No denying last night’s game was hideous.  Butler choked in every way imaginable and UConn played bad enough to lose, but Jim Calhoun waltzed right into the company of Coaches K, Wooden, Rupp, and Knight as the only ones with 3 NCAA titles.  Here’s how I saw the game play out:

-The first 10 minutes set up perfect for Butler.  They uglied up the game like they needed to, stopped UConn in transition, got them in foul trouble, and controlled the pace of the game.

-At halftime I wasn’t nearly as disgusted as I was about to be at the end of the game.  I chalked up both team’s inept shooting to championship game nerves.  Last year Duke had a horrific cold stretch to let Butler back in the game, and even Kobe Bryant posted a cool 6-24 effort in the do-or-die game 7 vs the Celtics.  The difference in last night’s 2nd half wasn’t that Butler sucked, it was that Butler played scared.  Missed finger rolls, power lay ins, and blocked mid-range jumpers show a lack of aggression.  UConn was very active on defense and was going to bother Butler whether they shot from 30 feet or 3 inches, but you can’t go down like a bitch, Butler.  Throw it down!

-As the clock wound down, I couldn’t help but think about Calhoun’s probation-laden program cutting down the nets, Auburn football taking the title with Cammy Cam and recruiting violations, tOSU and the Sweater Vest in hot water, and yes even the Ducks getting named shortly after playing for the title.  Is the NCAA at a similar point where baseball was 10-12 years ago?  Everybody knows what’s going on, evidence right in front of our face, but the executives who are making bank turn a blind eye so the money keeps piling up.  If they want to keep their priorities as business, then the sports, then academics, they need to change the rules to reflect that.

6:21 pm PST

Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis, IN)

chalk:   Duke -7.5

o/u:  128.5

Prop bets anyone?

Toss out the seedings, they don’t mean squat at this point.  Coach K and the Dukies are looking to further cement their place in NCAA hoops history.  But the Bulldogs from Butler will not go down without a fight, especially playing only 5 miles from their school’s campus.

BUTLER

DUKE

The week does seem painstakingly long.  Especially this year when: a) Tiger Woods dominates the headlines most every day and b) this year’s Final Four matchups prove it’s more exciting when the top teams get there.  However, this time still comes around only once a year, and the games are generally worth watching.  Here’s a quick synposis on today’s games. 

Duke vs West Virginia – Everybody loves the Dukies in this one.  They grit their teeth, make weird faces, and coack K scrunches his nose when he yells at the refs.  Oh yeah, and they go to class – apparently that makes them good at basketball….In reality, Duke outplayed a Baylor team to advance, and looked pretty solid in the process.  Their offensive rebounding was scary good. Duke is huge underneath and when you have 7 footers clogging up the lane, it neutralizes great athleticism that a team can bring to the table.  But Duke was the consensus last #1 seed for a reason and West Virginia can take advantage.  For as cold as Kentucky was, they still only scored like 12 points in an 18 minute stretch with freakish athletes, so the Huggins’ crew can D up.  And there will be a 3 point line in this game, which will likely decide the game.  Whoever hits the most 3s, wins.

Michigan State vs Butler – I hope the millions of people reading this didn’t buy into ESPNs talk all week about whether or not you believe Butler to be another Hoosiers story.  They’re not.  Not even close.  They don’t mirror each other in any fashion really.  Now we have that settled, on to the game.  I have this as Butler’s game to lose.  Last weekend was more impressive than Duke’s – they jumped out to big leads on the 1 and 2 seeds by playing perfect basketball.  Defend the interior, move it around on offense, and stick the open shot.  Butler put on a clinic.  But Izzo and co. have been known to ‘ugly-up’ a game before and this one will be no exception.  Not sure what the over/under is on this one, but look for it to be played in the 50s.

Another surprising weekend in the 2010 NCAA tournament.  Very surprising.  Those who had Kentucky as champion and figured they would cruise into the money in their pools: eh – wrong!  So, I give you a few other random thoughts from the weekend’s past:

- Butler looked downright dominant.  In both games, they took far superior athletic teams well out of their comfort zone.  Neither Syracuse nor Kansas State could get anything easy on the offensive end, especially Kansas State.  Much of their offense involved lofting it to the rim and hitting the offensive boards like mad men.  Butler stopped penetration and after a 50 minute thriller two nights before, K-State didn’t have the rhythm or legs to play well.  Honestly, would you be surprised to see Butler take out a man-down Michigan State then either Duke or West Virginia for the title?  Not I, not after how they beat the 1 and 2 seeds last weekend.

- I am going to keep hating Duke until they lose.  As I have thrown out how much I despise what they embody as well as their #1 honk, I keep eating crow.  Fine, so they beat Baylor.  I’ll just point out how they give up penetration at will and go streaky cold from the 3 point line.  Mark my word, those will be their dieing problems this coming weekend.  But I do think big ass Zoubek (too lazy to Google the spelling or the actual name but I know it starts with a Z) clogs the hell out of the lane and is a much bigger factor then his 0 statistical output.

- When the score was 13-6, I thought West Virginia was going to lose by 20.  Kentucky looked awesome at that point.  WV couldn’t make a shot, leading to easy runouts (when did that become the new basketball term for fastbreaks?).  In the end, this was a classic college game – decided by the 3 point line.  Kentucky (mainly coach Cal) was stupid for letting this game being decided there anyway.  Hey: when you’re 2-25 behind the line 35 minutes into the game, it might be time to let Wall and Cousins take over inside.  I dont’ know!

- Thank GOD Michigan St and Izzo took out my new least favorite player to watch: JP Prince.  This guy is a disgrace to watch.  What do I hate more, his post-dunk salute?  Watching him cry on every foul called on him or his teammates (he was surprisingly tame on the final call against MSU)?  How he GOES AND GETS THE DAMN BALL AFTER EVERY MADE BASKET!  Hello, you’re not the poing guard!  Fine, you show me his length and hustle, and I’ll show you 50 NBA players like that who will see to it that he stinks in the League. 

Fin

Admit it America, we’ve had a tough go of it lately.

A couple of wars, Lakers and Yankees are defending champs, Barry passing health care reform, ninjas robbing jewelry stores in Portland, Sean Hannity, and oh yeah, Duke hasn’t won the title since 2001.

Blaspheme.

I mean, this is freaking Duke we’re talking about. Where the future doctors, lawyers and politicians of America scoff at Final Four appearances like Jeremiah Masoli does in asking for permission to use Mac Books.

Duke does Duke. Duke does titles.

And this is the year my friends. All the chips are falling perfectly into place, and we should all be celebrating this fact.

Remember playing ball with your friends in elementary school? You weren’t a tag-team of Jordan and Pippen, you were Hurley and Laettner. Fast forward a couple of years, it was Hill and Capel and then Brand and Battier. Now it’s imaginations of Scheyer and Singler running up and down driveways in this country. I for one couldn’t be happier about this.

Duke is the moral compass of not only the basketball world, the the actual physical world. Starting with the brilliance and grace of coach K, the awesomeness just trickles down. When America was getting dominated in International basketball competitions, who did we call to set things right? Yup, coach K. Can you say “Gold Medal?”  When the credit crunch started, who did American Express call? I think you know the answer.

In a world of ‘one-and-done’s', rap music and the And-1 Mix Tape Tour, Coach K and Duke basketball is our rock. No headbands, hired guns, refusal to use your left hand, disdain for defense or one-handed passes. Nope, not in Dukes house. Perfect hair, even better smiles, power lay-ins and fundamental two-hand chest passes abound.

When the going gets tough, what does Duke do?And don’t get me wrong, it’s gonna get tough.

SLAP THE FLOOR!!!!!

There is no quit in Duke, and there should be no quit in you, America, the time is now. Rise with me, cheer your heart out and watch our boys turn into men over the next two weeks. We will only come out stronger than ever.

You hear me Baylor, Duke is coming, America is coming and we refuse to lose.

America, our moment is now. Duke is our moment, Duke is THE moment. Don’t just sit there, I am talking to you. Slap the floor at your house, slap the floor at your friends house, slap it in a bar, just slap the floor!

God bless you, God bless all that is right and God bless the United States of Duke.

GAME 1

4:07pm PST – St. Louis, MO

Tennessee vs Ohio State

Chalk:  Ohio State -4.5

Over/Under:  134

All eyes will be on Buckeye stud Evan Turner, rightfully so.  But a Tennessee team that upended the likes of Kansas and Kentucky this season, knows how to handle special talent.

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GAME 2

4:27pm PST – Houston, TX

St. Mary’s vs Baylor

Chalk:  Baylor -4.5

Over/Under:  142

St. Mary’s Omar Samhan has been a media favorite with his solid play on the court and his humor off it.  Baylor and its 40,000 local fans will be looking to smoke out the Gaels in Houston.

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GAME 3

6:37pm PST – St. Louis, MO

Northern Iowa vs Michigan State

Chalk:  Michigan State -1

Over/Under:  121.5

Somehow the line is -1 favoring the Spartans.  Obviously, the big name school gets the benefit of  doubt.  Let’s hope UNI doesn’t choke this opportunity to advance to the elite eight.

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GAME 4

6:57pm PST – Houston, TX

Purdue vs Duke

Chalk:  Duke -8.5

Over/Under:  126.5

Most people had Purdue losing in round 1 because Robbie Hummel was done for the season.  Surprise!  The Boilermakers are gonna need some more gritty efforts to take down the Blue Devils, who usually don’t beat themselves.

As usual, the basketball universe started to correct itself in the round of 16.  This happens just about every year.  A couple of “Cinderella’s” will either play out of their minds or get matchups against flawed teams that they can exploit.  But once the round of 16 hits everyone is playing well and the better teams prevail.  And let’s be honest, how fun was that Kentucky vs. Cornell game to watch?  I’ve seen paint drying in a more exciting manner.  West Virginia vs. Washington?  Not very exciting either.  Although hard to call Washington a Cinderella, underachievers fits a lot better.  Ah, but those other two games now those were fun games to watch.  Syracuse vs. Butler was a nice appetizer for the main event, Xavier vs. Kansas State.  One of the more exciting games I’ve seen in a long time, X and KSU went up and down the court hitting big shot after big shot.  And this game gets bonus points for having Gus Johnson calling it. 

So for the sake of watchable basketball games you ought to be rooting for Michigan State and Baylor tonight.  While the Cinderella’s make the first two rounds exciting, it’s the legitimate teams that really make this the best sporting event every year.  I prefer watching future NBA players making plays up and down the court than watching a bunch of non athletic (white) boys exploiting the shot clock and gimmick defense rules that college basketball has.  So here’s to the remaining Cinderella’s taking a seat tonight.

So Kansas lost to Northern Iowa.

Big deal.

Shoot, Kansas losing to a 9 seed in the second round shouldn’t even be considered an upset at this point.

Don’t forget that Bill Self and KU have lost as a 2 and a 3 seed in the 1st round in recent years. So yeah, the UNI win, nothing special.

Butler beating Syracuse in the Sweet 16? Yawn. Don’t forget that the Orange lost to the mighty 13th seeded Vermont Catamounts in the 1st round of the 05 tourney and are not some immortal super-power. ESPN and CBS were trying to spin that Bulldog win like it was monumental–sorry dude, it wasn’t– don’t fall for it. Wanna know who Syracuse lost to in that “upset?” They lost to the team ranked 8th in the nation at season’s end by the coaches. Where did the Cuse end up? 4th. So the #8 team beat the #4 team on a neutral court and CBS is peddling that as some monumental upset?

Puhleeze.

Don’t get me wrong, I like the tourney, but it is so overblown and overdone, it’s a joke.

Every year it’s the “best and most exciting tourney ever.” How many times can these guys talk about how ‘unpredictable’ this thing is before it becomes, well, predictable?

So today when Northern Iowa beats Michigan State (without their best player, BTW) remember that UNI is finished the season 24th in the coaches poll. This isn’t “David v Goliath’ or a ‘Slipper still fits’ moment at all. It will be one ranked team, beating another.

If Saint Mary’s beats Baylor, ignore all the hyperbole as well. This a game between #21 (Baylor) and 26 (Saint Mary’s).

No matter how loud Gus Johnson yells it, or Jim Nantz whispers it, these aren’t upsets. Even the upsets we do see, we have seen before and will see again.

GAME 1

4:07pm PST – Salt Lake City, UT

#5 Butler vs #1 Syracuse

Chalk:  Syracuse -6

Over/Under:  138.5

Syracuse’s Arinze Onuaku will sit out this game because his injured right quadriceps still has not healed enough to play.  Butler doesn’t lose when they’re the higher seed, underdog will be their role this game.

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GAME 2

4:27pm PST – Syracuse, NY

#11 Washington  vs #2 West Virginia

Chalk:  West Virginia -4.5

Over/Under:  140.5

Mountaineer starting PG Darryl Bryant’s tournament is over with a broken foot, but his loss is not that big because backup Joe Mazzulla is not much of a step down.  The Huskies are looking to thump their chests with another win over a Big East squad this tournament.

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GAME 3

6:37pm PST – Salt Lake City, UT

#6 Xavier  vs #2 Kansas State

Chalk:  Kansas State -5

Over/Under:  151.5

The experts are saying this game should be the most competitive.  With the o/u at 151.5, looks to be the most up-and-down as well.

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GAME 4

6:57pm PST – Syracuse, NY

#12 Cornell vs #1 Kentucky

Chalk:  Kentucky -8.5

Over/Under:  147

The final game of the night has the potential to be a ho-hum blowout or an ESPN Classic.  The Big Red is gonna need to knock down many 3s to run with the Wildcats.

I think they can …

I think they can …

I think they can …

Hope.  The anticipation of the upset.  Witnessing history.  Watching some no name kid stick a dagger in the back of a big school.  Calling someone to say “dude, did you just watch that?!”.

This is what makes the NCAA tournament the best and most exciting playoff system in sports.

The 1st and 2nd rounds of the 2010 tournament have been awesome, but can it get better?  … oh yes, it can.  With low seeds like #12 Cornell, #10 St. Mary’s, and #9 Northern Iowa all advancing to the Sweet 16 … anything is possible in today’s parity-filled era of tournament play.  Sorry #11 Washington Huskies, but I think it’s fair to say you underachieved in the regular season (besides, they’re the dawgs, why would anyone want to get behind them?).  Anyway, back to the story.  Most years, the second week of the tournament is when the Cinderella schools  turn pumpkin on us and the brackets become a melee of big schools thumping each other for the crown.  Those days could be over.

The underdogs are not so under anymore.  Northern Iowa defeating #1 (overall) Kansas shook the egos of other big schools still in the dance.  On any given Sunday day … you can lose.  Nowadays, the big schools aren’t so big and the small schools aren’t so small.  The storybook run in 2006 by George Mason was a possible preview of future underdogs storming the final four gates.

Here now, George Mason’s shocker against #1 UCONN …

Back to the present.  Up first is the biggest potential upset, in Cornell over Kentucky.  The scrappy kids from the Ivy are gonna need their straight As game to topple the soon-to-be-pros from Lexington.  Future association employees John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins certainly don’t want their last game to be against a bunch of bookworms from Ithaca, NY.  And how appropriate will those NCAA commercials, where they say most of our student athletes will go pro in something other than sports, will be for this game?  Should the kids from Cornell and Kentucky exchange email addresses because they might need each other after school?  I mean every pro athlete needs a good agent or financial adviser these days.

Big Red vs Wildcats … looks very similar to a classic game played back in 1996.  Remember the coach that looked like a mad scientist?  The little school from NJ?  The defending champion that ran the fast break like no other school in the nation?

Here now, Jim Nantz & Gus Johnson …

Does it get anymore old school than a Princeton back-door cut for the winning basket?  Nah, I don’t think so.  That game is classic.

So how about St. Mary’s beating Baylor?  The Gaels have a balanced team with frontcourt big man Omar Samhan and beyond-the-arc threat Mickey McConnell.  But have the Gaels seen an all around athletic team like the Bears, yet?  Nope.  But a win, nevertheless,  is certainly within reach.

The most winnable game for the underdogs is UNI vs MSU.  The Spartans lost the heart & soul of their team when PG Kalin Lucas went down with an achilles injury.  Now the underdog should actually be the favorite.  Let’s see how Coach Jacobson’s squad handles the flipped script.  A UNI vs Ohio State Elite 8 game would be a ratings killer for the Midwest.

So this Thursday and Friday I will be cheering wildly for Underdog U, aka Cornell, St. Mary’s, and UNI.  Hopefully, with beer in hand, I’m watching these small schools pull off more exciting upsets to keep this tournament completely unpredictable.

By the way, what is Billy Packer doing these days?

Thursday

6:57pm PST – Cornell vs Kentucky

Friday

4:27pm PST – St. Mary’s vs Baylor

6:37pm PST – Northern Iowa vs Michigan State