NCAA Tournament Day 3 Recap

Wichita State shocks the Zags

Gonzaga was pushed by Southern in their first game and they were thought of by many to be the first 1-seed to out of the tournament.  Tonight they proved those people right as 9-seed Wichita State took out the top team, 76-70, in the crazy West Region.  The Shockers jumped out early going up 26-13 and leading 36-31 at the half.  Gonzaga came out in the second half blazing on an 18-5 run to take an eight point lead 49-41.  At this point you figured the Bulldogs have found their groove and will continue their run to closeout the Shockers.  But it was Rob Baker who scored eight points in 1:38 to give Wichita State the lead back at 67-63 with just under three minutes to play.  Baker finished with 16 points on 4-6 from deep and Cleanthony Early also chipped in 16 with seven boards.  The Shockers went 50% from the field including 14-28 on 3-pointers.  On the other hand the Zags couldn't find their offense down the stretch going only 4-12 in the last 6:05.  Kelly Olynyk finished with 26 points and nine rebounds.

Marquette seeks revenge on Butler

This was a rematch of a game from November in Maui that Butler won on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Rotnei Clarke for the 72-71 win.  Marquette wanted to come out and get revenge for that heartbreaking loss but it was the Bulldogs that had the 35-27 lead at the break.  Marquette managed to fight back in the second half and tie the game late with 1:29 left after Vander Blue hit a 3 to make it 69-69.  After three free throws by the Golden Eagles, Butler's Roosevelt Jones found himself on the line with 15 seconds left.  Jones made the first and The Bulldogs were down two.  He missed the second and these two teams found themselves in the same position they were in at Maui.  Butler got the rebound off the miss and Rotnei Clarke hoisted the potential game-winning 3 but he was off.  Marquette finished off the late rally to win 74-72 behind Blue's 29 points.  Clarke added 24 for Butler.  The closest margin of the day before this game was Oregon over Saint Louis by 17, so this was the type of nail-biter we all expect to see in the tournament.

Michigan and Michigan State cruise to the Sweet 16

The state of Michigan sent the first two teams in the Sweet 16.  Michigan led the way as the Wolverines reached the second weekend of the tournament for the first time since 1994.  Coming into their game against the VCU Rams, Michigan was said to be on upset alert for the second straight game.  The biggest reason is VCU's "havoc" defense and the fact that they just beat a short-handed Akron team 88-42, but Michigan had a few surprises for the Rams.  The first was that to handle their press the Wolverines decided to have Tim Hardaway Jr. bring the ball up to help Trey Burke.  VCU leads the nation in steals, led by Darius Theus (2.4 spg, who was on Burke), but the Wolverines took care of the ball well in the first half as Burke and Hardaway only had three turnovers combined and led 38-23 at the break.  The other surprise was the play of Mitch McGary who played his most minutes of the season and rewarded John Beilein with 21 points on 10-11 shooting and 14 rebounds, both career highs.  An inside presence has been UM's most glaring weakness all year, if McGary can keep this up it makes the Wolverines an even tougher out.  Michigan's largest lead was 31 and the highlight of the night went to Spike Albrecht's left handed bounce pass between defenders to Glenn Robinson III for the dunk.  Michigan held VCU to only 3-16 on 3-pointers and the Wolverines now gear up for Kansas.

March is the month of Tom Izzo and Michigan State.  Memphis was able to keep it close in the first half (32-29) but the Spartans pulled away in the second to earn the 70-48 victory and move on to the sweet 16.  Gary Harris was hitting early and often as he poured in 23 points on 4-7 from beyond the arc and Adreian Payne controlled the paint with 14 points, ten boards and a career high five blocks.  MSU turned the ball over 18 times but a stifling defense held Memphis to only 29.7% from the floor.  The Spartans also are going to have to check the status of Keith Appling as he left the game with a right shoulder injury.  The starting point guard said he could have gone back in if needed but it will be interesting to see how it will affect him next weekend.  MSU now awaits the winner of Creighton and Duke, if the Blue Devils prevail it will be a matchup between two of the best coaches in the country.

Oregon shows they are for real

Oregon felt disrespected by receiving a 12-seed and they are taking it out on their opponents.  After dismantling Oklahoma State 68-55 in their first game, Saint Louis was the next victim 74-57.  The Billikens were a sexy pick by a few analysts to possibly upset #1 Louisville but they never reached that matchup because the Ducks weren't having it.  The game was tight for the first seven minutes when Saint Louis held an 11-10 lead.  After that, Oregon finished the half on a 25-8 run and never looked back.  Saint Louis had one of the best defenses in the country but the Ducks ran their offense with great efficiency as they shot 53% from the field and were 8-11 from distance.  Freshman Damyean Dotson led the way for Oregon with 23 points and 5-6 on 3-pointers.  Also, Arsalan Kazemi controlled the paint with eight points and 16 rebounds, including seven offense.  Oregon faces Louisville next weekend and shouldn't be taken lightly by the top seed in the Midwest.

Arizona is looking like the team that started the season 14-0

Another Pac-12 team that didn't get much respect when the tournament began was Arizona.  The Wildcats were once ranked as high as #4 in the country after starting 14-0 with wins over Florida, Miami FL, and San Diego State.  In conference play (Oregon gave them their first loss) Arizona struggled against the top teams in the Pac-12 and ended up a 4-seed in the conference tournament, then ousted by UCLA.  However, they seem to be rejuvenated in the big dance as they've won their first two games by an average of 20 points.  Belmont was a popular upset pick by many but they were no match for Arizona and neither was Harvard after pulling off its major upset over New Mexico.  In both games the Wildcats have been over 55% from the floor and their leading scorer Mark Lyons has been on fire.  In two games Lyons has 50 points on 20-32 shooting.  Arizona is back to being a team that has Final Four hopes as they seem to be hitting on all cylinders at the right time.



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6 Teams That Have Something To Prove In Conference Tournaments

For teams on the bubble, conference tournaments are their last chance to state their case on why they should be invited to the NCAA tournament.  However, for Final Four contenders it's their time to show they aren't getting the respect they deserve.  A lot can be said about a team that wins their conference tourney and the momentum that it provides into the national tournament.  The 2011 Connecticut team is a prime example.  They lost four of their last six to end the season then proceeded to win four games in four days for the Big East title.  That led to a run for the national championship, thanks in large part to Kemba Walker.  These teams need to show us what they got during Championship Week.


ACC

Miami FL

The Hurricanes won the ACC regular season title for the first time since joining the league in 2004.  A month ago this team was ranked #2 in the nation and started 13-0 in the ACC with blowouts over Duke and North Carolina.  However, they lost three (Wake Forest, Duke, Georgia Tech) of their last five games and some doubters are starting to creep up on The U.  The biggest reason is all the love that Duke is getting since Ryan Kelly came back.  All of a sudden people are forgetting the fact that Miami routed the Blue Devils 90-63 at home.  Or that if Ryan Kelly didn't have the game of his life (36 pts, 7-9 3FG) Duke might not have got their 79-76 win at Cameron Indoor.  Miami has quality players in Shane Larkin, Kenny Kadji, and Durand Scott but has some head scratching losses.  However, when big games arrive Miami has came to play.  Along with huge wins over Duke, UNC, and NC State, they've also taken down Michigan State 67-59.  If they are able to win the ACC tournament and beat Duke again in the championship game, this team will be riding high into the big dance.


Big 12

Kansas State

Kansas State has always been the red-headed step child in the Big 12, mostly because of the dominance their rival Kansas has had over the league.  Even though they won its first ever conference title this year (albeit shared with Kansas), again this team is forgotten.  All the talk for the Big 12 making noise in the post season is for KU and Oklahoma State, nothing at all for the Wildcats.  It shows in the picks made by ESPN's college basketball writers for the conference tournament champion.  Baylor was even shown some love!  K-State is the Big 12's second highest ranked team in the top 25 but there's no faith in them.  It is understandable in the fact that they were only 2-5 against ranked teams.  One player to watch for is Rodney McGruder.  This is a guy that can carry a team in tournament play and will have to if the Wildcats want to succeed.  If there's a team on this list similar to the 2011 UConn team, this is the one.  A run in the Big 12 tournament with wins over Baylor/Oklahoma State and Kansas, anything is possible.


Big East

Marquette

Louisville and Georgetown shared a Big East title with another team can you guess who?  Syracuse?  No.  Pittsburgh?  No.  Connecticut?  No.  It was Marquette, yes, Marquette.  Their first title since a guy named Dwyane Wade won one in 2003 when they were still in Conference USA.  This team probably doesn't have one player that will make the NBA but it epitomizes the word TEAM.  How else can you beat the likes of Georgetown, Syracuse and Pittsburgh with inferior talent.  Another component is their coach, Buzz Williams.  I love coaches that are intense and this guy is crazy, but he knows how to get a team to play together.  They've won low scoring games (49-48), high scoring games (89-78) and three games in overtime.  With a share in the Big East and a 23-7 record, some how this team is still under the radar.  The Big East tournament is always grueling for any team.  If the Golden Eagles are able to make the championship game or better yet, win the title, the country will have no choice but to give them the respect they deserve.


Big Ten

Michigan

Oh Michigan.  How you frustrate me.  For the first time since the Fab Five in 1993, the Wolverines reached #1 in the country.  But they inexcusably lost at Penn State (winless in the Big Ten), Wisconsin's Ben Brust will forever be remembered with Evan Turner for hitting a half court shot, and the Indiana game reminds us of the importance of free throws.  The IU game not only lost Michigan a share of the Big Ten regular season title, but also dropped them to a fifth seed in the Big Ten tournament.  That's not a good thing because that means no bye and having to go through three of the top four teams instead of two.  The one thing Michigan has though is Trey Burke.  The B1G player of the year and currently still the front runner for national POY.  With a guy like him on your team you are never out of it.  The Wolverines are one of the best offensive teams in the country with four guys that can go off for 20+ on any given night.  Their problem is defense.  With no real lockdown defender on the perimeter or in the post, their best bet it to outscore the other team.  They have the talent to beat any team in the country, especially if they are hitting their 3's.  A Big Ten tournament title could lead to another trip to the Final Four, also a place the Wolverines haven't been since the Fab Five.  Oh wait, that never happened, right?


Pac-12

Arizona

The Wildcats were ranked as high as #4 in the country with wins over Florida, Miami, and San Diego State to start the year.  Now, they enter the Pac-12 tournament as the #4 seed behind UCLA, Cal, and Oregon.  Even with that, they are still recognized as the favorite according to Las Vegas books.  But, their national attention has slowly faded throughout the season.  This team has solid players in Xavier transfer Mark Lyons, Solomon Hill, and Nick Johnson so they aren't short on talent.  Last year the Pac-12 only had one team enter the NCAA tournament (Colorado because of an automatic bid) so the nation is still not too keen on these west coast teams.  However, Arizona has shown us they can compete with high quality competition and win.  So, this is not a team that should be taken lightly.  The Wildcats lost to all of the top three teams during conference play  For Arizona to be looked at as a Final Four contender they need to run through the Pac-12 tournament win a vengeance.


Mountain West

New Mexico

Originally, I was going to talk about the SEC but since the Mountain West will have more teams in the NCAA tournament and is a better league top to bottom, they get the mention.  The MWC will likely get four, possibly five, teams in the big dance.  The cream of the crop are the Lobos and Steve Alford's squad is currently ranked #2 in RPI.  They won't beat you with any sort of flash, but will wear you down on defense and make you play at their pace.  The biggest sore spot on their record was a 55-34 loss at San Diego State.  To only score 34 points in a game is embarrassing, which is their problem.  They only shoot 42% from the field, ranking 222nd nationally.  However, Kendall Williams is a player that if he gets hot he's very difficult to stop.  In a game at Colorado State, Williams scored 46 points on 10-13 from three in a 91-82 victory.  As you can see New Mexico has the capability of putting up big numbers but they can also lay an egg.  Taking home a regular season and tournament championship in very good Mountain West conference will tell us that the Lobos are no joke.


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College Basketball Power Rankings: January 8

     With conference play opening up last week we had a top 15 matchup between Ohio State and Illinois where we saw the Fighting Illini win easily 74-55 and a controversial ending in the Colorado-Arizona game with a game winning three pointer by Colorado was taken away.  From here on out, this is where things get juicy.  Here we go.

1. Duke Blue Devils (14-0, LW 1) - Duke has been coasting lately and even though conference play is starting that still might not change.  The ACC is nowhere near as talented as it once was but they will have one of their tougher tests this week at NC State.
2. Michigan Wolverines (15-0, LW 1) - Two Big Ten games, two 28-point wins.  That's how Michigan opened up last week against Northwestern and Iowa.  The Big Ten is by far the best conference with six team ranked and three in the top-ten.  We will see how good this team is with back-to-back road games against Ohio State and Minnesota coming up.
3. Louisville Cardinals (13-1, LW 3) - The Cardinals had a huge win over rival Kentucky, a game they saw their center Gorgui Dieng back in action.  He only saw 20 minutes that game but against Providence he recorded 11 points, 11 boards, and 4 blocks.
4. Indiana Hoosiers (14-1, LW 5) - IU was tested in their opener at Iowa mainly in part because sharp-shooting Jordan Hulls went 0-10 from the floor and 0-4 from 3 (he's over 50% for both on the year).  They bounced back though with a 74-51 win at Penn State.  Next up a tough Minnesota team.
5. Kansas Jayhawks (12-1, LW 6) - Temple tried to take down its second top-ten team this year but Kansas was too much down the stretch.  With only a surprise loss to Michigan State, this Jayhawks squad is poised to make a strong push through the Big 12.
6. Arizona Wildcats (14-0, LW 4) - I wanted to drop the Wildcats further because if it wasn't for a bad call by the refs this team would not be undefeated.  Even with a review they still took away Colorado's Sabatino Chen's last-second 3.  None-the-less Arizona pulled the game out in OT but it will be interesting to see what happens in a poor Pac-12 where they are the only ranked team.
7. Syracuse Orange (14-1, LW 7) - The Big East is going to be a two-team race between Syracuse and Louisville for the top spot.  The Orange has a guard oriented offense led by Michael Carter-Williams and if he can learn to be a consistent scorer, they can be a very dangerous team down the stretch.
8. Minnesota Golden Gophers (14-1, LW 8) - Minnesota still isn't getting the credit they deserve from the media in my opinion.  After a convincing 13-point win over Michigan State maybe that will change.  The Gophers are strong on D, leading the Big Ten in blocks and steals.  We will get a real sense of this team as their next 3 games are at #12 Illinois, at #4 Indiana and home against #2 Michigan.  Yikes!
9. Gonzaga Bulldogs (15-1, LW 11) - Last week they had 3 road wins including, at Oklahoma State and at a tough Santa Clara team.  The West Coast Conference always has its share of teams looking to upset the Bulldogs including Saint Mary's (next up) and BYU.
10. Florida Gators (10-2, LW 13) - The Gators looked nice early on but are climbing the ranks because of other reams losing.  Playing in a watered-down SEC they will have to win a lot of games decisively and not slip up against any of the middle teams to stay respected
11. Missouri Tigers (11-2, LW 12) - After a nice win over Illinois, Missouri fell to UCLA in OT and sneaked out a win over a strong Bucknell team.  Phil Pressey has been leading the charge of last with 19 points and 19 assists against UCLA and 26 points against Bucknell.
12. Illinois Fighting Illini (14-2, LW 10) - Illinois is starting to get a little shaky of late going 2-2 in its last 4.  They started conference play with an ugly loss to a bad Purdue team 68-61 but followed it up with a very impressive win over OSU 74-55.  They will get another test their next game at home against Minnesota.
13. Creighton Bluejays (14-1, LW 15) - The Missouri Valley Conference always has teams that sneak up on people once the tournament comes around but not this Creighton team.  Lead by Doug McDermott, who is third in the nation with 23.1 point per game, they will be a team to watch the rest of the season.
14. Notre Dame Fight Irish (14-2, LW NR) - Since losing early to Saint Joe's in OT, the Irish have picked up wins over BYU, Kentucky and most recently on the road at Cincinnati.  Jack Cooley has been a double-double machine averaging 15 points and 11 rebounds.  I bet their fans quickly turned their attention to the hardwood after the performance from their football team last night against Alabama in the BCS Championship game.
15. Ohio State Buckeyes (11-3, LW 9) - So apparently this team doesn't fair well against ranked opponents.  Their three toughest games have been their three losses (Duke, Kansas, Illinois).  The Buckeyes will have to find another scoring threat to go along with Deshaun Thomas or else the Big Ten season will be long and ugly for OSU.

Biggest Jump - Notre Dame up 4
Biggest Drop - Ohio State down 6

College Basketball Power Rankings: December 25

     Merry Christmas everyone!  This past week we saw the biggest shake up of top teams in the country as four took a loss, two for the first time this year.  In ranked matchups, Kansas took out Ohio State 74-66 and Missouri beat Illinois 82-73.  The biggest upset was Temple over Syracuse 83-79.  Here are my latest rankings.

1. Duke Blue Devils (11-0, Last Week 1) - The top-ranked Blue Devils disposed of Cornell and Elon on back-to-back nights.  Mason Plumlee and Seth Curry continue to be a great inside-outside tandem.
2. Michigan Wolverines (12-0, Last Week 2) - Michigan continues to get contributions from the entire team as four players average over 12 points per game.  After a 93-54 drubbing of Eastern Michigan, they finish with the directional schools in the state, taking on Central Michigan this week.
3. Louisville Cardinals (11-1, Last Week 4) - Rick Pitino's squad showed its defensive prowess holding FIU and WKU to 55 points.  They are rolling as a date with rival Kentucky looms this week.
4. Arizona Wildcats (11-0, Last Week 5) - The Wildcats opened up the Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii with wins over ETSU and a solid Miami (Fl) team.  A game against San Diego State in the championship could prove a tough test.
5. Indiana Hoosiers (11-1, Last Week 6) - Since their loss to Butler, Indiana has taken their frustration out on lesser opponents Mount St Mary's and Florida Atlantic.  They still remain the nation's highest scoring team.
6. Kansas Jayhawks (10-1, Last Week 9) -The Jayhawks received a big boost after beating OSU in Columbus 74-66.  Ben McLemore scored 22 and seems to be improving each week.
7. Syracuse Orange (10-1, Last Week 3) - After getting coach Boeheim his 900th win, the Orange dropped a surprising game at Temple 83-79.  Michael Carter-Williams went 3-17 from the floor and 7-15 from the line, while their leading scorer James Southerland managed only six points.
8. Missouri Tigers (10-1, Last Week 15) - After watching the Tigers beat Illinois rather convincingly I'm starting to believe in this team.  They were able to control the paint as Laurence Bowers and Alex Oriakhi each posted a double-double and Mizzou had a 51-29 rebounding advantage.
9. Ohio State Buckeyes (9-2, Last Week 7) - OSU dropped a big game at home to Kansas as they were only able to shoot 31% from the field.  They have lost their only games to top ten teams but this was one the needed to show they can compete with the elite teams in the country.
10. Minnesota Golden Gophers (12-1, Last Week 11) - Minnesota has its eyes set on Michigan State on NYE.  I believe this team can contend for a Big Ten title and the Spartans will provide a good test.
11. Cincinnati Bearcats (12-0, Last Week 12) - The Bearcats looked good in the second half in a 60-45 win over in-state rival Xavier but they continue to shoot a poor percentage from the field, ranking 164th nationally.  Their defense is great, but it will be interesting to see what happens when they face a ranked team.
12. Illinois Fighting Illini (12-1, Last Week 10) - Illinois struggled mightily on offense shooting 33% while Brandon Paul and D.J. Richardson combined for 8-31.  This was the first setback to a surprising start for this team.
13. Gonzaga Bulldogs (11-1, Last Week 13) - The Zags took care of Campbell now look towards playing two Big 12 teams in Baylor and Oklahoma State.
14. Florida Gators (8-2, Last Week 8) - Florida has dropped two of its last three after falling 67-61 to Kansas State.  This team looked good early on but is starting to stumble on the road.
15. San Diego State Aztecs (11-1, Last Week 14) - A win over Arizona in the championship in Hawaii will turn some heads for this team.

Biggest Jump - Missouri up 7
Biggest Drop - Florida down 6

College Basketball Power Rankings: December 19

     We entered last week excited about a Top 10 matchup between the Florida Gators and Arizona Wildcats but the Butler Bulldogs stole the headlines with their upset of the Indiana Hoosiers in overtime.  I expected that game to be highly contested but was definitely surprised to see Butler win and they showed us again that you never can count this scrappy team out.  Here are the top 15.

1. Duke Blue Devils (9-0, Last Week 1) - Duke is now the #1 team without debate after Indiana's loss and looks forward to playing their first game in 11 days against Cornell on Dec. 19 the first of a back to back with Elon.
2. Michigan Wolverines (11-0, Last Week 3) - John Beilein went against his old team, West Virginia, and handled them with ease.  Trey Burke is making a case for Player Of The Year after putting up 27 points, 8 assists, and 0 turnovers.  Next up, their neighbor, Eastern Michigan Eagles.
3. Syracuse Orange (10-0, Last Week 5) - Jim Boeheim recorded his 900th win on Monday making him the third coach in men's college basketball history to achieve that mark.  Michael Carter-Williams recorded his 5th straight double-double and is averaging 10.7 assists for the year.
4. Louisville Cardinals (9-1, Last Week 6) - They faced a 16-point first half deficit on the road at Memphis but scored 59 second half points to come out on top.  Now face two cupcakes before a matchup with Kentucky on Dec. 29.
5. Arizona Wildcats (9-0, Last Week 8) - After being down six with a minute left the Wildcats used three turnovers, a missed free throw, and a Mark Lyons lay-up to upset Florida at home.  This team is showing it's for real after a road win over Clemson on the road and now the Gators.
6. Indiana Hoosiers (9-1, Last Week 2) - Indiana ran into the upset minded Butler Bulldogs and couldn't hold their halftime lead.  Butler outplayed the Hoosiers down the stretch and won in OT.
7. Ohio State Buckeyes (9-1, Last Week 7) - They've been rolling opponents after their loss at Duke but this week brings the Kansas Jayhawks to Columbus.
8. Florida Gators (7-1, Last Week 4) - The Gators could not hold on late against Arizona and suffered their first loss of the season.  Good thing for them they next play 1-7 SE Louisiana before taking on Kansas State.
9. Kansas Jayhawks (9-1, Last Week 9) - Since their loss to Michigan State they have disposed of weaker competition very easily.  However, they travel this week to play another Big Ten team in Ohio State.
10. Illinois Fighting Illini (12-0, Last Week 10) - After a big win against Gonzaga, the Fighting Illini coasted past its next two opponents.  Now look forward to playing Missouri on the road.
11. Minnesota Golden Gophers (11-1, Last Week 11) - Trevor Mbakwe could find his way back in the starting lineup soon after posting 14 points and 18 rebounds against North Dakota State.  Next up Lafayette before starting Big Ten play against Michigan State.
12. Cincinnati Bearcats (10-0, Last Week 12) - Cincy remains unbeaten and the best rounding team in the country.  This week they take on in state rival Xavier, let's hope another brawl doesn't break out.
13. Gonzaga Bulldogs (10-1, Last Week 13) - The Zags dropped after losing to Illinois but rebounded nicely with a 68-52 win over a decent Kansas State squad.
14. San Diego State Aztecs (9-1, Last Week 14) - SDSU took down rival San Diego by 16 behind Jamaal Franklin who leads the team with 18.6 ppg and 9.7 rpg.
15. Missouri Tigers (9-1, Last Week 15) - The Tigers share the rebounding lead with Cincinnati at 46.1 per game and this week host a tough Illinois team.

Biggest Jump - Arizona up 3
Biggest Drop - Indiana and Florida down 4