Round One Conference Report Cards

Round One has come and gone (someone tell Vandy the Tourney started!?!), and it is time to give the conferences their first quarter grades

Big East: A

Perhaps no conference asserted itself like the Big East in Round One. Yes, the UCONN loss wasn't a good one. But, it is just one loss and an overtime buzzer-beater at that. Villanova capped off a wild day in Tampa, making it 4 for 4 for double-digit seeds. Louisville, Georgetown, Notre Dame and Pitt all won easily and convincingly. Marquette and West Virginia were impressive in evenly matched power-conference tilts (defeating Kentucky and Arizona respectively)

With a legit possibility for 5 or more teams to advance past the first weekend, the Big East justified it's record-tying 8 bids.

Big 12: A

Texas and Kansas were gimmes, but Kansas St, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma were all very impressive and solid wins. The only blemish was Baylor's lackluster performance, but the Maniac gives the conference a pass on that one, if Baylor was seeded appropriately (as a #2 Seed... in the NIT!!) it would have been a perfect opening round for the Big 12

Big Ten: B-

Michigan St and Purdue looked sharp, Wisconsin won in a relatively easy tilt. Indiana laid a big fat stink bomb against a mediocre Arkansas club. With only 4 teams in the Dance, at least 2 need to win this weekend to salvage the tourney for the Big 10.

Pac 10: C+

I know, I know, UCLA and Stanford could be in the Final Four. BUT, Arizona, Oregon and USC all looked pathetic coming out of what was alleged to be the "deepest and most balanced" league in the nation. With losses to similarly middling teams from the Big 12, Big East; it is tough for the Pac 10 to make that claim today.

SEC: C-

Georgia actually GETS points for the loss, they had X on the ropes for 32 minutes. Kentucky did nothing to embarrass themselves either, losing a reasonable game to a better Marquette squad, and Arkansas represented well. However the Vandy loss remains the most inexplicable no-show of the tourney. Losing by 20 to Sienna is flat-out inexcusable for a team with that much talent. Add in the Mississippi St. loss and a lackluster effort by Tennessee (watch out for Butler taking them OUT tomorrow) and it is a disappointing show for a "down" SEC.

ACC: C

North Carolina had a bye, and so did Duke... oh wait, Duke needed a bucket with 12 seconds to go to preserve a win over BELMONT. Is anyone really convinced the Charmin-soft Dookies get by West Virginia this afternoon? Miami looked good, but stands little chance against a much better Texas squad and Clemson looked offensively inept losing a 16 point lead to Villanova. Any lingering doubts as to whether the RPI had a clue after ranking the ACC as the NUMBER ONE conference in the nation have been squarely put to bed!

Atlantic 10: D

Xavier won in a game that took more effort than a traditional 3-14 match-up. Temple and St. Joe's had their doors blown off by good, not great, teams in Michigan St and Oklahoma. For a league that was flirting with 5 bids to the dance as recently as four weeks ago, an extremely underwhelming effort to gain national respect.

Tournament Day One Musings

Day One - Finally, some Madness

• I know Belmont played a great game and gave it a good run... but why is no one mentioning how ludicrous that inbounds play was?? Who draws up a backdoor alley-oop when you are smaller, slower and weaker at every position on the floor? I'd much rather see a double screen for a nice 18 footer off the elbow, but that's just me...
  

• Anyone catch Arizona v WVU? Arizona gets my vote for most disappointing team in 2008. Chase Buddinger is the next Josh McRoberts. Every time he takes the floor, his draft stock drops further. This guy was a projected lottery pick??

• Kansas State is legit. Looking WAY to far down the brackets, interesting possibility looming for Beasley, Walker and company. Manhattan? Check. Lawrence? Not Quite. Africa? Doesn't look like that one will make the schedule, BUT Beasley could get a chance to tackle the 'Hawks to punch a dance ticket to the Final Four.

• Duke is in real trouble. West Virginia by 12 on Saturday.

• How about the Big East? 4-0 yesterday, with Louisville, Georgetown and UCONN prohibitive favorites today. If Villanova can "upset" Clemson, it will be a perfect 8-0 for the BIG East.
  

• Meanwhile the Pac-10 looked a little lackluster. For a conference supposedly as deep and balanced as any in the nation, evenly slotted teams in Kansas St and West Virginia make the Pac-10 look a little pedestrian.

• When in doubt? Put your money on the team with the BEST PLAYER on the floor. With only 1 exception (Kentucky, Joe Crawford) the team with the best player on the floor won. Michael Beasley, Luke Harangody, Joe Alexander, etc.

• This bodes well for team today like: Western Kentucky (Courtney Lee), Villanova (Scottie Reynolds), and Butler (Mike Brown). Enjoy a great Day Two!

Belmont - So Close...

Phhhhheeeeewwwwww....

That is the collective sigh of relief you just felt blowing from Durham, North Carolina. The Belmont Bruins had two chances to pull off what might have ranked as one of the two or three top upsets in the history of the NCAA Tournament but fell....just....short.

A gritty, gutsy performance by the Belmont Bruins, a small private school located in Tennessee had the capacity crowd behind them (not to mention hopefull fans of West Virginia and Arizona) but in the end were defeated by one point.


The expression on Coach K's face said it all; that "just sucked on a lemon" pucker bore the signs of someone who knew they were lucky to survive...but may not be so lucky on Saturday.

My prediction: Arizona over Duke by 8 on Saturday.

Above Average Joe

Joe. I'm Sorry.

For the past two years, as a long-time Wildcat fan, I decried the downfall of Kentucky basketball and associated it to one defining moment. The ill-fated signing of Joe Crawford. Mind you, it was nothing personal, just a perfect, shining example of all the unfulfilled promise of the program, and ultimately the impetus behind Tubby's ouster. Minnesota, are you enjoying Tubby? Thank Joe Crawford.

Not that it was ALL Tubby's fault for signing him. Nearly everyone agreed the 6'5'' swingman was a future star, NBA-bound. Check Rivals.com for proof. It was because of that promise that Tubby used his three scholarships on Rajon Rondo (about to compete for an NBA Title), Randolph Morris, (he's smarter than you think, he'll be happy to fax you some test scores...) and the aforementioned Crawford. Just missing the cut, reigning Mr. Basketball in the state of Kentucky, the crestfallen Chris Lofton.

Chris Lofton... the missing link to Kentucky's significant shooting woes... oh what could have been... if only not for Joe Crawford....

Joe. I'm sorry. Sincerely, I should have never doubted you. Sure, it took a little longer to get there, but anyone who watched Kentucky catch fire and run through the SEC knows that success was due in large part to Crawford's ability to score and create offense for the oft-offensively inept Wildcats.

Joe's 35 points today in a tough tourney loss were spectacular. For 40 minutes he showed all the scoring ability and promise of four years ago. Joe. Again, I'm sorry. Just wish I could have told you sooner.

The X-Men

Hanging in the Balance

Xavier's gutty comeback win over the Cinderella UGA Bulldogs illustrated their greatest strength, an incredibly balanced offensive attack and tenacious man-to-man defense. However, as the tourney progresses, might that balance also prove their downfall?

The Muskies lack a traditional "go-to" guy, someone who can create a shot at will and get a big bucket. Drew Lavender seems to be the default go-to in big situations, delivering frequently with beautiful tear-drops in the lane. However, against a team with longer (shot out to Jay Bilas) more athletic guards with the quickness to stay in front of Lavender, the 5'7'' PG might find difficulty getting that shot off.

In the meantime, a nice gut-check win over a dangerous Georgia ballclub. Survive and Advance. Survive and Advance. Xavier awaits the winner of Purdue and Baylor later this afternoon.