Super Mario leads Jayhawks to stunning win over Memphis

Kansas 75, Memphis 68 (OT)
Title Game MVPs:
KAN-Mario Chalmers 18 pts, 4 steals
MEM-Derrick Rose 18 pts, 8 rebs
Final 4 MOP: Mario Chalmers

Chalmers' shining moment will be replayed till the end of time

God I love being right.

Did I or did I not say the two players to watch in this game would be Derrick Rose for Memphis and Mario Chalmers for Kansas?

Answer: yes and yes.

And didn't I predict in my preview post that, and I quote myself "this matchup could provide one of the most entertaining, exciting and electrifying finals in NCAA history"?

Right again.

Throw in the fact that I advised the basketball fan that the two teams playing for the title would be so evenly matched because they play the same style of ball that it would end up being a game worth watching regardless of team affiliation, and what you have is a major league case of 'I told you so' right here.

What's that? I can't hear you, what?

Oh, you say I picked Memphis to win the game?

Always a fucking smartass in every bunch.

So maybe I did call everything but the outcome of the 2008 championship game, at least I was right about the most important facet of all and that's the fact that the game will go down as one of the greatest title games in college basketball history.

(the preceeding statement was for non-gamblers only. If you lost any money on the outcome or had Memphis in your office pool, then disregard.)

After a back-and-forth affair for 3/4 of the game, Memphis seemingly had the game won when it took a 9-point lead with just over 2:00 to play. Trailing by 5 at halftime, John Calipari's club used a 25-14 run to pull ahead by 5 with 5:00 left in the game. The run was fueled by freshman sensation Rose, who had just 3 points at halftime but exploded for 15 in the 2nd half, including an incredible stretch where he scored 14 of Memphis' 16 points.

But it was a seemingly innocuous call on an apparent Rose three-point bank shot that made the score 56-49 with just over 4:00 to play that ended up coming back to haunt the Tigers just minutes later.

The refs huddled and ruled the trey was actually a deuce, but with Memphis on the verge of putting this one in the books it looked as if the removal of a point would have no effect on the outcome of the game.

Oh how wrong that assertion would be.

Shortly after taking the 9 point lead, 60-51, Kansas went into full foul mode to try and stop the clock and get back in the game, a strategy that is usually as maddening as it is ineffective.

Except this time the Tigers, who were 3rd from the bottom in FT shooting during the season but a respectable 75% in the tourney, made the Jayhawks' plan pay off. Memphis inexplicably reverted back to a team of Shaqs at the line as stars Chris Douglas-Roberts (game-high 22 pts) missed three in a row and Rose missed one, and with Kansas hitting a couple of key threes and frees of their own, suddenly the 9-point bulge was down to a mere three with :10 seconds to go.

Enter my pick to click, Chalmers.

The feisty guard had already had a whale of a game with 13 points and 4 picks in the game, including 3 steals in the first half, most of them off Rose, but little did anyone know that he was about to enter the annals of college basketball history.

With Calipari choosing not to call a timeout, Sherron Collins took the ball upcourt and for some reason wasn't fouled, and after he handed it off to Chalmers at the top of the circle, Rose chose not to foul him either. It turned out to be a costly mistake as Chalmers calmly elevated over Rose and dropped a straight away three through the net to tie the game, stunning the Memphis squad and fans, so much so that Calipari AGAIN forgot to call a timeout with 2.1 seconds left to set up a last shot.

Instead Robert Dozier's desperation heave at the buzzer fell shy, and Kansas went on to destroy the shell-shocked Tigers in the OT, outscoring them 12-5 to win the 3rd title in Jayhawks history and first in 20 years, since the memorable Danny & The Miracles squad of 1988.

Ironic that it took a miraculous shot, and one hell of a terrific game, for the Kansas to be able to cut the nets down again.

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Brackets Busted: Kansas to play Memphis for NCAA title

Memphis 78, UCLA 63
Kansas 84 , North Carolina 66

So much for the experts who picked the dream matchup of Carolina and UCLA in the NCAA Championship Game.

The Memphis Tigers and Kansas Jayhawks spoiled the bracket dreams of millions of fans nationwide as they both manhandled their supposedly superior opponents last night at the Final Four in San Antonio, setting up a Monday night showdown that not many in the country predicted would happen.

How do I know this? Well I'm not about to count the entrants of every ESPN.com, CBS Sportsline, Yahoo Sports and other national bracket pools, but according to our own pool, made up of 43 members, 9 picked Kansas to win it all and 3 picked the Tigers to cut down the nets, while 17 had the Tarheels taking home the crown and 8 had UCLA.

Interesting though is the fact that of the 12 entries that had either Kansas or Memphis winning it all, only 1 participant predicted the final game of Kansas and Memphis. I'm no math major but that tells me that out of 43 brackets only 1 called the final game correctly, and according to my unscientific calculations that equates to not many people getting the final game right.

Using the benefit of hindsight it seems foolish that more people didn't predict this title game pairing (this coming from a guy who picked Tennessee to win it all.) The Jayhawks had been lurking in the shadows of the top teams all year, clearly athletic, talented and strong enough to give the big guns a run for their money yet content to stay hidden behind the ghosts of past tournament failures and the perceived lack of big game gumption of coach Bill Self.

Memphis meanwhile had been at or near the top of the rankings all season, losing just 1 game all year, yet constantly heard the shouts about their record being padded with fluffy Conf USA opponents and how their horrendous free throw shooting (64%, 3rd worst in D1) would surely be their downfall once it came down to crunch time in tourney games.

All the two clubs did was destroy those false perceptions about them by demolishing their more-heralded opponents.

In the first game of the evening UCLA kept the game close for a while, trailing just 38-35 at the half, but after the break the Tigers, led by super freshman Derrick Rose (25pts, 9rebs, 4ass) pulled away, jumping out to a 10-pt lead, 47-37, just 4 minutes into the half and then cruising from there as their athleticism and speed just overwhelmed the plodding Bruins.

It didn't help matters that UCLA's two stars, freshman sensation Kevin Love (12pts) and junior guard Darren Collison (2), were held to 14 points combined on 5-20 shooting, while Memphis had a balanced attack led by Rose, leading scorer Chris Douglas Roberts (28 points) and intimidating big man Joey Dorsey (15 boards).

In the nightcap things got ugly early for the (overconfident? relaxed?) Tarheeels as Kansas blitzkrieged the shellshocked Heels and former Jayhawk coach Roy Williams to the tune of a 40-12 lead with 7:00 minutes left in the first half. This promoted noted blowhard Billy Packer to exclaim the game was over right then, which shocked partner Jim Nantz as well as a nation of viewers conditioned to believe that no sporting event is ever over until the final horn is sounded. I'm sure CBS loved that little gem.

UNC kept its cool and survived the early attack to slice the deficit to a manageable 44-27 at the half, and it was as if they were attempting to make Packer seem like the crusty old windbag that he is when they cut the deficit to five, 58-53, with 9:21 left to play. But it was a classic case of a team expending too much energy to get back in the game after being down by so much so early as the winded Heels succumbed to the relentless pressure of the Jayhawks, and a final 26-13 run by Kansas made the former blowout a blowout again.

So the two best teams in the country that not many believed in will take their aggressive, physical style of play to the title game on Monday night, and fans will either watch what should be an exciting finale or shun the game while nursing their shredded brackets.

I know my son, who was in first place after Game 1 and needed Carolina to win it all to take home the grand prize, will be in the latter category.

He shoulda picked Tennessee, like me. Now I can sit back and enjoy what should be a great championship game without having to worry about that pesky "I coulda won it all" crap haunting me.

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Final First: Four #1 seeds advance to Final 4

North Carolina will face Kansas and Memphis will take on UCLA in an historic Final 4 in San Antonio

I know they call it March madness, but no one realized this year the term would apply because the tournament actually went according to plan. For the first time ever all four number one seeds have advanced to the Final 4, setting up what could be one of the best Saturdays in college basketball history.

One the one side you've got the top seeded North Carolina Tarheels, led by former Kansas coach Roy Williams, going up against those very Jayhawks that Williams abandoned for his beloved Tarheels five years ago, a storyline in itself that will be beaten to death by ESPN in the next week. Factor in the Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough, who basically single-handedly led the Heels to the win in the Sweet 16 contest against the pesky Louisville Cardinals with his clutch 2nd half shooting, and a deep, talented and athletic group of kids from Kansas and you've got the making of an instant classic.

In the other game we will see the mighty Memphis Tigers, who play a dominating style of basketball on both ends of the court, battle the team many have picked to win it all outside of UNC, the UCLA Bruins. An interesting aspect of this contest will be the fact that both coaches, Memphis' John Calipari and the Bruins' Ben Howland, just became exclusive members of the fraternity of coaches who have led their clubs to 3 consecutive 30-win seasons. With multi-talented athletes all over the court and two capable courtside directors calling the shots, this game, too, has the makings of a classic.

Which most likely means both games will suck.

Like most of the games in the Sweet 16.

In a season where upsets occurred weekly and everyone thought there was a chance that any of 10 teams could cut down the nest, its ironic that the final 4 comes down to the four teams that have been at or near the top of the rankings all year.

The only upset this March was that there were no upsets.

Okay, sure, Davidson knocking off #2 seed Georgetown in the second round was THE upset of the tourney, but looking at the two teams now and realizing how good the little school that could really was and how mediocre Georgetown actually is, that upset seems less monumental and more "I shoulda seen it coming."

Unfortunately for Davidson they couldn't keep the streak going and knock off Goliath (Kansas) in the Elite Eight yesterday. Though they battled the Jayhawks right to the very end before a desperation three at the buzzer went wide, the hundreds of fans from the tiny college north of Charlotte home who got a free trip to Detroit courtesy of rich boosters weren't able to crash the party and become the first 10 seed to advance to the Final 4.

Instead it will be another first- the first time all four #1s make it to the last round- something that is really amazing when you think of it considering these seeds are supposed to make it there every year.

Just goes to show you what the selection committee knows.

And speaking of selections, although my bracket crashed and burned when the Volunteers schoolyard style of ball was bested by Louisville's version of the And 1Mix Tape, my 11-year-old son now resides at the top of the bracket heap, needing Carolina and Memphis to advance to the championship in order for him to claim the grand prize.

Now that's what I call madness, baby!

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Start the Madness! The NCAA Tourney is upon us

Contrary to popular belief and going against a legendary yule time song, this is the most wonderful time of the year.

St. Paddy's Day just ended, Easter is coming up this weekend, spring begins today (and if you happen to live in Florida, hail the onslaught of spring breakers), the start of the baseball season is just around the corner, and the annual bracket-fest known as March madness gets underway as the NCAA basketball tournament tips off today.

I think that beats a single winter-time holiday in my book.

Amidst all the warm weather (again, only if you live here) and thawing good spirits there will be millions of budding bracketologists wagering a solid $20 spot in the hopes that their monumental upsets come in, giving them the big push they need to take home the crown of King (or Queen) of the Office Pool.

Unless you're one of the millions who never picks the right upsets and sees their top pick lose in the Sweet 16 or earlier.

Like me.

But either way this is certainly a fun time on the calendar. I love seeing the people who skip work or take LONG lunches in order to catch that all-important 15-2 match up, or better yet the diehards who just hunker down on the couch for about 64 hours on the first four days of the tourney until they start to resemble the woman who got stuck to the toilet seat. They are the ones who make this time so special.

So embrace the atmosphere, soak up the sun (again, FLA residents & tourists only), and enjoy the best damn 30-day period on the calendar.

And if you really need something to smile about, check out my picks after the jump.

Sweet 16:
-N. Carolina v Notre Dame
-Louisville v Tennessee
-Kansas v Villanova
-Kansas St. v Georgetown

-Memphis v Pitt
-Stanford v Texas
-UCLA v Drake
-Purdue v Duke

Elite 8:
-N. Carolina v Tennessee
-Kansas v Georgetown

-Pitt v Texas
-UCLA v Duke

Final 4:
-Tennessee v Kansas
-Texas v UCLA

Championship Game:
-Tennessee v UCLA

National Champs:
Tennessee Vols

Okay, you can stop laughing now!

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National Championship deja-vu: Gators best Buckeyes again

Florida 84, Ohio State 75
MOP: Corey Brewer

Whether it was monster dunks or killer 3s Corey Brewer was THE man for Florida in the Final Four

Greg Oden has a monster game but the depth of Florida, plus a huge differential in three-pointers spells doom for Ohio State.

I think it was Confucius who once said "give a monkey a typewriter and eventually he'll type a word."

If that's true then I must be a baboon with a Dell.

Wouldn't you know the one time I want my prediction to suck as bad as a new Jim Carey movie I not only nailed the winner (not too tough) but also the Most Outstanding Player and came within 12 points of the score. Not bad for the World's Worst Gambler/Prognosticator.

As fireworks go off in my quiet neighborhood celebrating the University of Florida's third national title in 15 months I am wondering how the Buckeyes could have lost a game in which Greg Oden not only stayed out of foul trouble but dominated the game with an impressive 25-point, 12-rebound, 4-block performance.

The answer is because we all know it takes more than one player to win a game like this, and although Oden played the game of his (brief) career in what was most likely his final collegiate contest, his supporting cast left him hanging when he needed them most.

Mike Conley chipped in 20 points, but most of them came either real early or too late. He also did not control the flow & tempo of the game like he had been doing so well for the past three weeks, probably because he, not Oden, got into early foul trouble. Meanwhile Big Shot Ron Lewis did his best Jeff Green imitation by disappearing for the second straight game; his miserable 12-point outing failed to give the Buckeyes a much-needed third offensive option, and the trio of Ivan Harris, David Lighty and Jamar Butler contributed a woeful 14 points.

The Gators not only had three options working on offense, it got double-digit scoring from four of its starting five, plus 8 points apiece from Joakim Noah and Chris Richard. Big Al Horford validated Dickie V's radio station slip that Billy Donovan told him Horford would be a higher draft pick than Noah as he led the team with 18 points and also grabbed 12 boards. But Lee Humphrey (14 pts), Taurean Green (16) and M.O.P. Corey Brewer (13 pts, 8 rebs) all hit big shots that kept the momentum going and the lead in double figures most of the night and were instrumental in nailing down the unit's second consecutive national championship. Brewer earned the MOP on the strength of his 32 points in the Final 4 and because his 3-trey, 11-point first half provided the spark the Gators needed to burn the Buckeyes.

The game was nip & tuck for most of the first half; Oden remained foul free and was having his way in the paint, Conley came out and scored 4 quick points and Ohio State led 11-9 nearly 7:00 minutes in. A quick 9-0 run, highlighted by five free throws, got Florida in front 17-11, but the resilient Buckeyes got back to within two, 24-22, with 5:39 left in the half when Harris hit his only three of the game.

That's when the wheels came off the Buckeye bandwagon, because Florida would go on to nail not one (Humphrey) not two (Brewer) but three (Green's turn) consecutive threes to blow the lead out to 11, 33-22, in the span of two minutes just before the half. Seven consecutive points by Oden before the break (he had 11 pts, 7 rebs & only 1 foul at halftime) made the score somewhat respectable at 40-29, but the message to Buckeye nation was heard loud and clear.

It was a nightmare scenario no Buckeye fan would ever want to imagine: even though your best player is having his best game, the other team is still better than your team.

The real difference maker in this one can be found at two lines on the court: Florida bushwhacked the Buckeyes from threeland, nailing a scorching 10 of 18 from beyond the arc while OSU was an atrocious 4-23 from deep AND the Gators ate up the Bucks from the charity stripe, hitting 22-25, many early in the first half, while OSU took just 17 free throws and made 11, many late in the game.

Four-for-twenty three from three. No lie my 10-year-old-son, who is less than 5-ft. tall and fresh off a broken hand, nailed three straight college threes the other day outside, and these young men could only manage to hit 17% of theirs. Awful.

An 18-point differential from three-pointers plus 11 more free throws made equals a 29-point edge for the better team.

In hindsight it's a miracle the score wasn't a lot closer to the football game's.

Now the Gators can bask in the glory of owning both of college athletics' most coveted crowns and be secure in the knowledge that the Ohio State Buckeyes are once again and at this rate probably always will be their bitches.

Blow, Gators!

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March Madness: The Championship Game

1Florida Gators (34-5) vs. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes (35-3)
9 PM CBS & CBS HD

The BCS rematch should feature plenty of big plays by star players, but in order for the Buckeyes to avenge the football team's humiliating title loss, center Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble and on the court.

There are a number of firsts that would be established should the Gators hoist the national championship trophy just a few hours from now. It would be the first team to repeat as champion since the Duke Blue Devils did it in 1992; the first team to win both the football and basketball titles in the same season; and the first team to beat the same school for said titles in the same year.

Oh yeah, and the first team to repeat using the same starting five both seasons.

Whew, that's a lot of potential firsts.

But there is no guarantee in this sport, and Ohio State has as good a chance as anyone to knock off the reigning champs and stealing back some of the thunder the gators stole from the university after that BCS Championship game blowout.

Let's take a look at what both teams need to do to take home the title.

Ohio State will win if...
...they play the same kind of smart, team basketball that has gotten them to this point: a 22-game winning streak and oozing boatloads of confidence.

In order for that to happen superstar center Greg Oden is going to have to steer clear of the foul trouble that has plagued him throughout this tourney; the 7'0" frosh has amassed 17 fouls in the last 4 games and has only averaged 24 minutes per game in that span. When he's on floor he will negate some of the inside presence of Joakim Noah and Al Horford; when he sits those two will tear the Bucks apart underneath, and the title will be all but theirs for the taking.

Also, point guard Mike Conley Jr. must continue his stellar play; the fab freshman is averaging 15 points and 5 assists per game in the tourney and his expert ball handling, cat-like quickness and smart decision making has kept the team afloat when Oden has had to ride the pine. Oh and senior guard Ron Lewis, the hero of OSU's win over Xavier in the regional semis, needs to play like the guy who averaged 25 PPG against Xavier, Tennessee & Memphis, not the one who scored 9 against Georgetown Saturday night.

Throw in a few threes by G Jamar Butler, points from Ivan Harris and Davis Lighty and quality minutes from big men Matt Terwilliger & Othello Hunter and the Buckeyes could surprise the college basketball world.

The Gators will win if...
...if they play like they did the other night against UCLA. That team came out with a passion, intensity and determination that had been absent from nearly every Florida game this tourney. Sure they were beating people, but they weren't beating up people.

And make no mistake the Bruins did get beat up by the Gators for the second season in a row. UCLA is an extremely tough, disciplined and fundamentally solid team and Florida made them look like Coppin State, forcing the Bruins into taking bad shots, committing bad fouls, and taking them out of their game before the halftime buzzer had died down. if the Gators come out playing like that again tonight, the Buckeyes might have no chance against that kind of juggernaut.

Noah will be the key once again. Even if he doesn't score, which he hasn't done much of in the tourney (12 PPG), he must clog the middle and rebound & block shots like he did against the Bruins. That will leave perimeter players like Lee Humphrey and Taurean Green to hit from the outside while versatile forward Corey Brewer, who scored 19 against UCLA Saturday night can score from beyond and from inside the arc. Widebody Al Horford will surely get his rebounds, and don't forget about underrated & emerging forward Chris Richard, who had 16 points Saturday night.

When the Gators are clicking on all cylinders they are an efficient and deadly animal, literally & figuratively. Even when a couple members of that special returning starting five has an off night though, the rest of the group is talented enough to kill off most threats with just a slight increase in intensity. It's going to be tough to keep this team from its supposed destiny, and it's going to be tougher to live in this state as a Gator Hater after that.

MY PREDICTION: The Buckeyes are young, talented, and fearless when it comes to the big stage. But just like in the BCS title game, all that cockiness and talent doesn't mean a thing when the whistle blows. The bright lights of being square in the middle of the national spotlight will almost surely rear it ugly head with the young Bucks, while the Gators should have a Patriot-like "been here, done this, let's take home another trophy and collect our NBA paychecks" attitude. Could be close, but should be Gators.

Florida 77, Ohio State 70

MOP: Brewer

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March Madness: No Foolin'- BCS title game rematch

Florida manhandles UCLA (again) and Ohio State outlasts Georgetown to set up an unprecedented title game rematch.

OSU's Ron Lewis had every reason to celebrate and GU's Jeff Green had every reason to hang his head after the Buckeye's Final Four win over the Hoyas. (AP/CBSportsline)

Florida 76, UCLA 66

Ohio State 67, Georgetown 60

Is it any surprise that I carried my penchant for making horrid picks in the NFL season over to college hoops?

With my 0-2 stink bomb in the Final 4 I held onto my well-earned moniker of The World's Worst Gambler, which is why I'm smart enough not to actually throw my money away. Unless you count the office pool, in which my bracket has been dead longer than Anna Nicole Smith (friggin' Longhorns!)

But despite my shitty predictions the title game will be a compelling match up for many reasons, not the least of which will be the "rematch" angle. You can be sure ESPN and every other network, talk radio show and Internet site will beat this one to death, so be prepared to hear "this is the first time two schools have played each other for the football and basketball championships in the same year" about 64,527 times between now and tomorrow night at 9:00.

Another surefire storyline will be the young Bucks going up against the veteran Gators. If Florida was to go on and win the title it would become the first team in history to repeat with the same exact starting five as the previous season. Meanwhile Ohio State has cruised to a 22-game winning streak since it got crushed by the Gators back in December on the strength of its two Fab Frosh plus excellent support from an emerging supporting cast.

Before we get to the championship game let's recap how both teams locked up the right to go toe-to-toe again. Although I was at the wedding and reception last night and didn't see much of the action live, thanks to the trusty HD-DVR I caught the edited version of the FF this afternoon as I lounged off my tanguerayover.

Despite Oden's foul trouble the Buckeyes lead early and pull away late to knock off disappointed Hoyas

Mike Conley Jr. strapped the Buckeyes to his back and got them to the title game

I knew it was going to happen. Billy Packer knew it was going to happen. Dickie V. knew it was going to happen. Shit Borat probably knew it was going to happen. And sure enough, it happened.

"It" would refer to the much ballyhooed "Battle of the Big Men" between Greg Oden and Roy Hibbert turning into a foul-plagued washout as both 7-footers compiled fouls early and often to negate what could have been the best match up of the tournament. Oden picked up his 1st foul :18 into the game and his 2nd less than three minutes later and had to sit for the rest of the half, while Hibbert got whistled for his second midway through the opening half, pulling the e-brake on what was shaping up to be a monster game.

As everyone also predicted once the big men had to sit the other star players would take over, and Mike Conley Jr. had no problem rising to the occasion. The fearless freshman guard carried the Buckeyes in the first half, scoring 11 of his 15 points on 5-6 shooting while wreaking havoc on defense and moving the ball brilliantly. The Buckeyes capitalized on numerous Hoya turnovers and at one point had scored 13 of its 20 points off of takeaways to take a 27-23 lead at the break despite Oden having zero points and zero rebounds in 3 minutes of PT.

Georgetown woke up to start the second half, shooting 70% from the field in the first 10 minutes while outscoring OSU 21-17 to tie the game at 44 despite Oden playing and playing well (8 pts, 4 rebs to begin the half.) Unfortunately for the Hoyas superstar forward Jeff Green came up very small in the biggest game of his career. The Big East Player of the Year was held to nine points and took just five shots; he didn't even take his first shot until there were 3:00 minutes left in the first half. Blame part of the awful performance on a solid Ohio State defensive scheme, but a big part of the blame for this loss will rest squarely on that man's shoulders.

That's because once Hibbert picked up his 4th foul with just under 9:00 left having scored 15 of GU's 44 points, Ohio State would break the game open with a quick 6-0 run. The Hoyas would stay within striking distance, but with Oden working his way to a decent 13-point, 9 rebound effort, Hibbert shut down and Jeff Green doing his best invisible man imitation the Buckeyes were able to hang on and seal its first entry to the championship game since 1962.

What if? What if the two big guys had been able to stay foul-free and we were able to witness a memorable clash of true top-flite college centers dunk and swat their team to the title game. One thing we learned from this one is that while the Buckeyes would love Oden to be on the floor for more than 20 minutes a game they know they can still win without him.

Georgetown cannot say the same regarding Hibbert.

The Gators bitchslap the Bruins again and end their season for the second consecutive season

Noah, Richard and Brewer are three big reasons the Gators have a chance to repeat

Arron Afflalo should grab some serious couch time with Dr. Melfi (gotta get in Sopranos mode)after he and his UCLA Bruins were manhandled by the Florida Gators for the second year in a row.

Last year the Gators trounced UCLA in the championship game as leading-scorer Afflalo was held to a meager 10 points and only 10 shots. Last night Afflalo did score 17, second-highest on the team, but struggled from the field (5-14) and was limited to 24 minutes due to Oden-esque foul trouble. And for the first time this postseason the Gators looked like they were ready, willing, and able to play quality basketball from start to finish, and because of that they did finish off the Bruins yet again.

Although Joakim Noah had his worst scoring game of the tourney with only 8 points, his 11 rebounds and 4 blocks set the tone defensively for Florida. With Al Horford contributing a mammoth 17 board performance but only 9 points the offense ran through the trio of Lee Humphrey (14 pts), Chris Richard (16pts) and Corey Brewer (game-high 19 pts.) Brewer kept the Gators in control in the first half when he had scored 12 of the team's first 19 points while Afflalo sat most of the half with three fouls.

The game was low-scoring and tight early, just the way the Bruins wanted it, and the teams were tied at 16 with 6 1/2 to play in the opening half. The Gators then went on a quick 10-0 run sparked by consecutive treys from Brewer and Humphrey, and with Afflalo and center Lorenzo Mata in foul trouble the defensive-minded Bruins could never get its true game going. In fact it was the imposing defensive play of Florida, exemplified by back-to-back blocks by Horford and Brewer during the run, that may have decided this one. Florida blocked 6 shots, out-rebounded the Bruins by 17 and held UCLA to just 39% from the field.

UCLA did cut it to a 6-point deficit, 29-23, at the half, but a soul-crushing 17-4 run near the start of the second half spelled doom for the over matched Bruins. The Gators finally played like champions and dispensed with the team it faced in last year's title game.

On Monday night we'll see if they can knock off the same school that its football team bludgeoned for a championship less than 3 months ago.

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March Madness: Final Four Preview

2007 Final Four
Georgia Dome, Atlanta
6:00 PM CBS & CBS HD

2Georgetown vs. 1 Ohio State

2UCLA vs. 1 Florida

I don't have a lot of time-or energy-to go into a detailed analysis of what i think will happen in tonight's national championship semi-finals (altogether now: "hooray!") because I played a 2-hour coaches vs. kids baseball game this morning and I've got a wedding to go to this evening.

That's correct, right at the exact time that Georgetown's Roy Hibbert and Ohio State's Greg Oden tipoff the first game, I will be sitting on the sand (appropriately) on Sand Key Beach watching the nuptials of friends Sam and Debbie. Sam is an Aussie and former rugby player, so obviously he didn't give a damn that his wedding was scheduled at such an unfortunate time.

Therefore I 'm going to give you my Cliff's Notes version of the keys to the Final Four, brought to you by those two special wedding day words: open bar.

Georgetown vs. Ohio State: Battle of the giants could come down to little guys
You can lay money that OSU's behemoth frosh center Greg Oden will be in foul trouble again (he's had 13 fouls against him in the last 3 games) in this one. That's because he will be facing an opponent who is even larger than he is: Georgetown's dominating big man Roy Hibbert.

As those two beat each other up for supremacy in the paint, look for the little guys to steal the show. Ohio State's fab frosh guard Mike Conley Jr. is the type of player you love to watch play, and every time you see him he seems to get better and better. Look for him and high-scoring forward Ron Lewis to do most of the damage while Oden sits out his foul trouble.

But Georgetown may have the better complimentary cast, especially when your next best player is the Big East Player of the Year, F Jeff Green. He alone could take over this game, but with help from sharpshooting guard Jessie Sapp and the sons of two former NBA players, Pat Ewing Jr. and Jeremiah Rivers (son of Doc) and you've got as complete a team that's come from the nation's capital in a long time.

MY PREDICTION: I know OSU is hot (21 straight wins) but I also know that Oden will get in foul trouble guarding Hibbert; Conley will have a huge game and the Bucks will look to Lewis to win it for them again. I just think the Hoyas are too tough, too deep, and will continue to ride the wave glory on the 25th anniversary of its heyday. Hoyas 77, Buckeyes 71

The Bruins will have vengeance in mind when it takes on the defending champs
Last year in the title game the Florida Gators tore the UCLA Bruins a new one, holding them to 57 points on 36% shooting including a miserable 3-17 from beyond the arc. Superstar guard Arron Afflalo was limited to 10 points on 3-10 shooting, the result of a stifling Florida defense, and the Gators chomped their way to their first national title with a 16-point beatdown.

Well you know what they say- payback's a bitch! There's nothing like international public humiliation to spark a team to do better, to dig deeper and reach the level of commitment necessary to erase that ugly memory from everyone's mind and replace it with a payback win.

The question in this one will be which team feels the pressure more- the one defending its title , or the one so desperate to take it from them? At times this postseason the Gators have looked very lackadaisical and/or lackluster in defeating teams like Butler, Purdue, and (for a half) Jackson State. There will be no such room for any kind of stagnant play like that with the Bruins, a team that loves to clog the lanes, get their hands on errant passes, and clamp down on defense.

Afflalo has been leading the Bruins' run to the title game again this season, averaging 18 points in 4 games including a monster 24-point performance in the defeat of 1 seed Kansas last weekend. Speaking of that victory the Bruins unleashed its suffocating defense on the unsuspecting Jayhawks to the tune of 55 points allowed and 41% shooting in the 68-55 win. It could be more of the same for the Gators, especially if it starts slow and Afflalo gets the Bruins off to a good start.

MY PREDICTION: The Bruins and Afflalo are more relaxed and probably hungrier for this game than the Gators, a team that is surrounded by the distractions that come with trying to be the first team to repeat since 1992 and having its head coach smack dab in the middle of a bidding war with hated SEC rival Kentucky. I like the combination of UCLA's defensive tenacity and Florida's sporadic passivity to lead the Bruins back to the title game for the first time since 1995. Bruins 64, Gators 57

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March Madness: and then there were 4

The Hoyas surprise the Tarheels and the Gators hold off the Ducks to join UCLA & Ohio State in the Final 4

JT III has got the Hoyas back in the upper echelon

WEEKEND:
Ohio State 92, Memphis 76
UCLA 65, Kansas 58
Florida 85, Oregon 77
Georgetown 96, N. Carolina 84 (OT)

NEXT SATURDAY:

2Georgetown vs. 1Ohio State

2UCLA vs. 1Florida

Who woulda thunk it: a pair of 1 vs. 2 matchups to decide which team is the best in all the land?

After many years of huge upsets, shocking collapses and double-digit seed party crashers the best team of this season will actually be culled from the best teams, without some feel-good Cinderella on a 3-week long ride of 15 minutes of fame that inevitably slides back to mid-major mediocrity (hello, George Mason) sneaking in to mess things up.

This year's pairing of two-#1s and two-#2s marks the most top seeds to make the Final 4 since 1993, when three 1s and a 2 played for the title, won by 1Carolina.

Speaking of Carolina, the Tarheels & Hoyas hooked up for what ended up being a classic rematch of their classic 1982 championship game, and the UCLA/Florida meeting will be a rematch of last year's championship, a blow out by the Gators.

Those are some of the more interesting stories to come out of the Elite 8; let's take a look back at how the four teams advanced to Atlanta next weekend.

-Hurricane Hoya slams Carolina as Heels go ice cold down the stretch
The debate is already raging- did the Georgetown Hoyas really win this epic Elite 8 matchup, or did the boys from Chapel Hill simply choke it away?

The answer, as it usually is nowadays, is a little of both. True, the Tarheels were cruising in the latter part of the second half, enjoying an 11-point lead with 12:00 to play, and then proceeded to lay enough bricks to start a new HG-TV show called Masonry Made Easy, a definite hallmark of a world-class choke job.

But the Hoyas didn't exactly lay down and allow the Tarheel Blue machine to roll over them and make them another patch in the Tobacco Road championship drive. Despite being grossly outscored at the free throw line (29-12) and out rebounded for most of the game, GTown never gave up, constantly pressuring Carolina until wear and fatigue caught up with them, and when it did the Hungry Hungry Hoyas were there to take full advantage.

By the time the smoke cleared Carolina had missed 22 of its final 23 field goal attempts including the first 12 of overtime and the Hoyas, who tied the game on a clutch trey by Johnathan Wallace with 31 seconds left, closed the game with a 30-10 run that left the crowd, the Tarheel faithful and the entire audience stunned and exhausted.

It was an epic game that was played just shy of the 25th anniversary (Mar 29) of that memorable title game, when John Thompson's Hoyas, led by Patrick Ewing, lost to Michael Jordan's Tarheels, 63-62. The most memorable play of that one, other than Jordan's infamous game-winning corner jumper, is the steal by James Worthy off of Fred Brown in the closing seconds, as Brown threw the ball right to Worthy, apparently mistaking him for a teammate.

The 2006-07 edition of the Hoyas, led by Thompson's son and with Ewing's son playing a pivotal role, might have just returned the favor and put the choke collar around the Tarheels' neck.

-Gators survive (again) and advance to 2nd straight F4

This is called the "been here, done this" pose

Florida continued its march to a second consecutive national championship with a less-than-impressive win over the spunky Oregon Ducks. As in its previous three tourney victories, The Gators seemed to be either sleepwalking or plain disinterested with the proceedings early on, falling behind in the first half for the 3rd straight game and clinging to a two-point lead at halftime, 40-38.

But for the 4th straight time the Gators pulled away from a game opponent in the second half, backed by the sharpshooting of Lee Humphrey (23 pts, including 7-3s) and strong inside play of Joakim Noah (14 pts, 14 rebs.) For good measure underrated guard Taurean Green added 21 points and Corey Brewer chipped in 14 as well; all this offense made it okay that surefire lottery pick Al Horford only had 6 points

After winning its 10th consecutive tourney game it's become glaringly obvious that this is a confident, veteran team that doesn't get rattled when facing early deficits, instead laying in wait while the opponent throws everything they have at them and then, just like its reptilian namesake, waiting for the right moment before tearing the opponents throat out.

Now we'll see if UCLA will be able to learn from its last destruction at the hands of Florida last April and find a way to solve the puzzle of how to defeat the Gators in the postseason.

-Ohio State didn't need a 20-pt comeback to knock off Memphis
The Ohio State Buckeyes had been living life on the edge these past two weeks, barely squeaking by Xavier last weekend and then running down Tennessee in that aforementioned comeback on Thursday. But as a team anchored by two scintillating 18-year-olds, what else would you expect?

The young Bucks passed another freshman exam by advancing the team to its first Final 4 appearance since the heyday of Jim O'Brien in 1999 on the backs of two players of disparaging height differences but possessors of equally large game. Guard Mike Conley Jr., son of the Olympic gold medalist, sparked the Buckeyes with his solid all-around performance (19 pts, 4 rebs, 2 ass, 2 stls), and soon-to-be top 2 draft pick Greg Oden tiptoed around foul trouble to contribute 17 points and 9 boards.

Combine the power of youth with the stability of senior leadership, i.e. senior guard Ron Lewis' game-high 22 points, and you have a team that was able to knock off a decent but overrated Memphis team. The defense did its job as well, shutting down key Tiger contributors Joey Dorsey (he averaged 9 pts & 9 rebs in the reg season but had zero points & 3 rebs in this one) and leading scorer Chris Douglas-Roberts, who scored all 14 of his points between the final minute of the first half and the first 10 minutes of the second, not exactly "crunch time."

So the Buckeyes move on to play the Bruins in the "Who Wants a Rematch with the Gators more? If the Florida/Ohio State BCS championship game rematch does come to pass, it will be interesting to see how the boldness of youth handles the calmness of experience.

And by interesting I mean probably as ugly as the BCS title game.

-Bruins have folks in Lawrence chanting "Rock, Choke Jayhawk" again

This was supposed to be the year. The year that coach Bill Self broke his personal 0-3 Elite 8 curse and the Kansas Jayhawks made it back to the Final 4 for the first time since 2003.

Wrong and wrong.

UCLA reminded everyone that it wasn't ranked in the top 5 in the country most of the season for nothing, dispatching the disappointing Hawks thanks to an efficient offense-UCLA shot 53% from the field- and a "rock" solid defense, holding the high-flyin' Hawks to 55 points on 41% shooting.

The Bruins were led, of course, by their all-everything guard Arron Afflalo. The junior tallied a game-high 24 points on scorching 10-15 shooting, including 3 of the Bruins' 8 treys, and was the glue that held the team together through the punishing defense the Jayhawks laid on them.

If this game were an album it would be the Stones' Sticky Fingaz because both teams combined for a mind-boggling 32 steals, 17 by the Hawks and 15 for the Bruins. Gooey-digited Kansas guard Mario Chalmers did his part to keep the Hawks' alive, nabbing an astonishing 6 picks, while two other players had 5 steals apiece and three pilfered at least 4 balls each. It was like every time one team tried to make a pass or a play, a defender was there to intercept it. Crazy to watch.

But it was the boys from LA who ended up on the winning end of this defensive battle, and now the Bruins will get their chance to avenge last year's humiliating title game loss to the Gators.

Let's hope UCLA brings its stick um.

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March Madness: Sweet 16 Day 2 Preview

It's almost game time, so I don't have time to do in depth previews of each game tonight, so here is my *Cliff's Notes version of what I think will happen.

-5 Butler vs. 1 Florida
Butler is a nice little team and a nice little story, but evn if the Gators struggle for a half again, as in 2 previous tourney games, it is too powerful to fall to the mid-major power.

My prediction; Gators sputter early, crush late.

-6Vandy vs. 2 Georgetown
Vandy has played well above their heads this tourney but the Hoyas are one of the most talented teams still alive.

My prediction: Hoyas roll.

-7 UNLV vs. 3Oregon
The wild west comes to life in what promises to be a slugfest between two defensive teams. For some reason I like the Rebs to keep bringing the glory days back to Vegas, if there is such a thing.

My prediction: Rebels win a close one, 75-73

-5 USC vs. 1 No. Carolina
The Heels are deep and strong, but USC just seems to have that something special. It's gonna be a tough one for Carolina no matter what, and I think the sneaky Trojans may squeak this win out.

My prediction: Trojans by a bucket, 86-84.

*Being as this preview was hurried and not well-thought out, I reserve the right to distance myself from these picks immediately following the games.

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March Madness: Sweet 16 Day 1 Wrap

Two top seeds dodge huge bullets and advance while a pair of # 2 seeds struggle to victories as well.

West:
1Kansas 61, 4 So. Illinois 58
2UCLA 64, 3Pitt 55

South:
1Ohio State 85, 5Tennessee 84
2Memphis 65, 3Tex A&M 64

This really is madness. After last night's action. half of the final 8 is set, and of the four teams to advance we have two-No. 1 seeds and two No. 2 seeds.

Stop the insanity.

In what can only be described as an incredibly topsy-turvy tourney as compared to the last decade or so, we have a real solid chance of seeing all four No. 1 seeds advance to the Final 4 for the first time in the history of the event. So much for picking upsets. Although last night there were two chances for higher seeded teams to knock off lower seeds, yet both underdogs fell short by missing easy shots at critical moments of their games.

Let's review:

-Jayhawks escape upset bug when Salukis can't hit a late layup or trey
The Chokehawks nearly lived up to that well-earned reputation again last night in the first West regional game in San Jose. Although it never trailed in the game, the Salukis were nipping on the Hawks heels all game long and had a chance to swing the momentum and take its lead with just over two minutes to play.

Forward Bryan Mullins beat his defender and raced to the basket for an apparent easy lay in with 2:34 left in regulation and the Salukis down, 54-53. But something happened on the way to taking control of the game and serving Kansas with its 3rd consecutive tourney upset loss- Mullins layup clanked off the rim. No worries, though, as SIU's Jamal Tatum was trailing the play and had an easy putback right there for the making. He gagged to. And with those two misses the game was over and Kansas had escaped another gag job.

Sure there was still plenty of ball to play, and yes it's true that Southern Illinois had more chances to gain the lead and win the game, including a desperation trey at the buzzer that also fell short. But make no mistake about it- when you miss two, point-blank lauyps in crunch time against a number one seed, you're probably not going to win and you probably don't deserve to win.

The Hawks advance to the Elite *8 and will take on...

-UCLA's mentor gets the best of his pupil as Bruins handle Panthers with relative ease
In life and film most of the time the teacher gets the best of a student for a number of years before the person being taught ends up doing the schooling.

Looks like the same holds true for sports.

Ben Howland's new team dispatched with his old team last night in the second game in San Jose as Arron Afflalo scored 17 points and the Bruins held Pitt to 36% field goal shooting in a low-scoring, psychical West Region battle.

How rugged was it? UCLA won despite shooting 43% from the field, mainly on the strength of 23-26 shooting from the foul line; in fact 12 of its last 18 points came from the stripe. Not exactly a thriller. Luckily this game wasn't broadcast here, and I didn't even bother to log on to MMOD to follow it.

-Ohio State nearly makes me look like a genius but Tennessee volunteers to lose
As the Volunteers trotted off the court at halftime sporting a 17-point lead over the top-seeded Buckeyes, one thought popped into my head: how are they going to blow this one?

The answer became clear throughout the second half as the Buckeyes took control of the game and methodically whittled the enormous deficit down to nothing despite Ger Oden being a non-factor due to foul trouble, ineffectiveness and possible indifference.

I know Bruce Pearl had a great game plan to get Oden in foul trouble, draw him out to the perimeter and limit his dangerous inside presence, but after watching Oden play quite a few times this year it just seems that the kid who looks like man just doesn't exert his dominance enough, or at least not on every single play of every game like the true great ones do. Because the true great ones don't come up with stat lines like this in Sweet 16-level games: 18 minutes, 2 -2 FGs, 5-6 FTs, 3 REBS, 1 ASS, 9 PTS, 4 fouls.

But no matter how much you debate Oden's disappearing act in big games (he only had 22 points combined in 2 games against Wisconsin this year) and the fact that he did have 4 blocks, including a huge one on the final attempt of the game (which appeared to have come after the buzzer anyway), all talk of this game will center on Tennessee's monumental choke job.

How do you blow what was a 20-point lead with just over :01 left in the first half? You start by allowing a lazy 3-point play to end the first half, then proceed to clang shot after shot in the second half. Soon enough Mike Conley (17 pts, 6 ass, 7 rebs) and Ron Lewis (25 pts) had shot OSU back into the game, and the Vols were on fumes by the time the Bucks took their first lead since early in the game with just under 9:00 to play and Oden entrenched on the bench with 4 fouls.

So the Buckeyes escaped and will take on Memphis on Saturday, a team that also barely survived it's game last night.

-Now playing at Aggie Film night: Chokin' Acie
This one is a real head scratcher. The most clutch player in college ball had a chance to put his team in front of No. 2 seed Memphis by three points with less than a minute to play, which would have sent the Tigers into desperation-three mode and clearly given the advantage to the Aggies, who had been in control for most of this game.

Instead Acie missed a point blank layup after a gorgeous breakaway pass with the Aggies leading 64-63 with :47 left. To make matter worse, he couldn't even draw a foul from the Memphis defender that was playing him tighter than a tank top on Scarlett Johannson.

So what happened from that point on? Memphis missed a three pointer but Antonio Anderson got the rebound and Memphis called a timeout. After that? Memphis missed another three, but subsequently got three offensive rebounds on the play, the final one by Anderson resulting in an Aggie foul that sent the sophomore from Lynn (lynn, the city of sin), Ma, to the line. Anderson clutchly (?) nailed both frees to give Memphis a one point lead, 65-64, with :03 left, and a desperation three at the buzzer by Dominique Kirk fell short of the mark and the Aggies bid for the upset came up shy.

Despite missing the bunny the only question I have is, why wasn't Law, one of the greatest Aggies in history and a man who had hit so many big shots in his storied career, not taking the final shot of the game?

Memphis survived, as sis the other top contender last night. Will the second night of the Sweet 16 revert this tournament back to the madness it is named for?

As a Gator hater, one can only hope.

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March madness; Sweet 16 Preview

Although there are sure to be some classic games on tap for the first round of the Sweet 16, I will most likely miss most of the action Thursday night due to the fact that I am chaperoning a field trip with my son's 4th grade class to historic old St. Augustine, Florida (be prepared, there will be a quiz when I get back!)

Since the bus is leaving at 5:00 a.m. and it takes 4 hours to get there, by the time we do get back i don't know if I will be psychically able to watch the games, let alone want to.

So I am just gonna give a quick preview here, and I'll check back sometime on Friday, after I emerge from my 4th grade field trip-induced hangover.

-4 Southern Illinois vs. 1Kansas, 7:10 EST@ San Jose
The Choke-hawks are always good for an earlier-than-expected gag job (see: Bradley, first round 2006), but the way Bill Self has got this team clicking right now, it's hard to envision them repeating that feat this year. Yet if any team can slow down the rock chalks it's the Salukis, owners of the nation's third stingiest defense (56 PPG all'd) and a 15-out-of-16 winning streak.

My Prediction: It'll be a low scoring, close, and possibly an OT game, but the 'Hawks are too talented not to move on

-3 Texas A&M vs. 2Memphis, 7:27 pm @ San Antonio
This one could be a flat-out classic. Memphis is the hottest team in the land, possessors of a scorching 24-game winning streak, but the Aggies are toasty right now, too, having won 11 of its last 14, many of the nail-biting variety. The Tigers have rarely been tested during the streak, facing C-USA lowlifes like Marshall, Rice, Tulane and UTEP, but its 78-62 win over Nevada in Round 2 proved it can compete with top-flite teams.

One thing's for sure: if the game is close the Aggies should win, because nobody is more clutch when a game is on the line than senior guard Acie Law IV. He has a plethora of game-tying, OT-making, and game-winning shots on his resume, and if this one comes down to the wire, I want the Law on my side.

My Prediction: The Aggies have a stingy D (37.3 FG% all'd, 2nd in NCAA) have the huge benefit of playing just 2 1/2 hours from its campus. That plus Law's penchant for late-game heroics make the Aggies the pick here

-3 Pitt vs. 2 UCLA 9:40 EST @ San Jose
The teacher & the pupil, mentor & protege, Jedi master and padawan... if you haven't heard any of these comparisons associated with UCLA (and former Pitt) coach Ben Howland and current Pitt coach (and former Howland assistant) Jamie Dixon, then you haven't been paying attention to the tourney.

Although that storyline is attractive to mindless drone reporters, the real story here is the brutal battle that is going to be waged by these two defensive-minded squads from opposite coasts. Both teams average nearly the exact same number of points (Pitt- 71.1, UCLA- 72.5) and allow almost the same amount of points per game (Pitt-62.4, UCLA-60.6), so my Spidey senses tell me this will be another low-scoring, close game that might go to overtime, but I'm not sure who will come out on top.

My Prediction: The audience falls asleep for most of the game but wakes up in time to see Arron Afflalo nail a three at the buzzer to send UCLA to the Great 8 by defeating the Panthers 46-45.

-5 Tennesse vs. 1 Ohio State 9:40 @ San Antonio
The Tortoise and the Hare, Big 10 slugfest vs. SEC scoreathon, milquetoast coach vs. chest-painting sweat ball; these are just a few of the dramatic opposites at work in what promises to be an entertaining battle.

Of course Buckeye manchild Greg Oden will be the focal point of the game for both teams, but don't sleep on the Vols. It is a hungry, talented and underrated squad that has been through the fires of SEC play and come out as one of the premier teams in the conference, thanks to the attitude and gameplay makeover flamboyant coach Bruce Pearl has brought to Knoxville. And we all know that if Oden had been whistled for a flagrant last week the Bucks probably wouldn't even be here.

Will that new life allow OSU to play looser, smarter and use Oden as a more dominating presence in the middle, or will the Vols draw Oden to the perimeter like Xavier did so successfully last week, frustrating Oden into committing silly fouls like his 5th one in that game?
My prediction: the Buckeyes boast two of the best frosh in the land (guard Mike Conley, Jr. will be a player of the year candidate after Oden leaves), but we saw what happened to txas with a similar compilation of youngsters; I like Pearl's take-no-prisoners Vols to knock off yet another overrated, underachieving Buckeye squad

Enjoy the action, and wish me luck ( and I don't mean with my predictions or bracket!)

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March Madness: the Sweet 16 is set...

...and my bracket is toast!

It took four days and two rounds before we finally got our first major, MAJOR upset, and coincidentally it took four days and two rounds before I made my unofficial exit from the office pool.

With a 74-68 loss to the 7th seeded UNLV Runnin' Rebels, #2 seed Wisconsin earned the dubious distinction of being the highest seed to be eliminated from the 2007 tournament, and the Texas Longhorns' uninspired flogging at the hands of the USC Trojans ensured my early exit from the Big Dance as well.

I love the smell of March Madness in the morning- top seeds' title hopes being doused on the first weekend and getting eliminated from your lucrative & prestigious office pool is what it's all about. It's a tradition unlike any other...oh wait, that's a couple of weeks from now.

Unlike yesterday, when all but one of the games were decided by less than 10 points, today's results were exactly opposite; of the 8 contests only 3 saw final margins in single digits, and the average margin of victory for the 8 games was 11.5.

In ESPN-speak, yesterday was Don't Change the Channel Saturday and today would have been Catch Up on Yardwork Sunday.

So now the 16 finalists are set to begin CBS' version of a dance-off starting Thursday night. Before I get to the next round, let's put a wrap on the final day of the first weekend of MM.

-1Florida holds off 9Purdue, 74-67, but suffers from another shaky 1st half
For the second straight game the top-seeded Gators had a rocky first half that made the team expend extra energy in order to mount a game-winning comeback. Top teams can sometimes get away with that kind of behavior in the early rounds, but if Florida wants to become the first repeat champion since the 1991-92 Blue Devils, that's a surefire way to have its dreams come back and chomp them in the ass.

Trailing by as many as 5 points, the Gators went into the break facing a deficit for the first time since Feb. 27th. Just as it did the other night against Jackson State, howeva, Florida used a big (18-9) run to jump in front, 47-40, with 10:35 left to play. The game was nip/tuck the rest of the way, but consecutive treys by Taurean Green (14 pts) and late contributions by Al Horford (17 pts, 9 rebs) and Corey Brewer (17 pts, 8 rebs) helped the Gators advanced to the round of 16, its chance of repeating still intact.

They'll take on upstart Butler on Friday night in St. Louis, and I would love to see the Bulldogs test the Gators all the way to the end of the game, not just for one half.

-USC avenges 2006 Rose Bowl loss by dismantling the Longhorns, 87-68

Kevin Durant may be the best player in college basketball and one of the finest freshmen to come along in the last 20 years, but come tourney time a team usually cannot revolve around one player, especially a frosh, and hope to advance. Unless that player was named Carr, Robertson or Magic.

Never was this adage ever more obvious than in #4 Texas' disheartening loss at the hands of a solid Trojans team. Durant had his customary night- 30 points and 9 boards-but the disciplined Trojans clamped down on the rest of the Longhorns players, holding scintillating frosh point guard DJ Augustin to just 6 points and allowing only one other Longhorn, sophomore guard AJ Abrahms, to reach double figures.

Meanwhile USC had all five starters reach double digits, led by junior swingman Nick Young's 22 points, and got a double-double (17 pts & 14 rebs) from its freshman sensation, forward Taj Gibson. After enjoying a comfortable lead for most of the first half, USC allowed Texas to climb back to within six, 36-30, just minutes into the second. But a devastating 16-3 run, capped by a fast break one-handed jam by Young, pretty much slammed the door on any thoughts of a comeback.

I'm not sure if the Longhorns underestimated the Trojans in this one or if it's just a case of the talented but young team taking its press clippings too seriously, but either way it was a disappointing and lackluster effort for a team that I, along with many other, thought had a chance to do something special.

That's what happens when you pin your hopes and dreams on the back of one talented, young kid. Hopefully the Celts will be finding that out a few months from now, unless Danny Ainge f**ks it up.

-Father's Day in Vegas: Krueger's son helps dad get back to the Sweet 16
Not since the days of Tark the Shark, Richard "The Fixer" Perry and The Great Hot Tub Incident of 1990 have the Runnin' Rebs of UNLV enjoyed such tournament success.

Lon Krueger, the former Gator and Illinois coach, became just the 5th coach to take three different teams to the Sweet 16, and the Rebs rode the sharpshooting of Krueger's son Kevin to a huge upset of #2 seed Wisconsin. Kevin, who followed his dad to the desert after transferring from Arizona State, scored 17 points, shaking off a 1-17 shooting slump to nail three straight treys in the second half that swung the game in the Reb's favor.

Although stud teammates Alando Tucker (17 pts) and Kammron Taylor (24) did their part to keep Wisconsin in the game, once again a lack of firepower doomed the offensively deficient Badgers. Tucker finished his career in Madison as the Badgers all-time leading scorer, but the pain of being so close to ending with a championship team will last a long time-0 at least until June, when those NBA millions start rolling in.

Other results from today's snoozers:

-The Volunteers slacked off quite a bit from their 121-point effort in the opening game, but the 77 it scored today was just enough to fend off pesky Virginia by three. J.R. Reynolds kept the Cavs in it in the first half, when he scored 22 of his 28 points, but after twisting an ankle he was ineffective in the second half and the Vols advanced to the round of 16 for the first time since 2000.

-Oregon slapped Winthrop back to reality with a 75-61 victory that wasn't even that close. The loss by the Eagles ensured there will be no double-digit seed in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1995. It also ensured for me another game of witnessing those putrid Ducks unis in stunning HD-not a pretty sight, I can assure you.

-Memphis extended its winning streak to a staggering 24 games, longest in the nation, by wiping out the Nevada Wolf Pack, 78-62. Much like USC, Memphis led the way with a balanced attack; 4 players scored in double figures and eight Tigers in all scored at least 2 points. Up next for the relatively untested Tigers is battle-tested Texas A&M, but Memphis better hope leading scorer Chris Douglas-Roberts recovers from a twisted ankle to play on Thursday, or the streak may end at 24.

-The Virginia Tech Hokies couldn't rally from 13 down for a second straight game and fell to postseason veteran Southern Illinois Salukis, 63-48 in a battle of the oddest nicknames in the tourney. Despite averaging over 72 PPG in the rugged ACC, Seth Greenberg's squad could only manage to average 50 in its two tourney games, and that is why he is headed back to Blacksburg to figure out how to replace top players Zabian Dowdell, Coleman Collins and Jamon Gordon. Good luck, Seth.

-The battle between storied programs Kansas & Kentucky didn't exactly pan out the way college hoop purists would have liked it to; the more talented & athletic Jayhawks crushed Tubby Smith's Wildcats- don't let the final fool you, UK was down by 17 with 2:00 to play-a loss that could put an end to Smith's career in Lexington as fans & boosters have been calling for his dismissal most of the season. Meanwhile the 'Hawks move on to face the Saluki's next week.

So there it is- the day in a nutshell. Although there wasn't much to cheer about as far as close games go, the end results did produce what should be some great match ups for the round of 16.

Here's a quick look at those games until I give a full preview sometime before Thursday rolls around.

Thursday-

• 4 So. Illinois vs. 1 Kansas: SIU is a nice little story, but there is no way they knock off the rock chalks, is there?
• 3Texas A&M vs. 2 Memphis: this one has the potential to be the game of the round
• 3 Pitt vs. 2 UCLA: this one has a storyline that writers & analysts cream over- UCLA head coach Ben Howland used to be the main man at Pitt, and current Pitt boss Jamie Dixon was his protege; wonder if they'll play that up at all?
• 5Tennessee vs. 1 Ohio State: the Vols play high-flying, spirited ball for Bruce Pearl, while the Buckeyes like to slow it down and run the offense through the big man, Greg Oden; which style will prevail?

Friday-

• 1Florida vs. 9Butler: the Kings of the Heap vs. the Party Crashers, David vs. Goliath, Spartans vs. Persians...
• 6Vandy vs. 2 Georgetown: The Beasts of the East shouldn't have much of a problem with the Commodores, unless Lionel Richie continues his comeback on the hardwood
• 7UNLV vs. 3Oregon: An old fashioned Wild West shootout, only with the defense these two teams play there won't be a hell of a lot of ammo flying around
• 5USC vs. 1 Carolina: the Tarheels may be locked & loaded for another title run but these Trojans will cause a lot of protection problems for UNC (sorry, weak attempt at one there)

I think that's enough words for this post. It's gonna be tough to have no action to watch until Thursday, well unless you count the new season of Dancing with The Scantily Clad Celebs. Good thing I have the HD now to catch any potential wardrobe malfunctions this year!

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March Madness, St. Paddy's Day edition

To all my Irish friends back home and elsewhere I want to say Happy St. Patrick's Day and I wish all you safe travel home from wherever you are swilling, errr, celebrating tonight.

St. Patrick's Day on a Saturday- boy, hope the Boston cops are prepared for this nightmare.

I want to wish my good buddy Swilly McDrunk and his wife Jamie a happy 1-year anniversary and hope you guys are enjoying it with that young Irish stud, Finn

Also, to my late, great friend Chicago Bob I just want you to know that although I didn't consume 15+ green beers like we did a few years ago at O'Keefe's with the Czar, I thought about it, and I am sipping an amber-colored beverage out of that monster mug as I type this. Cheers, Bubba.

How did I spend the holiday, being a non-Irish lad? I took my son to a spring training game and watched the Blue Jays and Tigers in their green unis bash the ball around Knology Park. Couple of quick notes about the game:

- Toronto's scheduled starter Gustavo Chacin wasn't able to take the hill today against Detroit because he was nabbed by Tampa cops for DUI last night; looks like Gustavo had too many green beers in Ybor.

- I found out firsthand why Frank Thomas has two nicknames that both incorporate the word 'big'- Dude. Is. Large. I was also surprised at how generous he was with the fans, signing for a large group of kids & autograph sleazebags even as the PA announcer was announcing his name in the starting lineup. Classy.

Anyway, this year the Gaelic Christmas can be enjoyed by non-Irish folks, too, and not just because green beer knows no cultural or ethnic boundaries. No, this year the annual drunkfest lands on a day that the NCAA Tournament is being played, which by my calculations happens about 4 times every 7 years, minus leap year, or something like that. That means fans can go out and celebrate the holiday, watch the tourney, and when their brackets go up in smoke they can drown their sorrows with nine Harp's and 4-6 Irish Car Bombs.

My own bracket took a severe beating with losses by Louisville and BC. But sometimes the agony of knowing you lost the office pool gets forgotten in the midst of a daylong extravaganza of quality games, and there were plenty of them played today. Of the eight games played, seven were decided by 7 points or less and they included 2 overtime games and one double-OT thriller; plus Butler, another 'little school that could', muscled its way into the Sweet 16 to compete with the big boys.

Let's review the results from a wild day on the road to the Final 4.

-1Ohio State 78, 9Xavier 71 (OT)

I got back from the game just in time to catch the fantastic finish in this one. The Buckeyes were tested, as predicted by yours truly, by its interstate rivals from the Queen City, trailing for much of the game and headed for a huge upset. In fact if it weren't for a bogus, 'Jordan Rules'-esque non call on Buckeye freshman phenom Greg Oden in the waning seconds of regulation, the Musketeers may be the ones headed to San Antonio next week for the round of 16.

Oden (14 pts, 12 rebs) fouled out with :10 left and Xavier leading 61-59, and the obvious intentional nature of the shove to Xavier's Justin Cage should have earned him a flagrant as well. If the ref had called it, Xavier would have had two free throws plus the possession with hardly any time left. Instead Cage made just one of two frees, which set up Ron Lewis' "they'll be replaying this shot forever" 3-pointer that tied it with less than a second to play in regulation.

In the overtime OSU's other freshman sensation, stat sheet-stuffer extraordinaire Mike Conley, Jr.(21 pts, 4 ass, 5 rebs, 3 blcks, 2 stls), scored the first 7 points for the Buckeyes and 11 in the extra frame as Ohio State escaped with a controversial, thrilling win that defined the famous tourney catchphrase "survive & advance".

-6Vandy 78, 3Wash St. 74 (2OT)

The game of the day had to be this back & forth affair between the Commodores and Cougars in Sacramento-too bad most of the country didn't get to see it.

Wazzou led for most of the second half and enjoyed an 8 point lead with just over 10:00 to play, but a 12-0 spurt by Vandy from that point on made it a barn burner. Senior Derrick Byers had a monster game for Vandy, chipping in 27 points including 5 treys and one huge blocked shot in the first OT that kept Vandy's Sweet 16 hopes alive.

-3Pitt 84, 11VCU 79 (OT)

The giant killers of the first round weren't able to duplicate the feat again as VCU fell victim to a tough Pitt squad, but the Rams showed some grit & determination of their own by sending the game to overtime despite trailing by as many as 19 points in the contest.

The Rams had knocked off Duke to hand the Devils its first 1st round loss in over a decade, and the scrappy team from the CAA nearly repeated that act after overcoming a late 12-point deficit. After the hero of the Duke game Eric Maynor helped his team get back into it, the toll of playing two emotionally & physically exhausting games in three days caught up with them, and when Lavance Fields missed two free throws with 2 seconds left, Pitt put it away in OT. Still, VCU showed a lot of heart and made for many exciting tourney moments.

-2Georgetown 62, 7BC 55

This game was an old fashioned Big East slugfest as these two former conference rivals battled it out for the right to move on to the Sweet 16.

After jumping out to a 39-31 lead with 15:00 to play in the second half, Georgetown came roaring back behind center Roy Hibbert (17 of his 19 points in the 2nd half) and Big East Player of the Year Jeff Green, who converted two big 3-point plays down the stretch and finished with 11 points and 12 rebs. The biggest problem for BC? Jared Dudley (19) and Tyrese Rice (22) combined for 41 of the Eagles' 55 points. 'Nuff said.

I don't have the time or the space to go in depth on each of the other games: Louisville got upended by Texas A&M, 72-69; Butler advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second time in 4 years by knocking off Maryland, 62-59, with help from an offensive foul call on the Terps' DJ Strawberry in the waning seconds; UCLA nearly blew a 13 point lead with just over 5:00 left but held on to defeat Indiana, 54-49; and the Tarheels got a small scare from Mich St. but used a 14-4 late surge and a huge game from Tyler Hansbrough (33 pts, 12 rebs) to win going away, 81-67.

Whew. Quite a day. And as I predicted my cruise to the top of the office pool heap came to a crashing halt as I lost a FF team (Louisville) and a Final 8 pick (BC) within hours of each other.

But like I said it's a small price to pay for action like that.

Plenty more to come tomorrow, including Purdue/Florida, Kansas/Kentucky, Nevada/Memphis and Texas/USC.

BTW, if Texas loses I might not be posting for a while.

Enjoy the holiday and the tourney, and please drink responsibly (i.e. no less than 20 brewskis, Gleason!)

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