It looks like Painter’s flirtation with Missouri has paid off, per ESPN.

After talking with Missouri about its coaching vacancy, Painter decided to stay at his alma mater Wednesday and agreed to an eight-year contract through the 2018-19 season.

“I am extremely excited about continuing my career at Purdue,” Painter said in a statement. “I believe we have built something very special. At the same time, I feel we have much more ahead of us to accomplish. At the end of the day, my heart is at Purdue, and this is a place where I want to win a national championship.”

Last year, Purdue rewarded Painter with a contract through the 2016-17 season. It included a $1.3 million base salary and up to $1 million in incentives.

Terms of the new deal were not disclosed.

His current salary of $1.3 million sounds plenty healthy to me, so I looked up Bo Ryan’s contract, and he has a rolling deal that is paying him $1.25 million per season. Apparently, $1.3 million wasn’t enough for Painter, who successfully leveraged Missouri’s interest into another raise.

Not bad for a guy whose team finished the season with an 18-point loss to VCU.

Check out Midwest Sports Fans for a funny photo story featuring Painter, Purdue Pete and Brad Stevens.

ESPN’s Andy Katz outlines what has been something of a heated rivalry between Jim Calhoun and John Calipari.

The perceived breaking point between the two schools — and coaches — occurred during the recruitment of Hartford-area center Marcus Camby in 1993.

“I was responsible for recruiting Marcus and I did everything I possibly could,” Dickenman said. “I tried and I tried, and the bottom line is I was talking to a wall. We weren’t going to get him. We did have him on a visit with Kirk King and Ray Allen. We had this feeling that we weren’t in it and we never really were.”

“At the time John was an up-and-comer, a hot-shot name, and Jim doesn’t like to lose to anyone,” Dickenman said. “John has tremendous charisma and he’s a little brash. Jim had taken some things personal, but I don’t think they were necessarily directed at Jim.

Calhoun doesn’t like to lose at all, but he really doesn’t like to lose to hot-shot coaches like Calipari, so there will be a little extra juice to the UConn/Kentucky tilt on Saturday night.

Butler vs. VCU

Spread: Butler -2.5; Sagarin: Butler -1.45; Pomeroy: Butler 55.3%
Butler is the slight favorite, and if this game comes down to the final few possessions, I have to give the Bulldogs the edge due to their amazing ability (fortune?) to triumph in close games. However, Butler has only won their four tournament games by a total of 13 points, so they have hardly been as dominating as the Rams, who have beaten #1 Kansas, #3 Purdue, #6 Georgetown and #11 USC by an average of 14.8 points. Their lone tight game was against #10 Florida State, which went to overtime.

The key for the Rams has been their lights-out three-point shooting. They have hit 44% of their attempts in the tourney, after shooting just 36% during the season. Will this hot shooting continue in a football stadium against Butler, which very good at defending the three-point line (32.4%)? If the Rams hit 40%+ from long range, they have a chance for a 10- to 15-point win, especially if they use their depth to press, something that has rattled the Bulldogs in this tournament.

My pick: VCU

Kentucky vs. UConn

Spread: UK -2; Sagarin: UK -2.32; Pomeroy: UK 58.4%
After watching UConn play in a tough environment against both SDSU and Arizona, there’s no doubt that the Huskies are mentally tough enough to leave Houston with a title. Kentucky has the more talented rotation, but the key to this game will be how the Wildcats defend Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lamb. Against both SDSU and Arizona, Walker carried the Huskies early, but at some point in the second half, Lamb stepped up with several big shots to help to put those two games away.

If you go with the “best player on the floor” argument, UConn probably has the edge because of Walker. He’s lightning quick and can usually get a good look at the basket whenever he wants. The Wildcats have more balance, with four players averaging double-digits and two more averaging 7.9 ppg or more. Brandon Knight has hit some clutch shots and UConn hasn’t had to wrangle a guard of his caliber so far in the tournament.

In the end, the Wildcats have the edge. They own the 4th-best Pomeroy rating and look more like a national championship-caliber squad with their elite (#7) offensive efficiency and more than capable defense (#20). That said, if Walker and/or Lamb get hot, this will be a close game.

My pick: Kentucky

Ah, Rick Reilly. We love him here at The Scores Report. Whenever Anthony and I get together for a drink or dinner we always start off with a moment of silence in honor of Sir Rick. (That’s what we call him.) Without Rick Reilly’s genius, neither of us would have ever become writers. It was Sir Rick who inspired us.

Juuuust kidding. Can’t stand the guy. He can write, and he’s the King of the Schmaltz, but we can’t stand the guy.

Example #247, his postmortem on the BYU/Florida game, entitled, “Jimmer grows dimmer.” (Like I said, genius.)

Except for a stretch in the middle, when he was brilliant, Fredette was brutal.

Yes, he scored 32 points, but he took 29 shots to do it. He seemed to be wearing a blindfold from the 3-point arc — 3-for-15. Plus, he committed six turnovers and wandered aimlessly through the lane on defense like Moses in the desert. I’ve seen dead people play better defense. At least they occasionally trip people.

If his last college game is what he’s bringing to the NBA, then I’d say, in five years, he’s got a really good chance to be your Provo area Isuzu dealer.

As Reilly notes later, Fredette played 44 minutes against Florida and is asked to carry most of the scoring load for his team. His defense is definitely suspect, but he can’t be expected to expend a lot of energy on that end of the court if his team needs him to score 40 points to win. Cut the guy some slack.

“He’s a little Maravich,” a guy in a BYU shirt told me.

No! No, he isn’t! He’s not within a mile of Mardi Gras floats of Maravich. Maravich could get his shot off from the bottom of a swimming pool. He could get 40 in handcuffs. He averaged 44 points a game in college (to Fredette’s 28 this season) and that’s without the 3-point shot. With it, studies of his game film have shown, he would have averaged over 55.

Of course he’s not Pete Maravich, but why is Reilly devoting precious column space on ESPN.com on the rambling delusions of a BYU fan? Fredette doesn’t have Maravich’s handle, though he does have a wide range of scoop shots that would make Pistol Pete proud.

It was one of Fredette’s worst shooting nights of the season, but he still managed to score 32 points and lead his team to overtime. Reilly only wants to kick him while he’s down.

Where was he when Jimmer dropped 52 points on New Mexico, or 43 in a home win against a very good San Diego State defense? Or even five days prior to the Florida loss, when Fredette hit 7-of-12 three-pointers en route to BYU’s 18-point win against a pretty hot Gonzaga team?

Shooters shoot. And sometimes they have a night like Jimmer did against Florida.

After all the kid has accomplished this season, why does Reilly feel the need to devote 900 words about what he’s not?

This moment of madness brought to you by Muscle Milk®. It’s powerful protein. Drink. Evolve™

When Virginia Commonwealth’s name was called on Selection Sunday, there were more than a few eyebrows raised across the country. ESPN’s Dick Vitale, Jay Bilas, Digger Phelps and Hubert Davis even spent a few minutes railing on the inclusion of VCU (and UAB). In fairness, they weren’t arguing that the Rams weren’t a solid team, or even that they weren’t capable of making a run to the Sweet 16 or Elite 8, just that their resume wasn’t as good as those of Virginia Tech or Colorado.

But that didn’t stop VCU head coach Shaka Smart from using their words to motivate his team. The Rams had an especially tough road to the Final Four, and were underdogs in each and every game they played. It’s not like this was some underachieving team from the Big East. The Rams finished fourth (fourth!) in the Colonial Athletic Association, so their run to the Final Four truly came out of nowhere. Along the way, they’ve beaten five power conferences: USC (Pac-10), Georgetown (Big East), Purdue (Big Ten), Florida St. (ACC) and yesterday’s monumental upset of #1-seeded Kansas (Big 12).

And it’s not like these wins were nailbiters, either. Sure, the FSU game went into overtime, but they upended USC by 13, Georgetown and Purdue by 18 and Kansas by 10. They didn’t just beat these teams. They pounded them.

How did VCU do it? Despite being outrebounded on average by more than seven boards, the Rams combined stingy defense with the great tournament equalizer, the three-pointer. Try this stat on for size: In five games, VCU has shot better from three-point range (44%) than their opponents have shot from the field (39%). What’s amazing about the Rams’ hot shooting is that on the season, they made just 36% from long range.

America loves an underdog story and with VCU set to square off against Butler in the Final Four, we’re guaranteed that a mid-major will play in the title game for the second straight season.

That’s the great thing about a sudden-death tournament. And Muscle Milk would like to remind us that on any given day, the little guy can win.

From a press release issued by CBS Sports and Turner Sports:

CBS Sports’ exclusive coverage of the 2011 NCAA® Division I Men’s Basketball Final Four® on Saturday, April 2 (6:00-11:00 PM, ET) tips-off with Butler taking on VCU (6:09 PM, ET). Connecticut against Kentucky follows 40 minutes after the conclusion of the first game. Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg and Steve Kerr call the games along with Tracy Wolfson serving as reporter.

Coverage begins with THE ROAD TO THE FINAL FOUR® (4:00-6:00 PM, ET) hosted by Greg Gumbel along with analysts Charles Barkley, Greg Anthony, Kenny Smith and Seth Davis, live from Houston, Texas.

I’d rather see Gus Johnson and Len Elmore work the games, but that’s a pipe dream at this point.

The Wildcats held a slim lead for most of the game, but found themselves tied at 67-67 with 3:18 to play after Tyler Zeller hit a pair of free throws to cap a 10-2 run for the Tar Heels.

On the next trip down the court, Brandon Knight picked a great time to hit his fifth three-pointer of the game. Zeller’s tip-in cut the lead to one, but then DeAndre Liggins hit a three of his own to give the Wildcats a four-point lead with 0:35 to play.

Just like the VCU/Kansas game, three-point shooting was the difference in this one. Kentucky went 12-of-22 (55%), while the Tar Heels made just 3-of-16 (19%) from long range.

Kentucky joins VCU, UConn and Butler in the Final Four. They’ll play Kemba Walker and UConn on Saturday.

As I was watching the end of the Kansas/VCU game, I thought of the scene in “Ghostbusters” when the gang is trying to explain the situation to the mayor of New York.

Venkman: This city is headed for a disaster of biblical proportions.
Mayor: What do you mean, “biblical”?
Stantz: What he means is Old Testament, Mr. Mayor, real wrath of God type stuff.
Venkman: Exactly.
Stantz: Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling!
Spengler: Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes…
Winston: The dead rising from the grave!
Venkman: Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together… mass hysteria!

That’s how I feel about the 2011 NCAA Tournament. Heading in, I really liked three of the #1 seeds (Ohio State, Kansas and Duke, in that order) and felt good enough about Pitt to put all four #1 seeds through to the Final Four in my bracket. Fast forward two weeks and all four #1 seeds are gone, thanks to the VCU Rams, who upended the Jayhawks on Sunday.

How did they do it? What else…three-point shooting, the great equalizer. The Rams were 12-of-25 (48%) from 3PT, while the Jayhawks went a brutal 2-for-22 (9%) from behind the stripe. It wasn’t just one guy, but senior Tyrel Reed, a 39% 3PT shooter, was especially brutal, making just 1-for-8 from long range. The Jayhawks were also awful from the free throw line, hitting just 15-of-28 from the charity stripe.

Kansas outrebounded VCU 42-to-31, had four more steals, five more blocks and one fewer turnover, but it doesn’t matter if you are going to attempt 22 threes and only make two of them.

Jamie Skeen was big for the Rams, scoring 26 points, nailing 4-of-7 threes and hitting 10-of-12 from the free throw line. He also led VCU in rebounds with nine. Considering the competition, it was his best game of the season and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

The VCU Rams are in the Final Four. Not bad for a team that many thought didn’t even deserve a bid in the first place.

Butler 74, Florida 71 (OT)
The Gators had a nine-point lead with 7:11 to play, but the gritty Bulldogs battled back and eventually tied the game with 0:30 to play. The Gators had a chance to win it, but Erving Walker’s shot was errant and the game went to overtime. The extra period was nip-and-tuck, but Shelvin Mack hit a big three with 1:20 to play to give the Bulldogs a two-point lead that they wouldn’t surrender. Butler makes it’s second consecutive Final Four, this time as a #8 seed.

UConn 65, Arizona 63
I attended this game, and the Wildcats looked like a completely different team than the one that shredded Duke for 55 points in the second half on Thursday. Derrick Williams scored 20 points, but shot just 5-for-13 from the field and 1-for-6 from long range, including a possible game winner in the final seconds. Kemba Walker (20 points) and Jeremy Lamb (19) spearheaded the UConn attack. Lamb is the real deal.

He’s dead, Jim.

Even though I had lost two Final Four picks (Pitt and Duke) earlier in the tournament, my bracket still had monetary potential — all I needed was Ohio State to beat Kansas in the title game and I would have finished second in my pool of 20. Thanks to the Buckeyes, that deal’s dead, and so is my bracket.

My bread and butter, Sagarin and Pomeroy ratings, did not perform well in the Sweet 16. Teams with at least a 2-point Sagarin advantage were just 2-6, while 65% Pomeroy favorites were just 2-4. Both Sagarin and Pomeroy were 39-13 (75%) in predicting winners heading into the Sweet 16.

It’s all right if you lose a couple of Final Four teams early in the tournament, but if you go with the #1 seeds and lose your overall winner, there will be blood in the water.

It appears that anyone who has the Jayhawks is sitting pretty.