Numbers to Know: National title game

In a season of upsets and Cinderella stories, we are down to the final game of the season for the national title, pitting a team ranked second (Louisville) and a team ranked fifth (Michigan) in the AP preseason poll.

The last time we had a national championship game between two teams ranked in the top 5 of the AP preseason poll was 2008, when Kansas beat Memphis in overtime. Let’s hope Monday night’s contest between the Cardinals and Wolverines is just as exciting as that game five years ago.

It’s been a while

Both Michigan and Louisville are among the elite college basketball programs of the past several decades, but it’s been a while since either has hoisted the national championship trophy.

Louisville is appearing in its first title game since 1986, when Pervis Ellison led the Cardinals to the championship.

Michigan is in the final game for the first time since the Fab Five made back-to-back appearances in 1992-93 (which were later vacated), and is looking for its first title since 1989.

Strength vs. strength 

This is a classic strength vs. strength matchup between the nation’s top-ranked teams in adjusted offensive efficiency (Michigan) and adjusted defensive efficiency (Louisville), per Kenpom.com.

Louisville’s defense is built on a swarming press that forces turnovers on 27 percent of its opponents' possessions, the second-highest rate in the nation. However, its defensive turnover rate has been below 20 percent in each of its past three games of the tournament.

Michigan ranks first in Division I in offensive turnover percentage (14.5%) and has shown the ability to handle a pressure defense. The Wolverines had a turnover rate of 18 percent against VCU, which leads the country in defensive turnover percentage at 28 percent.

What’s at stake 

Michigan is trying to be the second No. 4 seed to win the national title. The other was Arizona in 1997, which defeated a top-seeded Kentucky team coached by Rick Pitino. 

The Wolverines are also trying to improve on their 1-4 record in national championship games, which is tied for the worst among all schools that have played at least three games.

Louisville is seeking to be the third No. 1 overall seed to win the title since the NCAA began the designation in 2004, joining Florida in 2007 and Kentucky last year. The Cardinals would also be the eighth school to win at least three national championships.

Rick Pitino is the fourth head coach to take multiple teams to the national championship game, along with Larry Brown, Frank McGuire and Roy Williams (John Calipari’s title game appearance with Memphis was vacated).

If Louisville wins, Pitino would be the first men’s coach in NCAA Division I history to win a national title with two different schools.

Source: ESPN

Expansion: What we know (and don't know)

Today brought some fantastic news: Contrary to popular belief, the NCAA tournament isn't expanding to 96 teams. I know, right? Deep breaths. Sigh of relief. All that and more. Considering the widespread consensus that the NCAA's decision to opt out of its current contract with CBS and pursue a richer deal was pursuant on its new network having more NCAA tournament games to show, this news wasn't just pleasant. It was also surprising. In this case, who doesn't love a good surprise?

Based on the NCAA's news release and its subsequent teleconference with the media Thursday afternoon, we now know more about the new-look NCAA tournament than we did even 24 hours ago: How many teams it will have, where the games will be shown, and what direction the broadcasts will take in the future. There is also much we don't know, including just how impermanent the NCAA's 68-team decision will be. So let's recap: Below is a list of things we know and don't know about NCAA tournament expansion, a one-stop primer for today's big news. Onward.

What we know

How many teams will the NCAA tournament have in 2011? This is easy: 68. Or, to be fair, the NCAA tournament will almost certainly have 68 teams in 2011. Right now, that number comes from one thing: The NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee's unanimous recommendation to the NCAA board of directors that the tournament expand to 68 teams. The board of directors still has to approve that measure at its meeting on April 29.

That approval is a formality at this point. The board of directors will almost certainly approve that recommendation. It would be a major plot twist if the board rejected it. The 68-team number is non-binding -- and in their new broadcast rights contract, the NCAA holds full discretion over whether the tournament would expand -- but for now, it appears 68 is our number. That barely qualifies as expansion, so those worried that a 96-team tournament would be on our doorstep soon can rest easy. For now.

Where will we be watching? CBS, TNT, TBS, and TruTV. Of course, the main reason the NCAA investigated expansion in the first place is to drive up the price of its new rights contract. The bidders came down to ESPN and a joint CBS-Turner group, which won out in the end.

How does this network split work? It's not quite as cut-and-dry as, say, ESPN and CBS' joint ownership of the rights to the Masters, but it's close. The first and second rounds of the tournament will be split between the four networks. CBS and Turner will split the Sweet 16.

Here's where it gets a little tricky: Through 2015, the Elite Eight and Final Four will be the sole province of CBS. Beginning in 2016, the Elite Eight and Final Four will be split between Turner and CBS. The two networks will trade years for the national title game -- CBS will have it one year, TBS the next. This deal lasts until 2024. Plan your viewing accordingly.

How much money is the NCAA making? Quite a bit: $10.8 billion over 14 years. That's about $776 million a year, or on average around $200 million per annum more than the NCAA was making in its old deal, an 11-year contract for $6 billion with CBS. Some questioned whether a new deal would net more than the NCAA stood to gain from the last three years of its current deal with CBS -- the last three years of its contract were three of the richest -- given the current economic climate and declining tournament ratings over the last decade. That squeamishness proved a little conservative. The NCAA ended up eclipsing that number, and easily so.

What we don't know

How many teams will the NCAA tournament have in, say, 2016? Ah, the $11 billion question. NCAA interim president Jim Isch and senior vice president for basketball and business strategies Greg Shaheen refused to say whether the NCAA tournament would stick with this 68-team format in the years after 2011. When asked, Isch would merely say the 68-team recommendation was "for now." The NCAA has sole control over whether the tournament will expand in the future or not.

This raises the possibility that the NCAA tournament will be expanding again at some point. Cynics might even say the NCAA is softening its expansion blow in the face of widespread criticism, and they could have a point. By 2016 (the year itself isn't important, but just for argument's sake), the NCAA could have decided that a 96-team tournament is in the best interest of its member institutions and student-athletes, passing a similar recommendation and blowing the tournament out into the unwieldy mess you see here. It's possible.

But perhaps the most important part of today's news is that the NCAA managed to score a very rich deal without immediately expanding the tournament to 96 teams, and according to the heads of CBS and Turner, that deal isn't contingent on having 96 teams -- in 2011 or afterward. Clearly, 96 teams isn't a deal-breaker. If this format works well, and the NCAA has no financial incentive to expand, will it still expand? That seems possible too, but it also seems unlikely. Messing with a good thing makes sense when there are billions of dollars at stake. It makes zero sense when there aren't.

How does 68 teams work? This is one detail the NCAA will finalize after the 68-team recommendation is finalized, so we won't know for at least a few weeks. The simplest method would see the NCAA create four more play-in games, similar to the current play-in game, involving non-BCS schools playing for a chance to square off against the No. 1 seed in each region. Simple doesn't always mean ideal, though, and it would figure that the NCAA and its partners at CBS and Turner would prefer that the pool of expanded teams include big schools like Illinois, one of this year's last four out. One possibility is that the eight final at-large inclusions play four play-in games for the four No. 12 seeds. It's a bit of a non-traditional change, but compared to a 96-team tournament, it's decidedly small potatoes.

Credits: Eamonn Brennan, ESPN

UConn Women - 2010 NCAA National Champions

Congratulations to the women's basketball team from the University of Connecticuit who capped its second straight unbeaten season by outlasting Stanford and going on to win the 2010 NCAA Womens National Championship.

Despite the loss, Kentucky is back

Kentucky basketball seemed to be back to its royal status as soon as John Calipari was hired a year ago.

The rock star stature of its coach within the Commonwealth and the Wildcat diaspora spread throughout the world believed that the program had returned to its rightful place among the elite as soon as the NBA-ready players arrived, too.

The loss to West Virginia in the Elite Eight Saturday night at the Carrier Dome prevented a coronation. But it shouldn’t be a sign that there is any sort of regression. Kentucky is back, and as long as Calipari is on board there won’t be a significant slide, even with the likely early departures for the NBA for three, possibly four, of the key contributors – freshmen John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins and Eric Bledsoe and junior Patrick Patterson.

“My teammates and myself are proud of what we accomplished this year,’’ Patterson said in a glum locker room following a 73-66 loss by No. 1 seed Kentucky to No. 2 seed West Virginia in the East Regional final. “We’re not satisfied (with losing in the Elite Eight). We know this is a stepping stone to getting Kentucky back to being a national powerhouse like it was in the years before. Hopefully the teams ahead of us can do it.’’

No one can deny what Calipari did this season in assembling the greatest late signing period class in modern times. Calipari checked egos at the door with this crew, managed minutes, coached a team that could win an uptempo game or in the halfcourt. By the end of the season, they played defense with purpose and passion and won close road games in hostile SEC environments.

You can’t deny the energy that was in Rupp Arena this season. It was palpable. From Midnight Madness in October to the opening tip against Morehead State in November to the regular-season finale against Florida in March.

“We did a lot of successful things this year but we didn’t get the main goal and that was winning a national championship,’’ Cousins said. “I’ve never had this much fun in my life. I wish it would have ended up on a good note for the returning players like Perry (Stevenson), Ramon (Harris) and Patrick who had been through hell the past two seasons. I wish we could have ended it on a good note.’’

The Billy Gillispie era the previous two seasons wasn’t good to watch or enjoyable for the players. Patterson spoke openly about the difference during Friday’s off-day media session. There was chaos throughout last season’s NIT bid. Practices were laborious, not intensely fun. Calipari brought joy back for the returning players while meshing in the celebrated newcomers.

Wall’s beautiful game -- from beating Miami (Ohio), to taking down Connecticut in New York, to his play throughout the SEC -- was something to behold at times. To watch the maturation of Cousins from a hot-tempered man-child to a much more refined post presence was a credit to Calipari and the staff. Cousins was overwhelmingly appreciative of how much Calipari helped him mature and evolve as a player. Wall and Patterson spoke Friday about how Cousins popped off early in the season when pushed and prodded, and how he figured out how to stay on the floor and ignore the temptation to return to aggression.

The fast-breaks, the turnovers, the overall enthusiasm for Kentucky basketball weren’t just good for the Commonwealth this season, but for the sport. College basketball needs Kentucky to be great, just like it needs Kansas, Duke, North Carolina, Louisville, UCLA and Syracuse to matter. It’s tremendous for basketball when new powers, like Butler, are formed. Or when old ones, like West Virginia and Kansas State, are tapped. Or a newly consistent presence, like Michigan State, emerges. But Kentucky has to be relevant for the overall health of the sport. The lightning rod of the sport is still better off when it’s up than being pounded down.

“Everybody put egos aside for this team to make it this far,’’ Bledsoe said. “I’ll look back at this as a special year.’’

Even if Kentucky takes a major hit from the draft, you can guarantee Calipari will reload quickly with some of the top players in 2010 and beyond. “I’m proud of my team, they fought and they just kept trying,’’ Calipari said.

“I’m proud of what they’ve done all season, a bunch of young kids that just came together.’’

The Wildcats couldn’t solve West Virginia’s 1-3-1 zone. They gave up 10 3s and made only 4 of 32 themselves. They didn’t play with the same defensive lock-down mentality that they had against Cornell in the Sweet 16 or even close to what they had against Wake Forest in round two. West Virginia was the better team Saturday night.

Bottom line: Kentucky failed to reach its expectations for this particular group, and they likely won’t be together next season. The window was open for a national title, or at the least the first trip to the Final Four since 1998. But as long as Calipari stays in Lexington, there will be an annual run toward the title. That’s what is expected in Chapel Hill and Durham and always has been the norm in Lexington. Now it should be a reality.

Credits: Andy Katz, ESPN

Noteworthy Games - Edition: 3.25.10

OK. Deep breaths.

The first night of the Sweet 16 is officially in the books, and it was officially awesome. Four games, one upset, one truly dominating performance by the tournament's new prohibitive favorite, and this year's best postseason game -- a Gus Johnson-narrated double-overtime thriller you can expect to see replayed more than once in the coming years. Let's see: Yep. That pretty much sums it up.

Alongside West Virginia's easy, ugly win over Washington, Butler's unlikely victory over heavily favored No. 1-seed Syracuse led the night off. That was a pretty fantastic start. But if you thought that was as good as the night was going to get -- this was not an unreasonable stance -- you were wrong. That's when Xavier-Kansas State happened.

Where to start? At the beginning, I suppose: Kansas State rushed out to an early lead, and for the first 12 minutes it looked like the Wildcats would handle X easily. But the Musketeers, led by Jordan Crawford, came storming back, drawing the game even at the half. Things didn't separate much after that, leading to a final sequence that would baffle even the most hardened of college basketball watchers. Up by three with a few seconds left, Kansas State tried to foul Xavier point guard Terrell Holloway. By the time the referees called the foul, Holloway was in the act of shooting, giving him -- yes, this was as unbelievable as it sounds -- three free throws to tie the game and send it into overtime. He made all three.

In overtime things got even crazier. Down three with 10 seconds left, Crawford made an absolutely nuts 35-foot 3-pointer to tie the game. Denis Clemente's speed drove him to a great look at the buzzer, which missed, sending the game to another overtime -- the first 2OT game in the Sweet 16 since 1997. XU guard Dante Jackson had a chance to tie the game late before Kansas State finally pulled away thanks to two clutch Jacob Pullen 3s and a couple of key defensive stops. Just like that, the best game of the tournament was over.

The statistical wreckage: 83 possessions each. Offensive efficiency ratings of 119.1 and 118 for Xavier and K-State, respectively. Thirty-two points for Crawford; 26 for Holloway. Twenty-eight points for Pullen; 25 for Clemente; 21 for Curtis Kelly, whose low-post efficiency kept the Wildcats alive in the first overtime. All together, one very special win for Frank Martin and his team, who will advance to face the aforementioned Butler Bulldogs on Saturday night.
Then there was Kentucky-Cornell, which was, despite the gulf in final score, entertaining in its own way. The Big Red, buoyed by a rowdy crowd just 50 or so miles down the road from their home in Ithaca, N.Y., opened up a 10-2 lead in the first five minutes against the heavily favored Wildcats. For just a few minutes, it looked like Cornell could do to Kentucky what it did to Wisconsin and Temple before them.

Then reality set in. The reality was that Kentucky was ready for Cornell, ready for the Big Red's perimeter-reliant offensive attack. UK hedged every screen high, overplayed on every shooter, and was so much more athletic than Cornell that it could recover and prevent interior shots and drives even after playing the Big Red out to 30 feet. In 20 minutes of first-half basketball, Cornell scored 16 points, the victims of a 30-6 Kentucky run to close the half. Cornell finished with 45 points, the third-lowest total in the Sweet 16 since expansion in 1985. It was one of the best and most complete defensive performances you'll ever see, and it wasn't just thanks to athleticism and talent. The Cats were prepared. They executed a gameplan. They were much more than an amalgamation of talent. They were a team.

Tonight's late results mean a few things going forward. First among them: No. 1 Kentucky will play No. 2 West Virginia in the Carrier Dome Saturday night. Kentucky will have to finish much better against West Virginia, and it won't be able to get away with shooting 16-of-26 from the stripe. Likewise, WVU will have to clean up its turnovers. The Mountaineers are the first team since 1970 to win a game in the round of 16 or later despite committing at least 20 turnovers and shooting 40 percent or less from the field. It was a testament to Washington's own sloppy play that West Virginia wasn't challenged more Thursday night. That won't happen Saturday.

Of course, there's also the Kansas State-Butler matchup, which will be as great a contrast in styles as we've seen in the tournament so far. Butler prefers to slog it out; Kansas State loves to get up and down. It'll be a good one.

While we're here, a quick lament: Tonight's loss means we have to bid a fond tournament farewell to Crawford, who -- had his team won -- might have locked up tournament MVP honors after just three games. Crawford scored 28, 27, and 32 points, making big shot after big shot and beautiful play after beautiful play. What's more, Crawford's style is as freewheeling and fun to watch as any player's in the country. You never know what you're going to get -- a pretty pass, an icy old-school finger roll, or an double-onions-order 30-foot 3 to tie the game in overtime. Losing Crawford is a major blow for the sublime enjoyment of this tournament. It's a shame.

The good news? We get to keep Pullen. And Gordon Hayward. And John Wall. And Da'Sean Butler. And we have another night to do it all over again Friday.

Who needs deep breaths? Not me.

I don't know about you, but I'm ready for another lap.

Credits: Eamonn Brennan, ESPN

Clinging to an Ivy climber

Need any more motivation to root the Cats on tonight in their NCAA Sweet Sixteen game versus Cornell? Read what this Boston Globe sports columnist had to say about the Kentucky program, its players, Coach Calipari, Coach Rupp, and Ashley Judd.

"You can have Kentucky. You can take Ashley Judd, Adolph Rupp, Sam Bowie, Pat Riley, Coach Cal, Refuse to Lose, the one-and-done freshmen bound for the NBA, and all the bags of cash needed to make the Wildcats run.

I’ll take Cornell and the Ivy League, which has long been a joke in college basketball.

Cornell plays Kentucky at Syracuse tomorrow night, presenting Basketball America with the ultimate clash of hoop cultures.

It’s a 12 seed against a top seed, but that’s only the beginning. It’s a team from a league that is routinely mocked against a team that represents college basketball royalty. It’s a team with a bunch of seniors getting ready to enter a tough job market against a team with a bunch of freshmen bound for the NBA lottery.

Northern Iowa and Saint Mary’s are legitimate Cinderella stories of March Madness 2010, but nothing beats the Big Red theme.

Ivy League vs. SEC? It’s the sweetest of the Sweet Sixteen.

Bill Bradley (Princeton) is the most famous basketball player in Ivy League history. In between his Rhodes Scholarship days at Oxford and a lengthy stint in the United States Senate, Bradley won two NBA championships with the Knicks.

Celtics assistant coach Armond Hill, Brian Taylor, and 1970 Co-Rookie of the Year Geoff Petrie are other Princeton guys who excelled in the NBA. Penn gave the league Corky Calhoun, Phil Hankinson, and Bob Bigelow. Columbia contributed Jim McMillian and Dave Newmark. Rudy LaRusso was a star at Dartmouth. Accordion-playing guard Tony Lavelli, a Yalie, was the Celtics’ first round pick in 1949.

A lot of Ivy League ballers went on to fame in other fields. Red Sox CEO Larry Lucchino was a sub on the Princeton team with Bradley. Columbia had a nifty guard named Chet Forte who became a big cheese in sports television. Dave Gavitt, the man who invented the Big East and later ran the Celtics, played with LaRusso at Dartmouth. Northeastern athletic director Peter Roby played at Dartmouth, as did Mass. Bay coach Billy Raynor. CBS’s James Brown was a captain at Harvard, as was Arne Duncan, President Obama’s Secretary of Education. Providence Journal sportswriter/author Billy Reynolds shot the lights out for Brown.

Some of those guys are no longer with us, but trust me when I tell you that the rest will be rooting for Cornell to upset the Wildcats tomorrow night.

It’s not too much of a stretch to think the Big Red will be able to give Kentucky a game. Cornell is 29-4 this season, 88-32 in the last four years, including 38-4 in the Ivy League.

Cornell is the first Ivy team to reach the Sweet Sixteen in 31 years (in 1979, Penn lost to Magic Johnson’s Michigan State team). After going 17 years without a win against a nationally ranked team, and 4-63 lifetime against top 25 teams, the Big Red last weekend beat a pair of nationally ranked teams by scores of 78-65 (Temple) and 87-69 (Wisconsin). Coach Steve Donahue got his guys ready during the regular season by scheduling games at Syracuse (88-73 loss) and Kansas (71-66 loss).

Donahue is a onetime high school junior varsity coach who has five kids. Kentucky is coached by the one and only John Calipari, a man with more vacancies than the Bates Motel. You can see Coach Cal on those DirecTV commercials, but you’ve never seen him in old Final Four footage because, technically speaking, he’s never been there. Cal’s magic rides with UMass (1996) and Memphis (2008) were both erased by the NCAA.

The contrasts could not be more striking. Cornell spends less than $1 million on basketball and gets it done without athletic scholarships. Kentucky’s men’s basketball budget is $8.6 million — and that’s only counting sanctioned money. The rest is invisible and inestimable. Wonder what they’ll get Cal on this time.

Kentucky has won seven national championships, appeared in 51 NCAA Tournaments, and won 102 March Madness games. The Big Red have made the tourney five times and the only two wins were recorded last weekend.

The Wildcats have guard John Wall, who might be the best player in the country. They also have DeMarcus Cousins (6 feet 11 inches, 270 pounds), who sometimes looks like a young Wilt Chamberlain. Cornell seniors Louis Dale and Ryan Wittman (son of Randy Wittman) are high-profile scorers, and the Big Red have a couple of mastodons in 7-foot Jeff Foote and Alex Tyler (6-7, 235).

The Big Red also have 6-9 sub Mark Coury, who transferred to the Ivy League after starting 29 games for Kentucky as a sophomore. Had he stayed in Lexington, odds are Calipari would have run him out of the program.

Coury is a 4.0 student, which makes him a nice fit alongside freshman Eitan Chemerinski, who has been known to solve a Rubik’s Cube in under three minutes.

The Big Red have history on their side. In December of 1966, in the only basketball meeting of these schools, Cornell went to Kentucky and defeated Rupp’s Wildcats (NCAA runners-up in the spring of ’66) by a score of 92-77. Some folks in Lexington still haven’t recovered from that one.

Here’s hoping Calipari and his guys take the apple in this one. Then we can tell them that Dr. Henry Heimlich is a Cornell man."

Credits: This article was written by Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe.

A little NCAA Tourney humor

Top Dogs, Underdogs Fill NCAA's 'Sweet 16'

Old dynasties and new faces are still alive in the NCAA men's basketball tournament after an opening two rounds full of upsets, overtime, buzzer-beaters and nail-biters.

When play begins Thursday and Friday in the round of 16, three No. 1 seeds will still be alive ... but so will a No. 10, a No. 11 and a No. 12.

Sunday's action included another win by Cornell, a No. 12 seed that has handled two higher-ranked teams so easily you'd be hard-pressed to call the wins over Temple and Wisconsin upsets.

In other Sunday outcomes that defied the oddsmakers, No. 6 seed Xavier knocked off No. 3 seed Pitt and No. 5 seed Michigan State topped No. 4 seed Maryland.

There were predictable results, too: No. 1 seed Syracuse dismantled No. 9 seed Gonzaga, No. 2 seed Ohio State held off No. 10 seed Georgia Tech and No. 3 seed West Virginia got past No. 10 seed Missouri.

And in an overtime thriller, No. 4 seed Purdue — playing without injured star Robbie Hummell — managed to edge No. 5 seed Texas A&M, 63-61, to lock down the last spot in the Sweet 16.

Bite Of The Underdog

But throughout the first two rounds of the tournament, the bite of the underdog was felt. No. 9 seed Northern Iowa stunned overall No. 1 seed Kansas Saturday, 69-67.

And besides Northern Iowa, the Sweet 16 lineup includes No. 10 seed Saint Mary's (victorious over Richmond and Villanova) and No. 11 seed Washington (a winner over Marquette and New Mexico).

Then there's Butler. The Bulldogs aren't an out-and-out surprise — this is the third time in eight years that they've reached the Sweet 16, and they're a No. 5 seed — but they are representative of the recent rise of "mid-major" teams from smaller schools that have bedeviled the power conferences in recent NCAA tournaments.

And the tournament's topsy-turvy first round included eight wins by lightly regarded "double digit" seeds — No. 10 or higher.

Sweet 16 Matchups

So the pairings are set for the next round of play.

In the East bracket, powerful Kentucky will be the next opponent up for confident Cornell, while Washington gets a shot at West Virginia.

In the South, Duke will contend with Purdue, while Baylor squares off with Saint Mary's.

In the Midwest, Ohio State plays No. 6 seed Tennessee as Northern Iowa tries to stay on its roll against Michigan State.

And in the West, Xavier gets No. 2 seed Kansas State while Syracuse faces Butler.

If you're counting by conference, that's three from the Big Ten (Ohio State, Michigan State, Purdue); two from the Big East (Syracuse, West Virginia), Big 12 (Kansas State, Baylor) and SEC (Kentucky, Tennessee); one from the ACC (Duke) and Pac-10 (Washington); four of those pesky mid-majors (Northern Iowa/Missouri Valley Conference; Butler/Horizon League; Xavier/Atlantic Ten; Saint Mary's/West Coast Conference) and one from the Ivy League (Cornell).

Credit: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124986888&ft=1&f=1001

NCAA Tourney Sweet 16 Fun Facts

Sweet 16 seeds:

There are three No. 1 seeds (Kentucky, Syracuse and Duke)
There are three No. 2 seeds (West Virginia, Ohio State and Kansas State)
There is one No. 3 seed (Baylor)
There is one No. 4 seed (Purdue)
There are two No. 5 seeds (Michigan State and Butler)
There are two No. 6 seeds (Xavier and Tennessee)
There is one No. 9 seed (Northern Iowa)
There is one No. 10 seed (Saint Mary’s)
There is one No. 11 seed (Washington)
There is one No. 12 seed (Cornell)

RPIs of the Sweet 16 teams:

2-Kentucky
3-Duke
4-West Virginia
5-Syracuse
6-Kansas St
9-Baylor
12-Butler
14-Tennessee
16-Purdue
17-Northern Iowa
19-Xavier
22-Ohio State
28-Michigan State
35-Saint Mary’s
41-Washington
46-Cornell

Conference records (conferences with two or more wins):

Big 10 is 7-2
Big 12 is 7-5
Big East is 6-6
ACC is 5-5
SEC is 4-2
Pac-10 is 3-1
West Coast Conference is 3-1

Won-loss records of the seeds:

No. 1 seeds are 7-1
No. 2 seeds are 7-1
No. 3 seeds are 4-3
No. 4 seeds are 4-3
No. 5 seeds are 5-2
No. 6 seeds are 4-2
No. 7 seeds are 1-4
No. 8 seeds are 2-4
No. 9 seeds are 3-3
No. 10 seeds are 4-3
No. 11 seeds are 3-3
No. 12 seeds are 2-3
No. 13 seeds are 1-4
No. 14 seeds are 1-4
No. 15 seeds are 0-4
No. 16 seeds are 0-4


Four teams that have the toughest road thus far:

Washington beat a No. 6 seed (Marquette) and a No. 3 seed (New Mexico)
Cornell beat a No. 5 seed (Temple) and a No. 4 seed (Wisconsin)
Northern Iowa beat a No. 8 seed (UNLV) and a No. 1 seed (Kansas)
Saint Mary’s beat a No. 7 seed (Richmond) and a No. 2 seed (Villanova)

A win of epic proportions

As I sit here, drinking my lemon flavored Hawaiian Punch, all I can think is: "Did that really happen."

The answer. Yes it did.

This year's NCAA tournament has been defined by its upsets. Eight double-digit seeds moved through the bracket in the first round. Then, #10 seed Saint Mary's beat Villanova(#2) and #11 Washington shoved aside New Mexico(#3) to advance to the Sweet 16 .

Usually, if I am going to post a recap of the previous days hoops action, I will do it all in one post. Today though, I will do that post and this one. This post will be dedicated to the second round game where the #1 overall seed Kansas Jayhawks loss to the #9 seed in the Midwest, the Panthers from Northern Iowa.

To say that the Panthers win was a shocker or a bracketbuster simply does not do it justice. This win was one that will go down in the record books.

In the stinging end, KU fans are left to recriminate over a night of poor shooting (just 6-of-23 from 3-point range, with Sherron Collins and Tyshawn Taylor combining to go 0-for-11). And a night of sloppy ball handling (15 turnovers).

Winning the tempo tug-of-war, ninth-seeded Northern Iowa (30-4) grounded the high-flying Jayhawks with in-their-jersey defense, then withstood a furious rally to become the first team to beat a No. 1 seed in the second round since UAB and Alabama did it to Kentucky and Stanford in 2004.

Ali Farokhmanesh, Northern Iowa's first-round hero, had the biggest play of all.

With Kansas charging and its fans roaring, the fearless son of an Iranian Olympic volleyball player caught the ball on the wing after the Panthers had broken Kansas' press. The shot clock still in the 30s, he hesitated for just an instant, then cast his bracket-busting shot with 34 seconds left on the game clock.

Trailing 66-62, Kansas had one last chance, but Tyrel Reed was called for an offensive foul and Farokhmanesh sealed it with two free throws with 5 seconds left, sending the Panthers to the round of 16 for the first time.

Fast Facts:

Kansas is the first No.1 seed to lose before the Sweet 16 since Kentucky and Stanford both accomplished the feat in 2004.

Only once has the No. 1 overall seed won the national title and that was Florida in 2007.

It's the 13th time a No. 1 seed of any kind has lost in the second round, and third time it has happened to the Jayhawks.

Northern Iowa is the first Missouri Valley tournament champion to reach the Sweet 16 since Indiana State in 1979. The Sycamores, led by Larry Bird, eventually went on to play in the national championship game against Michigan State.

The Panthers also became the first MVC team since 1962 to defeat a
top-ranked opponent (Kansas finished the season ranked No. 1 in both polls).

-- ESPN Stats & Information

Next up is the Michigan State-Maryland winner in St. Louis -- and another chance at history.

NCAA Tourney: First Round Highlights

Noteworthy Games - Edition: 3.14.10

There were four games yesterday. All four were conference championships. In one game a team was playing not only for a conference championship but for its only chance to get into the NCAA tourney, an automatic bid. Another game featured a team that had beaten three teams, one of them unranked, and the #11 and #5 ranked teams in the nation to reach it's conference championship. By the way, did I mention the team doing so was unranked? Next up, you have a team that is always on the national radar. Finally, a team that has been a NCAA tourney bracketbuster on numerous occasions.

I know that I have had a bit of a love affair for Minnesota lately. I also realize that the last two days, I have started off talking about them. So...why should today be any different? The Golden Gophers took on Big 10 powerhouse Ohio State yesterday and got their asses handed to them in the championship game. Final score, 90-61.

In all fairness though, this was their fourth game in as many days and they had overcome some huge obstacles to make it into the championship game. Those obstacles being the #11th (Michigan State), and #5th (Purdue) ranked teams in the nation. Did I mention that they did all of this as unranked team? Coach Tubby Smith and company, to you I tip my hat. You have nothing to be ashamed of!

Next up we have the nail-biting, barn-burner that featured the University of Kentucky and Mississippi in the Southeastern Conference final. Words really could not do this game justice, and so here are the highlights from ESPN.com.

John Wall scored 7 of his 17 points in overtime as the Wildcats won their 26th SEC tournament title and first since 2004. UK is now 8-0 in games decided by five points or less and/or OT.

Eric Bledsoe led the Wildcats with 18 points and has scored in double figures in four straight games.

DeMarcus Cousins, whose tip-in at the buzzer in regulation sent the game to overtime, finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds for his 20th double-double of the season.

In short, Kentucky(#2) rallied from five down with 2:28 left in regulation to beat Mississippi State. Final Score: 75-74

Temple beat Richmond to win its 3rd straight Atlantic 10 title. Final Score: 56-52

In a ACC tournament filled with upsets, it took a gritty effort from Duke to hold off a determined comeback from the (tournament) seventh-seeded Yellow Jackets from Georgia Tech, who were trying to become the first team in tournament history to win four games in four days. In the end though, there was just to much Duke. Final Score: 65-61

And the winner is.....(Part 2)

As of noon yesterday, four conferences had yet to crown a conference champion. The following teams won their conference championships yesterday and punched the final four tickets for automatic berths into the NCAA tourney yesterday.

ACC - Duke

Atlantic 10 - Temple

Big Ten - Ohio State

SEC - University of Kentucky

And the winner is...

Twelve more teams punched their tickets and earned a berth into the NCAA Tournament yesterday by winning their conference championships.

American East - Vermont

Big 12 - Kansas

Big East - West Virginia

Big West - UC Santa Barbara

Conference USA - Houston

Mid-American - Ohio

MEAC - Morgan State

Mountain West - San Diego State

PAC-10 - Washington

Southland - Sam Houston State

SWAC - Arkansas-Pine Bluff

WAC - New Mexice State

There are several conference championships that will be played out today. Those teams will earn automatic bids to the NCAA tourney.

ACC - Duke vs. Georgia Tech

Atlantic 10 - Temple vs. Richmond

Big Ten - Ohio State vs. Minnesota

SEC - UK vs. Mississippi State

Best of luck to all these teams. I will be cheering on two in particular. Good luck to Tubby Smith and the Minnesota Golden Gophers. They have made an improbable run in the Big Ten Conference and win or lose today, I think they have certainly made a case for a bid in the NCAA Tourney.

Finally, best of luck to UK in the SEC Championship game today. They play a very feisty team in Mississippi State whose NCAA Tourney hopes rest on whether or not they can pull out a win today vs. UK and complete a run of the table in the SEC tourney this week.

More later!

- b

More basketball to come!

In just a few hours, conference championship basketball play will resume. Several conferences will be handing out their conference championships today and tomorrow. Along with that hardware, the teams will be taking back home with them, an automatic bid to be one of the 64 teams in the NCAA tournament. Conference championships that will be played out today include:

American East - University of Vermont vs. Boston University
Big 12 - Kansas vs. Kansas St.
Big East - Georgetown vs. Marquette
Big West - UC Santa Barbara vs. Long Beach State
Conference USA - UTEP vs. Houston
Mid-American - Akron vs. Ohio
MEAC - Morgan State vs. South Carolina State
Mountain West - San Diego State vs. UNLV
PAC-10 - California vs. Washington
Southland - Stephen F. Austin vs. Sam Houston State
SWAC - Texas Southern vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff
WAC - Utah State vs. New Mexico State

Numerous conference championships have already been played out. Those teams with a ticket already punched to the NCAA tournament are: East Tennessee State (Atlantic Sun), Montana (Big Sky), Winthrop (Big South), Old Dominion (Colonial), Butler (Horizon), Cornell (Ivy League), Sienna (MAAC), Northern Iowa (Missouri Valley), Robert Morris (Northeast), Murray State (OVC), Lehigh (Patriot), Wofford (Southern), Oakland (Summit), North Texas (Sun Belt), Saint Mary's (West Coast).

Best luck to all the teams that play today! Especially to UK who plays in the SEC semifinals against Tennessee. It's going to be a tough, hard fought game.

More later!

- b