How Good are the Blue Devils?

Duke 89 North Carolina 78

After watching the Duke Blue Devils dismantle the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill last night, one wonders if we were watching the best team in the country.

While Duke didn't have an answer for Tyler Hansbrough, who finished with game-high 28 points and 18 rebounds, but the Blue Devils were deadly from outside, played with poise and skill, and every time Carolina seemed on the verge of pulling even, the Duke shooters would slam the door shut.

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Greg Paulus was a phenom on the wings, hitting 6 of 8 three-pointers and finishing with a team-high 18 points. Kyle Singler hit 3 of 6 and Jon Scheyer 2 of 4 from beyond the arc. Singler had his own double-double, with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

But the Blue Devils shooting wasn't the whole story. Despite being outrebounded and allowing more attempts from both the floor and the free throw line, they still won by 11, held the lead for the entire second half, and put six different players in double figures. Ridiculous. That's not sharing the ball, that's like having Mother Teresa clones all over the court.

North Carolina was without Ty Lawson, but it didn't seem to matter very much. The Tar Heels only recorded three steals, to Duke's 11. They shot 41%. Duke shot 46%. It was good enough, especially considering they went 13 of 29 from 3-point range.

Coach Mike Krzyzewski actually used a word he seldom attaches to his own teams: "special." If he thinks of them in that terminology, the rest of the NCAA should be put on notice. This team is coming, and they're taking no prisoners.

Georgetown, Tennessee Roll

Georgetown 63 South Florida 53 - The Georgetown Hoyas won their 9th Big East game against one loss, retaining their lead in the conference with a comeback win at South Florida.

The Hoyas trailed by as much as 10 points in the first half, on the strength of DaJuan Summers' career-high 24 points and 9 rebounds. Center Roy Hibbert added 13 points and 8 rebounds as the Hoyas shot just 39% from the field.

Georgetown is 19-2 overall, their only losses coming on the road against powerhouse teams Memphis and Pittsburgh. The win, the 6th straight for Georgetown precedes a string of three road games in their next four, a testing schedule. The Hoyas are at Louisville Saturday, then home against Villanova, followed by road games at arch-rival Syracuse and Providence.

Tennessee 104 Florida 82 - The Volunteers topped the century mark for the third time this season and for the first time in SEC play, improving to 20-2 on the season and 7-1 in the conference.

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Tennessee got off to a slow start against the Gators, trailing by 13 points in the first half, but they finished strong as Chris Lofton threw down 26 points and JaJuan Smith and Tyler Smith each posted 23.

Both Lofton and JaJuan Smith hit 6 3-pointers. Tyler Smith was a force inside, hitting 10 of 16 shots while pulling down 9 rebounds and dishing 6 assists. The Vols retain a solid 2 game lead over Kentucky in the SEC East.

1-2-3 Teams in Action

On Wednesday, the top three teams in the nation take to the hardwood. #1 Memphis hosts SMU, while #2 Duke visits #3 North Carolina in a battle for ACC supremacy.

While the Tigers are prohibitive favorites, one of the ACC teams will lose and cause a shakeup in next week's polls.

In another interesting matchup, #19 Connecticut, one of the hottest teams in the nation, travels to Syracuse to take on the unranked Orangemen, who are just a 1/2-game behind the Huskies in the Big East standings. UConn is 6-3, while Syracuse has posted a 6-4 conference record.

The Orangemen are coming off three straight wins of their own, including strong road performances over DePaul (60-55) and Villanova (87-73).

Knight Retires As Winningest Coach

Bobby Knight will be remembered fondly in college basketball circles, though his feisty and cantankerous personality often raised eyebrows and ire from fans and officials alike.

Knight resigned unexpectedly on Monday from the coaching ranks, saying it was time to move on. Knight holds the record for most wins by a coach in NCAA history with 902, spanning 42 years at Army, Indiana and Texas Tech.

His accomplishments were greatest at Indiana, where he led the Hoosiers to three national championships, including an undefeated season in 1976, which is the last time any division 1 college basketball team has finished without a loss.

At 67, Knight has done just about everything a coach can do, including winning a gold medal at the 1984 Olympics with Michael Jordan as one of his players. The Red Raiders, 12-8 in the Big 12, will be turned over to his son, Pat, for the remainder of the season.

SEC in Flux: Florida dumped, Wildcats 'Getting It'

Likely the most contentious conference in the nation, teams in the SEC took some serious turns at ranking maneuvers over the past week.

The enigmatic Arkansas Razorbacks, which started their SEC campaign with two wins (Auburn and Alabama) followed by two losses (South Carolina and Georgia), yesterday won their third straight, whipping the tar out of the Florida Gators, 80-61, while moving into first place tie with Mississippi State in the West division.

That may have come as a surprise to some, but the Gators are rebuilding, having lost their starting five after capturing two straight NCAA championships. That level of excellence is difficult to maintain, even for coach Billy Donovan.

Meanwhile, the Razorbacks have been knocking on the door for the past couple of seasons. They made an unanticipated run to the SEC championship game last season, only to lose to the Gators by 21 and end up in the NIT tourney.

Sonny Weems led the scoring with 17 and Gary Ervin added 15 points with six assists. Arkansas improved to 16-5 and 5-2 in the conference.

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The only ranked team in the SEC West, Mississippi, lost at home to South Carolina, 80-77, while the Mississippi St. Bulldogs fell 76-71 at SEC East leader Tennessee (19-2, 6-1), clearly the class of the conference.

Kentucky made more noise with their third consecutive conference win and first on the road, knocking down Georgia, 63-58 to get to 4-2. Both Vanderbilt and Mississippi are 3-4 in SEC play after beginning the season undefeated, with 15-0 and 13-0 records, respectively.

The SEC may not be the best conference in the country, but it certainly is one of the more unpredictable and exciting.

Kansas beaten; Memphis rolls on

And then there was one.

The top-ranked Memphis Tigers stand alone as the only undefeated team in the nation, at 20-0, after the Tigers defeated Houston, 89-77 and #2 Kansas fell at Kansas State, 84-75.

It was the Jayhawks' first loss of the season. They are 20-1.

Tigers, Jayhawks Remain Unbeaten

As the college hoops world turns...

The top two teams in every poll, Memphis and Kansas kept on winning on Saturday. The Jayhawks, ranked a strong #2, had the easier time of it, taking to their home court against the Nebraska Cornhuskers, a team they had already defeated, 79-58 on the road. Kansas got 18 from Darrell Arthur and 17 out of Brandon Rush in a 84-49 walkover win to get to 20-0. The result was hardly in doubt, as the Jayhawks built a 44-17 lead by halftime.

Memphis had a little more difficulty, but kept the Gonzaga hopefuls at bay, winning 81-73, for their 19th straight win. Chris Douglas-Roberts poured in 21 points for the Tigers, but Derrick Rose had a monster game, with 19 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 steals and a blocked shot. The Tigers should be able to coast along through their relatively easy Conference-USA schedule until they host SEC powerhouse Tennessee on Feb. 23.

Speaking of the Vols, Chris Lofton hit 7 3-pointers and tallied 27 points to lead Tennessee past Georgia, 85-69. Tennessee shot 57% from the field. The Volunteers are 17-2 overall and tied for first place in the SEC East with Florida at 4-1.

After knocking North Carolina out of the #1 spot last week, the Maryland Terrapins found the Duke Blue Devils a little tougher act to follow, dropping a 93-84 decision at College Park. DeMarcus Nelson scored 27, and Gerald Henderson had 23 for 16-1 Duke, the only team in the ACC without a loss in the conference. Mark down Feb. 6, when the Devils play at North Carolina.

Tennessee Shuffled; A&M Un-Bear-Able

Kentucky 82 Tennessee 76

Upsets are a way of life in the upper echelons of college basketball. Kentucky is making them part of their routine in the SEC.

After handing Vanderbilt their first loss of the season ten days before, skeptics figured the Wildcats couldn't do the same against the deeper, more experienced Volunteers from Tennessee on Tuesday night. As it was, Kentucky had lost two straight after the upset of Vandy, both on the road, to Mississippi St. and Florida.

The skeptics were wrong.

Kentucky used their size advantage inside to upend the #5 Vols, 82-76 as Patrick Patterson scored 20 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. Though star guard Chris Lofton led the way for the Vols with 22, including 5 3-pointers, his offense wasn't enough down the stretch. Kentucky had trailed by 10 in the second half, but Joe Crawford hit back-to-back treys to tie the game with 11 minutes remaining.

The teams traded leads as time wore on, but the Wildcats played solid defense and came away with another unlikely upset at Rupp Arena, where they are 2-0 in SEC play.

The Volunteers fell to 16-2 and 3-1 in the conference, a half game behind the Gators in the SEC East.

Baylor 116 Texas A&M 110, 5 OT

The Aggies probably wish they could start their conference schedule over again. They began play in the Big 12 with a 14-1 record and were fresh off a confidence-building 79-53 romp over LSU. They beat Colorado handily in their conference opener, 86-69, but then lost 2 straight, at Texas Tech and Kansas State.

Heading back to their home court against Baylor should have been just what the doctor ordered to snap them back to life. Instead, they ended in a battle to the death in five overtimes with the Baylor Bears, finally coming out on the wrong end of the score with their third straight loss, 116-110.

The Aggies continue to slide through the rankings, dropping to #16 last week and falling, now that they are now 15-4.

Baylor, on the other hand, should move up on Monday if they can get past 13-5 Oklahoma on Saturday. The bears are tied with #2 Kansas at 4-0 atop the Big 12 standings.

The Bears were led by junior guard Curtis Jerrells, who scored 36 points, including 20-24 from the foul line. Jerrells and his teammates actually won big time at the line, hitting 39-47 (.830) to the Aggies' 36-59 (.608).

80% free throw shooting will serve any team well, especially come March. Beware the Bears.

Syracuse takes Georgetown to OT

Georgetown 64 Syracuse 62 - Roy Hibbert scored 15 points and snatched 9 rebounds and Jonathan Wallace scored 15, including hitting 4-of-7 3-pointers as the Hoyas won their 10th straight home game Monday night.

It was not easy for the 15-2 Hoyas, who overcame a 7-point deficit in the final five minutes to force overtime. Syracuse's phenomenal frosh, Johnny Flynn, scored 24 points to lead all scorers. Georgetown was also outrebounded by the Orangemen, 38-29.

Flynn, averaging 15.4 points per outing and has been held to single digits just once in the last 16 games, was largely stymied down the stretch, ending the night at 9-23 from the field, though he was 4-10 from beyond the arc.

Georgetown retained their first place standing in the Big East at 5-1 while Syracuse fell to 3-4. West Virginia, DePaul and Cincinnati are all a game back at 4-2, with five more teams deadlocked at 3-2.

Shakeup in the Top 25

Some very big noise made via upsets over the past few days, not the least of which was Maryland's 82-80 overthrow of number one North Carolina.

(the current poll results are over in the left-hand column)

However, considering the level of overall talent in the ACC, it was to be expected that the Tar Heels were going to lose at least a couple of games in the conference. Now, losing to a very green and unranked Maryland team may surprise some, but the Terrapins always have a team capable of ruining any opponent's plans, and they always make the NCAA field of 65.

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Coach Gary Williams consistently puts a solid product on the floor, has a NCAA championship to his credit and is in his 19th season at the University of Maryland, so, no surprise that the Terps beat the Heels, but doing it at Chapel Hill does raise some eyebrows.

What is interesting is to find another ACC team - Duke - jumping past their arch-rivals into the #3 spot behind Memphis and Kansas, both of which remained undefeated. Memphis made the top spot (in the AP Poll) for the first time since 1983, before any of the current players were even born. Duke knocked up Clemson pretty good on Sunday, 93-80, and were given the credit they deserve. The Blue Devils are just a one-point loss at Pitt from being undefeated themselves.

Other Top 25 teams that lost on Saturday:

Mississippi, 80-77, at Auburn
Pittsburgh, 62-59, at Cincinnati
Texas A&M was outscored 40-21 in the second half in its 75-54 thumping at Kansas St.
Miami, 79-77, at NC State
Arizona State, 67-52, at Stanford
UCLA, 72-63, at home to USC

Sunday's solitary Top 25 loser was Marquette, 89-73, at Connecticut. That's two straight losses for the Golden Eagles and their third in the Big East (3-3).

It's fascinating to note that the biggest upsets - North Carolina and UCLA - were on their home courts. Really great teams don't lose many on their own floors, so it bears watching if these two stumble as tourney time approaches.

Things are still pretty fluid and no team has demonstrated clear superiority, though, as stated in a previous post, Memphis appears on track to make it to the tourney unbeaten. For Kansas, accomplishing that feat would make them odds on to win it all. For now, the Jayhawks look to be gilt-edged, but the Big 12 is hazardous.

Looking ahead, #23 Drake is at Creighton and #5 Tennessee should cruise at Kentucky Tuesday night.

On Wednesday, #16 Texas A&M travels to Baylor, looking to avoid their second straight road loss. #4 North Carolina visits Miami. The Tar Heels don't want to lose their second straight, while the Hurricanes seek respect and a return to the Top 25.

On Thursday, the Dayton Flyers (19) travel to Xavier (22). The winner will take at least a share of the Atlantic 10 lead.

We'll be updating those games and others in the days ahead. Tonight, Syracuse visits Georgetown. While the 'Cuse is in somewhat of a downtrend, they'll give the Hoyas a game, but Roy Hibbert, who terrorized the Irish to the tune of 21 points in Saturday's 84-65 pounding of Notre Dame, looks to be putting his complete game together.

Butler Busted; Louisville Routs Marquette

Cleveland St. 56 Butler 52

The mighty may not have fallen, but some mites got bitten on Thursday night.

In the mid-majors, Butler met their match as the Cleveland State Vikings upended the #12 Bulldogs, 56-52, with a pressure defense that forced the visitors into their poorest shooting performance of the season.

Butler could only manage 18-53 field goals (.340) including a mere 6-23 from beyond the arc, as Cleveland State played tight defense and got inside scoring from J'Nathan Bullock (14 points) and timely sharpshooting from Joe Davis, who hit 5 of 7 from the field with 3 of 4 threes for 13 points. Cedric Jackson was also on his game, hitting 4-6, tallying 14 for the game.

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Butler star A.J. Graves was hounded all night, and finished with a dismal 2 of 11 from the floor and 5 points, matching his worst outing of the season, a 73-66 win over Valparaiso.

The loss was the second of the season for the Bulldogs (16-2), both to Horizon League opponents. Their first loss was at Wright State, 43-42 on December 8, and had won 8 straight since. Cleveland St. improved to 13-5, but won their 6th straight in the Horizon League without a loss, improving their lead over Butler to two games.

Louisville 71 Marquette 51

Everybody's healthy again for Rick Pitino's Louisville Cardinals and they're making some noise in the Big East.

David Padgett scored 17 points and hauled in 10 rebounds and Terrence Williams pitched in a game-high 20 points as the Cardinals won their 4th straight and 8th of their last 9, routing 15th ranked Marquette, 71-51.

Louisville improved to 3-1 in the conference and are in a 4-way tie for first place with Notre Dame, Pitt and Georgetown.

Marquette shot just 30 percent from the field and fell to 3-2 in the conference and 13-3 overall.

Tennessee 80 Vanderbilt 60

The Vols showed everybody who's the boss in the SEC with a consummate victory over #16 Vanderbilt.

Wayne Chism showed his versatility with a game high 20 points, hitting 8 of 13 shots from the floor, including 2 of 4 from 3-point range. JaJuan Smith and Tyler Smith each chipped in with 14 as the #6 Volunteers improved to 15-1. Vandy won 16 straight to open the season, but have dropped two straight, the first a 79-73, double overtime loss at Kentucky this past Saturday.

KU Goes to 18-0; Top 25 Upsets Update

There are some very good teams in the heartland, and then there's Kansas.

The Jayhawks sent a message to the rest of the conference with a pair of dominating performances in their first two Big 12 games, whipping Nebraska, 79-58 on Saturday, and then thumping Oklahoma, 85-55, Monday night.

Brandon Rush scored a team-high 19 in the win over Nebraska and followed that performance with 16 points against the Sooners. Darnell Jackson led the team in the Oklahoma game with 17 points on 8-10 shooting. The two wins put the Jayhawks at 18-0.

Over the weekend, a handful of notable upsets shook up college hoops and the Top 25.

It all began Saturday afternoon when Kentucky took undefeated Vanderbilt in double overtime, 79-73, followed by UCLA's dismissal of Washington State from the unbeaten club, 81-74.

But the biggest upset of the day took place in Iowa City, where the Hawkeyes unceremoniously dumped Michigan St., 43-36. Iowa actually shot just 28% and won, as the Spartans weren't much better at 31%, hitting just 16 of 52 shots. Michigan St. turned the ball over 18 times for their second loss of the season.

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Also on Saturday, the Missouri Tigers shot the lights out (56% and 12-26 on 3's) and walloped Texas, 97-84. Six Tigers scored in double figures. The Longhorns subsequently fell from #13 to #19 in the USA Today/ESPN poll.

In the Big East, Cincinnati knocked #16 Villanova down one notch after beating them 69-66.

On Sunday, Oregon kicked Stanford right out of the Top 25 with a 71-66 win and on Monday, #15 Pitt struck with an upset of #5 Georgetown, setting the stage for more Top 25 changes to come.

Vandy, Washington State Eliminated from Unbeaten Ranks

And then there were three.

UCLA knocked Washington State off their lofty perch, handing the Cougars their first loss of the season, and it was mayhem in Lexington as Billy Gillispie had his team focused on a win. With the undefeated Commodores in town, Kentucky entered the game losers of 6 of their last 8, with an overall record of 6-7. This was their first SEC game.

Rupp Arena has seen it's share of upsets, but on Saturday, the Kentucky Wildcats exposed Vanderbilt's weakness and smothered the previously-unbeaten Commodores, 79-73.

The Wildcats consistently fed their big man, Patrick Patterson, in the first half, and he not only ate the Commodore's lunch, but polished off dinner and enjoyed a nice dessert and a cup of coffee. The 6'8" freshman, pounded the ball inside to the tune of a game-high 22 points on 7 for 12 shooting with 8 of 11 free throws and 12 rebounds.

In the second stanza and overtime, it was all Ramel Bradley, who scored 18 points - including the game-clincher with 32 seconds left in the second OT - after being held scoreless for the first 20 minutes.

It was ugly for Vandy from the start, as Kentucky led by as many as 16 points in the first half. Patterson led the way with 14 points in the opening period, which ended with Kentucky holding a 10-point lead, 32-22.

The Commodores closed the gap in the second half as Shan Foster and Alex Gordon turned up the shooting. Vanderbilt's freshman sensation, A. J. Ogilvy delivered a key basket with under thee minutes to play cutting the lead to 3, but was limited to 16 points on 6-11 shooting. Foster cut the lead to 2 points (63-61) at the 1:45 mark on a deep three-pointer.

After Kentucky's Ramel Bradley hit a short jumper and a free throw by Vandy's Jermaine Beal made it 65-62, Kentucky turned the ball over on consecutive possessions with under 40 seconds to play, giving the Commodores life. Foster banged home his 4th three pointer of the game to tie it at 65-all with 17 seconds to play.

In the first overtime, Ogilvy scored a key put-back with 4 seconds remaining to force another extra 5 minute period.

Foster finished with 20; Gordon tallied 12.

Patterson improved on his averages of 16.8 points and 8.1 rebounds per game, leading the Wildcats in both departments.

The losses leave just three undefeated teams in the NCAA. North Carolina pounded in-state rival NC State, 93-62. Memphis and Kansas played late games.

Five Undefeated... for How Long?

As the rigors of conference play get underway, there are only five undefeated teams in the college basketball ranks and the obvious question is whether any of them have what it takes to become the first team to win the NCAA National Championship since the Bobby Knight's 1976 Indiana Hoosiers, who went 32-0, beating Michigan 86-68 in the finals in Philadelphia.

North Carolina (16-0)
Memphis (14-0)
Kansas (15-0)
Washington St. (14-0)
Vanderbilt (16-0)

There they are, five teams with a cumulative record of 75-0. By this time next month, odds are that there will be three or less, maybe none, though the team which stands out as having the best chance of making it through not only January, but February and into March - the Memphis Tigers.

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Having already knocked off three ranked opponents (USC, Georgetown and Arizona), the next test for John Calipari's Tigers might not be until February 23, when they host the Tennessee Volunteers. The Vols are currently ranked #8 and just knocked Mississippi from the ranks of the undefeated, 85-83, this past Wednesday.

Before they get to that game with the Vols, Memphis faces a schedule made up nearly exclusively of Conference-USA opposition. In a league that was severely watered-down when Louisville, Cincinnati, DePaul and Marquette jumped to the Big East a few seasons back, the Tigers face an undistinguished group of teams including the likes of Marshall (9-4), Rice (3-11), Tulsa (8-4) and Southern Miss (8-7). On January 26, Gonzaga comes calling, but the Zags aren't the Western powerhouse they used to be, having already dropped decisions to Texas Tech, Washington St. Oklahoma and Tennessee.

The Tigers swept their conference games last season and they're likely to do it again. There simply isn't any measurable competition in the league that can stand up to the formidable inside game of Joey Dorsey and Robert Dozier who combine for 19 points and 17 rebounds per outing. Nor can anyone match up with leading scorer Chris Douglas-Roberts (16.9 ppg) or the quickness of point guard Derrick Rose (4.5 apg).

Should the Tigers get past the Zags and the Vols, they should make a serious run at least to the Final Four.

If any other team has the skills and schedule to run the table, it's probably not going to be Vanderbilt. The Commodores have Tennessee on tap for Jan. 17 and the arduous itinerary of the SEC is simply too tough for anyone to get through unscathed. Besides, Vandy hasn't even played a ranked opponent yet. They're good, but finishing conference play with less than four losses would be accomplishment enough.

Out West, Washington State has defied skeptics and the odds, compiling a 14-0 record. Their big test comes tomorrow, Jan. 12, when they travel down coast to #5 UCLA. If they win that, the Cougars still have to wend their way through the tough PAC-10, including trips to Arizona, Arizona St., Stanford and Oregon. Good luck.

That leaves Kansas and North Carolina. While the Tar Heels are heads and shoulders better than almost every team in the ACC, the rivalries run deep and the games are hard-fought. If Roy Williams can guide his troops to an undefeated run through one of the toughest conferences in the country, hand them the trophy. The same applies to the Jayhawks, who face serious challenges in the Big 12 from Texas, Texas A&M and sneaky-good teams like Oklahoma, Kansas State and Missouri.

We're down to five now, but don't be surprised if there aren't any unbeatens come tourney time, though Memphis just may have the horses to get it done.

A Few Facts about the Dayton Flyers

As the chilly months of January and February prepare us for the Madness that is March, a number of teams will seemingly pop out of the proverbial woodwork and into the national consciousness. One of those teams will likely be the Dayton Flyers of the University of Dayton in Ohio, so here's a little background with which you can amaze your friends come tourney time.

The Flyers are 13-1 on the season and 1-0 in the conference, with wins over three ranked teams: Louisville (70-65), Pittsburgh (80-55) and Rhode Island (92-83). The only loss suffered by the Flyers was in their second game of the season, on November 17, at George Mason, 67-56. They've since won 12 straight.

The University of Dayton was founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary (the Marianists). It is a Catholic school which evolved from a boarding school for boys (St. Mary's School for Boys) built on 125 acres of farmland and became the University of Dayton in 1920. It is the largest private college in the state of Ohio.

Over the last nine years, UD has had 23 conference championships and 17 teams reach the post-season. The basketball program rates as one of the best in the nation, in an elite group graduating basketball athletes at a rate of better than 85%.

The basketball program has incredible fan acceptance. For seven straight years Dayton basketball has finished in the top 25 in the nation in attendance.

Conference: Atlantic-10

Head coach: Brian Gregory

Top Players:
Brian Roberts, 6'2" senior guard, leads the team with 4.6 assists and 19.4 points per game.

Chris Wright, 6'8" freshman forward, 6 rebounds (leads team), 10.4 points per game.

Marcus Johnson, 6'3" sophomore guard, 9.6 ppg.

Forwards Charles Little (6'6" junior) and Kurt Huelsman (6'10" sophomore) each average 4.9 rebounds per game and are the 4th and 5th leading scorers on the team.

Only six of the players on the team are from Ohio, but four of them - Roberts, Johnson, Wright and Huelsman - are starters. Oddly enough, Little, the other starter, hails from Cleveland... Tennessee.

Team colors: Red and Blue

Official website: www.udayton.edu

The SEC is the Place to Be

Tennessee asserted themselves at home and ended upstart Mississippi's 13-game win streak with the Rebels' first loss of the season while surprising Vanderbilt improved to 16-0 with an 80-73 win over South Carolina.

The Commodores, ranked #13 nationally, needed a huge game from freshman A.J. Ogilvy, who scored 25 points, more than picking up the slack from SEC scoring leader Shan Foster, who hit only 4-11 from the field and tallied 13 points. The Gamecocks kept the game close until Vandy pulled away in the final four minutes. Devan Downey led South Carolina with 22 points.

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In Tennessee's 85-83 win, it was tighter down the stretch. The visiting Rebels led 83-79 with under two minutes remaining, but the Vols scored the final six points of the game, the last four on buckets by Tyler Smith, who finished with a team-high 21 points, the same number scored by JaJuan Smith, who had a hot first half with 16 points, including 4-6 shooting from 3-point range.

Mississippi's Chris Warren scored 24 to pace all scorers. With the win, the Vols and Rebels share identical 13-1 records as conference play in the SEC got underway. The two teams will not meet again during the regular season.

Both divisions look to be hotly contested. In the East, the main challenge for the Vols will come from Vanderbilt and Georgia. Florida, which won the division, conference and national championship last year, already has a conference win over Alabama, though they are nowhere near the same team that took the floor last season, having lost all five starters to the NBA.

In the West, Mississippi will have to contend with Mississippi St., Arkansas and Auburn, all of which were close to the division lead last season.

Hibbert's Double-Double Leads Hoyas; Big East on Fire

Georgetown 76 DePaul 60 - Roy Hibbert scored 17 points and wiped the boards for 11 rebounds to lead the #7 Georgetown Hoyas to a decisive victory at DePaul. The victory was the second straight Big East road win for Georgetown, which pounded Rutgers, 58-46 on Saturday.

Georgetown joins Notre Dame and Syracuse atop the Big East standings at 2-0, followed by Connecticut and Marquette at 2-1 and a gaggle of six teams at 1-1. Pre-season favorite Pittsburgh is 0-1, after losing at Villanova, 64-63, on Sunday. The Panthers can begin to make amends with games against 1-1 South Florida and 0-2 Seton Hall this week, prior to hosting the Hoyas on the 14th.

For Hibbert, it was business as usual in the post, hitting on 7 of 9 shots from the field as Georgetown improved to 12-1 overall. It was Hibbert's 2nd double-double of the season.

Four other Top 25 teams in action on Tuesday all won.

#3 Kansas 90 Loyola (MD) 60 - 12 different Jayhawks tallied as Kansas improved to 15-0.

#15 Marquette 61 Seton Hall 56 - Marquette survived a poor shooting night, hitting less than 33% from the field and committing 15 turnovers, to hold on for a home win over Seton Hall, 0-2 in the Big East.

#10 Indiana 78 Michigan 64 - Freshman sensation Eric Gordon led all scorers with 23 points, but D.J. White's performance was one for the record books, as the 6'9" senior forward scored 21 points and hauled down 23 rebounds, 8 of them on the offensive boards. White was the first Hoosier to record a 20-20 performance in over a decade (Alan Henderson, 1995). The Hoosiers are 13-1 and are tied with Wisconsin, Penn St., Michigan St. and Ohio St. at 2-0 in the conference.

#6 Michigan St. 78 Purdue 76 - The Boilermakers nearly pulled off a huge upset, rallying from a 16-point first half deficit to take a lead late in the game, but the Spartans held court at home to improve to 14-1, their 11th straight win.

Izzo's Spartans the Team to Beat in Big 10

There's little doubt that Michigan State coach Tommy Izzo is one of the best coaches in the NCAA, as a recruiter, game coach and getting players ready through rigorous practices.

This season, Izzo seems to have put together an elite, Top 10 team, making Michigan State the one to beat in the rugged Big 10 conference.

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Entering Saturday night's conference opener against a solid Minnesota team, the Spartans were 12-1 and ranked 6th nationally. By the time the game was over, Michigan had added another win, buttressing their spot near the top of the national heap with an All-American performance from sophomore forward Raymar Morgan.

The 6'8" Morgan wore out the visiting Golden Gophers on both ends of the floor, scoring 31 points on 11-17 shooting while snatching 10 rebounds in Michigan State's 65-59 win. The points were a career high for Morgan, who ranks third in Big 10 scoring behind Indiana's Eric Gordon (23.5) and Penn State's Geary Claxton (18.6) at 18.4 per game. He's also tied for 7th in the conference 7.3 rebounds per outing and has registered three double-doubles this season.

Teamed with the playmaking, scoring and leadership abilities of senior Drew Neitzel and the inside presence of 6'10" junior Goran Suton, Izzo is looking forward to a Big 10 title and possible Final Four appearance later this year.

Michigan State's only setback this season was a tough 68-63 loss, November 20 at UCLA. Since then, the Spartans have knocked off three ranked opponents - BYU, Texas and NC State.

Looking ahead, key games include a Feb. 16 contest at Indiana, then two consecutive tough outings, Feb. 28 at Wisconsin and March 2, at home with the Hoosiers.

As Morgan continues to impress and improve and Izzo keeps pushing the fundamentals to his troops, the Spartans look to be the kind of team nobody will want to play come tourney time.

Kansas Forwards Dismantle Boston College

Darnell Jackson had 25 points and Darrell Arthur scored 22, as the Kansas Jayhawks' starting forwards completely overwhelmed Boston College, 85-60, in one of Saturday's premier college hoops events. The scoring totals were season-highs for both players.

Jackson was 9-16 from the field and popped in 7 of 8 free throws, while Arthur was devastatingly accurate, hitting on 10 of 13 shots with a pair of free throws. Kansas shot 52% for the game and outrebounded the Eagles 32-20.

The two power forwards are primarily responsible for Kansas' perfect 14-0 record this season.

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Sophomore Arthur leads the team in scoring at 13.1 points per outing, with Jackson, a senior, a close third, hitting for an average of 11.5 per game. Guard Mario Chalmers is second with 12.3. All five Kansas starters are averaging in double digits.

The two also do an exceptional job wiping the glass, combining for 13 rebounds per game. On Saturday, the pair was a force on both ends, as Jackson hauled down 9 boards and Arthur pulled in 7.

While Jackson will surely test the NBA draft following his final season at Kansas, Arthur may forego the remainder of his college career to go pro as well. In addition to leading the Jayhawks in scoring, he's second on the team in both rebounds and blocks and has scored in double digits in 13 of 14 games this season.

The inside presence of these two is going to make the Big 12 schedule - which begins next week - a nightmare for conference opponents.

The Jayhawks open on the road at Nebraska on January 12. Other key dates for Kansas are a pair of away games: at Texas, February 11 and Texas A&M, March 8, the final game of the regular season.

Watch out for Kansas come tourney time. Barring major injuries, they look like a lock for a #1 seed.

Spartans Travel Well, Knock Off BYU

Michigan State 68 BYU 61

In one of the most widely-anticipated matchups of the early college hoops season, the #9 Michigan State Spartans traveled out to Provo, Utah, to take on the 20th-ranked Brigham Young Cougars.

BYU stormed out to a 35-25 edge at the half, but Michigan State rallied on a 14-3 run to open the second half for a brief 39-38 lead. The teams exchanged baskets and leads thereafter, while BYU's Junior swingman Lee Cummard, who averages 14.8 points per game, was saddled with 4 fouls and sat out most of the second half.

Michigan State's Drew Neitzel scored seven straight points late, including a 3-pointer with 2:27 remaining to give the Spartans a 82-56 lead which proved to be insurmountable for the Cougars.

Fouls and foul-shooting played a critical role down the stretch, as the Spartans piled up personals, putting BYU in the bonus with 7 minutes left and into the double bonus at the 3:42 mark, while the Cougars committed only 4 fouls through the first 19 minutes of the second half but were forced to foul the Spartans repeatedly down the stretch as their shots would not fall and Michigan kept their lead at the foul line, as Travis Walton hit all six of his attempts from the stripe in the final minute.

Neitzel finished with 15 points as did teammate Raymar Morgan. BYU's Trent Plaisted led all scorers with 17.

The Spartans are 8-1, their only loss a thin 68-63 defeat at UCLA. BYU dropped to 7-2.

Indiana 70 Kentucky 51

Indiana positively pounded the Kentucky Wildcats in the annual border war in Bloomington, as D. J. White dropped in 16 points and hauled down 13 rebounds for his 5th straight double-double. The Hoosiers completely dominated the scoring and the boards, even without starting guard Eric Gordon, who was averaging 24.2 points per outing this season. Freshman Jordan Crawford led the Hoosiers and all scorers with 20 points.

Indiana improved to 8-1 and looks like one of the favorites in the Big 10. Kentucky dropped to 4-3, and is has not shot the ball well in most of their outings this season. They hit only 19 of 49 (39%) against Indiana, and have only cracked the 50% plateau twice, in blowout wins over pushovers Liberty and Texas Southern.

Coach Billy Gillispie will find the going tough once Kentucky enters SEC play in mid-January.

No Fluke: Duke Routs Wolverines

Duke 95 Michigan 67

I may have to take back some of what I said about Duke after watching them roll over Michigan on Saturday. While they are not big up front, they do have some depth and their wingmen, notably Gerald Henderson, Taylor King and DeMarcus Nelson, are extremely versatile and play within themselves. Most impressive, however, was freshman Nolan Smith, who scored a career-high 17 points on 7-9 shooting.

Duke opened the game shooting 0-7, but Taylor King hit a sweeping hook shot, then Paulus hit a long trey, followed by a three from King on the wing. Suddenly, the Blue Devils were up 8-5. Duke could not maintain much of a lead early in the first half, as the 3-5 Wolverines continued to push the ball and force Duke into mostly outside shooting. But the Wolverines shot only 26% for the half and Duke nearly ran them out of the gym, going on a 23-9 run to expand an 18-14 lead to 41-23 at intermission. Duke shot only 37% and hit on only 6 of 17 three-point tries in the opening stanza.

The second half saw a lot of substitution by both coaches, and Duke's lead was never challenged. Michigan seemed content to just hang in and work on their offense, while the Blue Devils hammered the ball inside.

Michigan ended up shooting 38% for the game, to the Blue Devils' 49%. Duke hit 11 of 26 3-pointers, better than their average of 22 threes per game and a 41% clip.

One to watch for Michigan is freshman Manny Harris, who was held to just 8 points, well below his 16.6 per game average. He's a slick guard with good ball-handling skills. Despite the loss, the Wolverines will win more than a fair share of their Big 10 games once they develop a little more offensively.

In other early Saturday action, the Fighting Illini took the visiting Arizona Wildcats into overtime, dropping a 78-72 decision to the 6-2 Wildcats. Arizona misses head coach Lute Olson, who is on an extended leave through the end of the season as he has filed for divorce, seeking to end his second marriage. Freshman sensation Jerryd Bayless dropped in 20 for Arizona, right on his average for the season.

Louisville, playing without Juan Palacios, had their hands full with the Dayton Flyers, dropping a 70-65 decision, as the Cardinals had absolutely no answer for senior guard Brian Roberts, who poured in 28 points on 10-17 shooting. The win makes Dayton 7-1, while Louisville falls to 5-2. Both Louisville losses have come at home, the first a 78-76 defeat to BYU. The Cardinals, currently #14, may fall out of the Top 25 next week, while Dayton probably won't get any consideration, but looks like a contender in the rugged Atlantic 10, along with Xavier, Duquesne and Rhode Island.

Duke is a Fluke

Every year about this time, we see the Duke Blue Devils ranked high in the polls. It's just one of those NCAA customs we're so used to. As long as Coach K is at the front of the bench, the Blue Devils are supposed to put on the floor one of the best teams in college basketball.

Currently, the 8-0 Blue Devils are ranked #6 in the AP Poll and #7 in the USA Today/ESPN poll. Chances are good that this is as high as they'll get because this 2007-08 version is not a powerhouse, nor will they challenge for supremacy in the ACC. They're just not that good.

OK, I hear the Cameron Crazies now. "We just beat Wisconsin by 24 points and we beat Marquette in the Maui Invitational."

Right. And you slipped by Davidson by 6 this past Saturday.

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The remainder of the month is pretty cushy, with only three games total and two that will have much meaning. Michigan comes to Cameron this Saturday and a December 20 game at Pittsburgh are the big ones. The Devils could win both of those, or lose both. It won't matter. They'll still be ranked in the Top 10. Everybody likes Duke, or, they're being kind to them, at least.

The real action begins on January 13, when the ACC schedule begins. Last year, Duke didn't do well, and while the conference doesn't look that strong, there are some teams that are loaded. Virginia, Maryland, Boston College and North Carolina will each pose a problem to Duke.

Why Duke is not that good? First they're thin, having just lost Junior guard Marty Pocious to season-ending surgery. A swingman, Pocius could play either guard or forward, but won't be missed too badly, as he was averaging only 8 minutes per game. The bench is going to be needed, however, and two starters, Greg Paulus and Lance Thomas, have taken early exits in a number of games. Paulus, the playmaker, is averaging just 3.8 assists per game, while Thomas is only hitting the boards for 2.8 rebounds per contest.

Up front, the Blue Devils are not very big nor experienced. Kyle Singler, who leads the team in scoring and rebounding, is, like Thomas, 6-8. They can bring in sophomore 7-1 Brian Zoubek for added height, but he's not very mobile and has seen limited action.

The Blue Devils also rely on the three-pointer quite heavily. Jon Scheyer, Taylor King and Paulus are all shooting over 47% from beyond the arc, but they're heaving up more than 20 per game. Also, the free-throws aren't falling as easily as they could be. Against Marquette the Blue Devils shot 70%. In the win over Davidson, it was 60%.

Duke is a good team, but not one to hang one's March destiny upon. Enjoy the Top Ten ranking for now, because in about 6 weeks, it will be nothing but a fond memory.

Creampuff Upsets

This is a difficult time of year for hard-core college hoops fans. Many of the games being played are lopsided affairs between ranked teams and small colleges, so there really isn't much in the way of compelling basketball.

However, there have been a number of notable upsets over the past week that need to be highlighted.

Last Saturday, USC, ranked #9 by Rivals.com and #7 by me, got walloped by little Mercer College, 96-81, marking the first serious casualty in the top 25. USC needs to play a little defense apparently. Mercer shot 59% from the field and also hit 13-16 free throws. By contrast, the Trojans shot only 40% from the floor and 56% from the charity line. Obviously, more time in the gym working on fundamentals is ahead for these guys.

Another team with free throw problems is Texas Tech, my #25 preseason pick. The Red Raiders fell on Wednesday night at Sam Houston State, 56-54, missing four key foul shots down the stretch and hitting just 15-28 freebies for the game. They also were outrebounded, 44-32. Coach Bobby Knight will likely be running block out drills and extra free throw sessions for weeks.

On Friday, Memphis knocked off UConn, 81-70 in the Coaches Vs. Cancer Classic. I didn't rank UConn, but Rivals.com had them at #21 preseason. I still think the Huskies are toast this season and this result is just the beginning of what will be a 12-15 loss season for them.

Also on Friday, one of my sleepers, Providence, topped Arkansas. 67-51 (I had Arkansas ranked #14 and the Friars, #22. Rivals.com didn't rank either of them). Providence had beaten Temple 66-64 in Thursday's opening round of the ESPNU Puerto Rico Tip-Off, before topping the Razorbacks. Arkansas committed 32 turnovers in the game, while the Friars accounted for 15 steals. What really stands out is that neither team shot the ball very well. Arkansas actually hit 43% from the field to Providence's 38%. Sonny Weems, one of the Razorback stars, had only 3 points in 36 minutes. I don't know why the Friars weren't ranked preseason, but they've served notice that they should challenge some of the powerhouses in the Big East. I still think Arkansas is a pretty good team and they'll recover from this.

The Friars (2-0) will face Miami (3-0) in the championship game, Sunday night.

Pre-season College Basketball Rankings

I should have put these up a few days ago before Kentucky, Michigan State and Ohio State got whacked by lesser teams. I've composed my own Pre-season Top 25 and present them here, followed by those of widely-circulated and multi-million doall baby of Yahoo, Rivals.com.

My Rank Team
1 North Carolina
2 Tennessee
3 Memphis
4 Kansas
5 UCLA
6 Georgetown
7 USC
8 Louisville
9 Virginia
10 Indiana
11 Marquette
12 Kansas St.
13 Michigan St.
14 Arkansas
15 Clemson
16 Washington St.
17 Georgia
18 Texas A&M
19 Mississippi
20 Florida St.
21 Duke
22 Providence
23 Auburn
24 Southern Illinois
25 Texas Tech

Rivals.com Rank Team
1 North Carolina
2 Memphis
3 UCLA
4 Kansas
5 Louisville
6 Tennessee
7 Indiana
8 Michigan St.
9 USC
10 Georgetown
11 Kansas St.
12 Arizona
13 Stanford
14 Washington St.
15 Marquette
16 Duke
17 Mississippi St.
18 NC State
19 Syracuse
20 Texas
21 Connecticut
22 Oregon
23 Pitttsburgh
24 Alabama
25 Southern Illinois

We'll make comparisons as the season progresses. Note that neither I nor Rivals.com had Ohio St. or Kentucky in the Top 25. So far, we both look pretty smart.

Durant First Freshman to Claim Wooden Award

As the Florida Gator Nation continued the celebration of their 2nd consecutive national championship, the L.A. Athletic Club hosted the selection of the winner of the annual John R. Wooden award on Saturday, April 7.

The award is given annually - after the conclusion of the NCAA men's basketball season - to the top player in college basketball.

For the first time in the history of the award, the honor went to a freshman: Kevin Durant of the Texas Longhorns. Durant finished #5 in the nation in scoring at 25.1 points, leading Texas to a 25-10 season. He also averaged 11.4 rebounds per game, led the Longhorns in both steals and blocks (1.9/game each) and recorded an astounding 20 double-doubles. At one point, Durant ran off a string of 6 straight double-doubles, averaging 29.7 points and 14.3 rebounds during the stretch.

Durant was a prolific scorer, hitting 83 3-pointers and scoring 30 or more points on 11 occasions, including his career-high of 37, 4 different times.

The Longhorns were bounced from the NCAA tournament in the second round by USC, but Durant's presence was felt in both tourney games. In the opener against New Mexico St., Durant scored 27 points and hauled down 8 rebounds. He had 30 points and 8 boards in Texas' 87-68 loss to Southern Cal.

After receiving the award, Durant declined to comment on whether he would turn pro or return for another season at Texas, saying he was just going to enjoy the moment. The 6'9", 225 lb. phenom is widely assumed to be heading to the NBA after an incredible season, likely to be the #1 or #2 pick in a draft loaded with talented under-and-upperclassmen.

The selection committee had previously named 10 players as finalists for the award on two teams. The 1st Team:

• Arron Afflalo (UCLA)


• Aaron Brooks (Oregon)


• Kevin Durant (Texas)


• Nick Fazekas (Nevada)


• Tyler Hansbrough (North Carolina)

2nd Team:

• Acie Law (Texas A&M)


• Joakim Noah (Florida)


• Greg Oden (Ohio State)


• Brandon Rush (Kansas)


• Alando Tucker (Wisconsin)

Purdue's Gene Keady was the recipient of the Legends of Coaching award for the 2006-2007 season.

Candace Parker, a 6'4" forward from the Tennessee Lady Vols, won the award for the 2006-2007 top women's player.

The event was aired live on CBS.

Florida Gators Repeat: One for the Ages

Florida completes rare repeat; Gator Nation jubilant

The Florida Gators accomplished what no other NCAA Championship team had ever done: winning back-to-back championships with the same starting five. With their 84-75 win over Ohio State on Monday night, the Gators became the first repeat basketball champions since the Duke Blue Devils accomplished the feat in 1991-92.

The starters from Florida, most notably Joakim Noah, were outspoken about their desire to return to school and repeat after winning the title last season, and they proved true to their word.
The Gators stopped Ohio State's 22-game win streak in its tracks with timely outside shooting from Cory Brewer (3-8 on 3-pointers and named Most Oustanding Player of the Final Four), Lee Humphrey (4-7 3s) or Taurean Green (3-3).

The long-range scoring of the Gators was the story as Florida hit 10-18 (56%) from beyond the arc. Inside, Ohio State's Greg Oden had his career game, hitting 10 of 15 shots for 25 points while collecting 12 rebounds. Oden battled four Gators inside all night and wracked up a total of 15 fouls on his opposition.

But he alone could not overcome the tremendous team effort by Florida. Of the starters, only Noah failed to score in double figures. Al Horford had 18; Green, 16; Humphrey 14 and Green, 13. Noah, who spent much of the second half on the bench due to foul problems, finished with 8 points.

The Gators have now captured the last three major college championships. In between the basketball titles, the football team won a national championship, beating the Buckeyes' football counterparts earlier this year.

It has been an amazing 2 years in Gainesville, but all indications are that the good times may be coming to an end. All of the Florida starters will leave for the NBA and coach Billy Donovan has been rumored to be headed to another coaching post, either at Kentucky or in the pros.

That leaves it to Urban Meyer and the football team to carry on. The basketball Gators of 2005-2007 are going into the history books. In the two years the starters have been together, they've gone 68-11 (33-6 in 2005-06, 35-5 in 06-07), won both SEC tournaments and national championships, ending this season with a 9-game win streak. We may have just seen one of the great teams of all time.

You certainly won't get any arguments in the Sunshine State.

Deja Vu: Florida vs. Ohio State National Championship

For Joakim Noah and his fellow Florida Gators, the setting is familiar. They're playing for the national championship for the second year in a row, this time on a court that they might as well call home. The Gators won the SEC tournament at the Georgia Dome and easily handled UCLA (again) in their half of the national semi-finals.

Against UCLA, the Gators displayed the kind of aggressive play that have put them at the pinnacle of their sport, plus, having the Bruins' Arron Afflalo sidelined with two early fouls didn't hurt. Afflalo, UCLA's leading scorer and best defender, picked up his second foul less than three minutes into the game. As the Gators threatened to blow the game open, coach Howland put his star back in only to see him pick up foul #3.

Meanwhile, Corey Brewer was lighting up the scoreboard with three 3-pointers that put the Gators ahead by 6 points at the half. From there, Lee Humphrey and Chris Richard provided most of the offense as the Florida lead grew to double digits and the outcome became predictable. Humphrey hit 3 3-pointers in the second half and Richard scored repeatedly on dunks and tip-ins, finishing with 16 points. Brewer led all scorers with 19, while Al Horford swept the boards, accounting for a tournament-high 17 rebounds.

The final score of 76-66 was not indicative of how lopsided Florida's win really was. Afflalo did get back into the game in the second half and finished with 17 points, but he only hit 5-14 shots and much of his scoring was late in the game.

Earlier in the day, the Ohio State Buckeyes extended their winning streak to 22 games with a 67-60 win over Georgetown. The anticipated showdown between Greg Oden and Roy Hibbert failed to materialize as both players got into early foul trouble. The game lacked any real flow or consistency as the Buckeyes maintained a single-digit advantage through much of the contest and Georgetown could never sustain their offense for long.

Georgetown actually outshot the Buckeyes, 49-44%, but both teams were icy from outside, going a combined 11-35 from beyond the arc. With less than 3 minutes remaining, the Buckeyes opened up a 9-point lead that the Hoyas could never overcome and the game devolved into a foul-shooting contest late.

The national championship game tonight between the Gators and Buckeyes is a rematch of the programs which competed in the Fiesta Bowl in January for football's national title. In that game, the Buckeyes were heavy favorites, but the Gators shocked them with a one-sided win.

It's doubtful that the basketball Buckeyes will be able to turn the same trick. Florida is a 4 1/2 point favorite, and that's probably not even close to what the final score will be. While the Ohio State faithful are hoping for the first national title in over 40 years, the Gators are on the verge of being the first team to repeat as champions since Duke did it in 1992.

The matchups really favor the Gators here, despite not having a single player the stature of Oden. The problem for the Ohio State center is that the Gators have four players they can send at him - Noah, Horford, Chris Richard and, if need be, Marreese Speights, another 6'10" reserve. Oden doesn't have the stamina to stay in the game the full 40 minutes anyway, and there's a good chance he'll be in early foul trouble again.

On the perimeter, the Gators and Buckeyes match up pretty well, though nobody in the country has an answer for Corey Brewer, who has been the real x-factor in Florida's two-season run. Nobody is able to match up effectively with his long, lean 6'9" frame. Brewer is the team's best defender and can slash to the hoop or shoot from outside. Ohio State will have trouble - as has every other team - containing him.

These two met earlier in the season and the result was an ugly, 86-60 rout by the Gators. Sure, the Gators were at home and Greg Oden was playing in just his fifth game after an injury. But Oden is still a freshman, after all, and the Gators are still defending national champions.

An upset by Ohio State seems unlikely. Tomorrow morning, we're likely to be singing the praises of the Gator nation.

NCAA Semi-Finals Game Picks

6:07 pm EDT Georgetown (-1) vs. Ohio State - As has been noted almost everywhere, the looming confrontation between the big men in the middle, Ohio State's Greg Oden and Georgetown's Roy Hibbert, is supposed to be the main focus of this game.

While what the 7-footers accomplish in the lane will certainly have an impact on the game, there are going to be 8 other players on the floor at all times and none of them are more important than Georgetown's Jeff Green and the Buckeyes' Mike Conley Jr.

Conley has been an exemplar of consistency and cool throughout the tournament. Even as a freshman, he's displayed the kind of floor leadership that has propelled Ohio State to the pinnacle of college basketball. Often overlooked because of the plaudits going to Oden or the 3-point exploits of Jamar Butler or Ron Lewis, when there's a big play to be made it's Conley who's the trigger man. Whenever there's a critical play, Conley's usually in the middle of it.

While there's no way to accurately measure things like off-the-ball movement, intensity and hoops instincts, Conley gets high marks on all of those. His penetration and distribution of the ball will be key to Ohio State's success.

For the Hoyas, beyond Hibbert, they have the incomparable Jeff Green, the Big East Player of the Year. Green exploded in last year's post-season and has been vital to the Hoyas' success this season. He's already hit two big shots in tournaments this year - game winners against Notre Dame in the Big East tourney and last weekend's tough banker for the win over Vanderbilt.

Green's game is complete. He's got the size to compete in the lane and a shooting touch that is deadly from 3-point range. Defenders have a difficult choice when guarding him. Get in his face and he's likely to blow by you for an easy layup or dunk. Lay off him and he'll knock down long and mid-range jumpers.

Defensively, Green is a ferocious rebounder with incredible leaping ability. He's the most athletic player on the floor most nights and his all-around play will lead Georgetown to a win here.

One other player to keep a close eye on is Georgetown's Jonathan Wallace. The purest shooter in the game, if he gets hot, the Hoyas could romp.

Bottom Line: Hibbert gets a slight edge over Oden, Green has 20 or more, Ohio State goes cold from beyond the arc and Georgetown wins 82-71.


8:47 pm EDT Florida (-3) vs. UCLA - Call this one "The Rematch." Most of the characters from last year's championship game are back in similar roles.

The Florida Gators, while they haven't shown much of the emotion that got them the rings last season, are nevertheless on a mission, this time to prove that they are once again, the top team in the land. They're just doing it with a little more control and confidence this time around.

It's difficult to say which players will be key for the Gators, but since Arron Afflalo is the key to UCLA, Corey Brewer, who will likely be guarding him, is the main focus for Florida. Brewer is long and lean and difficult to defend himself, which creates matchup problems for the Bruins.

Afflalo, however, is regarded as the Bruins' best defender and top scorer and should be able to front Brewer effectively. When he has the ball, he's going to have to create offense on his own, and that's going to prove difficult. In last year's finals, Afflalo was invisible for large parts of the game, mostly due to Brewer's defense.

This time around, however, it's a little different. Ben Howland has a different offense, with explosive Darren Collison at point instead of the more careful, sometimes plodding, Jordan Farmar. If Collison is handling the ball, Afflalo and Josh Shipp should be able to work off screens for open looks and keep UCLA from going though extended scoring droughts.

Beyond the matchups, the real impact here is going to be UCLA's team defense. They're better than they were a year ago, and they know what's coming. While they won't exactly frustrate the Gators, the Bruins will be able to create enough havoc and turnovers to keep the game close and maybe put together some scoring runs of their own.

Bottom Line: UCLA turns up the defense, Joakim Noah spends much of the 2nd half on the bench and Collison emerges as star of the game in a 74-69 Bruins win.

Saturday Semi-Finals: Georgetown vs. Ohio State

6:07 pm EDT (#2 East) Georgetown (30-6) vs. (#1 South) Ohio St. (34-3) - This is the game many have been anticipating all season. The matchup between the two best big men in the country, Ohio State's Greg Oden and Georgetown's Roy Hibbert.

Both 7-footers dominate the middle, can block shots, rebound well, distribute the rock and are serious scoring threats. Putting them on the same floor at the same time recalls famous bouts between Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain or Lew Alcindor and Elvin Hayes. The confrontation, on the biggest stage in college basketball, has the potential to be a classic.

Like many of these confrontations often turn out, this one may end up somewhat of a stalemate. Both centers are power players and thus, each will have their moments. Hibbert and Oden are so evenly matched that the only possible derailment of this encounter would be the refs calling the game too close. The last thing basketball fans want to see is one or the other cooling out on the bench because of foul trouble, but, as both players have shown, they are not very careful about picking up nickel-dimers (as Bill Raftery might say) and hurting their team's chances.

If there's any advantage at all, it would be Hibbert's maturity. As a junior, he's got a couple of years playing time over Oden, which means his footwork and game understanding is likely to be a little more advanced than that of the Ohio State star.

Statistically, Hibbert has the edge on paper, though not by much. His shooting percentage is 67%, as compared to Oden's 62%. Both are capable free throw shooters; Hibbert hits at 70%, Oden, 64%. Defensively, Oden has the edge with 9.5 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game, compared to Hibbert at 6.9 and 2.5. Hibbert averages 12.7 points per game, Oden, 15.4. Obviously, there's little separating the two.

That gets us to the rest of the starters, the bench and the coaches. The other star for Georgetown is Big East Player of the Year, Jeff Green, who can score from anywhere on the court, but it most dangerous on slashing moves to the hoop. His Buckeye counterpart would be Ron Lewis, an all-around performer who's leading Ohio State (and all remaining players) in scoring at 21.8 ppg. He's a proven commodity as a clutch player, having hit the game-tying 3-pointer against Xavier. When the Buckeyes stared elimination in the eye, Lewis didn't blink.

The Buckeyes may be known more for their 3-point shooting than the Hoyas, as, in addition to Lewis, Jamar Butler can also throw down from well beyond the arc and Mike Conley Jr. hasn't shown any shyness in hoisting from 3-point land. The Hoyas, however, have two players with high percentages from behind the line: Patrick Ewing Jr. and Jonathan Wallace, who hit at 46% and 49%, respectively.

Wallace is especially dangerous whenever he has an open look. A bona fide pure shooter, Wallace is the X-factor for Georgetown. If he gets hot, forget the Oden-Hibbert games and everything else; Ohio State will have to trade baskets with the Hoyas - no easy feat.

Jessie Sapp and DaJuan Summers of the Hoyas are both slashers, not necessarily outside threats similar to Ohio State's Conley Jr. The Buckeyes' Ivan Harris is more a jump shooter than a driver and he'll opt for 3's rather than drive.

Both teams can go 9 deep, with the key subs being Daequan Cook and David Lighty for Ohio State. Cook is the Buckeye's most consistent 3-point shooter at 42% efficiency, while Lighty is a good ball-handler, slasher and rebounder with excellent instincts. The Hoyas will have Jeremiah Rivers off the bench early on. He's an excellent point guard who can control the offense. Ewing Jr. will also see plenty of floor time when the Hoyas want to go big.

Emotionally, the Hoyas seem to have an advantage. They were a #2 seed, Ohio State a #1, so they may take on the relished role of underdog, thinking they have something to prove, while the Buckeyes, who came into the tournament ranked #1 in the nation, have bullseyes on their backs.

Both coaches, Georgetown's John Thompson Jr. and Ohio State's Thad Motta have serious top-notch credentials and are masters of discipline and game-situation understanding. Both will be into the game from the start and neither will hamper their teams chances of winning.

The other advantage in this contest is the Hoyas' overall height differential. Here's an odd stat, that you'll see nowhere else. Ohio State's combined starters' height is 32'2". The Hoyas starting five measure up at 32'11". That's 9 inches difference or nearly 2 inches per starter. Not that the Buckeyes' players are small, but there's a height advantage for the Hoyas just about everywhere. Hibbert is actually 2 inches taller than Oden. Whether the overall height makes a difference will be hard to tell, but there's definitely an effect.

Tomorrow, I'll present my final picks for both semi-final games.

Saturday Semi-Finals: Florida vs. UCLA

8:47 pm EDT (#2 West) UCLA (30-5) vs. (#1 Midwest) Florida (33-5) - a rematch of last year's championship game and both teams have earned the right to be here, though Florida's route looks to have been considerably easier than that of the Bruins.

The Gators are on an 8-game win streak which includes winning the SEC tourney. Even in their own conference tournament, though, the Gators didn't face the best teams in the SEC, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Kentucky.

Florida skated through the conference tournament with wins over Georgia, Mississippi and Arkansas. Only the Razorbacks made it to the Big Dance, and they were summarily dispatched in the opening round.

The teams Florida has played since then won't really have them properly prepped for UCLA, either. Jackson State was a walkover (112-69); they struggled with a very suspect Purdue team (74-67); struggled even more against the Butler Bulldogs (65-57), before beating up on Oregon, 85-77, a team which lost its shooting touch at precisely the wrong time.

Florida was not impressive in any of their wins, but they did what they had to do to advance. Against Oregon, specifically, they rode the red hot shooting of Lee Humphrey (7 of 13 3-pointers) and Taurean Green (4-8) to commandeer a healthy lead over the Ducks until the closing minutes of the game. Despite their substantial size advantage and Oregon's foul problems - 2 Ducks fouled out and 2 others finished with 4 fouls - the game got close late.

The considerable edge Florida had at the free throw line (28-43 to Oregon's 15-16) was also more than the margin of victory, so in retrospect, the Ducks (who also hit only 8-22 3-pointers) did more to lose that game than Florida did to win it.

The Gators also don't seem to have the same emotion as last year, which is understandable. Like sex, the first time is always the most thrilling, with each subsequent foray an opportunity to make mistakes. There are a lot of distractions which seem to have invaded Florida's game. The Gators are not as intense as last season's squad, despite having the same starting five. It's going to be a problem because the Bruins will be fired up.

Nothing prepares a team better than a loss. And last year's loss in the NCAA finals still stings the Bruins, especially their star, Arron Afflalo, who was basically invisible for much of the game.

Afflalo has raised his game, especially in the Bruins' last outing against Kansas. in which he led UCLA with 24 points in a 68-55 win. While Afflalo was doing the bulk of the scoring and hitting key shots at critical points, his running mate, Darren Collison was aiding the cause with tight defense, 5 steals and 14 points, including 2 of 3 3-pointers.

If anyone thinks defense doesn't matter, they'd better take a closer look at that game. The Bruins turned the ball over 24 times themselves! Most of the time, that would result in a big, fat L. Instead, the UCLA players contested every Kansas shot, forced 21 Jayhawk turnovers and barely won the battle of the boards. They also played with tremendous commitment and tempo on offense and ended up outshooting Kansas, 53-41%.

When it was all over, the Bruins had held the Jayhawks to their lowest point total of the season. They earned the win, and they did it the hard way.

When the Bruins take the court against Florida, Lorenzo Mata and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute are going to give Al Horford and Joakim Noah a pair of steel-eyed looks that speak revenge. Collison and Afflalo match up very well with Humphrey and Green, though Afflalo may have to defend the taller, and more dangerous, Corey Brewer.

That matchup is the real key to the game. If Afflalo can limit Brewer's penetration, or Brewer can keep Afflalo off-balance on offense, their respective team will win the game. Brewer and his mates have already done it. Afflalo and the Bruins are hungry for a championship and they come in healthy and well-prepared.

On Friday, I'll give you the final take on who's going to advance, but right now, I'm leaning heavily towards UCLA.

Conference Scoreboard and Peak Performers

Peak Performers of remaining teams:

Scoring
Player, game 1, 2, 3, 4, Total, Average

Ron Lewis, OHST, 13, 27, 25, 22, 87, 21.8
Arron Afflalo, UCLA, 22, 10, 17, 24, 73, 18.3
Corey Brewer, FL, 21, 17, 11, 14, 63, 15.8
Jeff Green, GTWN, 15, 11, 15, 22, 63, 15.8
Mike Conley Jr., OHST, 4, 21, 17, 19, 61, 15.3
Greg Oden, OHST, 19, 14, 9, 17, 59, 14.8
Darren Collison, UCLA, 14, 15, 12, 14, 55, 13.8
Joakim Noah, FL, 17, 9, 13, 14, 53, 13.3
Al Horford, FL, 15, 17, 16, 6, 52, 13.0
Roy Hibbert, GTWN, 10, 17, 12, 13, 52, 13.0

Rebounds
Player, game 1, 2, 3, 4, Total, Average

Roy Hibbert, GTWN, 13, 12, 10, 11, 46, 11.5
Joakim Noah, FL, 12, 9, 9, 14, 44, 11.0
Al Horford, FL, 16, 9, 7, 7, 39, 9.8
Greg Oden, OHST, 10, 12, 3, 9, 34, 8.5
Jeff Green, GTWN, 3, 12, 4, 9, 28, 7.0
Lorenzo Mata, UCLA, 7, 8, 9, 3, 27, 6.8

Assists
Player, game 1, 2, 3, 4, Total, Average

Taurean Green, FL, , 12, 2, 1, 3, 18, 4.5
Mike Conley Jr., OHST, 5, 4, 6, 2, 17, 4.3
Darren Collison, UCLA, 8, 2, 4, 1, 16, 4.0
Jessie Sapp, GTWN, 1, 3, 3, 8, 15, 3.8

Conference Scoreboard

Conference, Region:East, West, Midwest, South, Total

ACC: 4-2, 1-2, 1-2, 1-1, 7-7

Big East: 4-1, 2-2, 0-1, 1-1, 7-5

Big 10: 1-1, 1-2, 2-2, 4-0, 8-5

Big 12: 1-2, 3-1, 0-0, 2-1, 6-4

PAC-10: 3-2, 4-0, 3-2, 0-1, 10-5

SEC: 2-2, 1-1, 4-0, 2-1, 9-4

Press Relaease:

College Basketball Daily, a leading blog following the world of NCAA hoops, heads to the Final Four in full stride, with complete coverage, analysis and free picks for the two semi-final games and the championship game on Monday, April 2.

Rick Gagliano, publisher of the blog, says, "I've been putting in lots of hours analyzing the four teams remaining and despite only having Georgetown and Ohio State left in my original brackets, I'm pretty sure the Hoyas can win another national title."

"The game against Ohio State is one I've personally been anticipating for a long time. I can't wait to see the Roy Hibbert - Greg Oden matchup. It's going to be a war out there."

In the other semi-final game, Gagliano isn't about to tip his hand.

"I originally had Kansas facing Oregon, but now it's Florida vs. UCLA, a rematch of last year's championship. Last season, I had a shot at actually winning a pool with a partner, but when UCLA lost, we were knocked out of the first three spots, and wound up with nothing. I've got nothing invested this year except time and my reputation, and I'll put that up against the Vegas oddsmakers any day," said Gagliano.

"I've been covering college sports in one form or another for nearly 25 years and I still haven't figured it out, but I'm trying," joked the publisher.

Scheduled entries on the blog are the Conference Scoreboard (Tuesday), analysis of the Florida-UCLA game (Wednesday), analysis of the Geogetown-Ohio State game (Thursday), exclusive ATS picks on Friday. After that, Gagliano plans on analyzing the two semi-final games and providing a final pick on Sunday. After the championship, College Basketball Daily will do a season recap, name an All-American team and Player of the Year, before focusing on off-season recruitment and coaching changes.

As the name suggests, College Basketball Daily provides news, insight and analysis of college hoops every day.

Gators, Hoyas, Bruins, Buckeyes Head to Atlanta

Give the tournament selection committee a round of applause.

Two teams seeded #1 in their respective regions, the Florida Gators and Ohio State Buckeyes, head into the Final Four the favorites over a pair of #2 seeds which arguably could have been 1s.

Georgetown, the #2 seed in the East, know the second fiddle role well. For much of the regular season, they weren't even ranked in the Top 25, trailing the Pitt Panthers in the standings through the midway point of the Big East campaign.

On January 13, following consecutive losses to conference foes Villanova and Pittsburgh, the Hoyas were just 11-5. But, just as people were beginning to write Georgetown - and their twin towers of Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert - off, they reeled off 11 straight wins, culminating with a 61-53 revenge win against Pitt.

Two days later, the Hoyas lost a road game at Syracuse, but finished with a win over UConn to capture the Big East title at 13-3.

But the Hoyas weren't done. Not even close. They swept through the Big East tournament, knocking off Villanova and Notre Dame before hammering Pitt, this time by a shocking 65-42 score. While North Carolina was winning the ACC tournament and locking up the #1 seed, the Hoyas came in as a hungry #2, knocked off Belmont, Boston College and Vanderbilt to set up the match with the Tar Heels.

For most of the game, it looked as though they would go home losers to the top seed, until they rallied late in the game, tying the score on Jonathan Wallace's 3-pointer to force overtime at 81-all.

The Hoyas left no doubt in the OT, outscoring Carolina 15-3 in a convincing performance. Georgetown will face Ohio State in one of the two semi-final games on Saturday, March 31.

The Buckeyes, 92-76 winners over South #2 seed Memphis on Saturday, ended the Tigers' 25-game winning streak by extending their own to 20 straight, now the longest in the nation.

The UCLA Bruins took an entirely different path to their #2 seeding in the West region. After being ranked in the Top 10 most of the season and wrapping up the PAC-10 title with a win over Washington State, the Bruins came up flat in their regular season finale at Washington, losing 61-51 and looking lethargic the whole time. Then, in the opening round of the PAC-10 tournament, the Bruins unexpectedly fell to lightly-regarded Cal, 76-69.

That was likely the game that cost the Bruins a #1 seeding, which went to Kansas instead. The Bruins, however, got the last laugh on both the Jayhawks and the selection committee, thumping Kansas in the regional final on Saturday, 68-55.

The Bruins head to Atlanta with a renewed confidence to face Florida, the top seed from the Midwest region. The defending national champion Gators beat Oregon, 85-77, to reach the Final Four for the second consecutive year. The game is a rematch of last year's championship.

The Georgetown-Ohio State game will be the first semi-final, with tip-off scheduled for 6:07 pm EDT. Florida and UCLA will take the floor roughly 30 minutes after the conclusion of that game.

Tomorrow: Conference scoreboard and peak performers.
Wednesday: Breakdown of Ohio State - Georgetown
Thursday: Breakdown of Florida - UCLA
Friday: Final analysis and picks

NCAA Matchups & Picks for Sunday, March 25

2:40 pm EDT Florida (-6.5) Oregon - Tajuan Porter has silenced a lot of critics over the short course of his Oregon career. On Sunday, he'll get the opportunity to do it again.

Porter, easily the smallest player in the tournament at 5'6", put on a giant of a performance Friday night in Oregon's 76-72 win over UNLV, hitting 8 3-pointers and totaling 33 points, tying him with Tyler Hansbrough for the high single-game mark of the tournament.

Once again, Porter and the Ducks find themselves underdogs as they match up with the reigning national champions. Florida dispatched a pesky Butler squad on Thursday, 65-57, coming from behind as they have in all three of their tournament games thus far. They will try to get off to a faster start against the quicker Ducks.

The Gators have a huge size advantage inside with Joakim Noah and Al Horford anchoring the middle. The Ducks have no real center and actually start four guards along with forward Maarty Leunen, who stands 6'8" and specializes in outside shooting. While Leunen may draw one of Florida's big men outside when the Ducks are on offense, he's going to get backed down inside against Horford along with Malik Hairston, who will likely be matched up with Noah. Stopping those two inside is Oregon's biggest problem, one which they'll likely handle by denying them the ball on defense.

It wouldn't surprise anyone to see the Ducks press off made baskets to at least slow Florida's offense. Pressure and hitting 3-pointers will be the key to Oregon's success and they will get it done as their trio of sharpshooting guards, Porter, Aaron Brooks and Bryce Taylor make a shambles of Florida's backcourt. The Gators' dream of back-to-back championships dies here.

5:05 pm EDT North Carolina (-3.5) Georgetown - The Tar Heels struggled mightily against an upset minded USC squad on Thursday before blowing the game open late and advancing. USC ran out of gas as Carolina coach Roy Williams used his deep bench to maximum advantage, outscoring the Trojans 41-22 in the second half.

Georgetown stared elimination in the face and, as time wore down, came up with a huge shot by forward Jeff Green to oust the upset-minded Vanderbilt Commodores 66-65. Green's bank shot with 2.5 seconds remaining left Vandy without enough time to get off a quality shot at the buzzer.

The Hoyas are hoping that this round will be a little less dramatic, though putting away the Tar Heels isn't going to be easy. Along with Green, the other key inside player, Roy Hibbert, will have to be on top of his game to stop the aggressive inside play of Tyler Hansbrough and Brandan Wright. It's likely that Wright and Green will match up against each other, which would be one of the best pairings of the season. Both forwards are athletic, strong and can get up on the boards. It's doubtful either will have much of an edge, and may actually end up canceling each other out.

Hibbert and Hansbrough will battle inside, and the edge goes to Hansbrough, who, though smaller, at 6'9", is more agile and mobile than the seven-foot Hibbert. If Hansbrough is able to operate on the low post, the Tar Heels could cruise to the Final Four.

In the backcourt, once again Jonathan Wallace and Patrick Ewing Jr. of the Hoyas become the wild cards. If they can provide some offense with 3-pointers and penetration, Georgetown can hang around against the much deeper Tar Heels.

North Carolina will look to get out and run, while the Hoyas will try to turn the game into a half-court mosh. If Hibbert stays out of foul trouble, Georgetown's overall length should offset Carolina's depth and book the Hoyas a trip to Atlanta.

NCAA Matchups & Picks for Saturday, March 24

4:40 pm EDT Ohio State (-1) Memphis - Apparently, people are paying attention and they've come to the realization that Memphis is a pretty darn good team and also that Ohio State has been living on the edge over the past two games.

The Buckeyes' win over over Tennessee was not one that the Ohio State faithful are going to remember, having to rally from 20 points down to get the narrow win. The Tigers, on the other hand, should have plenty of confidence after their 1-point win over a very solid Texas A&M team. With that win, we now know how Memphis will react in tight games - with poise and determination.

The Tigers have now stretched their winning streak to 25 games not many have been close calls. They should be physically and emotionally ready for anything that Ohio State throws at them.

The biggest matchup in this game is going to be in the middle, where Greg Oden squares up with Joey Dorsey. Oden may have a height advantage, but nobody in this tournament has a wider, more physically imposing stature than Dorsey. Oden is listed at 7'0", 280, and Dorsey at 6'8", 260, but Dorsey is all muscle and is not going to allow Oden to settle in on the blocks. Nothing inside is going to come easy for Ohio State, and, if Oden gets in foul trouble again, it could be lights out for the Buckeyes.

Memphis also matches up well with the rest of the Ohio State squad, and again, they are going to look like the quicker players on the floor. Key players are going to be Mike Conley Jr. for the Buckeyes in his battle with Memphis point guard Andre Allen, who is a bulldog and lightning fast.

Allen will split time with the taller (6'6") Antonio Anderson, so depending on what coach Calipari wants to do with the ball - and Conley - he's got options.

Memphis also has excellent depth, something the Buckeyes do not enjoy. They are only 7 or 8 deep, whereas the Tigers usually go 9 deep and more.

Memphis has edges in experience, coaching and that 25-game win streak gives them enormous confidence. They will not be beaten. Ohio State will be heading home a week early.

7:05 pm EDT Kansas (-2) UCLA - If you like contrasting styles, look no further than this. Kansas has the hottest and one of the highest-scoring offenses in the nation, but UCLA plays the stingiest and nastiest defense. If either team manages to get things going their way early, this could turn into a rout.

However, it has to be understood that Kansas has superior talent at all positions. The Jayhawks can run up and down the floor all night and all of their starters can score.

By contrast, UCLA lives and dies off limiting opponent opportunities, contesting passes and shots and solid rebounding. Their scoring almost always has to come from Arron Afflalo and Darren Collison, who also is the point guard, handling distribution. If Kansas can shut down Afflalo, they'll win this easily, it's as simple as that.

Their wing players, Brandon Rush, Mario Chalmers and Julian Wright should be able to light up the Bruins from outside and in. The inside game between Loenzo Mata and Darrell Arthur may turn out to be a standoff, but the Jayhawks have a serious edge at most of the other positions.

It's doubtful that the Bruins will hold Kansas under 65 points, which is what they'll need to do to win. Even then, as Southern Illinois found out on Thursday, holding the score down to a favorable level is no guarantee of victory as Kansas won, 61-58, with their 2nd lowest output of the season. The Jayhawks can play defense as well and they will mow down the Bruins and head to the Final Four. This one could easily turn into a double-digit rout for Kansas.

NCAA Game Picks for Friday, March 23

7:10 pm EDT Florida (-10.5) Butler - It would be difficult to imagine a scenario in which the Gators did not win this game, but the Butler Bulldogs surely have other ideas. Butler will have to find a way to negate the inside game of Joakim Noah and Al Horford, which isn't going to be easy. Along with that, they'll have to find a solution for slashing forward Corey Brewer, who always seems to be the X-factor in big games.

After yesterday's close calls, I certainly wouldn't argue with anyone who thinks that Butler can keep the Gators within single digits. Players are very emotional at this point in the tournament and none of the remaining teams are going to be easy outs.

However, the Gators are likely to be at the very pinnacle of their game here and will look to blow this one open early. whether they'll be able to do that depends more on their guards - Green and Humphrey - who don't actually match up well against Butler's, than the inside game. Florida's guards have to get the ball inside. Look for the Butler to deny, zone and use back doors and slip screens on offense to hang in.

Florida will advance, but the Bulldogs will not fold and should keep this one under the line.

7:30 pm EDT Georgetown (-7.5) Vanderbilt - There's an important key in this game which a lot of people may not notice, and it's not how many rebounds Roy Hibbert is going to get (should be many). The key here is Vanderbilt's Shan Foster, who sometimes disappears offensively. When he doesn't score in double digits, the Commodores almost always lose.

Foster, a 6'6" junior will be paired against either Jeff Green or Jonathan Wallace, both of whom are good defenders and longer than the Vandy forward and that spells trouble.

Georgetown and Vanderbilt squared off way back on November 15, with the Hoyas grabbing an 86-70 road win. In that game, Foster scored just 2 points, while Hibbert and Green had huge games for the Hoyas. In Vandy's 11 losses, Foster scored 15 or less 10 times. His season average is 15.6, so this game becomes very simple for the Hoyas. Hold Foster under his average and get the win.

Besides the Foster angle, the Hoyas will have to handle the ball with care. Vandy is quicker, but Georgetown holds a huge size advantage and that should get them easily into the next round. The Hoyas should win this one handily.

9:40 pm EDT Oregon (-3) UNLV - The Ducks have incredible quickness and that's going to cause problems for the Runnin' Rebels on both offense and defense. As anyone who watches the Ducks knows, if they hit their 3-pointers, they are nearly unbeatable and they're likely to throw up at least 25 attempts from beyond the arc here.

If the Ducks hit at 40% from 3-point land, it's lights out for the Rebels unless they hit at better percentages than their season average. UNLV may opt to play a 2-3 zone, with pressure on the ball, to keep the score down, but Oregon can either shoot over it, drive through it or pass into it. No matter which way you slice this game up, it looks like the Ducks are going on to face Florida in the next round.

If you look at the tournament teams UNLV has beaten in the course of the season, you'll notice that none of them are still around. The Ducks, on the other hand, show regular season wins over three teams still in the hunt - Georgetown, UCLA and USC. Oregon should win this game by at least 8 points.

10:00 pm EDT North Carolina (-8.5) USC - The Tar Heels are one of the deepest teams in the tournament and coach Roy Williams will likely use a 10-man rotation here. The one constant will be Tyler Hansbrough, Carolina's top-scoring center/forward, who will probably see at least 32-35 minutes of action, especially if it's close, which this one should be.

Judging by the odds, Tar Heel nation is alive and well, with the Vegas line looking very generous in what is likely to be a close game, matching contrasting styles. While Carolina will want to get out and run, speed up the game and slash to the hoop, the USC defense is among the best in the nation. Stopping the penetration of Ty Lawson will be key for the Trojans, as he is very quick and a solid ball handler. Keeping him on the perimeter means keeping the ball out of the hands of finishers Hansbrough and Brandan Wright.

The Trojans should have success in stopping the Tar Heels and they should be capable of scoring on the other end. North Carolina is not among the best defensive teams, so if USC gets a lead or stays close, defensive close-outs late in the game should lead to a major upset and a #1 seed heading home.