and allowed the Bulldogs to overcome a 6-24 shooting performance from three-point range. Butler’s patience paid off as it hit two of those six threes surrounding two layups in the final three minutes to turn a four point deficit into a six point lead and the upset was in the works. Butler’s defense was also fantastic, and it helped that Syracuse center Arinze Onuaku was not able to play after reports early in the week speculated he might be in the line-up. The Bulldogs forced 18 Syracuse turnovers and the Orange looked out of sync all night. Butler was many people’s preseason surprise pick to make a run at the Final Four. After cooling on them in the regular season, I am sure the bandwagon just picked up a ton of passengers once again.

West Virginia 69 – Washington 56

I said to friend before this game when we were talking about wagering, if gambling were legal of course, that this is a great match-up for West Virginia as they have three different guys who can match-up with Washington’s best player Quincy Pondexter and they should have a field day on the offensive glass. Sure enough, the Mountaineers held Pondexter to 7 points, 0 in the first half, and grabbed 19 offensive rebounds. The loss of Truck Bryant was not a factor last night but could become one against Kentucky if West Virginia cannot limit its turnovers, committing 23 against the Huskies. WVU has the size and athletes to compete with Kentucky, but they will have to shoot it better as well. The Mountaineers shot only 40% from the field and 27% from three, which will not get it done against John Wall and company. One side note from this game was the terrible officiating. I praised the refs for doing a great job in the first two rounds, but I thought the officiating in this one was terrible on both sides.

Kentucky 62 – Cornell 45

Kentucky showed why they are the favorite to win the whole thing in the first half of this game, overwhelming Cornell with their size and speed. With the fantastic Kansas State-Xavier game going on at the same time, my focus was not on this second half, but it looked like Kentucky stopped pounding the ball inside and started to settle for jump shots. The Wildcats shot only 2-16 from three point range which is sure to be the talk heading into what could be the best Elite Eight match-up of the bunch against West Virginia. Cornell was able to cut the lead to six at one point in the second half, but Kentucky went right back inside and put the Big Red away for good. Kentucky’s size and athleticism was just too much for Cornell, who shot only 24% (5-21) from three after looking like they could not miss in their first two games.

Kansas State 101 – Xavier 96 2OT

The best game of the tournament so far saw incredible performances from a number of players from both teams and had the added bonus of Gus Johnson on the play-by-bay. Just a fantastic game that words could not do justice. Xavier guards Jordan Crawford and Terrell Holloway combined for 58 points and at times looked like they were playing two-on-five. It did not stop them, however, from hitting big shot, after big shot, after big shot. Crawford’s three to send the game into the second overtime was basically from half court, and there was no doubt the ball was going in the second it left his hand. Crawford and Holloway’s performance was for not, however, as Kansas State was finally able to prevail after seemingly having the game won about three or four different times (and if anyone had money on this game, what a roller coaster ride that was). The Wildcat guards, Denis Clemente and Jacob Pullen, nearly matched the Musketeer guards scoring 53 points of their own. It was the KSU defense and inside presence that was the ultimate difference in the game, however, as the Wildcats front court outscored Xavier’s 45-19 and threw in 11 blocks for good measure. I have to wonder if this game will take something out of Kansas State as they prepare for a very stingy Butler team with a Final Four berth on the line.

The first four games of the Sweet Sixteen are in the books, and what a fantastic four games they were. I will be back Saturday morning to breakdown the four games Friday night. We can only hope for the same suspense we were treated too on Thursday!

All Things NCAA Tournament!

The NCAA Tournament, along with the Super Bowl, is probably one of the two most anticipated sporting events of the year. There is a reason the stock market slows, thousands call in sick and we get to read all of the dollar figures the tournament supposedly costs our employers in lost work. I say garbage to that nonsense, but that is an argument for another day. If we cannot enjoy the NCAA Tournament than what can we enjoy? The opening weekend of the 2010 NCAA Tournament did not disappoint as it was one of the most exciting opening four days in some time. Kansas’ loss to Northern Iowa Saturday night highlighted the madness in “March Madness” and reminded us all of why we love this time of year.

If you missed any of my previous coverage, check it out and let me know what you think. You can see my Selection Sunday piece here and my original bracket selections here. I ran a running diary of all the action on Thursday here and a recap of day one and day two. Finally, check out my piece on what appeared to be a replay of so many of Pitt’s early exits from the tournament here.

Let's get on to all the different thoughts I had while watching the games this weekend and looking ahead to the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight. Let’s call it the special edition, NCAA Smorgasbord!

• Have to start with what everyone is talking about and that is Northern Iowa’s shocking upset of Kansas in the 2nd round. In one pool I am in, all 137 entries had Kansas advancing to the Sweet Sixteen and 110 entries (over 80%) had Kansas in the Final Four. Nationally, somewhere between 40-45% of the country had Kansas as their National Champion, including our President. Needless to say, this loss was a shocker to everyone that is not a friend or family member of a Northern Iowa player and sent many brackets up in flames.

• What shocked me was Kansas’ total lack of urgency until it was too late. With seniors Cole Aldrich and Sherron Collins coming back this season for the sole purpose of winning a championship, much the same way Tyler Hansbrough, Wayne Ellington and Ty Lawson did for North Carolina last year, one would think that Kansas would be ready everytime they stepped on the floor. That was not the case Saturday night as Kansas looked somewhat disinterested in what was going on until they found themselves in a desperate attempt to rally back in the closing minutes. When Ali Farokhmanesh drilled that three with 35 seconds left Aldrich, Collins and the Jayhawks’ dream of a National Championship went down with it.

• Speaking of that three pointer, at the time the kid shot it, I was thinking the same thing as most people, “no, no, no, yes!” As I thought about it more afterward, however, I believe it was a great shot and not a dumb play whatsoever. Had Farokhmanesh not shot it there, Kansas would have played defense for the entire possession and had a chance to get the ball back down only a point with ten seconds or more left in the game. The way Northern Iowa was struggling with Kansas’ pressure, there is no way they get off a shot as good as that one and quite possibly would have turned the ball over even sooner. Give credit to Ali Farokhmanesh for a wonderful and gutsy shot.

• Northern Iowa’s run just might not be over either. They will take on Michigan State in the Sweet Sixteen without their star Kalin Lucas who ruptured his Achilles tendon in the Spartans’ dramatic win over Maryland on Sunday. Tom Izzo, quite possibly the best coach in the game, stopped himself from calling time out on the Spartans’ final possession allowing Corey Lucious to play hero and hit a three at the buzzer to advance Michigan State. I hate when coaches call timeouts in that situation, giving the defense a chance to set up and take away your best options. Maryland players were frantically trying to challenge shots, which allowed Lucious to get off a wide open look from the top of the key. It was another great win and coaching performance in Tom Izzo’s storied career.

• Ohio State fans have to be feeling pretty good today. The only thing that will stop them from advancing to the Final Four would be their own poor performance. Neither Tennessee nor the winner of Northern Iowa and Michigan State sans-Lucas can match the talent of the Buckeyes. If Evan Turner finds his shot that was missing in the first two games, I expect Ohio State to cruise into the Final Four this weekend.

• Before we go into the rest of the regions, there are two non-basketball related items I wanted to touch on. First, CBS’ coverage was absolutely terrible over the weekend in my opinion. There were too many instances where we were left watching blowouts while a close game was being played deep into the second half. Even worse, there were great games going on in the second half while we were stuck watching the first half of another game. And where was the split screen when two great games were near the end at the same time?!? In Pittsburgh, we hardly saw any of the Texas-Wake Forest, Michigan State-Maryland or BYU-Florida games. Three great games that came down to the wire or overtime and all we got to see was the final seconds of each. I understand that we can buy the package to watch all the games, but that is only available to DirecTV customers. I am a DirecTV customer, but I like to get out and about to watch the games with friends, family, whoever. Besides, most of America is not a DirecTV subscriber. We can only hope that ESPN takes over the next contract and we have the ability to watch the game we want to watch when we want to watch it.

• Second, I think that the officiating has been excellent so far. I do not think there has been one instance where a call or the officiating was the story of a game. The lane violation in the Michigan State-New Mexico State game is the only call I have even heard discussed, and the correct call was made in that instance. It is always a good thing when no one is talking about the officiating, but I wanted to give credit where credit is due, especially in such a thankless job.

• Kentucky looked like the team to beat destroying each of its first two opponents. The Wildcats also answered some of their shooting questions as John Wall and Eric Bledsoe went a combined 15-22 from three-point range. Yes, if Kentucky plays like that they will be nearly impossible to beat, but that is a big question when you are talking about a freshmen dominated team. The key for John Calipari’s boys will be consistency and maintaining this level of play for four more games.

• Kentucky’s hardest opponent might be in their own region and that is West Virginia. WVU has the length and athleticism to match up with Kentucky more-so than any team left in the tournament. The only real question is if the Mountaineers can score enough to keep pace with Kentucky. If the Mountaineers can get by a scrappy, talented Washington team, the Elite Eight match-up between Kentucky and West Virginia could be the best game of the tournament.

• I thought from the beginning that Duke had the easiest road to the Elite Eight and probably even the Final Four and nothing has happened that has changed my mind. The Dukies hammered Arkansas-Pine Bluff and California and should have no problem getting by a depleted Purdue squad before a match-up against Baylor or St. Mary’s with a Final Four berth on the line. Not exactly a murderer’s row of opponents for the Blue Devils.

• St. Mary’s has been one of the surprises of the tournament so far along with Cornell, Washington, and of course Northern Iowa. The Gaels will be in for a tough test, however, as Baylor has the size to match-up with Omar Samham down low (the leading scorer in the tournament so far with 61 points in two games) and the athleticism to challenge the St. Mary’s shooters on the outside. I think the slipper falls off for all four Cinderella teams this Thursday and Friday but if I had to rank their chances of winning, it would go Northern Iowa, then Washington, then St. Mary’s, and then Cornell facing a much too-athletic Kentucky team.

• Outside of Kentucky, Syracuse has been the next most impressive team in the tournament thus far. The Orange absolutely manhandled a talented Gonzaga team on Sunday on their way to the Sweet Sixteen. More importantly, Syracuse’s best player Wes Johnson looked healthy and explosive for the first time in at least a month, pouring in 31 points and 14 rebounds. Syracuse has two tough games ahead of them, though, with a very scrappy Butler team that just flat out wins basketball games and the winner of Xavier-Kansas State, two teams that are playing extremely well right now. The return of center Arinze Onuaku, who is expected to play this week after injuring his quadriceps in the Big East Tournament, would be a big boost for the ‘Cuse as they try to make their first Final Four since 2003.

• Lastly, as my original bracket like so many others has fallen apart, here are my predictions for this weekend’s action. Ohio State over Michigan State in the Midwest, Syracuse over Kansas State in the West, Kentucky over WVU in the East and Baylor over Duke in the South. That would give me three of my four original Final Four teams and an Ohio State team who I was very tempted to pick originally (and one who I picked to win the whole thing in some secondary brackets I filled out).

Enjoy the games this weekend everyone and let’s hope that the excitement from the first weekend carries into the rounds of sixteen and eight!

Same Old Song for Pitt

All year long I have been comparing this Pitt team to the Brandin Knight – Julius Page teams from the early 2000s era. Fittingly enough, the Panthers exited the NCAA tournament in the early rounds in much the same fashion as those early Howland/Dixon teams did. Those Page-Knight teams featured good defense, consistent play and overachievement during the regular season while lacking a true star and the ability to overcome an off game in the NCAA tournament which led to early exits. Yesterday’s loss, and the 2009-2010 Panthers season in general, eerily had the same feeling.

Pitt most certainly did not play its best game of the season yesterday against Xavier. The Panthers shot only 39% from the floor compared to Xavier’s 48%, allowed the Musketeers to shoot 50% from three, and gave up a 16-0 run in the first half. Pitt also got dismal performances from two starters in Jermaine Dixon (1-9, 2 points) and Gary McGhee (0 points, 4 rebounds). Any of these would have been enough for Pitt to lose and yet there were the Panthers right in the game until the very end. The difference, just as it was so many times for those early 2000s Panther teams, was that Xavier featured a star on his way to the NBA while the Panthers were stuck with no one to take over the game in crunch time.

Jordan Crawford, famous for his dunk on LeBron James in a camp last summer, scored 27 points on 9-15 shooting (4-7 from three) and had a number of fantastic one-on-one moves to beat the Panthers’ defense. Pitt’s leading scorer Ashton Gibbs, meanwhile, finished with 19 points on only 6-16 shooting (4-13 from deep) and more importantly scored only 1 point in the second half. This game had the same feeling as the 2003 Sweet Sixteen loss to Marquette when Pitt had no answer for Dwayne Wade. That is the most memorable one but Pitt also lost to Oklahoma State in 2004 when they had no answer for Tony Allen, in 2002 when it was Antonio Gates of Kent State, and 2006 to Bradley and center Patrick O’Bryant. Once again, Pitt had no answer for the opposing team’s star, in this instance Crawford, and thus are left packing their bags earlier than they had anticipated.

I do not want to sound too negative, however, as this season must be classified as a success. Had you told any Pitt fan back in November that this team would finish 25-9, win an NCAA tournament game and finish in the top 20 of the country, I think they would have unanimously approved of such a season. The team, in what was thought to be a rebuilding year after losing Sam Young and DeJuan Blair to the NBA among four starters lost, had a great run and should be able to build on the positives heading into next season. The only meaningful contributor the Panthers lose is Jermaine Dixon and while Dixon was a fine defensive player, I see no reason Pitt should have problems replacing his production. With four starters and the top three reserves returning, the hopeful improvement of Dante Taylor as well as the other freshmen big men, and a very promising recruiting class, Pitt fans should be plenty excited about the 2010-2011 Pitt basketball team.

Day Two Lacks Drama

We knew going in that there was no way day two could live up to day one, but I do not think anyone expected the snooze fest that ensued yesterday. Ten of the sixteen games were decided by double digits and the closest game was Michigan State’s three point win over New Mexico State. The only drama came in the Michigan State, Purdue and Wisconsin games, and in all of those the favorite prevailed, and without a heroic shot to mention in the bunch. The only real upset of the day was Cornell’s victory over 5th seeded Temple, but since everyone was calling this one I am not sure how big of an upset it was.

The general lack of drama also led to a lack of star performances. Jordan Crawford scored 28 points in Xavier’s win, freshman Jordan Williams paced Maryland with 21 points in a hard fought win over Houston and Kalin Lucas scored 25 as Michigan State held off a 2nd half surge by New Mexico State. As you can see, there really were no standout performances in a day that lacked a signature moment.

The story from day one was the Big East’s demise, but after Pitt, West Virginia and Syracuse took care of business, order was restored a bit and the Big East finished the opening round at 4-4.

Round two kicks off this afternoon and there are a number of intriguing games. Can Villanova regain its early season form? Can Ohio stay on this magical run? Will Kansas and Kentucky stay on track to meet each other in the Finals? Whatever happens, I hope the drama comes much closer to matching Thursday’s spectacular moments than the total lack of suspense we encountered yesterday.

NCAA Tourney Day One Recap

Day one of the 2010 NCAA Tournament is now in the books and what a day it was. Nine games came down to the end, including three overtime games, one double overtime, two buzzer-beaters, two missed buzzer-beaters and two other game winning shots with under five seconds left. I am out of breath just typing all of that.

The biggest story of the day was the failure of the Big East. Georgetown lost as heavy favorites to Ohio, Notre Dame lost as favorites to Old Dominion, and Marquette lost what I thought was the best game of the day to Washington, blowing a 13-point second half lead in the process. The Big East’s only win came from Villanova, an overtime win over mighty Robert Morris, and they may have looked the worst out of all four Big East teams yesterday. It will be up to West Virginia, Pitt, Syracuse and Louisville to right the ship today for the Big East.

Heroes of the day included Quincy Poindexter of Washington, who made a brilliant one-on-one move to hit the game winning shot against Marquette, Danero Thomas of Murray State, who hit the first buzzer beater of the tournament from about 18 feet to upset Vanderbilt, Jimmer Fredette of BYU, who scored 37 in leading his team to double overtime victory over Florida, and the late night hero Ish Smith of Wake Forest, who’s buzzer beater in overtime sent Texas packing.

If day two brings half as much excitement as day one, it will be another great day of basketball. There will be no live blogging today as I will be out and about catching all of the action with friends. I will be back tomorrow to give my recap and thoughts on the complete first round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament.

Tourney Live-Blogging

12:18pm - Great finish to the Tennessee game and a roller coaster ride for all the bettors out there. Texas looks to give the second overtime cover of the day for those that had BYU, like some guys I happen to know. All in all, it was a great day. I enjoyed doing the blogging throughout the day but it's time to call it a night. I will post my wrap-up thoughts from the first day of action tomorrow morning.

11:43pm - It looks like San Diego St.-Tennessee could be our next great finish. This game has a back and forth type feel to it and I bet it goes down to the wire. Texas, much like Washington when I said it, refuses to go quietly. The only thing left to talk about in the Kansas game is whether they cover the 25 point spread or not. Sorry Lehigh, it was fun while it was lasted. Get back to designing our bridges now please.

11:30pm - It looks like Texas wants everyone to remember how this season went up in flames. From 17-0 and the number 1 team in the country to a #8 seed in the tournament and a first round loss. Rick Barnes' teams never seem to reach their potential. Why is this?

11:19pm - Did anyone know Wayne Chism is missing his headband? He also loses it twice per game. (You get this if you're watching the Tennessee game right now.) Good start to the second half for San Diego State. Wake Forest looks like they have jumped out to a good start in the 2nd half as well, but I would not know since CBS refuses to show me a second of this game.

11:08pm - I was talking about how ugly the Tennessee-San Diego State game was at times, but that was before this Montana-New Mexico contest became the featured game. Now this is some ugly basketball. Darrington Hobson just went down for New Mexico, this could be huge for the outcome of this game if Hobson cannot return. He is the Lobos do all it all premier player.

10:51pm - Kansas only leads by 6 at the break. I doubt that this game even stays close in the second half, but it is always interesting when a #1 seed is in a bit of trouble. Remember, a #1 seed has never lost since the current seeding format was put in place.

Texas leads Wake Forest by 1 at halftime in the game of who can end the year with the most disappointing season. I expect Texas to win this game, but the way they shoot free throws I do not feel all that confident.

10:41pm - This San Diego State-Tennessee game has been very weird. One play a team looks great, the next it is completely terrible. Very weird game to try and get a grasp of at this point. CBS, meanwhile, has not shown us a single second of the Texas-Wake Forest game. Keep up the great work CBS!

10:19pm - Wayne Chism of Tennessee just bricked a wide open 3 without drawing iron. That was followed immediately by a San Diego State player hitting the side of the backboard on a corner 3. Needless to say, we are no longer watching the Washington-Marquette game.

Kansas, meanwhile, has gotten off to a slow start. I'm guessing they may have been shocked to see a five-man starting line-up consisting of all white guys on the other side.

10:06pm - Well that wasn't fun. Not only does Marquette lose, it takes a half hour to play 1.7 seconds. These coaches have too many time outs at their disposal. More importantly, how does Marquette let Washington's best player go one-on-one all the way to the hoop?!? What kind of defense was that...Where is the help? Where is the double team? You have to make him give the ball up in that situation.

In a related and surprising note, the big, bad Big East is now 1-3 in the tournament with their only win being Villanova's ugly W in overtime over Robert Morris. I don't think the Big East supporters will be talking too much tomorrow!

9:43pm - That did not take long. Washington erases a 13-point defecit and now leads by 1 with five minutes remaining. Have either of these teams ever heard of the word defense?

9:36pm - See what happens when you speak to soon. Washington right back in the game. I should have known better with two teams that play offense as well as these two do. We may just have another fantastic finish.

9:25pm - I told you we were going to get a great finish in the 8-9 game in the Midwest. What a shot by the Northern Iowa kid. When he shot it, I yelled 'no!' I quickly followed that up with 'yes, great shot!' Marquette looks to be pulling away so we may take a quick break as these first games of the night wind down.

9:11pm - Going to be a great finish in the Northern Iowa-UNLV game. UNLV was able to counter N.Iowa's 11-1 run with a quick 7-0 run themselves. Going to be another great finish I think. Meanwhile, Kentucky looks like they are going to make it interesting, interesting on the 19 point line anyway!

8:50pm - Fantastic half of basketball. Washington shot 66.7% from 3pt range and nearly 56% overall. Marquette, who leads by 1 at the break, was cold compared to that, shooting 63.6% from 3 and 52% overall. The team that wins this game is going to be the one who steps up and plays a little defense in the 2nd half.

The Kentucky game is over and it looks like John Thompson III's speech didn't work at halftime as Ohio has extended their lead on the Hoyas. Our only drama in the three early games looks like it might come from Northern Iowa-UNLV, a game that has been tight throughout.

8:21pm - I haven't taken my eyes off the TV. Wow, this game is an incredible show of offense by both teams. Thank goodness the other three games are all at halftime at the same time so the whole country can see this up and down show. Wonder what Thompson III is saying to his Hoyas in the locker room. I cannot imagine that is a very fun place to be right now.

8:05pm - Super fast start to the Marquette-Washington game. I told you this could be a fun one. I have no idea what John Thompson's boys are doing. Taking the opponent lightly anyone?

7:57pm - Marquette and Washington have tipped off. This could be the most entertaining game of the night. Both of these teams will play fast and are very efficient of offense.

By the way, we went with Northern Iowa, Georgetown, Kentucky and Marquette against the spread. We are off to a so-so 4-4 start in the afternoon games.

7:52pm - Kentucky is off to a great start. Georgetown, however, is struggling out of the gate with Ohio, who finished in 9th place in the MAC during the regular season by the way. UNLV-Northern Iowa looks like it could be a good one. Watching UNLV, they seem like a team who should be better than they play. We're off to a slow start on the live blogging, but quite frankly, not too much has been happening. Maybe it's just the letdown coming off such great games to start the day.

7:30pm - We're back! And my bracket took a beating while we were gone as both Richmond and UTEP imploded in the 2nd half. What in the world happened to UTEP in the 2nd half? They were winning by 6 at halftime and went down by as many as 17 within the first 7 or 8 minutes after halftime. Talk about total lack of adjustments...

Entertaining start to the UNLV-Northern Iowa game so far.

******

5:00pm - Baylor holds on for the victory and my bracket stays in tact. This Richmond-St. Mary's game is the opposite of exciting and it is now 5pm. Sounds like a good time to get some dinner, recharge the batteries and come back strong tonight. What a great start to the tournament! See everyone in a couple hours.

4:43pm - First buzzer beater of the tournament!!!! My bracket remains perfect through four games! Go home Vandy! Yes, I feel like I just hit that jumper!

4:41pm - Good replay work there, originally thought that ball was off Murray St. I'm pulling hard for a Murray State victory here!

4:35pm - Well it took halftime of the Richmond-St.Mary's game, but I think we will finally get the Murray State finish. I pray that ESPN wins the bidding rights for this coverage either next year or in three years when the current deal expires (the NCAA has an option of opting out of its current deal). By the way, this McConnell kid from St. Mary's is on fire right now. Tied up at halftime, and St. Mary's has to feel good going in with their big man in foul trouble and sitting the final seven minutes of the half.

4:26pm - We're still sitting here with this Richmond game on while a great game between Murray State and Vanderbilt, a 2 point game with under three minutes no less, is going on. We have it on the computer, but come on CBS, do your job!

4:15pm - Kansas State is starting to pull away, so much for my wife's upset pick! Baylor has taken the lead early in the second half, Richmond is up early and Murray State continues to lead Vanderbilt. At this point I would be excited if I bet money on these games. Ask me again in 10 minutes, though, as one thing you know in hoops is that it is a game of runs.

4:09pm - Kind of a lull in the action. CBS is force feeding us the Richmond-St.Mary's game right now on our main TV. Meanwhile, two high seeds are losing in the second half of the other two games currently in action. Good job CBS!

3:48pm - Got a text from another buddy wondering if I think Seton Hall or St. John's were watching that Robert Morris game. I agree, Rice would be a great fit at one of those schools. My Dad chimed in that Duquesne made a big mistake when they fired Mike Rice Sr. as their head coach nearly 30 years ago.

3:41pm - What a great start to the tournament, I can't say it enough. Took the dog for a quick walk for some fresh air after three great games. Murray State is up at the half, so far, so good on my bracket! I don't like Sam Houston State hanging around with Baylor, however. Sam Houston State was one team I hadn't seen much of and so far I am pretty impressed. My wife's North Texas pick is looking good so far! Yes, I am kidding. Robert Morris was able to hang around the whole game, though, maybe North Texas is stealing some of their 15 seed mojo.

3:12pm - Robert Morris won't go away!!! What a start to the tournament. A one-point win, a double overtime game and now a great finish to another OT game!!! That's why we love March Madness.

3:05pm - Did I say I hate gambling?!? I meant I love it! BYU covers the 5.5 spread in double overtime. As my buddy texted me, "never worried". Villanova is going to win this game in overtime. That's a shame, Robert Morris has outplayed them for most of this game. Mike Rice, Robert Morris' head coach, is going to end up coaching a big-time program someday, you heard it here first!

2:25pm - ODU holds on! I think I picked them to win in every bracket I have. Notre Dame lets teams hang around and it cost them. We are happy that BYU heads to overtime after blowing a 13 point lead. This is why betting sucks! Nova continues to struggle with Bobby Mo, it's time to start rooting for the underdog.

Once again if gambling were legal, I would give the points with Richmond, Baylor and Kansas State and take the points with UTEP and Murray State in the second set of games.

2:15pm - It is never easy! BYU blows a 13-point lead and is now trailing by 1 with a minute or so left, WTF! Need overtime it looks like. Meanwhile, ODU doesn't make a front end of a one-and-one, will be lucky to survive now.

1:59 pm - BYU looks like they might start pulling away. No surprise here if they do. I thought Florida was the worst at-large selection and BYU was very good against the spread all year. We have the Villanova- Bobby Mo game on here. The Colonials are not just getting lucky, they do not look overmatched at all. Maybe this Villanova team was just overrated all year long.

1:40 pm - Finally settled in to watch the games. My Dad says he has been watching some terribly ugly shooting so far. As long as ODU and BYU win and cover, I don't care how ugly it is! Will check back in a little once I get to see some actual basketball.

12:10pm - My first ever live blog, well semi-live since we'll update every little bit with a few tidbits since I have not mastered by live-blogging technology yet. Anyways, if gambling were legal, I would be taking 'Nova minus the points, BYU minus the points and Old Dominion plus the points in the three early games.

I need to finish some things up at my real job so expect some delays early on. I will be back in about an hour with my early thoughts on the day's first games.

NCAA Bracket Selections

Thursday has come, everyone has filled out their brackets and opening tip-off of the 2010 NCAA Tournament is just hours away. The first Thursday and Friday of the NCAA Tournament have a certain buzz about them, kind of like we are watching something great develop in its infant stages. I, of course, have taken the afternoon off and a vacation day on Friday to watch all of the action. I will be blogging, semi-live, throughout today’s games with my thoughts on all that is happening. Be ready for betting updates, upset alerts, buzzer beater reactions and much more as we take in all of the action in today’s opening games!

Before we get to the games, however, it is time to unveil the “official” People’s Quarterback bracket. I call it official because like so many of you, I fill out too many of these things to keep track of. This one, however, is the one I am holding myself accountable for, as Regis used to say, “final answer!”

Before I give my picks, I must admit that I have watched more college basketball this year than I can ever remember. When you have a pregnant wife that goes to sleep at 8pm and a new sports blog, you have both a reason and an excuse to watch as much sports as possible, and in this case college hoops.

For instance, I have seen three, yes three, Utah State home games. I say this because their home court advantage is awesome. They squeeze around 11,000 people into their arena, cheer the whole game, have their student section behind the visiting teams’ hoop in the second half and have one student, a rather large man, dress in skimpy costumes and stand on a table and dance around when the visitors shoot free throws. In two of the games I saw, he was dressed as Robinhood and Cupid. Highly entertaining, but I bring this up because how many people outside of Utah or that are not alumni have seen one Utah St. game ever, let alone three home games in one year. I know that Isaiah Thomas of Washington was named Isaiah because his father lost a bet on a Detroit Pistons playoff game when Thomas’ mother was pregnant with him. I also know his mother allowed the name because it was a biblical name.

I know the Pac 10 stinks, the Atlantic 10 and Mountain West are strong, I know transfers are making a big deal across the country, like Jordan Crawford at Xavier (formerly Indiana), Taylor King at Villanova (Duke), Wes Johnson at Syracuse (Iowa State), and Derrick Caracter at UTEP (Louisville). I know that Kansas and Kentucky are the two best teams but that Syracuse and Duke were rewarded with the two easiest paths to the Final Four. I know how teams have done against the spread, at home, and on the road. Quite frankly, I know way more than I should about way more teams, conferences and players than I will ever need to know.

So what does that all mean, absolutely nothing! That is what makes March Madness so great and so many people across the country love it. My bracket has the same chance as my wife’s, who may have seen Pitt play one time all season as her only basketball watching experience and who picked North Texas to reach the Sweet Sixteen. So without further ado, here is the first official People’s Quarterback bracket:

Midwest

Kansas over Lehigh
UNLV over N. Iowa
MSU over New Mexico St
Maryland over Houston
San Diego State over Tennessee
Georgetown over Ohio
Georgia Tech over Oklahoma State
Ohio State over UCSB

Kansas over Michigan State
Ohio State over Georgetown

Kansas over Ohio State

West

Syracuse over Vermont
Gonzaga over Florida State
UTEP over Butler
Murray State over Vanderbilt
Xavier over Minnesota
Pitt over Oakland
BYU over Florida
Kansas State over North Texas

Syracuse over UTEP
Kansas State over Pitt

Syracuse over Kansas State

East

Kentucky over ETSU
Texas over Wake Forest
Temple over Cornell
Wisconsin over Wofford
Marquette over Washington
New Mexico over Montana
Missouri over Clemson
West Virginia over Morgan State

Kentucky over Wisconsin
West Virginia over Marquette

Kentucky over West Virginia

South

Duke over Ark-Pine Bluff
Louisville over California
Texas A&M over Utah State
Siena over Purdue
Old Dominion over Notre Dame
Baylor over Sam Houston State
Richmond over St. Mary’s
Villanova over Robert Morris

Duke over Texas A&M
Baylor over Villanova

Baylor over Duke

Final Four

Kansas over Syracuse
Kentucky over Baylor

Kentucky over Kansas

Great Pitt-WVU Battle

Only one word can properly describe the Pitt-West Virginia game last night; “Wow”! If you did not see the game for yourself I apologize, but I cannot properly do it justice in writing. Pitt erased a 7 point deficit in the final minute of the game, thanks in large part to WVU’s failure from the free throw line and a very costly turnover. West Virginia then rallied in the final seconds of each of the first two overtimes, including a long three by Truck Bryant at the end of the first overtime (why did Pitt not foul in this situation!), until the game was finally decided in the third overtime. My wife and I were actually at the same bar/restaurant that we watched the Syracuse-Connecticut six overtime contest last year in the Big East Tournament and this battle had the exact same feel. It is a shame we had to settle for ONLY three overtimes this time.

Pitt got great contributions from a host of players last night including leading scorers Brad Wannamaker and Ashton Gibbs, but the two who really stood out for me were Travon Woodall and Gary McGhee. Woodall played 31 minutes with Jermaine Dixon fouling out before eventually fouling out himself. Woodall contributed 12 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and most importantly 0 turnovers. He would have been the hero as well had his fade-away jumper at the end of the 2nd overtime left his hand a split second earlier. If Woodall can contribute like this going forward it would be a huge boost to the Pitt rotation, allowing Gibbs to play off the ball at times as well as getting some meaningful rest during games. McGhee only had 6 points but he was a monster presence down low collecting 12 rebounds and 2 blocks, including a monster one late in the 2nd overtime. I thought Pitt’s defense was shaky for most of the game and overall was not their best performance of the year. However, if they are able to get contributions from the number of players they did against West Virginia, last night could mark the true turning point of the season.

College Basketball Overview

The two weeks between the NFL Conference Championships and the Super Bowl always seems to be the perfect time to catch up on what is happening in college basketball. I watch and follow the first couple months of the season, obviously, but my focus is usually more directed at the NFL and college football. Besides, in today’s game where there are so many early departures and impact freshmen on the top teams, the team you see in November and December usually does not resemble the team you see come March. I see analysts all the time get hooked on a team by their performance in December, or conversely write off a team by their lousy performance in the early parts of the season, only to be asking themselves what happened when the team proves their expectations wrong.

The NCAA Tournament often comes down to match-ups, but right now I see two teams that are clearly head and shoulders above the rest of the field and both look to be equipped for any match-up. Kansas and Kentucky both have elite guards, NBA ready big-men and athletic, gifted wings to round out their teams. I would give the slight edge right now to Kansas because of the experience of Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich, but each team has an X-factor that could put them above everyone. For Kentucky, that x-factor is John Wall. The sensational freshman point guard has lived up to all the hype and looks like the consensus first pick in next year’s NBA draft, but does he have a level we haven’t seen yet? With Patrick Patterson and DeMarcus Cousins patrolling the paint, Eric Bledsoe, Darnell Dodson and others running the break on the wings, if Wall can elevate his game even further I am not sure anyone can match up with these guys for 40 minutes. For Kansas, the x-factor to me is Xavier Henry, pardon the pun. You know what you are getting from Collins and Aldrich as well as the Morris brothers, Brady Morningstar and Tyshawn Taylor, but the key for the Jayhawks will be the play of their own sensational frosh. Henry started the season out very strongly but has cooled somewhat in conference play. If Henry can be the dynamic wing scorer he looked like early in the season, there could be another Rock-Chalk-Jayhawk title in the works.

As for some other top teams that have impressed me:

Syracuse – This team reminds me of the Carmelo Anthony championship team, with Wes Johnson playing the Carmelo role. Long and athletic in that 2-3 defense with multiple weapons on offense, this team will be tough come tournament time.

Michigan State – A clone of last year’s runner-up squad, Tom Izzo’s teams are always dangerous come tourney time.

Villanova – A typical Jay Wright team with great guard play, led by Scottie Reynolds, but could be beat if they run into a superior post player.

Georgetown – With the superstar trifecta of Chris Wright, Greg Monroe and Austin Freeman, this team can and will play with anyone. I often wonder if John Thompson III’s system hinders his own talent, however.

Texas - This team has struggled of late, but is still very talented and has a match-up nightmare in Damion James, a 6’7’’ forward that can do it all. Will need their young guards to play well to make a deep run.

Ohio State – Don’t let their record fool you, half of their losses occurred without do it all point guard Evan Turner, who has been the best player in college basketball to date. There’s always one team that makes a deep run on the back of a great player, and Ohio St. could be that team this year.

Louisville – Don’t count this team out as a darkhorse candidate to make a run to the Final Four. We all know how great Pitino has been and this team is still awfully talented with a dynamite post player in Samardo Samuels leading them. If this team gets on track, look out.

Other teams I have liked to date include Kansas State, Wisconsin, Temple, Butler and Siena.

Teams I have not been impressed with:

West Virginia – This is a typical Bob Huggins team that is long and athletic but not built for tournament success. Not enough shooters and undisciplined play could do this team in at some point.

Purdue – This team could make a deep run if it’s presented the right match-ups, but it could also be a short stay if presented the wrong one. The team lacks athleticism and a true playmaker. A healthy Lewis Jackson could be a big plus if he can return from injury.

Duke – Similar to Purdue, this team lacks elite athleticism and a true post threat. The right match-ups could easily have Duke in the Final Four, but just like recent history has shown, the wrong match-up could lead to another quick Duke exit.

Georgia Tech – Besides one miracle run, has Paul Hewitt led teams ever made noise in the tournament…This team is also frontcourt loaded and guards are needed to win come tournament time.

Other teams that I have not been impressed by include Gonzaga, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Clemson and the entire Pac 10.