When the Madness Starts

   

We'll kick off day two of March Madness coverage with recaps of last night's games, followed by previews of the Friday games.

-Syracuse 59, Butler 63

Someone commented on my previous article, saying that I didn't go out on a limb much by picking the favorites to win every game. While this is true, I thought I was pretty clear about my reservations regarding Syracuse and Kentucky, and those came to light during this game.

(Or at least what parts CBS deemed us worthy to view. Way to show us an ugly game in which West Virginia was pulling away over a game that was back and forth for the entire second half and was about eight game minutes ahead of its competitor. Brilliant.)

Syracuse's Wes Johnson was good, but he wasn't great. The tournament is a platform for great players to take over games and carry their teams, and without a superstar performance from Johnson, Syracuse was going to have to sweat some games. Butler wasn't intimidated by Syracuse being a big name program, and when they needed to, they were able to make outside shots to beat the 2-3 zone. Syracuse has a decent team, not a great one, and particularly without the depth provided by Onuaku, they were more a quality team than a juggernaut.

Of course, with all that said, I didn't expect them to lose to Butler, who won the game by getting to the line seven more times than the less aggressive Syracuse. So it goes in the tournament with one of the lowest talent levels in a while, where any team can string together a few good performances and embarrass the supposed titans of college basketball.

One of these rounds, though, the good teams have to get their act together and remember they're better. Right?

-Washington 56, West Virginia 69

What an ugly first ten minutes. Borderline unwatchable. Thankfully that was followed by a solid stretch of play from both sides, with the possible exception of the number of short shots each team missed. Eventually Washington's fouls came back to haunt them, and West Virginia's superior front-court asserted itself on both the offensive and defensive glass. Getting out-rebounded by 16 is a good way to lose, and lose Washington did.

I like West Virginia going forward. Id have trouble picking them against Kentucky, but they have the talent, coaching, and ability to win it all, especially if their shots are falling. Given that Kentucky is by far the best team they'll play for the rest of the tournament, the Final Four might in fact be theirs to lose if they can get that far.

-Xavier , Kansas State

There isn't enough hyperbole in the world to describe how incredible this game was.

I thought Kansas State had it at the end of regulation. The refs made a terrible call on the foul that gave Xavier three free throws, and instead of a narrow win, Kansas State would have to endure overtime.

Kansas State looked dejected, but they hammered Xavier in the post. I was thrilled to see a college team finally play smart down the stretch, going to their bread and butter again and again.

Then Jordan Crawford did what I have been begging every 'star' player in the tournament to do: carry his team when it mattered. His threes stared a certain loss in the face and brazenly said "Not Today"

Samuels made two clutch free throws for Kansas State, and as Xavier was bringing the ball down, I said out loud, "What are the odds this three goes in? 90%?" Sure enough, it was dead on. Pullen raced back and made an awesome layup, followed by a miss and a foul. Merriewether made one of two, leaving the door open. I assumed that the heroics had finally stopped, and that the game would finally end.

Silly me.

Crawford sunk yet another three. "Not Today".
I thought Kansas State was going to fold at this point. They had been through too much.

Pullen had other ideas.

Every missed shot was a transition opportunity for him. When Kelly went out hurt, he carried the scoring load. Crawford made Xavier's first three shots of double overtime, but it was not meant to be. Two made threes for Pullen in the most desperate of situations was simply too much.

Crawford did everything that could have been asked of him. He had to create every shot, and he made some enormous ones.

Pullen and Clemente look like 'those' guards we see every year in March Madness, the ones that carry their team when the game gets tight, make the heady plays, and get to the rim when they can.

Kentucky vs. Kansas State should be a classic. But I can pretty much gurantee it won't hold a candle to this.

-Cornell 45, Kentucky 62

The only thing I can think about when I watch a game involving Kentucky is how absurdly talented they are. It isn't even fair to ask their opposition to play with them most nights. Beyond their immaturity, they are simply impregnable.

Cousins showed why he is going to be a top 10 pick in spite of being a massive head case. His footwork was superb, he has touch around the rim, and he has the agility to play on the perimeter. Bledsoe plays second fiddle to Wall, but he is a magnificent second fiddle, picking up all of the loose ends. Patterson is much better than I realized. He has amazing quickness on defense and a solid post game, and he absolutely brutalized the Cornell bigs.

Then of course there is Wall, who simply defies description. Calling him fast feels like an insult. He's faster than fast. His fast-breaks are masterful orchestras in which he is the conductor. If anyone else is picked first in the draft, no matter what the team, it will be an absolute travesty.

As for Cornell, Kudos. You did everything you could, but you ran into the best team in the country. Now we get to see if Wall will make his mark as Carmelo Anthony once did, or if his college legacy is ultimately a footnote in his career.


On to tomorrow's matchups.

-Tennessee vs. Ohio State

I don't like this Tennessee team. They lack good post players, they can't shoot the three, and their best player was their fourth or fifth best player when the team was elite. Conversely, Ohio state has 3 players that shoot 38%+ from three in addition to Evan Turner (who shoots 35%). Ohio State beat up on Georgia Tech, while Tennessee barely beat San Diego State. Sorry, but this is another favorite I'm hitching my wagon to. I love teams that have a college superstar, and I love teams of older players that know how to use that superstar even more.

-Saint Mary's vs. Baylor

I hate Saint Mary's.

OK, that isn't true. I loathe them.

Allow me to to explain. Saint Mary's best player is the 6'11, 260 Omar Samhan. First of all, he is not 6'11. No way in hell. I he is 6'9, I would be surprised.

Second, and much more importantly, he can't jump. I don't mean that in the hyperbolic, he can only jump about a foot and a half way. He literally cannot leave the ground. He uses his enormous backside to move his defender, turns, and throws the ball at the hoop. He's like the fat kid in eighth grade gym who no one could guard, except in division one college basketball.

This infuriates me because it shouldn't be possible. How, at this level of the game, can someone who literally doesn't leave the ground to shoot make 13 of 16 shots in the second round of the tournament? How? This makes no sense to me, and like a dog who can't get his head out of a bucket, when I get confused I start shaking my head with rage.

Then we have Baylor, who 7 short years ago had a player (Patrick Dennehy) murdered by a former teammate. Their coach was forced to resign amidst allegations that he had made improper financial payments to players and planned to cover his actions by characterizing Dennehy as a drug dealer. Calling that devastating to the program would redefine trite.

Adding in the fact that Baylor was already a popular choice to win their region before the tournament even started, and I'm rooting for the real Cinderella story, not the fat guy who can't jump.

-Northern Iowa vs. Michigan State

The moment you have been waiting for is finally here. Are you sitting down?

I'm picking an underdog.

Northern Iowa is not just some random team living on prayers. They only lost 5 games all year, and they won the Missouri Valley Conference (a conference full of good mid-majors). Michigan State needed too much luck to beat Maryland, whereas Northern Iowa simply outplayed Kansas (possibly the best team in the country). Michigan State won't have Lucas, the best player on their team in every respect, while Ali Farokhmanesh will be dropping bombs all day for Iowa.

So what if Michigan State is only favored by 1? It still counts as an upset.

-Purdue vs. Duke

I hate Duke. I hate them in the most generic way possible, the way everyone hates them. I hate that they always get an easy region. I hate their smugness. I hate how overrated their players are. I hate how certain announcers suck up to them incessantly.

I do love one thing about them, though. Their wonderful propensity to falter in March over the last decade, followed by them having to explain why, despite having a one seed and the easiest region, they couldn't make it to the second weekend. It's probably my favorite hate in sports. Other than Brett Favre, of course.

So in spite of the fact that Purdue is missing their heart and soul in Robbie Hummel, I'm picking them to beat Duke.

There are plenty of logical reasons for the pick. Duke's propensity to choke. Purdue being under-seeded after the loss of Hummel despite having a 29-5 season in what we now realize was a deep and talented Big-10. The emotional high Purdue is riding from being counted out.

But mostly I'm picking Purdue because I unequivocally hate Duke. I don't like to indulge such petty childishness often in my writing, but I have to say, it feels good.

Image via CJ Online

You can email Chris with questions or comments at TheSportsKiosK@gmail.com