- All doubts I had about Villanova after their near scare against American have been vanquished. They handily put away UCLA, a very good, experienced team, by 20 points. They were able to get production from a handful of players, with 6 players scoring in double figures. 'Nova has excellent guard play, and are solid down in the paint (Dante Cunningham led the team in points with 18 while grabbing 10 boards). And, perhaps most importantly, they are well coached. Jay Wright is a very good, smart coach and has experienced the tournament many times.
- Purdue looks better every day. They beat a good Washington team today, and, right now, seem like they can beat a lot of very good teams. Today's win might even be considered an off day for the Boilermakers as of late. They turned the ball over 11 times and shot 39 percent from the field. Their defense was solid, however, and, after jumping out to a big lead, they were able to stay ahead of the Huskies and preserve their lead.
- Ty Lawson is a stud. With him, UNC is twice as good as they are without him, and without him, they're a really good team. After watching them beat LSU today, I'm second-guessing picking Louisville to beat them in the final. The Heels are good in every part of the game and have contributor at every position. Even if Hansbrough has an off day, you can count on guys like Lawson, Wayne Ellington, and/or Danny Green to step in and take over. Ty's toe? Not to be worried about. Even if he wasn't 100 percent today, his 80 or 90 percent is better than a lot of guys' 110 percent.
- I hate to say it, but it's really hard to pick against Duke right now. Growing up 5 minutes from the University of Maryland, where hating the Blue Devils is hereditary, it kinda hurts to admit how good the Dukies actually are. They're a tad undersized, but their amazing guard play makes up for that completely. Jon Scheyer, distorted faces and all, has been hot lately, and Gerald Henderson and Kyle Singler are consistently good. They were able to contain A.J. Abrams for the most part. Abrams, by the way, has the best shooting stroke in the nation. Its so sweet and natural, and its so easy to watch. Oh and also the ball goes in a lot when he shoots it. Now back to Duke: Its gonna be an epic game next week against Villanova, and it'll be interesting to see how the Blue Devil guards match up with 'Nova's. Both run offenses centered largely around great guard play. And, hey, if Scottie Reynolds starts picking them apart, they can always have Henderson throw an elbow .
- I'm still not convinced by Oklahoma. Yeah, yeah, yeah, Blake Griffin is incredible, I know. But, without him, Oklahoma is just a mediocre team, solid at best. They snuck past Michigan today, who is a good, but not great, team. If you're as good as Oklahoma is cracked up to be, you should be able to put away teams like the Wolverines with ease. As long as Blake Griffin is healthy and playing though, the Sooners will be just fine. I don't like their chances against Syracuse (if they get past Arizona State) next round, however. The Orange has been playing great basketball as of late, and I don't think Oklahoma could keep up with them.
- Dear espn.com, please, please, please get rid of the iPod ad at the top of the homepage. Seriously, every time I want to check basketball scores, the ad starts shaking around and moving the icons, so instead of seeing basketball, I hear about how the new iPod touch is "the funnest iPod ever."
Thats about all I've got to say. My bracket is still 89 percent right! Woohoo. I'm looking forward to Cleveland State-Arizona, Marquette-Missouri, and, of course, my Wisconsin Badgers beating Xavier (I hope) tomorrow.
P.S.: This is why its called March Madness.
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