Tonight it all comes to an end. Uconn vs. Butler, "big vs. little" as it is being called. The Huskies narrowly escaped a yound and feisty Kentucky squad only coming up with a one point victory but when all was said and done they still won it. Analysts seem pretty split on who they think will win tonight saying Uconn is gassed, trying to win their 11th straight game in a month. But coach Jim Calhoun has said he has managed a schedule that gives his players enough rest. Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lamb have been terrific in the tournament and Uconn will not win the game without them playing well. Butler goes into tonight being the veterans making it back to back championship games. Finishing second last year to Duke by a slim margin many think this year is their year. They handled this years Cinderella VCU in the national semi-finals and now look to do the unthinkable it seems. Their focus of course is stopping Kemba Walker. The Bulldogs match for Walker, Ronald Nored one of the best defenders in the country. They hope their experience from last year will help them to a national championship this year.
I look for this to be a slow paced game. Butler will slow Uconn down and turn it into a half court game, advantage Uconn. Butler is no longer a small school or a mid-major by any means 10-1 in the last 2 seasons in the NCAA Tournament they have stepped into the spotlight and don't seem to be getting out of it. My prediction for this game is I think Uconn will win in a great game. This might not be a very hyped up game but I think its an intriguing game as for it is youthful Brad Stevens vs. old school Jim Calhoun. Power school Uconn vs. so called "underdog" Butler. This will definitely be a good game to watch. But I think the team who usually wins has a great player and that great player is on the Huskies side of the ball in Kemba Walker.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
Tennessee Replaces Bruce Pearl
Today Tennessee announced that Missouri State coach Cuanzo Martin would replace former coach Bruce Pearl. Martin compiled a 61-41 record in three seasons at Missouri St. improving from a 11-20 in his first season to a 26-9 record this past season as the Bears won the Missouri Valley Conference regular season title and letting a post-season tournament slip away in the closing seconds. Snubbed from the NCAA they lost in the second round of the NIT to Miami (FL) 81-72. Martin who comes from a nice coaching stable out of Purdue behind Gene Keady and Matt Painter. This experience led him to be named MVC Coach of the Year this season. Congratulations to Coach Martin, and good luck as he looks to replace Pearl the coach who had once recruited him coming out of high school, who had a 145-61 record at Tennessee leading the Vols to a #1 ranking in 2008.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Elite Eight Predictions
Tonight Florida faces Butler. An interesting game Butler is playing just as good as anyone right now and they have played extremely well on the defensive side of the ball. Florida has a size advantage on the Bulldogs but everyone has had a size advantage on them this entire tournament. I think you might be crazy if you think Butler won't pull this game out and advance to Houston.
To me the best game in the Elite Eight will take place in Anaheim tonight between Uconn and Arizona. Two of the tourney's top players going head to head. Derrick Williams has been sensational in the NCAA tournament and Arizona played the game of a decade against Duke to send them packing two nights ago. Kemba Walker has also put his team on his back which has been the story all of March. Uconn rattled off five straight victories in the Big East tourney and now they have won three straight with a chance to win four. If Arizona plays like they did the other night they will advance but I don't think they will have that type of game again I believe Uconn moves on.
Tomorrow night KU will take on VCU for a chance to make it to the Final Four once again. KU played their best basketball in the first half against Richmond. A sluggish second half gave the Spiders some hope but the game was never really in question the average margin was around 17 points in the last 20 minutes. Brady Morningstar put in 18 points for the Hawks. VCU also pulled a close one out against Florida State. Coach Shaka Smart has played the disrespect card with his team the whole tournament and it has evidently worked. The Rams have had a nice season and they could upset KU with their great shooting from beyond the arch but Kansas the lone #1 seed left in the tournament is loaded with weapons and I believe they will advance with no problem.
Finally, my Tar Heels embarrassed Marquette in the regional semi-final friday night. Tyler Zeller had 27 points and stuffed the stat sheet with 12 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals. Barnes 20 points and 9 boards. Carolina had a huge size advantage against the Golden Eagles. Now they take on Kentucky and a phenomonal young Wildcat team the recently sent home the tournament's favorite the Ohio State Buckeyes. Freshmen Brandon Knight hit the game winner to slip past the Buckeyes but Senior Josh Harrellson was big down inside cleaning up on the boards with 10, and 17 points to go along with it. Kentucky is dangerous and is loaded with talent. My pick for this game to advance has to be my North Carolina Tar Heels, I think it will be a tight game throughout but Barnes is a preseason All-American for a reason folks. Marshall will break down Kentucky's defense and dish it to Henson and Zeller. Carolina prevails.
My Final Four: North Carolina, Uconn, KU, Butler
To me the best game in the Elite Eight will take place in Anaheim tonight between Uconn and Arizona. Two of the tourney's top players going head to head. Derrick Williams has been sensational in the NCAA tournament and Arizona played the game of a decade against Duke to send them packing two nights ago. Kemba Walker has also put his team on his back which has been the story all of March. Uconn rattled off five straight victories in the Big East tourney and now they have won three straight with a chance to win four. If Arizona plays like they did the other night they will advance but I don't think they will have that type of game again I believe Uconn moves on.
Tomorrow night KU will take on VCU for a chance to make it to the Final Four once again. KU played their best basketball in the first half against Richmond. A sluggish second half gave the Spiders some hope but the game was never really in question the average margin was around 17 points in the last 20 minutes. Brady Morningstar put in 18 points for the Hawks. VCU also pulled a close one out against Florida State. Coach Shaka Smart has played the disrespect card with his team the whole tournament and it has evidently worked. The Rams have had a nice season and they could upset KU with their great shooting from beyond the arch but Kansas the lone #1 seed left in the tournament is loaded with weapons and I believe they will advance with no problem.
Finally, my Tar Heels embarrassed Marquette in the regional semi-final friday night. Tyler Zeller had 27 points and stuffed the stat sheet with 12 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals. Barnes 20 points and 9 boards. Carolina had a huge size advantage against the Golden Eagles. Now they take on Kentucky and a phenomonal young Wildcat team the recently sent home the tournament's favorite the Ohio State Buckeyes. Freshmen Brandon Knight hit the game winner to slip past the Buckeyes but Senior Josh Harrellson was big down inside cleaning up on the boards with 10, and 17 points to go along with it. Kentucky is dangerous and is loaded with talent. My pick for this game to advance has to be my North Carolina Tar Heels, I think it will be a tight game throughout but Barnes is a preseason All-American for a reason folks. Marshall will break down Kentucky's defense and dish it to Henson and Zeller. Carolina prevails.
My Final Four: North Carolina, Uconn, KU, Butler
Friday, March 25, 2011
Recent Coaching Changes
After a dismal year for Tennessee and some off the court issues, coach Bruce Pearl is out. There is an upcoming NCAA investigation/trial for Pearl and more suspensions might be handed out afterwards but as for now many believe Bruce will get another shot at another school in a couple years. There has been talk of VCU's diamond in the rough coach, if you will, Shaka Smart. As he leads his Rams into a game tonight with Florida State, many believe he could be the top prospect for the Volunteer's coaching position.
Missouri's Mike Anderson has moved on to a new school after Arkansas recently fired John Pelphrey after a short coaching career there. Which raises the question who will take over for Anderson? Matt Painter from Purdue has been rumored but if they were looking for a risk reward how about the previously mentioned Bruce Pearl?
Missouri's Mike Anderson has moved on to a new school after Arkansas recently fired John Pelphrey after a short coaching career there. Which raises the question who will take over for Anderson? Matt Painter from Purdue has been rumored but if they were looking for a risk reward how about the previously mentioned Bruce Pearl?
Thursday Night Recap
Much to my surprise..... Last night Arizona's big man Derrick Williams showed why he is going to go pro at the end of this season. In a dominating performance. He did basically everything for them im the first half it seemed scoring 25 of his 32 points and then in the second half it was a team effort to put the Blue Devils away in humiliating fashion. The second half was when Arizona turned it on. torching Duke for 55 points in the second half. Second chances, uncontested dunks, as well as raining threes, I don't know a team that could have stopped Zona lastnight in the second half. They seemed to play with a sense of urgerncy that the Blue Devils just lacked, the run everyone thought would come never did. The second half rebounding margin was 25-9 in favor of the Wildcats. Coach Mike Krzyzewski said "They were just phenomonal." Shooting 54% from the field and 60% from three, while Duke shot 46% from the field. Kyrie Irving was hot all night pouring in 28 points, Singler had 18 points and 8 rebounds fellow senior Nolan Smith struggled going 3-14 with only 8 points, not the way Singler or Smith wanted to put the cap on two marvelous careers. Smith seemed to be out of rhythm with Irving on the floor running the point for Duke. Some might say Irving played too much being only his third game back from his injury, nevertheless the Arizona Wildcats are advancing to the Elite Eight to take on Uconn as they beat San Diego St last night. The Cats look to earn a Final Four bid for the first time since 2001 when they played in the National Championship game against none other than Duke.
The Butler Bulldogs are once again in the Elite Eight. Youthful coach Brad Stevens has his team playing their best ball in the month of March. In an interview earlier this week he was asked about what he thinks of his team being named the 'underdog' Stevens simply said "They can call us what they want, cinderella, underdogs, whatever but we'll embrase it." It seems to me Butler isn't a very respected basketball team by the other teams they play against or the media. In fact, I, didn't really think they could really go as far as they have and they have certainly caught my attention and gained my respect. They are one of the most solid ball clubs and Brad Stevens is one heck of a coach. They have won 12 straight after their victory over Wisconsin. They have went on the 12 game streak based purely on defense. Shutting down the Badgers forcing them to shoot 30% from the field, they are solid in every aspect of their defense, and they run plays on the offensive end that play to everyone of their players strengths to get the job done. Led by Matt Howard with 20 points and 12 boards as well as Sheldon Mack who added 13 points last night the Bulldogs look to make it to their second straight Final Four with a win against Florida tomorrow night.
It was the Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lamb show thursday night as the Huskies sent home the #2 seed San Diego State. Walker lit the nets on fire going off for 36 while Lamb put in 24 of his own. Lamb struggled through the middle part of the season but starting in the Big East tournament and now in the NCAA's the freshman has really come on strong. Kemba Walker has put his team on his back this past month and he shows no sign of stopping. Steve Fisher's Aztecs had a remarkable year this season only losing three games and winning their first NCAA tournament game in school history. San Diego State hung around the whole game just didn't have the answer for Lamb and Walker.
As I anticipated the Florida bigs pulled through. Alex Tyus had 19 points and 17 rebounds lastnight and the versatile Chandler Parsons had 16 and 9. Florida's balance last night seemed to me to be the key. The starting five for the Gators went like so: Tyus: 19 points, Parsons: 16 points, Macklin: 9 points, Boynton: 17 points, Walker: 16 points. While the only player for BYU to score in double figures was none other than Jimmer Fredette. He was feeling quite "jim" as I like to say he wasn't at his "jimmest' although he had 32 points last night he couldn't buy a basket in the first half and briefly caught fire in the second before going ice cold again. Walker and Boynton seemed to wear him down and everytime he stepped foot in the lane he was on the ground in the blink of an eye with the bigs playing him aggressive making Jimmer earn his points down low. It seemed we were going to have a rematch of last years first round game which was an overtime thriller, when this one went in to overtime. The Gators were going to have none of that, they stepped on the gas pedal and surged out early in overtime and the game was never within reach for BYU at any point after that. Florida now has to take on Butler to make it back to the Final Four.
The Butler Bulldogs are once again in the Elite Eight. Youthful coach Brad Stevens has his team playing their best ball in the month of March. In an interview earlier this week he was asked about what he thinks of his team being named the 'underdog' Stevens simply said "They can call us what they want, cinderella, underdogs, whatever but we'll embrase it." It seems to me Butler isn't a very respected basketball team by the other teams they play against or the media. In fact, I, didn't really think they could really go as far as they have and they have certainly caught my attention and gained my respect. They are one of the most solid ball clubs and Brad Stevens is one heck of a coach. They have won 12 straight after their victory over Wisconsin. They have went on the 12 game streak based purely on defense. Shutting down the Badgers forcing them to shoot 30% from the field, they are solid in every aspect of their defense, and they run plays on the offensive end that play to everyone of their players strengths to get the job done. Led by Matt Howard with 20 points and 12 boards as well as Sheldon Mack who added 13 points last night the Bulldogs look to make it to their second straight Final Four with a win against Florida tomorrow night.
It was the Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lamb show thursday night as the Huskies sent home the #2 seed San Diego State. Walker lit the nets on fire going off for 36 while Lamb put in 24 of his own. Lamb struggled through the middle part of the season but starting in the Big East tournament and now in the NCAA's the freshman has really come on strong. Kemba Walker has put his team on his back this past month and he shows no sign of stopping. Steve Fisher's Aztecs had a remarkable year this season only losing three games and winning their first NCAA tournament game in school history. San Diego State hung around the whole game just didn't have the answer for Lamb and Walker.
As I anticipated the Florida bigs pulled through. Alex Tyus had 19 points and 17 rebounds lastnight and the versatile Chandler Parsons had 16 and 9. Florida's balance last night seemed to me to be the key. The starting five for the Gators went like so: Tyus: 19 points, Parsons: 16 points, Macklin: 9 points, Boynton: 17 points, Walker: 16 points. While the only player for BYU to score in double figures was none other than Jimmer Fredette. He was feeling quite "jim" as I like to say he wasn't at his "jimmest' although he had 32 points last night he couldn't buy a basket in the first half and briefly caught fire in the second before going ice cold again. Walker and Boynton seemed to wear him down and everytime he stepped foot in the lane he was on the ground in the blink of an eye with the bigs playing him aggressive making Jimmer earn his points down low. It seemed we were going to have a rematch of last years first round game which was an overtime thriller, when this one went in to overtime. The Gators were going to have none of that, they stepped on the gas pedal and surged out early in overtime and the game was never within reach for BYU at any point after that. Florida now has to take on Butler to make it back to the Final Four.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Predictions
East Region- Ohio St vs. Kentucky: I think Ohio State is too strong and is too experienced for the young Wildcats I look for the Buckeyes to advance in this one.
Marquette vs. North Carolina: I'm a long time Tar heel fan, so I have to go with UNC in this game. Buzz Williams has one of the most talented point guards in the nation in Darius Johnson-Odom but I have Carolina facing Ohio St. for a chance to get to Houston.
West Region- Duke vs. Arizona: Duke is the most balanced team left in the tournament, they also are the defending National Champs I have them repeating this year so my pick is Duke
Uconn vs. San Diego St.: Kemba Walker isn't finished showing us his heroics I believe. San Diego St. has had a remarkable run this year under former "Fab Five" coach Steve Fisher I just don't see the Aztecs giving the Big East tournament champs a run.
Southwest Region- KU vs Richmond: This is a tricky game, I think Richmond will show up ready to play against the Hawks and give them a run for their money but I am confident KU pulls this one out.
VCU vs. Florida St.: ACC pride as Eric Cheray and I always say. I have Florida St. moving on in this one I think they are too big inside for the Rams it will be a good game without a doubt but the Seminoles move on to the Elite Eight
Southeast Region- Butler vs. Wisconsin: Butler being last years runner-ups I think they will move on against the Badgers of Wisconsin. Butler has shown their resiliency in the past two games and I think that shows a lot they might make it back to the Final Four again this year.
BYU vs. Florida: Florida has three great big men in Parsons, Tyus and Maclin but people dont give them enough credit. Parsons who was 6'3 going into his senior year of high school is now 6'10 and has guard abilities as a big man he can stroke it from distance and handle like Chris Paul. BYU's Fredette can hit the dagger at any moment in the game I just don't know if they can hang with the bigs down inside so I have Florida winning in a close one.
Thanks for reading feel free to comment!
Marquette vs. North Carolina: I'm a long time Tar heel fan, so I have to go with UNC in this game. Buzz Williams has one of the most talented point guards in the nation in Darius Johnson-Odom but I have Carolina facing Ohio St. for a chance to get to Houston.
West Region- Duke vs. Arizona: Duke is the most balanced team left in the tournament, they also are the defending National Champs I have them repeating this year so my pick is Duke
Uconn vs. San Diego St.: Kemba Walker isn't finished showing us his heroics I believe. San Diego St. has had a remarkable run this year under former "Fab Five" coach Steve Fisher I just don't see the Aztecs giving the Big East tournament champs a run.
Southwest Region- KU vs Richmond: This is a tricky game, I think Richmond will show up ready to play against the Hawks and give them a run for their money but I am confident KU pulls this one out.
VCU vs. Florida St.: ACC pride as Eric Cheray and I always say. I have Florida St. moving on in this one I think they are too big inside for the Rams it will be a good game without a doubt but the Seminoles move on to the Elite Eight
Southeast Region- Butler vs. Wisconsin: Butler being last years runner-ups I think they will move on against the Badgers of Wisconsin. Butler has shown their resiliency in the past two games and I think that shows a lot they might make it back to the Final Four again this year.
BYU vs. Florida: Florida has three great big men in Parsons, Tyus and Maclin but people dont give them enough credit. Parsons who was 6'3 going into his senior year of high school is now 6'10 and has guard abilities as a big man he can stroke it from distance and handle like Chris Paul. BYU's Fredette can hit the dagger at any moment in the game I just don't know if they can hang with the bigs down inside so I have Florida winning in a close one.
Thanks for reading feel free to comment!
Crazy First Weekend
What a crazy weekend of college basketball in the NCAA tournament. Upsets and controversies all over the place. If you're one of the 400 people in the United States who's bracket isn't busted congratulatons!
Lets start off with the games that probably ruined everyones bracket in the Louisville vs Morehead State match up. The 4 vs 13 upset that not many saw coming. If you watch ESPN at all you would have predicted this upset because all the analysts were saying Morehead State is no joke. Morehead has some very talented, quick guards with some aggressive bigs down inside. They fought hard to get the victory and it was well deserved. If you weren't paying attention there was a Topekan on the Morehead State roster, Lamont Austin who was a Highland Park grad of '07 along with Kyle Weems who now plays at Missouri State University. Highland Park won the 5a state championship that year.
If you were like me you wrongly thought Penn State was going to upset Temple which also was one of the 6 buzzer beaters on friday. Temple was no match for San Diego State in the third round though.
Butler who also won on a buzzer beater in the second round off of a Matt Howard layup as time expired advanced to a battle with the top ranked team in the Southeast Pittsburgh Panthers. This was one of the best games in the whole tournament. It was played with a lot of heart from both sides. It was a very fast paced game and in the end came down to the last 7.1 seconds or so when Butler's Shawn Vanzant drove the ball down the lane and dished it off to sophomore Andrew Smith who layed it in with 2.2 seconds remaining putting Butler up 70-69. Pittsburgh heaved the ball down to half court to Gilbert Brown who was fouled with 1.4 seconds left. Brown a 78% free throw shooter drained the first one tying it up at 70 a piece and the second one rimmed out. On the rebound by Matt Howard, Nasir Robinson from Pittsburgh inexplicably fouled him on the arm with 0.8 seconds left sending Howard to the line where he put the first shot in and purposely missed the second sending Butler to the sweet 16 in the most exciting game yet.
Kentucky also barely won in the second round against a surging Princeton team who were coming in off of an emotional last second game winning shot. The game was tied at 57 when freshman sensation Brandon Knight who was scoreless the whole game banked in a nifty layup with 2 seconds to go ending the Tigers season who were looking to be this years cinderella. Kentucky aslo went down to the wire against West Virginia in the third round but out lasted the Mountaineers.
But this tournament isn't lacking cinderellas its lacking top seeds. The previously mentioned Pittsburgh Panthers. As well as the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, who i had advancing to play KU in one of my brackets they were stunned last night by a newly energized Florida State team. Fresh off their superstar Chris Singleton returning they knock off Texas A&M as well as Notre Dame. Singleton one of the top players in the ACC broke his foot in February and is just returning after surgery. He logged good playing time against A&M but sat the bench most of the game against the Irish in a game that was never in question.
VCU is certainly raising people's eyebrows. A team who had to win a play-in game in this years newly added "first four". They are shutting up their nay sayers out there. Coach Shaka Smart is out to prove a point it seems. On selection sunday everyone was saying how they should not be in the tournament now he has led his Rams to 3 straight victories. Which is a VCU school record previously they had only won one game in the "Big Dance"
Getting to the #1 seeds now, Ohio State is looking like they should destroying a very good George Mason team. Sullinger is clicking on all cylinders and fifth year senior David Lighty went 7-7 from three point range in the George Mason win. It seems no matter where you try and focus to shut them down someone else steps up. The Buckeye's other talented freshman Aaron Craft had 15 assists a career high.
Duke had a slight scare in the second round against a difficult Michigan squad. Only winning by two. Senior Nolan Smith had himself a game breaking Tim Hardaway Jr's ankles. The game came down to the final seconds, Michigan would have tied the game on a floater that bricked off the back iron. The big story for the Blue Devils however is Kyrie Irving, only playing in 10 games this season before suffering a toe injury in December. In those 10 games he was marvelous shooting 51% from the field and 45% from three, averaging nearly 17 points per game. Irving had an unbelievable performance on December 1 against Michigan State scoring 31 in an 84-79 win against the Spartans. Now that he is back for the Blue Devil's they are my favorite to win it all. In his first game back Irving had 14 points in 16 minutes of action. Duke now in the sweet 16 will play Arizona who have a weapon down inside with Derrick Williams it looks to be the best pairing in the West region.
Staying in the ACC my personal favorite team the North Carolina Tar heels had a controversial game themselves against the Pac-10's Washington Huskies. The game was a battle all the way down to the end. Harrison Barnes a preseason All-American was on point leading the Heels but as the games was about to end a last second shot was touched by John Henson of UNC and it went out of bound with 0.5 seconds left. When played in slow motion it looked as if 1.4 seconds should be on the clock but the officials didn't go to the replay monitor and the game went on Washington's Isiah Thomas put up a last second shot to try and eclipse the Tar Heels but it fell short and so UNC advances to play Marquette who squeaked past third ranked in the East Syracuse Orange.
Now on to KU and K-State, the Jayhawks looked pretty sloppy in the first half against the Terriers of Boston University. As the game went on Boston stuck around then momentum quickly shifted to KU's side and the Hawks ran away with it. In the third round game versus Illinois it was a tight one throughout the first half but as the second half began coach Bill Self's team took advantage of some early turn overs eventually cruising to a 73-59 win led mostly in part by the Morris brothers. They now advance to play a pesky Richmond Spiders team.
K-State played a pretty solid game against Utah State in the second round giving Wildcat fans hope that this would be the year. Sadly, Wisconsin had their number in what turned out to be a bloody affair. A game in which stitches had to be handed out I thought for a second the Morris brothers had slipped into a Wildcat uniform and threw some of their infamous bows as they always do. Jacob Pullen had a career night scoring 38 on his way to setting a new school record for career points scored. Pullen was emotional after the game as were many of the Wildcats. A classy move made by NBA great Reggie Miller picked up their spirits a little it seemed. Miller addressed the cats saying they have nothing to be ashamed of and they represented themselves as well as their school very well. They did in fact it just wasn't enough this time around.
A couple teams to keep your eye on would be BYU and Jimmer Fredette as they take on Florida and their 5'8" point guard Eriving Walker. Not related but Uconn's Kemba Walker is looking to lead Uconn past Steve Fisher and San Diego St.
Lets start off with the games that probably ruined everyones bracket in the Louisville vs Morehead State match up. The 4 vs 13 upset that not many saw coming. If you watch ESPN at all you would have predicted this upset because all the analysts were saying Morehead State is no joke. Morehead has some very talented, quick guards with some aggressive bigs down inside. They fought hard to get the victory and it was well deserved. If you weren't paying attention there was a Topekan on the Morehead State roster, Lamont Austin who was a Highland Park grad of '07 along with Kyle Weems who now plays at Missouri State University. Highland Park won the 5a state championship that year.
If you were like me you wrongly thought Penn State was going to upset Temple which also was one of the 6 buzzer beaters on friday. Temple was no match for San Diego State in the third round though.
Butler who also won on a buzzer beater in the second round off of a Matt Howard layup as time expired advanced to a battle with the top ranked team in the Southeast Pittsburgh Panthers. This was one of the best games in the whole tournament. It was played with a lot of heart from both sides. It was a very fast paced game and in the end came down to the last 7.1 seconds or so when Butler's Shawn Vanzant drove the ball down the lane and dished it off to sophomore Andrew Smith who layed it in with 2.2 seconds remaining putting Butler up 70-69. Pittsburgh heaved the ball down to half court to Gilbert Brown who was fouled with 1.4 seconds left. Brown a 78% free throw shooter drained the first one tying it up at 70 a piece and the second one rimmed out. On the rebound by Matt Howard, Nasir Robinson from Pittsburgh inexplicably fouled him on the arm with 0.8 seconds left sending Howard to the line where he put the first shot in and purposely missed the second sending Butler to the sweet 16 in the most exciting game yet.
Kentucky also barely won in the second round against a surging Princeton team who were coming in off of an emotional last second game winning shot. The game was tied at 57 when freshman sensation Brandon Knight who was scoreless the whole game banked in a nifty layup with 2 seconds to go ending the Tigers season who were looking to be this years cinderella. Kentucky aslo went down to the wire against West Virginia in the third round but out lasted the Mountaineers.
But this tournament isn't lacking cinderellas its lacking top seeds. The previously mentioned Pittsburgh Panthers. As well as the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, who i had advancing to play KU in one of my brackets they were stunned last night by a newly energized Florida State team. Fresh off their superstar Chris Singleton returning they knock off Texas A&M as well as Notre Dame. Singleton one of the top players in the ACC broke his foot in February and is just returning after surgery. He logged good playing time against A&M but sat the bench most of the game against the Irish in a game that was never in question.
VCU is certainly raising people's eyebrows. A team who had to win a play-in game in this years newly added "first four". They are shutting up their nay sayers out there. Coach Shaka Smart is out to prove a point it seems. On selection sunday everyone was saying how they should not be in the tournament now he has led his Rams to 3 straight victories. Which is a VCU school record previously they had only won one game in the "Big Dance"
Getting to the #1 seeds now, Ohio State is looking like they should destroying a very good George Mason team. Sullinger is clicking on all cylinders and fifth year senior David Lighty went 7-7 from three point range in the George Mason win. It seems no matter where you try and focus to shut them down someone else steps up. The Buckeye's other talented freshman Aaron Craft had 15 assists a career high.
Duke had a slight scare in the second round against a difficult Michigan squad. Only winning by two. Senior Nolan Smith had himself a game breaking Tim Hardaway Jr's ankles. The game came down to the final seconds, Michigan would have tied the game on a floater that bricked off the back iron. The big story for the Blue Devils however is Kyrie Irving, only playing in 10 games this season before suffering a toe injury in December. In those 10 games he was marvelous shooting 51% from the field and 45% from three, averaging nearly 17 points per game. Irving had an unbelievable performance on December 1 against Michigan State scoring 31 in an 84-79 win against the Spartans. Now that he is back for the Blue Devil's they are my favorite to win it all. In his first game back Irving had 14 points in 16 minutes of action. Duke now in the sweet 16 will play Arizona who have a weapon down inside with Derrick Williams it looks to be the best pairing in the West region.
Staying in the ACC my personal favorite team the North Carolina Tar heels had a controversial game themselves against the Pac-10's Washington Huskies. The game was a battle all the way down to the end. Harrison Barnes a preseason All-American was on point leading the Heels but as the games was about to end a last second shot was touched by John Henson of UNC and it went out of bound with 0.5 seconds left. When played in slow motion it looked as if 1.4 seconds should be on the clock but the officials didn't go to the replay monitor and the game went on Washington's Isiah Thomas put up a last second shot to try and eclipse the Tar Heels but it fell short and so UNC advances to play Marquette who squeaked past third ranked in the East Syracuse Orange.
Now on to KU and K-State, the Jayhawks looked pretty sloppy in the first half against the Terriers of Boston University. As the game went on Boston stuck around then momentum quickly shifted to KU's side and the Hawks ran away with it. In the third round game versus Illinois it was a tight one throughout the first half but as the second half began coach Bill Self's team took advantage of some early turn overs eventually cruising to a 73-59 win led mostly in part by the Morris brothers. They now advance to play a pesky Richmond Spiders team.
K-State played a pretty solid game against Utah State in the second round giving Wildcat fans hope that this would be the year. Sadly, Wisconsin had their number in what turned out to be a bloody affair. A game in which stitches had to be handed out I thought for a second the Morris brothers had slipped into a Wildcat uniform and threw some of their infamous bows as they always do. Jacob Pullen had a career night scoring 38 on his way to setting a new school record for career points scored. Pullen was emotional after the game as were many of the Wildcats. A classy move made by NBA great Reggie Miller picked up their spirits a little it seemed. Miller addressed the cats saying they have nothing to be ashamed of and they represented themselves as well as their school very well. They did in fact it just wasn't enough this time around.
A couple teams to keep your eye on would be BYU and Jimmer Fredette as they take on Florida and their 5'8" point guard Eriving Walker. Not related but Uconn's Kemba Walker is looking to lead Uconn past Steve Fisher and San Diego St.
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