Butler Bulldogs Head Home for Final Four

Butler defeated Syracuse and Kansas State over the weekend to complete an improbable run to the Final Four. Butler has turned into the new Gonzaga, a mid-major power with the potential to do damage in the tournament every year. This is what makes the NCAA tournament so great. In college basketball, a coach knows that if his team gets into the tourney, anything can happen. While it might be highly unlikely or even virtually impossible, there is still the chance that a team can win it all. This is not the case in the college football, where non-BCS coaches like Boise State's Chris Petersen know that no matter what their team does during the regular season, they will have no shot of playing for the national championship. Boise State is 49-4 over the last four seasons, including two undefeated seasons in which they won a BCS bowl game, yet until a playoff system is created, they will never be among the two teams selected to play in the BCS National Championship. So while college basketball has issues (namely the one-and-done rule*), the great thing about it is that the NCAA tournament exists and that teams like Butler can make improbable runs. Butler playing at home for a chance to win it all (Butler University is six miles away from Lucas Oil Stadium, which will be hosting the Final Four) is a great story, and I'm rooting for them to win a championship for the home crowd. Here are some of my thoughts regarding this weekend's action:


(*Quick tangent about the one-and-done rule-- Skip to next paragraph if you want to avoid listening to me rant-- There is so much wrong with the one-and-done rule I don't know where to begin. But since I have to start somewhere, let's start with the kids themselves. Forcing a kid to go to college for one year instead of entering his name in the NBA draft is ridiculous. If a high-school kid wants to enter the NBA, he should have that right. There are also many options available if it doesn't work out for him, including the D-league and playing professionally in Europe. College is not for everyone, so they shouldn't be forced to wait a year to play in the NBA. That's why I admire what Brandon Jennings did. He has his issues, but at least he was innovative. Secondly, the rule hurts college coaches. Coaches spend a significant amount of their recruiting resources trying to land the best players possible. When a one-and-done like Kevin Durant or Derrick Rose attends your university, you know he will probably leave after one year. But it's the players that aren't ready for the NBA that declare anyways that hurt the most. For example, Jrue Holiday left UCLA after only one year, despite the fact that he wasn't even close to being ready. UCLA was then stuck with a gigantic hole at the point position only a year after recruiting the top guard in the nation. Thirdly, the rule only benefits the NBA. Scouts get a chance to see players perform against better competition. For reasons stated above, it definitely doesn't help the coaches. Fourthly, the rule makes a sham out of the concept of "student-athletes". Take John Wall, for example. Everyone knows he will be the number one pick in June's draft. He signs with Kentucky knowing this as well. He gets eligible for the Fall Semester (ending in December) and then plays out the basketball season (ending in late March or early April). Then after the basketball season, he starts working out for pro scouts. He has no need to attend class or to stay eligible. So basically he attends school for half a year before becoming pro. Why not just let him go to the NBA directly out of high school? So here is my solution: Adopt the baseball rule, but tweak it a bit. If a kid wants to play in the NBA right away, let him. But if he signs with a school, he has to stay for two years. This way, all the potential one-and-dones will have to choose between NBA right away, or attending two years of college. This forces players to actually stay eligible for three whole semesters (or 4 quarters) and it gives coaches the luxury of knowing they will have their star recruits for two seasons. I think it is a win-win all around. End of rant and back to the point of this blog post.)

Michigan State's Tom Izzo might be the best coach in college basketball. This is his sixth Final Four team, and he continues to make deep runs each year despite his team's lack of potential NBA talent. I have learned to never count out MSU when it comes time to fill out the brackets. This Spartans team is no different. Despite losing starting point guard and leader Kalin Lucas to a season-ending injury, the Spartans have continued to roll. They face Butler on Saturday and are in search of their second straight championship game appearance. I think Michigan State has just as good of a shot to cut down the nets as anyone.

Bob Huggins amazes me as well. Coach Huggins has turned his alma-mater into a legitimate basketball powerhouse. Huggins has been successful in all three of his major coaching stops (Cincinnati, Kansas State, and now West Virginia), and he is on the precipice of winning his first championship. I have West Virginia over as favorites over Duke on Saturday. I mean, how can you root against a guy with a clothing style as great as Huggie's? In all seriousness, I think the Mountaineers have the size, length, and athleticism to defeat the Blue Devils. West Virginia plays tough defense and I think the Dukies are going to struggle to put up points. Speaking of struggling to score..

Kentucky can't shoot. I mean, wow! I have never seen a team so good struggle so bad. UK started off 0 for 20 (!!) from 3 point land against the Mountaineers in their regional final game. The Wildcats consistently had good looks and just could not knock them down. In many cases, they were not even close. This has plagued many of Coach Cal's teams throughout his coaching career. He recruits the best raw talent and the most athletic players, but they often struggle shooting free-throws and three pointers (unless the shooting includes a player's cousin and a gun). It wouldn't kill Coach Cal to recruit a Lee Humphries- type player to space the floor. It was too easy for West Virginia to pack it in on defense. They dared Kentucky to beat them from deep and it was almost laughable to watch them continue to throw up bricks (laughable unless you're Ashley Judd, of course).

Lastly, I think that Butler's Gordon Hayward might be my new favorite player. He is 6'9", can shoot, drive, rebound and pass. He is tough despite being slender. And he is a good athlete. He had 22 points and 9 rebounds against K-State on Saturday. I think he is a good NBA draft prospect and I could see him in the Top 20 if he declares. I'm looking forward to seeing what he has in store for the upcoming game against Michigan State, but I'm expecting big things.

Time for predictions: I have Michigan State surviving against Butler and West Virginia over Duke. In the title game, I have Coach Huggins over Coach Izzo as the Mountaineers will take a title home to Morgantown. Besides, who wouldn't root for a team who has a fan with this sweatshirt) As usual, these predictions are likely to go wrong. Feel free to post your predictions in the comments thread.

Lakers Lock up the Spurs, 92-83

The Lakers defeated the San Antonio Spurs by a score of 92-83 on Wednesday night in one of their more impressive victories all season. Playing from behind in the second half of a tough road game in a playoff-type atmosphere, the Lakers made like Soulja Boy and turned their swag on (Just for the record, I think Soulja Boy sucks but I like this song because it was Matt Kemp's walk-up song last year. I guess that proves the power of Pavlovian reinforcement). The Lakers performance was impressive in many fashions, not the least of which was their attitude. After coasting through much of the regular season (angering many Lakers' fans, including myself) the Lakers turned up the intensity in the Alamo City. Trailing by eight to start the 3rd quarter, the Lakers upped the defensive pressure and held the Spurs to 35 second-half points. It all started with one man, Ron Artest.

Ron-Ron took over on both ends in the third quarter, scoring 9 of his 16 total points while locking up Manu Ginobili on the defensive end to help the Lakers outscore the Spurs 30-18 in the quarter. Ron continued the pressure in the fourth quarter forcing a few more turnovers. All in all, Artest finished with 16 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 steals. Artest showed the impact he can make on a game defensively as he disrupted the Spurs offensive flow. There have been a lot of critics of Artest's play this season (I'm looking at you Bill Plaschke) but last night's game showed why the Lakers were interested in him last July. I have been a proponent of the signing since Day 1, and personally I think people have been too hard on Ron. His points are down this season, but that is a product of him being the fourth-option on offense. Many people thought he was going to have issues taking fewer shots than he was used to taking, but he has been strikingly unselfish all season long. Others thought he would wreck the Lakers' chemistry, but he has been a great teammate as well. Sure, Ron's integration has not always been smooth. He has struggled at times on offense and defense (with plantar fasciitis slowing him down) but for the most part he has made the team better. And once the playoffs begin, Laker fans will be happy to have him around. He is a great defender who takes pride in his defense. Artest gives Kobe a chance to expend less energy on the defensive end since he takes on all the tough assignments. This will also pay dividends in the playoffs as Kobe will be able to contribute more offensively. The Lakers have been frustrating at times this year, and Artest is the easy scapegoat since he is the new guy, but he is an incredible asset and I think this fact will become more obvious once the playoffs begin.

Back to last night's game.. Lamar played great with 19 points and 13 boards. He had a highlight reel sequence at the end of the 1st quarter in which he ripped the ball away from Richard Jefferson on the baseline and took it 94 feet the other way for a layup (with his right hand I might add). When Lamar Kardashian is on his game, there are few in the league like him. He has the ability to impact the game in so many ways, whether it be on defense, rebounding, scoring or distributing. (Random Tangent: Have you noticed how many commercials Lamar has been in since marrying Khloe Kardashian? Coincidence? I think not. It looks like Kris Jenner is doing work for L.O.) Anyways, I love watching Lamar play at a high-level more than any other Laker not named Kobe.

Speaking of Kobe, the Black Mamba played great. I have been on Kobe all year for forcing his offense at the expense of the team. On Wednesday, he did exactly what I like to see him do. Kobe was an efficient 11 for 16 from the field, finishing with 24 points and 6 assists. He never forced his own shot and instead took good looks within the offense. And then when the Lakers had the Spurs reeling in the fourth, number 24 delivered the knockout punch with two 3 pointers and a pretty baseline jumper. I love seeing games like this from Kobe and hopefully he'll continue to play within the offense until the need arises for him to turn into Superman.


Pau Gasol struggled offensively last night. He finished 4 for 11 from the field with only 10 points. But Pau did have 12 boards and more importantly he shut down Tim Duncan on the defensive end. Duncan finished with only 6 points. As Pau said in is postgame interview, it's important for him to impact the game in some way if he doesn't have his offensive game going. He clearly did it on Wednesday night in San Antonio.

What impressed me the most about the win was the Lakers' attitude. They seemed to flip into "eff you" mode and clearly took it to the Spurs. It is an attitude I want to see on a more consistent basis from the Lakers. I personally think the Lakers need to win a minimum of 4 out of 5 on this road trip. I want to see them start beating good teams on the road and get their swagger back as they head into the playoffs. On Wednesday, they clearly had it, from Ron Artest blowing kisses to the crowd to Kobe high-fiving Lakers' fans courtside after hitting a dagger three from the corner. The Lakers were in control of the game and were not willing to relinquish it. If the Lakers come with that attitude the rest of the season, I think they have to be the favorites to win it all. The question is, can they maintain it from game to game?

How Much Madness Is Too Much Madness?

Well that was an eventful weekend. This past weekend proved that being an expert (or supposed expert) on the college game means nothing when it's the middle of March and there is a one-and-done tournament being played. The Madness started early on Thursday with a double overtime thriller between BYU and Florida and a near monumental upset by 15 seed Robert Morris over 2 seed Villanova. This should have been a sign that all of our brackets were in danger of becoming chicken scratch and that nothing was going to make sense in this tournament. But no, I still thought my Kansas pick was safe. Then on Saturday, two of my four Final Four picks were taken out as Kansas got done in by some guy whose name doesn't match his face (Ali Farokhmanesh, or what I think his name should be, Jimmy Stevenson) and Villanova got dominated by another baller from the Middle East, Omar Samhan. Come Saturday night, I abandoned all hope for my bracket and instead I am now rooting for complete chaos for the rest of the tournament. And that means I am rooting for Cornell to win it, so go Big Red! In honor of the insanity that was the tourney's opening weekend, I bring you my five favorite moments or stories from the first two rounds.

5. Murray State upsets Vanderbilt- This was the first buzzer beater of the tourney and the fact that it was done by a 13 seed to knock off a 4 seed is awesome. On what appeared to be a sort-of broken play at the end, Danero Thomas stepped up and drilled a long two pointer to win the game for the Racers (how cool of a name is that?). Murray State then played Butler extremely tough but a turnover on their final possession of the game ended the Racers' run. Nonetheless, Murray State is the kind of team that makes this tournament great, since we know nothing about them coming into the tourney but we immediately start rooting for them as if we are all alums of the university (despite the fact that none of us have any clue where Murray State is located).

4. Washington morphs into preseason form- I have to give the Pac-10 some love. Preseason top-ten team U-Dub got hot at the end of Pac-10 play and parlayed that into a Pac-10 Tournament title. This tournament birth gave Washington "nobody wants to play us" status entering the tournament as a ridiculously dangerous 11 seed. Isaiah Thomas and Quincy Pondexter continued to thrive once the NCAA tourney commenced as Washington upset Marquette 80-78 on a late basket by Pondexter. The Huskies then proved the superiority of the Pac-10 over the Mountain West as Washington pounded the MWC conference champs from New Mexico in the second round. So good luck Huskies and I'm rooting for you guys to continue the run.

3. The mortality of the Big East- Once again, the Big East received eight bids in the 65 team field. However, this year's lot of teams from the "best conference in America" has been uninspiring. Aside from Syracuse (a legit title contender) and West Virginia (a good team, but a team I think will get upset next round), the Big East has been a massive disappointment. Georgetown was dominated by 14 seed Ohio, Villanova almost lost to Robert Morris before Saint Mary's finished the Wildcats off. Louisville never got into any rhythm against Cal. Notre Dame was upset by Old Dominion, Pittsburgh was knocked off by Xavier, and Washington beat Marquette. All in all, an underwhelming performance from the monster that is usually the Big East conference.

2. Northern Iowa advances to the Sweet Sixteen- Farokhmanesh and Eglseder barely escaped against UNLV before taking it Kansas and giving a gigantic middle finger to brackets across America. A Persian and a big man with a receding hairline (two things that make me think "great basketball team", along with short, chubby white guy and middle-aged man with two knee braces) have Northern Iowa in a position to advance to the Elite Eight when they face off with the Michigan State Spartans this weekend. Michigan State will be without Kalin Lucas and I think Northern Iowa can continue their run. Needless to say I'll be rooting for this team that reminds me of a pickup squad at the local 24-Hour Fitness.

1. The Red Hot Cornell Big Red destroy the competition- 12 seeds knock off 5 seeds every single year. But then they usually fizzle in the next round. Not Cornell, who defeated Temple in the first round by 13 before waxing Wisconsin in the second round. The Big Red and their zero athletic scholarships won the first two NCAA tournament games in program history. It is hard not to root for the Ivy League since these kids are actually students that happen to play sports rather than the other way around. Unfortunately, the kids from Ithaca, New York run up against Kentucky next round. I'd be surprised if they win, but I refuse to make any more predictions (well, at least not right now). However, at this point, would anyone be truly shocked if the Big Red came out knocking down threes and pushed Kentucky to the brink? I wouldn't be.



This past weekend showed that either I know nothing about college basketball or that this tournament is hard to predict. Let's go with with the latter. My predictions from earlier this week were not very good (other than my pick of Cornell as a sleeper). So I'm just going to enjoy the ride and not worry about my picks anymore. But hey, since we're here, I like Syracuse to win it all now. Consider the Orange officially jinxed.

UPDATE: I want to give a shout-out to the UCLA women's team as they take on number one seed Nebraska tonight at 6:30. Coach Caldwell continues to turn the program around in impressive fashion, and I wish them the best of luck tonight.