March On!

Musings from the game

Sorry for my absence. Long day that began with the Hall of Fame press conference, where Rutgers' C. Vivian Stringer got to hang out with Michael Jordan. Though she seemed overwhelmed by the emotion of the Hall, Stringer has no problem hanging with the famous guys. She's actually known Jordan for a while. I'll have a column about her in tomorrow's Record, but here's the web story. stringer to hall

Back at my courtside seat - same as Saturday, only now the bench near me is UNC. Some thoughts:

* The  national anthem sung by The Temptations was way cool. Can't endorse the map-shaped American flag though. It just looks weird.

* Magic and Bird still enjoy talking about their iconic 1979 national championship game between Johnson's Michigan State team and Larry Bird's Indiana State. The two laughed their way through a press conference. They'll be honored at halftime of the game.

* This start time is too late.

* I was right about their being an all Big East final for the national title. Just had the wrong gender. Kudos to the conference for having four of the eight national semifinalists. Though UConn and Villanova failed to advance to the men's final, the UConn women will face Louisville in the women's championship game tomorrow night. Much like here, where this is a rematch of a earlier blowout - UNC beat MSU 35 early in the season while the UConn women destroyed Louisville by 39 in the Big East tournament final. Thinking here gives MSU some chance of revenge. Louisville? Not a hope.

Venturing a prediction

J.P. here with a prediction for tonight's game, about an hour away. Yes, Michigan State will have the crowd, but North Carolina has the talent. UConn's lack of depth without Jerome Dyson finally caught up with the Huskies on Saturday--Carolina won't have such a problem, which erases one of the Spartans' major advantages Saturday.

Both Louisville and UConn had trouble finding open shots versus MSU, and while UNC might have the same difficulty at times, I think the Tar Heels will have much more success at getting into the open court. And if Carolina gets up by seven to 10 points early, MSU's comfort zone will vanish. North Carolina's Ty Lawson and Tyler Hansbrough have to live up to their lofty and well-deserved reputations tonight, and I think they will. The pick: North Carolina 79, Michigan State 70

Some thoughts

J.P. here, and yes, I was very wrong yesterday on both games. I thought Villanova would make enough shots to compete against UNC's sometimes lax defense, and didn't think Michigan State could do business on the offensive glass against UConn.

Don't know yet what to think about the final, but I'm working on it. I hope it's better than what I thought about yesterday.

As for CBS' broadcast, I wasn't all that impressed. Clark Kellogg at one point claimed all the sightlines at Ford Field were 'great.' I doubt he ventured to the last row of the upper deck. And I know the NCAA allows CBS to put cameras in cool places for wacky angles, but could you save those wacky angles for replays, CBS? It's very jarring when done with live action.

I had written 11 days ago about how the recession affected the early rounds of the tournament, but obviously it had no effect yesterday as the 72,000-plus was a record for a national semifinal. Of course, having local fave MSU in the opener yesterday helped. Still, it doesn't appear as if we'll see Final Fours returning to actual basketball arenas anytime soon after that turnout. And with that in mind, I agree with Tara's post yesterday that it's dangerous to have these raised floors where players can literally fall off the floor chasing a loose ball. The NCAA better hope nobody gets hurt doing that.

And finally, this is one of my pet nitpicks, but what NCAA beancounter gets excited about these generic court designs? Would it be possible to have paint that is, well, PAINTED? There's a reason why they call it the paint, NCAA. Although at least they had the 'reverse paint' effect yesterday with the area just outside the lane painted, unlike during the regionals, when neither the paint nor the area around it was painted, save for that ugly blue semi-circle after the foul line. 

Another sideline gem

Perhaps the fact that a building that had more than 72,000 people for the first is almost empty now made it even easier to hear the coaches on the sideline, but here's another one. Jay Wright yelled out to his team to keep playing hard despite their 14-point deficit. "We're not going home this way," he yelled to them.

Kind of poignant, no?

Roy made a funny

Heard from my spot near the Carolina bench: After Jay Wright chased down a loose basketball near midcourt, preventing it from dropping off the raised floor, Roy Williams called out to him from the other bench. After finally getting Wright's attention (on the fourth yell), Williams said, "Jay - you're out of the coach's box!"

Wright laughed.

His team was making a great comeback, cutting what was once an 17-point deficit in the first half to five early in the second, but UNC answered with five straight to get back up by 10, 55-45. There's 16:45 to go right now.

One underdog down, one in trouble

Michigan State continued its joy ride through the NCAA tournamet, outplaying UConn in the first semifinal. It's starting to look like a no-Big East  championship game, too. Villanova is getting killed by a fired up UNC team, 40-23 Tar Heels right nwo with 6;45 to go in the first half.

Jay Wright's suit is the clear winner over Roy Williams' patterened jacked and blue slacks, though. But that's an unfair fight.

Halftime Game 1

Great first half between UConn and Michigan State - MSU leads 38-36 thanks to Delvon Roe's beautiful soft hook shot just before the clock expires. He should have gotten a foul call, too, but the whistle went all UConn's way the first half. MSU hasan 20-18 advantage in rebounding, though it seems like so much more. They're all over the place. They have four steals to one for UConn and just four turnovers to UConn's eight. Raymar Morgan, who'd been struggling all tournament, has 11 first-half points for MSU.

something to watch for: five different MSU players have two fouls at halftime.

PostWire-less

Posting appears it will be tough - the wireless network here stinks. But so far, give credit to MSU for being aggressive inside early. Sometimes too much so, but they're getting layups, which isn't easy to do against UConn. the Huskies are coming on strong though, leading 21-16 with 10:02 to go first half.

Can't believe who the officials are

J.P. checking in, because I couldn't let this pass. On the floor, working his first Final Four, is Les Jones. If you're not familiar with his work, he made the worst phantom call I've ever seen live when he whistled a shooting foul on Seton Hall's Donald Copeland against Rutgers' Quincy Douby in Feb. 2005 with no time left in overtime and the score tied. Alone at the foul line, Douby made the second of two free throws to give RU a one-point win.

Only problem--Cope never even TOUCHED Douby. I reviewed the replays at least six times later that night and there was NO CONTACT WHATSOEVER, NONE. Hey, we all can have a bad day, but that was bad. Nice to see Jones has reinvented himself, apparently. The other officials are Michael Stuart [doesn't work Big East games--I've never heard of him] and the ubiquitous John Cahill, known for swallowing his whistle late in close games and letting the players decide it.

  

Faces in the crowd

So far we've seen two famous fans - Magic Johson and Pat Riley. I'll add more as we see them!

Magic may be most remembered for hte Lakers titles he won with Riley as his coach, but before that, he was a star at Michigan State. With the 30th anniversary of his MSU vicory over Larry Bird's Indiana State team in the 1979 title game, the two stars will be throwing up the first ball prior to Monday's championship game.

 

On the floor for predictions

Finally made it to my courtside seat. I'm two rows behind the floor just next to the MSU bench. It's very strange to be eye level with the floor, but that's the way it's set up here in Ford Field, a football stadium. Hope none of the players dives too far for a loose ball and falls off the edge. Seriously, that could happen.

As for the games - here's the simple truth: my head says UConn versus North Carolina. My heart says Villanova versus Michigan State. Let the games begin.

Previewing games

Some of the more interesting stats I heard today:

In seven tries, Connecticut has never beaten a team playing in its home state in the NCAA tournament.

In four tries, Michigan State has never lost to a Big East team in the NCAA tournament,.

Tonight one of those streaks is going to get broken. What I find fascinating is how the big bad Big East seems to lose its intimidating edge against MSU, whose latest Big East victim was overall No. 1 seed Louisville in the regional final. The Spartans play Big East style basketball. Rough and tumble, bruising and physical. I asked Jay Wright yesterday to reflect on the year-long question of how the rigors of the league schedule affect a team come tournament time. Villanova also had to beat a Big East team in the regional final, upending No. 1 Pitt. Here's what Jay said courtesy of ASAP sports, the transcription service:

"One of the benefits I've learned right now is that we're a pretty physically powerful team. If we weren't, we would have gotten beat up in the Big East with injuries. There were years in the past where I remember a few years ago when we played Kentucky in the first round, Michael Nardi, who was a 6-foot, 165-pound guard from Elizabeth, New Jersey, was hurt in the Big East tournament, just banged up. Got to the NCAA tournament, he was banged up. Curtis Sumpter was hurt. We just didn't have the depth. We have a great strength coach in Lon Record that we didn't have before.
"I'm starting to realize, when they're your guys, they don't seem as big and strong to you. Coming through that league, I think we've realized, we're a pretty strong team, and it has made us better and tougher.
At the same time, I've learned we better do this every year. We better be physically strong. We better get guys like that, or this league can beat you up physically."

I prefer m&ms....

I just received this release from CBS - can't say I'm a fan, but it's good to see a local flavor.

            Grammy-award wining artist Eminem will be featured in a “Love Letter to Detroit” on CBS Sports’ FINAL FOUR SHOW on Saturday (4:00-6:00 PM, ET) with Greg Gumbel, Greg Anthony and Seth Davis live from Ford Field. The feature will focus on Detroit through the eyes of the people who inhabit the city. It looks at where the City came from – an area that once represented the heart of America’s industry and urban growth, and what the City struggles to become again – an area at the root of what this country is working to recover. The story shows the strength of the people who live and work in Detroit, that give the City its tenacious reputation, bringing the spirit of the game to Detroit and the resilience of Detroit to the game.

 

Picking today's games

J.P. here with a look at today's NCAA semifinals. I suspect we will see the final everyone is expecting Monday night, with the two No. 1 seeds, but I think UConn and Carolina will get there in slightly different ways. Here goes:

(2) Michigan State vs. (1) Connecticut: Of course, Michigan State should feel more comfortable being in its home state at Detroit's Ford Field. But you need more than a building to deal with UConn's Hasheem Thabeet, who seems like a building himself sometimes. The advantage MSU had over Louisville when it upended the Cardinals in the Midwest Regional finals was its toughness, especially on the offensive glass. Nobody out-toughs UConn, except maybe for Pitt, and I can't see the Spartans getting a lot of second chances on offense with Thabeet and bruising Jeff Adrien lurking in the paint. UConn point guard A.J. Price is the best player on the court and he plays like it here. Also keep in mind that State has gotten off to a lot of slow starts this season, and a repeat of that tendency would be a deal-breaker against motivated UConn. The pick: UConn 71, Michigan State 63 

(3) Villanova vs. (1) North Carolina: Villanova is riding a wave and playing its best basketball right now, which is eerily reminiscent of the Wildcats' fabled 1985 run through the NCAAs. Jay Wright finally is getting his due as a coach and he has his team believing it can beat anyone. 'Nova will not back down here. But in the end, the Wildcats figure to not have enough offensive punch to match loaded Carolina, especially if Tyler Hansbrough and point guard Ty Lawson are operating at peak efficiency. To stay in this game, Villanova must hit some of the open threes that Oklahoma missed in its Elite 8 loss to the Tar Heels. Also, 'Nova must get a big game out of the talented but erratic Scottie Reynolds. His ragged play in the first half against Pitt prevented 'Nova from having a halftime lead, but he obviously saved the day with his game-winning layup. The Wildcats desperately need the good Scottie here. The pick: North Carolina 80, Villanova 75

Like mice in a maze

Tara Sullivan here reporting from Ford Field, now that I finally found it. The place is a labyrinth of hallways and levels, much like the lobby/lobbies of the Marriott hotel serving as the mdia headquarters. So if I disappear for long stretches - you'll know what happened. Press conferences start at 1 p.m. so I'll check in after with any news. Did see UConn injured guard Jerome Dyson this morning. He was on my shuttle bus from the airport the hotel. As you might have heard, his injured knee still won't allow him to play, but he is going to dress and warmup for tomorrow night's game. He apparently stayed back in CT a day toa ttend a class and then missed his Thursday evening flight and caught the firsto ne out on Friday.

Other than 'Nova-Pitt, yawn

J.P. here and I have to admit, this has been kind of a bland tournament thus far, other than Villanova's classic win over Pittsburgh in one of the best regional finals we've seen in awhile. But other than that, and the tense final minutes of the Xavier-Pitt and Kansas-Michigan State Sweet 16 games, there wasn't much excitement to be had the past four days.

Tom Izzo deserves plenty of credit--that was the best coaching job of the tournament, and his players executed perfectly. I thought eventually Louisville's superior talent would take over, but it never happened. In fact, the Cardinals seemed to pack it in long before the clock showed triple zeroes. Louisville needed to jump on MSU [a notoriously slow-starting team] early, but couldn't do it. But I think UConn can, and UConn certainly won't get outmuscled by the Spartans the way Louisville did. Louisville got clobbered on the offensive glass--UConn won't unless Thabeet and Adrien are in foul trouble.

As for the other game, I think Villanova can give Carolina a tough time. I don't think it's a bad matchup for Jay Wright's team and 'Nova certainly won't be intimidated. But Carolina figures to be very focused after getting blitzed early in this round by Kansas a year ago, so Villanova won't catch the Heels sleepwalking again.  

Villanova's miracle sequel

BOSTON _ Twenty-four years after Villanova's miracle upset of Georgetown in the national championship game, the Wildcats have experienced an emotional sequel.

Guard Scottie Reynolds' scoop shot in the foul lane with 0.5 seconds remaining today provided the third-seeded Wildcats with a 78-76 win over top-seeded Pittsburgh tonight in the title game of the NCAA East Regional.

"I never saw the ball go in the basket," said Reynolds, who was selected the most outstanding player of the regional.

Reynolds' heroics came after Levance Fields of Pitt converted two free throws to tie the score at 76 with 5.5 seconds remaining. Reggie Reading then inbounded the ball, a lob pass to Dante Cunningham between the top of the foul circle and midcourt. He immediately passed to Reynolds, who was on his right. Reynolds then went into overdrive and managed to drive into the foul lane against one of the best defenses in the country.

"We practice that every day," he said of the game-winning shot. "We don't always make it."

Because he did, Villanova had enough to overcome a game-high 28 points by Pitt's Sam Young and will play in the Final Fout semifinals Saturday against Sunday's Oklahoma-North Carolina winner.

And, oh yes, Villanova has another miracle for its basketball tradition.

                                                                                      ___ JOHN ROWE

Pitt, 34-32

BOSTON _ Down by 10 points midway through the first half, top-seeded Pittsburgh has rallied back to take a 34-32 halftime lead over Villanova tonight in the championship game of the NCAA East Regional.

The Panthers caught the third-seeded Wildcats on a three-point field goal by point guard Levance Fields that tied the score at 30. Scottie Reynolds of Villanova then made both ends of a one-and-one to give the Wildcats a 32-30 lead.

Following two foul shots by Pitt's Gilbert Brown and a missed shot by Villanova, Pitt played for the final shot of the half. With one second on the shot and 2.6 seconds left, Sam Young was fouled and converted both shots to give Pittsburgh its lead.

Young led all scorers at the break with 12 points. Reynolds and Shane Clark, who made three three-pointers to get the Wildcats going, shared high scoring honors for Villlanova with nine points apiece. Pitt shot 41.7 percent, to Villanova's 34.4, and Villanova had a 20-16 rebounding edge. No player on other team had more than two personals, although there were 18 fouls called, 11 against Nova.

NCAA chatter (2)

Some more NCAA Tournament observations:

Levance Fields can play for me any day. Only a select few players want the ball in crunch time when they're experiencing an off game. And then they make the big shot. New York City guards are fearless, but the Pittsburgh leader is beyond that.

Still not convinced that DeJaun Blair's game will work in the NBA (he's Charles Barkley without the 20-foot jump shot), but his Pitt teammate Sam Young has all the talents to enjoy a long career in the big league.

Jay Wright's biggest achievement has to be convincing Corey Fisher and Corey Stokes they are more valuable to Villanova coming off the bench. Both could start on a lot of other teams.

It would seem that Missouri's style plays into Connecticut's hands, but Memphis probably thought the same thing and Cal's team is home for the spring.

If Seton Hall wants to be a poor man's Missouri, the Pirates should take notice that playing defense, at least once in awhile, is mandatory.

NCAA chatter

An NCAA Tournament observation  or two...

As good as Ty Lawson is, he benefits from the mentorship of North Carolina assistant coach Phil Ford, arguably the best point guard in the history of college basketball.

Ed Davis, UNC's freshman center-forward, is a star in waiting.

Was that North Carolina-Gonzaga game a sequel to the old ABA? Should looked like it.

Tyler Griffin is not as good as brother Blake (who is?), but he's been an important contributor in Oklahoma's run.

Maybe I was misreading their body movements, but Syracuse was either indifferent or nervous. Have the Orange guards stopped missing three-pointers yet?

Louisville's defensive pressure reminds me of how Rick Pitino's Kentucky championship team played.

The more I watch Samardo Samuels the more I'm convinced the Big East coaches blew it by picking Craig Monroe of Georgetown over the Louisville center for Rookie of the Year.

Coach K needs to make some adjustments

Hey, J.P. checking in here. No, I'm not in Boston, but I was at the Florham Park Regional yesterday, trying to figure out who's the top seed in the Jets' QB derby [and no, I don't think it's Jay Cutler], but that's a post for another blog.

But watching the Villanova-Duke game last night, I couldn't help but think that maybe it's time for Mike Krzyzewski to start re-thinking how he puts together his teams. Duke hasn't made the Final Four since 2004, and five years without a Final Four appearance is the longest drought for Coach K since before he made his first appearance with Duke in 1986, losing to Louisville in the final. Heck, the Blue Devils haven't even made an Elite Eight appearance in the last five years, despite being a top seed twice and a No. 2 twice, including this year.

The problem, and it first hit home to me watching courtside as Duke got bounced by West Virginia in the round of 32 in D.C. last year, is that the Blue Devils simply aren't physical enough. Their inside presence is almost nonexistent [no Carlos Boozers or Elton Brands on the team these days] and while finesse can get a team through the ACC, it doesn't work in the NCAA tournament. It's no coincidence that they've been eliminated each of the last two seasons by a Big East team. Don't get me wrong--Villanova isn't Pittsburgh or Louisville just yet in terms of physicality, but the Wildcats are more physical than they used to be. And it showed last night.

Now obviously Coach K knows a lot more about basketball than I do, and he admitted in the post-game early this morning that he's tried to recruit top-notch post players, but they've all gone elsewhere. But I do wonder if it's a little bit of a 'chicken or egg' question right now--perhaps big-time post players see how perimeter-oriented Duke is, and they opt to go elsewhere where they might feel their talents will be utilized better.

Coach K certainly can add to his now-record total of 93 NCAA tournament games without changing a thing. But if he wants to add to his three national titles, he needs to begin closing on some of those post players and perhaps cutting down on the amount of finesse players he recruits.

Big East party

BOSTON _ The Big East Conference is threatening to turn the NCAA basketball tournament into its own intramural comptition.

With Connecticut, Pittsburgh and Villanova all winning Thursday night, the Big East already has a Final Four entry because Pittsburgh and Villanova will play for the East Regional championship here Saturday.

And Louisville and Syracuse get chances to add to the Big East's growing legacy on Friday night.

And to think, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski was making a mid-season case that the ACC was better than the Big East.

Krzyzewski got a first hand look at how strong the Big East is Thursday night as third-seeded Villanova manhandled his Blue Devils, 77-54. This sets up a Villanova-Pitt rematch on Saturday (7:05 p.m., Ch. 2). Villanova handed top-seeded Pittsburgh one of its four regular season losses.

The Wildcats (29-7) on a roll. They put away Duke (30-7) early in the second half with a 12-1 streak. The Blue Devils never recovered as Gerald Henderson, their best player, shot 1-of-14 and scored seven points. His only field goal, a three-pointer, was with 5:19 remaining and reduced Duke's deficit to 64-49.

Scottie Reynolds scored a game-high 16 points for Villanova and Dante Cunningham added 14 points and 11 rebounds. DUke was limited to 26.7 percent shooting.

Now it's on to first all-Big East regional final since Georgetown-Providence in 1987.

T

Pitt's survival tactics

BOSTON _ SInce style points aren't awarded in the NCAA Tournament, top-seeded Pittsburgh can move on to the championship game of the Eastern Regional without looking back.

All the Panthers will choose to remember are point guard Levance Fields' two big plays in the final minute Thursday night that enabled them to get by fourth-seeded Xavier, 60-55. You never look back in this tournament.

Xavier (27-8) will rememeber blowing an eight-point halftime lead, thanks to 24 percent second half shooting that included missing its first 10 when Pitt scored the opening eight. Even then, the Musketeers had a one-point lead going into the final minFields hit a fallaway three-point field goal and then a lay-up coming off a stripe caused by center DeJaun Blair.

"I never get tired of watching Levance take big shots," said Pitt coach Jamie Dixon. "He's made them year after year. Our guys believe in him. I believe in him. And that's all that matters."

And all that matters for Pitt (31-4) is that it survived and advanced.

Yankee go home!

BOSTON _ There's probably no worse place than here for a Yankee fan to have time on his hands.

So as his pinstripe believer walked around Quincy Market today before tonight's NCAA East Regional semifinals he was again reminded of the intensity of the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry.

First, there was the t-shirt being sold by a push cart vendor inside the market. The red shirt had white lettering, with the word Choke, not Coke, in large letters. And below, in smaller type, the inscription: official soft drink ot the Yankees.

Second,.on the walk back to my hotel there was a sports bar with the seemingly necessary promotional notices: Welcome Bruins Fans. Welcome Celtics Fans. Welcome Red Sox Fans. And finally, Yankee Fans Keep Walking.

And as a final reminder of where I am for much of the week, there were what seemed like every fourth or fifth car with a "Yankees Suck" bumper sticker.

Well, at least I go home on Sunday.

                                                                                                  ___ JOHN ROWE

The "real" games

BOSTON _ After some anxious moments in the first two rounds, the Final Four of  the NCAA East Regional is according to script.

Now let the "real" games begin.

Tonight's doubleheader, beginning with top-seeded Pittsburgh against fourth-seeded Xavier and finishing with second-seeded Duke versus third-seeded Villanova, will produce two regional finalists and eventually a national championship contender.

Here's a rundown of tonight's games and the no so fearless forecasts:

Xavier (22-7) vs. Pittsburgh (30-4)

Game time _ 7:27 p.m.

How they got here: Xavier defeated Portland State, 77-59, and Wisconsin, 60-49. Pittsburgh beat East Tennessee State, 72-62, and Oklahoma State, 84-76.

Outlook: Xavier, coached by former Pitt guard Sean Miller, hopes its depth upfront can slow down Panthers stars DeJuan Blair, and even better, get him in foul trouble. If they can't, the Muskateers could be in for a long night.

Prediction: Pittsburgh, 74-68.

Villanova (28-7) vs. Duke (30-6)

Game time _ 9:57 p.m.

How they got here: Villanova beat American University, 80-67, and UCLA, 89-69. Duke defeated Binghamton, 86-62, and Texas, 74-69.

Outlook: Both teams have talented backcourts and good 3-point shooters, high profile coaches, and similar styles. The difference maker should be Dante Cunningham, Nova's 6-foot-8 senior who is the best offensive front court player on either team.

Prediction: Villanova, 81-78.

                                                                                          ___ JOHN ROWE

Xavier fires back

 

Xavier is a bit sensitive about being considered a mid-major Division I basketball program.

The Musketeers make no apologies about advancing to the Sweet 16 and tomorrow night's date with No. 1 seeded Pittsburgh in the East Regional in Boston. And they shouldn't.

This is Xavier's second straight Sweet 16 appearance, including an Elite Eight achievement last year, and it has been in 19 of the last 27 NCAA tournaments. No small achievements.

"When you look at our non-conference schedule and some of the things we've done in recent years, it's so much more about your program than the name on the front of your jersey," said Xavier coach Sean Miller, a former Pitt guard. "It's not whether you're in this conference or that conference. I think college football and college basketball are completely different when it comes to that."

                                                                                                 ___ JOHN ROWE

Staying put _ for now

While everybody connected with the University of Pittsburgh basketball program is concerned that Panthers star DeJaun Blair will leave for the NBA at season's end, Blair, at least for now, is in no hurry to move on.

"I've been poor my whole life," Blair said today as Pitt prepares for tomorrow night's East Region semifinal math-up with Xavier in Boston. "I can wait."

The 6-foot-7 sophomore likes to tell stories about his basketball past. One of his favorites is about a championship game in the Kennard Park Summer League a few years back when he went up against Terrelle Pryor of Jennette, who was a 2,000-point scorer in high school before becoming Ohio State's starting quarterback.

"A couple of Steelers were there and they were taking bets _ I got DeJuan, I got Terrelle," Blair said. "I had 56 that night. We won."

                                                                                                   __ JOHN ROWE

Hanging in there

 

Former Don Bosco star Tyrell Biggs admits he once wondered if he would  in a NCAA Sweet 16 tournament game.

Biggs, who'll start at power forward for Pittsburgh Thursday night against Xaver in the East Region semifinals in Boston, started one game in his first three seasons at Pitt. He played behind Aaron Gray as a sophomore and Sam Young as a junior.

It was enough to make somebody who was destined for college greatness when he was 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds in the eighth grade think twice about his future.

"It crossed my mind (to leave Pitt) a couple of times. It was talked about with loved ones," Biggs said. "But I never wanted to be known as a quitter. I remember talking to my brother about it. He said, "You weren't raised to be a quitter."

Unhappy fans, happy committee

Other than Cleveland State's win over Wake Forest in the first round, this year's tournament has pretty much been devoid of those major early-round upsets that lend so much charm to the event.

All of the 1, 2 and 3 seeds advanced to the Sweet 16, as did two of the 4s, Gonzaga and Xavier. Only Purdue [wow--a 5, big deal] and 12th-seeded Arizona were not seeded in the top 4, and Arizona is hardly a tourney outsider, considering the Wildcats are in the event for the 25th consecutive season.

But what this means, obviously, is that the selection committee did a TERRIFIC job of seeding this thing. When there are too many upsets, it means the seeding was bad. That wasn't the case here.

And I hope the absence of Cinderellas means that with most of the marquee teams making it this far, there will be some classic games this weekend amongst some of the remaining heavyweights. The trend so far has been for the best games to occur later in the day [or night], so maybe the nightcap games Thursday and Friday will be the most talked-about ones the next day. We'll see.

What I learned at the NCAA tournament

Observations from four days in Philly:

Dasani is so out--it's all about Vitamin Water, the NCAA's new favorite sponsor.

UConn is getting its act together--big-time. 

When Villanova plays defense, the Wildcats are extremely tough to beat. Although the crowds might not be quite as friendly in Boston [although hating on Duke, The 'Nova's next opponent, always seems to trump everything].

Some people still don't know to pronounce Gonzaga, calling it Gonzahga. Will everyone figure this out, once and for all? The team's alternate nickname is the Zags--that should be a clue. They're not the Zogs.

I don't feel badly for UCLA, considering the Bruins had played 10 NCAA tournament games over the previous three seasons in California.

Is it a rule that every college band has to play 'Carry On My Wayward Son'? Although I also heard 'Chattanooga Choo-Choo' more than enough on Thursday from Chattanooga's band, of course.

Maybe I'm biased [actually, I'm sure I am, being a Hofstra alum], but guess what? Jay Wright isn't just about his looks and his designer suits and his terrific personality. The man can coach. If you don't believe that, just look at how Villanova exploited UCLA's usually solid D and took the Bruins out of their comfort zone on offense.

Twenty-minute halftimes are too long.

No excitement in Philly today

No drama whatsoever in the two games in Philly today, as Villanova and UConn routed UCLA and Texas A&M, respectively. Too bad, because driving in here every day I would pass the venerable Spectrum [now the Wachovia Spectrum], just across from the Wachovia Center.

The Spectrum will be torn down soon, but it hosted one of the most incredible games in NCAA tournament history when Duke topped Kentucky in OT in the second round in 1992 on Christian Laettner's buzzer-beater, just two seconds after Kentucky's Sean Woods had put the Wildcats in front with a basket.

And in 1976 and 1981, the Spectrum played host to the Final Four. Both times, Indiana and Bobby Knight won the title, with the 1976 one memorable for his plaid jacket. The 1981 title, with point guard Isiah Thomas showing the way, came the same day then-President Reagan was nearly assassinated, and also marked the last-ever third-place game. [Virginia beat LSU.]

I'm sorry I never got to cover a game at the Spectrum. It seems like a truly magical kind of place. This is a nice facility here, but it's not the same, I'm told. Not the same charm. Plus, a Final Four will never take place here because it's not a dome.

Another blowout in the making

I was right about Villanova, but it looks as if I'm very wrong about Texas A&M. The Aggies haven't been able to handle UConn, which shot 57.1 percent from the field in the first half on its way to a 51-33 lead. Hasheem Thabeet didn't even have a blocked shot in the first half, but A&M still shot 35.1 percent from the floor.

So far, the second round hasn't been too exciting, with UCLA getting clobbered by Villanova and Memphis routing Maryland right now. We'll see if the night games are any better.

Villanova dominates UCLA

Well, UCLA won't be making the Final Four this year. Villanova blew out the Bruins, 89-69 in the second round today. UCLA couldn't take care of the ball and Villanova's offense worked well, even though the Wildcats did jack up some ill-advised threes. And don't feel sorry for UCLA--the friendly site had very little to do with the victory. If this game has been played on Mars, UCLA would've gotten trounced.

Looking at today's second-round Philly games

Some thoughts, plus picks, on the two second-round games here in Philadelphia. My predictions weren't bad on Thursday, as I had Texas A&M over BYU in the 8-9 game and thought VCU would keep it close with UCLA and that Villanova eventually would pull away from American. OK, so I thought Chattanooga would be competitive with UConn, which reminds me of my NCAA Sweet 16 picks in the paper. Two of the teams I expected to make it out of the first weekend, Wake Forest and West Virginia, were knocked off yesterday.

Anyway, on to today:

East: (3) Villanova vs. (6) UCLA: Villanova is only 13-7 in the Wachovia Center over the past four seasons, including this season. But keep in mind the 'Cats play all the marquee opponents here, teams like, well, UCLA. But UCLA is a streaky team and obviously not as good as the last three Bruin teams, all of which have reached the Final Four. Villanova needs a better game from the erratic Scottie Reynolds, who was off against American on Thursday. UCLA wants to drag this game into the muck and mire [think like St. John's, only with a lot more talent] and Villanova would like to play a little faster. Jay Wright's team has to stop dynamic UCLA frosh Jrue 'Don't Call Me Drew' Holiday and Josh Shipp, because Bruins point guard Darren Collison is a great defender but still a somewhat limited offensive player. The Pick: Villanova by 6   

West: (1) Connecticut vs. (9) Texas A&M: The Huskies dealt well with the distraction of coach Jim Calhoun's health Thursday, easily outclassing Chattanooga while Calhoun was in the hospital for dehydration. But I wonder if they're a little too self-satisfied after getting a weight off their backs [the 103-47 blowout of Chattanooga was UConn's first post-season win since the Huskies beat Washington in the Sweet 16 in 2006]. The Huskies will be facing a talented A&M team that runs some terrific offensive patterns under very underrated coach Mark Turgeon [whose 2006 Wichita State team blew out Seton Hall in the NCAAs] and the Aggies certainly won' be intimidated after playing in the tough Big 12. If A&M can figure out a way to deal with Hasheem Thabeet, the Aggies can win this and move on. The Pick: Connecticut by 4

Finally, some excitement

It took until the last games of the first round, the Friday late-night session, but the tournament finally got some juice.

There were two OT games decided on game-winning shots [always more exciting than when the game is decided when the shot DOESN'T drop] and Cleveland State's incredible blowout upset of Wake Forest. Wow! 

Siena's double-OT win over Ohio State featured a game-winning three by Ronald Moore with 3.9 seconds left after he had sent it to double OT with a tying three. Siena is in the round of 32 for a second straight season, an incredible accomplishment for a mid-major not named Butler, Gonzaga, etc.

Wisconsin beat Florida State with 2 seconds left in OT on a terrific driving layup and 3-point play by Trevon Hughes, and CBS was switching back and forth between these two tense games. Nice idea, but not always flawlessly done. At one point, CBS switched back to Siena-OSU while a potential game-winning shot by Wiscy was in mid-air. Ouch.

And how about former the job done by former Rutgers coach Gary Waters and his team? Waters obviously had a plan to beat Wake Forest and his Vikings certainly executed that plan.

Where's the excitement so far?

Is it just me, or have the first 1 1/2 days of the NCAA tournament been lacking? Yeah, there have been some upsets, including Dayton over West Virginia [a team I thought had a real chance to go far this year--yet another early exit for Huggins] but other than that, it's been pretty formful. And while Oklahoma State got a late three-point play to knock off Tennessee, we haven't had a true buzzer-beating win yet. [You know the kind--when the shot is made as time expires and the entire winning team rushes off their bench.]

Speaking of which, Virginia Commonwealth almost won on a buzzer-beater last night, but the shot by Eric Maynor was short. Credit UCLA's Darren Collison with excellent on-the-ball defense, as Villanova coach Jay Wright noted today. "That play to stop him like that, not leave his feet on the shot fake [and] still contest him, was big time," Wright said. Collison "could be one of the best defensive guards in the country."

It also was a good play for Collison to pick up Maynor before he reached halfcourt, forcing him to take more time bringing the ball up, and thus have less time to shoot. UCLA coach Ben Howland did a good job of playing it that way. Duke let Maynor bring up the ball with no problem with the game tied near the end of regulation, and he hit a pull-up jumper for the game-winner.

But I also think Maynor needed to show a little bit more of a sense of urgency bringing the ball upcourt. He did take a little too much time. But I can't fault his decision to shoot. He's the two-time CAA Player of the Year and looking at the tape, it's not as if he were triple-teamed and there was somebody wide-open for a layup. It didn't happen that way. 

Not a great play by Maynor, but a very good play by Collison and UCLA.

Calhoun seems back to normal

UConn coach Jim Calhoun met the media for a half-hour today, and seemed to be his usual self. He was proud of his team for routing Chattanooga by 56 without him yesterday, and made it clear that he got a "clean bill of health" from the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center before being discharged this morning. He will coach UConn against Texas A&M tomorrow.

In fact, he was in a jovial mood, saying his complete exam "did not involve a psychiatric test" and that he was "bribing" people at the hospital to get out this morning ASAP. He was discharged early this morning and was able to walk to practice, which took place at the Palestra on the Penn campus.

Calhoun admitted that he always gets stressed out before games, and implied that this may have been an extreme case of that. He said he feels fine but had felt "lousy" in the days leading up to Thursday morning, when he went to the hospital to get himself checked out, and was checked in, much to his surprise. Turns out he was dehydrated.

As you can imagine, much of his presser dealt with his condition, although it was a bit much when one person asked him if he felt like he had "a new lease on life" when he got the hospital bracelet removed this morning. Remember, Calhoun has been through prostate cancer and skin cancer.

Calhoun out of hospital

Here's the report from the Associated Press:

Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun has been released from the hospital a day after missing the Huskies’ victory over Chattanooga in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.

“He has been given a clean bill of health with no restrictions,” UConn sports information director Kyle Muncy said Friday morning.

Muncy said he expects Calhoun to be at the Huskies’ practice Friday afternoon, but did not know whether the coach would attend a media availability beforehand. Muncy did not say whether the 66-year-old Calhoun would be on the bench for Saturday’s second round game against Texas A&M.

Calhoun did not feel well Thursday morning and was admitted to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania later in the day for tests. He was kept overnight for observation.

Too bad

 

I'm a little disappointed that American ran out of energy against Villanova, because it would've been nice to see an upset. But I'll admit I'm happy that Villanova won because that means Jay Wright got through to the second round. I've known Jay since I covered him when he was at Hofstra and I was at Newsday, and he's always great to talk to.

As Wright and American coach Jeff Jones both said after the game, Villanova simply wore American down. Wright didn't think the crowd was that much of a factor, although it couldn't have helped American that it didn't get the usual boost that an underdog would get if the crowd had truly been neutral. 

Finally, a decent game!

American shot 8-for-15 from three-point range in the first half and is leading hometown favorite Villanova 41-31 at halftime. Derrick Mercer, a St. Anthony grad, has 13 points on 6-for-12 shooting for American. Scottie Reynolds has no points and three turnovers in 17 minutes for the Wildcats.

It won't be easy for American to hang on, but Villanova has to be feeling some pressure.

Calhoun hospitalized

UConn announced after its 103-47 win over Chattanooga that Hall of Fame coach Jim Calhoun was admitted to a Philadelphia hospital Thursday afternoon. They said he is listed in good condition and will be kept overnight for observation, but gave no details on what exactly is wrong with him. Nor did associate head coach George Blaney, who coached the team in Calhoun's absence.

I hope he's OK and is back on the bench Saturday when UConn faces Texas A&M in the second round. Calhoun was in good spirits Wednesday afternoon at the media availability, even joking with some writers, but said in statement he had felt "lousy" for several days.

The American-Villanova game is just starting. I hope it's a decent game after the two blowouts we had this afternoon. Chattanooga was non-competitive a year after fellow Southern Conference team Davidson became the darlings of the tournament.

As for the first game, maybe the NCAA will stop matching Texas A&M and BYU in the first round. A&M won a close game by five points last year over BYU, but this one was over quickly.

Mismatch

The most entertainment so far in the Connecticut-Chattanooga game has come from Chattanooga coach John Shulman, who was quite unhappy with the foul disparity in the first half. He finally received a technical with 3:45 to go, and I thought he wouldn't get one until the second half. Otherwise, it was a pretty boring first half, unless you're a UConn fan. If Jeff Adrien didn't go 0-for-6!! from the foul line, the Huskies would lead by even more.

Former Seton Hall coach George Blaney is running the show for UConn today with Jim Calhoun ill and not in attendance, and it appears to be a very easy day at the office. Calhoun is expected to return for Saturday's game, according to UConn, assuming Connecticut doesn't blow a 28-point lead.

Calhoun to miss today's game

Just was handed a press release here at courtside--UConn coach Jim Calhoun will miss today's game against Chattanooga because of "precautionary reasons," according to UConn director of sports medicine Jeff Anderson, the team's doctor. Anderson said in a statement that "Coach Calhoun has not been feeling well for the past several days and it is best that he not coach the team today for precautionary reasons."

And yes, Seton Hall fans, associate head coach George Blaney will be in charge of the team today with Calhoun out.

Calhoun seemed in good spirits Wednesday at his media session, cracking jokes with some of the UConn media. He even mentioned that he and College of Charleston coach Bobby Cremins belong to the same country club in Hilton Head, S.C., and quickly added, "Actually, I shouldn't say that I'm a member of a country club. Probably not a good idea to advertise" that. Of course, he was referring to the recent flap over his comments to a freelance journalist/political gadfly about being the highest-paid public employee in the state of Connecticut.

Texas A&M-BYU halftime

Texas A&M must like the sightlines of the Wachovia Center. The Aggies made their first 10 shots from the field today en route to a 42-30 halftime lead over BYU. Actually, they cooled off a lot after making the first 10, making only seven of their last 20 (35 percent).

Still, BYU had hoped to get off to a faster start than it did when the teams met in the first round of the NCAAs last season, when A&M took an 11-0 lead and eventually won 67-62. A&M led 11-3 and led by as many as 18 in the first half. BYU has been a much better second-half than first-half team, however, so a comeback isn't out of the question.

Looking at today's Philly games

(8) BYU vs. (9) Texas A&M: Rematch of a first-round game in Anaheim last season, won by A&M, 67-62. Much of the personnel are back for both teams, but BYU has been a notoriously slow-starting team in recent weeks, so that should give a slight edge to A&M. Pick: Texas A&M by 3

(1) UConn vs. (16) Chattanooga:  The key here is the OTHER sharpshooter from the Southern Conference with the first name Stephen who pronounces it Steffen. Steph McDowell isn't Steph Curry, but he can shoot it, hitting 43.4 percent from three-point land. If UConn can keep him from going off, the Huskies shouldn't have a major problem. But keep in mind the injured and out-for-the-season Jerome Dyson was UConn's best perimeter defender. Pick: Connecticut by 14  

(3) Villanova vs. (14) American: Villanova is talented and basically playing on its home court, but American does have seven seniors back from a team that played even with Tennessee in the first round for awhile last season before losing by 15. Could be a repeat. Pick: Villanova by 15

(6) UCLA vs. (11) Virginia Commonwealth: VCU has the two-time CAA Player of the Year in Eric Maynor, whose jumper with 1.8 seconds left beat Duke in the first round two seasons ago. UCLA also has some chemistry problems and its point guard, Darren Collison, still is recovering from a bruised tailbone that has hampered him recently. VCU won't be intimidated. Pick: UCLA by 3  

Busy Wednesday in Philly

Hello, everyone. I'll be popping up throughout the weekend, reporting from the NCAA first and second rounds at Philadelphia. Here are some of the sights and sounds from media access day before the first day of the Philly pod:

It’s become standard for No. 16 seeds to talk tough the day before facing a top seed, and some do put up gallant fights, while others become cannon fodder. Chattanooga fit the role perfectly Wednesday, exemplified by senior forward Kevin Goffney, who said his team was “happy” when it saw it would be facing UConn.

“We believe we can be one of the teams to make history,” he said. “When you toss up that ball, anybody can win.” He added it’s not a “lock” just “because they’re UConn.”

No, but it’s probably pretty close. As my colleague John Brennan pointed out to me, Chattanooga, which won the Southern Conference

tournament, benefited from being in the division opposite Stephen Curry and Davidson. The Mocs had not only a first-round bye, but they happened to host the conference tourney this season.

Chattanooga coach John Shulman, who spoke after his players, didn’t seem to have a problem with what they said, however. He said, “I’m a dreamer. We’ve got two words up in our locker room—dream and believe.”

UConn did struggle in the first round as a top seed at this same site three years ago, and trailed Albany by 13 in the second half before rallying to win by 13. And Jim Calhoun certainly has reminded his players of that.

Villanova, also in the Wachovia pod three years ago, had a similar scare three years ago, finding itself only seven points ahead of No. 16 Monmouth in the second half. But the Wildcats also rallied to win. They could have a tough time against a patient American team which returns seven seniors from a team that scared Tennessee a year ago in the first round.

I realize it’s not exactly a marquee matchup, especially to those of us east of the Mississippi, but the first game of the day is intriguing to those of us who can’t enough of this stuff. The NCAA showed a sense of humor and matched BYU and Texas A&M in a first-round game for the second straight season. That game was played in Anaheim. A&M scored 11 points of the game but BYU rallied for a 45-43 second-half lead before losing, 67-62.

All five of A&M’s current starters played that day 52 weeks ago, but two came off the bench. As for BYU, four current starters, played including then-sixth man Jimmer [what a great name] Fredette.

“We were pretty surprised,” A&M’s Derrick Roland said. “They called BYU first, then we saw our name pop up. We were all like, again?”

Interestingly, the mindset of the players and head coaches on both teams was they didn’t seem to mind, because having faced each other before takes some of the unknown out of their preparation.

“It’s kind of strange,” A&M coach Mark Turgeon said, “but it made scouting a little bit easier.”

“We have a pretty good idea of how physical they are and how they like to play,” BYU coach Dave Rose said. “I think that’s a good thing.”