NetWire

Return of the Son of Final Four Blog (Final Four Blog III)

2007-04-02T21:17:00.000-04:00

....bruhhh....huh? What? Where am I?

What day is it?

Yikes! It's Monday night??? Gosh, I knew that second Final Four game was boring enough to put me to sleep, but I didn't think I'd actually pass out for two days while writing about it!

Yes, it was that bad, ladies and gentlemen. Those were two of the least inspiring Final Four games I've ever watched. All we can hope for is a better game tonight. I'll be doing a modified live blog of the game tonight, but with a bunch of other stuff thrown in. It's been quite a day in college basketball, with coaching changes and other fun stuff.

Anyway, they're doing the starting lineups right now, so let's kick it into live-blog mode.

9:20 PM: My prediction for this game...depends totally on the officiating. If Ted Valentine is in any way, shape, or form a part of the officiating crew, then it's curtains for the Buckeyes. If not...then I'll go with Ohio State. Conley has to control the pace, they have to get great contributions from Lighty and Cook (as well as Lewis and the rest of the supporting cast), and they have to get at least 30 minutes out of Oden. If there's no TV Ted, I'll say OSU 77, Florida 73. If TV Ted is on the officiating crew, it'll be Florida 78-63.

9:24 PM: Okay, no Ted Valentine, which is good for OSU. However, on the first possession, the refs let Horford drag Oden right out of the lane on a rebound, which isn't good. Quick flurry of points early on here, as it's now 3-2 Florida.

9:25 PM: Holy crap! It's Al Horford's first foul of the tournament!

9:27 PM: Conley is just sick. Great driving layup, although they just gave him a foul. Ohio State doesn't seem at all nervous, nor should they be. They've stuck with man-to-man defense so far, which I think is going to be a key to victory. And now Oden gets his first points on a pretty post move. 9-5 OSU.

9:29 PM: Decent start to this game so far - Florida hits a layup to get it to 9-7, and we're at the first timeout.

So, I talked about big news earlier --- Dana Altman is leaving Creighton and heading to...no, not Iowa City. Fayetteville! (Fayetteville?) Curious move for a guy that we had been told for weeks was the top choice of the Iowa Hawkeyes. Strangely, according to Andy Katz, Iowa never contacted him. What gives with that? I've got some theories, but we'll get to those later on.

Iowa, not to be outdone (I guess...), reportedly is set to hire former Butler coach Todd Lickliter.

Alright, back to action. More in a bit.

9:34 PM: I like Ohio State's game plan so far - get the ball in to Oden on half the possessions, and have the guards penetrate on the dribble the rest of the time. 11-9 Ohio State, 13:40 left.

9:40 PM: Alright, despite the officiating crew not containing Ted Valentine, the refs have decided to call every touch foul that they see. Strange. Even stranger is that Oden has no fouls so far, whereas each significant Florida post player has one apiece.

Packer and Nantz have decided to continue this asinine commentary that was started after Saturday night about how it's unfair that basketball players in college only get five fouls. With the way they (and Vitale, and many others) have been talking, I'm absolutely shocked that players like Ewing, Olajuwon, Alcindor, Walton, Benson, Mourning, and so forth were able to both survive and thrive in college despite having only five fouls.

OSU's having problems now. Conley picked up a cheap second foul, and Florida gets back-to-back three-point possessions. UF leads now 17-11.

9:45 PM: 17-13 Florida, 10:51 left in the first half. Ohio State is shooting over 50%, but they're giving Florida too many opportunities off of turnovers.

Wow. Greg Oden just grabbed a Brewer shot with both hands, but once again the Buckeyes can't convert. Having Conley on the bench is really throwing this team off.

9:48 PM: Alright, I'm confused. Richard backs in on Oden, and Oden reaches in for a foul. I get that part. Yet they give Richard a two-shot foul, even though it should've been a 1-and-1. Strangely, no complaints from the Ohio State bench.

Conley is back in, and they need some offense. These long three pointers are not getting the job done. 21-15 Florida at the under 8 timeout.

9:52 PM: Let's get back to the coaching situation(s) across the land during this timeout. Brian over at MGoBlog picked up a post (which was later deleted) that the Beilein-to-Michigan move is all but official. The WVU fans seem resigned to this move, so I'll take them at their word for the moment. Good move for Michigan? Really hard to say at this point. On the one hand, Beilein's teams have been successful at every stop he's made so far, be it Canisius, Richmond, or West Virginia. On the other hand, I'm having a hard time reconciling the Maize and Blue supporters, who cut their teeth on Fab Fivery, getting all juiced up watching a 1-3-1 zone and a Princeton offense. It COULD work, but I wonder.

9:58 PM: They've called 8 fouls so far on OSU, versus only 4 on Florida. No free throws for Ohio State so far. This is not an isolated phenomenon. I don't have the exact numbers right in front of me, but Florida so far has gone the entire tournament without having a game where they had less than 10 more foul shots than their opponent.

Richard just got called for his second foul, which could throw a kink in the "Body-by-Gators" plan that Donovan has set up to defend Oden.

OSU misses yet another three pointer. 30-22 Florida as Brewer knocks in a long range shot himself. Ohio State has only looked comfortable so far in their transition offense.

10:03 PM: Noah picks up his second foul --- yet I wonder how that foul on Oden (which was ruled a non-shooting foul) was in any way different than Oden's foul on Richard earlier in the game? If you have answers, tell me. Really.

Ohio State would be in this game if they'd quit turning the ball over 15-20 feet from the basket. Credit Florida for really exploiting the hesitation with which the Buckeyes are handling and passing the ball high in their sets.

Will Ohio State shoot any free throws this half? One has to wonder.

10:08 PM: Free throws for OSU! Oden gets a one-and-one, and splits the pair. OSU seems to have toned down the turnovers a bit, but Florida's hitting absolutely everything right now. Horford buried a 16-footer, and Green just knocked down the Gators' fifth consecutive trey. Buckeyes get a critical steal on Florida's last offensive possession, but then waste it with a bad offensive possession of their own to close the half. It's Florida up 40-29 at halftime, and unless OSU improves their perimeter defense, that may be as close as the Buckeyes get the rest of the way.

10:37 PM: That was a long freakin' halftime. Okay, second half has reached the 15:16 mark, and basically nothing has changed. OSU's perimeter D is still suspect, the Buckeyes still can't hit any shots from outside, and Oden's so scared of fouling that Horford is getting into a nice groove from about 15 feet. 49-40 Florida, and time is running out for the Buckeyes to put a dent in this UF momentum.

10:45 pM: Conley drives in and draws a foul on a shot attempt. I was wondering where the hell he went --- after he picked up that second foul, he basically disappeared. Ohio State is doing a good job still of penetrating and drawing fouls, but with Florida's depth, it's not really having that much of an effect.

What's the deal with Florida's big men tiring out so quickly? Noah has been sucking wind for most of this game. Surely it's not the altitude?

Wasted possession by OSU, but Florida can't answer. Lewis finally tacks on a couple of points. Florida up 51-44.

10:49 PM: Someone needs to send a message to the Ohio State bench: THE THREE POINTERS ARE NOT WORKING. DRIBBLE PENETRATION!

Apparently Oden is NOT going to pick up another foul today. Interesting development, although ultimately meaningless unless the rest of the Buckeyes start to hit shots.

Switching back to the coaching situation(s) for a minute, I have to admit that I'm puzzled by Iowa's hire. If you accept the premise that Alford was basically chased out of Iowa City by the new AD, then one would've expected Iowa to go with a bigger-name coach --- someone who had already cut their teeth at a BCS conference program. Granted, Pearl turned them down, but there are several other candidates out there who the Hawkeyes could've thrown some money at. I really don't get how Todd Lickliter is an upgrade over Steve Alford. Yes, Lickliter's team made the Sweet 16 this year...but then again, an Alford-coached Southwest Missouri State team made the Sweet 16 immediately prior to his matriculation to Iowa in 1999. I'm also curious as to why Iowa didn't even attempt to contact Altman.

11:00 PM: At the 8:23 mark of the second half, the clock is officially running on OSU's season. They absolutely cannot afford to stay cold from the field. Florida's fouling left and right, but OSU simply cannot convert worth crap in this game. Oden's really put in a great effort, and Conley seems to be coming alive, but OSU is still down 9 and doesn't seem able to play two consecutive defensive possessions.

Case in point - Oden with a huge block, yet Horford gathers it in, fires a pass to Humphrey, and puts Florida up by double digits again. OSU has to get this deficit to 5 or less by the under-4 timeout. The full court pressure is helping, but the Buckeyes still can't seem to score in anything but transition. 6:17 left, and Florida leads 64-56.

11:10 PM: Heck of a game so far for Oden - 22/11, but Florida continues to hit open shots (and OSU continues to not guard properly on the perimeter. 3 for 2 trade on that possession, and OSU trails by 7.

11:14 PM: Game over at the 3:22 mark - Horford hits a drifting shot with the shot clock winding down, OSU misses a 3, and Florida gets possession.

11:16 PM: Well, ultimately this game was decided by three things:

1) Ohio State's inability to defend Florida on the perimeter (and Florida's ability to hit those open shots)

2) Florida's tenacity on the offensive glass, particularly after Oden shot blocks

3) Ohio State's inability to come up with ANY sort of a consistent second offensive option to complement Oden.

This wasn't a bad game, per se...heck, it's still going on...but OSU just was a bit too deficient in those areas. Quite remarkable that the Gators were able to play this well despite getting basically no contribution from Noah.

11:28 PM: It's all over but the crying now. So Florida becomes the first repeat champions since Duke in 1991-92. I'm not convinced of this Florida team's greatness...but as with any sort of historical comparison, it's something that takes time to consider. So we'll save that for a later date.

Final score: Florida 84, Ohio State 75 --- for all the reasons I outlined above, and probably a few more that will make themselves clearer as we delve into the statistics.

And so another college basketball season ends. I'm sad. It's been another entertaining spring, even if the tournament itself was kinda meh. Now all that's left is to see how badly they butcher "One Shining Moment" tonight. More on that in a second.

11:56 PM: It took nearly 30 minutes from the end of the game to "One Shining Moment". That's criminal, CBS...especially on a school night!

Anyway, this year's OSM wasn't as vomit-inducing as the past decade or so. At least this time around they integrated a few actual game highlights --- albeit using the courtside camera angles that give weaker stomachs motion sickness. Still, it's an improvement over past years, where it's been almost all reaction shots and short cutaways. I miss the original OSMs, where the majority of footage used was actual game footage.

I also miss the original singer (and writer) of the song, although his name escapes me. I'm sure CBS considers it a feather in their hat to have Luther Vandross singing the song, and I have all the respect in the world for Vandross as a singer. But his rendition of the song is just ridiculously fake. Why can't we have an emotional reading of the song without the accompanying finger-down-the-throat effect? Sadly, I'm afraid that the era of the non-Vandross OSM is long since gone.

Okay, that's it for tonight. Thanks for tuning in.

Final Four blog II - Bride of Final Four blog

2007-03-31T20:53:00.000-04:00

Technical difficulties be damned! Time for some more blogging in semifinal #2.

8:54 PM: Great start to this game...uh, yeah. Really great. Two fouls on Afflalo, neither team hitting anything. Four combined points in the first 3:30. Now UCLA hits two free throws, giving the Bruins as many points as they have fouls.

Now FIVE fouls on UCLA. Where were these foul calls earlier in the tournament?

8:57 PM: UCLA leads 4-2 in points, and 5-2 in fouls. LRMAM now has two fouls, and is seated next to Afflalo on the bench. You'd think the Gators would be jumping all over UCLA on the offensive end, but no --- the Gators appear completely out of rhythm.

9:05 PM: Timeout on the floor with 11:52 left in the first half; UCLA leads 6-5. Neither team is in much of a rhythm, but at least they're trying to push the ball down the floor a bit. There's really not much to say so far in this game. I don't expect UCLA to do much offensively, and Florida will probably come on at some point, although they're not showing much at this stage.

In other news, Billy Packer has finally confirmed what we already knew.

9:09 PM: UCLA makes the first major mistake of the game, as Afflalo picks up his third foul and now has to sit the rest of the first half. Smart play by Florida to take it right at him. Hopefully Thad Matta is taking notes in the stands.

9:20 PM: I'm glad this game is airing at night --- it might help cure thousands of insomniacs across the country.

Game flow has been a foreign concept so far in both contests. The officials have basically forced UCLA into playing their 9th and 10th men --- of the eight fouls on the Bruins, seven are on UCLA starters. Florida, meanwhile, is just pissing away their advantage, missing free throws and field goals. 13-12 Florida, 7:39 to play in the first half.

9:29 PM: Watching this game is painful. Blogging this game is even more painful. Florida's hit a few good shots to take a 9 point lead. UCLA looks completely inept on the offensive end. Plus, UCLA now has only two timeouts remaining for the rest of the contest. There's really not a lot more to say, other than that we've been spared any major Joakim Noah outbreaks so far.

9:41 PM: Okay, this game is officially sapping my will to live. UCLA makes a small comeback and closes to within 7 (or is it 6?). Whatever. Nothing from this game is very compelling. The most exciting part of this game for me is watching that day-glow green on the sidelines, expecting Slimer from Ghostbusters to pop out at any second.

It's halftime. I guess I'll be back for more later.

10:11 PM: UCLA is 11 down. Unless the Bruins come up with some offensive spark out of nowhere, this game is over.

Georgetown vs Ohio State - Live Blog

2007-03-31T17:52:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the Final Four live blog on NetWire! We're live from the NetWire compound, replete with a case of Coke Zero, a sleepy dog, an internet connection, and a bag of Tostitos.

This blog will go in sequential order, meaning that the newest updates will appear at the BOTTOM of this entry, rather than the top. So without further ado:

5:54 PM: It's about 13 minutes until game time. In the meantime, there are a couple of quality links that you should check out.

If you haven't see www.firestevealford.com recently, you really should. Apparently the fine folks of Iowa are auctioning off the domain name on championship night.

There's some poetic justice in this story from First Coast News --- apparently West Virginia's NIT championship T-shirts needed some proofreading.

6:00 PM: A typically vacuous description of the two teams by Packer and Nantz, as we start the "official" broadcast. But my god, did you see the floor??? I thought the regional floors, all of which looked exactly alike, were bad enough, but the Final Four floor is a hopeless mess. Who thought green and black was a good idea?

Can we give Sam Ryan some pep pills? She doesn't seem particularly excited about broadcasting the Final Four.

6:10 PM: So, according to Billy Packer, this is "the first time we've had two guys who can look each other in the eye" in the Final Four? Really, Billy? Couldn't Patrick Ewing and Hakeem Olajuwon look each other in the eye in 1984?

Ted Valentine is refereeing this game. The NCAA officially has no shame.

6:15 PM: First TV timeout: 8-5 Ohio State. Oden has two fouls, Hibbert has one foul. Dumb fouls by Oden, to be sure. Georgetown seems unable to make a good entry pass to Hibbert. The Buckeyes seem content to score on fast breaks and long 3-pointers. Not much flow so far in this game.

6:23 PM: I can't quite figure out what Georgetown is trying to do in this game. They had about a 5 minute span where Hibbert was in and Oden was out, yet they got exactly one (1) good pass to him on the inside, which resulted in a layup. The rest of their possessions have been filled with bad passes, perimeter motion, and a general offensive malaise --- like Patrick Ewing Jr. putting up a 3-pointer with about 10:30 left in the first half.

OSU's starting to miss some shots, but Georgetown's having similar problems - almost 5 minutes without a field goal. Timeout by the Hoyas at the 9:48 mark, with OSU leading 14-7.

6:26 PM: I've managed to avoid most of the commercials during this March Madness, and now as I watch the ones being aired, I can't help but feel like I've done myself a great service. The Lowe's commercial with the supposed basketball fans is ridiculously bad (both the concept and the "acting"). The Chevy commercials are all uniformly bad --- between the "song" ads and the "This is our Country" ads, is Chevy trying to completely lose its sales base?

6:29 PM: Only three fouls called in the whole game, as Nantz points out. Hard to believe, isn't it? Meanwhile, Georgetown simply looks perplexed offensively. Did they watch any Ohio State game footage in preparation for this game?

We're due for about 9 minutes of ads, since we just took the under-12 timeout at the 8:28 mark, and we're due for the under-8 timeout in short order. 14-10 OSU.

6:34 PM: Just under 7 minutes left in the first half, OSU leads 15-14. Hibbert picks up his second foul, which is shame for Georgetown, since they apparently JUST figured out that dribble penetration leads to open shots! What a concept!

So far this game has been listless, to put it kindly. The only real bright spot has been Conley's play, but even he has seemed somewhat muted. Part of this is a byproduct of Georgetown's turtle-like pace, but part of it is Ohio State's inability to finish. Granted, the Buckeyes will probably be happy to be within three points at halftime with Oden in foul trouble, but I think the Buckeyes have blown a golden opportunity to give themselves a bit of breathing room.

6:42 PM: 23-17 Ohio State at the under-4 timeout. Georgetown can't seem to hold onto the basketball, and the Buckeyes deserve credit for converting on those mistakes. Conley leads all scorers with 9 points, but his contributions extend far beyond his own point total --- he's done a great job of passing the ball, both in the halfcourt set and on the fast break. If I was Georgetown, I'd be supremely worried right now --- OSU is leading by six and seems to be controlling the flow of the game (if not the tempo).

6:50 PM: Georgetown finally showing some signs of life, and Ohio State continues to miss easy shots. Jim Nantz just described the first half as "choppy". Apparently "choppy" is now a synonym with "sucky".

Is there a bigger camera whore in college sports than Ted Valentine? So far, I've counted four separate calls where Valentine has blown the whistle, then run away from everyone so that he could be standing by himself when he gesticulates.

Georgetown hits one of two free throws with 4 seconds left, and Conley gets double-teamed and can't get a last-second shot off. Halftime sees OSU leading 27-23, in one of the most uninspiring first halves that I can remember. Wasn't the presence of all these great teams in the Final Four supposed to mean great games? So far, it's not looking promising.

Back in about 20 minutes with the second half. Until then, stay classy, readers.

7:01 PM: How much did Chevrolet pay for the sponsorship rights to this halftime award? How much of that money could've been spent on their own sick finances?

Also...I now understand completely why Lesley Visser wore hats all the time on the sidelines. Good lord.

7:17 PM: A veritable flurry of offensive activity to start the second half! John Thompson III made some decent halftime adjustments --- his team looks far more into the game than at any point in the first half. Both Oden and Hibbert are asserting themselves a bit more --- although Hibbert just picked up his third foul heading into the under-16 timeout. Georgetown takes a 1- point lead, but still looks a bit turnover-prone.

7:22 PM: Did CBS adjust their hue chroma at halftime? The green on the floor isn't glaring with the same sickening luminescence that it was earlier.

7:27 PM: Smart move by John Thompson III to bring Hibbert back in --- sure, you roll the dice a bit on the foul situation, but there was nobody in the Georgetown lineup that could counter Oden, who had scored three quality baskets and was dominating the middle. Bam - Hibbert forces Oden into a foul, and the Hoyas pull back within four, 42-38 at the under-12 timeout. Do we see Matta pull Oden to try and preserve him for the final 8 minutes? For OSU's sake, I hope not.

7:37 PM: Big spurt by OSU puts them up 50-44, right after Hibbert goes out with his fourth foul. The most amazing part of this game may very well be the fact that Ohio State is outrebounding Georgetown 29-22. This is a Georgetown team whose bread and butter has been dominance on the offensive glass, yet the Hoyas only have 5 offensive boards all game (compared to OSU's 11). And this is all with Oden having only played about 10 minutes so far! Give some credit to Ohio State's athleticism and positioning, but Georgetown deserves a fair amount of blame for just not knowing what they're doing on the floor.

7:42 PM: TV Ted strikes again! Not only do we get a call about two seconds after the play happens, but it just happens to be a horrible blocking call on Green, who had been standing on the spot that Oden charged into him at for about 4 seconds prior! Gotta love it. Oden will head to the line after the timeout for two more free throws. With only 6:37 left, the Buckeyes can stretch their lead to 8.

Big trouble for the Hoyas coming up --- they've gotten exactly 0 points off their bench so far. Granted, Ohio State only has 6 points off the bench, but none of OSU's starters are in serious foul trouble, unlike Georgetown.

7:47 PM: I'm honestly baffled by the coaching decisions being made down the stretch by both Matta and Thompson. Why not use dribble penetration to try and draw fouls on the other team's big man? Why run 10-15 seconds off the shot clock each time down the floor with no movement?

Georgetown on a mini-run here, as OSU has missed shots on two consecutive possessions. Hibbert has been throwing his weight around with impunity down low since picking up that fourth foul...and Oden just picked up his fourth with 2:36 left. Under-4 timeout time, with OSU leading 56-52. This hasn't been a great game, but it's at least threating to get interesting here at the end.

7:55 PM: Okay, maybe not. Great response by Ohio State, and a heck of a play by Lighty to gather in Conley's pass and draw the three point play. I'll say this for Patrick Ewing Jr --- if there's a foul somewhere on the floor that needs to be committed, he's your man.

OSU with a chance here to extend the lead to double digits with under a minute to play. A score here and it's over --- Georgetown isn't equipped to come back from that kind of a deficit.

7:57 PM: Georgetown survives another possession, shaking off a vicious Oden shot block and scoring on a layup by Green to get it back within seven, 61-54. Only about 45 seconds remain, however, and I've yet to see anything consistent enough from the Hoyas on the perimeter to make me think they have a chance to come back.

7:59 PM: OSU knocks down two free throws, and the lead balloons back out to 9 with about 35 seconds remaining. I think it's worth noting that of all the experts' predictions that I saw prior to this game, only Dick Vitale picked Ohio State.

Georgetown knocks down a 3 with 21 seconds left. 63-57 Ohio State, and all the Buckeyes need to do is knock down their free throws.

8:05 PM: Final score - Ohio State 67, Georgetown 60. Give the Buckeyes credit - they managed to throw two really excellent spurts of basketball together in the last 12 minutes, and that was really the difference. I still haven't figured out what Georgetown's plan was in this game, and probably never will.

So Ohio State heads to the title game, and will await the winner of Florida-UCLA. I'll be back to blog that game when it starts --- we'll start a new post just for that purpose. Until then, stay classy.

Saturday Live Blogging --- coming up tonight

2007-03-31T13:44:00.000-04:00

I feel remiss, having not generated a great deal of content during the latter half of this tournament. But really, what has there been to write? Let's review:

- My bracket was a smoldering pile of wood and mortar as early as Saturday of the first weekend.

- Every final four team was among the top two seeds.

- I had the misfortune of missing the best of the Elite 8 games, with the evils of a make-up class denying me the viewing pleasure of UNC-Georgetown.

- Outside of the Alford mini-controversy after leaving Iowa City for Albuquerque, the coaching searches have been fairly bland. (Note: When you check that link out, the "mini-controversy" that I'm referring to is the SECOND story, although the first is apparently a controversy as well. Huh?)

- But Netwire, you're saying, "What about the intrigue surrounding Billy Donovan and the Kentucky job?"

My response: Do you really need ME to write about that, when pretty much everyone has weighed in numerous times on this topic? I'm honestly tired of the story. Tired of the "UK fans deserve better" stance that Pat Forde took, tired of the stupidity exhibited on the UK message boards, tired of the way that the media has swept the end of the Tubby Smith era under the rug without so much as a second look.

When Mike Davis was under fire at Indiana over a two year period (2004-2006), we didn't see any articles or columns about how the fans have higher expectations than others. We didn't see anything about how the small "lunatic fringe" of the IU fanbase wasn't representative of the fans as a whole. We didn't see anything about how Davis was judged on his (lack of ) merits.

No, all we saw was that IU fans had chased out a good man, that IU fans were racist, that IU fans had unreasonable expectations. Despite deserving a great deal of criticism, the media treated him with kid gloves, even after he skipped a conference game (His sole transgression in that entire episode was doing an interview with Andy Katz after the game was over).

The double standard being applied by the media in these cases is highly irritating. Perhaps it's true that Kentucky fans deserve better, that there were no racial overtones involved in Smith's unexpected departure. But the same situation applied to Indiana --- perhaps moreso, because Davis certainly didn't make regular trips to the Elite 8, unlike Tubby.

Regardless...my one, sincere hope in this entire UK-Donovan-Florida love triangle is that Florida loses in the Final Four, then CBS brings Bonnie Bernstein out of retirement to question Donovan about the UK job immediately after the game ends. Colorful metaphors FTW!

Alright, rant over. Onto the games tonight. My predictive powers have been atrocious all tournament (as witnessed by my Final Four picks of Ohio State, Kansas, Wisconsin, and Texas --- hey, I got one right!). Simple mathematics would dictate that I'll get at least one of today's picks right...right?

OHIO STATE v GEORGETOWN: Neither team has been particularly dominant throughout the tournament. OSU seems to lose focus whenever Oden leaves the floor (which he does often, due to constant foul trouble). The Buckeyes have trailed by a significant margin in each of their last three games, yet came back and won all of them. Georgetown's strength is their inside game, combined with a snail's pace offensively and some truly wicked Princeton-style backdoor cuts on offense. Expect Thad Matta's flirtation with the 2-3 zone to blossom this game into a full-bore relationship, complete with sideline necking and a promise ring.

If we accept the premise that both Oden and Roy Hibbert will be in foul trouble early, then the game will come down to each team's second options. In this case, I'd say that Mike Conley versus Jeff Green becomes the big offensive duel (and yes, I realize the two aren't guarding one another --- that's not the point). I like OSU's perimeter possibilities in this game, coupled with Georgetown's reliance on interior offense. OSU's gotten into trouble in this tournament when its opponents shoot lights-out from outside, and I just don't see Georgetown pulling that off. Buckeyes in a close game.

PREDICTION: Ohio State 71, Georgetown 66

FLORIDA v UCLA: Florida seems to do everything well. Florida beat up UCLA last year in the title game. UCLA is almost overreliant on their defense. Florida has shot well from outside this tournament - far better than they did in the regular season. The smart money is on Florida for this game. Normally, in that case, I'd immediately pick the other team. Today is no exception.

PREDICTION: UCLA 68, Florida 65

Be sure to check in this evening, as NetWire live-blogs the Final Four, direct from my computer room.

Coaching changes ruins domino

2007-03-22T22:44:00.000-04:00

'Twas quite a big day in the world of NCAA Men's Division I basketball, eh? Before we get to the main course, let's enjoy some appetizers:

- Big Ten Wonk resurrected this gem from Mgoblog today. I admit to having not seen it the first time around, but it was well worth the read, even two years later. Nothing better than a little Blogosphere versus MSM throwdown on a Thursday evening!

- The debate over the NBA's one-year rule for incoming players continues unabated. Tim Cowlishaw likes the rule for a variety of reasons. I will say this: Regardless of what one thinks about the rule, there's no way you can argue that the biggest beneficiary isn't the NBA itself. What this rule amounts to is little more than free marketing and publicity for the NBA. By forcing future NBA stars to play in college for a year, these players enter the pros with a built-in fan base, which would ideally (in the NBA's mindset) follow that player during their professional career. Are Texas fans more likely to follow Kevin Durant wherever he lands in the NBA? Are Ohio State fans likely to pay closer attention to Greg Oden's team? Granted, the rule won't guarantee that these fans will automatically start following the NBA, but it does increase the possibility therein.

- It appears we're finally approaching closure in one of the more embarrassing miscarriages of justice and political opinion that we've seen in a long time --- speculation is that all charges will be dropped against the wrongly accused Duke lacrosse players.

- According to a new book by a professor of philosophy, Bob Knight is far more morally principled than John Wooden was. I may have to check this book out. Somewhere, Bill Walton is stuttering in apoplectic fury. Good.

- Basketball history buffs --- don't miss this excellent Phil Richards article in the Indy Star about pioneering IU player Bill Garrett.

So, I dunno if you've heard, but there were a few coaching changes in college basketball the last couple of days. Oh, and there are some tournament games going on, too. We'll get to the games tomorrow, but let's check out the coaching changes.

NEW MEXICO: Hired Steve Alford, as first rumored by ESPN's Andy Katz earlier this week. Alford reportedly was happy with the commitment to facility upgrades that the Lobos demonstrated, and was also attracted to the financial package, which apparently included a comparable salary to his Iowa deal AND a healthy amount of green for top assistant Craig Neal. Plus, I'm sure Steve was just happy to get out of the state of Iowa. Also, in an interesting development, New Mexico fans are saying that former Bowling Green head coach (and IU assistant, and Alford teammate) Dan Dakich may be joining Alford's staff in Albuquerque.

MINNESOTA: Hired Tubby Smith, shelling out a remarkable $1.7 million a year for the now-former Kentucky boss. Quite a hire for the Golden Gophers --- despite Smith's recent "struggles", he's still a big name coach headed to a program in desperate need of some old-fashioned street cred. I knew this was a big hire when my friend Lanier, a Gopher alum, called me and actually had something positive to say about Minnesota basketball. The hire is not only approved by my friend Lanier, but also by prominent broadcasters Dick Vitale and Billy Packer.

XAVIER: Avoided getting Thadded for the second time in three years, signing Sean Miller to an extension which should make him the highest-paid coach in the Atlantic 10.

MICHIGAN: Suddenly isn't too sure what they're going to do. The chic idea prior to today's news was that the Wolverines would be able to entice Tubby Smith to bolt Lexington for Ann Arbor; however, the unforeseen swoop job of the Golden Gophers now has hit the proverbial reset button on Michigan's coaching search. Mgoblog.com is enamored with West Virginia's John Beilein, $2+ million buyout and all. Other reports have the Maize & Blue leaning towards SIU's Chris Lowery, although Detroit Free Presser Michael Rosenberg advises caution in that area.

IOWA: Hawkeye fans are acting like a tyrannical king was just deposed. However, one has to wonder who exactly is going to jump at the chance to coach in Iowa City? With possibly the second-worst recruiting base in the league (ahead of only Penn State, and not by much), and with a fan base that created a ridiculous amount of dirty innuendo about their now-departed coach, the Hawkeye job really isn't that attractive. In fact, I'll go out on a limb and say that it's the third-worst job in the Big Ten, ahead of only Penn State and Northwestern. The Iowa rumor mill is ablaze with the concept of current Tennessee coach (and former Hawkeye assistant) Bruce Pearl leaving Knoxville to return to Iowa, but I have a hard time understanding why Pearl would leave a program like Tennessee, which has better recruiting, better facilities, lower academic standards, and FAR lower expectations, for the mess in Iowa City.

KENTUCKY: We've saved the biggest for last. I have no clue what UK is thinking right now. The unofficial rumor is that Kentucky AD Mitch Barnhardt wanted more control over the basketball program, and told Tubby Smith that. Tubby balked at the notion, which is why he's now investing in a house with an underground garage. Basically, Kentucky holds all the cards right now in the coaching change game. If UK decides to try and poach someone like Billy Donovan or Billy Gillispie, that will cause several other dominoes to fall.

Personally, I don't think Billy Donovan is leaving Florida for UK --- he may have been an assistant at Kentucky, but he's not a UK alum. Furthermore, he's built quite a program at Florida, winning a national championship and getting to two title games in the last seven years at a school where basketball is a nice dessert (as opposed to the main course that it is at Kentucky).

I think the smart money is on John Calipari as UK coach - he's flashy, he can recruit, and he's probably desperate to leave Memphis after Louisville and Cincinnati bailed on Conference USA.

One thing is almost a certainty - Kentucky won't make the same mistakes that fellow all-time programs Indiana (Mike Davis) and North Carolina (Matt Doherty) made in prior coaching changes. Whatever you think of Kentucky basketball, they value winning and success above all else, and I'm positive they'll make the right hire for their program at this point.

The March to Madness

2007-03-19T17:04:00.000-04:00

We don't have a lot of time this afternoon, but here are some links to keep you company until our more exhaustive post-mortem on the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament (due sometime later this week):

- I was surprised that VCU lost to Pitt on Sunday. I guess the invisible man that they had in the lineup against Duke must not have shown up?

- Brian is on fire over at Mgoblog. Check out his Dr. Jack-style breakdown of the potential Michigan coaching candidates. Personally, my money's on the Wolverines making a "WTF?" hire --- which would eliminate such potentialities as Montgomery and Tubby --- but I guess we'll have to wait and see.

- Speaking of coaching searches, there was no new news today regarding the Steve Alford-New Mexico-Iowa love triangle (or would that be "disdain triangle"?), although Andy Katz mentioned in his Insider's blog that the situation with Alford could resolve itself by the end of this week. More on this later.

- Whatever cache of good tidings and positive media energy that Illinois basketball had built up during their run to the 2005 title game has very quickly been lost. The Chicagoland Daily Herald's Mike Imrem weighs in on the short downward spiral of Illini hoops. This, of course, follows on the heels of alleged sports columnist Gregg Doyel's public evisceration of Ron Guenther and Illinois message board participants a few days ago.

- Finally, some sad non-basketball news: Indiana football coach Terry Hoeppner has announced that he's sitting out spring football practice due to health concerns. It goes without saying that this is not an encouraging development for Hoeppner and the Hoosiers. Best wishes for Coach Hep and his family, and we'll try to have more on this story as it becomes available.

The Second Round

2007-03-17T17:58:00.000-04:00

I was feeling all guilty because I had to go away to an academic conference and didn't get to blog at all about the first two days of the tournament...yet when we look at the games as they played out, there wasn't much to blog home about, was there? The opening round of the tournament produced:

- Exactly two (2) double-digit seeds advancing to the second round, which is the lowest-ever total since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985.

- Remarkably little carnage among the power conferences. The Big Ten went 5-1, the Big 12 went 3-1, the ACC was 5-2, and the PAC 10 was 4-2.

- Remarkably few compelling games. Duke/VCU, Boston College/Texas Tech, Virginia Tech/Illinois, Winthrop/Notre Dame, and Georgia Tech/UNLV were all very tight contests, if not necessarily great games.

- Remarkably few enduring visuals. Of the few that there were, only Eric Maynor's game-winner against Duke will probably survive for future generations, while others (such as Ibok's elbow) will hopefully pass into YouTube legend.

It's important to remember, however, that a paucity of upsets in the first round often leads to a highly competitive second round...and boy, have we had that so far. Let's recap:

- Ohio State gets a game handed to them, thanks to an officiating crew too afraid to call a clear intentional foul on Greg Oden and a Xavier player's inability to knock down a clutch free throw that would've iced things. Give the Buckeyes credit for pulling it out in overtime, but it shouldn't have even gotten to that stage.

- Butler proving that their #5 seed was warranted, pulling off a perimeter-oriented victory against ACC stalwart Maryland.

- Louisville running one of the worst final possessions in recent tournament history, losing a virtual home game to a surprisingly tough-minded Texas A&M squad.

- Boston College throwing up a junk zone and nearly knocking off Georgetown, before the Hoyas started to assert themselves at the end.

- Vanderbilt's perimeter game exploding in the second half, winning in double overtime against Washington State. I would like to personally thank the Commodores for single-handedly resurrecting my bracket.

- The referees trying (and failing) to give Pittsburgh the victory over VCU at the end of regulation, only to try (and succeed) in giving it to them at the end of overtime.

What a day so far. Six games complete, three overtimes (one of those a double), and every game contested until at least the final two minutes.

In other news, the University of Michigan finally woke up and realized that they haven't been to the NCAA since before the Monica Lewinsky scandal. The Maize & Blue fired head coach Tommy Amaker today, a decision that should really ratchet up the intrigue level for this off-season's coaching carousel. With the Michigan job in the mix, schools like Minnesota, South Florida, and New Mexico will have to ratchet up their contract offers or risk missing out on top candidates. (Granted, Michigan will have to do the same, but it's by far the biggest "name" job out there now).

Breaking down the Bracket

2007-03-13T20:44:00.000-04:00

Alright, it's time. After about 48 hours of hemming and hawing, it's time to tackle this badboy. But first, some reader mail!

Dear Netwire:

I just don't see why everyone is picking Texas A&M. Aside from having to travel to a virtual road game against Louisville, I just haven't seen any consistent play that merits an almost automatic inclusion in the Final Four.

I think it's because people don't fear Memphis. People should always fear Memphis.
In fact I'm making that a new rule.

- Mike P.

Mike, I think part of the problem is that very few people have actually seen Texas A&M for more than a game or two --- the last-second win against Kansas in Lawrence and the last-second overtime loss to the Fighting Durants in College Station. Truth be told, the Aggies are a very consistent team, and their Pomeroy Ratings bear that out - 8th in the nation in both offensive AND defensive efficiency is nothing to sneeze at.

TAMU's best wins were the aforementioned Kansas game, the Texas game in Austin, a 20-point drubbing of duckling-cum-swan Winthrop, and that 20-point pasting of Oklahoma State in Stillwater. They fell to a still-dangerous-in-December LSU team early on, and followed that up with a loss to UCLA in a virtual road game (played in Anaheim). Plus, this may be a better-prepared team than last year's Aggie squad, who came into the tournament with no prior NCAA experience and still managed to give LSU a tough game.

And you're right, Mike...people don't fear Memphis, and I'm not sure that any new rules will change that. Despite several coaches saying that this year's Memphis team plays "more like a team" (Few, 2007) than last year's squad, the fact remails that of the five non-SWAC tournament teams that the Tigers have played, they've lost three of the games, and the two teams they beat (Kentucky and Gonzaga) aren't exactly topping the money lines in Vegas right now.

Let's keep those emails and letters coming! Either post a comment below or email me at thermocaster (at) gmail.com.

Alright, let's start our bracket breakdown.

EAST REGION

The East Region is an interesting animal. We've got the most overrated #1 seed on the board (North Carolina), the hottest #2 seed (Georgetown), the most suspect #3 seed (Washington State), the best player in the country (Texas' Kevin Durant), the most undeserving at-large team (Arkansas) and the oddity of having two of the pods played in the Eastern time zone and the other two played in the Pacific time zone. This may be the least "chalk" bracket in the whole tournament.

Keep an eye on the 3/14 game (Washington State vs Oral Roberts). ORU is a senior-laden squad, with its top two players having started for four years. Ironically, Oral Roberts has more tournament experience than Washington State, whose last appearance came in 1994. Tony Bennett deserves a lot of credit for bringing this squad back from the dead, but one has to wonder whether the Cougars haven't peaked already.

Maybe I'm a fool, but I've seen enough of this North Carolina team to be wary of picking them for much of anything. Georgetown seems to have a clear path to the regional final, and they may be the safest #2-seed to pick for a Final Four trip. But I really like the way that Texas is playing right now.

PICKS
(8) Michigan State over (1) North Carolina
(4) Texas over (5) Southern Cal
(6) Vanderbilt over (14) Oral Roberts
(2) Georgetown over (7) Boston College

(4) Texas over (8) Michigan State
(2) Georgetown over (6) Vanderbilt

(2) Georgetown over (4) Texas

SOUTH REGION

Is it just me, or did the committee just decide "Hey, we really want Greg Oden in the Final Four"? I count exactly one team in the upper half of the bracket that could give them a challenge, and that's Tennessee. The two teams played a close game back in early January, with OSU winning 68-66. However, keep in mind that Oden had only been back for about a month at that point, and Mike Conley had about 15 fewer games under his belt than he's got now.

In the other half of the bracket, I can't help but like Texas A&M, despite Mike P.'s misgivings. Louisville's resurrection in the second half of this year has been laudible, but lost in all the Pitino hoopla is the fact that the Cardinals have only beaten three teams in the RPI top 50 all year - I wouldn't be shocked if Stanford pulled off the upset in the first round. I really like Creighton's chances of landing in the Sweet 16 --- after a couple years of tournament underperformance, the Blue Jays may be due.

PICKS
(1) Ohio State over (8) BYU
(5) Tennessee over (13) Albany
(3) Texas A&M over (6) Louisville
(10) Creighton over (2) Memphis

(1) Ohio State over (5) Tennessee
(3) Texas A&M over (10) Creighton

(1) Ohio State over (3) Texas A&M

MIDWEST REGION

After listing to the pundits talk the last two days, I have to wonder why we're even bothering to play the games in the Midwest Region, since the Florida Gators have already been granted a spot in the Final Four. Sorry, but the Gators don't impress me - they got away with playing a relatively soft schedule (for a top-level BCS school), playing in a weak SEC, and really haven't looked impressive against a good opponent in months (and no, the SEC tournament does not count). Furthermore, the Gators really lucked out with LAST year's tournament draw - they avoided the #2 seed in their own region, got to play the weakest of the four #1 seeds, and then got an out-of-their-league George Mason team in the Final Four.

All that said, can anyone take out the Gators in this region? The answer is yes...kinda. Maryland has the athletes to do it, but the history of Maryland in the tournament without Juan Dixon isn't very good. Arizona also has the athletes to do it, but that would require the Wildcats to turn in their first great performance of the year. Oregon has the momentum to do it, but can the Ducks get past their second round opponent (be it Notre Dame or Winthrop)? Wisconsin has the intelligence and pace to do it, but the lack of Brian Butch down low might be too much to overcome. Call me crazy, but I like Oregon as the random "What the hell?" team in the Final Four.

PICKS
(1) Florida over (8) Arizona
(4) Maryland over (5) Butler
(3) Oregon over (11) Winthrop
(2) Wisconsin over (10) Georgia Tech

(4) Maryland over (1) Florida
(3) Oregon over (2) Wisconsin

(3) Oregon over (4) Maryland

WEST REGION

For a bracket with a combined 30 National Titles, the West is surprisingly pedestrian in terms of top seeds. I love the way Kansas is playing right now, and I have a hard time seeing any of the teams in their half of the bracket giving them much of a battle. UCLA as a #2 seed doesn't do much for me. Yes, I know they took the exact same route last year to the title game, but having watched UCLA quite a bit this year, there's something missing from the way they play that I can't quite put my finger on.

Don't be shocked at all to see Duke make it to the Elite 8 out of the bottom of this bracket. The Blue Devils have the talent required to do it, and I'm highly unimpressed with Pitt's ability to grit its teeth and get things done. Then again, don't be shocked to see Duke lose in the first round, either.

PICKS
(1) Kansas over (9) Villanova
(4) Southern Illinois over (12) Illinois
(6) Duke over (3) Pittsburgh
(2) UCLA over (7) Indiana

(1) Kansas over (4) Southern Illinois
(6) Duke over (2) UCLA

(1) Kansas over (6) Duke

FINAL FOUR

(1) Kansas over (3) Oregon
(1) Ohio State over (2) Georgetown

(1) Kansas over (1) Ohio State

29 hours until the play-in game!

2007-03-12T13:43:00.000-04:00

What would bracket time be without some controversy? Let's take a look around the country at some of the troubled tales permeating the otherwise serene basketball landscape.

- They're highly irritated in Niagara, and I can't blame them. The Purple Eagles, winners of the MAAC automatic bid, were forced into the play-in game despite having an RPI that was clear of the mendoza line for the 16 seeds. For the record, I think the play-in game is a joke anyway --- another effort by the BCS conferences to ensure their cut of tournament revenue doesn't decrease. But the selection process for the play-in game is similarly laugh-inducing. It's supposed to pair the two automatic qualifiers with the worst overall profiles - which this year was unquestionably Florida A&M (MEAC) and Jackson State (SWAC). However, both schools are historically black colleges in historically black conferences, and there have been allegations of latent racism in the selection process by these conferences, as Buffalo News writer Jerry Sullivan points out. Of course, the NCAA denies that this played a part, claiming that Niagara, who lost several games earlier this year for taking the high road and suspending players involved in an off-court incident, was placed in the play-in game because they were among the two worst teams. Anyone who takes even a cursory look at the numbers would disagree.

UPDATE: I'm apparently not alone in my irritation over the play-in situation. Andy Katz, ESPN's senior college basketball writer, stated on Outside The Lines on Monday afternoon that SWAC champion Jackson State should indeed be in the play-in game instead of Niagara.

- For what it's worth, Florida A&M isn't happy about being placed in the play-in game, either.

- They're hopping mad in Manhattan, Kansas, and awash in conspiracy theories to boot! Yes, apparently a Kansas City-area radio host is claiming that Big 12 commissioner Kevin Weiberg...well, just read the article and decide for yourself.

- They're pithy and poignant in Philadelphia, where Drexel got left out of the Big Dance despite a surprising amount of success against a brutal non-conference road schedule. According to committee chairman Gary Walters, the Dragons just didn't match the in-conference performance of Old Dominion, marking perhaps the first time ever that conference performance in the COLONIAL was used as a meter of tournament readiness (funny how that wasn't considered for George Mason last year, eh?). As former UMass headman Bruiser Flint noted, "When you get robbed, you get robbed."

- They're going to be busy pondering for a while in Syracuse, if we're to take Jim Boeheim's words at face value. Note to Coach Boeheim: Try scheduling some games outside of the state of New York next year. You never know, it might help!

- They're terribly distraught and disappointed in Tallahassee...or at least, in one part of Tallahassee. Who'd have ever thought that a team from the city would make the NCAA tournament, and it WOULDN'T be Florida State? The Seminoles are wondering why they didn't get the same treatment as Stanford; meanwhile, one wonders if the unbalanced ACC and Big East schedules aren't hurting their teams come selection time?

- They're sad and confused in Akron, and again I can't blame them. I was rooting for Miami in the MAC title game, but that was with the idea in the back of my head that a 26-win team surely wouldn't be left out of the NIT. Well, they have been. Terry Pluto is outraged, and I share the view.

- They're also shocked and outraged in Seattle, where the Washington Huskies were so sure of HOSTING an NIT game that they were taped up and ready to practice after the NIT draw on Sunday night. Athletic Director Todd Turner thinks the Huskies' snub discredits the whole NIT selection process, while freshman phenom Spencer Hawes suspects that there might be some of the dreaded "east coast bias" in play.

- If you believe C.M. Newton, Iowa was one of the last teams left out of the NIT field. I'm sure that'll be of great comfort to Steve Alford and the Iowa fans in the off-season. There was considerable outrage on the Iowa message boards after the NIT selection show last night, with their Rivals.com site hitting its all-time record for users online. That, and the increasing hostility in the state, do not bode well for Alford. (Bonus note: According to the article, loyal Alford number two Craig Neal may be leaving to take the head coaching job at the University of Denver.)

- You can count Gonzaga among the teams on the "happy" side of the ledger. The Zags were pleasantly surprised to not only get a 10 seed, but also be playing in their home time zone.

- Also among the happy are the Arkansas Razorbacks, who didn't even stick around in Atlanta to watch the tournament show --- they found out the good news from their pilot as they were descending into Fayetteville. Stan Heath is vindicated! (Although he denies any feelings of vindication.)

- They were ecstatic in Palo Alto, as Stanford literally received the last NCAA tournament bid --- at least, it was the last bid that CBS showed on the selection program.

- Despite the success of the Missouri Valley Conference in the past few seasons, some coaches, including Creighton's Dana Altman, are concerned that the league may be due for a "market correction" of sorts in the next couple of years.

- Someone needs to just lock Mitch Barnhart in his office and not let him out until he promises to never talk to the media again. Was it necessary to create ANOTHER story that is bound to swirl around Tubby Smith and the Kentucky basketball team? I think not. Something tells me this won't go over too well among Wildcat Nation.

- I'm sure this will be a shock to you, but Ohio State and Kansas apparently have problems graduating basketball players. As UCF's Richard Lapchick says, "The supposed Final Four, the top seeds are a real disparity there. Two of the schools, Florida and North Carolina, have really good graduation rates and Kansas and Ohio State don't have such good graduation rates." Before we start patting Roy Williams on the back, please keep in mind that most of the Kansas players examined in this study were recruited by (and played for) him in Lawrence.

UPDATE: For those interested in reading the full report, it's located here. Good thing that Oregon shoots better than it graduates!

- In NetWire-centric news, The Bracket Project has the aggregate totals up for this year's bracketology fest. I'm pleased to report that we beat many of the "national" pundits, including a sound thrashing of Joe Lunardi and ESPN Bracketology. Congratulations to the official Bracket Project bracket, which managed to nail 33 of 34 at-large teams (one more than NetWire). And thanks again to The Bracket Project, for taking our geeky science and giving it some comparative oomph. The final NetWire bracket projection is here.

MAILBAG OF WONDER

Time for some reader mail...

Dear Netwire,

I think Florida had to be in the Midwest and OSU in the south to so the #1 overall seed(Florida) would play the #4 overall seed(Kansas.) The alternative would have been putting UNC in the west and Kansas in the East.

That's a stupid rule, counting on all four #1's to advance is idiotic on a number of levels not the least of which is all four #1 seeds haven't ever advanced. At least not in the same tournament.

-Anonymous

A fair point on both counts, anonymous reader. I thought that the NCAA had changed the rule that "locked" the regions against each other before the tournament started, in order to avoid the very thing that occurred in this tournament draw. Perhaps they did, and this is just the outcome of that. You're right, however...it's a silly rule, brought on by too much ACC consternation that their teams kept taking each other out in the National Semifinals. Since only about 50% of #1 seeds make it to the Final Four (and none made it last year), it does appear that such region-matching is devoid of sense. Furthermore, why not just have the South winner play the West winner, if the #1 vs #4 matchup is what you want in the semifinals?

Tomorrow: I haven't filled out my bracket yet. Tomorrow that will change, and we'll look at the matchups that await us this week.

Comments? Email me at thermocaster (at) gmail.com, or just hit me up in the comment field below.

An Early Look

2007-03-12T02:51:00.000-04:00

Well, after almost three weeks of metaphorical bracket cooking, it's time to sit down and enjoy our meal. The NCAA Selection Committee has spoken, the field has been filled, and the play-in game is less than 48 hours away, as we get started with the 2007 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.

Overall, I thought the bracket was put together pretty well by the committee this season. If you were reading NetWire last year at this time (or if you're particularly adept at archival searching), you remember that we were less than thrilled with the job that the Littlepage Committee did with the draw. To put it less diplomatically, I thought last year was a travesty on a variety of levels, from the teams that were selected for at-large bids to the seeds that were assigned to the teams that did get in. I felt a sense of outrage after last year's draw that I hadn't ever felt before, because I believe in the integrity of the process, and felt that integrity was compromised.

This year? Well, there were a couple of questionable at-large choices (Arkansas and Illinois), but nothing that came anywhere close to the decision to select Air Force and Utah State last year. Seeding-wise, some teams were placed above their station (Littlepage's own Virginia Cavaliers at a 4, Butler at a 5, Indiana at a 7), and a few were placed below their station (UNLV, Creighton), but overall there wasn't much to complain about. The regions are fairly well-balanced, there are no glaringly easy paths, and the potentially aggrieved are a small minority. So good job, Gary Walters and committee members!

Let's get to a little bit of reader mail:

Dear NetWire,

Great site.

Winston-Salem is about 100 miles closer to D.C. than Buffalo.

Speaking of pods, I think the biggest faux pas's are Florida playing St Louis and Louisville getting to play in Lexington for rounds 1 and 2.

-Anonymous

I'm guessing this is a different "Anonymous" than the last piece of mail we got. So thank you, anonymous entity!

I mentioned in my knee-jerk post-bracket reactions on Sunday that I was surprised Georgetown had been placed in Winston-Salem rather than Buffalo, claiming that Buffalo was closer to D.C. than Tobacco Road is. As the reader points out, I was mistaken...although a Google Maps search shows that Buffalo is only about 50 miles further away. And I maintain my earlier assertion that Buffalo would be far more inviting to a Big East team than Winston-Salem! But a fair point, sir (or madam).

As for your pod comment, I agree wholeheartedly about the Florida-in-the-Gateway-City issue. I don't understand how it's advantageous for Florida to play in St. Louis, even if it is nominally closer to Gainesville than San Antonio. Very few people are going to be driving to the regional site (we do still have airplanes, right?), so does 100 miles make that big of a difference? Furthermore, it would seem to me that Florida having to potentially play a midwestern team (Wisconsin) in a midwestern city in a regional final is quite disadvantageous to the Gators.

As for Louisville playing in Lexington...well, is that really an advantage for the Cardinals? While it's true that you can drive from Louisville's campus to Lexington on your lunch break, I don't anticipate the crowds being particularly pro-Cardinals. Here's a sample comment from CatsPause.com, the infamous Kentucky message board:

"Cat fans have to become Stanford/A&M fans and be loud in Rupp. I don't want Rick to feel good in Lexington again in this lifetime."

So, there you go. Something tells me it may not matter --- Texas A&M isn't liable to be bothered by the crowds.

BRACKET BREAKDOWN

I'm still trying to wrap my mind around this bracket in terms of the favorites. For the first time in a while, I'm not enamored with the four #1 seeds, and I think that this year has the potential to be pretty wide-open in terms of who gets to the Final Four. Before we look at the regions, let's look at some interesting elements from the bracket as a whole:

CATCHING FIRE: The committee was pretty consistent this year in selecting teams that played at least .500 basketball to close the season. In fact, there were only three teams in the whole field that were selected for bids despite not having at least a 5-5 record in their last 10 games.

Those teams were Duke, Kentucky, and Stanford, all of whom went 4-6 in the last 10 games. Huh. I guess it pays to be popular!

ROAD WARRIORS?: Having success on the road was also a harbinger of inclusion in the field of 65. Only two teams in the bracket won fewer than four games in road and neutral settings.

Those teams were Georgia Tech (3-10) and Virginia (3-9).

TOP COMPETITION: If you're looking for a team that's played particularly well against the best that the nation has to offer, look no further than the UCLA Bruins. Against the rest of the tournament field, UCLA managed a staggering 13-2 record throughout the regular season. Other exemplary records included UNC (12-5) and Ohio State (11-3). The team that is theoretically the most battle-tested is the Arizona Wilcats, who played a ludicrous EIGHTEEN games against the other teams in the field, finishing 8-10.

ROAD WARRIORS II - ELECTRIC BOOGALOO: Diametrically opposite the paltry road performances of Virginia and Georgia Tech, we have the Kansas Jayhawks. The #1 seed in the West Region finished with a 14-2 road and neutral record during the regular season. Other impressive road/neutral records belong to Georgetown (14-6), Davidson (16-3), Winthrop (13-4), Niagara (13-5), and Washington State (13-5).

A QUICK LOOK AT THE...

EAST REGION: There's some quality in this bracket, but it's not necessarily at the top. North Carolina and Georgetown enter the tournament as perhaps the two most overhyped teams in college basketball. Meanwhile, you have the the Texas Durants sitting pretty at a 4 seed, a dangerous Vanderbilt squad at the 6 seed, and a Marquette-Michigan State 8/9 game that's going to produce one hell of an opponent for the top-seeded Tar Heels. EARLY PICK: Texas

MIDWEST REGION: I must be the only person not on board the Florida bandwagon. Something about this Gators team just screams "KANSAS 1997!" at me, and I don't know why. Regardless, I'm not sure what to make of this region. I don't like the #1 seed, I'm not particularly enamored with Maryland at the #4, and I don't see many upsets getting pulled in the top half of the region. The big question in the bottom half is whether Oregon can patch up their defense while keeping their offense rolling with the same intensity they showed during the PAC-10 tournament. If they can, we could see the Ducks in Atlanta. EARLY PICK: Wisconsin.

SOUTH REGION: Virginia may be the weakest #4 seed I've ever seen. That said, Tennessee has the potential to be very impressive coming out of the #5 slot, and could be the only team in the upper half of the bracket that's capable of giving Ohio State any trouble. The bottom half sets up very well for whoever wins the Louisville-Texas A&M game, as I don't see Memphis (or Nevada or Creighton) being able to stand up to either squad. EARLY PICK: Ohio State.

WEST REGION: This is the "Tradition Bracket", with a combined 30 NCAA Titles scattered among the teams. Kansas looks to have a pretty easy road to the regional final; I don't see Kentucky or Villanova putting up much of a fight in the second round. UCLA has a veritable cakewalk to the regional final as well, and they have far less travelling to do than the Jayhawks. Of all the brackets, this may be the one that holds to form the most, with the possible exception of Virginia Tech over SIU in the second round. EARLY PICK: Kansas

We'll have lots more analysis tomorrow night. Comments on the bracket? Leave a comment, or email me at thermocaster (at) gmail.com.

Bracket comparison

2007-03-11T19:42:00.000-04:00

Well, we didn't do too badly this year. All in all, I thought the tournament committee was somewhat predictable this year. Some items surprised me, but we'll get to that later this evening.

Let's start off by looking at the final NetWire bracket versus the final NCAA bracket.

At-Large teams predicted: 32 out of 34

I missed Arkansas and Stanford, which is irritating because I nearly put Arkansas in at the last minute. Oh well. I had Drexel and Syracuse in, and I'm a bit surprised that the committee didn't at least take Syracuse, if only to avoid a solid month of Jim Boeheim whining on national television. Syracuse doesn't really have a case, but Drexel probably does.

SEED PREDICTIONS

Seeds predicted exactly: 27 of 65 (41.5%)

Seeds predicted within one of actual: 51 of 65 (78.5%)

Seeds predicted within two of actual: 63 of 65 (97.0%)

Again, I'm fairly pleased with this outcome, particularly with some of the curveballs that the committee threw. I was mildly surprised to see Virginia, Butler, Indiana, Purdue, Gonzaga, and George Washington seeded as highly as they were, but they were all within two of my projection. Similarly, I was surprised that UNLV, Marquette, and Arizona seeded as poorly as they were, but again, they were within two of my projection. And it is heartening to see that I managed to get every team that I had in the field within two of actual --- the only two I missed by more on were the two teams that weren't in it at all.

REGIONS AND PODS:

I had Ohio State in the Midwest, Florida in the South, UCLA in the West, and UNC in the East. Obviously UCLA wasn't the 1 seed, so that pick disappeared. I still don't comprehend the committee's philosophy of putting Florida in the Midwest (playing in St. Louis for the Regional Final) and Ohio State in the South (playing in San Antonio for the Regional Final). Maybe my geography is off, but shouldn't Florida --- a decidedly SOUTHERN team --- play in the South?

Other than that, I didn't think there were many shockers. I was slightly surprised that Georgetown was sent to Winston-Salem instead of Buffalo. Not only is Buffalo in Big East country, but it's also closer mileage-wise to Washington, DC than Winston-Salem is!

I'll have my thoughts on the bracket itself, including matchups, predictions, and other errata, later on this evening. Stay tuned!

Final Bracket

2007-03-11T17:02:00.000-04:00

Here's the final bracket. Comments to follow later...maybe after the draw. I dunno. I'm exhausted. Time for a coke.

NetWire 2007 NCAA Tournament Bracket Prediction – 3/11/2007 FINAL 5:02 PM EST
South Region		East Region		Midwest Region		West Region
San Antonio – THU/SAT		E. Rutherford – FRI/SUN		St. Louis – FRI/SUN		San Jose – THU/SAT
New Orleans		Winston-Salem		Chicago		Sacramento
1	Florida* (SEC)	1	North Carolina* (ACC)	1	Ohio State* (Big 10)	1	UCLA
16	Jackson State* (SWAC)	16	Niagara* (MAAC)	16	CCSU/FAMU* (Play-in Game)	16	Weber St.* (Big Sky)
8	Boston College	8	Creighton	8	Kentucky	8	BYU
9	Winthrop* (Big South)	9	Indiana	9	Villanova	9	Xavier
Columbus		Spokane		Sacramento		Winston-Salem
5	Notre Dame	5	UNLV	5	Virginia Tech	5	Maryland
12	Illinois	12	Davidson* (Southern)	12	Gonzaga* (WCC)	12	New Mexico St.* (WAC)
4	Southern Illinois	4	Tennessee	4	Washington State	4	Louisville
13	George Washington* (A-10)	13	Holy Cross* (Patriot)	13	Long Beach St* (Big West)	13	Wright St.* (Horizon)

Spokane		Buffalo		Lexington		New Orleans
6	Virginia	6	Southern Cal	6	Arizona	6	Marquette
11	Drexel	11	Texas Tech	11	Purdue	11	Old Dominion
3	Oregon	3	Pittsburgh	3	Texas	3	Texas A&M
14	Miami-OH* (MAC)	14	Penn* (Ivy)	14	Albany* (Am East)	14	TAMU-CC* (Southland)
Chicago		Columbus		Buffalo		Lexington
7	Nevada	7	Vanderbilt	7	Butler	7	Duke
10	Syracuse	10	VCU* (CAA)	10	Georgia Tech	10	Michigan State
2	Kansas	2	Wisconsin	2	Georgetown* (Big East)	2	Memphis
15	Oral Roberts* (Mid-Con)	15	Belmont* (At Sun)	15	E. Kentucky* (OVC)	15	North Texas* (Sun Belt)

Bids by Conference
ACC	7
Big East	7
Big Ten	6
PAC-10	5
Big 12	4
Southeastern	4
Colonial	3
Horizon	2
Missouri Valley	2
Mountain West WAC Atlantic 10	2 2 2

Last four in: Purdue, Old Dominion, Drexel, Illinois
Last four out: Stanford, Air Force, Kansas State, Arkansas

Seed movement:
Indiana down 1 (true 10 seed)
Michigan State up 1 (true 9 seed)

Penultimate Bracket time

2007-03-11T03:53:00.000-04:00

You know it's been a long night when you look up at the clock and wonder why it's suddenly 3:30 AM. I'm still not used to this Daylight Savings Time thing. We never used to have it in Indiana. I don't mind it per se (it was nice having all those extra hours of daylight around 9 PM in the summertime), but I'll never get used to losing an hour of sleep out of the blue. And somehow, getting it back in October doesn't seem to compensate.

Anyway, enough babbling. Time for brackets --- but first, a brief note on upcoming events. This is the second-to-last bracket I'm putting up. The last one will be up at approximately 5:00 PM Eastern time tomorrow, about an hour before the selection show starts. So check back in then and see how right (or wrong) I am.

This bracket is updated through all of Saturday's games. Discussion follows below:

NetWire 2007 NCAA Tournament Bracket Prediction – 3/11/2007 (Morning)
South Region		East Region		Midwest Region		West Region
San Antonio – THU/SAT		E. Rutherford – FRI/SUN		St. Louis – FRI/SUN		San Jose – THU/SAT
Chicago		New Orleans		Chicago		Sacramento
1	Kansas*	1	Florida* (SEC)	1	Ohio State* (Big 10)	1	UCLA
16	Florida A&M* (MEAC)	16	North Texas* (Sun Belt)	16	CCSU/Jackson St.* (Play-in Game)	16	Weber St.* (Big Sky)
8	BYU	8	Boston College	8	Creighton	8	Kentucky
9	Winthrop* (Big South)	9	Indiana	9	Villanova	9	Georgia Tech
Buffalo		Lexington		Winston-Salem		Spokane
5	Virginia Tech	5	Notre Dame	5	Maryland	5	UNLV* (MWC)
12	Davidson* (Southern)	12	New Mexico St.* (WAC)	12	Air Force	12	Illinois
4	Southern Illinois	4	Texas	4	Tennessee	4	Louisville
13	Holy Cross* (Patriot)	13	Wright St.* (Horizon)	13	George Washington* (A-10)	13	Miami (OH)* (MAC)

Spokane		Sacramento		New Orleans		Columbus
6	Virginia	6	Marquette	6	Arizona	6	Southern Cal
11	Old Dominion	11	Purdue	11	Syracuse	11	Gonzaga* (WCC)
3	Oregon	3	Washington St.	3	Texas A&M	3	Pittsburgh
14	Long Beach St.* (Big West)	14	TAMU-CC* (Southland)	14	Oral Roberts* (Mid-Con)	14	Pennsylvania* (Ivy)
Buffalo		Winston-Salem		Lexington		Columbus
7	Vanderbilt	7	Nevada	7	Duke	7	Butler
10	Michigan State	10	Xavier	10	VCU* (Colonial)	10	Texas Tech
2	Georgetown	2	North Carolina* (ACC)	2	Memphis* (CUSA)	2	Wisconsin
15	Albany* (Am East)	15	Belmont* (At Sun)	15	Niagara* (MAAC)	15	E. Kentucky* (OVC)

Bids by Conference
ACC	7
Big East	7
Big Ten	6
PAC-10	5
Big 12	4
Southeastern	4
Mountain West	3
Colonial	2
Horizon	2
Missouri Valley WAC Atlantic 10	2 2 2

Last four in: Purdue, Old Dominion, Illinois, Air Force
Last five out: Drexel, Arkansas, Stanford, Kansas State, Florida State

Notes:

You might as well just take the last 9 or so teams under consideration, write them down on pieces of paper, paste them to the wall, and start throwing darts, because it's almost impossible to distinguish one from the other. Everyone's got SOMETHING good going for them. Everyone's got several major blemishes. Here's how I broke them down, from the top of the last four in to the bottom of the last five out:

PURDUE: Four good wins (UVA, Illinois, Michigan State, Indiana), a decent acquittal of themselves in the Big 10 semifinals, and a 5-2 record to finish the season. They also pass the "vision test" at this point.

OLD DOMINION: Their win at Georgetown keeps going up in value. They played an acceptable out of conference schedule. They beat Drexel twice, and were 4-2 overall against the top three teams of the Colonial Athletic Association. They also finished the season 12-1.

ILLINOIS: Make no mistake --- I am not high on this team. I don't like their resume, and I have no clue how their power numbers are as high as they are. That said, they picked up a big win against Indiana in the Big Ten tournament, and that, combined with an 8-8 road record and a high-20's RPI, got them into the field. But I didn't enjoy it.

AIR FORCE: I don't have a good excuse for having Air Force in the field, other than that their style of play last year was mentioned as a major factor in their being included in the field. Well, their style of play hasn't changed at all! Meanwhile, despite a 4-game losing streak, their power numbers are far, far better than last season. Ultimately, they get this spot because none of the teams below them put up a good enough fight to take it away.

----END OF AT-LARGE FIELD---

DREXEL: I feel bad for Drexel, because they did what they were supposed to do; namely, go out and play against top competition on the road. And they did that well, winning at Villanova and Syracuse. However, there's another component that's just as important, and that's doing well in your conference...PARTICULARLY if you're in a decidedly average conference like the Colonial. Drexel finished 4th in the regular season, and went an appalling 1-5 against the three teams that finished above them. They also didn't make it to their conference tournament final.

ARKANSAS: If the Razorbacks had woken up even a week earlier, they'd probably be in by now. Unfortunately, they didn't seem interested in saving their season until the last game, when they smoked Vanderbilt in Nashville. Follow-up wins against South Carolina, Vanderbilt (again) and Mississippi State are nice, but when you've only beaten Vanderbilt and Southern Illinois all season, that's bad. It's even worse when you finish 7-9 in a terrible SEC West Division --- a division that was so bad that no team had a winning conference record in it (Mississippi State and Ole Miss tied for the "title" with 8-8 records). Arkansas can still get in if they beat Florida later today.

STANFORD: Good resume, bad finish, REALLY bad RPI. The Cardinal were one win in the PAC-10 tournament away from a bid, and they didn't make it happen.

KANSAS STATE: Note to Bob Huggins --- never listen to Digger Phelps again. Sorry Wildcats, but 10-6 in the weakest BCS conference division in basketball doesn't do it for me.

FLORIDA STATE: Another team that was one win away. Laying an egg in the ACC quarterfinals against North Carolina didn't help matters any.

Alright, so there's the field as of 4:17 AM on Sunday. There are still a few things that can change in the next 13 hours, and they are:

PARTY-CRASHERS: Arkansas can seal a bid with a win versus Florida. North Carolina State can steal a bid with a victory over UNC. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi could lose their bid in the Southland Conference title game.

SEEDING?: Okay, seeding won't change much between now and tomorrow...at least, not due to anything that happens in the games. Right now, the actual committee has already made most of its seeding decisions, and will use tomorrow to bracket the teams. I'm not totally sold on some of the seeding choices I've made, but I think that's a level of uncertainty that I'll just have to deal with. I do reserve the right to make changes tomorrow, but I'll be able to justify those changes.

AT-LARGES: Same as above. If you couldn't tell, I was very uncomfortable with both Illinois and Air Force...and honestly, I'm not all that juiced about Old Dominion anymore.

That does it for tonight. Should be an exciting day tomorrow! Check back here for updates and commentary before, during, and after the selection show.

The Pancake

2007-03-10T12:52:00.000-05:00

Saturday dawned ugly for bracket world. The upsets of yesterday, combined with a vague level of uncertainty about several remaining tournaments, has created a peculiar situation where no one is really sure of ANYTHING anymore. Whether we're talking about teams in the field, teams not in the field, or the seeding of those teams, it's one big mess at this stage.

Let's start off with some reading for this morning.

- Arkansas has been a mild surprise in the SEC Tournament, advancing to the semifinals with a real chance of knocking off Mississippi State and getting to the final. However, none of this may matter to Razorbacks coach Stan Heath, whose job is apparently in extreme double jeopardy.

- If you watch the SEC Tournament today, you'll probably have the displeasure of seeing Ted Valentine refereeing. For those who aren't familiar with Ted's background, here's a story from the archives for you. (Bonus link! Here's a Florida website's perspective on SEC tournament referees.)

- If you haven't become a regular visitor to the Bracket Project, you really should (Although you're almost out of time for this season). Interestingly, most of the bracket projections have coalesced around Ohio State, Kansas, and UCLA as #1 seeds, but the fourth #1 seed appears to be evenly split between North Carolina and Wisconsin. I tend to think that North Carolina will get that final #1 seed, and if it doesn't go to them, then look for Florida to pick it up.

- If you're a bubble team, you never want to hear your coach saying the following words: "We've put ourselves in this position, so we're at their mercy, and that's the only thing I can say." It could be a tough Sunday for a particular service academy.

- Interesting article in yesterday's Indianapolis Star about statistical guru Jeff Sagarin, who, just like me, lives in Bloomington and doesn't get up before noon if it's at all possible.

- For those of you without restrictive firewalls on the office computer, you're in luck: CBS has doubled the bandwidth on their internet tournament feeds.

- Ticket scalping is legal here in Indiana. In fact, I went many years in my childhood wondering what the big deal was about scalping tickets. Well, it's a much bigger deal now than it was then, with scalpers' revenues going up as ticket prices do. Looks like sports entities are tired of losing out on a piece of that action, according to the L.A. Times.

- Actual lead paragraph from an Oakland paper about the Cal-Oregon game last night: 'There is a sign in Cal's locker room that reads "Dreams come true in March." Unfortunately for the Bears, it's also when they die.' Ouch!

That's enough reading for one day.

Looking at the games coming up today, the teams that can help themselves the most are, in no particular order:

- Kansas State - NEEDS the win against Kansas to claim some degree of legitimacy
- Arkansas - How is this team still alive? They need to keep winning, and then hope
- Illinois and Purdue - Two peas in a pod. Get out of the pod!

The Carnage Bracket

2007-03-10T02:47:00.000-05:00

The carnage that was visited upon the selection and seeding process on Friday was immense. Xavier and Nevada, if you hear a noise in the middle of the night...it's probably Trent Johnson and Leonard Hamilton egging your cars.

I'm just going to give you the bracket, the quick breakdown, and no commentary. Feel free to send your own comments in, though.

NetWire 2007 NCAA Tournament Bracket Prediction – 3/10/2007
South Region		East Region		Midwest Region		West Region
San Antonio – THU/SAT		E. Rutherford – FRI/SUN		St. Louis – FRI/SUN		San Jose – THU/SAT
Chicago		New Orleans		Chicago		Sacramento
1	Kansas*	1	North Carolina* (ACC)	1	Ohio State* (Big 10)	1	UCLA
16	North Texas* (Sun Belt)	16	Niagara* (MAAC)	16	CCSU/MVSU* (Play-in Game)	16	Weber St.* (Big Sky)
8	Winthrop* (Big South)	8	Kentucky	8	Butler	8	BYU* (MWC)
9	Xavier	9	Michigan St.	9	Creighton	9	Villanova
Winston-Salem		Sacramento		Spokane		Buffalo
5	UNLV	5	Marquette	5	Notre Dame	5	Maryland
12	Akron* (MAC)	12	Davidson	12	Old Dominion	12	Gonzaga* (WCC)
4	Louisville	4	Washington St.	4	Virginia Tech	4	Southern Illinois
13	New Mexico St.* (WAC)	13	G. Washington (A-10)	13	Holy Cross* (Patriot)	13	Wright St.* (Horizon)

Spokane		Lexington		Columbus		New Orleans
6	Tennessee	6	Southern Cal* (PAC-10)	6	Virginia	6	Boston College
11	VCU* (Colonial)	11	Illinois	11	Texas Tech	11	Air Force
3	Oregon	3	Texas	3	Pittsburgh	3	Texas A&M
14	TAMU-CC* (Southland)	14	Vermont* (Am East)	14	Penn* (Ivy)	14	Long Beach St.* (Big West)
Columbus		New Orleans		Lexington		Buffalo
7	Duke	7	Nevada	7	Arizona	7	Vanderbilt
10	Syracuse	10	Georgia Tech	10	Indiana	10	Purdue
2	Wisconsin	2	Florida* (SEC)	2	Memphis* (CUSA)	2	Georgetown* (Big East)
15	E. Kentucky (OVC)	15	Oral Roberts* (Mid-Con)	15	Belmont* (At Sun)	15	Delaware St.* (MEAC)

Bids by Conference
ACC	7
Big East	7
Big Ten	6
PAC-10	5
Big 12	4
Southeastern	4
Mountain West	3
Colonial	2
Horizon	2
Missouri Valley WAC Atlantic 10	2 2 2

Last four in: Air Force, Texas Tech, Old Dominion, Illinois
First four out: Florida State, Arkansas, Stanford, Kansas State
Also considered: Appalachian State, Clemson, Drexel, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Missouri State, West Virginia

Friday Update, part tres

2007-03-09T21:19:00.000-05:00

Wow. The evening games have been MUCH better. Got a Big Ten special on the way from Pizza Express, but before it gets here, some updates:

- We have officially lost a bubble slot. Xavier falls 79-71 to Rhode Island in the Atlantic 10 semifinals. Xavier's got a profile that's worth of an at-large bid, so we can expect two teams out of the A-10. Illinois, Kansas State, Drexel, and Old Dominion are now on notice.

- Oklahoma State still hasn't won a road game, but they picked up a key neutral court victory over a sleepwalking Texas A&M team in the first evening contest in the Big 12. Oklahoma State is still on the outside looking in, but if they can beat Texas in the next round, look out.

- The 1 seed in the MAC tournament is toast! Miami (OH) takes out Toledo, 58-53, in what was a very entertaining game between two teams that couldn't possibly have been more different. Miami basically consists of a team of slow white guys that run a motion offense, while Toledo was all athleticism and perimeter steals. Surprisingly, Miami held on for the win. Does this open the door for Akron?

- Great game in the Big East semifinals between Notre Dame and Georgetown. Despite having a 14 point lead in the first half, the Irish can't hold on, and Georgetown marches on to the Big East final.

- The overrated nature of the ACC continues to stick out like a sore thumb. Virginia, the alleged #2 seed in the ACC tournament, loses to North Carolina State.

- Houston knocks off Rice in the C-USA semifinal. Tom Penders (yes, THAT Tom Penders) and company now get the misfortune of taking on Memphis on their home court.

- Florida laid waste to Georgia, starting the game on an insanely long scoring run and leading 35-14 at halftime. With a little over three minutes to play, Florida still leads by 16.

- Nevada and Utah State are locked in mortal combat in Las Cruces. At the under 8 timeout, the score is tied at 57.

- Wisconsin looked mightily impressive in their game, knocking off Michigan State by 13.

Alright, pizza's here. More updates later on in the evening.

Friday Update, part II

2007-03-09T18:21:00.000-05:00

We're in a bit of a lull right now in today's action, so let's catch up on what transpired in the second wave of games today:

- Arkansas has a steady pulse now. The Razorbacks managed to knock off Vanderbilt for the second time in a week, winning 72-71 and advancing the SEC Semifinals against Mississippi State. The Razorbacks desperately needed the win today. Now they have five RPI top 50 wins --- two against Alabama, two against Vanderbilt, and a win versus Southern Illinois. Is that enough to get them in? It might be, although they really need to knock off Mississippi State to demonstrate their worth to the committee. Arkansas and MSU split the regular season series.

- Purdue also has a steady pulse now, beating Iowa handily and advancing to face Ohio State in the Big Ten semifinals. I thought Purdue was in before this game, but avoiding a loss to a team that isn't tournament bound is always a good way to help ensure your spot. The key now for Purdue is to avoid getting brutally killed tomorrow versus the Buckeyes. They were able to keep the score respectable in their last meeting with Ohio State.

- Kansas State has a pulse, although it's not really steady yet. The Wildcats obliterated Texas Tech 66-45, in one of the more atrocious performances that the Red Raiders have had this season. Despite that, I still think Texas Tech is in, although their seeding will probably drop to 11 or 12. Kansas State REALLY needs to beat Kansas tomorrow.

- Miami's dream is over, as the Hurricanes blew a big lead and ran out of luck at the end of the game versus Boston College. Again, we had an ACC tournament game that didn't live up to the hype. Can Boston College do anything worthwhile against North Carolina tomorrow? The Tar Heels won 77-72 in Chestnut Hill in the teams' only meeting.

- Memphis is flogging Tulane in the C-USA semifinals. Last score I saw was 66-42 Memphis...and it's probably not even that close. The Tigers are keeping their slim chances for a #2 seed alive.

- Looks like Bucknell's Patriot reign is over. Congratulations to Ralph Willard and Holy Cross on picking up the automatic berth.

Some other random items from today:

- If you live in the Indianapolis area, do yourself a favor and buy an Indianapolis Star, then turn to page 7 of the sports section. There you will see a full-page advertisement taken out by Appalachian State, trumpeting their at-large credentials. I wish I was kidding about this, but I'm not. If I get a chance, I'll post pictures later today.

- Some of the television comments I've heard the last couple days have been truly out of control. For instance, Dick Vitale, broadcasting the ACC Tournament today on ESPN, uncorked this bizarre gem while trying to extol the virtues of the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa:

"I've seen some magical moments in this building, Mike....I saw Tina Turner here...Mariah Carey."

The mental image of Dick Vitale shaking his moneymaker to the tune of "What's Love Got To Do With It" is one that I may never be able to rid myself of, sadly.

Then there was this evening's bizzarity, courtesy of alleged bracketologist Joe Lunardi on Pardon The Interruption:

"Teams further down the bracket have a chance to win it all. Villanova won it as a 9 seed. North Carolina State won it all as an 11 seed."

THIS guy is a bracket expert? I would think a bracket expert would know that Villanova won the 1985 NCAA Tournament as an 8 seed. And I'd CERTAINLY hope that a bracket expert would know that North Carolina State's 1983 title team won it all as a 6 seed, not an 11.

If Joe was actually versed in his bracket history, he might have referenced LSU's improbable march to the Final Four in 1986 as an 11 seed. He did mention George Mason as an 11 seed, but heck, there are little old ladies on the street who could've remembered that.

- Last but not least, let's give the Kentucky fans a lot of credit. They may have broken the all-time basketball message board record today for most users online at the same time - 5,937 users at approximately 4:30 PM. (The previous high was about 4,800).

It's evening basketball time! I'll have another update at about 8:30 or so, and then another one when the games are over for the night.

The Friday update, Part I

2007-03-09T15:53:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm not one to put a silk hat on a pig --- this has been a disappointing day so far. Only one of the early games had any competitive fire, the second-gen games have been interesting but hardly compelling, and I nearly had a catastrophic failure with my cable box, where the sound just stopped working and I had to spend 10 minutes switching it out with the cable box in the room without the computer. Of course, I get the malfunctioning cable box plugged into the other room, and it starts working perfectly. Whatever.

Let's check the notes out for the day so far:

- If this Florida State team were a software program, it would need about 16 repair patches in order to be fully functional. What a flawed team. Great promise, great athleticism, but terribly terribly flawed. They got behind UNC and that was pretty much it, allowing the Tar Heels to coast. (Note: Just because FSU is flawed, it doesn't excuse that terrible sequence by the officials at the end of the first half, where they blew an obvious foul call on UNC, then T'd up Leonard Hamilton.)

- Kansas looked a little sketchy in the first half, but they really rolled over Oklahoma to finish off that game. I understand that Bill Self is on the sidelines and the big game implications therein, but there's no other team that's winning with the type of verve that Kansas is demonstrating right now.

- Ohio State needs to stop screwing around and just win games. Toying with your opponents may seem fun, but it's a monumentally stupid idea come tournament time. That said, OSU is safely through, having beaten Michigan by 10 today.

- Purdue is handling Iowa right now in the 4/5 game. So much for my Big Ten sleeper pick! (Although to be fair to myself, my sleeper in the Mountain West is looking quite good right now.)

- Kentucky lost...again...to a team they should've beaten. Mississippi State, undersized and with the refs fouling out seemingly half their team, managed to force overtime on a three at the buzzer, then took advantage of a truly terrible clear-out playcall by the Wildcats where Crawford had his shot blocked down low. How low can the Cats sink in the seeding? I'm all giddy at the mere thought of it.

- Nice to see that Jarrious Jackson showed up for Texas Tech today against K State. Now, where are the rest of his teammates? K State leads by 7 at the break, and is playing at least marginally like a team that wants to go to the tournament.