Ugh, it sure was a depressing basketball day for me: first Wisconsin blows it in the second half, and now my bracket has died after appearing to be filled with life this morning. But nevertheless, there were a bunch of good games today to finish the second round of the NCAA tournament. Here's some things I noticed:
- Wisconsin shoulda, coulda, woulda won that game, but, alas, they couldn't put it away in the second half. After their great second half comeback against Florida State on Friday, I considered the game to be locked up after the Badgers went on a mini-run to open up the second half. Until about 15 minutes left in the half, Wisconsin was picking apart Xavier. Trevon Hughes was slashing to the basket with ease and Marcus Landry was putting away shots in the paint. And then... well, honestly, I don't know what happened. The Badgers just fell apart. It was sad to see Joe Krabbenhoft, a hustling senior who would rather pass than score (and actually did a little too much), set great picks, and grabbed every board, at the verge of tears, hitting himself in the head after fouling out late in the second half. I don't think the Musketeers will be able to hang with Pitt in the Sweet 16, but I do think Wisconsin could have. Oh well. There's always next year. We may lose Krabbenhoft and Landry, but we get Hughes and sharpshooter Jason Bohannon as seniors, Jon Leuer and Keaton Nankivil as juniors, and promising guard Jordan Taylor with another year of experience.
- I was optimistic this morning when I heard injured guard Dominic James was returning for Marquette. I was pumped to see pre-James-injury Marquette, a good, fun team to watch, who i thought would make a run to the Final Four before James went down. It sure was disappointing to see them lose. Jerel McNeal and Wes Matthews gave it their all in their final game, and produced with a combined 54 points. Two seniors who probably could have left and been drafted by NBA teams after their senior years, they just couldn't pull off the victory. Had James never gone down and Marquette had momentum instead of being on a losing streak leading into the tournament, who knows what the Golden Eagles would have done. James, McNeal, and Matthews had great careers, and I liked that they all stayed four years, hoping for a championship, instead of leaving Milwaukee for a big payday in the NBA. See you guys in the big leagues next year.
- I wish I could change my Final Four after watching these first two rounds. Kansas looks unstoppable. Cole Aldrich had a triple-double today (10 points, 20 rebounds, 10 blocks, one of the strangest triple-doubles I've seen at any level). A triple-double? In college? That's ridiculous! The big guy is the real deal. Few players can shoot in the paint without the ball getting swatted by Aldrich. Sherron Collins picked apart Dayton today, and Tyshawn Taylor is a good compliment to him. The Jayhawks didn't have much offense besides Aldrich and Collins, who scored 38 of the teams 60 points, but played suffocating defense, holding the Flyers to 43 points on 22 percent shooting. It will be a great game against Michigan State in the Sweet 16.
- Midnight struck awfully early for Cinderella this year. Cleveland State was put away handily by Arizona today. Although the 2009 tournament is still fun to watch, it doesn't compare to 2008. There's no Davidson, no region where every higher seed was upset, and only a few upsets, with only one seed lower than 5 (Arizona) advancing to the Sweet 16. The Vikings didn't face teams like Arizona in the Horizon League. They had no way of stopping studs like Nic Wise and Chase Budinger. Whether it was the Vikes or the Cats, Louisville will win next round regardless.
- Pitt gave me a scare, but, by putting away Oklahoma State, I was assured they are just fine. Oklahoma State is, without a doubt, a good team, and Pitt had some trouble handling them coming out of the gate. Even though Levance Fields and DeJuan Blair didn't have great games, Sam Young was able to take over with 32 points. Pitt should beat Xavier next round.
Thats about all I have to say. My bracket is still about 89% correct, but its dying a slow death. You better start looking out now for those 2009-10 Wisconsin Badgers. This was just an off year.
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