Thursday, March 02, 2006

Loose Ends

- With UAB’s win over Memphis, Ohio State or Illinois has a realistic shot at a one-seed, and may well control their destiny. Illinois is more of a darkhorse in this regard, but they have six wins over the RPI top 25 with three of them away from home. If either wins out, they’ll have a great case.

- I received some nice feedback about the stuff on pre-tourney favorites yesterday. Here are some amendments: In 2002, Kansas had somewhere close to equal billing to Duke, and lost in the Final Four. And in ‘93, Kentucky and Michigan were as popular (if not moreso) a pick as UNC.

- I envy folks privileged enough to be at the Savvis Center today. Tourney implications galore today in four Arch Madness games. It could get wild today, but not any wilder than Indiana State scoring 10 points in the first half against Drake last night and then posting 62 in the second half.

- Nice job by Syracuse last night. With their tourney hopes still in limbo, they surrendered 108 points on 66 possessions against DePaul. Easily the worst defensive game in all the land this season. Morehead State did a better job containing UConn. And the Orange were 21st in adjDE entering the game.

Line o’ the Night

                           FG    3pt  FT   Reb
                      Min  M-A   M-A  M-A  O-T   A F S TO BLK Pts
Maurice Latham         36  7-11  1-1  4-4  3-12  5 2 0  5  0   19
Result: Loss. Belmont 90, Campbell 76.

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Let It Be March

It seems like the OK St game is killing [Texas]. The win one for Eddie S. thing bit them, but the treatment seems harsh. Is this team a legitimate No.1 seed with real Nat’l. Championship aspirations or this year really just a two team race? CK

This has been the week to anoint UConn as the lead dog in the college hoops scene. A win over Villanova coupled with losses by Duke and Texas have clarified things dramatically. At least for the moment.

And right now there is little doubt that UConn is the best team in basketball right now. There’s still some time for them to change my mind. To be honest, had UConn lost to Notre Dame, I don’t think you’d be seeing so much pro-UConn material.

But being the pre-tournament favorite is by no means a guarantee of winning it all. If you give me the choice, I’ll take the other 64 teams and you can have UConn. And just as a reminder, here’s how the pre-tournament favorite(s) fared in recent years. (Pre-tournament favorite(s) based on my memory and subject to error. Feel free to correct me on these.)

2005 - UNC/Illinois. UNC won.
2004 - Duke/UConn. UConn won.
2003 - Arizona/Kentucky. Neither made the Final Four.
2002 - Duke. Lost in sweet sixteen.
2001 - Duke. Won it all.
2000 - Can’t remember a clear favorite. Cincinnati would have been were it not for the late injury to Kenyon Martin.
1999 - Duke. Lost in the final.
1998 - Arizona. Lost in the elite eight.
1997 - Kansas. Lost in the sweet sixteen.
1996 - Kentucky. Won it all.
1995 - UCLA. Won it all.
1994 - Arkansas. Won it all.
1993 - UNC. Won it all.
1992 - Duke. Won it all.
1991 - UNLV. Lost in the Final Four.

Line o’ the Night

                           FG    3pt  FT   Reb
                      Min  M-A   M-A  M-A  O-T   A F S TO BLK Pts
Joakim Noah            31  9-14  0-0 19-22 2-11  1 2 0  2  1   37
Result: Win. Florida 77, Georgia 66.

Travis Ford Knew When To Get Out

I’m working on something for espn.com, so this will have to suffice.

                           FG    3pt  FT   Reb
                      Min  M-A   M-A  M-A  O-T   A F S TO BLK Pts
Walker Russell         38  8-16  5-7  0-0  2-11 11 1 0  2  0   21
Result: Win. Jacksonville St. 82, Eastern Kentucky 59.