The Giants pounded the last nail in their playoff coffin (McCovey Chronicles)
And if things couldn't get worse for NoCal. Now it looks like the Kings will never get a new arena and might finally move after this season (Sactown Royalty)
I want to attend Lamar Odom's bachelor party (TMZ)
Wow! There was some great action in last nights games. The Villanova, Pittsburgh game video is at the bottom. That's all you need to see. The Missouri, UConn game too was exciting. UConn won, but they needed everything they had to beat Missouri. Let's hope today's games are just as exciting.
Megan Fox is a great way to start another college basketball mourning....
Well we have already seen a coach fired today. Last night saw Duke get destroyed, and Pitt's tubby point guard Levance Fields become a hero. But we move on to the next 4 Sweet 16 games, to see who advances to the Elite 8. It should be a fun set of games. As always feel free to leave your comments.
Here is tonight's schedule and announcers, courtesy of Awful Announcing: Louisville vs. Arizona (Indianapolis, 7pm)- Gus Johnson, Len Elmore Oklahoma vs. Syracuse (Memphis, 7:30pm)- Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg Kansas vs. Michigan State (Indianapolis, 9:30pm)- Gus Johnson, Len Elmore North Carolina vs. Gonzaga (Memphis, 10pm)- Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg
My local affiliate is showing the Arizona, Louisivlle game and the UNC, Gonzaga game. But I am sure I will be flexed sometime during the night. Enjoy the games:
Last night was an eventful one. Villanova made the whole country proud by giving Duke an ass-kicking. UConn ran away from Purdue. Levance Fields looks like he should be playing at the local YMCA, but he was clutch last night for Pitt. And Missouri's "40 minutes of hell" ran Memphis out of the gym. Today's games should also be as great.
Louisville vs. Arizona Where/Time: Indianapolis, IN/7PM EST Announcers: GUJO and Elmore Cinderella?: I still refuse to call Arizona an Cinderella team. Yes, they are a 12 seed, but they play in a big-time conference in the Pac-10. They underachieved all season long, and they were given a favorable seed in the Midwest. The Zone is Key: Louisville has to run their zone presser defense perfectly. They rotate four guards in-and-out of the game to keep their players fresh. They will have to keep the presser on Arizona to get the win. My pick: If Louisville can keep the presser on Arizona guard Nic Wise all game long, they will beat Arizona. The Wildcats offense revolves around Wise and his ability to make plays. If the Cardinals stop Wise they will win.
Oklahoma vs. Syracuse Where/Time: Memphis, TN/ 7:30PM EST Announcers: Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg Can the 2-3 zone stop Griffin?: Syracuse and Jim Boeheim have perfected the 2-3 zone. And it will be key to stop Oklahoma's Blake Griffin. They will have to double-team Griffin and force the other Oklahoma players to make plays. Warren could be the key: Oklahoma's Willie Warren has to have a major role for the Sooners tonight. He is their best outside threat with the way he can penetrate to the hoop and his outside shot. He will have to keep the presser off of Griffin. My pick: I like Syracuse in this game. Oklahoma doesn't have a real threat at point. While Syracuse has one of the best point guards in Johnnie Flynn. Syracuse's offense revolves around him and he is the best right now at penetrating to the hoop and kicking the ball out to their great shooters in Andy Ruatins and Eric Devendorf.
Kansas vs. Michigan St. Where/Time: Indianapolis, IN/9:30PM EST Announcers: GUJO and Elmore Sutton vs. Aldrich: We have a classic match up between big men in this game. Kansas' Cole Aldrich versus Michigan St.'s Goran Sutton. Whoever wins the match up between these two, their team will win. Collins is key: Sherron Collins has to play under control for Kansas. There are times when he plays out of control and Kansas will lose. Their offense revolves around him playing in control and distributing the ball. My pick: I like Michigan St. in this game. They have more depth that can slow down both Collins and Aldrich. Kalin Lucas and Travis Walton are big time players that will be too much for the Jayhawks to guard.
Gonzaga vs. North Carolina Where/Time: Memphis, TN/ 10PM EST Announcers: Nantz and Kellogg Lawson's big toe?: The health of Ty Lawson is still a huge concern for North Carolina. He was huge for them against LSU, but they will need a healthy Lawson to beat Gonzaga. He will have to defend Jeremy Pargo, who likes to drive down the lane for the basket. Heytvelt vs. UNC: Whoever is guarding Josh Heytvelt will have a huge challenge. Heytvelt is athletic and strong in the middle for Gonzaga. My pick: This was the hardest game to choose. Gonzaga has great scorers and UNC has depth. I have to go with UNC because they can bring Ed Davis, Tyler Zeller, and Larry Drew off the bench. UNC's depth will be a huge factor in this game.
All these games have the potential to be great. I expect all these games, except the Arizona, Louisville game, to be close.
It should be a fun night, and once again we will be live blogging the games.
Wow, what a weekend. Four days of non-stop college basketball action. The action at times was a little bit slow, but we did get too see some great finishes. No real Cinderella teams made it to the Sweet 16, but there were some scares. But we are on to the next weekend where the field will be widdled down to just four teams.
James Harden didn't exactly have the best game for ASU yesterday.... Pittsburgh struggled in their first two games... Lazar Hayward of Marquette made a huge mistake in their game... Louisville had to rally to beat Siena... Cole Aldrich had a huge game for Kansas.... And Eric Devendorf is still a douche
- An Iowa sports talk host had himself a nice meltdown (Sports by Brooks) Here's the audio:
Giorgia Palmas to start us off this mourning. Day 1 of the NCAA tournament was pretty generic with no upsets except Western Kentucky over Illinois. Hopefully today we will have some upsets. Or at least some compelling games.
College basketball just has one week remaining in the regular season before conference championships begin. The contenders and pretenders are starting to show up in the biggest games.
The final week always provides us a glimpse at what team will make the strongest tournament run. Remember Florida two years ago? They struggled for most of the season and then turned on the afterburners with only a few games remaining. They won the SEC tournament and cruised right to the national championship. This final week is huge to see what team rises and which team falls.
Lets take a look at some of the other highlights for the past weekend.
Kansas is better than predicted: Kansas wasn't expected to be this good this season. They lost their starters from a National Championship team. But Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich have picked up where that team left off. Kansas has only lost one game in the Big 12 and yesterday they avenged that lost by blowing out Missouri. Granted they did play against an Oklahoma team that was playing with Blake Griffin, but they have proved that they have what it takes to compete in the tournament.
Oklahoma missed Blake Griffin: Without Giffin, OU went lost two games to their rivals(Texas and Kansas). OU needs Griffin's energy. His hustle and guts is what powers this team. Without him they are a middle of the pack type of team. I expect an epic showdown between Oklahoma and Kansas in the Big 12 title game.
The Big East has come down to Lousiville and UConn: Both Villanova and Marquette blew their chance to claim a piece of the Big East title. Lousiville and UConn is all what stands at the top right now. Both teams will most likely get a bye in the first round of the Big East tournament.
Clemson basketball is starting to resemble Clemson football: Clemson was on the verge of being the top team in the ACC. Then they lost to both Virginia Tech and Florida St. Clemson football has been known to not to live up to the expectations. Now the basketball team is feeling the same pressure. When they have had their chances they have blown them to teams of a lesser quality.
Duke gets all the calls: During their game against Virginia Tech, Duke player Jon Scheyer was allowed to take three steps then finally call a timeout. The refs didn't call any fouls and shockingly it came during a key stretch of the game. Virginia Tech lost the game and their tournament bubble most likely popped. Just another reason to hate Duke. During the Duke-North Carolina documentary on HBO, Coach K complained that UNC was getting all the calls by the refs. I guess things have turned the other way.
Bubble Watch:
In
Florida St: They punched their ticket for the dance by sweeping their series against Clemson. They are playing with house money right now.
Tennessee: They scored huge by beating Florida yesterday. They have only South Carolina and Alabama next. Unless they play careless, they should be fine.
Dayton: They got their much needed win against Temple. They have already beat Xavier and Marquette this season. If they could beat Xavier again this week, then they should be fine.
St. Mary's: Everyone expected them to struggle without point guard Patty Mils. And they did losing two straight. They though have righted the ship and have won the past five games. And with Mils returning for the WCC tournament, this team will get huge consideration for the tournament.
California: Even though they lost to UCLA at home on Saturday, they did split their series by getting a win over USC.
On the verge:
Texas A&M: The Aggies have won four straight and they do have key wins over LSU, Texas, and Arizona. They still need a win against Missouri.
Providence: A key win against Pittsburgh helped their case. They will need a win though against Villanova to secure a spot in the tournament.
Davidson: Davidson will need to win their league title to get an at-large bid. Their only key win came against West Virginia earlier this year.
Out:
Arizona: While they have played admirably this season, their lost to Washington did them in. They will need to get a win against the Bay Area teams to get in.
Florida: The Gators have struggled down the stretch. They dropped a tough one against Tennessee yesterday and their match up with Kentucky will most likely be a play-in game.
Michigan: Their early season wins against UCLA and Duke will help them. They will need to beat Minnesota to get in.
Virgina Tech: Their heartbreaking loss to Duke heart their case. They will need to make a nice run in the ACC tournament to get considered for a at-large bid.
This should be a fun last week of college basketball. A lot of fates will be on the line this week and it will also set up an epic Championship week.
I'm back from the 24 hour college basketball marathon and here's Leona Lewis to start your mourning..... The relationship between Pau Gasol and Phil Jackson..... Michigan State as the SI Sportsman of the year?...... Pitino accuser indicted again!..... NFL's worst injuries in financial terms..... No need to worry about Miami's Jacory Harris..... The five best years for good pitchers on bad teams..... Is Iverson the answer for the Magic?...... The stupid French cheat their way into the World Cup
