Shabazz Napier Leads Huskies to Final Four; Kentucky Also Advances

College Hoops Player of the Day for Sunday, March 30, 2014

As he's been doing for the better part of the season, Shabazz Napier put the UConn Huskies on his back and mushed his team to another important victory, this one over the Michigan State Spartans for a trip to the Final Four in Dallas with a 60-54 victory.

With a game-high 25 points, Napier scored the key buckets and made big plays in the final minutes to lead his squad to their biggest win of the year and a rematch with the Florida Gators in a national semi-final on Saturday.

Napier was just 6-for-14 from the field, but that included a 4-for-9 mark from three point range and perfection at the foul line where he made all nine of his free throws. The senior point guard also grabbed six rebounds and dished out four assists.

Up 51-49 with under two minutes to play, Napier put the Huskies - the 11 seed in the East region - up by four with a short jumper and, after Michigan State's Adreian Payne scored a pair of free throws, Napier was fouled attempting a three-pointer with 30 seconds to go and calmly stepped to the line and sank all three foul shots for a five point UConn lead.

Michigan State missed a three-point attempt and Napier fed Phillip Nolan for a dunk with 15 seconds left which sealed the victory.

The Huskies will face Florida on Saturday, meeting the Gators for the first time since December 2 when they beat the Gators, 65-64. Since then, Florida has run off 30 straight wins and enter the Final Four as the #1 seed from the South region.

The last spot in the Final Four was completed in rousing fashion late Saturday afternoon as Kentucky upset Michigan in the Midwest region final, 75-72. Kentucky, the #8 seed in the region got a clutch performance from Aaron Harrison, who hit four three-pointers in the final eight minutes, the last one coming with just three seconds in the game, breaking a 72-all tie and sending the Wildcats to a Final Four meeting with Wisconsin.

Frank Kaminsky Powers Wisconsin Past Arizona into Final Four; Florida Forward over Dayton

College Hoops Player of the Day for Saturday, March 29, 2014

In the end, basketball is a team sport, but it really helps your chances of winning when you have a seven-footer who can score nearly half of your team's points in big games.

That's the nature of Wisconsin and its star center, Frank Kaminsky, who scored 28 points for the Badgers in their 64-63 OT win over Arizona in the West regional final.

The junior from Lisle, Illinois with the smooth touch outside and deft moves inside, hit 11 of 20 shots from the field, including three of five from three-point range and three of four from the foul line, leading the Badgers into the Final Four. In 37 minutes of playing time, Kaminsky also collected 11 rebounds, seven of them on the offensive boards, key to keeping the ball alive for the Wisconsin offense and getting more than their fair share of second chance points.

Due to the ruggedly defensive nature of the game, Wisconsin shot just 39.3%; Arizona was only marginally better, at 39.8%.

The Badgers head to Dallas to meet up with the winner of Sunday's Kentucky-Michigan Midwest final in one of the two semi-final games.

The Florida Gators, #1 overall seed in the tournament, ground out a 62-52 victory over the Dayton Flyers, the #11 seed out of the South region. They reach the Final Four and look forward to playing the winner of Sunday's East region final between Michigan State and Connecticut.

DeAndre Daniels' 27 Points Leads Connecticut past Iowa State, 81-76; Michigan, Kentucky, Michigan State Advance

College Hoops Player of the Day for Friday, March 28, 2014

Coming into the tournament, everyone knew that the Connecticut Huskies were a talented group, but they we're very deep, and few thought they'd advance far, but, with an 81-76 victory over Iowa State in the East region semi-final, they're one step away from the Final Four.

The Huskies, having won any number of games and Big East championships at Madison Square Garden, might have felt right at home in the Big Apple, but junior DeAndre Daniels, who hails from Los Angeles and led all scorers with 27 points, it was a special night.

Daniels blew away the Cyclones by hitting 10 of 15 shots from the field, including a pair of three pointers and snatched 10 rebounds to lead the Huskies into the next round.

The Huskies (29-8), the seven seed in the region, meet up with Michigan State (29-8) in the East regional final on Sunday, after the Spartans took out Virginia, 61-59.

Over in the Midwest region, 8th-seeded Kentucky took out defending national champion Louisville, 74-69, the #4 seed, and #2 Michigan scraped by #11 Tennessee, 73-71.

The Wildcats and Wolverines will go at it Sunday, the winner advancing to the Final Four.

Iowa State Outlasts North Carolina, 85-83, Advances to Sweet 16

College Hoops Player of the Day for Sunday, March 23, 2014

Even with the loss of a key player - Georges Niang - DeAndre Kane wasn't going to let his teammates and Iowa State fans down.

Kane drove to the bucket and powered in the last two of his game-high 24 points with 1.6 seconds left to play, giving Iowa State an 85-83 victory over North Carolina and a trip to the Sweet 16, where they will meet Connecticut in an East regional semi-final on Friday, March 28.

The Cyclones lost Niang for the remainder of the season in their 93-75 win over NC Central as he suffered a fractured foot, but got big efforts from Naz Long, Monte Morris and Dustin Hogue against the Tar Heels.

Kane's 24 points came off 9-for-18 shooting and a 5-for-7 effort from the foul line. He also had 10 rebounds and seven assists, though his bucket near the end of the game was all that really mattered as the Cyclones overcame an eight-point deficit and outscored the Tar Heels 17-7 down the stretch.

Most of Sunday's slate of eight games went according to plan, with lower-numbered seeds knocking off the higher ones, except in the South region, where #10 Stanford knocked off #2 Kansas, 60-57, and in the Midwest, where #8 Kentucky upset #1 seed and previously unbeaten Wichita State, 78-76.

Tennessee's 83-63 win over Mercer made it a trio for the SEC in the Sweet 16, joining Kentucky and Florida, matching the number in the round by the Big Ten (Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin) and the PAC-12, which has advanced Stanford, UCLA and Arizona.

Baylor and Iowa State are the remaining teams from the Big 12 to advance, and two come out of the American Athletic - Louisville and UConn. Virginia is the only remaining ACC team left in the tournament. The Cavaliers smashed Memphis, 78-60, to advance.

Xavier Thames Nets 30 for San Diego State: Syracuse Out; Wisconsin, Michigan, Michagan St. Lead Big Ten to Sweet 16

College Hoops Player of the Day for Saturday, March 22, 2014

The Aztecs of San Diego State advanced to the Sweet 16 with a thundering victory over North Dakota State, 63-44.

Xavier Thames led the scoring parade with 30 points on 9-for-19 shooting with four threes.

The Aztecs, #4 seed in the West region will match up with the winner of the Sunday's Gonzaga-Arizona meeting.

Elsewhere, Syracuse, the #3 seed in the South, was upended by #11 Dayton, 55-53; in the Midwest region, #2 Michigan downed #7 Texas, 79-65, making them the third Big Ten team in the Sweet 16, joining Michigan State and Wisconsin.

Jarnell Stokes, Tennessee Make Quick Work of Minutemen, 86-67; Duke, VCU Ousted

College Hoops Player of the Day for Friday, March 21, 2014

The Massachusetts Minutemen will have plenty of time to think about their brief trip to the NCAA tournament, after Jordan McRae, Jarnell Stokes and the Tennessee Volunteers routed them, 86-67, in their opening game at PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC.

The Vols took a 3-2 lead on McRae's three-pointer 1:23 into the contest and never trailed or were tied again, forging a 19-point lead by the break, 41-22, and maintaining their edge throughout the second half.

McRae scored 21 points for the Vols, who won their second straight game in the tourney after knocking off Iowa, 78-65, in the First Four play-in round.

Stokes was impressive, leading all scorers with 26 points and topping the rebounding charts with a game-high 14, four of them off the offensive glass. Tennessee's inside force was 7-for-11 from the field and 12-for-13 at the foul line, the Minutemen finding no answer to his might but to foul him.

The Vols are the #11 seed in the Midwest region and will face Mercer on Sunday.

One of the other big stories of the day came before Tennessee's win, when Mercer, the #14 seed in the Midwest, upset the #3 seed Duke, 78-71, making the Blue Devils the most recent one-and-done tournament victim.

In the South region, the Mountaineers of Stephen F. Austin - the #12 seed - took down #5 seed, VCU, 77-75 in overtime, when senior leader, Desmond Haymond sent the game into overtime, knocking down a three-point shot with three seconds remaining and getting fouled in the act. Haymond hit the free throw to tie the game and contributed another trey in the overtime.

#1 seeds Arizona, Wichita State and Virginia all advanced, joining the overall #1 seed, Florida.

Adreian Payne's Career-High 41 Points Hoists Spartans over Delaware

College Hoops Player of the Day for Thursday, March 20, 2014

A spate of upsets marked the traditional opening day of the tournament, but one team which held its ground was Michigan State, likely because the Delaware Blue Hens had no solutions for senior forward Adreian Payne, who scored a career-high 41 points in the Spartans' 93-78 triumph.

The 6'10" swingman was incredibly efficient in tear up the opponent, hitting 10 of 15 from the field, including four of five from three-point range and an impressive 17-for-17 mark at the foul line. Payne added eight boards and only turned the ball over twice, all in just 24 minutes of court time.

Coach Tom Izzo has his team as well-prepared for the tournament as usual, coming off the championship in the Big Ten tournament last week.

Michigan State, the #4 seed in the East region,will face upset winner Harvard in the next round, on Saturday. The 12th-seeded Crimson disposed of #5 seed Cincinnati, 61-57, essentially blowing up millions of brackets in the process.

Among the other upsets encountered on Thursday were Dayton's 60-59 win over Ohio State in the South region, an 11 over a six, and, West region #12 seed North Dakota State outing #5 Oklahoma, 80-75, in overtime.

Basically, three regions were blown up on Thursday, leaving only the Midwest unscathed, though #5 St. Louis had to come from 16 back in the second half to hold off #12 NC State in overtime, 83-80.

Bracket Basics, Weak, Strong Regions, Play-in Games for the 2014 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship

On Tuesday, 68 teams (yes, what used to be known as "play-in" games are now round 1) will begin the ultimate quest to be named the bast collage hoops team in the land while millions of fans will be checking off winners and losers in the annual bracket madness that is March in America.

The opening game of the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship tips off at Tuesday at 6:40 pm, when a pair of #16 seeds, Albany and Mount St. Mary's, meet for the right to be slaughtered in the South bracket by #1 Florida in the second round.

This game is about as consequential - unless you really believe you're going to take a billion bucks off of Warren Buffett - as a tail feather in a chicken coop. Never has a #1 seed fallen to a 16-seed. If you must make a choice between the 16-16 Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers (winners of the Northeastern Conference tournament) and the 18-14 Albany Great Danes - winners of the America East tournament with a Scooby-Do look-alike as their mascot - flip a coin and cross the winner off in the next round.

Both Albany and Mt. St. Mary's finished fourth in their respective conferences.

The second Tuesday night game has a little more intrigue to it, as the teams are set down as 12-seeds, the winner moving on to face St. Louis in the Midwest region. North Carolina State meets up with Xavier at roughly 9:10 pm.

One could confidently give the Wolfpack the edge over the Musketeers in this meeting, but, as any veteran of bracket busting understands, almost nothing is certain come March. NC State was 21-13 with a 9-9 mark in the ACC, and they knocked off Syracuse in the second round of the conference tourney. They also feature ACC player of the year, T.J. Warren, who is a match-up nightmare.

The 21-12 Musketeers ended up tied for third in the watered-down Big East, not exactly a vote of confidence. NC State is a 2 1/2-point favorite.

On Wednesday, another pair of first round games feature Cal Poly vs. Texas Southern in a meeting of 16-seeds, and Tennessee vs. Iowa in the late game.

The winner of the first game goes on to face #1 seed in the Midwest, Wichita State, the only team in the tournament with an undefeated record, at 34-0. The Shockers were the only team to make the grade out of the Missouri Valley conference, but still look like a #1 that will not lose to a #16. Rinse and repeat the structure from Tuesday night and cross out the team on the line below Wichita State.

The Volunteers played well enough in the SEC tournament to make Florida a little nervous, though eventually falling in the semi-final. Iowa was eliminated early in the Big Ten tourney, but somehow gets into the mix because they're from a power conference. Despite a 9-9 mark against Big Ten teams, the Hawkeyes passed the eye test of the tournament selection committee. Either that, or the school needed the extra dough. Tennessee is a 1 1/2=-point favorite. The winner heads on to meet UMass in Raleigh on Sunday.

With three "play-in" teams all advancing into the Midwest conference, the obvious question is whether that makes that bracket stronger or weaker. Since two of the teams will be 11-and-12 seeds, it would suggest that the bracket is stronger, though many will claim that Wichita State is the weakest #1 in some time. The bracket also includes #2 Duke, #3 Michigan and #4 Louisville, only one of which captured their conference championship - Louisville. If there's anything glaring and obviously wrong in this year's brackets, it is Louisville on the four-line. They won the American Athletic conference tournament with ease and, if successful in their first two games, will have Wichita State in a regional semi-final, unless #8 Kentucky or #9 Kansas State rises up and smites the Shockers first.

Toughest among the regions is probably the East, where the 1-6 seeds are Virginia, Villanova, Iowa State, Michigan State, Cincinnati and North Carolina, and it doesn't get much easier after that, with teams like St. Joe's, Harvard and Providence in the mix.

If you're looking for a natural Final Four, try this on for size: Midwest - Louisville, West - Wisconsin, East - Iowa State, South - Florida. Other than Wisconsin, each of those teams won their conference tournament, though in the case of the West region (another in the running for weakest region), the only reliable conference champion was Gonzaga, winners of the WCC, seeded at #8. The Zags may get #1 seed Arizona in their second game, and recall that the Wildcats were knocked off by UCLA in the PAC-12 title game.

In the Final Four, this scenario has Louisville beating Wisconsin and Florida whipping Iowa State, though either of those games could easily go the other way. Picking an ultimate winner between those four teams is a tough task, though most would side with Florida. However, the SEC was not very deep, Louisville comes out of another weak conference, the American Athletic, making the case for the Cyclones or Badgers, each from power conferences.

For the record, CBD will take Iowa State to win it all.

ESPN offers a nice bracket look, adorned by Hooter's Girls, here, plus a link to their tournament challenge, one of the more popular online bracket contests.