Category: March Madness (Page 48 of 56)

Bullz-Eye.com’s March Madness Tourney Countdown provides a look at what mid-majors could make some noise, what point guards hold the keys to their team’s success, what freshmen to watch, what top seeds are ripe for an upset and what #2 seed has a nice draw.

Don’t fill out your brackets without taking a look, kids.

#4 Tennessee vs. Arkansas – 1 PM ET
It looks like Arkansas has already played its way into the tourney, but a win against Tennessee might knock the Vols down to a #2 seed.

#1 North Carolina vs. Virginia Tech – 1:30 PM ET
Tech is on the bubble and the Hokies need a win against the Tar Heels to solidify a spot in the tourney. A North Carolina loss might open the door for Duke to steal the #1 seed in the East.

#6 Wisconsin vs. #19 Michigan State – 1:40 PM ET
The Bo Ryan/Tom Izzo rivalry continues. Ryan has made Wisconsin the class of the Big Ten, a mantle that Izzo used to own. The Badgers are playing for a #2 seed.

#8 Texas vs. Oklahoma – 2 PM ET
Both teams are in, but the Longhorns are still shooting for a #1 seed.

#7 Duke vs. Clemson – 3:30 PM ET
The second- and third-best teams in the ACC square off in the semis. Both teams are already in, but the Blue Devils still have a shot at a #1 seed.

#5 Kansas vs. Texas A&M – 4:30 PM ET
The Jayhawks are still jockeying for a #1 seed and it looks like A&M is in.

#2 UCLA vs. #11 Stanford – 6 PM ET
The Bruins escaped a loss against the Cardinal a few days ago and look like they’ve locked in a #1 seed. There isn’t much on the line here but pride, though the Brook Lopez/Kevin Love battle is worth the price of admission.

#23 BYU vs. UNLV – 7 PM ET
The Runnin’ Rebs are on the bubble, but a win over BYU would earn them a spot in the tourney.

#9 Georgetown vs. Pittsburgh – 9 PM ET
The Panthers are in, so this game is about pride. The Hoyas might earn a #2 seed with a win.

Who says that the college basketball regular season doesn’t matter? (BCS apologist Kirk Herbstreit, that’s who.)

It sure mattered yesterday when the #1 Tar Heels went into Durham and upended the #5 Blue Devils, 76-68. Duke led, 68-66, with three minutes to play, but North Carolina went on a 10-0 run to close the game and seal the win.

It’s always interesting to see how each team deals with the emotion of these matchups. Earlier this season, in Chapel Hill, the Tar Heels seemed anxious and overexcited while Duke, playing on the road, was calm, cool and collected. Last night, the roles were reversed. Duke got off to a bad start and didn’t get settled until the second half.

It was senior night for DeMarcus Nelson, and it felt like he was forcing things all game. He shot just 3-12 from the field. Gerald Henderson also went 3-12 and came up small in the final minutes, blowing a layup that would have put Duke up by four. He had another missed shot and a turnover during UNC’s run. Lastly, freshman Kyle Singler rounded out the bad shooting with a 3-10 effort. The only Duke players to really play well were Jon Scheyer and Greg Paulus.

Danny Green led North Carolina with 18 points, while Tyler Hansbrough and Wayne Ellington each chipped in with 16. Hansbrough also had 15 rebounds.

In recent years, North Carolina’s problem has been mental toughness down the stretch, but they showed it last night in a difficult environment. Getting Ty Lawson back certainly helps, but he isn’t practicing much so that might come back to bite them in the tournament.

UNC has a virtual lock on a #1 seed, and will probably get to play in Charlotte and Raleigh, making them a big favorite to reach the Final Four. Duke needs to win the ACC tournament and hope some of the other top teams lose in order to have a shot at a #1 seed in another region.

The Tennessee Volunteers held onto the #1 ranking for just over a day before having to play archrival Vanderbilt on Tuesday. They lost, 72-69.

Memorial Gym has a reputation for being a very tough place to play. The court has tons of room on the sidelines (leading up to the stands) and the benches are placed on opposite baselines. It’s an odd setup and that can throw off the visiting team. Vandy is tough to beat there, no matter the opponent.

Tennessee likes to create chaos, but the problem with that is in a tight game, they have trouble running enough offense to get a good shot. That was the case down the stretch on Tuesday, and it makes me wonder if they can execute against the best teams in the country next month.

Shan Foster led all scorers with 32 points, while Chris Lofton led the Vols with 25. Both players are seniors. Foster is projected to be a second round pick in this summer’s draft while Lofton may not be drafted at all. I think Foster is the better prospect; he reminds me a little of Rashad McCants. Lofton has great range and is a good scorer, but he seems slow for a 6’2″ player and doesn’t have natural point guard skills. (He’s averaging a career-high 2.0 assists per game this season.)