One Man Show

6 minutes to go Oklahoma down 61-40. Blake Griffin has 21 of them. I am disgusted. I honestly cannot in the course of this entire game remember a shot that OK has made outside of the paint. This is the worst outside shooting performance I have ever seen. OOHHH, Willie Warren decides to make Oklahoma's first three on the FIFTEENTH ONE THEY TOOK IN THE GAME. The lead has been cut to 14, but it will probably be too little to late. Ok 9-0 run, down to twelve now...lets see how this plays out.

I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth

UCONN celebrating their west regional victory (AP photo Mark J. Terrill)

Shane Clark pervs out watching Dante Cunningham make out with Villanova's East regional trophy (AP photo Stephen Savoia).

Rick Pitino pissed off because his team is not good (AP photo Michael Conroy).

It might be time to go out and buy some powerball tickets, because rarely does any one person have this much basketball fortune. Yesterday UCONN punched their final four ticket with a win over Missouri, then Scottie Reynolds sent Pittsburgh and Dejuan Blair home crying with a game winner, and just now Michigan State rolled over Louisville to knock them out of the tournament. So this is where I stand. of the 4 teams I follow, 3 are still alive (2 of them in the final four) and the only one yet to play their elite eight game (Oklahoma) is about to play in what could be this tournaments best matchup. As for the teams I hate, both of them were just upset on their road to the final four, so I will not have to hear about either of them until next year.

I pity anyone that didn't watch that Villanova game, it was incredible. They are outmatched talentwise in every game they play, with Pittsburgh being no exception, but they are so well coached and make so few mistakes, that they are always in a position to win games. That is why I was surprised when I saw Reggie Redding (I think?) launch an inbounds pass across the court with Nova down 2 and ten seconds left on the clock. Bonehead move that very well could have cost them the game, luckily Cunningham was able to make a play on it and keep it inbounds, but all I could think when he let that pass go was "this is going to be the new Chris Webber infamous timeout call." Fortunately that did not happen, and Scottie Reynolds charged down the floor after Pitt tied it up, showed off the onions and sent Pitt packing. I am really interested to see how Villanova fairs in their final four matchup, I don't know how they handle either Hansbrough or Griffin, but I will not put anything past this team.

Speaking of Hansbrough and Griffin, experts on all sorts of different media outlets are trying to sound smart and downplay the importance of that matchup in this game, but they are missing the point: That matchup IS this game. If Oklahoma doesn't win that matchup, and win it big, they have no hope of winning the game. If it comes down to the teams' other pieces then North Carolina wins this game--they are just too deep and too talented.

Ok, the game is starting. Bold Prediction...Blake goes for 30 and 12, Oklahoma wins a nailbiter.

Disregard that post about Arizona winning

they are getting smoked at half time, and it shows no signs of stopping. They had a good run.

R.I.P.

Not hopping on board

Everyone and their brother is hopping on the Syracuse bandwagon, and I can't blame them. Johnny Flynn has been phenomenal all year and has taken his game to another level in the last few weeks. Arinze Onuaku and Rick Jackson are skilled bigmen that can give opposing teams fits, and Eric Devendorf and Andy Rautins can shoot anyone out of their defense. But come on. Where was all the support before the conference tournaments started and they were floundering in the big east? Just because they have been hot, doesn't make them unstoppable. I am really surprised at how many people have the orange beating Oklahoma: Every ESPN expert jumped on board, as well as every bracket ranked in the top ten of ESPN.com (of which there are some 10 million).
I just don't see how you overlook Blake Griffin, or how you paint Oklahoma as a one man show. Sure it is important that Oklahoma get something going other than Griffin, but isnt that true of every team in the tournament? what would North Carolina be with ONLY Tyler Hansbrough, what would Villanova be with ONLY Scottie Reynolds, what would Pittsburgh be with ONLY Dejuan Blair, and for that matter, what would Syracuse be with ONLY Johnny Flynn. A team is the sum of its parts, and in this case I think Oklahoma comes out on top. They have shooters that can spread a defense, slashers, guys that can play the high post, and most importantly a guy in Blake Griffin that can force Syracuse's zone to collapse so that he can either kick it out for an open shot, or draw a foul. And the second Syracuse gets into foul trouble, their title hopes go out the window. They have the shallowest bench in the country, you just might not know it because their top 7 guys are so good and can play so many minutes. I think Oklahoma will pound the ball inside and make the Orange give up some early fouls to take charge of the game before Syracuse can even think about controlling the tempo. Oklahoma wins this matchup barring an unforeseen injury or series of ludicrous calls that takes Blake Griffin out of the game.

Chalkfest 09

DISCLAIMER: My sorry attempt to make an image on paint has yeilded this. It is not much, but it is the best I can do with my limited talents and I am going to love it as if it were a perfectly normal picture.

With that out of the way, I would like to recognize what a great job the selection committee did this year in organizing the tournament field: All of the 1, 2, and 3 seeds; as well as 3 of the four 4 seeds advanced to the sweet sixteen. The Pat Forde's of the world can lament all they want about the lack of cinderella teams in the sweet sixteen, but I have no problem watching the most talented teams in the country play. We don't need to have some pretender come along playing in way over their heads, that all the marginal basketball fans watching the tourney can pin their dreams on. Realistically, none of those mid major teams (Gonzaga and Memphis being the exception) are ever going to win a championship. So I say we should enjoy the great upsets (Siena, Portland State) that did happen in the first round and look forward to a great weekend of basketball ahead. My predictions hold true for my teams as far as Villanova, UCONN, and Oklahoma are concerned. I think Oklahoma is going to have a real tough time with red hot Syracuse, but Blake Griffin, has shown this tournament that he won't be rattled (video).

As far as Arizona goes though, I am going to make some revisions. I said before that they would run into a "brick wall" in Louisville, But thus far in the tournament the cardinals have looked more like a stick wall--three little pigs reference, that just happened. Arizona meanwhile has been playing at the top of their game, getting great contributions from all three of their stars. If they remain hot and Louisville can't find a way to get some outside shots to fall, we will have a 12 seed in the elite eight. I'll even go out on a limb and say that it is going to happen. Nick Wise will continue to shoot the ball well, Jordan Hill will abuse Samardo Samuels on the block, and Chase Budinger will do a little bit of everything like he has all year. Louisville got annointed as a juggernaut because they breezed through the end of their schedule, but that was when a lot of teams were tired and dealing with injuries. Now that everyone is back at full strength, they are vulnerable.

That is all for now. Rest up and restock the fridge for another great weekend ahead.

Pretty uneventful

The thursday/saturday games seem to be a drama-free-zone. Very few upsets on the first day, and that held true yesterday too. The only upset was 5 purdue over 4 Washington in a close game. Purdue will face UCONN in the next round, and that should be a cakewalk for the huskies. Washington scared me because they had size to bother thabeet and get him in foul trouble, but Purdue is smaller and more athletic, which plays right into UCONN's style.

The bracket I am following is actually tied for first place in my pool (only 8 people) with 32 out of 40 games picked correctly. I'll post the actual results after the tourney is over, for right now though I will just pick today's games as they have worked out, regardless of my bracket...

Arizona State/Syracuse--Syracuse

Wisconson/Xavier--Wisconson

Dayton/Kansas--Kansas

Cleveland St./Arizona--Arizona

Ok. State/Pitt--Pitt

Marquette/Missourri--Marquette (I had missourri winning this matchup in every bracket I filled out, but with the news(video) that Dominic James will play in this game, I am changing my mind)

USC/Mich. St.--USC

Siena/Louisville--Louisville (but if Siena wins I will love it)

Picking a lot of upsets today, bring on the drama

ONIONS!!!!!!

(AP photo/Skip Peterson)
Last night the magic of the tournament was out in full force. There were upsets, game winners, giants killed, and brackets busted. My bracket in particular took a pretty strong kick to the jewels yesterday as I lost 2 sweet sixteen teams (FSU and Wake Forest) and an elite eight team (West Virginia). Yep, I had the Proverbial daisycutter dropped on the midwest region, but I couldn't care less. That was some of the most entertaining basketball I have seen all year, and all of MY teams advanced to the second round. The nightcap games were just unbelievable, I was jumping around on a sprained ankle and yelling the names of players I had never heard of before like they were my closest friends. I actually almost missed all of this ridulous action because I was in my room watching the episode of "Lost" I missed on my computer while Clarky and Sturg were playing NHL again. That usually results in a lot of yelling, so I figured they were still playing. False. They were watching Clevaland State, Wisconsin, and Siena getting sized for the cinderella slipper. They all tried it on, but I think the best fit is Siena.

The yelling caused by their game was the one that finally lured me out of my room to make sure that there was not a fullscale fistfight taking place over Sturg's silly NHL 09 moves. By the time I got out there Siena's Kenny Hasbruck had just hit a shot to send their game against Ohio State into overtime and the crowd in the living room was small but vociferous--relentlessly touting their newfound hero they referred to simply as KENNYYY. I was not there for the events that made Kenny a hero, so I didn't form the same bicurious bond that my two fellow spectators did. I am glad for this, as Kenny was nowhere to be found in the extra session(s). That left me free to explore other Siena players to share this, likely unwelcome bond with, and I soon found my target--Ronald Moore. With the seconds winding down in overtime and Siena down by three, Moore dribbled the ball down the court with confidence pulled up a couple feet behind the line and drained a three to send it into double OT. The small but vociferous crowd went wild, with Clark and Sturg pondering an affair with the new hero, and me happy that I had not just jumped on the first drunk, good looking girl to cross my path (so to speak). Yes, I found myself a keeper. And with the game on the line once again in the second overtime sesion, Ronald Moore made me proud, drilling ANOTHER 3 with his team down by 1 to earn Siena the upset. The crowning moment here was the call by Bill Raferty and Verne Lundquist (follow the link and wait till the last highlight, after a girly scream, one of them yells ONIONS...classic). So there they are, meet your 2009 tournament Cinderella. In all likelihood they will get knocked out in the second round and it was only an 8 v 9 upset, but I don't care, it will be one of the tournament's best games.

Elsewhere in the basketball world, Arizona made me proud last night, beating Utah convincingly and setting themselves up for a run to the sweet sixteen with a victory over 13 seed Cleveland State. I know absolutely nothing about Cleveland State and don't care to research it, but I can't imagine they have enough defenders to match the athleticism of Arizona's big three. Jordan Hill and Chase Budinger should be able to walk all over them as long as they are able to shoot the ball somewhat effectively. I feel pretty good about their chances to make it there, and maybe if they can get some momentum they can even give Louisville a run for their money and I could ream of seeing Arizona, UCONN, Oklahoma, and Villanova in the final four...just let me dream.

I am watching Villanova play UCLA right now, and they are also making me proud. Just tooling on the Bruins. My confidence is restored in them after their shaky performance against American U. I forget that they have a tendency to play down to their competition, but that won't be a problem anymore, because after this game they will probably have to go through the 2 and 1 seeds to get to the final four. Keep it rollin.

My picks for today's games are all chalk. I have the favorite winning every matchup.

More Tourney coverage tomorrow, get on the Sienna bandwagon.

Day One Action/Friday's Picks

It was a pretty predictable first day of the tournament. There were a few upsets, a couple close games, but nothing too memorable. My picks for the most part held up pretty well...turns out my instincts on Western Kentucky were right. It wasn't perfect, but I'll take 14 out of 16 for day one.

Not much to report as far as the teams I follow go. Villanova had to survive a scare from American University, but they eventually locked it up and pulled away to a convincing 13 point victory. Oklahoma and UCONN both rolled to big wins, and Arizona doesn't play until day two.

In unbasketball related news, I started doing the master cleanse diet today. To me it seems like a life-sucking, unhealthy lemonade binge, but there are testimonials that it improves your energy levels and recharges you. All you can eat or drink for an entire week is this lemonade concoction that combines fresh squeezed lemon juice, maple syurup, cayenne pepper, and water. It tastes better than it sounds. I would describe the flavor as maplemonicious, with an Emeril-like kick from the Cayenne pepper. I'm at the end of day one on this thing and am already suffering withdrawals. It's a weird feeling. I know I have all the energy that I need from the lemonade, I just want something solid in me. Its like having a fish tank and filling it with apple juice...and cayenne pepper...... If that analogy made sense to you, consider a CAT scan.

My friend Sturg, and my roommate Clarky have been tormenting me with fried chicken and cookies all day, and are now engaged in a vicious back and forth shootout in NHL 09. Sturg is certifiably awful and has no business ever scoring goals, but he lulls goalies to sleep with a bevy of useless patented moves that should be illegal. He will from now on be known as the sandman. Clarky is getting pissed because he is actually playing right, pulling off some vintage D2 the mighty ducks moves. He has already brought out the triple deek glove side, and I eagerly anticipate the knuckle puck. Hold on, breaking news...Clark is dismayed after suffering the upset to Sturgeon courtesy of his "Silly Backhand." That is what I call a bracket buster.

Moving on, my picks for tomorrow are as follows.

Stephen F. Austin/Syracuse--Syracuse

Tennessee/Ok. State--Ok. State

Utah St./Marquette--Utah State

Temple/Arizona State--Temple

E. Tennessee st./Pitt--Pitt.

Cornell/Missouri--Misourri

Portland St./Xavier--Xavier

Siena/Ohio St.--Siena

USC/BC--USC

Robert Morris/Michigan St.--Michigan St.

Wisconsin/Florida St.--Florida St.

There they are. I am going to bed and hopefully not having nightmares about the condition of Bob Knight's face on sportscenter. Someone introduce the big fella to sunscreen. I am putting the odds on him getting skin cancer at a strong 80 percent after seeing the color of his face tonight. I can't find the video link, but suffice to say it looked like he had taken a rip van winkelesque nap on a tanning bed.

The madness continues tomorrow.

My Bracket

Ok. I can't figure out a way to upload my bracket and I am getting impatient because I was up till4 o clock last night, and was woken by an insurance assessor at 8 o clock asking for directions to my house. He is being a giant pain in the ass and attempting to explain things to me that I do not care about, nor will I ever care about. Just give me a check, stop talking, and have a tic tac. you reak of cigarettes and you are are in my face.

Alright, with that out of the way, I am just going to give my picks for the games played today.

Butler/LSU--Butler

CS Northridge/Memphis--Memphis

Texas A&M/BYU--A&M

Northern Iowa/Purdue--Purdue

Radford/UNC--UNC

Maryland/Cal--Maryland

Chattanooga/UCONN--UCONN

Miss. St./Wahington--Washington

Minnesota/Texas--Texas

Michigan/Clemson--Clemson

American/Villanova--Villanova

Akron/Gonzaga--Gonzaga

Binghamton/Duke--Duke

Morgan St./Oklahoma--Oklahoma

Va Commonwealth/UCLA--UCLA

Western Kentucky/Illinois--Western Kentucky

Pretty Chalky bracket for day one. I actually had Illinois over Western Kentucky until I realized that I had picked almost no upsets. That is probably going to come back to bite me in the ass. Can't wait to get the tournament underway.

Tournament Preview: Villanova

Breaking down the Competition
Villanova performed very well in a tough big east conference and earned themselves a 3 seed in the highly favorable East regional. The wildcats will not even have to leave their home city the first weekend of play with first and second round games being played at the Wachovia Center--Villanova's home away from home. In past seasons, they have played up to 5 games in the arena, but since it was a tournament site this year, they only played 3. Had they played any more, the site would have been considered a "home court" and they would not have been allowed to play there. The savvy move gives them a leg up on the early competition that could extend into the later rounds when they play at the, relatively close to home, TD Banknorth Garden. Here is a breakdown of the tournament sites and dates. Villanova shouldn't encounter any obstacles on their way to the sweet sixteen. UCLA is the only team that could scare them, and they match up very poorly with Nova. Their first gutcheck will come when they run into Duke in the Sweet Sixteen.

Duke is a hard 2 seed to pin down. They have shown the ability to beat anyone, but I could just as easily see them losing to any team in the tournament. They don't have great size or great athleticism, and they rely more on the three point shot than most elite teams. Gerald Henderson is the one guy that really scares me. He is a dynamic player that has stepped up his offensive game to become the go-to player Duke needed. Kyle Singler is a gritty nonconvential forward in what has become the Duke mold: Solid defender, plays hard, unselfish, great shooter, caucasian. Jon Scheyer is the only other guy that gets consistent big minutes, and reminds me of a poor man's Kyle Singler. The rest of the guys they rotate in are solid role players and good defenders that allow Duke to run the floor and get open shots for their stars. The Blue Devils are very good when they can keep the ball moving, but their lack of a true point guard means that they can be thrown off of their pace fairly easily if you have the defensive personell to pressure them--Villanova does.

It seems like every expert in the world has Pitt advancing to at least the elite eight, and I am hard pressed to argue with them. They have a cupcake schedule up to that point, which may allow them to rest injured point guard levance Fields and get him back to full strength by the time they meet Nova. Pitt is a dangerous team when they are completely healthy. They are a physically imposing bunch, led by PF Dejuan Blair, who despite being undersized at 6'7" dominates on both ends of the floor. The way he plays is almost like a less athletic Charles Barkley. Fields is an excellent distributor helming Pitt's high octane offense, and Sam Young can run the floor and, at times, score at will. The big question with them, much like North Carolina, is, can they play enough defense to let their offense win the game? The matchup will be pretty even, but keep in mind that the wildcats won the only regular season meeting between the two teams.

Breaking down Villanova
I didn't really get into Villanova Basketball until I saw Scotty Reynolds torch UCONN his freshman year, it was a sick game and sold me on the program. Jay Wright has done great things with what he has to work with at that program, Plus he wears croc skin shoes and dresses like a baller, so he is the man. Wright has had undersized teams for the past 5 years, going back to the Kyle Lowry-Randy Foye-Allan Ray-Mike Nardi 4 guard team that made it to the final 4, but they have always been competitive. He gets his players to go all out for 40 minutes. The defense swarms to the ball, cuts off passing lanes, forces turnovers, and frustrates the hell out of opponents. The offense relies heavily on spreading the floor with Scottie Reynolds and sniper Corey Stokes. When the two of them are hitting, the lane is opened up for Reynolds and Corey Fisher to penetrate to the hoop, or dish off to the Wildcat's athletic swingmen.

Equally as important to their success is the effectiveness of Dante Cunningham. He is a wiry, undersized power forward, but he plays with an extra gear and consistently handles players much bigger and taller than him on both ends of the floor. Cunningham has improved steadily since his freshman year, blossoming as a senior into the teams leading scorer with 16.0 ppg. Villanova on the whole is a very deep team, rotating in 9 players regularly, they just lack depth in the frontcourt, so it is vital that Cunningham remain out of foul trouble.

I see Villanova using their quickness to run past Duke, and then winning an offensive battle against Pitt to advance out of the East Regional. They will face Oklahoma in the final 4 and bow out there as Blake Griffin eats Dante Cunningham for breakfast.

Tournament Preview: Oklahoma

Breaking down the Competition
Oklahoma was a shoe-in for a number 1 seed for almost the entire year until Blake Griffin went down with an injury late in the year. Playing without him, and trying to work him back into the lineup, the team lost 4 of its last 7 games to end the season, dropping them to a 2 seed in the tournament. The drop is justified, but it does put Oklahoma at a disadvantage, especially considering the bracket they ended up in. The South regional, in my opinion, is the most competitive bracket in the tourney this year, featuring the toughest 1, 2, and 4 seeds. 3 Seed Syracuse are no slouches either, having finished the year on an excellent note with a gutsy performance in the Big East Conference Tournament. Oklahoma should have a pretty easy road to the sweet sixteen, though the winner of the Clemson/Michigan game could be dangerous if they play as well as they are capable.

Syracuse is the likely sweet sixteen matchup, and they will be a good test for the Sooners. Barack Obama (video) even went so far as to call for the upset. The potential is definitely there, but I am not sure that Obama's reasoning is justified. He questioned the depth of Oklahoma, apparently ignoring the fact that Syracuse has one of the tightest lineups in College Basketball. This was exposed when the Orange took UCONN to 6 overtimes in the Big East tournament, and were forced to play reserve Justin Thomas, who had played just 25 minutes all year due to foul trouble. The real reason Syracuse is a threat is that when their studs stay on the floor, they have the personnel to challenge anyone. Johnny Flynn might be the best point guard in the tournament, Eric Devendorf and Andy Rautins are snipers with range out to the NBA 3 point line, and Arinze Onuaku is a force in the paint. they will play physical on both ends of the floor like most big east teams, and if Oklahoma can't adjust they could very well find themselves bowing out early.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Gonzaga knock off North Carolina in the sweet sixteen, but Oklahoma would probably see the Tar Heels in the elite eight if Ty Lawson is healthy. They are the deepest and most talented team in the country. Lawson is an absolute blur running the floor, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green can shoot over defenses, Ed Davis and Tyler Zeller provide a ton of size off the bench, and Tyler Hansbrough is a 4 time first team all american that can score from anywhere on the floor. The only hiccup with this team is their unwillingness to play defense. They rely completely on outscoring their opponents, which they do very well when they stay out of foul trouble and Lawson is 100 percent. They will play Oklahoma very tough, but they don't have an answer for Blake Griffin Defensively, and will be in trouble if Lawson is not fully recovered from his toe injury.

Breaking Down Oklahoma
Everybody knows about Blake Griffin. If you don't, watch this video, you'll get the idea (If you do, watch it anyway because he is the man). Griffin is a powerful 6'10" 251 pounds, and is an absolutely explosive athlete. When he gets the ball around the basket there is little anyone can do to stop him. There is simply nobody that can match his combination of size, speed, and skill on the college level. Griffin averaged 21.9 ppg, 14.6 rpg, and shot a sickly .635 from the floor. The Sooners' entire gameplan is predicated on Griffin being able to assert himself on the offensive end of the floor and no game is complete without at least one highlight worthy slam. Blake is joined on the frontline by his older brother Taylor Griffin. He can't do the things his brother can do, (who can?) But he does give the team a stable veteran presence that can play defense and be an aggresor on offense.

Freshman Willie Warren is the star of the backcourt. He can light it up with the best of them, and when his shot is going down Oklahoma becomes almost impossible to beat. They will need to get him going to have success. Flanking Warren on the wings are Junior Tony Crocker and Senior Austin Johnson, both of whom can shoot the three when left open--vital once defenses start keyin in on Griffin and Warren.

Depth could become an issue for OU if they get their big guys into foul trouble, but I think that issue is overplayed in the media. Oklahoma bowed out early in their conference tournament giving them plenty of time to rest up and get back on track for a strong run in the postseason tournament that really counts. I think that Oklahoma will put the pieces together, beat the odds, and do what their football team could not and bring home a national championship.

I will post my bracket before games begin tomorrow as well as my preview for Villanova. Get ready for the madness!

Tournament Preview: Arizona

Breaking down the Competition
Arizona backed their way into the tournament this year, losing 5 of their final 6 games (4 against tournament teams) to luck into a 12 seed. Their overall resume is relatively weak this year, and they faltered in their conference tournament as well, but the committee was very open minded with their selections this year. In addition to Arizona's bad losses, they also had some very good wins against Gonzaga, Kansas, UCLA, and Washington. The wildcat's enter the tournament as one of the most dangerous and talented 12 seeds in recent memory with a tough road but a legitimate chance to make a run at the elite eight.

Their first round game pits them against Mountain West Conference winner Utah. They are led by 7' Center Luke Neville, who was able to tear up his inferior conference competition to the tune of 16.9 ppg and 9.1 rpg. He will have a harder time matching up against the long, athletic wildcats. Utah is very dangerous, however, if they can get Neville going and spread the floor to their talented shooters on the wings.

A second round matchup would likely match them with the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Wake is one of the most talented teams in the country and when they are running the floor the way they want to, they can beat anyone. Wake features 3 high end NBA prospects in Jeff Teague, James Johnson, and Al farouq-Aminu. Teague is the most dangerous player on the team, capable of taking over a game all on his own as he did when Wake knocked off ACC power North Carolina in January. Wake is a tough matchup for Arizona, because they are so deep and athletic. The wildcats only chance at a victory here is if they can find a way to stop Wake's running game and force them to shoot the ball in the halfcourt set.

If arizona can find a way to make it past Wake Forest, they will run into a brick wall in the Louisville Cardinals. The cards utilize their long, athletic backcourt to frustrate opponents guards and force their tempo. Their offense isn't always spectacular, but Terrence Williams can score with anyone and their depth and experience sets them apart from the rest of the Midwest Region. Arizona would need all of their star players to have the game of their lives to have a chance against Louisville.

Breaking Down Arizona
Arizona is one of the most explosive offensive teams in the country. They have three absolute studs that are all capable of filling up a boxscore. Juniors Chase Budinger, Nick Wise, and Jordan Hill have played together on tournament teams for three years with little sucess and should be hungry to make some noise this year. Hill is a very versatile power forward with a good midrange game to compliment his excellent low post game. Hill leads the 'Cats in scoring, rebounding, and blocked shots. Budinger is a small forward that is forced to play a little out of position at times because of Arizona's lack of depth, but his elite athleticism and shooting ability allow him to do this without losing much--if anything. He is one of those guys that can do a little bit of everything. Nick Wise anchors the offense from the Point guard spot, using his sweet stroke to keep defenses honest, and getting other players involved. When Wise is shooting well, and breaking down defenses, Arizona becomes hard to stop.

The Wildcats biggest problem is simply their lack of depth. They lost elite guard Jerryd Bayless to the NBA draft last year, and committed recruit Brandon Jennings jumped ship to play professionally in Europe. With either of those players Arizona would have been a 1 or 2 seed, no question. Without them, they are forced to start guys that should be reserves, and move players out of their comfort zones. Their big three are forced to play the entire game, and they struggle to keep up with teams if they can't control the tempo--hence their questionable defense. Arizona's tournament success will hinge on their ability to keep their stars fresh. That means getting out to early starts, frustrating opponents with their zone defense, and making teams play to their tempo.

I predict a loss to wake forest in the second round for arizona, but wouldn't be surprised if they made it to the elite eight. If they go out in the first round that would be a huge dissapointment.

Tournament Preview: UCONN

Breaking down the Competition
After a rough stretch to end an otherwise dominating season, the Huskies were able to hold onto a 1 seed, but they were shipped out across the country to the West Regional. UCONN doesn't have the national following that some big time schools like UNC or Duke have, so they will not have much (if any) fan support out on the west coast. The only situation that I can really see this hurting them in is if they face 4 seed Washington in the sweet sixteen.

Washington along with 2 seed Memphis are the only teams that scare me in the west regional. Washington has a bruising post presence in John brockman, the type of player that has given Hasheem Thabeet trouble in the past. He is flanked in the backcourt by lightning quick point guard Isiah Thomas (no relation to the hall of fame NBA player/accomplished homewrecker) and sniper Justin Dentmon who shoots .422 from 3 point range. All 3 players are capable of taking over a game and scoring 20+ points, and UCONN's defense will be severely tested trying to contain the PAC-10's highest scoring offense.

Memphis is a hard team for me to buy into because they haven't really been tested late in the schedule. Conference USA opponents never provide much of an obstacle for coach John Callipari's recruiting Dynamo, and this year in their nonconference they were largely unsuccessful. Not much can be read into that either however because they did not really take off until they moved stud freshman Tyreke Evans to Point Guard. They are always hard to read, but in recent years they have proven that their weak conference schedule does not have any bearing on their tournament success. This year they have almost unmatched athleticism and a deep starting 5. They return a talented frontline of Robert Dozier and Sean Taggert, and Antonio Anderson gives some veteran stability to the backcourt. Their athleticism could really bother UCONN if Thabeet gets in foul trouble and isnt making his presence felt down low on the defensive end.

Breaking down UCONN
UCONN has been a favorite from the get-go to make a strong run at the national championship this year. They returned almost their entire team last year including star 7'3" defensive powerhouse and owner of the Big East's finest dance moves, Hasheem Thabeet. for a 7 footer Thabeet is surprisingly adept at disappearing on the offensive end. He cradles the ball in the post like a fragile christmas ornament and regards taking the ball to the hoop strong as sacrilidge. His offensive ineffeciencies are more than made of for on the opposite end of the floor, however, as every opponent that goes into the lane is forced to think twice. The Junior from Dar es Salaam Tanzania averages 4.6 blocks, but influences so many more that his full impact on a game does not show up on a stat sheet.

With Thabeet anchoring the Defense, A.J. Price leads the Huskies attack. Price has shown the ability to take over games and be a go to guy down the stretch for this team. He is the teams most complete player on offense capable of keeping defenses honest with superior courtvision, and a great jumpshot. Senior Power forward Jeff Adrian will have to be a presence down low for UCONN to be successful, he showed an effective midrange game against Syracuse in the big east tournament's 6OT thriller, but he will need to establish himself in the post or they are going to have a hard time finding any offensive rythym.

The biggest knock on UCONN going into the tournament that has led them to be proclaimed "the number one seed most likely to fall first" by both ESPN expert Doug Gottlieb and fans on ESPNnation, is the loss of Jerome Dyson. While I agree that losing Dyson hurts because he was a gifted scorer that gave the team more options at the end of games, I don't beleive it kills their chances. the Huskies did lose 3 of 7 games down the stretch without Dyson, but 2 of those losses were to a top 5 pittsburgh team, and the third was a 6OT loss against a Syracuse team fighting for a better tournament seed. None of those are bad losses. I would argue that those tough games actually helped the team figure out how they needed to play without Dyson. Dyson's contributions will have to be replaced by the athletic Stanley Robinson, Craig Austrie, and Freshman Kemba Walker. I think Walker is the key here. He plays faster than just about anybody in college basketball, he just needs to keep himself under control. Against Syracuse in the big east tournament he was dribbling through pressure and penetrating with ease, but he was not doing so with a purpose.

My final prediction is that UCONN will make it to the Championship game, defeating Louisville in the final four and playing the winner of the south regional (either UNC or Oklahoma, I am still undecided) for the tourney crown. I think that they will lose to either of those teams, but if Walker learns to keep himself under control, Thabeet stays out of foul trouble, and they are able to make shots and spread the floor, they could easily prove me wrong.

Here is a great article detailing the grit of coach Jim Calhoun and his team.

Allow me to introduce myself

Hello to all of my soon to be loyal followers. My name is Mike Pare and I am a 4th year Journalism major at the University of Maine in Orono, Maine. This year I covered the UMaine basketball team for the school newspaper as they plodded along to another dissapointing, non-tournament, finish. I now find myself a basketball writer with no team to write about. Luckily for me, I do not pin my enjoyment of college basketball on the whims of the fickle America East conference. As much as I would love to see the Black Bears make a run some year, I probably have a better chance of getting a date with Meagan fox (Read: no chance).

So, like any young basketball fan that has grown up in the sports desert that is the state of Maine, I have branched out, forming affiliations with teams based on factors outside of a teams proximity to my hometown. Without boring you with the details of how these affiliations were formed, I have become a really big fan of Big East conference basketball--particularly the Villanova Wildcats and the UConn huskies. my love for these teams is balanced by my hatred for bigeast counterparts the louisville cardinals, and the Pitt Panthers. I will not qualify my hatred here except to say that both teams are annoyingly good and Rick Pitino is a franchise wrecker.

There is also a tendency to fall in love with a particular player on the college level and follow his team while he goes to that school. Players that have had this effect for me have been Dwayne Wade, Chris Paul, Sean May, Adam Morrison, Rajon Rondo, Greg Oden, Thaddeus Young, Kevin Love, Eric Gordon...and so on and so forth. Well the one player this year that I really find fun to follow is Oklahoma's Blake Griffin. I am certainly not alone in this, as he is the likely first pick in next years draft, and his explosive style of play makes him a highlight waiting to happen. He has the ability to dominate the college game right now like nobody else in the country, and I am really interested to see how far he can take the Sooners in the tournament.

With all that in mind, I do not profess my self to be a Doug Gottlieb or a Digger Phelps. I am no certified expert on college basketball as a whole, or even basketball as a whole for that matter. But I am a passionate and educated fan of the game. And fans know the most about the teams they love and follow. So instead of rehashing everything that I have heard an expert say about some mid major school that I had never even thought twice about until tourney time, I will limit my analysis to the teams that I love this year, and here they are, in alphabetical order listed with the teams star player.

Arizona Wildcats--PF Jordan Hill

Oklahoma Sooners--PF Blake Griffin

University of Connecticut Huskies--C Hasheem Thabeet

Villanova Wildcats--PG Scottie Reynolds

I have started this blog just in time for the NCAA basketball tournament, so stay tuned for a preview of how I think each team will fare this year.