Which brings me back to the point of television cameras at NBA Games panning the crowd for celebrities. I understand it’s an entertainment media, and it’s par for the course, but can we at least pan to a celebrity who’s at least a fan of the team?  Jack and Spike (and even Billy Crystal) are fine.  They are at every (well, most of them) game, win or lose.  They care about the fortunes of the team.  I give Carlos Santana a pass as well, he’s a Bay Area icon.  Ashley Judd at Kentucky games is cool.  Heck, when I was at UCLA, Jaleel White (Urkel) used to sit in the student section.  I do’t have in issue if you’re there to see the game.  Just don’t be there to be seen.

For example, I know Snoop and Baron Davis are friends, but could “His Shizzelness” at least have waited for his hometown Lakers corpse to get cold? And what about Kate Hudson and Owen Wilson? I’ll give Kate the benefit of the doubt, cause at least she seemed to be rooting for the Warriors, but Owen Wilson? He’s a Dallas native, and no doubt got the tickets from Cuban, who was perhaps trying to attach Wilson to a movie he’s producing?  It’s possible, isn’t it?

I hate to seem like such a stickler on this, but it all stems from when Joe Piscopo was brought in by Nets’ brass to “pump the crowd up” back during the championship runs in the swamp back in 2002 and 2003. Do you think for a minute, Joe Piscopo ever went to a Nets’ game when Buck Williams, Otis Birdsong and Michael Ray Richardson were running at the Meadowlands? Would he have ever approached Darwin Cook, as I did in 1994, when he was an assistant at UNLV and reminisced about the 1984 playoff series win over the defending champion 76ers? I grew up a Nets’ fan, and embraced the NBA during the 80s, which was great if you rooted for Philly, Boston or the Lakers, but guys like me who followed the Nets, were real NBA fans. You couldn’t really get the Nets on local TV, and their games were never nationally televised.  If it wasn’t Larry Brown bailing for Kansas, it was Michael Ray getting suspended for cocaine, or Drazen Petrovic being killed in a car crash of the German Audobahn, or Derrick Friggin’ Coleman writing Chuck Daly a blank check for all future fines, “Whoop De Damn Do.”

Most of my buddies cut it off with the NBA a long time ago, or latched onto the Knicks. Grace finally shines on the Nets in the form of Jason Kidd, and I have to deal with Joe Piscopo?  Couldn’t I have at least been given the pleasure of a Johnny Dangerously sequel for that?  During Game 6 with the Raptors, TNT also cut to James Gandolfini and I’m okay with that. Gandolfini probably couldn’t tell you who Otis Birdsong is either (and who the Nets traded to get him) but he gets a pass. It’s like if The Boss came to a Nets’ game, you’d have to cut to him. He’s a New Jersey icon. Not to say Jimmy G is yet in the Springsteen Pantheon, but he’s played one of the most identifiable characters in pop culture, with a direct connection to Jersey. The guy went to Rutgers after all. He’s not a New York guy trying to pass himself as a bridge and tunnel authentic, he’s actually from Westwood, which is six miles from where I grew up. The only thing that could have made it better, would have been if he brought Joey Pants (aka The Late Ralphie Cifaretto) along with him, despite their past troubles.

And speaking about Nets-Raptors, solid last two games of the series. No shame in Vince Carter trying to kick out to Boki Nachbar at the end of Game 5. Nachbar has been a key contributor off the bench for the Nets, and their first legit scorer off the bench since Richard Jefferson in his rookie season. Nachbar cleary benefits from playing with Kidd and Carter. We all knew he could score the ball from the perimeter, given the chance, but what has impressed me was how well he plays off his teammates, executing give and gos, and putting the ball to the floor and finishing on the break. If the Nets do anything against Cleveland, he’ll be a big part of it.

Another surprise for the Nets has been the play of Mikki Moore. He’s one of those guys (and there’s not a lot of them) that can come in for three minutes and really give you a boost. He doesn’t need to feel his way into the game. Once Mikki steps on the floor, he throws the switch and he’s there. My only critique of his game is that I wish he was playing sixteen minutes a night instead of thirty. A second unit of Boki, Mikki, Marcus Williams, and Antoine Wright looks better and better with each passing day. I still have to figure out whether I want Josh Boone on the floor with them, or with the first unit, and have Jason Collins coming off the bench.

Despite losing to a lower-seeded team, Toronto’s future seems to bode well. Chris Bosh is obviously a star, and it was wise for Bryan Colangelo to build the team around him. Sam Mitchell did a tremendous job in integrating a lot of new parts to get this team going a year earlier than expected. The combination of Spaniard Jose Calderon and TJ Ford at point guard is a good one. Anthony Parker and Andrei Bargiani both shoot the ball extremely well, and should draw enough attention to allow Bosh some room on the inside. Most importantly, this team plays well together. They have solid contributors off the bench, like Joey Graham and Morris Peterson, and should continue to grow as they play together. Two or three years from now, this could be a scary team come playoff time. With their keen eye for talent, particularly of the European variety, expect them to add some more parts for next season, when they will also have the services of forward Jose Garbjosa, who missed the series with the Nets.  The big question is Toronto seems to be whether or not Coach of the Year Sam Mitchell will stay or go.  He will clearly draw interest from other teams, and Bryan Colangelo will have yet another decision to make. Stay tuned.

Make no mistake, however, the better team did advance, despite the regular season totals. The Warriors had the Mavs dead-to-rights in the fifth game, up six with less than three minutes to go, when they inexplicably went cold. Dallas, behind Dirk Nowitzki, who prior to his late-game barrage, had taken a total of two shots in the entire fourth quarter, rallied to send the series back to Oakland. If you saw the celebration Thursday night, maybe it wasn’t so inexplicable. Maybe the Warriors collectively thought, “Hey, we own these guys, let’s take it back to Oak-Town, and really do it up.” There were so many great story lines in this improbable upset. The eighth-seeded team knocking off the team with the best record in the NBA was the most obvious one. Then, there was the storyline of Don Nelson, who came more or less, out of retirement to take the reins of the Warriors. Also, prior to returning to Golden State for a second term, Nellie had previously coached the Mavericks. Factor in that he’d more or less hand-picked and trained his successor, Avery Johnson, and oh yeah, there’s the whole “How Much Money Does Mark Cuban Really Owe Don Nelson?” line as well.

As for the game itself, it played out as a nip and tuck battle in the first half, ending with the Warriors up a single basket. The second half was an entirely different story, with the Warriors rolling over the Mavs and their superstar, (Nowitzki didn’t even reach double figures in Game 6), running the lead to twenty-eight in the waning moments. Baron Davis, not nearly at a hundred percent, did what he could on one leg, as Steven Jackson (33 points) took up the scoring slack. Matt Barnes did the dirty work, keeping the ball alive for an extra second, seemingly whenever the Warriors needed him to. It was a pleasure to watch Barnes play at such a high level personally, having covered both he and Baron Davis when they were at UCLA. Baron was a superstar from the second he walked onto campus from nearby Crossroads High. Despite injury problems, he was a dynamic and explosive player for the Bruins during his two seasons. The only negative about his college career, was that maybe he left a season too early. But with a top-five draft position looming, there was little doubt as to what he had to do.

Matt Barnes played in Westwood for four years, making a name with tenacity and relentlessness. Other players got the headlines, but he usually got the ball. The students referred to him affectionately as “The Sac-Town Assassin.” He made up for whatever physical shortcomings he had with hustle and desire. He worked hard to improve both his outside shooting and defense, and did whatever he was asked by the coaching staff. Cover a post player in the low block? No problem. Go out to the perimeter and chase a point guard? No problem. Stalk the baseline and get offensive boards? No problem. Play on the wing and shoot the three? No problem. Barnes’ main problem in the eyes of many scouts I spoke with who came to Westwood was “Where is he going to play?” In the wake of the Warriors’ upset, the answer is painfully obvious…on the basketball court. Somewhere. The great irony here is that if Mike Duleavy, Jr., Troy Murphy and Ike Diogu hadn’t been dealt to Indiana in mid-season, Barnes would have never seen the light of day from the end of the Golden State bench. Since leaving college, Barnes has been the NBA’s equivalent of a “Knockaround Guy.” However, you wonder if his performance in practice was part of the reason that trade was made. Going back to his days with the Bucks in the eighties, Matt Barnes certainly is a Don Nelson-type on the floor. The Warriors and Barnes are a natural fit, both being scrappy, Northern California underdogs. Now, Matt Barnes gets to play for Nelson for at least one more series. I expect the story to get better. Because there “ain’t no back down” in the kid from Sac-Town.

Another reclamation project for

Pitino had been in a similar position after the 1987 season, when he led Providence College to the Final Four. Having infused the New England city with his own youthful energy, the Friars looked to be a Big East program on the rise. Three and a half months later, Pitino, looking as earnest as he could, explained that as much as he loved Providence, there was one job he wanted more, and that was to be head coach of the New York Knickerbockers. I believe he was being truthful at the time. However, a New York kid dreaming of coaching the Knicks, and actually coaching the Knicks were two different things, as Pitino found out, prompting him to bolt to the University of Kentucky. The rest, as they say, is well-chronicled history. Pitino later bolted to the Boston Celtics, from where also bolted, eventually setting in to where he is now, in Louisville.

This past week, Donovan was in that same situation. Had he looked into the cameras and earnestly said how he loved Florida but that there was only one job he would leave for, how could anyone have blamed him? Instead, he talked about how much his family loved Gainesville, and how Florida AD Jeremy Foley showed faith in him, hiring him after only one year at Marshall. Donovan wanted to reciprocate that faith. Instead of giving in to sentimentality, Billy Donovan will attempt to become the first coach to win three in a row since John Wooden did it from 1971-1973, and he’ll do it in Gainesville.

No one could have blamed Donovan for following the scent of the Bluegrass. There’s always something special about that place where as a young man, you come into your own professionally, where you learn who you really are in the greater context of whatever business it is you have chosen. As mad as the Gator Boosters would have been, had Donovan elected to defect to Lexington, their contempt would have been misguided. The man not only turned Florida into a winning program, he made them part of NCAA history. Consecutive titles are the proverbial Holy Grail of College Hoops. Billy Donovan has bestowed Gator basketball with the gift of eternal life, and that can never be taken away as long as the NCAA and its descendents continue to award that title.

It’s difficult to go home again, even harder to coach at your alma mater. Ask Matt Doherty, Larry Farmer, Craig Esherick or Walt Hazzard. Roy Williams went home again, but not until he’d cut his teeth guiding an immortal program in Kansas to multiple Final Four appearances. Gary Williams came back to win a national title at Maryland, after taking some had knocks at both Boston College and Ohio State. John Thompson III stands in his father’s monstrous footprints at Georgetown, but he’s hardly Joey Meyer. John III learned the craft as a player under Pete Carril at Princeton, and coached the Tigers to multiple Ivy League titles. The best decision Steve Alford made was not taking the Indiana job when Hoosier Boosters came sniffing. Turns out being in the same conference as his old school was too much for him, as he recently bolted the Big Ten to move to New Mexico.

Then again, this story isn’t over. Who knows what kind of hullabaloo in five years, if Donovan gets the itch, and Providence College is looking for a head coach? No matter, even if Donovan never so much as sniffs the Final Four again during the remainder of his tenure at Florida, it will still have been the smart move.

Real quick on the game, Florida has to be a prohibitive favorite, returning all five starters from last year’s National Championship team, and being in the same arena where they won the SEC Conference tourney less than a month ago, but don’t count the Buckeyes out. They’ve shown tremendous resolve, and maturity beyond their years in reaching this mountaintop.While it wasn’t the classic we were hoping for, Ohio State impressed in their semi-final win over Georgetown. With Greg Oden playing only three minutes in the first half, it was Mike Conley, Jr., who’s quick dribble penetration had the Hoyas on their heels defensively, as Ohio State carved out an early lead. Between Conley and Jamar Butler, the backcourt combined for ten assists and one turnover. The remainder of the supporting cast, stepped up for Ohio State.

Arguably, the Buckeyes were in control most of the game, with Georgetown scrambling from behind. With Oden on the bench, the Buckeyes went on a 9-2 run to take an early 12-7 lead, which they held to the end of the half. When the Hoyas did tie it at 44-44, Ohio State when on a 6-0 run, and turned up the heat on the defensive end. Roy Hibbert went to bench with his 4^th foul with 8:50 left, and the Hoyas could mount no offense, with Jeff Green in a funk.

The showdown between Hibbert and Oden never really developed, as both had foul trouble, and were rarely on the floor together. Hibbert held his own, and may have played his way into the NBA Lottery, but it was Oden, along with his high school teammate Conley, who move on to the Championship Game tonight. It’s a habit for these guys, who’ll be no easy task for Billy Donovan’s Crew.

Let’s just say if the Buckeyes are looking for a theme tonight, they should leave “revenge” off the list. It didn’t work for UCLA on Saturday. Florida got off to a rocky start, but were in control most of the way against a UCLA team that lost the man they needed most, Aron Afflalo, to early foul trouble. It wasn’t enough that Joakim Noah and Al Horford provided a size advantage against the Bruins who didn’t have a player taller than 6-8. It also seemed every time the ball went down low, the Bruins would double, and it would go back out to Corey Brewer or Jay Humphery, who were waiting to drain the three. Couple that with the Bruins’ inability to score without Afflalo (except for a game effort by Jackie Shipp), and there would be no UNLV-Duke in 1991 poetics Saturday night in Atlanta. The Bruins were hardly any obstacle at all for the Gators.

The real story of this game, though, was Corey Brewer who simply exhausted Afflalo with his defensive work, and held his own on the offensive end as well. After disposing of last year’s opponents in the Finals, the Gators will attempt to become the first starting five ever to repeat as champions. The most recent back-to-back champions Duke (1991 and 1992) and UCLA (1972 and 1973) both featured at least one new starter. Billy Donovan’s bringing all the same dates to the dance as he did last season. It could be his last go round at Florida as well. He will be courted heavily by Kentucky once the final horn sounds (as if they aren’t doing it already). If he can lead his charges to victory, it would be a great way to say goodbye for “Billy The Kid.”

The Pick: Ohio State 71-68, in an upset. Yes, I know they already beat Ohio State this season, and convincingly. I’m just doing it to be contrary. What do I have to lose? I’m already 0 for 2 for the Semi Final Games. It will bring things full circle, and maybe send Mike Conley, Jr. into the NBA with his schoolyard chum Oden. Sorry folks, game’s starting.

Florida and UCLA is a re-match of last year’s NCAA Championship, where the Gators smashed Ben Howland’s Crew. Florida returns all its starters from a year ago, while the Bruins bring back the core of their team, with Darren Collison stepping in for Jordan Farmar. Can Noah, Horford, Green, Humphery and Brewer accomplish what no team has since the Hurley-Laettner Duke squad in 1991 and 1992?

Ohio State and Georgetown features a great match-up between big men. Roy Hibbert is the next in a long line of Hoya centers dating back to Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning, and Dikembe Mutumbo (with all apologies to Ben Gillery). Greg Oden, who will be the #1 overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, accomplished his mission in getting the Buckeyes to the Final Four in his initial (and likely only) season in Columbus. This sets up a great match-up of collegiate big men since the Hoyas and Houston met for the 1984 NCAA Championship when current Hoya Patrick Ewing’s father squared off against fella named Olajuwon.

HOW THEY GOT THERE

In the Regional Final match-up between Oregon and Florida, Ernie Kent found himself in a conundrum. His team’s strength, playing up-tempo, and putting up a lot of threes, played to Florida’s strength. But slowing the game would also, in the end, give the advantage to the Gators, given Joakim Noah’s presence down low on both the offensive and defensive end. Kent decided to have the Ducks put the pedal to the metal, and hung with Florida for thirty-two minutes or so until Humphery nailed yet another three to give the Gators a ten point bulge. Shortly thereafter, the Ducks’ season would come to an abrupt end at the hands of the defending NCAA Champs. Who knows what would have happened if you could have juxtaposed Humphery’s performance (7 for 13 from three-point range) with that of Tajuan Porter (2 for 12 from the field, and 2 of 10 from three)?

The Georgetown Hoyas expended lots of energy in their last two games, thundering back from deficits of eight and thirteen, each in the second half, respectively. But when they went down ten to the top-seeded Tar Heels, even the most loyal Hoya fan had to have begun formulating the post-script on the end of the season. As it turned out, the Hoyas had the Heels right where they wanted them, outscoring UNC 16-6 over the last six and a half minutes to tie, and then blistered to a 15-3 advantage in overtime, led by Jeff Green, Jonathan Wallace, Jessie Sapp, and DaJuan Summers. Big move for Hoya Coach John Thompson, III was keeping center Roy Hibbert, who’d picked up his third foul on the bench for a ten minute stretch, resisting the urge to re-insert him when the Hoyas struggled earlier in the second half. Down the stretch, in the last six minutes, Hibbert was able to be a presence on the baseline as the Hoyas mounted their comeback. Talk about a tough act to follow, the last three Big East teams to reach the Final Four (UConn 1999 & 2004, and Syracuse 2003) all won the NCAA Championship.

Ben Howland can be thankful he coaches basketball instead of figure skating, cause these Bruins would get no points for style. In the end, though, it was their suffocating defense that ended the season of the Kansas Jayhawks, who were playing arguably the best basketball of any of the #1 seeds coming into the tournament’s second weekend. Mix in some hot shooting by Aron Afflalo, and the Bruins advance to the Final Four for the second consecutive season. The last time the Bruins accomplished that feat was in the last year of the Wooden Era, winning the 1975 NCAA Crown against Kentucky, and returning to the Final Four under gene Bartow in 1976, where they bowed in the National Semi-Final.

After a against both Xavier, and a Tennessee, Ohio State finally put some distance between themselves and their opponent, though John Calipari’s Memphis squad hung tough and made it interesting. And as much as Greg Oden is talked about, it is clear that as Mike Conley, Jr. goes, so do the Buckeyes. If Oden’s the engine to the Buckeye machine, Conley, Jr. is the ignition. Late in the Regional Semifinal against Tennessee, Coach Thad Matta did some out-of-box coaching removing Greg Oden for defensive purposes, and then sending back in on offense, for fear of him picking up his fifth foul. Oden only played eighteen minutes, but was there in the end for the Buckeyes to help hold off the Volunteers. Give Matta credit for making this risky move, because it’s clearly one that would have been second-guessed had the Buckeyes been bounced by the Volunteers.

And now the moment you’ve all been waiting for… Okay, I had all my Final Four teams alive until Sunday, when the Ducks’ joyride ended at the hands of Florida. But even with that small stumble, I’ll stay true to the picks I made entering the tournament, and pick a UCLA-Georgetown final, with Ben Howland raising the NCAA Championship plaque, like his childhood hero John Wooden on Monday Night, April 2.

Schaub was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent after the 2007 season, so the Atlanta brass clearly wanted some value for him once new head coach Bobby Petrino cast his lot with Vick.  They will bring in a back-up, probably Anthony Wright as an insurance policy for Vick.

This has also fueled speculation that Atlanta may try and deal up the board again with their additional picks to try and get a shot at WR Calvin Johnson, by dealing with either the Detroit or Cleveland.  That is, unless the Oakland Raiders decide to trade Randy Moss and draft Johnson themselves.  More to come between now and April’s Draft.

David Carr is now a man without a country (so to speak).  He obviously can’t stay in Houston, but with the Schaub deal done, the Texans most likely can’t get full value for him.  If Trent Green bolts KC for Miami, Carr could wind up there to compete for a starting job.  Maybe he could go to Oakland, if they do decide to draft Calvin Johnson instead of JeMarcus Russell.  Carr could also do his due diligence, and land somewhere as a back-up and bide his time until he can improve his value (see Jeff Garcia).

In addition to Schaub, the Houston offense has seen two other significant additions this off-season, running back Ahmed Green, and new offensive coordinator Mike Sherman, who had held the title of Assistant Head Coach for the 2006 season.

THE SELECTION COMMITTEE - With some notable exceptions, they did an excellent job.  While I still believe the non-power conferences deserved more than six of thirty-four at-large bids, no team lower than a seven seed advanced past the first weekend of the tournament.  Also, mid-majors Butler and Southern Illinois (both of whom I’d thought were seeded a bit too high) held their four and five seedings up quite nicely, and will play again this week.  The lowest seeds remaining are the UNLV and the Vanderbilt Commodores, who were a six seed in the East.

Led by Seniors Derrick Ayers, Dan Cage and Ted Skuchas, the Vandy blew George Washington off the floor in the first game, and won a gritty match-up against Washington State in double overtime.  Look for them to give the Hoyas (who I still pick to win) all they can handle.  They are athletic, well-coached (by Kevin Stallings who’s sure to get some offers once the Commodore’s run in the tourney is done), and most importantly, mentally tough.  Their big guns want the ball in clutch situations (particularly Byars) and are not afraid to take the big shot.

And speaking of the Running Rebels, that Lon Kruger knows a thing or two about coaching in the NCAA’s doesn’t he?  He took Florida to the Final Four in 1994, and brought Kansas State to within a game of the Final Four in 1988 before losing to Larry Brown’s Jayhawks, who would go on to win the national title, led by Danny Manning.  His squad has a stern test against Oregon in St. Louis on Friday night.  Can they knock off the 2 and 3 seeds in their region in successive games?  Again, their team features seniors in Kevin Kruger (the coach’s son), Michael Umeh, Gaston Essengue, and Wendell White.  The Ducks play small, quick and fast, and will be a marked contrast to the Wisconsin team that the Rebels ousted in Round 2.

Tim Floyd has his USC Trojans moving quite well as the dark horse in the Eastern Region.  They had little trouble with Arkansas in the First Round, and then blitzed Kevin Durant at the Texas, in a game that wasn’t as close as the 87-68 floor would indicate (which is to say, not at all).

Which Ohio State team will show up against Tennessee?  The Buckeye team that went 30-3 in taking the Big Ten regular season and tournament titles, or the team that very well could have lost to Xavier, if not for a wild and wooly ending on Saturday afternoon?  The Volunteers rolled over Long Beach State in the first round, but sputtered, though they ultimately moved past Virginia in round two.  A good time should be had by all in the Alamodome.

In regards to my own picks, my Final Four of UCLA, Georgetown, Oregon, and Ohio State is still a possibility, but it is with a sense of growing dread that I view my bracket looking towards Thursday.  This is for two reasons: Kansas and Florida.  You can also throw in Texas A & M, who, in addition to playing well, will be playing in San Antonio for their part of the regional.

For Ben Howland’s Bruins to get to Atlanta, they will have to get past the Jayhawks, who laid waste to Niagara in the first round (whom I expected to lose, but not by the 107-67 margin they did) and pretty much dominated Kentucky.  Whereas UCLA beat Weber State, though it wasn’t pretty to watch, and then pretty much sleep-walked offensively through their second round victory over Indiana (who Kelvin Sampson has on the way, but is not quite there yet.)

Florida is one of those teams that plays bored and lets teams stick around, but then players like Brewer, Horford, Green, and Noah always seem to make plays to advance them.  They are the defending champs, and seem to be on a mission.  They are playing well, and you know Billy Donovan won’t let them overlook anyone.  But I can’t get over the fact that, as good as they were last season (if you don’t believe me, you can ask the team that played them in the Final) they still were a bounce or two from getting bounced by Georgetown.  And that, as they say, is why they play the games.

So, on the record, here goes.  My picks for the regional round.

West - Semis : Kansas over Southern Illinois, UCLA over Pittsburgh Final: UCLA over Kansas (gulp)

South - Semis: Texas A & M over Memphis, Ohio State over Tennessee Final: Ohio State over Texas A & M

Midwest - Semis: Florida over Butler, Oregon over UNLV Final: Oregon over Florida

East - Semis: Georgetown over Vanderbilt, USC over North Carolina Final: Georgetown over USC (had to pick one surprise)

Until next week, same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel… 

I had the sense to pick Virginia Commonwealth over Duke. The Colonial was a competitive conference this season, and you could have made an argument that they deserved three teams (though Drexel’s 1^st Round loss in the first found of the NIT might take some wind out of that theory), and Duke was only 8-8 in the ACC this season. That being said, no great shakes on this pick. A lot of people were crowing that this one could be an upset in the making.

I resisted the urge to pick against Washington State in their first round game against Oral Roberts. Part of it was that I couldn’t bring myself to pick a school with “oral” in its name on my bracket, but it was mostly to do with the fact that Washington State was pretty solid this year, spending most of it near the top of the Pac 10 standings. Wazzu was another trendy upset pick, yet held serve and will move on to fight again on Saturday.

I know they were the higher seed, but Louisville is virtually playing at home, and that should be good for two wins. Rick Pitino generally has his team ready to play when March rolls around. They had Stanford checking their watches about two minutes into the game. It was over about ten minutes into the first half. I look forward to tomorrow’s matchup against Texas A & M.

I picked Texas Tech over BC. And shouldn’t have. It’s been a rule of mine to always pick against Bob Knight, and I bet the dark side, and it came back to bite me. BC is decent, though I think they go home on Saturday. I will say this about Texas Tech. If someone else was coaching that team this year, they wouldn’t have been anywhere near the NCAA Tournament.

Fell into the Old Dominion trap against Butler. ODU had a non-conference win against Georgetown, and Butler stumbled a little bit late in the season. I should have remembered that both of Butler’s losses to Wright State (in the Horizon League regular season and tournament) came on Wright State’s home floor. And they were still 27-6 overall this season with non-conference road wins at Notre Dame and Tennessee.

, in the 6/11 game against Vanderbilt. Let’s just file this in the “what was I thinking?’ file. Vanderbilt beat Florida. That’s all I needed to know. Vandy ran up a lead of twenty-five in the first half. All due respect, Yogi, but this one was over before it was even over.

made me sweat a little bit, but they got the job done against Notre Dame. In fairness to the Irish, Winthrop probably shouldn’t have been seeded 11. They are talented, and had the experience of their tournament junkets in each of the last two seasons. Great run by the Eagles at the end of the first half, and the beginning of second half, to build a 20 point lead, which the Irish chipped away at, eventually re-claiming the lead at 58-57, having been down 54-34.

and I go back to their days in the Big West Conference when Pat Foster was stalking the sideline, like a mean, ornery cowpoke from an old-time Western. Creighton gave them everything they could handle, and it eventually took overtime to decide this one. This game was such a toss-up, since the teams were very evenly matched.

Georgia Tech over UNLV – Shame on me for picking against another former Big West squad. While Tech is both young and talented, I should have remembered that Lon Kruger knows a thing or two about coaching in the NCAAs (having taken Kansas State to the Regional Final in 1988 and Florida State to the Final Four in 1994). The Yellow Jackets played well defensively down the stretch, but seemed to have expended too much energy in closing an early twelve-point deficit at the end. Kruger and the Rebels advance.

Long Beach State over Tennessee – at first glance, this isn’t as ridiculous as it looks. After all, last year, Big West representative Pacific came within a lay-up in regulation of ousting Boston College, and Bob Thomason’s squad got out of the first round in both 2004 and 2005. Maybe we should send Pacific every year. Thomason coaches a disciplined, close to the vest brand of ball that takes advantage of opposition mistakes. The 49ers tried to run with a team that likes to run. The result, a 57 point first half for Tennessee, on the way to a 121-86 rout. Yep, what was I thinking?

Two days in the books, and all my Final Four teams are still alive (then again, I did pick a 1, two 2s and a 3 seed to go) so I’ll count my blessings. There should be more great basketball through the weekend.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all my Irish brethren (I’m not Irish, but you might be) and keep the results coming from the ICC Cricket World Cup. I’m kind of glued to the hoops myself.  Let’s see if Arizona and Virgina Tech can hold up their end of the bargain and not end up on tomorrow’s “Bad” or “Ugly” list.

They call it March Madness, but that seems to be such a used-car way to describe it. It’s not madness at all, it’s actually very ordered: conferences, regions, brackets. March “Organization” doesn’t have the same ring to it though. Let’s dial it back a notch and just call it the “Big Dance” shall we? While we’re at it, let’s eliminate the other cute little tags. The Final Four is okay, but the Sweet Sixteen is a teen girl’s birthday party, and the Elite Eight sounds like a group of prep school kids facing Federal indictment. The Regional Semifinals, and Regional Finals are just fine, thank you very much. Now that I’ve stalled for a sufficient amount of time, here are my (gulp) picks.

THE PICKS

Ohio State (too much Oden), Oregon (peaking at the right time), Georgetown (see Oregon), and UCLA (all heart no head.) The way I see it, to paraphrase Dennis Green, the Hoyas had Florida beat last year, and “let them off the hook” in a tight game. Greg Oden was masterful in leading the young Buckeyes, and Thad Matta had his young team, clicking through a rugged Big Ten season. As far as the Ducks go, I should file this in the “picks I’ll live to regret” file, because most “experts” see them as a team that could get upended in he first round. But they started the Pac 10 season 13-0, and are getting hot right when they need to. When they play well, they can match up with anyone, so I’ll cast my lot for Ernie Kent’s crew.

As far as UCLA goes, I know they don’t have the dominant big man they need to combat Kansas or Florida, but they play well together, and especially after their late season flameout (bad losses to Washington and California) you can believe that Ben Howland is making the Bruins’ ears ring on the practice floor in Westwood, explaining that last year’s Finals appearance is now worth more or less a warm bucket of spit. Darren Collison is a difference maker on the floor for UCLA when he’s on, and the Bruins only lost once against a ranked team all season. Then again, they lost four games to teams that weren’t even in the Top 50. You know what that means? If they can get past Weber State, the field is in trouble.