March Madness? It's April!
Being someone who knows about basketball, I honestly can say I haven't been too familiar with the phenomenon of March Madness. I have begin to pay attention to it and currently, Butler University had just defeated Michigan State in an extremely exciting semi-final game 52-50. I attended Cal State Long Beach, and when I was there, the powerful programs were baseball and volleyball. Butler University is a school located in Indianapolis, which is exciting because the Final Four is currently taking place at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Butler is a school that I haven't heard that much about, so I took a look at its website --http://www.butler.edu and found that it is a liberal arts school and they are the BULLDOGS! Tom Izzo, the coach of Michigan State has nothing to be ashamed of and should be proud of his athletes.
The most interesting player for me would be a young man named Da'Sean Butler. Da'Sean Butler is a senior at West Virginia University, who is going to be playing in a few minutes against #1 ranked Duke University. Da'Sean is a senior and just won the Senior Award given by Lowe's, http://www.lowes.com, the national hardware chain. I thought it was great to see that this young man and another young man from Duke University, Jon Scheyer was also in the group of nominated young men that are completing their senior year in a nationally ranked program and waiting to join the NCAA Draft. I find this interesting because so many young talented athletes choose to leave their programs early to enter the pro drafts in all different sports, but especially in basketball.
For someone that hasn't been that interested in basketball, I have found that this March Madness (even though it is April), has hooked me and I will continue to watch and be fascinated by these outstanding athletes and in the case of Da'Sean Butler and Jon Scheyer, be interested in what happens to them after they leave college basketball. I will be watching the Duke-West Virginia game, I hope you will too! And no matter, which team is victorious tonight, it will be a treat to watch the Final game on Monday!
Copyright (c) 2009 Clarity Digital Group LLC
Sweet 16 Review and Schedule
With the end of March upon us, it is a good time to take a look at what's been happening lately with the Sweet 16. For those who aren't familiar with the term, 'Sweet 16' refers to the teams that advanced to the regional semifinals of the NCAA Men's Division 1 Basketball Championship. The tournament, which began on March 16 this year, is a single elimination tournament that pits the top 65 college basketball teams in the country against one another. The second round of the 2010 regional match-ups, which included a total of 32 teams, ended on March 21. The end of that round left us with 16 school, the Sweet Sixteen. Among the Sweet 16 of 2010 are such schools as Syracuse, Cornell, Kansas State, and Duke. Let's take a look at what has happened so far in the regional semifinals.
On March 25, in the first half of the games involving the Sweet 16, we saw a number of entertaining and surprising games. In a game that marked the team's 23rd win in a row, Butler stunned fans and analysts by beating the top-seeded Syracuse 63-59. The Final Four games (the national semifinals) take place in Indianapolis, Indiana, the hometown of Butler University, so the Butler Bulldogs are now just one win away from being able to compete for the championship title in their hometown. In the other West Regional match-up, Kansas State beat Xavier 101-96 during double overtime in what was easily one of the most entertaining games of the tournament so far. Gregg Doyell of CBSSports.com called it "one of the best games in the history of the Sweet 16." In the East Regional semifinals, we saw top-seeded Kentucky beat Cornell 62-45. With much of the country rooting for them, 12th-seeded Cornell started off the game strong with a 10-2 lead, but they were not enough for Kentucky, who will now compete for the school's first Final Four appearance since 1964. We also saw 2nd-seeded West Virginia beat Washington 69-56 to achieve its highest win count, 30, in the school's history. The Kentucky-West Virginia regional finals match-up will be the only 1st-seed vs. 2nd-seed game in the entire tournament
Tonight, eight more teams will compete for a chance to play in the regional finals of their respective region. The four winners of those four games will join Butler, Kansas State, West Virginia, and Kentucky as the Elite Eight, who will go on to compete for the championship title in the Final Four. These games are sure to be entertaining and possibly surprising, so be sure not to miss them! You might just miss basketball history. The games are scheduled for the following times: Tennessee vs. Ohio St., 7:07 PM ET; Baylor vs. St. Mary's, 7:27 PM ET; UNI vs. Michigan St., 9:37 PM ET; and Duke vs. Purdue, 9:57 PM ET.
Do you want to remember the historic events of college basketball? March Madness of 2010 has provided us with tons of memorable moments, and college basketball has always been one of the most most entertaining area of sports. Hollywood Collectibles invites you to memorialize your favorite teams, players, and sports moments with authentic autographed sports collectibles and signed memorabilia. For example, we carry a variety of photos signed by John Wooden, who coached UCLA to 10 NCAA National Championships. With over 24 years in the sports memorabilia industry, Hollywood Collectibles is a proud provider of tons of the best autographed sports memorabilia around, including collectibles from college basketball, college football, the NBA, the NFL, and much more. When it comes to the types of sports memorabilia we carry, it is rather simple - If you want it, we probably have it. We even carry signed celebrity memorabilia! Visit our site frequently to take advantage of our special offers and discounts. And visit our blog daily to keep up to date with the most important sports news from around the world.
Copyright 2010, TransWorldNews, Inc
March Madness strikes Kansas in round of 32
Games like this are why we love basketball, why March is mad and why our country freezes for three weeks to take note.
Eight out of 10 times, Kansas defeats Northern Iowa. The Jayhawks were faster, more talented and more athletic. KU's basketball budget topped Northern Iowa's by sixfold. But KU couldn't handle Northern Iowa's shooting touch or pace-setting defense, giving the nation another reason to watch basketball and KU fans a reason to turn the TV off for a couple weeks.
On paper, the matchup was an odd one. Northern Iowa entered the tournament clearly and egregiously under-seeded. How the NCAA Selection Committee decided on a No. 9 seed for a 28-4 team that won 15 of 18 in a good Missouri Valley Conference, no one had any idea. The Panthers stayed in or around KenPom.com's top 25 all season before settling at No. 32 before the KU game. One advantage the Jayhawks had was superior athleticism, something that became obvious when KU set up its full-court press and took over the game.
Despite the emphasis on Northern Iowa's three-point shooting, the Panthers actually converted at a lower-than-normal rate on Saturday. Northern Iowa made 34.6 percent of its three-point attempts, compared to a season average of 35.6 percent. KU struggled in a much bigger way from deep, making 26.1 percent after converting 40.4 percent of threes during the season.
• To listen to CBS tell it, you'd think Northern Iowa's posts pushed around KU center Cole Aldrich and forwards Marcus and Markieff Morris. That didn't happen. The Jayhawks made 58 percent of their two-point attempts while the Panthers converted just 44.8 percent. KU dominated the glass, holding Northern Iowa to 31.4 percent of available offensive rebounds and just 57.6 percent of possible defensive rebounds. That meant KU grabbed a remarkable 42.4 percent of its own misses, four percent better than the Jayhawks' stellar season mark. Aldrich in particular put up strong rebounding numbers. The junior capped his season by pulling down better than 21 percent of overall missed shots while he was in the game.
• There won't be any second-guessing of KU coach Bill Self here, but KU would have benefited from using its killer press a few minutes earlier. Problem was, the Jayhawks' most important offensive player, Sherron Collins, couldn't press for more than a few minutes without yielding some effectiveness on offense because of the state of his conditioning. Watching the way Collins struggled to keep up with the Panthers during inbound situations, KU may have been better served replacing him with a quicker defender in the press and subbing him in on offense.
(c) Copyright 2010 by the Lawrence Journal-World & 6News Lawrence
Miami vs Duke March Madness
The fans at Greensboro Coliseum will be treated to a game between the Miami Hurricanes and the Duke Blue Devils when they take their seats on Saturday.
Odds aren't yet posted for this game, so check back later for the opening line and total.
Durand Scott went for 17 points and six rebounds to lead Miami past Virginia Tech 70-65 in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals at Greensboro Coliseum on Friday.
Miami cashed as 3.5-point underdogs, while the game resulted in a PUSH on the 135-point total set by oddsmakers.
Kyle Singler scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Duke past Virginia 57-46 in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals at Greensboro Coliseum on Friday.
Duke failed to cover as 17-point favorites, while the game played UNDER the 126.5-point total listed by sportsbooks.
Current streak:
Miami has won 2 straight games.
Duke has won 2 straight games.
Team records:
Miami: 20-12 SU, 14-9-1 ATS
Duke: 27-5 SU, 18-12-1 ATS
Miami most recently:
When playing on Saturday are 7-3
After playing Virginia Tech are 4-6
After a win are 6-4
Duke most recently:
When playing on Saturday are 10-0
After playing Virginia are 5-5
After a win are 8-2
A few trends to consider:
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Miami's last 5 games when playing Duke
Miami is 3-4-2 ATS in its last 9 games when playing Duke
Miami is 5-11 SU in its last 16 games
Miami is 1-8 SU in its last 9 games when playing Duke
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Duke's last 5 games when playing Miami
Duke is 10-1 SU in its last 11 games
Duke is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games when playing Miami
Duke is 1-3-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Miami
offshoreinsiders.com
Top 10 March Madness questions
With Selection Sunday a week away, many questions must be answered before March Madness can begin with a 65-team field in the men's basketball tournament that's become a rite of winter in America.
Here are 10 questions with answers that hopefully will add to your curiosity about the NCAA tournament:
1. Who will be the four No. 1 seeds? Three are automatic - Syracuse, Kansas, Kentucky. After that, Duke, despite its loss to Maryland on Wednesday night, is the leader for the final top spot, but the Blue Devils may need to win the ACC tournament to pull it off. Other contenders are Purdue, even with the loss of Robbie Hummel; Kansas State and Villanova.
2. How many Big East teams will qualify?
Probably seven, possibly eight. The teams with no worries are Syracuse, Villanova, West Virginia, Pittsburgh and Georgetown. Marquette is very close to a lock after its amazing run of three overtime wins on the road in succession, as is Louisville after upsetting Syracuse on Saturday.
3. What Big East teams are on the bubble?
Notre Dame and Connecticut. Both probably need to win one game in the Big East tournament, maybe even two for Connecticut, to make sure they are not nervous wrecks next Sunday night.
4. Is it possible the Pac-10 might only have one bid?
Absolutely. California, at No. 21, is the only Pac-10 team with an RPI of 50 or lower and once-mighty UCLA has a staggering RPI of 134. It also doesn't help that perennial power Arizona is going through a coaching change. Unless Cal merits consideration if it doesn't win the conference tournament, only one team is NCAA bound.
5. How many Atlantic 10 teams are in the hunt?
Five, but earlier projections of that many bids for a conference that usually is giddy over two may not materialize. Temple, Xavier and Richmond are locks, but Rhode Island and Dayton need to do well in the conference tournament.
6. Would North Carolina accept an NIT invitation?
Maybe. High end programs such as North Carolina usually think NCAA or bust, but given how young these Tar Heels are, it would do them a lot of good to play in a postseason tournament. If Roy Williams can swallow his pride after winning the national title last season, UNC should accept an NIT invite.
7. Will Derrick Caracter be in the tournament?
Sure looks like it, with UTEP ending Memphis' run as Conference USA champs. The troubled 6-foot-9 man-child from Jersey, who was run out of Louisville by Rick Pitino, has found a new home with the Miners, averaging 14.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.
8. What power conference team could be a sleeper?
How about Baylor? Thanks to Texas' free fall, the Bears are the third-best team in the Big 12 and lost by only two points at Kansas State and six points at Kansas. Any team with talented guards such as LaceDarius Dunn and Tweety Carter (got to love that name) has a chance to make a serious NCAA run.
9. What non-power conference team could surprise?
How about Cornell? After three consecutive Ivy League crowns, the Big Red seniors should at least win the first NCAA tournament game in school history. They have an NBA caliber shooter in Ryan Wittman, son of Randy, and have a 7-foot center in Jeff Foote who gave Kansas a giant scare.
10. Who will have a big impact on the tournament?
Besides the teams, the referees. Many a team has been eliminated because it couldn't adjust to the whistles from officials it didn't see during the regular season. Consider Syracuse, with its seven-man rotation. If the Orange draw refs who aren't used to the physical Big East play, they might be in trouble.
(c) 2010 North Jersey Media Group
Peaking? For Illinois, it's more like pique
CHAMPAIGN -- Illinois picked a bad time for make another bad impression.
The turn of the calendar said March Madness is here, but the Illini were just maddening Saturday in a 62-60 basketball loss at home to Minnesota. Before worrying about the rest of the month, the Illini still have internal issues.
"People look at you to see if you're peaking or not," Illini forward Bill Cole said. "If you can come together and put a little run together right now, anything can happen in March."
Illinois (18-11, 10-6 Big Ten Conference) plays Tuesday night at No. 9 Ohio State (23-7, 13-4).
Q: How much can Illinois improve against zone defenses?
A: It wasn't a surprise that Minnesota used zones (3-2 and 2-3) Saturday. The Illini spent 80 percent of practice time the previous two days working on zone offense. The Illini don't move the ball well enough to beat the zone's shift. Whether it's bad passing or the inability of big men to post strong, they don't get the ball in the paint.
"We don't get enough inside touches." Illinois coach Bruce Weber said. "We're not a great passing team and against a zone you have to pass the ball. You have to make reads, and when you don't shoot the ball well from three it makes it difficult."
The Illini were 0-for-11 from the 3-point line in the first half against Minnesota and needed a late basket from center Mike Tisdale to avoid tying the team record for fewest points in one half at Assembly Hall. Illinois trailed 24-14 at halftime.
"To beat a zone, you have to shoot them out of it," Cole said.
Ohio State used a 1-3-1 zone defense in a 19-point victory over Illinois last month.
"This group needs repetition," Weber said. "Maybe we can continue to make some progress in the next couple of days."
Q: How does Illinois handle pressure?
A: At this point, you are who you are. These Illini are a laid-back group that doesn't always find that higher intensity level, perhaps because of leadership issues. Illinois also lacks mental and physical toughness. They were flat against Minnesota, when a victory would have clinched a top-five finish in the Big Ten and a bye in the conference tournament.
"We try not to put too much pressure on ourselves," Cole said. "Sometimes we have to realize what we're playing for. It was a huge game for us. ... They hopped on us from the start. By the time we made the rally, it was too late."
After rallying from 19 points down to one, with the ball and a chance to lead, Illinois came away with two points in four possessions in the final minute.
"At Ohio State, we don't have any pressure," Weber said. "You're going in there, and no one expects you to win. Let loose and play. Put the pressure on them."
Q: How close is Illinois to the NCAA bracket?
A: The loss to Minnesota puts the Illini that much closer to the NIT. An 11-7 record usually is good enough for a Big Ten team to play it way into the NCAA field, but Illinois shouldn't feel secure until it wins two more Big Ten games, Weber said.
Winning at Ohio State seems like Mission Impossible. If so, the Illini would be forced to sweep games against Wisconsin in the regular-season finale and the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals.
Copyright (c) 2006–2010 GateHouse Media, Inc
NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament perfect the way it isAs far as I'm concerned, the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament is darn near perfect.
Out of 347 Division 1 programs, 65 get a shot at playing for a national championship.
When the field is announced each March there are always schools that complain about being snubbed because they didn't make the cut. If you step back and be honest about it, however, you have to admit the format works.
With 65 teams you can be assured that those with legitimate shots at winning the crown will be in the tourney. There will also be enough room for the Cinderella squads that could make a nice run; the teams that will pull off a juicy upset before exiting; and the little guys who are simply happy to be there.
In the first couple of rounds we get to witness great excitement and more than a few surprises, and as the Road to the Final Four shortens, the cream rises to the top.
Unfortunately there's a move afoot that would try to fix what isn't broken.
The NCAA has been meeting with school administrators and coaches to discuss the possibility of expanding the tournament.
One proposal has it going up to 68 teams, which is really not a big deal.
Another would inflate the field to 96 teams, basically killing off the NIT.
The latter plan seems like a bit much.
The NCAA is all about money, of course. While the players can't be paid (legally, anyway) the governing body works under the "more is not enough" model.
Additional teams and additional games translate to additional cash - lots of it - so you can see why the plan has its supporters.
And college coaches whose teams always seem to spend March riding that razor-thin bubble would be happy because it would give their teams a far better chance of dancing.
Yet NCAA basketball isn't tee ball. At the end of the season all participants don't get cake and ice cream and a trophy.
Championship sports require legitimate championship criteria, and the field of 65 is as good as it gets.
Back in the day only a handful of programs had the opportunity to play in the tourney. In 1951 there were 16 teams involved, with just one team per conference receiving a coveted invitation.
By 1975 it had expanded to 32 teams, allowing power leagues to get a couple of teams in.
The 1984-85 season was the one that featured 64 schools, and a 65th was added later when the play-in game was introduced.
To me the best argument to maintain the status quo is the simple fact that a 16 seed has never defeated a 1 seed. People keep saying that day will come, but it hasn't come yet and I'm betting it won't happen next month, either.
There are plenty of Cinderellas to go around now.
Mass-producing 32 more glass slippers would only cheapen the product.
2010 The E.W. Scripps Co
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