Monday, February 29, 2016

Seton Hall

In one of the most impressive games of the weekend, Seton Hall throttled Xavier freak off its own impressive win over Villanova. The Pirates started league play 2-4 but have gone 8-1 since and are comfortably in 3rd place. 

Hall finds itself 31st overall in KenPom. They're 13th in defense and 73rd in offense. The offensive numbers are probably a reflection of their youth. They start one senior, graduate transfer Derrick Gordon. According to KenPom, they're the 321st most experienced team.

Opponents have an effective fg% of 44.8%, 15th best. Teams only shoot 31.1% from 3, 25th best and 44% from 2, 31st best. They're pretty soft on the defensive glass, allowing an opponent rebounding % of 30.9, which is 252nd.

Offensively, they're a lot a less efficient. They have an effective fg% of only 49.2%, 207th. They can be careless with the ball. The Pirates turnover % is 19.3%, 251st. While they don't protect the defensive glass, they are a very good offensive rebounding team. They're 30th overall with an offensive rebounding % of 35.4%. They demoralized Xavier on this front yesterday.

As I mentioned before, this is a young team. Aside from Gordon, they start 4 sophomores. Isaiah Whitehead gets the heaviest usage and runs the show. He's a high volume shooter and not all that good at it. He's a bit of a drain on their numbers. Khadeen Carrington is similar in makeup. They both like to shoot. Desi Rodriguez has been one of the most improved players in the league. Big man Angel Delgado is their best rebounder. Fellow big man Ish Sanogo is solid on the offensive glass and can be a shot blocker. All of them are sophomores. 

Seton Hall was a wreck to end last year and a sluggish start to league play this year probably put Kevin Willard's job on the line. The team responded brilliantly and will make their first tournament appearance since 2006. Brian has them on the 8/9 line. A win in March would be a great season for them and about where they fall by the numbers. Whitehead might look to the NBA but if he's back next year and maybe even if he isn't, they'll be a top 20 team.

Monday Bracketology

1 seed vs 16 seed
Kansas (B12) vs TSouth(SWAC)/Wagner(NEC)
Villanova (Beast) vs Hampton(MEAC)/Bucknell (Pat)
Michigan State vs Weber St (Bsky)
North Carolina vs N.Florida(Asun)
2 seed vs 15 seed
Miami (ACC) vs Winthrop(Bsouth)
Oregon (P12) vs SFA (Sland)
Oklahoma vs New Mexico St (WAC)
Virginia vs South Dakota St (Summit)
3 seed vs 14 seed
Kentucky (SEC) vs Belmont (OVC)
Xavier vs UAB (Cusa)
West Virginia vs Hofstra (CAA)
Iowa State vs Chattanooga (SoCon)
4 seed vs 13 seed
Indiana (B1G) vs Princeton (Ivy)
Utah vs Stony Brook (Aest)
Maryland vs Hawaii (Bwest)
Purdue vs Akron (MAC)
5 seed vs 12 seed
Iowa vs UALR (Sbelt)
Texas vs VCU/Gonzaga
Arizona vs Cincinnati/Oregon State
Texas A&M vs Florida
6 seed vs 11 seed
Baylor vs Valparasio (Horizon)
Notre Dame vs Monmouth (MAAC)
Duke vs Michigan
California vs San Diego State (Mwest)
7 seed vs 10 seed
South Carolina vs St. Bonavanture
Dayton vs St. Mary's (WCC)
Texas Tech vs Temple (AAC)
Wisconsin vs Connecticut
8 seed vs 9 seed
Providence vs USC
Colorado vs Seton Hall
Wichita St (Mvalley) vs Pittsburgh
St. Joseph's (A10) vs Syracuse
First Four Out
Butler
Alabama
Vanderbilt
Tulsa
Next Four Out
George Washington
BYU
Davidson
Georgia Tech
Also Considered
Florida State
Mississippi
LSU
Ohio State
Washington

Sunday, February 28, 2016

Utah and Pac-12 Talk

To answer Brian about who the best in the west is, the answer is...uh, I dunno. 

Arizona's trip to the mountains was a bust as they lost to Colorado and Utah yesterday. Utah has won 6 straight and along with Cal, are the hottest teams in the league. The Utes are projected to finish 13-5 which would give them the same league record as Oregon. Oregon would win the league title since they swept Utah.

The Ducks rebounded from a bad trip around the bay last week taking care of Oregon State and Washington State this week. Working against the Ducks is they have to travel to LA next week to battle USC and UCLA. 

If we ignore records and go with KenPom, this is how the league shakes out: 

1. Arizona (16)
2. Oregon (19)
3. Utah (24)
4. Cal (27)
5. USC (46)
6. UCLA (53)
7. Oregon State (60)
8. Colorado (64)

Brian has USC & Colorado on the 8/9 line. OSU & UCLA are out. As the league currently shakes out, only Arizona projects as a second weekend team but as we know, matchups will determine that. These numbers will change but if you make me pick a Pac-12 team to make a run?  I'd stick with Arizona 

A Top 10 With How They Lose in March

1. Kansas - The guards play bad. Mason and Selden can disappear at times.

2. Michigan State - Fouls come back to haunt them. A physical team will have fouls called on them that aren't in the Big 14.

3. Villanova - Get caught 3 happy and don't feed Ochefu and Reynolds.

4. Xavier - Defensive lapses or foul troubles. Certain X lineups caused by foul trouble have problems creating offense 

5. Virginia - Can't score 

6. North Carolina - Can't defend

7. Miami - Overwhelmed by a team with superior and pro talent on it.

8. Oklahoma - The interior players disappear forcing the guards to do all the heavy lifting.

9. West Virginia - Turnovers and fouls are too much to overcome.

10. Duke - Lack of depth and inexperience 

Coming: Utah
Going: Iowa

Saturday, February 27, 2016

Afternoon Quick Notes

Vandy takes out Kentucky and that's a huge win on their resume.  May be enough to leap frog some teams and be in on Monday's bracket

Dayton loses to understaffed Rhode Island.  Yuck

Davidson lost to Fordham and probably falls off the Also Considered

Texas went on a million to 0 run and beat Oklahoma

Kansas win the Big 12...

Purdue beats Maryland to the surprise of no one

Utah takes out Arizona as they look like the star of the West.  What says you Mr. Kurlinski?

Delany's Folly

Listen, Jim Delany has made his member schools filthy rich. The Big 14 is awash in cash from the Big 14 TV Network. Nonetheless, his reign of terror in college athletics has done nothing for fans and alumni of the original 10 teams.

Teams go years without playing one another in football. The Big 14 hockey conference has been a bust. I don't follow other than seeing what Michigan fans say and they hate it. They miss their old rivalries and are upset the conference is so mediocre.

But this is a basketball blog and let's talk Big 14 Hoops. Today, Rutgers went to Northwestern and lost by 39. They gave up 98 points to a team that is 334th in tempo. In the first half, Rutgers made 7 baskets total. Northwestern made 9 3-pointers.

Rutgers is currently 305th in KenPom. Only Utah, in its first Pac-12 season, was nearly as bad for any Power 5 league. Rutgers is 315th in offense, averaging less than a point per possession and 246th in defense. They are below average in every one of the four factors except fouling on defense. Huzzah. Every Bog 14 loss has been by double digits except their opening tilt at home against Indiana. They did manage triple overtime against Illinois.

The tired argument for adding Rutgers was the addition of the New York market. Diamond Jim Delany is so desperate to make an impact in NYC, he schedules the Big 14 tournament a week early to get into MSG in a few years. For that, he gets a running joke. It's a shame for the other schools and their fans. Sometimes, the dollars aren't worth it.

Friday, February 26, 2016

Friday Braacketology

1 seed vs 16 seed
Kansas (B12) vs TSouth(SWAC)/Wagner(NEC)
Xavier vs Hampton(MEAC)/Bucknell (Pat)
Michigan State vs Montana (Bsky)
Oklahoma vs N.Florida(Asun)
2 seed vs 15 seed
Villanova (Beast) vs Winthrop(Bsouth)
North Carolina (ACC) vs SFA (Sland)
Miami vs New Mexico St (WAC)
Oregon (P12) vs IPFW (Summit)
3 seed vs 14 seed
Kentucky (SEC) vs Belmont (OVC)
Arizona vs UAB (Cusa)
West Virginia vs Hofstra (CAA)
Virginia vs Chattanooga (SoCon)
4 seed vs 13 seed
Maryland vs Princeton (Ivy)
Iowa State vs Stony Brook (Aest)
Indiana (B1G) vs Hawaii (Bwest)
Iowa vs Akron (MAC)
5 seed vs 12 seed
Utah vs UALR (Sbelt)
Notre Dame vs VCU/Gonzaga
Duke vs Cincinnati/Oregon State
Texas vs St. Bonavanture
6 seed vs 11 seed
Purdue vs Valparasio (Horizon)
Texas A&M vs Monmouth (MAAC)
Baylor vs St. Mary's (WCC)
Dayton (A10) vs Temple (AAC)
7 seed vs 10 seed
South Carolina vs Florida
California vs Michigan
Texas Tech vs San Diego State (Mwest)
Wisconsin vs Seton Hall
8 seed vs 9 seed
Providence vs Pittsburgh
Colorado vs St. Joseph's
Wichita St (Mvalley) vs Syracuse
Connecticut vs USC
First Four Out
Butler
Alabama
Vanderbilt
Tulsa
Next Four Out
George Washington
BYU
Davidson
Georgia Tech
Also Considered
Washington
Mississippi
LSU
Ohio State
Florida State

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Fraud Alert: Indiana

My bold predictions from January are looking ice cold like usual including Tom Crean would be coaching for his job. Instead, the Hoosiers are looking for their 2nd Big 14 title in 4 years. 

Before we dive into some numbers, we should be clear about their chances to win the Big 14 outright. They have a tricky game at Illinois tonight and then travel to Iowa next Tuesday before closing at home against Maryland. That's daunting even if Iowa is scuffling and Maryland is a pretender. All that said, it's been a good year in Bloomimgton.

The Hoosiers are 18th in KenPom overall. They're 10th in AdjustedO and 80th in AdjustedD. They are one of the best shooting teams in America. Their effective fg% is 58.7%, 2nd best. They shoot 41.8% from 3 which is 5th and 56% from 2, 8th best. They are also a good offensive rebounding team. Their offensive rebounding % is 37.7%, 14th best. They do have an issue and that's protecting the ball. Their turnover % is an awful 19.8%, 272nd.

The reason you should be leery of them in March is a mediocre defense. A lot of talking heads have talked about how much better they are on defense and given they were 214th a year ago, 80 is a drastic improvement. But in 2013, they were a top 30 defense. They're a long way from that. 

They have an effective defensive fg% of 49.8%, 170th. Teams shoot 34.6 from 3 and 48.9% from 2. They're not as strong on the defensive glass either. That's 113th overall.

Senior Yogi Ferrell runs the show but their best player is Troy Williams. Williams score 13 and gets 6 boards. Sophomore James Blackmon averages 16ppg and shoots 46% from 3. Frosh Thomas Bryant adds 11.5ppg and 5.5rpg. Michigan grad transfer Max Bielfeldt has been a solid player for them as well. Amazingly, Michigan fans have treated him well. Weird, Jarrod Uthoff wonders how that's possible.

Indiana has a chance to get to the second weekend. Beyond that is unlikely and that seems weird to say about a possible Big 14 champ. They have enough options that scoring shouldn't be an issue. Turnovers and defense will be what gets them. With a chance at a Big 14 title, Indiana and its coach can prove a lot of people wrong. Will they? I have my doubts but who doesn't like seeing Tom Crean cut down nets?

Bubble Watch Last Night and Tonight

Wisconsin got a huge win at Iowa and seems to be safe unless they lose out the rest of the season.

The A-10 looked good except for VCU which lost at George Mason.  St. Joe’s and St. Bonaventure win to stay in while George Washington remains just out

Pittsburgh falls to a 9 seed and does have some room for error but their resume is a little thin.

Oregon State beat Washington to stay ahead of them outside the bracket

We wave good bye to Georgia and Creighton with their losses

Not much going on for tonight; just 5 bubble worthy games

Florida State @ Duke – FSU has been in a free fall and a win at Duke  would push them back up into the conversation as one of the last 4 in

Providence @ Seton Hall – Neither are really bubble teams but Seton Hall could use one more win

UCLA @ California – Cal has looked like a beast lately and UCLA is barely hanging on. 

Gonzaga @ San Diego – Gonzaga a bubble team?  The numbers would say so since they got swept by the Gaels


Santa Clara @ St. Mary’s – The Gaels swept the Zags but they need to hang on to the #1 seed in the conference

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Tonight’s Bubble Games

VCU @ George Mason – The Rams can’t afford a let down here.  Best to keep the conference lead.

St. Joseph’s @ UMass – Road games in the A10 are tricky.  Same situation as VCU; avoid the bad loss.

Duquesne @ St. Bonaventure – At least the Bonnies are at home.  They are one of my last 4 in.

Northwestern @ Michigan – The Wolverines can probably afford a loss but they have fallen a couple seed lines in the past couple weeks.

Georgia @ Auburn – I’m only tracking the Bulldogs until they lose.  Could be tonight

George Washington @ Richmond – Huh, another tricky road A10 game?

Marquette @ Creighton – Creighton is better than their record and need to win out. RPI is around 80 and that’s way too high

Wisconsin @ Iowa – A loss at Iowa won’t hurt too much but every loss hurts a little


Washington @ Oregon State – Neither team is in right now so it’s a battle to be also considered

Wednesday Notes

Well, Tulsa beats Temple but Temple still remains the AQ for the AAC.  Tulsa inches closer to a bid but they are still in the last 4 out.
LSU got slaughtered by 20 and fall further from consideration.
Ohio State did the same but at least this was to Michigan State
Georgia Tech beat Clemson and we can drop them off are Also Considered list.
Mississippi and Davidson get wins to remain on the radar but its a deep radar.
Florida lost to Vanderbilt and they will probably fall from a 10 to an 11.  Vanderbilt still remains out but this win was big for them.
Kentucky but the smack down on Alabama but they should still hang on to a bid.  Seems like tonight and Thursday night's games should determine the last 4 in.

Bubble games to be talked about later today but until then enjoy the San Antonio Spurs:



Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Tonight's Bubble Games

Temple at Tulsa - Temple has the auto bid while Tulsa is 1.5 games out and one of our first four out.  This would be a big win but not enough to get into the bracket

Florida at Vanderbilt - The Gators are relatively safe but can't afford teams to pass them by.  Vandy has a high RPI but has chances to make some noise

Alabama at Kentucky - Alabama has been on a tear and are one of my last 4 teams in.   Could be a statement win.

LSU at Arkansas - Yes, you can hear ESPN begging Ben Simmons to win so they can talk about him more

Georgia Tech at Clemson - I'm not sure why I'm tracking GaTech but I won't if they lose tonight.  Might be the same for Clemson

Davidson at Rhode Island - Davidson has an RPI of 60 and little room for error.  They need to go on a run starting tonight

Mississippi at Missouri - Mississippi is SEC's version of Georgia Tech.

Tuesday Morning Notes

Not a ton of changes as Monday night basketball has become light.

Miami beats Virginia and basically flips with them from the 3 to the 2 seed line.

West Virginia holds on over Iowa State and that's basically the same story as they move ahead of them but both remain a 3 seed for now.

Texas wins and remains a 5 seed.

Monday, February 22, 2016

California Dreaming

One of the hotter teams out west and trendier teams to watch according to insiders is California. Cuonzo Martin's team has won 5 in a row, including a sweep at the Washington schools this weekend.

Cal was trending towards major disappointment before this recent run. Prior to this weekend, Cal hadn't won any road games in conference so maybe they are starting to figure things out. They went on the road in December and lost by 1 to Virginia in overtime and all 5 conference losses were by single digits.

They've risen to 26th in KenPom. Offense is 41st and defense is 29th. The high number on defense is driven by effective fg% defense. They are 4th in the nation with an effective fg% of 43.6% on defense and tops overall on 2pt defense. They also protect the defensive glass. Opponents rebound 25.5% of misses, 26th best.

The Bears offensive effective fg% is 53.2%, 44th best. They're loose with the ball. They have a turnover % of 18.3%, 187th. They're okay at rebounding on the offensive glass. They have an offensive rebounding % of 32.8%, 70th best. One potential flaw is free throw shooting. They only shoot 65.9% from the line and they do a good job getting to the line. Can they win close games at the line with the pressure ratcheted up?

The Bears have two of the nation's top frosh in the class in F Jaylen Brown and big man Ivan Rabb. Brown scores 15.7ppg and 5.5rpg. Rabb scores 12ppg and 8.3rpg. Rabb shoots 62% and along with Brown gets to the line. Senior Tyrone Wallace does it all. He scores 15.3ppg and adds 5.2rpg and 4.3apg. Brown and Wallace shoot plenty of 3's but don't scratch 30%. Junior Jordan Mathews shoots 45% from 3. 

Cal's 5 game winning streak has included 4 wins by double digits. That includes a rout of Oregon. They get the LA schools at home this week before traveling to the desert to close the season. A 3-1 finish is expected and seems reasonable. These 4 games should tell us what Cal is capable of in March.

Monday Morning Bracketology

1 seed vs 16 seed
Kansas (B12) vs TSouth(SWAC)/Wagner(NEC)
Villanova (Beast) vs Hampton(MEAC)/Bucknell (Pat)
Xavier vs Montana (Bsky)
Michigan State vs N.Florida(Asun)
2 seed vs 15 seed
Iowa (B1G) vs Winthrop(Bsouth)
Virginia vs SFA (Sland)
Oklahoma vs New Mexico St (WAC)
North Carolina (ACC) vs IPFW (Summit)
3 seed vs 14 seed
Kentucky (SEC) vs Belmont (OVC)
Arizona vs UAB (Cusa)
Oregon (P12) vs UNC-Wilmington(CAA)
Iowa State vs Chattanooga (SoCon)
4 seed vs 13 seed
Miami vs Princeton (Ivy)
Maryland vs Stony Brook (Aest)
Utah vs Hawaii (Bwest)
Indiana vs Akron (MAC)
5 seed vs 12 seed
West Virginia vs UALR (Sbelt)
Notre Dame vs St. Bonavanture/Gonzaga
Duke vs Cincinnati/Alabama
Texas vs Valparasio (Horizon)
6 seed vs 11 seed
Purdue vs Michigan
Texas A&M vs Temple (AAC)
Baylor vs Monmouth (MAAC)
Dayton vs St. Mary's (WCC)
7 seed vs 10 seed
South Carolina vs San Diego St (Mwest)
Providence vs VCU (A10)
California vs Seton Hall
Texas Tech vs Florida
8 seed vs 9 seed
USC  vs St. Joseph's
Colorado vs Syracuse
Wichita St (Mvalley) vs Connecticut
Pittsburgh vs Wisconsin
First Four Out
Butler
Oregon State
Vanderbilt
Tulsa
Next Four Out
George Washington
LSU
Ohio State
Florida State
Also Considered
Georgia Tech
Georgia
Mississippi
Davidson
UCLA
BYU
Creighton
Washington
Clemson

Sunday, February 21, 2016

Your Favorite Top 10

1. Kansas - Moved them up to number 1.  Starting to play like the team we thought they'd be before the season. Not an overwhelming favorite by any stretch but trending that way.

2. Villanova - Handled Butler and Temple this week, two teams looking for defining wins. Travels to Xavier this week for the biggest Big East game since realignment.

3. Oklahoma - Numbers are still good but they don't look the part right now. Khadeem Lattin is the player they need to become a factor on a nightly basis.

4. Virginia - Still losing early

5. Xavier - I'm not sure any team looked more impressive this week than Xavier. They simply manhandled Georgetown yesterday in D.C. Cincinnati will be rocking come Wednesday night.

6. North Carolina - The game yesterday against Miami was such a tease. 

7. Michigan State - Denzel Valentine is knocking on the door for National POY. 

8. Iowa - They've been showing cracks in the last few weeks. Defense has been the culprit. 3 of their final 4 games are home vs. UW, at OSU, at Michigan. Other game is home for Indiana. Desperate teams and an Indiana team that already beat them.

9. Arizona - Have already talked myself into picking them from the West.

10. Duke - If they can stay healthy or just get healthy, they'll be dangerous next month. 

Coming: Indiana

Going: LSU to the NIT, which is better for ESPN anyway

Saturday, February 20, 2016

Friday Notes

Monmouth losses to Iona and is probably out of the running for an at-large bid.  The MAAC is starting to surge and Monmouth's computer numbers will still look good if they beat Siena and or Iona on the way through the conference tournament but I just don't think they could afford another loss and get in.

VCU looked dominate against Richmond at home and to me looks like a bonafide at-large team.

And Princeton beats Yale to create a tie at the top of the Ivy.  Always interesting in that conference.

Friday, February 19, 2016

2006

A year ago, I took a look back at the 1995 tournament to get us geared up for March Madness. This year, we'll look back at the incredible year 2006 was for March Madness. It was a tournament, when all was said and done, no 1-seeds made the Final 4 for the first time since 1980. Of course, the story that captured our attention was the incredible run by George Mason who slayed one giant after another on their magical journey.

Midwest/Minneapolis Region

Yes, in 2006 we called the regions by their regional final host city. In the Midwest, Florida came out of this region as a 3-seed on their way to the National Championship. Florida won every game in this run by double digits exempt in their Sweet 16 tilt against Georgetown.

This region was the least thrilling. UWM, as an 11-seed throttled the 6-seed Oklahoma. This came on the heels of their Sweet 16 run. There'd be no repeat run as Florida smoked them in the Round of 32.

The best game came between former Big East foes when Villanova, the 1-seed, outlasted Boston College in overtime. Villanova got their final 2 points from Will Sheridan with :03 left in overtime on a goaltend.

West/Oakland

The West from 2006 is best remembered for two things. The first was Bradley making their first Sweet 16 in 50 years as a 13-seed. The second would be the wild Gonzaga-UCLA Sweet 16 game.

Bradley first met Kansas in round one. Kansas was a young team, the core would win a national title in two seasons, who was overwhelmed early by Bradley. The Braves had a halftime lead of 37-27, punctuated by a 30' at the buzzer by Will Franklin. The Braves, lead by Marcellus Sommerville's 21 points and 5 3's held the Jayhawks off and sent them packing for the second consecutive season as a first round upset victim.

In the second round, Bradley jumped all over Pitt and won 72-66. In that game, they were lead by Patrick O'Bryant who scored 28 points. The run ended at the hands of Memphis in the Sweet 16 but was still a memorable one.

The other moment became an indelible moment often relived every year. Gonzaga, behind Adam Morrison jumped out to a 17-point first half lead over UCLA. The Bruins slowly climbed back into the game but were still down 9 with 3 minutes left. Remarkably, UCLA would score the final 11 points and end Morrison's fine college career as he sat and wept on the court as the game ended.

South/Atlanta

The South gave us two remarkable buzzer beaters. The first was the incredible upset of Northwestern State over Iowa, 64-63. Iowa was up 17 with 8 1/2 minutes left when Northwestern State began its comeback. Iowa still lead by a point late when Greg Brunner went to the line. Brunner would make 1 of 2 giving Northwestern State a chance to tie or win. As we know, Jermaine Walker made an incredible fadeaway three to shock the Hawkeyes.

Not to be outdone, Texas would do the same against West Virginia in the Sweet 16. The Mountaineers Kevin Pittsnogle would make a 3 to tie it with :05 left. The Longhorns Kenton Paulino would answer with a 3 at the buzzer to win the game for Texas.

In the regional final, LSU would defeat Texas in overtime. The 4-seed had defeated Duke in the Sweet 16 and ended the career of JJ Redick.

East/Washington D.C.

Here's the region where it all happened. Crazy buzzer beater? Check, Chris Lofton falling away 3 to defeat Winthrop in the 1st round. Shaky, prohibitive favorite 1-seed? Check. Scrappy, dismissed underdog who shut up Billy Packer? Check.

Before we tell the story of George Mason, let's relive how shaky UConn was in this run. The 1-seed trailed 16-seed Albany by 12 in the second half before eventually pulling away. They held off 8-seed Kentucky who twice cut it to 2 late before Rudy Gay won it at the FT line. In the Sweet 16, they overcame 26 turnovers and an 11 point 2nd half deficit to beat Washington in overtime. Washington was ahead 80-76 with 11 seconds left when UConn's Marcus Williams made a layup and was fouled. He made the FT. UConn fouled Brandon Roy who calmly made both FTs. UConn's Rashad Anderson would make a 3 with 1.8 seconds left to send it to overtime where UConn finally won.

On the other side of the bracket was George Mason. The Patriots were blasted on selection Sunday as undeserving of a bid, most prominently by CBS Billy Packer. They had lost in the Colonial Tournament to Hofstra. Save a bracket buster win in February over Wichita State, the resume was pretty thin. But they were selected and they made the most unlikely run ever.

In the opening round, they outmuscled Michigan State despite being without suspended star Tony Skinn. They out rebounded Sparty, 40-24 and overcame going 10-21at the line to close the game.

Next up was North Carolina, the 3-seed. The defending champs were a young squad who still managed to jump out to a 16-2 lead. Slowly but surely, though, GMU came back and ended up winning 65-60. They got a bit of a reprieve, beating the 7-seed Wichita State and Mark Turgeon handidly in the Sweet 16.

Next up was UConn. This was supposed to be the team to get Jim Calhoun a 3rd title. Even with the struggles to this point in the tournament, they were still a prohibitive favorite. UConn jumped out early and were up 43-34 at half. George Mason remarkably would hit 6 straight 3 pointers at one point in the 2nd half in a seesaw battle. They lead late but UConn's Denham Brown tied it at the buzzer. George Mason would make 5 of 6 shots in overtime and would overcome Jai Lewis missing 3 free throws in the final :15 seconds of overtime and Brown missing a potential game winning 3. They became the second 11 seed to make the Final 4.

Sadly, the Final 4 itself was a bit of a dud. All three games were decided by double digits culminating in the crowning of Florida. Still, the run up to it was one of the best tournaments of all time.

Friday Bracketology

1 seed vs 16 seed
Kansas (B12) vs TSouth(SWAC)/Wagner(NEC)
Villanova (Beast) vs Hampton(MEAC)/Bucknell (Pat)
Xavier vs Montana (Bsky)
Michigan State vs N.Florida(Asun)
2 seed vs 15 seed
Miami (ACC) vs Winthrop(Bsouth)
Iowa (B1G) vs SFA (Sland)
Virginia vs New Mexico St (WAC)
Oklahoma vs UAB (Cusa)
3 seed vs 14 seed
Kentucky (SEC) vs Belmont (OVC)
North Carolina vs IPFW (Summit)
Arizona vs UNC-Wilmington(CAA)
Oregon (P12) vs Hawaii (Bwest)
4 seed vs 13 seed
Iowa State vs Yale (Ivy)
Notre Dame vs Stony Brook (Aest)
Duke vs UALR (Sbelt)
Purdue vs Akron (MAC)
5 seed vs 12 seed
Maryland vs Chattanooga (SoCon)
West Virginia vs Butler/St.Mary's
Utah vs Alabama/Florida State
Texas vs Temple (AAC)
6 seed vs 11 seed
Indiana vs Texas Tech
Providence vs Valparasio (Horizon)
Dayton (A10) vs Wisconsin
Baylor vs San Diego St (Mwest)
7 seed vs 10 seed
USC  vs VCU
Texas A&M vs Monmouth (MAAC)
California vs Seton Hall
Pittsburgh vs Michigan
8 seed vs 9 seed
Florida vs Gonzaga (WCC)
Colorado vs St. Joseph's
Wichita St (Mvalley) vs Syracuse
South Carolina vs Connecticut
First Four Out
Cincinnati
Oregon State
Vanderbilt
Ohio State
Next Four Out
UCLA
LSU
BYU
St. Bonaventure
Also Considered
Georgia Tech
Georgia
Mississippi
Davidson
Tulsa
Kansas State
Clemson
George Washington
Creighton
Washington
Georgetown