The Beginning Of The End: Championship Game Follow Up

(How the hell did this happen?)

Due to popular demand (and the guilt I have for never finishing what I start), I'm closing out this blog with 5 columns. This brief recap of the Championship Game and the Tournament in general is the 1st of these final posts. I thank everyone for reading and contributing to this elaborate project. My thoughts and ideas only go so far...it was the encouragement, suggestions, and comments from all of you that really helped take this NCAA Tournament Blog to another level. (Annie...I have no idea what Bill Self was trying to prove with that red/white/blue striped tie. But it wasn't as bad as Roy Williams wearing that gaudy Kansas sticker/button (?) in the stands. What's The Matter With Kansas?!?!? Indeed.)

As for the Championship Game:

I don't take much away from this game. Maybe it's because I didn't have a chance to win money in any of my NCAA pools. Maybe it's because the game represented not only the end of the tournament, but the end of this blog. Maybe it's because a match-up between North Carolina and UCLA would have been a lot more engaging and "sexier". Or maybe it's because the Championship Game of the Final Four is always (on some level) going to be a letdown. We won't make the argument now for which weekend of the tournament is "better", but the first two weekends of March Madness are hands-down the most interesting and captivating weekends of the event. I claim that Thursday and Friday of the first weekend are the best two days in sports for the entire year. The Final Four and Title game can't help not living up to the hype and expectations that are unfairly thrust upon them. March Madness is marketed and publicized as an event that spans weeks. Interest peaks nationally between Selection Sunday and the following Sunday. By that time the teams have been reduced from 65 to 16. After that, the interest just isn't at the initial level. Is there any other sporting event that peaks at the beginning of said event? None that I can think of. This is what the NCAA Tournament has going against it. I'll probably only ever be truly excited about a Championship game for 3 reasons:

1. I have a vested interest in the game. Meaning that I have a pool and/or certain amount of money that I could personally win/lose on the game.
2. My home team, or a team I am personally involved with on some level, is playing in the Championship game. This would include (but not be limited to) Pittsburgh, Iowa, Davidson, and Notre Dame.
3. If the match-up in the Championship game was amazing. I don't mean good...I don't mean great...I mean outstanding. Even though Memphis and Kansas were both #1 seeds...and even though the game ended up being decent...the match-up was not outstanding. There wasn't a lot of star-power and the coaches were trying to overcome hurdles and preconceived notions rather than assert their genius and dominance.

Other than those three reasons...I'll probably never be excited or thrilled about an NCAA Championship game. That doesn't mean that I won't watch. That doesn't mean that I don't appreciated the sport. That doesn't mean that I don't appreciate and give much credit to the winner. And that DEFINITELY doesn't mean that I don't appreciate the structure of the Tournament (see NCAA Football). It simply means that I personally love the first two weekends of March Madness the most. After that...almost anything feels like a let-down.

As for the Championship Game (haven't I done this before?):

Chalmers hit a game-tying three pointer that Kansas never should have been in position to make. Coach Calipari out-dressed Coach Self. Memphis missed some free-throws (surprise). John Calipari was seconds away from winning his first Championship. Bill Self was seconds away from not winning his first Championship. Billy Packer called yet another Championship game (CBS...PLEASE DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS). We had an overtime title game, but it really didn't feel like it and wasn't very exciting as the entire Memphis squad was exhausted. Kansas won a National Championship without Roy Williams. Bill Self found himself in the unlikely position of cutting the nets down. John Calipari still remains a Clarion University alumni. And...perhaps most perplexing...I missed one shining moment because I was on the phone or cooking or cleaning up something.

So that was that. Good enough game I suppose. They really need to let Gus Johnson call the Final Four next year. I swear...Billy Packer must have some incriminating pictures of someone at CBS. So we may be stuck with him for another 35 years. I must give credit where credit is due. Congrats to the Kansas Jayhawks and Bill Self. I doubted your abilities and you all proved me wrong. I'll have to find other ways of making fun of you and demeaning you next year.

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Bringing Together Davidson & Holy Cross

From Bill Simmons' mailbag this past week, a question and (sort of) answer that draws a correlation between Davidson & Holy Cross. Phil and Chaz, this blog and this NCAA Tournament has come full-circle.

Q: So, Davidson is a small liberal arts school with an excellent academic reputation that just made the Elite Eight? Oh and they have free laundry, and their trustees paid for everyone to go to the tournament games? Holy Cross has no excuse now, the precedent has been set. We need to get it together. -- Jon, Worcester, Mass.

• Simmons: Don't get me started. Hey, I'm glad you brought up Davidson. More than a few readers asked why I haven't been writing about college basketball as much this year. Here's the answer: As long as the NBA is running on all cylinders -- and really, it hasn't happened in 15 years -- I don't see why anyone would watch college over pro unless they had a favorite college team (which I don't, thanks to Holy Cross fading into obscurity). Of all the guys we watched in the tournament this year, maybe eight of them could step into an NBA rotation right away, and only two of them (Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley) could start for a decent team. Personally, I'd rather watch basketball played passionately at the highest possible level; the NBA hasn't been this good since the watershed 1992-93 season and the competitiveness of its games has just been absolutely remarkable. I remember the days when maybe 10 regular-season games per year would stand out; now we're getting four or five a week, and that's not even an exaggeration.
  With that said ...
  Nothing in sports can match what happened Friday and Sunday: An underdog school (Davidson) with a Jimmy Chitwood-type hero (Stephen Curry) toppling one high seed and coming within one possession of making the Final Four, and if that's not enough, Gus Johnson was announcing both games and ready to have an on-air seizure if Davidson had scored on the final play to beat Kansas. Of all the sports (college or pro), March Madness is the only time when you can hop on a bandwagon and not feel guilty about it -- whether it's Belmont trying to topple Duke, Davidson trying to make the Final Four, or whatever -- and it's the only time when an athlete can completely alter his destiny in the span of 10 days. For example, Curry wasn't even considered a first-round pick before the tournament started; now he'd probably crack the top-15 if he came out (which he won't), and if that's not enough, we'll always remember him as the kid with the gorgeous jumper who did the Chitwood impression.
  Anyway, I'm not down on college hoops this year -- the Davidson run was incredible theater, and we're headed for one of the greatest Final Fours of my lifetime. Just know that, overall, the NBA product was markedly better as a whole this season unless you had a college team you loved.

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Lamentation: March 30th, 2008

What am I supposed to do with this blog now? The magical Davidson run is over. Pitt has long been out of the Tournament. My brackets all have gone to shit. And CBS systematically removed Dell Curry from my life. Sure...we have four #1 seeds fighting it out for a national championship, which should lead to some decent basketball, but I just can't motivate myself to get excited over the whole thing. Where is the fun in making fun of announcers or questioning the fortitude of various head coaches now? Maybe it's out there...but I'm thinking that it will be difficult to find. Unless a team I was heavily invested in reached the Final Four, I think there will always be a drop-off in the overall interest in the tournament for me. The most fun and exciting time of the NCAA Tournament will always be those opening 4 days. I think the fact that those four days are so crazy, unique, and special are exactly what make them crazy, unique, and special. The vibe from that opening weekend cannot be recaptured later in the tournament, even if the Final Four was somehow outstanding. On the other hand, I don't want to let this blog end just yet. So there has to be a few columns left in me. I should have the resolve to find a unique perspective on something related to the tournament. After all...Bill Self has (somehow) found himself in the Final Four.

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Davidson: Cherishing Learning & Wearing Top Hats

With an outstanding education comes a suave confidence that the ladies cannot deny. Annie...I now know why you married Phil. Go Wildcats!!!

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Predictions For Sunday's Elite Eight Games

Nothing too impressive about picking two number one seeds to win last night (which they did), but at least I wasn't wrong. With these last two games, the Final Four will be set.

Texas over Memphis

Reasons:

• Never have all four number one seeds reached the Final Four in the history of the NCAA Tournament. And until it happens...it cannot happen...because it has not happened. How insightful is that? Not that Texas is some huge upset, they may have been in line for a number one seed themselves before they lost to Kansas in the Big 12 title game.
• How can I be FOR Rick Barnes and AGAINST western PA's own John Calipari in a game that matters? I'm not really sure...just call it a hunch.
• The game is being played in Houston. Who do you think that favors?
• Memphis has an unfortunate knack for losing in the Elite Eight, having bowed out of the Tournament in this spot the past two years. I don't believe that's because Memphis doesn't have national champion type talent, but I don't think the absurdly soft Conference USA schedule adequately prepares them for crunch time.
• I feel that A.J. Abrams and D.J. Augustin are well suited to handle the athletic, turnover causing guards of Memphis. Texas defeated UCLA, Tennessee, and Kansas this year...and these two were a huge part of those victories.
• Confidence in this pick: 6.5

Kansas over Davidson

Reasons:

• I'm not listing any reasons as to why I'm making this pick. This is what I think will logically happen. That's not to say that this is what I want to happen. Davidson has been on one helluva ride...and I hope it continues.
• Confidence in this pick: N/A

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Davidson Wins! Davidson Wins!

It's really late and I don't believe that I can give the Davidson victory the justice it deserves right now. So for the time being, I will defer to people that actually write about college basketball for a living to praise the Wildcats. Enjoy it Phil & Annie. I might just have to make a completely random trip to Notre Dame to watch the Kansas game with you.

• Charlotte Observer lead story about the Davidson victory over Wisconsin.
• "Since this is March, Davidson is the best story in U.S. sports. The best story just got better." (I know I already linked to this, but read it again)
• Charlotte Observer news & notes on the game - Stephen Curry tied the NCAA record for three-pointers in a season with 158.
• "Nobody's talking about politics at all this week; it's all about Davidson basketball"
• Davidson student's road trip.
• What kind of college is Davidson?
• Davidson College quiz
• Shedding the slipper, Davidson is no Cinderella
• ESPN's Pat Forde on Davidson's win
• ESPN's coverage of Davidson's triumph over Wisconsin
• Oh Canada, Davidson's Canadian presence
• Detroit Free Press on the Davidson win
• Detroit Free Press: How David(son) slayed Goliath
• Bob McKillop Provides Davidson's Inspiration
• CBS sports on Stephen Curry's unreal performance
• Highlights from the Wisconsin game
• Kansas is scared! Curry is a threat!

Davidson vs. Wisconsin Highlights

Davidson vs. Wisconsin Postgame

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Where The Hell Was Dell Curry???

CBS has betrayed me. I'll get to Davidson's amazing run to the Elite Eight soon enough, but right now I'm irate that the technical people at CBS let me down and let me down hard. We're talking about a betrayal of Judas'esque proportions. And it's all because of the absence of one man.

WHERE THE HELL WAS DELL CURRY?!?!?

The father of Davidson superstar Stephen Curry was nowhere to be seen during the broadcast of Davidson's spectacular upset of Wisconsin on Friday night. We've been subjected to countless cut-a-ways of Dell during Davidson's first two games in the NCAA Tournament. Then...for reasons that defy comprehension and DEMAND explanation...there was no Dell Curry face time at all during his son's sweet sixteen triumph. After borderline overexposure, CBS decides to keep the cameras off of Dell during the biggest game of his son's life? I'm not even mad about looking ridiculous on my over/under bet (Who am I kidding...of course I'm mad about this). I'm more disappointed that after living and rejoicing with Mr. & Mrs. Curry over the past couple of weekends, we were denied the opportunity to share in their joy during what had to be one of their proudest moments as parents.

I should end my post there as that was pretty damn heartfelt. But I have to say a few more things. I'm going double-or-nothing and carrying my prediction over to the Elite Eight game against Kansas where I GUARANTEE that there will be 7 or more cut-a-ways to Dell Curry. This MUST happen! I refuse to go one more round with this Davidson team without the pleasure of sharing the highs and lows with the Curry family. I'm too invested at this point. I've mocked how CBS defaulted to Stephen's dad so often during the tournament, but I think I've talked about it so much at this point that I NEED those cut-a-ways in my life! I'm sad and lonely without them!

I thought that there may have been a chance that Mr. and Mrs. Curry (for some reason) were not in attendance Friday night to see their son lead Davidson to victory yet again. This article proves that they were, in fact, at the game. Dell is even quoted in the article.

I'm disheartened by the decision that CBS made to not include Mr. and Mrs. Curry in their broadcast. We get three shots of Lebron James and none of the Curry family? What a freaking abomination.

What a fantastic ride this Davidson team is on right now. What a fantastic ride this Davidson team is taking the nation on right now. What a fantastic time for the Curry family. I hope to see you early and often during the Kansas game Mr. Curry. Go Wildcats!!!

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Predictions For Friday's Sweet Sixteen Games

I picked 3 out of 4 games correctly on Thursday (only missing the Xavier overtime win over West Virginia). Now it's time to do one better and go a perfect 4 of 4 on Friday.

Davidson over Wisconsin

Reasons:

• Has any other team in recent NCAA tournament memory been more of a media darling than this Davidson team? Screw George Mason...what they did was unexpected, but nobody out there, just two years later, can name a single player from that team. Davidson has a superstar and, for whatever reasons, are extremely likable. Maybe that's what happens when a team actually has student-athletes. Plus...the University of Davidson is covering the hotel, bus fare, and tickets for all students who want to road trip to Detroit for Friday's game against Wisconsin. I ask again...has there been a more endearing team in recent NCAA tournament history than Davidson? I think not. This story NEEDS to continue.
• Wisconsin is a pretty good (and boring) team. The problem with the Badgers and Bo Ryan's system is that they are never too far ahead in a game, and they're never too far behind. All that needs to happen for a Davidson upset to happen is for Wisconsin to let the Wildcats stick around, gain confidence, and let the Cinderella wave carry them through.
• Nobody outside of Packer (that's Green Bay, not Billy) country is excited about seeing Wisconsin in the Elite Eight. (actually...Billy Packer hates mid-majors, so he's probably rooting for Wisconsin to move on as well)
• Davidson has the hottest player in the tournament so far wearing their uniform. So that's a good thing. By the way...did you know that Stephen Curry is (former NBA player) Dell Curry's son?
• I want Davidson to win. Good enough reason? Phil and Annie will be rooting for Davidson tonight, and so will I. As I told Phil a few days ago, I'm officially on the Davidson bandwagon. They are my adopted team for as long as they last in this tournament. Go Cats! (Plus...Gus Johnson is calling this game. That's a good omen.)
• Confidence in this pick: 7.5

Stanford over Texas

Reasons:

• I have this sneaky feeling that we're not quite done seeing and hearing about the Lopez twins just quite yet.
• I don't, I don't, I don't, I don't trust Rick Barnes in an important game at all. I'm sorry for any Texas fans out there, you have a very talented team, but I don't have any confidence in your head coach.
• A Stanford vs. UCLA contest in the Final Four would be outstanding. (It would be their 4th meeting this season) Plus, I think Trent Johnson wants to see if the refs would have the guts to give him a double technical in a Final Four game. He's quoted as saying, "Why should my approach change?" So he's obviously saying that Stanford has won every game this tournament that he has been eject from, so why would he mess with success? If the refs actually DID throw him out of a Final Four game, this would prove, without a doubt, all of the conspiracy theories out there about UCLA getting every favorable call (and non-call). We shall call this the 'John Wooden Rule'.
• Texas point guard D.J. Augustin is outstanding. But I'm on-board the Mitch Johnson bandwagon right now and if Johnson could handle the pressure and play of Marquette's guards, I'm thinking he can hold his own against Augustin.
• I've railed against Stanford all season (blog) long. And now they're going to prove me wrong. I can just feel it.
• Confidence in this pick: 6.3

Kansas over Villanova

Reasons:

• Kansas simply has too much talent with Brandon Rush, Darrell Arthur, Mario Chalmers, and company. The Jayhawks are probably the most athletic and most talented team in this NCAA Tournament. (My apologies to Cornell...you're good too.) (sorry Matt)
• Can a fashionable coach win the NCAA Tournament? I'm not so sure. When was the last time that happened? Jay Wright's greatest strength may turn out to be his greatest weakness. Stay tuned. (sorry Matt)
• If Bill Self can reach the Elite Eight with this Kansas team, I may finally stop giving him a hard time about being a choke artist in the NCAA Tournament. He's good at not being good in March. So I believe that to avoid further ridicule from me, Self and his Kansas squad will be properly motivated to win this game. (sorry Matt)
• The Jayhawks have depth and experience that Villanova cannot come close to matching. Unless Kerry Kittles still has some eligibility left at 'Nova, then they might have a shot. (sorry Matt)
• I picked Kansas to win it all in Tim's pool. So what am I supposed to do here? Have them losing to a #12 seed in the Sweet Sixteen? I think not. (sorry Matt)
• Confidence in this pick: 9.4

Memphis over Michigan State

Reasons:

• I thought about this one for awhile, because I really want to go with Michigan State. You might ask, "Why not just pick Michigan State here? This is a stupid blog that 6 people are reading. So who really cares?" Now that's a very good point and it's well taken. But more than anything, I want to get my pick right. So I'm going with the team that I think will win the game, it's as simple as that. If Michigan State wins, it would make Pitt's loss look much better. I just don't think it's going to happen.
• One reason I don't think it's going to happen - Michigan State is from the Big Ten. Michigan State scored 36 points in a loss to Iowa earlier this year. I cannot pick Michigan State with this kind of information bouncing around in my head.
• What's that John S.? Memphis coach John Calipari is from Western PA and attended the prestigious Clarion University? If that's the case, then I MUST pick Memphis in this game.
• If Memphis loses by 5 points or less, and missed free throws were involved, then we're going to have to hear Calipari defend his team and defend their free throw shooting for another 12 months and I can't deal with that anymore. So my pick here is partially reflecting my prayer that this doesn't happen.
• Memphis is a darn good team. I don't know how many rounds they have to get through before the nation starts to realize this. It's going to take more than Tom Izzo and Michigan State to bring down the Tigers. Speaking of which...remember when Memphis used to be Memphis State and had Anfernee (later to be known as Penny) Hardaway on their team?
• Confidence in this pick: 8.2

1020 & 8101

Did You Know That Stephen Curry Is Dell Curry's Son?

I forgot the initial guarantee that gave me the idea to make a list of guarantees for the second weekend of the Tournament in the first place!

• I guarantee that CBS will cut away to shots of Dell Curry in the stands at least 9 times during the Davidson vs. Wisconsin game this weekend. I think, "Did you know that Stephen Curry is Dell Curry's son?" insight has surpassed, "Did you know that Duke and North Carolina's campuses are only 8 miles apart?" on my list of infuriating things commentators say to sound informative. I'm putting the Dell Curry cut-away shot over/under at 7.5, I'm obviously taking the over on this one. If anyone else wants to put action on this, I'm completely game.

1020 & 8101

Thoughts & Feelings On The Tourney's Opening Weekend

After a rather dull Thursday, the NCAA Tournament did what it does best over the next three days...providing entertainment, excitement, frustration, and disappointment. I was entertained by Bill Raftery and Gus Johnson, excited about Davidson's outstanding performance, frustrated by my brackets, and disappointed about an early end to Pitt's season. Since bullet-points are a crutch used by people who cannot compose paragraphs or organize their thoughts well...here are some thoughts and feelings about the Tourney's opening weekend, in bullet-point form:

• I refused to jump on the Davidson bandwagon before the tournament began, because I believed that wagon was already full after their performance in the tournament last year. In hindsight, I completely over thought this issue. Just because Davidson and Stephen Curry (son of Dell Curry, if you didn't know) were on my radar all season long did not mean that they were on anyone else's radar. Unfortunately, I avoided choosing Davidson as one of my Bracket Busters because in my mind, they were already America's darling team and a sexy first-round upset pick. I will pat myself on the back and point out that I was already on the Davidson train way back in this blog's second post. Coach Bob McKillop deserves some huge props, it's one thing to come up with a game-plan to beat Elon (a notable seed), it's a completely different thing to come up with a game-plan to beat Gonzaga and Georgetown. Well done Bob. Stephen Curry is hands-down the most outstanding player of this tournament so far. On this sport's biggest stage, he has thrived when it mattered most. Curry scored 30 of his 40 points against Gonzaga in the second half, and followed that by scoring 25 of his 30 points against Georgetown in the second half. That's just sick! When was the last time anybody put up 25 against the Hoyas in a half?!? Credit also needs to be given to Jason Richards, Davidson's point guard, who played all 40 minutes against Georgetown, scored 20 points, and had 5 assists with only one turnover against the Hoyas' pressure defense. My friend Phil went to Davidson and is the only reason I knew about this program prior to last season. I told him Sunday night that I've officially hopped aboard the Davidson bandwagon and he gladly welcomed me. There is no reason that this Davidson team cannot beat Wisconsin on Friday. With the lights-out shooting of Stephen Curry and the outstanding point guard play of Jason Richards, anything is possible...if not downright probable.
• I'm becoming more and more obsessed with point-guard play, as I truly believe a college team's success is directly related to the quality of the man that's distributing the ball. With that in mind...the following stat astounded me: Stanford's point guard, Mitch Johnson, had 16 assists and only 1 turnover while playing 44 minutes in the Cardinal's overtime victory against Marquette. He played all but one minute of the game and only had one turnover against the athletic guards of Marquette. I'm in awe of that line. Point guards never get enough of the credit, even though they are the most crucial element to how a team performs and functions. Oh...I forgot to mention that Johnson ran this team to near perfection and kept them composed after head coach, Trent Johnson, was ejected from the game. Perhaps the most unsung performance of the first round. Outstanding game Mitch.
• The fact that four double-digit seeds all won games at the same site (Tampa Bay) seems like a complete statistical anomaly to me. Tim Brando and Mike Gminski had a blast calling those games and everyone in attendance got their money's worth. I was sad to see Drake (the pride of Des Moines, Iowa) get bounced, but their overtime, last second loss to Western Kentucky may go down as the best game of this tournament. #12 Villanova and #12 Western Kentucky move on to the Sweet Sixteen. Thank you Tampa Bay.
• Villanova coach Jay Wright did look quite dapper during the Wildcat's upset victory over #5 Clemson, but how the heck did he not get charged with a technical foul near the end of that game? *(I need to make a correction here - Jay Wright was assessed a technical foul with 2:59 left in the Clemson game. What I meant to question here was that he was not given a 2nd technical foul and ejected from the game. Please see my comment below)* He was out of control and showing up the refs. The officiating needs to be more consistent across the board during the NCAA Tournament. Mild-mannered Stanford coach, Trent Johnson, gets thrown out of a game and Wright doesn't even get one technical? I saw palming get called at least 4 times over the weekend after not seeing it called all season. Various Pitt players were getting mauled at the end of the Michigan State game and not getting whistles after the game had been called tight up to that point. And everyone knows by now that UCLA's Josh Shipp assaulted Texas A&M's Donald Sloan on the potential game-tying basket. All we're asking for is a little consistency. None of this, 'we're putting the whistles away for the final 3 minutes of the game', bullcrap. And don't call palming out of the blue just to make a point. The games should be called the same in November as they are in March.
• After going 7-1 in the first round...the Big East slid a bit and is a combined 10-5 going into the Sweet Sixteen with only 3 teams remaining (Louisville, West Virginia, & Villanova). That's not too bad, but when you figure that the Big Ten has 2 teams in the Sweet Sixteen, 3 doesn't seem like enough. The fact that West Virginia and Villanova made the Sweet Sixteen, I believe says plenty about the depth and overall quality of the Big East.
• I'm terrified that Bill Self (Kansas) and Rick Barnes (Texas) are safely into the Sweet Sixteen and actually appear to be doing a decent job. Is this an omen? Should I sell all my investments now? Is this merely a tease, setting up greater disappointment and heartbreak later? Can these men actually coach and use occasional common sense? Stay Tuned...

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Games on: Tuesday, Feb. 19th

Not too much was on last night's slate, here's what I got:

• Indiana beat in-state rival Purdue, 77-68, at the Hoosier-Dome (or whatever the hell 'The Place That Bobby Knight Built' is called). This creates even more of a log-jam in the Big Ten with Indiana & Wisconsin at 11-2 and Purdue a game ahead at 12-2.
• Iowa is now 5-9 in conference, thanks to the fact that they beat previously winless-in-Big-Ten-play Northwestern last night, 53-51. The Wildcats are now 0-13 in conference play.
• Back to Indiana. Eric Gordon scored 22 to lead the Hoosiers against Purdue and continues on his course to be a one-and-done college stud. Part of this blog is to prepare you for stories you'll be hearing all March long until you're stick of them. I'm just giving you knowledge now so you'll be smarter and therefore sicker of these stories before everyone else. Eric Gordon initially signed with the University of Illinois. Now this never made much sense as Gordon is from Indianapolis. But it didn't have to make sense as as he later shunned Illilnois and decided to stay at home and play for the Hooisers. Broadcasters and bound to bring this stuff up in March, but it really doesn't matter much anyway because he'll be playing for the Knicks or Sonics next season. He's wicked good.
• Hoosiers coach Kelvin Sampson might have coached his last game at Indiana, as possible NCAA violations hang over his head, as well as over the head of Indiana's program. It's possible Sampson could be gone by the weekend. But it isn't beyond belief that he could coach the team until the end of the season. Just be aware that this crap is hanging over Sampson and the University of Indiana. And know that Sampson has ALREADY been busted for doing this shit while coaching the Oklahoma Sooners. This isn't a case of Sampson being confident he wouldn't get caught, or even a case of him being cocky, this is a simple case of stupidity. You'll hear these stories rehashed and rehashed all March, along with the rumor that Bobby Knight could come back to IU and coach them to glory! Not likely.
• UCONN got another bullshit win last night, beating DePaul, 65-60, in a game where DePaul lead by as many as 13 in the second half. I'm just pissed because a bunch of "top tier" Big East teams keep winning games they soooooooooo should have lost. And that just makes things harder for Pitt heading down the stretch. Hasheem Thabeet is the name you need to know when discussing UCONN. You'll hear about him throughout the Big East Tournament as well as the Big Dance.
• To give my friend Phil some props, Davidson defeated UNC Greensboro 75-66 last night to up their record to 20-6 overall, 18-0 in Southern Conference play. Everyone should already know Davidson's Stephen Curry (son of ex-NBA'er Dell Curry) from last season when he trailed only Kevin Durant in Freshman scoring and set a NCAA freshman record with 113 three-pointers. Davidson will be a popular (Dare I say, sexy?) first round upset pick no matter where they are seeded in the Big Dance. Be prepared for the hype around Curry and the Wildcats again.