Everyone Loves the Final Four by: Vas Tumati

While I am aware that the second game hasn’t been played yet, I am still too amped from the first game, Michigan State versus Connecticut, to not start writing right away. Plus, I spent the majority of the day laying in bed for no real reason and I just wanted to be productive. As I have stated before I have left my humble home in the midwest and now live in the New York, in fact very close to Connecticut, so the hype surrounding this game was high all week. I was lucky enough to pick Michigan State to win the game and was more or less scorned for it but such is the nature of the NCAA basketball tournament. Now let me preface this and say I am not a big MSU fan at all and, in fact, as an IU alum and someone who bleeds cream and crimson, I pretty much hate every other team in the Big Ten. However, that game was too, for a lack of eloquence, awesome to not throw support behind MSU.

As anyone who has been within earshot of me during a sporting events know that I am curmudgeony grumpy 22 year old and I can find fault with just about anything. I was expecting to get angry calls from the neighbors complaining at my yelling at the refs through the TV, but alas I agreed with almost every single call that was made tonight. On top of the great reffing, I absolutely loved the way the game was played tonight. Both teams were physical, strategic, athlectic, and played some damn good defense. Having nothing to blame in the game I just have to get behind both teams for playing well.

Michigan State won the game the only way they could have being faster and smarter than UConn. I was impressed to see a six foot four inch Summers out jumping Thabeet and grabbing amazing rebounds. While I don’t have the official tally, I can guarantee that MSU won the rebounding battle on the offensive boards, which, after a week of analysts raving about the UConn frontcourt, is astonishing. Rebounding and athleticism aside, MSU was pinpoint accurate with their shooting, taking open shots square to the basket. In addition to shooting, MSU played absolutely agressive defensive and ran their half court sets to perfection. Michigan State was definitely a sleeper this year, I was surpised at the depth of the bench and aggressive play they displayed. I really did think the Big Ten had a down year this year, though that just may be due to my Hoosiers not playing well.

Though I can fawn over the great MSU play tonight, I can’t stay that UConn didn’t shoot themselves in the foot a little bit. Calhoun waited way too long to switch to the full court press. With more than half of the MSU team in foul trouble putting some pressure on MSU could have only made the situation better for UConn. Also, UConn, hit some free throws! If they had even gone 80% from the line tonight they would have won this game easily.  It was rather evident that UConn was just not as into this game as MSU was from the beginning. I know that MSU was basically playing a home game being only a hour away from East Lansing but I have seen plenty of teams play energetic basketball in hostile environments. The only real fire I saw from the UConn team was in the scuffle that erupted early in the first half and that dissipated quickly.

Some kudos definitely have to go the hated (by me) Izzo. Whether it was a byproduct of aggressive defense or sloppy play, fouling a lot and early broke the UConn stride especially since they tend to play a smaller number of players. Izzo coached teams are known for their speed and athleticism and his constant turnover of players was critical tonight. The fast up and down of the MSU offensive definitely broke the slow frontcourt of UConn. With the excellent coaching and play of the MSU team I saw tonight, I would not be surprised if they won it all this year.

What I Would Do If I Was Mitch Barnhart, UK Athletic Director. By: Michael Oshita

To be truly honest with you, I wasn’t really surprised when I learned Friday that Billy Gillespie had been fired from UK.  My initial thought was, “what took them so long?”  To me, this was a move that was long overdue.  If I were A.D. Mitch Barnhart, I’d have fired him as soon as UK wasn’t selected for the NCAA tournament.  But now that he’s gone, Big Blue Nation now begins a nationwide search for Gillespie’s replacement.  I’ve heard every name from Travis Ford at Oklahoma State, to Mike Pelphrey at Arkansas, to Sean Miller at Xavier.  But now that a few days have passed since the firing, I think I’ve finally come up with a reasonable plan of action as to what Kentucky needs to do.

First off, let me start off by saying I agree 100% with the decision to let Gillespie go.  As a person who grew up in Cincinnati, I followed UK basketball while as they made those great runs during the mid 1990s.  Under Rick Pitino and Tubby Smith, the Wildcats captured the NCAA Championship in 1996 and 1998.  That’s what Kentucky fans expect, they demand to be in contention for national championships year after year.  They can’t settle for winning postseason NIT titles or CollegeInsider.com tournament trophies.  At UK, you’re judged by how many NCAA tournaments you make and how far you take those teams.  Billy Gillespie simply didn’t get it done.  In just over two years at the helm of one of college basketball’s most historic franchised, he finished with a record of 40-27 (.597 winning percentage).  That’s great at a place like Oregon State or USC where basketball doesn’t mean as much, but it’s unacceptable at UK.

And don’t give me the BS excuse of, “oh, well he didn’t have anything to work with.”  Are you serious?  Give me a break.  If you have Jodie Meeks and Patrick Patterson on your team, you make the NCAA tournament, especially in a year the SEC is down.  This isn’t like the Tom Crean situation at IU.  Tubby Smith left Gillespie in very good hands with very good players.  Gillespie just couldn’t get those players to do what he wanted.  Note to Gillespie: if you want to keep your job, don’t lose to Gardner Webb and VMI at home.  The reason you schedule these cupcake games is so your team can pound the crap out of them and build their confidence.  Instead what happens?  You lose and make a mockery of your program.

That being said, there’s news tonight that John Calipari is interested in the UK job.  source also said Kentucky was gathering information on Calipari over the weekend.  If I’m Mitch Barnhart, I do whatever it takes to bring Calipari to Lexington.  We’re talking about one of the greatest coaches in college basketball history.  If you have a chance to go get him and the interest is there, you give the man whatever he wants.  Multi-million dollar deal?  Done.  New practice facility?  Done.  UK cannot afford to make another hiring mistake again.  They must get an A-list coach, Calipari is their man.

Why not Travis Ford of Mike Pelphrey you may ask?  Simple, these men don’t have the type of experience it takes to run a big-time basketball program.  Just because Ford and Pelphrey played at UK, doesn’t mean they know what it takes to coach there.  I went to Indiana.  I played intramural basketball.  Does that make me the next Hoosier coach?  Of course not.  Using the former player argument never works.  Take a look at Indiana a few years ago when they considered hiring Steve Alford.  The guy couldn’t win at Iowa and can’t win at New Mexico.  Besides, it would be a completely different thing if both Oklahoma State and Arkansas (the two schools where Ford and Pelphrey coach) were in the Final Four right now.  Then you might have an argument.

The only good thing about all of this, is that it gives UK a chance to start over.  A clean slate.  Fans will now judge them by the decisions they make now.  And rather put yourself in a losing situation like they did two years ago, take your time this time.  Find the right coach.  In the end, only time will tell.

What in the world is going on with my National Champion?!?(Neil)

I’d like to first say hello to all of the loyal readers.  I would also like to thank Mike Oshita for giving me this opportunity to be able to get my thoughts and opinions out there.  My name is Neil Harrington, I am currently a senior majoring in secondary education at Indiana University.  For those who may not know me or my history with Mr. Oshita,  it goes back a while, and I must say there have been a few  some …OK many, heated debates between the two of us on a daily basis about anything.  But, mainly it has to do with sports. 

Like almost half of everyone else in my pool I chose Pittsburgh as my National Champion.  What a silly mistake I will not make again if they get a number one seed next year!  Every game with this team is an adventure all the way up until the last few seconds of the game.   An interesting fact to point out is that throughout this whole Tournament Pittsburgh is the only team that is still alive that has failed to cover the spread in every game they have played.

 OK!… First Round!…East Tennessee St.?!?! Pittsburgh is a 21 point favorite and manages to win by 10,  but for those who watched it you know it was a nail biter up until the last few minutes of the game!  Second Round!…Oklahoma St.  A slightly better team than East Tennessee St., but none the less a team they were supposed to beat by about 9.5 points.  Now you will look at the final score and see that Pittsburgh won by 8… But if you actually watched the game you will know what I am talking about when I say Pittsburgh was very fortunate to win that game given that there was a point in the game in the last four or five minutes when the game was either tied or Oklahoma St. was up.  Onward we go to the next round Xavier.  Pittsburgh is a 6.5 point favorite in this one and only wins by 5.   Now don’t get me wrong Xavier is a good team.  A 4 Seed … who also were lucky in the second half of their second round game that Wisconsin couldn’t shoot the ball into Lake Michigan if they were standing on North Avenue Beach.  Remember, Wisconsin got up by 10 with about 16 minutes to go…  All they had to do was turn about 5 or 6 of their misses into made baskets and it would be a ball game.  This brings me to one of my conclusions that the four seeds this year appeared to be relatively harmless in the tournament (Wake Forest out in the first round, Washington losing to Purdue,  Gonzaga escapes W. Kentucky because the referee never saw the coach call for a timeout.)  And all the while Pittsburgh barely escapes this Xavier team.  Recall that if Fields did not hit that ridiculous three pointer with under a minute to play Xavier would have actually moved on! 

So what is in store for this #1 seed coming up with their match up against Villanova.  You heard it hear first, Villanova is going to upset Pittsburgh in a very close game that will come down to the last few minutes of play.  Pittsburgh has not looked good at all this entire tournament.  This does not bode well for me and the 40% of the population in my pool that chose Pittsburgh as their National Champion.

Let’s look on the other side of the bracket at a #1 seed who actually looks and has played like a #1 seed… CONNECTICUT!!  Two people have chosen this team as their champ out of 32.. just two people!  If we were able to go back and adjust our bracket after the first week of game play I would make Connecticut my National Champion. 

They cruised through the first and second rounds blowing out Chattanooga and Texas A&M by 56 points and 26 points respectively.  They put Purdue away in a 12 point victory and looked good doing it!   Connecticut has dominated every game thus far in the tournament this reason is my mid-tournament pick to win the National Championship. 

Pittsburgh…Dominant??….Anything but!

Why I Love This Year’s Sweet 16 (Michael)

You know, a lot has been said about the matchups in this year’s NCAA tournament; how they’re boring compared to previous years because there isn’t a Cinderella team like in years past.  You know the kind;  like George Mason in 2006 when they made the Final Four or Davidson making the Elite Eight in 2008.  These were teams sports fans could get behind, after all, everyone loves pulling for the underdog.  It also gave us a chance to learn more about these programs, some of whom we’d never know anything about had it not been for their accomplishments on the hardwood.  But if you’re anywhere close to the kind of fanatic that I am when it comes to college basketball, this is your weekend to watch.  Thursday and Friday’s action will feature the first time EVER that all the 1-, 2- and 3-seeds are in the Sweet 16.  And while yes, there is no Cleveland State or Siena for us to talk about, there is still a ton of great basketball yet to be played.  And that’s why I think this is one of BETTER NCAA tournaments I’ve seen in quite some time.

The reason is simple, this year’s tournament is better because of the matchups.  Yes, having a Cinderella team every once in awhile is a good thing to have, but 80% of the time, they lose.  Take Davidson last year for instance.  They got all the way to the Elite Eight, but you knew they weren’t going to win the National Title.  They just weren’t deep enough and their entire offense focused solely on one player (Stephen Curry).  So watching these teams play games I know they’re going to lose, I sort of feel like I’m getting gypped out of my time.  Why sit there, in front of the TV just to watch a blowout?  Wouldn’t you rather see a close, physical back and forth game between two great teams like Duke and Villanova or Syracuse and Oklahoma?  This year’s tournament breeds that.

Maybe I’m crazy.  I’ve been known to be wrong before.  But for my money, I’d much rather see a highly competitive tournament that features the top teams in America, those that actually have a decent chance of winning the national title.  Even Arizona, a team that many thought didn’t even deserve to get invited to the field of 65 is in the mix.  We’ve seen them win it before (under Lute Olsen, Mike Bibby and Miles Simon) and they definitely have the talent to do it again (led of course by their trio of future NBA stars Hill, Budinger and Wise).

As fans, we want to see the best play the best for the opportunity to call themselves the best.  Kicking the tar out of an inferior team is nice, but it won’t be remembered because it was SUPPOSED to happen.  Whichever team does come out of this on top. they’ll go down in history because fans and writers alike will remember how tough their journey was.  I’m not going to tell you who I have winning it all, let’s just say as of right now, they’re still in (knock on wood).  And if they make it through, I’ll respect and admire them that much more.