Day Two: Zags Win and the Big East Starts

Last night began a daily look at how the NCAA Tournament field was taking shape. There was a clear omission by me in yesterday's post: the Sun Belt championship was last night. Congratulations to Western Kentucky for knocking off Florida International and clinch an auto bid. What's unfortunate is now Middle Tennessee State, who went 19-1 in the Sun Belt (and won the league by FIVE games) and 28-5 overall, now must see on that bubble and pray that the number of bid thieves are minimal. They're ranked 28th in RPI, yet they have a 135th ranked schedule and their best wins are UCF and Ole Miss. Everyone seems to think of them as this year's Drexel, who missed the tourney with a similar profile.

If Middle Tennessee State is now on the wrong side of the bubble, St. Mary's, who I thought were more in regardless of result yesterday, should be thought of being at least squarely on the bubble. Gonzaga's win over St. Mary's clinches a top seed for the Zags, yet might have put only one team in the West Coast Conference into the NCAA's. At least the Gaels beat Creighton. As for other action on Monday, James Madison, Davidson and Iona locked in auto bids as they won their conference tourneys. The James Madision Dukes in particular are heading back to the Big Dance for the first time since 1994, which is always good to see when a team returns to glory. Now let's look at Tuesday's slate, which has three more bids on the line and the start of the Big East tournament.

Autobids: Liberty, Florida Gulf Coast, Creighton, Belmont, Harvard, Western Kentucky, James Madison, Davidson, Iona, Gonzaga

Northeast: Mount St. Mary's have won their last nine games enroute to the Final in the Northeast conference. Now they get a chance to finish the job in Brooklyn as they take on LIU. My Brooklyn roots won't allow me to root against the Blackbirds, but the Mountaineers look to be destined to win this one.

Summit: It's going to be a battle of the Dakotas, as North Dakota State and South Dakota State will face off for the autobid. I still remember Ben Woodside from 2009 helped the Bison put a scare into then-defending champion Kansas. However, the SD State nickname is the Jackrabbits, so I'm rooting for the Jackrabbits to make it to two straight NCAA berths.

Horizon: With Butler joining the Atlantic 10, the Horizon is open for a bid and it's Valparaiso going against Wright State. Can you believe the last tourney appearance for Valpo was back in 2004? For Homer and Bryce Drew (who happens to be the current coach), for their Sweet 16 run in 1998, let's hope the Crusaders head back to March Madness.

Big East: For the final time, the Big East will begin it's tournament on a Tuesday as the league will officially split. I will have more of a preview on Wednesday, but the two games are Seton Hall going up against South Florida and DePaul-Rutgers in the nightcap. Of these four teams, I guess only Seton Hall could reach Thursday, simply because they love to shoot three's and if they're falling, an upset can occur.

The Sins of Realignment

It was made official today that the Big East is splitting up, effective July 1st. The so-called Catholic 7 will retain the Big East name, history and MSG for the basketball tournament, while the football schools will have their own league, which looks like it will be called "America 12" (pardon me while I laugh). Even if the split was going to happen next year, this was still going to be the last year of the Big East as we once knew it. Rivalries and the Big East Tournament will never be the same again.

The next nine days will give a glimpse of what will be missed as the winds of college sports have ruined the greatest basketball league assembled. Two rivalries will no longer have scheduled games starting next season; sure they might have games post-split but it won't be the same when these games are being played in December instead of March. The first of these rivalries that are coming to an end is Rutgers-Seton Hall, who will finish their Big East series tonight at the Prudential Center. I'm certain there will be games against these two for years to come, but it will be once a year and losing the round robin nature of the series will hard to get used to. There is a bias when I speak of these two teams since I'm a Seton Hall alum and perhaps I overrate this rivalry (both of us aren't that good at playing basketball). However, I know I'll miss going into every season looking to finish ahead of Rutgers.

The rivalry everyone will miss is Syracuse-Georgetown, which will play it's last scheduled game tomorrow at noon in Washington D.C. Where Rutgers-Seton Hall is like Newcastle-Sunderland in terms of rivalry/derby; the Hoyas vs the Orange are the defining rivalry since the Big East was formed in 1979. Names like Patrick Ewing, Sherman Douglas, Alonzo Mourning, Pearl Washington, Sleepy Floyd and Gerry McNamara are part of Big East history. John Thompson and John Thompson III patrolling the Hoyas sidelines, while Jim Boeheim is Big East hoops since Day 1. Tomorrow, the Cuse have a chance to knock the Hoyas out of a number 1 seed in the Big East tournament and who knows, perhaps they will have another matchup next week in New York. If not, there's no plans right now of these two continuing their rivalry in the new conference.

Next week, for one last time, you will see Syracuse, Pitt, St. John's, Villanova, Louisville and Rick Pitino among others share the Madison Square Garden stage for the last time. One prominent absence will be UConn, who if Georgetown was the representation of the Big East during the glory years of the 80s and Syracuse being the best team throughout the entire history, the Huskies have been the dominant power of the last twenty years. It's already a lesser tournament next week without UConn and retired coach Jim Calhoun. Teams like Notre Dame and Cincinnati know that this is the last time they will get this March trip to NYC for great basketball. As good as Xavier and Butler are, teams like Villanova and St. John's know that not playing Syracuse and Pitt in March makes a Big East title a little hallow.

If you grew up with the Big East, you grow up with basketball in your bones. You knew that how you did in the NCAA Tournament was second to how you did in the Big East Tournament; great to be national champion, but losing in the first or second round doesn't ruin the year if you won it all at MSG.  There will be a version that still will have great basketball, with some history, but a lesser version it will be nonetheless. And who knows if Syracuse and Pitt can avoid the pitfalls that happened to Boston College when they left for the ACC. For one more week, let's enjoy what made the Big East great before the reality sets in on what makes college sports infuriating.

March Madness Day 1 Recap

The first day of March Madness came and went and it went by with only one game that was worth watching, and one game that should have been if not for some awful officiating. The best game of the day was easily VCU-Wichita State which saw both teams trade baskets late. It also was the only game to go down to the last second, as Garrett Stutz of Wichita St missed a game-tying three. In other words, Shaka beat the Shockers. And while VCU might not go back to the Final Four, winning today will only make people believe that they are going back on that same run.

Something Stinks In Pittsburgh

Syracuse survived their matchup against UNC-Asheville and they can thank the men in stripes for that. The Bulldogs had a goaltending call and a lane violation go against them, but those are judgement calls. The worst came with 38.5 seconds left. Syracuse inbounds the ball and it goes out of bounds off Brandon Triche's hands. So, UNC-Asheville ball, right? Wrong, it goes back to the Orange. It's one thing if a foul was called, which could have been. If so, everyone would whine about UNC-Asheville getting a tough whistle and no one would care. By not call it a foul, and blatantly getting that call wrong, then the entire legitimacy of your officiating crew can be questioned and that's not something that should occur in a game like this. UNC-Asheville may not have won today, but they deserved a fair chance to go for it and they didn't get it. Disgraceful.

Defending Champs Bounced

UConn fell to Iowa State, ending their reign as National Champions. Expectations weren't high since this Huskies team overlooks opponents and did so tonight. Iowa State made a bunch of three's and though UConn fought back, they couldn't make it a game. Now, the future of the program is anyone's guess now that they are banned for the tourney in 2013.

Rest of the action:

The Big East had the worst day among the major conferences as West Virginia limp home after getting crushed by Gonzaga. The conference did get wins by Louisville and Marquette, joining Syracuse's win. The Mountain West also looked bad today as Colorado State and UNLV both lost, while New Mexico survived a scare against Long Beach State. UNLV was particularly dreadful as they chucked three's all night and allowed Colorado from the awful Pac-12 score a win. No other upsets occurred as Kentucky and Ohio State took care of business as 1 and 2 seeds respectively. Wisconsin and Vanderbilt set up their matchup with little fuss, while Baylor and Indiana didn't allow their games to get away from them. The other close game was Kansas State's win over Southern Miss, and that was because the Wildcats only had three guys score for them. They will need more to beat Syracuse, but I do think they are up for the task.

Just a reminder, I will be back to live blog the afternoon games once again tomorrow. Hopefully, we will have some better finishes (and the trend is Friday has good games after bad ones on Thursday). Although, without Gus Johnson, I can see the basketball gods as an angry sort and will dull the tourney so we can call it March Yawness.

March Madness Live Blog

Instead of a preview, I decided to live blog the first two days of the tournament. Especially as long as we're looking for great finishes. I will update my blog whenever anything interesting goes on, especially if there's a great finish brewing. Enjoy the best weekend in sports.

12:10 PM: For the record, my Final Four is Kentucky, Missouri, FSU and UNC. No true Cinderella's unfortunately.

12:15 PM: Bill Raftery says Murray State starts in the mantaman. March Madness officially begun. This means I should grab my first beer.

12:22 PM: First commercial break, Colorado State with a good start early, up 7-3. Murray State looks out of synch offensively.

12:26 PM: Murray State down 10-8. Meanwhile, it looks like Mario Williams will be heading to Buffalo. I can't wait to see how much money Williams will get to go there. I'm thinking Haynesworth money.

12:31 PM: Also, it looks like Dwight Howard is going to waive his ETO and remain with Orlando until the end of 2013. This officially the dumbest free agent situation in sports history.

12:38 PM: Murray State has finally arrived, ahead by 3 and we hear the Racers fans for the first time. Kansas St/So Miss is about to begin.

12:54 PM: So Miss and Kansas State has become a horrible rock fight. I thought I left those behind in the Big East Tournament.

1:02 PM: Halftime in Louisville, Colorado State is up 1. Get greeted by the first Napa commercial of the tourney. At least they aren't singing the song anymore (aside from a quick 3 second clip).

1:13 PM: Souther Miss is staying close to Kansas State. In more NBA news, Gerald Wallace will go to the Nets for Mehmet Okur, Shawne Williams and a top-3 protected first rounder. Wallace adds a scorer for the Nets, while the Blazers could be ready to rebuild with multiple lottery picks. Like it more for Portland.

1:23 PM: Is that Isaish Caanan steal and jam and omen for the second half?

1:30 PM: Southern Miss is somehow only down 3 at halftime. Murray starts the second half with a 7-0 run.

1:37 PM: Pierce Hornung has a beast of a name and is a beast among men today. 13 rebounds already. Too bad it's not translating for CSU.

1:41 PM: The Lakers trade a 1st round pick for Ramon Sessions. He's the missing point guard that will put the Lakers over the top, says no one.

1:42 PM: Zay Jackson with the interception and the trey. 16-2 to start the half by the Racers. Rams are falling apart.

1:52 PM: Louisville-Davidson has tipped. Now, how does Rick Pitino use his success in NYC to bust NCAA brackets this year?

1:55 PM: Caanan hasn't played well today. And Murray State is still up 11. I'd be afraid if I'm facing them in the future.

2:02PM: Missed FT's could comeback to haunt Murray State, as Colorado State is slowly starting to find offensive rhythm. Still up 12, so it's not time to worry.

2:10PM: You know, I always enjoy it when Nets fans are spoon fed how they will get star players and take over New York and buy it; then when the time comes to make a move, the Nets get guys like Travis Outlaw and Gerald Wallace. Deron Williams will look great in a Mavs uniform next season.

2:18PM: Murray State is about to advance. Wisconsin-Montana has tipped off and the Badgers have scored 14 points in 6 minutes. Didn't think they can do it.

2:23PM: Rodney McGruder and Jordan Henriquez are carrying Kansas State. Can two guys win this game against So Miss? Will a third KSU player step up?

2:26 PM: These two trades involve guys who continue to be bongs which NBA teams pass around. Marcus Camby goes to the Rockets; Stephen Jackson goes from Golden State (days after the Warriors acquired him) to San Antonio for Richard Jefferson. I have no clue what the Warriors are thinking, but they have made some horrible deals in the last couple of years when the new ownership took over.

2:31 PM: Louisville took control late in the half, despite no Dieng. Up 8 at the break. Apparently, Jonny Flynn and Hasheem Thabeet are going to Portland for Camby. So now 2 of the first six picks in the 2009 NBA Draft have become throw-ins to make the cap work. In just three years.

2:42 PM: KSU up 62-59 with 2:25 left. First chance at a classic finish.

2:50 PM: Dodson's missed 3 means the Wildcats can wrap this up. As long as they make their FT's.

2:55 PM: K State wins by 6. Marquette with a quick start on BYU, just like Iona did. Don't think BYU will win if they go down 25 this time. Just a thought.

3:05 PM: Marquette up 18-5 now on BYU, while Louisville is up by 7. Derek Fisher has been traded to the Rockets, ending an era where PG's licked their chops when facing the Lakers. Still, will Sessions hit those backbreaking three's that Fisher can? And do so while leaving the same incredulous feeling of "how does he make this shot" that Fisher exuded.

3:14 PM: Won't you love how ESPN will treat today's NBA trade deadline like some major moves happened, when it really was just like the NHL's deadline?

3:22 PM: Louisville seem to be suffocating the life out of Davidson. They're up 12, but it feels like 22. Where Steph Curry when you need him? The Warriors ask themselves that same question.

3:40 PM: There is absolutely no close games right now. So it's time for a peak at Syracuse to see how long UNC-Asheville will last. Meanwhile, the Clippers acquired Nick Young from the Wizards in a three-way trade, which sees JaVale McGee go to Denver and Nene go to Washington.

3:43 PM: Some day in Portland; now the Blazers are firing coach Nate McMillan. Stealing all the thunder on NCAA games going on in the city. Time to build around LaMarcus Aldridge and I happen to like this decision.

3:59 PM: Louisville wins. Wisconsin's up 16 with 4:37 left. Marquette up 15 at halftime. Syracuse is the only game worth watch, trailing Asheville by 3. Too soon for upset talk, though.

4:09 PM: Asheville's guard Keith Hornsby is the son of singer Bruce Hornsby, singer of The Way It Is. That's fascinating.

4:20PM: Brandon Triche couldn't get the shot off before the clock expired. Instead of 2 and a possible foul, the Cuse will be down 4 at the half. Still too early to talk about 16 over 1 possibility. Let's wait until the 10 minute mark, or a double digit Asheville lead. Whichever comes first.

4:24 PM: I need to pay attention better. Read this tweet.

4:29PM: LBSU and New Mexico are underway. Meanwhile, BYU is once again rallying in the second half. If they win this game, I'll be afraid of BYU for the rest of the way.

4:38PM: Marquette starting to show that they won't allow BYU back in it. Starting to clamp down on defense.

4:47 PM: Darius Johnson-Odom does what Devante Gardner should have; kick out to open man for three. Marquette back up 13.

4:57 PM: Asheville won't go away yet. Harvard vs Harvard of the South is underway. I really want good things for Tommy Amaker's team, but Vanderbilt is a team I'm all-in on.

5:02 PM: UNC-Asheville up 1, J.P. Primm leads all with 14 points.

5:11 PM: Jaron Lane ties it again for Asheville. 54-54 with 6:21 left. Now we can start to picture the upset as possible.

5:20 PM: 3 for James Southerland. That has to be the dagger. Puts the Cuse up 8 with 2:24 left. UNC-Asheville gave it a good try.

5:23 PM: Syracuse fouls a 3-point shooter. Too bad it didn't fall or the lead would have been cut in half.

5:26 PM: Bulldogs don't quit, make 2 FT's, miss layup, but get the loose ball and timeout. Down 6 with 1:56 left.

5:29 PM: Great feed by Dickey to Atkinson. Asheville down 4.

5:32 PM: I can't believe they called a lane violation on Asheville. The fix is in.

5:33 PM: LANE FOR 3!!!!!!!!!! Bulldogs down 3 with a minute left. Unbelievable.

5:34 PM: This might be it. Though, Triche missed the FT after the layup. Asheville fouled with 38.2 left.

5:37 PM: I was kidding before about the fix. Now, I'm not after that missed out of bounds call. These refs today should be investigated and I'm serious.

5:42 PM: Syracuse barely, despite playing this game 8-on-5. This was a disgrace how UNC-Asheville wasn't allowed a chance to try to win.

5:53 PM: I'm trying to get more excited about New Mexico-Long Beach State, but the stink from Pittsburgh is still strong. I'll put an end to the live blog right here (especially with New Mexico opening things up). I'll be back for the night games.

The Cycle Bracketology

Today was a day that had more encouraging news for those on the bubble. Memphis beat Marshall and Long Beach St beat UC Santa Barbara to avoid bid thieves taking two spots away. Also, N.C. State lost to North Carolina and Ole Miss lost to Vanderbilt ending auto bid dreams for these two bubbles. Colorado won the Pac-12 title and it will be interesting if the selection committee treats the conference like it's a Power Six one or the way it should be treated, which is slightly better than the MAC.

For the first time, I'm going to try out creating my own rough bracket. It's going to be a little tough, since I'm also in process of moving just before the selection show, but here's it is.

1 seeds: Kentucky, Syracuse, North Carolina, Michigan State

2 seeds: Missouri, Kansas, Ohio State, Duke

3 seeds: Baylor, Louisville, Michigan, Marquette

4 seeds: Florida State, Georgetown, Wisconsin, Indiana

5 seeds: New Mexico, Murray State, Florida, UNLV

6 seeds: Cincinnati, San Diego State, Memphis, Vanderbilt

7 seeds: Creighton, Notre Dame, Wichita State, St. Mary's

8 seeds: Temple, Saint Louis, Iowa State, Gonzaga

9 seeds: UConn, Alabama, Purdue, Kansas State

10 seeds: Xavier, Harvard, Southern Miss, Long Beach State

11 seeds: Texas, BYU, Colorado State, West Virginia

12 seeds: Virginia, VCU, Seton Hall, Drexel*, N.C. State*

13 seeds: Ohio, Colorado, Davidson, California*, Iona*

14 seeds: Belmont, South Dakota State, New Mexico State, Montana

15 seeds: Detroit, Loyola, LIU, Lehigh

16 seeds: Western Kentucky*, Norfolk St*, Mississippi Valley St.*, Vermont*, Lamar, UNC-Asheville

*play-in game

(if St. Bonaventure beats Xavier in A-10 title game, they're a 13 seed and Iona is out)

(Ohio State win over Michigan State means Missouri's a number 1)

(Florida State moves to a 3 if they beat UNC)

(Vandy moves to a 5 w/win over Kentucky)

(bracket not adjusted for NCAA rules)

Conference USA Title Game

That was the result of the Big East Semifinals, as Cincinnati held off Syracuse; handing the Orange their second loss of the year, while Louisville romped Notre Dame in the other. For the Bearcats, this is their first Big East title game, while Louisville is in it's third in four years. We'll see for sure if the Cardinals will maintain their dominance of MSG tomorrow night, or if Yancy Gates, Sean Kilpatrick and Cashmere Wright lead Cincinnati to their first title.

Mixed Day In The Bubble

Today was also a chance to see if bubble teams would take advantage of opportunities or fail at them like Thursday. Xavier probably locked up a bid and eliminated Dayton in the process with their comeback win over the Flyers. N.C. State, while maybe not locked in a berth, put themselves in good shape after defeating Virginia. Meanwhile, you saw bubble teams Miami-FL, Tennessee and St. Joseph's go into shaky ground (in the case of St. Joes, they are probably out) with losses.

The bigger story was the number of high seeds losing, opening up potential bubble thieves. Temple lost to UMass, setting up a matchup with St. Bonaventure; neither of whom will make it unless they win the A-10 tourney. That makes the winner of Saint Louis-Xavier a team the bubble world will be strongly pulling for. America's favorite conference, the Pac-12, saw California go down to Colorado, which now essentially guaranteeing a second bid for either the Buffaloes or Arizona. Finally, in Conference USA, their real title game features Memphis against Marshall, a game in Memphis which the Tigers must win for all bubble teams. Will any of these teams lose? A better question; will Nevada still be in line for an at-large bid after losing today? And lastly, is Long Beach St in the tourney as of right now, win or lose tomorrow? These are questions to be answered Saturday and you will see me put together a bracket for the first time.

Rock Fights Galore

This year's Big East Tournament has devolved into a bunch of low-scoring defensive performances that are offensive to most basketball fans (but likely thrillers for Big Ten fans). While these games are exciting toward the end, they are also sloppy. This year's tourney has me wondering if any Big East teams will make it past the first weekend of the Big Dance.

UConn and Syracuse was the best of these games as each team took turns going on runs and countering them. Turns out that UConn couldn't find someone to put the ball in the basket late, while James Southerland continuously made shots late to give the Orange the W. Cincinnati and Georgetown was a little uglier as the Hoyas made one shot in the last 10 minutes of the second half, until Otto Porter hit the tying jumper to force OT. It then became a battle between Yancy Gates and Henry Sims, trading buckets in both overtimes, until Cashemere Wright hit the winning shot late in double OT and Sims missed a 3. The worst of these games was South Florida-Notre Dame who's display of basketball harkened back to the George Mikan days. But someone had to win and the Irish prevailed. South Florida is back on the bubble, but if anyone watches the Bulls play, I wouldn't let them in.

Pitino's Garden Magic

The one game which saw some scoring was Louisville-Marquette, as the Cardinals won handily 84-71. The Golden Eagles were in trouble once Jae Crowder was in foul trouble and it didn't help that Kyle Kuric and Peyton Siva played very well. Rick Pitino once again outcoached his opponent (tough to do against Buzz Williams) and has Louisville a game from their third Big East final in the last 4 years. And to think, if Louisville had any consistent perimeter shooting, they'd be a real contender to win the whole thing this year. They may have to settle for winning at MSG.

The Incredible Expanding Bubble

Great day for West Virginia and Seton Hall as bubble teams had their chances either popped or put on life support. This year's Pac-12 was horrible and Washington couldn't just rest on its laurels as regular season conference champ if they wanted to make the Dance. So what do they do; blow a six point lead with 3:22 left against Oregon St, giving the committee a test case. Do they pick the Huskies because their Pac-12 champs or treat them like they would the MAC in this situation. Other bubbles losing; Mississippi State finishes their collapse as they fall to lowly Georgia; Oregon torpedoes their chances by dropping their first round game with Colorado and Northwestern doesn't appear to be breaking their 0-fer in NCAA Tourney play, losing to Minnesota in OT. Congrats to Southern Miss, Colorado State and Texas for winning yesterday and likely playing their way in. Today, we watch if Tennessee, Miami, NC State and Arizona can keep at large chances alive, while a proverbial play-in game for Xavier and Dayton takes place tonight.

Playing The Waiting Game

For the 19th straight year, Seton Hall won't win the Big East Tournament, losing to Louisville 61-55. Now, they must wait until Sunday for their NCAA fate, but if you ask me, they're out. If they don't make it, they can just look back on their losses to Rutgers and DePaul as why they're out. If they only win one, they probably go.

Seton Hall games this season have gone one of two ways. When they hit some shots from outside, they can not just win, but dominate games (look at the games against West Virginia, UConn at home and Georgetown). And when they aren't hitting them, they have some of the most brutal offensive displays imaginable. Up until the midway point of the 2nd half, that was the game we saw, until Jordan Theodore and Herb Pope tried to rally the team back. It was a valiant effort on the seniors' part, but unfortunately, it won't be enough to impress the committee. We'll revisit this team on Sunday when the field is easier to decipher, but it doesn't look good for my alma mater.

Survive And Advance

While Seton Hall put their basketball lives on the line, South Florida avoided a crippling loss to Villanova, which would have put them right on the same level as Seton Hall, and despite beating the Pirates, the Bulls have a worse profile to stand on. Instead, they handcuffed the Wildcats like they have everyone else they've beaten in the Big East this year. Now, they get a matchup with Notre Dame which gives USF a chance to lock up a bid for the tournament if they win. A loss puts them right alongside Seton Hall and West Virginia who will be sweating it out until Sunday.

UConn Survives

Wednesday's early session of the Big East Tournament saw UConn outlast West Virginia in overtime. This win locks up a bid for UConn in the Big Dance, while the Mountaineers will have to wait until Sunday to see if their Dance-worthy. Shabazz Napier and Jeremy Lamb were huge, Lamb in the back and forth first half, then Napier making big plays on defense in the second to rally the Huskies, then the winning three by Lamb in OT which clinched it. Meanwhile, Andre Drummond shut down and shut out Kevin Jones in the second half and OT; not allowing him to get the ball. This loss ends the Big East era for West Virginia, who will be missed in my eyes.

Panthers Run Is Over

Georgetown handled the Pitt Panthers today 64-52 and that was significant because with this loss, a ten year run of Pitt making the NCAA Tourney is over. It also means that millions of people won't have their brackets blown up because of an early round Pitt loss. Georgetown moves on to face Cincinnati, which helps the Bearcats avoid a must-win game. Losing to Georgetown wouldn't hurt Cincy, should it happen.

Going to Temple

Temple officially will be in the Big East next year, replacing West Virginia. If this was a relationship, this is like being dumped because you're ugly and fat, then you lose weight (still not the most attractive, though), while the ex gets fat and wants you back. Usually, you should say no, but Temple couldn't resist. While football is barely relevant, basketball should be able to be just as good, maybe slightly better, especially with Temple-Villanova looking like a great conference rivalry.

No Popping of Bubbles

The Big East Tourney started yesterday and UConn and Seton Hall both had bubble hopes that would have been dashed with a loss. Luckily, for both, we saw the Huskies and Pirates dominate their games and avoiding a bubble losing loss. Seton Hall, in particular, added a little drama by letting Providence take an 9-0 lead to start the game, before finishing the first half outscoring the Friars 36-14. We saw a lot of Jordan Theodore and Herb Pope in this game, as Theodore set a career high with 13 assists, but also, Brandon Mobley was instrumental early to pull Seton Hall out of the early rut.

Disappointments Survive

Pittsburgh and Villanova both had awful seasons, but get to continue them after the Panthers knocked off St. John's and the Wildcats defeated Rutgers. Pitt turned their game around late in the first half, ending it on a 13-2 run and never looked back. Meanwhile, Villanova rallied in the second half, overwhelming the Scarlet Knights after Maalik Wayns dropped 28 points on them.

Wednesday's Next

The second round will begin at noon. Pittsburgh will continue their quest to steal a NCAA bid when they play Georgetown. Meanwhile, the other three games will have major bubble implications. South Florida will play Villanova and the Bulls aren't in a position to lose this game. A win, and I say USF is in, but a loss will make they sit and wait on Sunday. Seton Hall needs to beat Louisville after the losses they suffered to Rutgers and DePaul. Rick Pitino says the Pirates are in; does he know something we don't? Should I take the points tonight? Finally, the opener today will have UConn and West Virginia face off. Will the loser stay in the tournament? I think if UConn loses, they will stay because they have great computer numbers. West Virginia should also stay, but they will be more vulnerable to bubble thieves than UConn will.

Plax's Plea and the Sham of Vacating Games

A couple of news items this morning that I believe deserved my attention. First, I'll start with Plaxico Burress pleading guilty today for gun possession and will get two years of jail time as a result. Now my father and I have seen differences with Burress; he thinks he shouldn't be arrested for shooting himself since he had a registered gun, regardless if it wasn't a New York license. However, I believe he saw the Giants look awful to end last season and is willing to overlook the situation so the Giants would win. I, however, know that the law is the law and he was guilty regardless. But, the fact that Burress had the insane motion that he would avoid jail time after Mayor Bloomberg wouldn't let the gun law be a sham is ridiculously dumb. He should have agreed to the plea deal back in June, instead of stalling.

Day one, Burress and his lawyers should have been doing everything they could to mitigate a jail sentence. He should have pled guilty back in January or February and hope they get six months for quickly cooperating. And if Plax thought that delaying the trial would let him play this season, I'm sure Roger Goodell would of suspended him. Now, Burress is going away for two years and his NFL is probably over. It's a shame really; he was huge playing hurt during the N.Y. Giants Super Bowl run, especially against Green Bay in the NFC Championship abusing Al Harris all day. He signed a contract extension before the 2008 season opener and everything for him went downhill from there. The Giants moved on and hope to replace him this season and fortunately for them, Burress can't go anywhere and burn them for letting him go.

The other story I read today was the NCAA vacating all the wins from the 2007-08 Memphis Final Four season. This marks the first time a school had two Final Four's vacated by the NCAA as the 1985 Memphis Tigers also had their appearance removed. This is also the first time a coach led two teams to a Final Four and the appearance was vacated as former Tigers coach John Calipari had his 1996 Final Four appearance with UMass removed as well. There is an obvious pattern that has formed for Coach Cal as he leaves a school and all the skeletons come out. This time, it was a discrepancy on Derrick Rose's SAT exam as reports are that someone else took the test for him.

Here's where the NCAA gets it wrong, vacating wins doesn't make any impact except insulting our intelligence as college basketball fans. If you want to punish a school, give them probabtion, cut scholarships and/or ban them from postseason/TV. And for a case like Memphis, I would suspend Calipari because he was in charge when the violations occurred and even though he left for Kentuck; he is still bound by NCAA rules. That's the NCAA's problem, they don't deal with problems, they act like they never happened. That's what vacating wins and honors means, to pretend like nothing happened, even though if you put on ESPN Classic or ESPNU, you could find a Fab Five Michigan game and you will see the Kansas-Memphis title game from 2008 again as well. It's time for the NCAA to end it's archaic penalties for rules violations and instead to be more proactive to show coaches and schools they won't tolerate disobeying of their rules.

The Issue of Legalized Sports Betting

Today, all four sports leagues and the NCAA have sued to ban Delaware from legalizing sports betting. Now, Delaware is one of four states that are allowed to have sports betting, along with Nevada (obviously), Oregon, and Montana since they had sports gaming laws in the books before Congress passed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in 1992, officially banning states from starting gaming laws. Since then, Nevada has been the one state to have sportsbooks, while all other wagering have been through bookies, either traditional bookies or Internet gaming sites.


Then, Delaware's Gov. Jack Markell led the charge to legalize sports betting in his state and it was approved, despite opposition from the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB and the NCAA. Gov. Jon Corzine of New Jersey has now lobbied to have all states have betting on games, mainly since Atlantic City would be the biggest victim if Delaware is successful in doing this. The sports leagues don't want more gaming because they believe that would garner more of a microscopic view of each and every call.


To be fair, the leagues have a point, every call will be looked at more closely if more people are betting. However, I believe it's easier to control sports betting if it's legal and there will be added tax revenues because people love to gamble. So, I'm hoping that one day, I can go to a place in New York that will take sports bets as easy as it is to place horse bets at OTB, or the very least, drive to a casino in Atlantic City, Delaware, or Connecticut at an official sportsbook.