Madness? This IS MARCH!

Is it possible to love a weekend of sports anymore than this past one? Upsets galore, last second shots failing to sink, Cinderellas born and wiped out, teams coming together in triumph and teams holding it together even after a loss, heartbreak, elation. This is why we love March.

I could highlight all the games from Saturday and Sunday, but there was so much action and thrilling basketball being played that I could write a separate post on each one and it wouldn't be enough to capture it all so I'm only going to choose a handful of my favorite games from the round of 32 to highlight here.

Louisville 66 Saint Louis 51
As a current student, this is undoubtedly the hardest game to summarize.
Do I talk about the heartbreak? The moment it was over but I refused to accept it and knew Louisville was gonna choke down the stretch. The moment I knew it was over but was still hanging onto that 16-point rally hope that the Billikens demonstrated on Thursday. The moment I knew it was over, completely. We wouldn't reach the Sweet 16 for a third straight year.
Do I just lay out the facts? Luke Hancock only made 33% of his shots from beyond the arc, but it seemed like he made 12-12 because he hit each right when the Billikens were starting something big. The Billikens, meanwhile, couldn't drain a three to save their season (0-15, a record...). Neither team seemed to be able to hold onto the ball for long with 37 turnovers total (18 for SLU and 19 for U of L). Saint Louis could have won the game. Really, if they had decided to introduce the "Hack-a-Harrell" method earlier as they did in their comeback on Thursday.
Do I simply say a final farewell? Congratulations to the winningest class in Saint Louis University Men's Basketball history. A hell of a year that simply ended too soon, these Billikens will always have played some of the best basketball I have gotten to witness first-hand.

Dayton 55 Syracuse 53
The Flyers of Dayton once again stunned Buffalo and the nation in their game against Syracuse. A total of four players reached double figures in this defensive chess match that, on paper, Dayton should have lost. The Flyers couldn't hang onto the ball adding up to 14 turnovers while only forcing 9 from Syracuse and they shot 55% from the line. But then again, Tyler Ennis launched 21 shots from the field and only managed to find the bottom of the net on 33% of them. The Orange gave the Billikens a run at their no-three streak by missing all 10 of their deep shots. The depth of Dayton (11 players compared to 7 for the Orange) overran the talented core of Syracuse. The Flyers played Daniel, for the second time, putting another Goliath down in a down-to-the-wire thriller in a tournament filled to the brim with thrillers.

Stanford 60 Kansas 57
It seems the early games of this tournament just love to entertain us. Three of the four first games (Dayton, Mercer and now Stanford) ended in shock for one side (and much of the nation) and elation for the other. The Cardinal were only picked to even be in this second round by 38% of ESPN's Tournament Challenge brackets. That faith dropped even further to 4.1% that Stanford would be dancing into the Sweet 16. However, the Cardinal don't tend to follow the nation's expectations and thus stunned the Saint Louis crowd when they went 0-9 from deep yet pulled off a three point upset of a top national title contender. Of course, the Rock Chalk Jayhawk crowd has a valid point when they argue that a big reason they lost was due to the lack of big man Joel Embiid who was forced to sit out both early round games due to back problems. But, that is March and the Cardinal (and 4.1% of brackets) are still dancing big.

Kentucky 78 Wichita State 76
If you don't believe this was one of those "instant classic" games that you would watch again in a heartbeat, you don't know college basketball. From the get-go everyone knew what this game was supposed to be about: freshman talent v senior experience. And, in the final ten minutes of the first half, it looked like the Shockers were going to run away with it, capped by Cleanthony Early's posterizing dunk on Willie Cauley-Stein. However, freshman sensation James Young was having none of it as Kentucky's ensuing shot clock wound down to one and Young launched a stunning three to get the Wildcats back within two possessions at half, 37-31. Out of the break, Early nailed an outside jumper to extend the lead of the Shockers which was answered by a putback dunk by the freshman monster Julius Randle. That dunk ignited a 10-0 run for the Wildcats that spanned most of the first four minutes of the half. The Cats fell behind later in the half and the entire crowd went nuts when Cleanthony Early nailed his third three of the half on a step back, senior-worthy, sideline jumper that made Alex Poythress look out of place. Okay, so enough of the instant replay. Early, as you may have guessed, led all scorers with 31 points while his teammate, Ron Baker, went 4 for 6 from deep for 20 points. However, down the stretch, the Harrison twins, namely Aaron, made their highly-touted recruitment worth it by combining for 39 points and 50% shooting from deep (Aaron was 4-7 himself) and 50% from the field overall. Randle recorded yet another double double (13 points and 10 rebounds with 6 assists).
Take aways? The entire thing. As I rewatched the game, it hurt to skip through a single second of it to find the best looks. I would have been completely comfortable writing an entire game, second-by-second analysis of this classic if I had enough time, sadly, I don't so instead I suggest you go re-watch it for yourself and then re-watch it again.

A few notes about the Round of 32, Sweet 16 teams, and brackets

• So, clock management is usually a coaching term and something players are taught, but can we get the NCAA tournament clock-managers to work those things a bit better to save everyone from yelling at their TV in anguish as the clock doesn't start on time? (In case you missed it)
• The utmost respect goes out to the Shockers who didn't receive half the respect they earned and got quadruple the doubt they had any reason to receive. Hell of a season and career for those seniors
• Thank God for Shabazz Napier, otherwise I would have slept through that UConn-Nova matchup where no one could hit a basket in the first half and on Shabazz seemed to be playing in the second half
• Dayton enters the Sweet 16 with the lowest amount of brackets following them to this round (3.9% of ESPN brackets) and have been picked .8% of the time to reach the Elite Eight.
• The SEC has more teams than the ACC and AAC in the Sweet 16
• We are guaranteed a double digit seed going into the Elite Eight thanks to the 10-11 matchup in the South bracket
• Louisville and Kentucky face off in what might be the best game this year will offer. And we've seen Mercer beat Duke, Kentucky take on Undefeated, Saint Louis come back from 16 down, Tennessee's offense spark over the past two games, and Manhattan put U of L on the ropes and this one will simply be better.
• The Wiggins brothers lost for the first time on the same day of college basketball, ever.
• Okay, that was a low blow considering Andrew is a freshman and Nick just saw a perfect season end.
• A perfect midwest bracket is the main thing holding my bracket above water.
• I officially hate Baylor and their explosive offense and wish I had watched more tape of them before picking them to lose to Creighton
• Here's a link to the bracket that will either be made or be destroyed this week

The Madness Continues

The 2014 NCAA Tournament is just getting under way but we officially are in the middle of one of the greatest and most memorable tourneys that has come across our plate in the last few decades. As promised, here's a look back to Friday's thrilling, wire-to-wire action that saw Coach K act like the classy fellow he is, four more upsets, another OT (that's five so far this tournament), and dual matchups of Wildcats.

• You remember how Thursday started the whole thing? With Dayton pulling off the little brother upset with a late floater clanking off the rim? Yeah, well Friday's opener decided to top even that! Duke, one of the supreme powers in college basketball, was attempting to avoid a second first round exit in three years. Mercer, a small conference school with big dreams and huge talent, was leaning on their senior's experience to guide them past this monmouth. It might be something in that Atlantic Sun water, but Mercer was not to be denied this upset bid and looked like a 2012 or '13 Florida Gulf Coast team. Down one at half, the Bears were simply playing with Duke. The second half saw the Bears' experience and toughness win out over the inexperienced finesse and talent of the Blue Devils. In the most stunning first round upset, Mercer's prolific offense beatdown Duke's obstinate defense and the Bear's defense shut down the fertile offense of the Blue Devils.
  Mercer 78 Duke 71
• The Big 10 saw an upset to open up the tournament Thursday, but couldn't produce one of their own 6-11 upsets to move Nebraska forward and earn themselves a first ever NCAA tournament win (0-7). Baylor's offense was outplayed by Nebraska when they shot just above 40% from the field and 15% from beyond the arc. However, rebounds (28 defensive and 9 offensive) and a limited number of fouls (16) to go along with a hefty 38 makes on 48 attempts from the line led the Bears past the Cornhuskers.
  Baylor 74 Nebraska 60
• If you had watched this game, you would have thought Stanford was the 7 seed that simply controlled the game, all game long. However, that wasn't the case. New Mexico, heralded by many (yours truly included) as a possible challenger to Kansas in the third (second) round, entered the game as the 7th seed after earning the automatic bid from the Mountain West after beating San Diego State in the conference championship. Stanford was seen as a possible upset pick by about 38% of the ESPN brackets. (But then again, only 20% picked Dayton and 3% picked Mercer) The Lobos trailed most of the game, in fact they only had the lead once in the early going at 2-1. However, a late surge from New Mexico kept the game interesting down to the final minute.
  Stanford 58 New Mexico 53
• In the first matchup of Wildcats on the day, Arizona looked like a typical one seed dispatching of the too little too late Weber State offense. However, Weber State didn't go down easily and put a scare in the Arizona Wildcats before the final buzzer coming within nine in the final two minutes. Arizona would not be denied though and seamlessly ended the game to move onto the round of 32.
  Arizona 68 Weber State 59
• Did anyone know that Tennessee had an offense? Massachusetts clearly had no idea in that first half. In the second 6-11 game of the day, Tennessee dismantled the Minutemen's defense in the first half and simply matched scores in the second half. The Volunteers put up 80+ for only the second time against tournament teams this season. The other time? Against the defensive-minded Cavaliers of Virginia. Chaz Williams, the Minutemen's most talented star, has always played as the little guy at 5'9" was held to 12 points and was manhandled on the defensive side of the ball by the bigger Tennessee guards. Jarnell Stokes and Jordan McRae combined for 47 points and went 13 of 14 from the line.
  Tennessee 86 UMass 67
• Louisiana Lafayette showed up to provide McDermott and Co. a first round test that many did not see coming. However, McDermott dropping 30 on 56% shooting is sure to push the Bluejays past most competition they will see in this tournament. The Ragin' Cajuns stayed around throughout the entire game by handling their own on the offensive glass, grabbing 13 offensive boards, but shot under 38% from the field and only 25% from beyond the arc.
  Creighton 76 LA Lafayette 66
• In another first round test, the Colonels of Eastern Kentucky stayed with the Jayhawks throughout much of the game and went into the half knotted at 32. Before an 11-1 run by Kansas halfway through the second half, the Colonels led Kansas by three. The Jayhawks finished the game on a 16-8 run that featured dunks from Tarik Black, Andrew Wiggins and Jamari Traylor. A good effort from the Colonels but Kansas didn't even need a single three-- they went 0-7 from beyond the arc-- to compliment their 60% shooting from the field en route to a first round win.
  Kansas 80 Eastern Kentucky 69
• Gonzaga shut down the upstart smarts of Marcus Smart and Markel Brown. But this was one of the dirtiest games I have ever seen. 33 fouls... by the Cowboys. 28 by the Bulldogs. That's a total of 61 total. Five players fouled out. Five others ended the game with four fouls apiece. Turnovers abounded for each side (12 for OK State and 15 for Gonzaga), but Oklahoma State's 10 steals weren't enough to stop the hot handed Bulldogs from draining shot after shot. The Bulldog's 50% shooting from the field and from beyond the arc coupled with their 63% from the charity stripe laid low the strong defense of Oklahoma State.
  Gonzaga 85 Oklahoma State 77
• George Washington gave Memphis a scare, but the Tigers held on late with a few key free throws to keep the Colonials from advancing to the round of 32.
  Memphis 71 George Washington 66
• Providence put up quite a fight against the Tar Heels. The Friars were overly efficient from the field (53%), made four threes (25%) but were deadly accurate from the free throw line (81%) to stay close to North Carolina. None of the Tar Heels scored more than 19 points while Providence's Bryce Cotton nailed 36 points on 33% from three, 7-7 from the line and 56% from the field. However, having five players in double figures were just enough for the Tar Heels to hang on to a win over the Big East tournament champions.
  North Carolina 79 Providence 77
• Wichita State dispatched their first tournament team of the year to move to a record 35-0. Once again, if you don't believe in these guys I don't know what drugs you are using but you need to stop because they are really bad for your health and are really impairing your judgment. The Shockers dropped a consistent 32 points both halves, held Cal Poly to 20% from the field, blocked six shots, grabbed 46 rebounds, and assisted on 17 of their 50 shots. Okay, the Shockers weren't perfect. They turned the ball over 12 times, shot 46% from the field, and missed nine free throws. But this team is for real. (Oh, and congrats to the Mustangs on their first ever NCAA tournament win earlier in the week!)
  Wichita State 64 Cal Poly 37
• VCU had this game won. It was over. The Rams were about to head back to the Round of 32. Then a freshman made a freshman mistake. In the closing seconds, down by four, the Jacks of Stephen F Austin were praying for a miracle. That miracle came in the form of JeQuan Lewis who decided to defend until the final whistle. SFA's Desmond Haymon launched a three and Lewis came flying in to interrupt the shot but instead hit Haymon as the shot fell through the net. Whistle. Foul. Four point play opportunity. Whistle. Haymon launches the ball from the line. Swish. SFA goes crazy. VCU collapses. The game goes to overtime with SFA controlling all the momentum before closing the game out on a 14-8 run.
  SFA 77 VCU 75
  (The 12 seed won 3 of 4 matchups this year)
• Virginia looked like would be making history but in the worst way possible. Down five to Coastal Carolina at half, the Cavaliers were facing the possibility of becoming the first 1 seed to ever fall in the first round. Their offense had to come back and their defense needed to get back on course. However, like any good championship-quality team, Virginia came out of the half calm and came back to win the game by holding the Chanticleers to 24 points and scoring 40 of their own in the second half.
  Virginia 70 Coastal Carolina 59
• Kentucky. The 40-0 Cats. The Destiny's Child of basketball recruiting. The ones who were supposed to make it look easy this year. So much talent under a great head coach. However, the Cats under performed like so many highly touted teams before them. Kentucky was full of inexperienced, big-headed, talent-driven, scoring machines that simply did not click for much of the season. All that has changed. Their run in the SEC tournament started it and their play against the Wildcats of Kansas State simply annunciated that fact. Seven of the eight players in Kentucky's box score had never been to the NCAA tournament before, but that didn't stop them from playing like they were meant to be there. 40 rebounds highlighted an all around performance for Kentucky that was bookended by a school freshman record twenty-first double double for Julius Randle. The heart is also there, evidenced by Andrew Harrison commenting that he would play today even if he only had one arm.
  Kentucky 56 Kansas State 49
• Although Iowa State won their game against North Carolina Central, the Cyclones took a huge blow when their third leading scorer, Georges Niang, suffered a broken foot that will see him on the bench today. Their offensive prowess was evident when they stacked up 93 points on 63% shooting from the field and 53% from downtown. The Cyclones did experience some mental errors that saw them turn the ball over nine times while forcing only six of their own.
  Iowa State 93 NCC 75
• The final game of the opening round was not nearly as exciting as the closing game of Thursday night, but it sent UCLA to the Round of 32, which is just fine with the Bruins. The Bruins went extremely deep on Friday, playing nine players and buried Tulsa by burying 87% of their free throws while shooting 46% from the field. The UCLA defense forced 16 turnovers off 11 steals while blocking five shots.
  UCLA 76 Tulsa 59

There you have it, a wrap up of the first round games to get you started before the second round action picks back up in about an hour today. Enjoy the second round and may be the odds of Bracketeering always be in your favor!

As a little side note: You can now like my page on Facebook to get all the links to my stories and to some stories that I find while surfing the web that address certain important issues that I don't address here.

March Madness Takes Center Stage

Take a breath. Take another. Don't worry, take your time, we all need to take some time to really gather ourselves after such a crazy first two days. From a sixteen seed leading at half to three 12 seeds sinking their 5 seeded counterparts with a little in-state rivalry and upset heaven mixed in, there is no doubt that the NCAA tournament has once again marked its spot as one of the premier sporting events of the calendar year.

And there's still five more rounds!

Okay, so my summary of what happened didn't even touch some of the awe-inspiring moments of the opening round of the NCAA tournament so here's a look at each game in order:

• Ohio State and the media pulled the little brother card, Dayton pulled the upset card in one of the best March Madness tip-off games I have ever seen. Aaron Craft, the Buckeyes' go-to defensive star, had an uncharacteristically turnover-happy day (5 TOs to 4 assists and 4 steals) that ended with a heartbreaking clanker off the rim as time expired and Craft was left lying on the floor.
  Dayton 60 Ohio State 59
• American University hung around with the Badgers of Wisconsin for the first half but then Wisconsin went on a rampage in the second half to crush the Eagles 43-13 in the second act.
  Wisconsin 75 American U 35
• Pittsburgh took off Colorado's head in the first half cruising to a 46-18 advantage at the break. The Panthers shot over 50% from the field en route to a first (second) round victory.
  Pittsburgh 77 Colorado 48
• For the second installment of Upset Madness, look no further than the fourth game on Thursday. After being called for an administrative technical (explained here), the Bearcats will be looking for a new bookkeeper and some more offense this offseason. Sean Kilpatrick, known to many Cincinnati fans as the offensive key for the Bearcats, was, once again, paired with Justin Jackson as the only two players to be able to hit the bottom of the net. Harvard, for their part, simply sunk their shots to overcome one extremely stingy Cincinnati defense.
  Harvard 61 Cincinnati 57
• A typical 3-14 seed matchup should look like what Syracuse and Western Michigan looked like. Although WMU was good, the Orange were flat out better in a full game runaway.
  Syracuse 77 Western Michigan 53
• Oregon put to rest any doubters, myself included, when they blew by BYU. 50% shooting from the field mixed with 81% efficiency from the charity stripe make it hard for any team to keep up with you. Although Oregon did lack the deep ball (15%), BYU wasn't much better (26%) while giving Oregon multiple second chance points off the glass.
  Oregon 87 BYU 68
• The first one seed, and the number one overall seed, was tested for much of their game before pulling away from Albany. Once again, the team shooting over 50% from the field won the game. However, both teams played a fairly clean game but both turned the ball over 10 times.
  Florida 67 Albany 55
• Michigan State, or should I say Adreian Payne, looked like their beginning of the season #1 ranking in a complete offensive performance against the Fightin Blue Hens of Delaware. The Spartans shot 53% from the field, 52% from beyond the arc and 92% from the line. Enough said. But then there's Payne who recorded an astounding 41 points while going 17-17 from the line.
  Michigan State 93 Delaware 78
• UConn and St. Joe's played the typical 7-10 chess match down to the bitter end with UConn coming from behind to tie the game to force OT in which the Huskies simply willed themselves to a first round win. For the first time this tournament, the team that shot 50% didn't win the game while the team that shot 46% from downtown and 90% from the line pulled it out.
  Connecticut 89 Saint Joseph's 81
• Michigan dispatched the pesky Terriers of Wofford in their first action since a Big-10 Title loss to Michigan State on Sunday. That was helped by the Terriers shooting 5% from beyond the arc on 19 attempts.
  Michigan 57 Wofford 40
• Saint Louis. The Billikens must have replaced their Gatorade with some sort of magic potion over the final 8 minutes of their game in order to come back from a 16 point deficit. Or maybe it was the unsung big man, Rob Loe, who reigned in the Wolfpack on 22 points and 15 rebounds. Or maybe it was the Free Throw curse that ailed both teams (neither team shot over 55% from the stripe) that just did in North Carolina State. Or maybe the Wolfpack just gave the game away after an exhausting past three days (playing Xavier Tuesday night and flying into Orlando the following morning). But all I know for sure is that this five seeded Saint Louis played like a championship-worthy team the final 13 minutes of regulation and OT.
  Saint Louis 83 North Carolina State 80
• And the 12 seed wasn't done yet. Shortly after the Billikens wrapped up their non-upset upset, North Dakota State hit a game-tying three and Oklahoma couldn't hit three different shots to end the game. Thus, the Bison, perhaps the first Cinderella of the tournament, went into overtime sensing a victory was within their grasp. Sure enough, five minutes later, the Bison were rewarded for their persistence and the phrase "Sooner or Later" was born to commemorate NDSU's first NCAA tournament victory.
  North Dakota State 80 Oklahoma 75
• Texas lived for the buzzer. Arizona State died at the buzzer. In a back and forth battle that saw Texas on top by double digits for three minutes before ASU's comeback, the Longhorns willed their way to a last second, layup, two point victory over the Sun Devils. The score came off a missed three which should have spelled overtime for the two schools, but Cameron Ridley was not to be denied as he rebounded and threw the ball up and in as time expired.
  Texas 87 Arizona State 85
• Villanova was simply able to outlast the surging Milwaukee team they faced on Thursday night. After a close first half, the Wildcats played like a two seed while the Panthers played like a 15 seed simply running out of spark down the stretch
  Villanova 73 Milwaukee 53
• You want better games than the box score suggests? How about a Manhattan-Louisville game that was destined to cause heartbreak one way or another? With just over four minutes left to play, the Jaspers were up three on the reigning national champions. At the two minute mark it was knotted up at 60. One minute and the Cardinals were up three. The game ended with a late 6-2 run by the Cardinals to squeak by the Jaspers.
  Louisville 71 Manhattan 64
• And the rollercoaster of a kick-off day wasn't going to end on a ho-hum run of the mill 4-13 matchup, how could it? Instead, the Aggies of New Mexico State gave the Aztecs of San Diego State all they could handle during regulation. On a six second 5-0 run, the Aggies hit a game tying three to force overtime. However, overtime went to the survivalist Aztecs led by senior Xavier Thames.
  San Diego State 73 New Mexico State 69

Four upsets, four overtimes, five four points or less decisions and a one 16 point comeback. And we aren't done yet. That was just one day of thrilling NCAA tournament basketball. Stay tuned for a recap of Friday's action coming out later today (early tomorrow before the first tip).

4 Point Play: March Madness

Although the 4-Point Play pinpointed multiple quality low-mid-majors that made the tournament (New Mexico, New Mexico State, Delaware, Dayton, George Washington, Mercer, North Carolina Central and Gonzaga), this year's field looks ready to be dominated by the Big 6 Conference members. This will be an opportunity to look at teams across the board before the first tip of March Madness tonight. Three teams have doubters questioning how far they could possibly get in the tournament even with their top-half seeding. The 4 Point Play will also take a look at all 16 seeds and the top team at each seed from the lowly 16 seeds to the top of the line number one seed.

Welcome to March Madness.

A Look at the Doubter-Followed Teams
1. Wichita State- One Seed (34-0)
If you were surprised to see the Shockers on this list, you clearly haven't seen much when it comes to the fan bases across Big 6 Conference Country. I can't tell you how many people have asked me "are the Shockers for real?" "Come on, the *insert favorite team here* could easily do that in the MVC, wait till they play someone good." And frankly, I'm tired of this doubt. Especially when it comes from students at another mid-major school who are having a record setting season themselves.
The Shockers have done something that hasn't been done by Michigan, Kentucky (ok, they did back in 1954 but they didn't go to the tourney), Florida, Syracuse, Saint Louis, Arizona, or even Coach K's Duke Blue Devils. They have gone through the most games ever without a single loss (34-0 as they enter March Madness), only '91 UNLV has had as many wins but they got 4 of those in the tourney. It's not a statement to how bad the MVC is (did you even watch that championship game?) so much as it is a statement to how good this post-Final Four appearance team is this year. They have experience, talent and determination. Is it their fault their neighbor Kansas won't play them? Or any other Big 6 team for that matter. No. They played their schedule and beat their opponents.
But they haven't played anyone yet. They'll get smashed by the first quality opponent they see!
What? So three top 50 RPI teams are nobody? One Saint Louis team that plays their damn best basketball on their home floor is nobody? Five tournament-quality teams count as chump teams? You just don't want to admit that this is a quality team who just happens to come from a smaller conference. Did you know that these Shockers went to the Final Four last year? And they lost to Louisville, the eventual champs, by four. They returned most of their team from last year and have only built on that success. So they know pressure and they know how to win close games.
Tournament Road: Can the vendetta against Wichita State get anymore obvious? The selection committee gave them the spot they deserved (#1) yet set them up with the biggest buzzsaw of eight seeds this year in Kentucky (a team that deserved a six seed) and then either reigning champs Louisville or the stingiest club in the field in Saint Louis. And if the Shockers can upset that half of the bracket they are left with an incredibly talented Michigan team or the star-led Blue Devils.

2. Saint Louis- Fifth Seed (26-6)
I mentioned these guys before. The Billikens, Bills, Saints, whatever, (I mean come on, what even IS a Billiken?) these guys can flat out play. You want a middle of the pack team that can go deep in the tournament? Follow through with these guys. One of the most experienced teams in the field, Saint Louis has been waiting for four years to get to the Sweet Sixteen and over that Round of 32 hump. This group of five starting seniors, the winningest in school history, are hungry and you never want to face an hungry Billiken, much less five of them.
The Bills play solid shutdown defense that forces turnovers and thus fast break points. If they can keep teams in the 50-70 point range, Saint Louis is easily the hardest team to trump in the field. Their offense, led by A-10 Player of the Year Jordair Jett and all-around man Dwayne Evans, is deadly in close games and they have three outside shot threats in seniors Jake Barnett and Mike McCall Jr. and sophomore Austin McBroom. Their big man, Rob Loe, is a force to be reckoned with from the perimeter shot all the way to inside the key and off the boards.
Although an end of season slide ended a school record winning streak of 19 games, the Bills aren't in danger of slowing down now. Before that three game skid, Saint Louis had lost to exactly two teams all season: Wichita State (undefeated) and Wisconsin (AP Top 15 finish). They also beat the other five A-10 tourney reps at least once this season.
Tournament Road: A tough test lies ahead for the Billikens if they can make it past the first round against the winner of tonight's Xavier-North Carolina State play-in. That test comes in the form of Louisville (the most under-seeded team in the field this year) who can simply outman this Saint Louis defense inside and can hamper the already inconsistent Bills offense. (But Louisville isn't invincible and Saint Louis, if clicking, could bring this giant tumbling down)

3. New Mexico- Seventh Seed (27-6)
In the fifth week of 4 Point Play, we took a look at these then second place Lobos. The Lobos split their season series with fourth-seeded San Diego State but did so by a plus 11 margin against one of the stingiest defenses in the league before taking the Mountain West tournament championship over the Aztecs 64-58. New Mexico enters the tournament with a 4-4 record against tourney teams with their best out of conference win coming against fifth-seeded Cincinnati in early December. Their four losses came at the hands of UMass (6 seed), Kansas (2 seed), New Mexico State (13 seed), and San Diego State (4 seed).
The Lobos crash the defensive boards. There's no two ways about it with this crew grabbing 27 defensive rebounds and limiting second chance points. Their offense is nothing flashy but can put up 75-80 when called upon (which they will be in order to survive). New Mexico's offensive power rides on the shoulders of Cameron Bairstow who averages over 20 points per game and shoots over 55% from the field. Bairstow's deadly accuracy forces opponents to put an extra man in his area at all times which opens up the floor for Kendall Williams and Alex Kirk to down the ball (shooting 43% and 49% respectively). Williams, the only real three point threat the Lobos have, is an ace on the perimeter (40% from beyond the arc) and yet still averages over three boards and five assists per game. However, beyond these top three starters the offense drops off considerably and the defense is considerably lax.
Tournament Road: As the seventh seed in the East bracket, New Mexico has a tough battle in the first (second) round against tenth-seeded Stanford, but should be able to take care of business on the glass and from the floor. Next up is the Kansas Jayhawk crew that could get upended if New Mexico can slow Wiggins and can get lucky enough to have Joel Embiid still out with the back injury.


The Best Teams of Each Seed
#16 Coastal Carolina
Why They Win: Because it's about damn time a 16 seed toppled a high and mighty 1 seed. Although no one in their right mind is making this pick, the Chanticleers have possibly the best matchup this year in the 1-16 game. If they can out rebound the Cavaliers, we could be looking at history. But once again, don't expect a miracle.
Runner Up: Mount Saint Mary's

#15 Eastern Kentucky
Why They Win: They matchup well with Kansas. That is, they would matchup well if this game was played out on paper and Andrew Wiggins was only a fictional character. But then again, the tide has turned in the favor of Cinderella 15 seeds three times over the past two years (Lehigh, FGC or Norfolk State ring any bells?). Kansas was upset by an Iowa State team that could shoot the ball well, which is exactly what the Colonels have been doing over their seven game winning streak.
Runner Up: American

#14 Mercer
Why They Win: Duke can lose an opening round game, it's been done before and recently (2012 Lehigh) and this time Mercer is looking for that underdog mojo to come into play for them. The Bears are one of the deepest teams in the entire field this year with 12 players having played at least 9 minutes in 30 games this season. Rebounds are key to the outcome of this game. If the Bears limit Jabari Parker and Co. to one and done (which they can as they average 26 defensive rebounds), the explosive Blue Devil offense is vulnerable.
Runner Up: North Carolina Central

#13 New Mexico State
Why They Win: Defense beat their last five opponents and will be the key to the Aggies run in the tournament. That's great news considering the lack of shotmaking ability the Aztecs have shown recently. Daniel Mullings v Xavier Thames will be the main matchup to watch on the outside but how well Sim Bhullar handles the inside will decide the outcome here.
Runner Up: Delaware

#12 Stephen F Austin
Why They Win: VCU's havoc defense only works against teams that don't pass the ball well, SFA does the exact opposite of that and their potent offense has been known to run the score up into the 80s (something VCU rarely sees). Their own quality defense, allowing 62.6 ppg while stealing the ball eight times and forcing over 16 turnovers per game, has the Lumberjacks looking at a very good script for Cinderella 2014.
Runner Up: Harvard

#11 Dayton
Why They Win: Three point shooting. The Flyers bury the rock from downtown better than most teams and that ability allows them to stay in, get back in and go ahead in any game. As a team, Dayton shoots over 46% from the field and over 37% from beyond the arc. However, Dayton needs that potency on offense as their defense is less than stellar. A series of late season wins propelled the Flyers into the field and that string has the ability to hold up when Dayton takes on Ohio State.
Runner Up: Providence

#10 Saint Joes
Why They Win: Their momentum from the A-10 tournament success, beating Dayton, St. Bonaventure and VCU in back to back to back days, will be key to pushing the Hawks past the Shabazz Napier-led Connecticut Huskies. The seniors are the backbone of this team that shoots well from across the floor yet bury less than 65% of their free throw attempts. Langston Galloway will need to contain Napier if the Hawks have any hope of tasting upset nectar.
Runner Up: Arizona State

#9 Oklahoma State
Why They Win: Marcus Smart can lead this team past Gonzaga and into an open challenge with Arizona. The offense can put up points from four different positions and their defense, which strips the ball, blocks shots and rebounds off the defensive glass well, can contain most scoring threats across the board.
Runner Up: Pittsburgh

#8 Kentucky
Why They Win: Freshman led by sophomores who get calmed by a senior because of a quality coach. Oh, and the Cats will need to decide they want to win in order to have any chance of beating anyone in this field. Just like they decided to turn it on in the second half of the second half of the SEC title game on Sunday, the Cats have the ability to shut down everyone, force turnovers and dominate in all aspects of the game, if they so choose. Julius Randle and Willie Cauley Stein can handle the inside before pitching out to the Harrison twins or James Young. Jarrod Polson, Dakari Johnson, and Alex Poythress round out the top eight players at Calipari's disposal.
Runner Up: Gonzaga

#7 New Mexico
Why They Win: Check up top.
Runner Up: Connecticut

#6 Ohio State
Why They Win: Aaron Craft will make sure to wipe off all traces of butter from his hands before the final shot. Or the defense will simply clamp down on Dayton and the non-potent offense will score just enough to get by. The game will be decided by how well Dayton handles the ball and, thus, how fast Craft's hands are on the ball all game long. The only legitimate weapons for the Buckeyes on the offense are LaQuinton Ross and Lenzelle Smith Jr who combine to score 26 of the 69 points OSU puts up each game.
Runner Up: North Carolina

#5 Oklahoma
Why They Win: Offense trumps lackluster defense for the Sooners. A blazing 82 points per game saves the porous defense (76 ppg). Four players average double digits while almost everyone that gets into games consistently grabs at least one rebound (with five players grabbing at least 3).
Runner Up: Cincinnati

#4 Louisville
Why They Win: Because they got the lowest seed the selection committee could possibly justify and so they need to prove to the selection (ACC) committee chair that the Cardinals can play like a three or two seed. All around skill makes this year's Cardinals team just as worthy of a title defense as last year's team was of winning it all. Top offense will lead the Cardinals away from defense minded SLU and quality defense has the ability to steer Kentucky, Wichita State, Michigan and Duke away from the Final Four.
Runner Up: UCLA


For the top 3 seeds I'm not going to explain why each is the top seed seeing as ESPN, Sports Illustrated, SB Nation and countless other sites have already analyzed these teams to death. If I were going to analyze them it would look something like this:

#3 Duke
Why They Win: Jabari Parker actually has teammates who know how to play basketball too
Runner Up: Iowa State

#2 Michigan
Why They Win: Nik Stauskas, Big 10 regular season champions and the fact they went 9-6 against the field already this year.
Runner Up: Kansas

#1 Florida
Why They Win: Defense, Patrick Young, Casey Prather, Scottie Wilbekin, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Billy Donovan
Runner Up: Arizona

Leprechauns Abound and the PC Crowd is Nowhere to be Found

 

(http://trendphotos.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/annual-st-patrick39s-day.jpg)

Before you go out and enjoy the St. Patty's Day Parades, down Irish beers at a bar that starts with O', or don that leprechaun hat and sit on your pot of gold, remember! You are contributing to the appropriation of a very specific culture and, therefore, you are a horrible person.

That's what I might say if I was actually worried that the Irish would flip a shit because we dress up and drink one day out of the year. But then again, shouldn't they be in an uproar over this insensitivity? Or at least shouldn't the progressive, sensitivity police be making their rounds today?

We live in a culture that polices everything from words in elementary school (that aren't even swear words) to foods and drink you can consume to cultural activities you can take part in. Yet, when it comes to today, a great holiday celebrating an amazing saint in a fairly ironic way (watch Boondock Saints if you really want irony), the culture police are noticeably absent.

Not that I'm complaining since I don't want them around telling me I can't eat tacos and shouldn't root for a team called the Chiefs because I'm appropriating the culture of some minority.

And why would the Culture Police (CP) even be thinking about policing this day? I mean, come on, it's a traditionally white holiday and therefore can't be appropriated since white people control the world, right?
Wrong.
I could go on a diatribe about how the Irish have been oppressed many times throughout history (I'm looking at you England and the Americas) but I'm not going to since I know all of you can Google that. (Here's a bit of history to get you started)

Or I could tell you how anything, by definition, can be appropriated by anyone seeing as the definition of appropriation is to take or use (something) especially in a way that is illegal, unfair, etc. But what we are doing isn't illegal, and since it's all in good fun it can't be too unfair, right?
If only that were the case today for the liberal CP. Too many times have parades, celebrations and traditions been axed because of the possibility of insensitivity towards a minority. If we are going to allow the CP to police the world, make them do it for everyone. Make them shutdown Cinco de Mayo festivals, Halloween celebrations, secular Christmas and Easter traditions, Chinese New Years parades and Saint Patrick's Day festivities. It's only fair.

Better yet, we could just order people to not leave their homes and not talk to anyone from any other culture. We could implement segregation to be sure to not offend anyone by not letting anyone know about any other traditions except government controlled functions. Even better than that, we could implement districts where each cultural group is allowed to venture and anyone caught outside of that area would be imprisoned. Who's with me?

OR we could recognize the aspect of human nature that is curiosity. Embrace the fact that cultures do mix not only technology and people but customs and traditions (thus forming some awesome things like Chipotle, rock and roll, Chifa and basketball).
No cultures have ever mixed as much as has happened in the United States, that's why we get the nickname the "Melting Pot of the World," which is exactly why, here in the U.S., we should be the ones leading the charge in acceptance of mixed cultures and diverse ways of thinking.

Accusation of cultural appropriation can lead in a very slippery slope that ends in racial supremacy (see early America and Nazi Germany). The only real way to fight this is to do exactly what has been happening for the past few decades in the form of cultural mixing.

We don't need PC police telling us what we can and cannot say, do, eat or wear. What we do need is an acceptance that not everyone who wears Native American headdresses, Mexican sombreros, Leprechaun hats or celebrates Chinese New Year, Cinco de Mayo, or Christmas is necessarily doing it as a slight to the culture or as an active member of that culture but just because it is an act of cultural mixing.

Or we could go to racist Hunger Games Districts and pit cultures against each other in an Arena every year or so?

Zombie Bills Starting Fights, Droid-ist Bartenders, and an Avant-Garde Notion

I doubt many of you have missed the legislation that has been circulating around Arizona (and national) news for the past few weeks. This legislation would have allowed Arizona businesses to refuse service to gay and lesbian customers if they were solely citing religious reasons for doing so. The law was vetoed, for obvious reasons, on Wednesday by Governor Jan Brewer. The bill is no longer alive on the legislative floor, yet it still lives on in the fight that has erupted across social media fanned by opinionated bloggers (like myself) and loud mouthpieces on FOX, CNN and MSNBC.

This fight has taken the entire country by storm with many people calling it another battle of oppression v freedom in the US while others compare it to the plight of African Americans during the institution of Jim Crow Laws and the hard-fought battles of the Civil Rights Movement. However, what really gets me is something almost off topic- I'll get back to this argument in a bit, stay tuned- that not many people are even thinking about.

I just really do not understand why people are even wanting these "anti-gay" businesses to be forced to accept business from anyone, much less people they clearly disdain...
Why would a lesbian couple want a bakery that they know is "anti-gay" to be making their wedding cake? Why would a gay couple want a "homophobic" photographer taking pictures of them on their wedding day? Is it a matter of principle or is it just out of spite?
Personally though, I wouldn't want someone who is clearly and vehemently- enough to go to court- against my beliefs to be snapping pictures or baking cakes for my wedding day. But hey, maybe that's just me. Or you know, maybe it's my "ignorance" of the plight of so many minorities talking. Or maybe it's my bigoted cis, straight, white, male privilege at work again.
DAMN YOU PRIVILEGE! *shakes fist in the air violently while scowling*

Okay, back to reality and to the real issue at work here.
The freedom to deny service is one of the biggest fundamentals that businesses have (or had). That's one of the main reasons why we have private businesses; so that they can serve who they want, when they want, where they want, for a profit. That profit then gets spent on goods and those goods come from other retailers which gets the goods from the maker who then spends money at that business and thus an economy is born!

If you don't like a laundromat's choice in music you can ask them to change it and if they won't, go to another laundromat. If you are a vegan and go to a steakhouse don't expect them to have vegan food. Chick-fil-a doesn't support gay marriage, if you are gonna try to show them up you don't eat there instead of attempting to force them to change by getting a law passed (or struck down). (Oh and you don't stage a completely unsuccessful "Kiss In" just to spite them, that's just childish)

If you don't support a business's choices then don't go to them, simple as that. There are thousands of laundromats, restaurants, bakeries and photographers out there, go find one that will cater to your needs. It's really the beauty of the free market. 

The other side of the aisle will argue the opposite, in fact they'll argue the almost 180 of this position. "If you don't allow gay people to get cakes and photos from the same place that their straight counterparts do, it's discrimination and illegal!" "Our freedom to live the way we choose to live is being taken away because we can't get our cakes from Bob's Cake Emporium and instead have to drive an extra mile to go to Wendy's Cake Bakery!" Okay, it's not that simple but you get the point; you have to serve everyone or else it's discrimination.

So, let's just get this all straightened out. An anti-gay bakery will be forced (?) to bake wedding cakes for gay weddings. An anti-gay photographer will have to go to (?) a gay wedding and take pictures as if it were any heterosexual marriage. So, no bakery or photographer will be able to turn down a gay wedding, ever, no matter the reasoning behind it?
I can just see it now: "Tonight at 11: Was Bill's Cakes and Cookies shutdown because he already had three other weddings happening the same day and couldn't make time for Gordon and Luke Smith's wedding or because he's actually a raging homophobe!? Stay tuned for the live story."

Okay, so that's not what the bill stated, but if you haven't caught on, I am not a fan of this bill anyway. The bill would have forced businesses to provide some sort of evidence of their religious affiliation and then prove they were only denying services because of those religious beliefs. Not only is that an almost impossible task, but it seems to me to be a bit excessive when you could just allow businesses to run their shop the way they wanted and raise a competitive market and not worry if someone was offended by someone else's beliefs.

Either way this bill ended up someone was gonna get offended because you were left with either a bill saying people can deny you a service because of your sexual orientation or you don't have a bill and you force businesses to service people they don't want to serve. It's a no win situation for anyone. (Of course if you look at the LGBT lobby you'd think they won a huge victory)

If you've been reading my blog for the past few months you know I'm a bit of a traditionalist and I agree with multiple seemingly "outdated" ideas. So, why change that pattern when it comes to how to run a private business?

Of course, as many traditional ideas seem to do nowadays, this line of thinking may startle many people and will probably have people thinking I'm an oppressive, racist, sexist blockhead from the 19th century who thinks Negroes are only 3/4 of a person, women belong in the kitchen, and children are to be seen but not heard. To all of you, I thank you for visiting my blog and encourage you to go ahead and leave before you get all passive aggressive, internet-frustrated on me because what I'm about to say will certainly get you hotheaded. (Of course, you can stay and leave your thoughts in the comments below if you'd like, but this is just fair warning)

Businesses should be allowed to service whomever they want. Simple as that. The flip side of that coin? They should also be able to deny service to whomever they want for any reason.

Just like bars and restaurants are allowed-and sometimes encouraged- to stop serving alcohol to obviously drunk patrons even if they demand it and can pay for it, a bakery can decide not to serve you if they don't want to do so. A photographer doesn't have to take your business just because you came to him. A cantina in the Mos Eisley spaceport doesn't have to serve droids just because you're a Jedi meeting up with Indiana Jones (or was it President Marshall?).

But wait, what happens when businesses refuse to serve people based on race?
Well I'd imagine they would lose quite a lot of business, but why should you care if someone wants to be a racist ass and lose money just because of someone's skin color? Because it's discriminatory! Well, guess what, people are discriminatory no matter what anyone tells you and if they want to run a crappy business then let them fail. The real question would be why would we want to force a racist asshat to take people's money just to be able to say we are in a "post-racial" society?

Uh, Nate, what about when people decide they don't want to serve you?
Oh, you mean like restaurant-bars that refuse to let me enter after 9 on the weekend? That's easy, I go somewhere else and make sure to spend good money where I can go. If someone doesn't want my money, that's fine by me.

You actually expect this to catch on?
Unfortunately not, but I wish it could. Seriously, if people could acknowledge this whole idea of private businesses running things their own way it would make this entire notion actually reasonable. However, because we live in a childish society that can't handle getting its feelings hurt, this is a seemingly unrealistic, unreasonable, ignorant opinion to have.