Written by Dave Homsher on Tuesday, 11 March 2008 Category:Sports Hits:3616

College basketball is so outstanding, that I decided to devote another week of ranting to the most fantastic thing going on in March. 

1.  If UNC defends like that, they will win the national title.  I don’t know where that came from, but their defense was INCREDIBLE.  They were forcing Duke into contested 3 pointers and actually blocked FIFTEEN Duke shots when Duke did go to the rim.  We all know UNC can score with the best of them (#2 nationally PPG), but when they defend like that, they will be nearly impossible to beat. 

2.  Greg Paulus hustles and plays hard, but he’s not a great decision maker.  In the first half, he hit 3 straight 3 pointers, and then decided he was JJ Reddick, pulling up from 30 feet.  Well, that led to a UNC fastbreak, concluding with Danny Green TEABAGGING Paulus.  Now, if there was ever a guy who deserved to get teabagged for making a bad decision, Paulus was a perfect example on that play

3.  We saw the problems that a quick guard can cause against Duke.  Lawson at 80% was getting into the lane at will, getting easy buckets and setting up his teammates.  Expect a team with a comparably quick point guard to knock Duke out in the Sweet 16 or the Elite 8.

More potential sleepers:

Wisconsin/Indiana/Michigan State – These 3 teams can lose to anyone, but they can also beat anyone on any given night.  Every year, there seems to be a big ten team who plays great defense, doesn’t turn the ball over, and plays smart basketball that ends up in the final 4.  This year, it will be one of these 3.  I have no idea which one, because they are just about the same team as far as I can tell.  I give a slight edge to Indiana because they have one of the best inside/outside duos in the country with Eric Gordon and DJ White. 

Winthrop – Won the Big South automatic bid with a convincing win over UNC Asheville behind 33 points from senior guard Michael Jenkins.  They might be a long shot, but they’ve got 7 players returning from last year’s team that upset Notre Dame in the first round last year.  They are tournament tested, and likely won’t be intimidated by playing on the big stage. 

Assorted other items:

1.  UCLA is LUCKY.  The Bruins have been the benefactors of two SERIOUSLY ATROCIOUS calls against Stanford and Cal. 

Still, you’ve got to give UCLA credit.  They made the best of their breaks, beating Stanford in OT after Collison got the phantom foul call, and beating Cal on a RIDICULOUS Josh Shipp shot after a non-call in the corner on Cal along with the refs giving the ball to UCLA even though they tipped it out of bounds. 

However, despite their good fortune, they are still a national title contender with a great shot to make their 3rd straight final 4.  Usually a team needs a little good luck to make the final 4, and UCLA fans better hope that the Bruins haven’t used up all of theirs before the tournament even starts. 

2.  Bubble teams are THRILLED that Drake came out and HAMMERED Illinois State for the Missouri Valley conference title and an automatic bid.  That leaves one more at large bid available for those bubble teams.  Now all the bubble teams can root for Davidson to win the Southern Conference, because they look like a good shot to get an at large bid even if they lose the title game.   

3.  Both Louisville and Georgetown have a shot to make the final 4.  Both teams play incredible defense, with Georgetown forcing turnovers and tough shots in the halfcourt and Louisville relentlessly pressuring people the entire length of the court.  The both play incredibly intelligent basketball and will battle you for 40 minutes.  Neither will be an easy out in the tournament. 

4.  In other Big East news, I am not sure what to make of Notre Dame.  They are a candidate to go deep into the tournament because their shooting is so excellent that they can beat any team in the country on any given night.  However, the Irish are also an upset candidate because they are 100% reliant on the 3 pointer and are only an average defensive team.  If they go cold, they could make an early exit.  Absolutely nothing would surprise me about this team.  They might make the final 4, or they might go out in the first round. 

Conference Tournament Thoughts: 

1.  Villanova and Syracuse meet on Wednesday in the first round of the Big East tournament.  They split their regular season matchup, and both teams are firmly on the bubble.  The winner of this game will have won 2 of 3 from the other, and it would be tough for the selection committee to select the loser of this game.  Villanova needs at least 2 wins to make the big dance, but Syracuse might be able to get in with just 1.  This game should be an absolute WAR. 

2.  Maryland needs a win and maybe 2 in the ACC tourney to get into the field of 64 (note – NOT the field of 65.  They play-in game is an absolute JOKE.  They should cut out the 11th team from the Pac 10 from the NCAAs and give those small schools that EARNED their way in the chance to play on the big stage.)  Outside of a big win against UNC, they don’t really have any big time victories.  The Terps aren’t getting in as the 4th ACC team (After UNC, Duke, and Clemson) unless they make some noise this week.   

3.  USC is playing BRILLIANTLY.  After knocking off Stanford on the weekend, they’ve got a chance to move into a 4 or 5 seed for the NCAA.  They are a real candidate to upset a #1 seed in the sweet 16. 
 
4.  St. Joe’s looked like an at-large bid 2 weeks ago.  However, their big win over Xavier came between losses to Saint Louis, Temple, and Dayton.  They probably need to make the A10 tournament title game to earn an at-large birth. 

5.  Kansas and Texas may play for the final #1 seed in the Big 12 title game. 

6.  If Louisville or Georgetown wins the Big East tournament, expect that team to get a #2 seed, and the loser to be a #3 seed.  If UCONN or Notre Dame wins it, they will likely be a #3 seed. 

7.  I think that if Tennessee does not win the SEC tournament, they will likely drop down to the #2 line.  That could make for an EXCELLENT Elite 8 matchup with UNC, Memphis, UCLA, or the Big 12 winner. 



That's all the college hoops idiocy I've got this week - stay tuned for next week's NCAA tournament preview!!

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