Category: College Basketball (Page 104 of 153)

Marquette has a three guard tandem that wreaks havoc with opponents. On this night it was Stanford’s Twinn towers who prevailed. It took the Cardinal til overtime, playing without their head coach who was tossed earelier in the game, to finally subdued the competitive Warriors (oops old nickname, but that’s how they played). Brooks Lopez hit a baseline jumper with 1.3 seconds to go for the win. All Marquette could do was reach up to no avail.

As long as the basket is 10 feet high, the taller player will always have the advantage. Tonight it was Stanford’s turn to reap the rewards.

Over in Omaha, Kansas used a smothering defense in holding UNLV to 27% shooting to route the Rebels. Kansas was deadly from the perimeter and scored inside when they needed a big basket. Four players scored in double figures and it could have easily been 6. Two games and they still have not been tested. Next up for the Jayhaws will be Villanova or Siena.

Coaching Note: In the past coaches who have been ejected during a game have not coached the next one. Let’s see how Stanford handles this one… My vote is let him coach!!

In case you missed it department: East Carolina announced that they have taken the interim tag off Mac Macarthy and given him a five year deal. Also, John Brady, only a couple years removed from the Final Four at LSU, was hired at Arkansas State.

A few years back Bob Huggins was quoted as saying that the media decides who the good guys are and who the bad guys are in college basketball. He has always relished the idea that he has been given the “black hat.” However, after deciding to return to his alma mater and then leading them to the Sweet Sixteen the question is can he switch hats?

Today his Mountaineers beat the ultimate “white hats” of college basketball. Duke and Coach K has always been treated as royalty by the media, but on this day Huggins get to wear the white hat. West Virginia flat out hustled and beat up the Blue Devils. They outrebounded the Blue Devils 47-27 and exposed Duke as a one dimensional team. When they make three’s there good, but on this day they did not. Realistically, they should have been beaten the first night by Belmont.

Huggins has taken over a finesse team (under John Beilein) and reshaped them in his own image. They play with a ruggedness and swagger that might just get them over the hump and into the Final Four. Joe Alexander came back from an opening game aberation to record a double-double. Not bad for a guy who played very little last year.

I always thought the Purdue was a year away and Xavier’s senior Drew Lavender proved it. But before you shed a tear for Matt Painter, realize that he has everyone back and they will challenge for the Big Ten title for the next three years. Lavender was outstanding in closing out the game at the free throw line by going 8-8. The win sets up a grudge match between West Virginia and Xavier.

Wisconsin proved why it won the Big Ten. They play smothering defense. They made Beasley work for every point and they held Kansas State to a goose egg behind the three point line. When you play Wisconsin you have to make jump shots. They do a great job of shutting off the inside and are too big to push around. Trevon Hughes scored 25 and Wisconsin’s guards outscored the Wildcats guards by 30. If the Badgers can shoot the way they did today they can make Bo Ryan’s first Final Four appearance a reality.

Washington State’s defense clmped down on Notre Dame so hard that they were only able to shoot 24% from the field. Meanwhile, Derrick Low led three Cougars in double figures with 18 points. They look so much like Wisconsin it is scary. I guess the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. This team looks just like the Badger team that his father took to the Final Four. If defense wins championships, then mark it down for Washington State.

A combination of Sonny Weems going 12-14 for Arkansas and Eric Gordon shooting 3-15 spelled doom for the Hoosiers. Even though, DJ White and Armon Bassett battled til the end, this team just didn’t look like the Indiana team before the departure of Kelvin Sampson.

The question that begs to be asked is would it have been different if the AD had named Ray McCallum the interim head coach. I think so!!!

Memphis was just too deep and talented for UTA to hang for 40 minutes. Give Scott Cross and his team credit, they battled for as long as they could. However, Memphis just kept coming in waves and just flat out wore them out.

Boise State had no magic left on the hardwood for Louisville. The Broncos, who stunned Oklahoma in football a year ago, fell behind 10-1 and never caught up. With Louisville hitting 12 threes and Derrick Character playing like he is trying to raise his stock for the NBA the Cards controlled the game from start to finish. If Character can play like he did tonight, the Cards will still be playing in San Antonio.

In the most exciting game of the night, Clemson took an early 17 point lead and had Villanova on the ropes. But Scottie Reynolds wouldn’t let his team quit. He led the Wildcats back to take a lead late in the game. In winning 75-69, the difference turned out to be the free throw line. Villanova shot 24-29 while Clemson, who has struggled all year could only manage to make 14-23.

One thing for sure in this tournament. If you want to win, you have to make the 3 ball and you have to make your free throws down the stretch. Siena, Western Kentucky, Davidson, Miami and Butler all advanced due to superior three point shooting. It is the great equalizer.

Second round action should be exciting as there are still plenty of teams from non-BCS conferences still alive. Here’s hoping that one of them becomes the next George Mason. For my money, Butler may have the best chance, but I really like Davidson with Curry’s big play ability.

The Siena Saints not only upset Vandy, but crushed them from start to finish. Fran McCafrey’s game plan of isolating Kenny Hasbrouck and running plays to give Tay Fisher open 3’s worked to perfection. Hasbrouck ended up with 30 and Fisher was a perfect 6-6 from behind the line.

McCafrey, who has taken three different schools to the NCAA tournament, led a MAAC to the second round for the first time since 2004, in the process he has elevated his status as a front runner for both the Providence and South Carolina openings.

Jeff Capel might have something to say about the South Carolina job if he wants it. His Sooners disposed of St. Joseph’s behind the rugged play of Blake Griffin and Longar Longar. However, it was the shooting of senior David Godbold who exploded for 25 points (came into the game averaging only 6 points) that was the difference for Oklahoma.

North Carolina as expected routed Mount St. Mary’s and Mississippi State knocked off Oregon.
Charles Rhodes scored 34 points for the Bulldogs and are my pick to make some noise.

After watching Oregon and Arizona lose their first round games it was clear that they didn’t deserve to be in the field of 64.

Western Kentucky, Davidson and Miami all used the long ball to win first round games. The Hilltoppers overcame the deep three point shooting of Drake to win in overtime. Tyrone Brazelton made the plays of the game for both teams. With Western holding a 6 point lead with under 2 minutes to go, his decisions allowed what should have been a free throw contest at that point to go into overtime. He turned it over and then took a quick shot allowing Drake time to come back and knock down two game tying threes.

In overtime he made plays. He made shots and had the drive and dish for the game winner to Rogers. Both teams played with a reckless abandon for all 45 minutes. In my book, Keno Davis did the best job of any first year coach since Bill Hodges was at the helm of an Indiana State Larry Bird team. No Larry Bird’s on this squad, but they did have Adam Emmenecker who showed why he was the Valley player of the year. His decision making was superb.

Some would argue that what Bill Grier has done at San Diego is more impressive. I will give him credit for getting this team to the tourney and then upseting UConn in overtime, but it was Brad Holland who won 18 games with this same group and put all the ingredients in place. By upsetting UConn (Jim Calhoun’s first loss in 15 first round games.) he set the stage for a 12-13 game in the second round.

Davidson road the shoulders of Stephen Curry past Gonzaga. Curry hit 8-10 3’s enroute to 40 points. I still can’t believe Virginia Tech passed on the son of their former star. Now that Gonzaga has moved from hunter to hunted they have struggled to advance in the tournament. You still have to give Mark Few and his administration credit for putting the stake in the ground and building a proram that will be around for a long time. If Few leaves, then Grier is right there to pick up where he left off. Bob McKillop has taken solid role players and built his team around a star in Curry.

James McClinton hit 8 3 pointers and helped Miami overcome a 5 point halftime deficit. With the win it sets the stage for a mentor vs. pupil match-up as Texas won their game in a route. Miami coach, Frank Haith, worked for Texas coach, Rick Barnes, at Texas. Talk about great comeback stories. All year long rumors swirled about Haith’s job security, he answered that question today.

Butler gor their 30th win of the year with a win over South Alabama. Pete Campbell came off the bench to make 8 3’s and score 26 points in their easy first round win. Coaches change at Butler, but the results remain the same.

Tennessee overcame a scare from American to win by double digits, while Georgetown used it’s superior size to knock off UMBC.

It is great when the underdog wins, however, with teams like Butler, Drake and Gonzaga getting such low seeds, they are too often paired aginst non-BCS teams. It spoils the fun…