The last title game rematch - Duke-UNLV

The early line is out....Florida is favored by 3 ½ over UCLA.....the Georgetown-Ohio State game is Pick....
UCLA has waited an entire year to erase the thumping they received from Florida in last year’s title game.....
1991 was the last time there was a rematch of the previous year’s championship game.....the rematch also took place in the semifinals when defending champ and undefeated UNLV played Duke....
The two teams met in the 1990 title game with the Runnin Rebels routing Duke 103-73.....the Rebels were led by Larry Johnson, Stacey Augmon, Greg Anthony, and Anderson Hunt while the Blue Devils had Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley, Grant Hill, and Thomas Hill....
While Jerry Tarkanian’s Rebels were routing everyone they played in 1991, Duke had one eye on a possible rematch....it happened in the semifinals in Indianapolis....
As you know, Duke got its revenge by beating UNLV, then two nights later, Coach K got his first championship by beating Kansas.....
Both Billy Donovan of Florida and Ben Howland of UCLA should remind their team about that 1991 Duke-UNLV game.....it is an interesting history lesson for both teams....

In some other tidbits.....most people assumed Tony Kornheiser would not be back in the Monday Night Football booth for ESPN.....but it was reported this morning by Newsday that Joe Theismann got the boot.....the report stated that Ron Jaworski or Bill Parcells may replace Theismann....

What was Warren Buffett doing at a Cleveland Cavaliers game on Sunday night?.....

If you ask me, this great tandem of Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson has not blossomed as expected.....the Nuggets are still 6th in the Western Conference.....

Did North Carolina drop a bomb in the last five minutes of regulation or what???.....that has to be one of the worst five minutes ever for a Roy Williams coached team....

What about Duke ACC Player of the Year Lyndsey Harding.....on Saturday, Harding had a chance to win the game for the Lady Blue Devils.....down by 1 point against Rutgers with a tenth of a second left, Harding, the All-American, went to the free throw line for two shots.....yep, she shot two bricks.....Duke finished the season with only 2 losses, but nothing to show for it....they did not win the ACC Tournament and failed to make the Final Four....

Kobe Bryant is finally DA MAN!!!

Kobe Bryant is finally happy....after years of playing second fiddle to Shaq, Kobe is now Da Man in Los Angeles.....
On Friday, Kobe scored 50 or more points for the fourth straight game – a mark that only Wilt Chamberlain accomplished....
Kobe has three World Championship rings....so he is in no rush to try and chase after an elusive title like that of Kevin Garnett, Steve Nash, or Jason Kidd....its all about Kobe – 24/7/365....for now, I believe Kobe is more concerned about getting his name in the record books.....

The Houston Texans made a good move by trading for Atlanta back-up quarterback Matt Schaub.....nothing against former Houston quarterback David Carr....Carr is still young and could be successful if on a more experienced team with an actual offensive line to protect him....
Maybe Carr accepts a role as a back-up for a year or two and then take over as the starter....a team that might fit that bill is Carolina....Jake Delhomme is the starter, but he is on the backside of his career....and as was evident late last season, the Panthers need a quality back-up if Delhomme should suffer an injury....

It was time for Tubby Smith to move on from Kentucky.....he was never truly accepted as the head coach in Basketball Capital USA.....Smith had to always defend his coaching ability while at Kentucky.....if he could turn around the dismal Minnesota basketball program, Smith will no longer have to answer any of his critics....

Some names mentioned to replace Tommy Amaker as the head coach of Michigan are Sean Miller of Xavier and Bruce Pearl of Tennessee.....both are good coaches, but I would be hesitant to have them lead Michigan basketball after both coaches could not seal the deal against Ohio State in the tournament.....Michigan already has enough experience with coaches who play Ohio State tough, but somehow always come up short.....

I am also hesitant about Miller after he was not vocal about the blatant no-intentional foul call last Saturday against Greg Oden......maybe Miller did not want to grandstand his mentor, Thad Matta.....but I am sorry, he needed to be more vocal about the official’s poor call....basically, Michigan needs a coach who flat-out hates Ohio State....

Elite 8 Call
Ohio State -3 vs. Memphis - the Buckeyes are fortunate to be in this situation after two lucky victories....I don’t see them "lucking out" again....Memphis plays in a weak Conference USA....Buckeyes win by at least 8 points today....

Kansas -2 vs. UCLA - like OSU, Kansas is also fortunate to be playing after their lackluster effort against Southern Illinois.....even though Kansas is the higher seed, UCLA is basically playing in their backyard in San Jose.....I just think Kansas is due to make the Final Four under Bill Self.....it will be a close game, but Kansas wins by 5.....

Is it 2002 again?

Have I been asleep for the past five years???....

I thought it's 2007, but after watching the last two games Ohio State played in the basketball tournament, I swear it is 2002....

Ohio State fans know 2002 pretty well.....that is the year their football team undeservingly won the BCS title....

That is the year when they won 7 games by 7 points or less.....the season when they would convert of fourth down when they had to, but their opponent couldn’t....

Another similarity is that an official played a role in one of their victories....Buckeye fans, you know that was not pass interference in the Fiesta Bowl and that was an intentional foul by Oden....

If this is a 2002 season all over again, God played a major role in it after his inspirational speech in January....
Maybe....just maybe this team is destined to win it....sometimes the best team does not always win....

God Spoke to Brother Thad's Team

Back in January after Ohio State lost to Wisconsin, head basketball coach Thad Matta was befuddled about his team....the Buckeyes had three losses on the season and was preparing to host nationally ranked Tennessee in the "mecca of basketball" - Columbus, Ohio....
After much gut wrenching thought and prayer, an idea came to Brother Thad....."let me ask God to intervene"....
So Brother Thad scurried to the gates of heaven at the Hayes Football Complex....there he fell to his knees and ask God himself if he would be kind enough to speak to his feeble basketball team.....after saying 20 Hail Tressels, God smiled and agreed to assist Brother Thad in his dilemma....
God pulled on his grey sweatervest and adjusted the American flag pin on his shirt and away he went as he walked across the Olentangy River to meet with the basketball team...
Brother Thad’s prayers were answered....as God spoke to the Goliath-like players, not a dry eye could be found in the Buckeye lockers....before his eyes, he saw his young men become enlightened and strengthened to the point of where they broke out in song -- Carmen, Ohio....
Brother Thad has proclaimed that the speech was one of the greatest talks he has ever heard.....
Since then, Ohio State has not lost a basketball game....they have risen to the heights of number 1 in the nation....just last week, God’s work came through again as a referee suddenly, and mysteriously, was unable to move his arms in the position of an intentional foul....
Yes all non-believers.....God is here on earth -- and he resides in Columbus....

Why March is Magical

Each year CBS concludes its coverage of the tournament with its traditional "One Shining Moment" clip of highlights from March Madness....
However, right before the clip begins, to me, the best part of the entire tournament is when CBS takes a few minutes to roll its credits while showing the winning team cutting down the nets....the raw emotion and excitement from not only the players, but also the cheerleaders, fans, and parents is unmatched....
What makes this also a special moment is that each player, no matter if he is the star or a walk-on 12th man, climbs the ladder and gets his opportunity to cut a piece of the nets....that is every kid’s dream from the time they are shooting baskets in their driveway or in a park....for that one moment, they get to take those few steps up the ladder and be acknowledged for their contribution....all the hard work and sacrifice was worth it....
This is best shown in a clip I found on Youtube from the 1987 tournament when Indiana beat Syracuse.....back then, even the losing team remained on the floor and awaited the presentation of the runner-up trophy....when watching this clip, just look at the contrasting emotions between Syracuse and Indiana....look at their eyes....look at the excitement....look at their faces...
This is why March Madness is great

One Shining Moment 1987

Ranking the Sweet 16

1. Kansas - the Jayhawks are playing the best ball....they are kinda like on the same roll Florida was last season....
2. North Carolina - Tyler Hansbrough (photo) may "will" this team to the title...he has been a monster...
3. Georgetown - I still believe the Hoyas will win it all....Roy Hibbert and Jeff Green can take over a game....
4. UCLA - they almost blew the Indiana game....the Bruins have the experience of making it to the finals last year....
5. Florida - this is flat-out the most talented team left, but it seems like they have a lack of focus at times.....they need to step it up....
6. Tennessee - the Vols will beat Ohio State....they are a seasoned team who played in a tough conference....Lofton is a legit leader...
7. Ohio State - over-rated!!!.....they played in a weak conference and lucked out against Xavier....
8. Texas A&M - the Aggies proved something to me by beating Louisville in Lexington....
9. UNLV - the Rebels impressed me with Kruger and Umoh running the show...plus head coach Lon Kruger has been to the Final Four before....
10. Memphis - the Tigers have the impressive numbers - 30+ wins....but the competitions gets tougher now....
11. Pitt - the Panthers are capable of beating UCLA....but then I could see them getting smoked by Kansas.....plus, they could not close the door on VCU the other day....
12. Southern Illinois - Tatum and Falker have been impressive this season....
13. Butler - A.J. Graves baby!!!....if the Bulldogs have the lead late in the game, Graves is the best free throw shooter in the land...
14. Vanderbilt - Derrick Byars (photo) is the best player no one has heard of....Byars, not Noah, Horford, Lofton, etc, was the SEC Player of the Year....
15. Oregon - the Ducks stop quacking....
16. Southern Cal - the Trojans have made a nice run....but it ends now....

Tournament Quick Hits

Now that the first two rounds are done, here are some tournament thoughts....
The tournament committee made a massive error by putting Arkansas and Stanford in the tournament....both teams were not competitive in their first round losses....
Syracuse, Kansas State, or even Akron should have been selected before Arkansas and Stanford....
It seemed as if Florida was not playing hard in their win over Purdue....
Just like in football, the Big 10 was the most over-rated conference....Wisconsin and Ohio State were ranked in the top 5 most of the year because the conference lacked strong teams who were consistent throughout the year....
Wisconsin got bounced yesterday by UNLV and by rights, they should have lost on Friday to Texas A&M Corpus-Christi....
I wonder what Jerry Tarkanian is doing?....
Ohio State needed help from a referee’s no-call to survive against Xavier....
Tennessee will beat Ohio State on Thursday night....
Greg Oden reminds of Robert Parrish....
Kansas has been the most impressive team so far....
There are no double-digit seeded teams left...
For the first time, all number 5 seeds survived their first round game against the 12 seed...
Tyler Hansbrough is the best center in college basketball this year....

The time was right to replace Amaker

Tommy Amaker came to Ann Arbor in 2001 from Seton Hall....there was much promise and hope for the Michigan basketball program after being mired by allegations, violations, and sanctions....

Amaker was a young refreshing leader with a good pedigree from Duke's Coach K....during Amaker's six years as head coach, he ran a clean program.....he seemed like a nice person who cared about his players....he helped stabilize the basketball program and brought it back to respectability.....but in the end, he could not win on a consistent basis to lead Michigan back into the NCAA tournament or to a Big Ten title....

In 6 years he posted a 109-83 record and 3 NIT bids including the 2004 NIT championship....

However, when you are the head basketball coach of a program the size of Michigan’s you are hired to win Big Ten and NCAA titles, not NIT banners....

People within the coaching brethren will bemoan the fact that Amaker was a good man who did all the right things, but ultimately was fired because he could not win....

Right or wrong, that is the nature of the beast....

The time was right for Michigan to move in another direction....the athletic department has been more than patient with Amaker....as Michigan received annual invitations to the NIT, their Big Ten opponents continued to move forward.....

During the last 6 years Illinois came close to a perfect season and lost in the title game....Michigan State made another Final Four appearance....Wisconsin rose to number 1 in the nation....and even hated rival Ohio State has become a national power in basketball as they somehow snatched Greg Oden from the state of Indiana to help the Buckeyes win back-to-back Big Ten titles and possibly a national title....

During the last six years, even the Purdue basketball program fell to the basketball dungeon only to rise again within 2 years.....In 2005 the Boilermakers finished 7-21 and was 10th in the Big Ten under legendary head coach Gene Keady....in just 2 short seasons, new head coach Matt Painter has the Boilermakers back in the Big Dance as they will play defending champion Florida on Sunday in the tournament's second round....

The time was right for Michigan to make the move because too many teams have passed them by over the last six years....it is now time for Michigan to put the pedal to the metal.....

Officials lack guts to call intentional foul on Oden!!

No guts....

That is what the officials in the Ohio State-Xavier game had - no guts....with less than 10 seconds remaining and the Buckeyes fighting the strains of defeat, Greg Oden clearly and intentionally fouled Xavier’s Justin Cage after Cage grabbed a rebound under the Ohio State basket....

Oden did not try to strip the ball or steal the ball....it was clearly a malicious shove of frustration....it clearly fit into the parameters of an intentional four....the Xavier bench also was making the hand motion of an intentional foul....instead an intentional foul was not called....

This was a poor call by the officials which helped lead to Xavier's loss....

It a shame that Xavier’s gallant effort was thwarted by game officials who lacked the guts to make the correct call of an intentional foul which would have given Xavier two foul shots and the ball with 9.6 second left....

Saturday's Tournament Predictions

Here is look at Saturday’s key games....
Ohio State -8 vs. Xavier (1:10 pm) - Xavier has not played the Buckeyes since 1984 and they would love nothing more than to beat their former coach Thad "Mr. Good" Matta....X is led by former Pitt hotshot guard Sean Miller....X is a team with balanced scoring....look for them to give Mr. Good a hard time, but in the end, Ohio State wins by 9....

Texas A&M - 2.5 vs. Louisville (3:40 pm) - this was the one game that screwed up my brackets because I was wanting them to face-off later instead of in round 2....this will be one of the best games of the tourney....the Aggies have the best 3-point shooter in the tourney in Josh Carter and stud leader in Acie Law.....but The ‘Ville is my team in this region......The ‘Ville wins by 2 because of their experience at coaching.....

Pitt - 7 vs. Virginia Commonwealth (5:50 pm) - a win here by VCU and the Rams officially get sized for the Cinderella show....something tells me the Rams are going to win this game.....VCU wins by 5...

UCLA -8 vs. Indiana (8:05 pm) - these are traditional NCAA basketball powers....this is a classic match-up - in name only.....Bruins win by 12....

North Carolina -10 vs. Michigan State (8:15 pm) - everything favors Carolina in this game....except the coaching match-up where it is even between Tom Izzo and Roy Williams....Sparty must hit the 3 ball if they want to pull the upset....they led the Big 10 in 3 point shooting....look for Sparty to hang around, but Carolina wins by 8....

Other games
Maryland -6 vs. Butler (3:20 pm) - Maryland wins by 10
Georgetown -8.5 vs. Boston College (5:45 pm) - this is like old times when BC used to be in the Big East.....Georgetown wins by 12
Washington State -2.5 vs. Vanderbilt (5:40 pm) - Vanderbilt wins by 7

The Big Dance - early thoughts

Here are quick hits after the first day of the tourney....

Those who cried that Drexel should have been in the tournament - SHUT UP!!!....Drexel got bounced at home in the first round of the NIT against N.C. State....

Stanford did not belong in The Big Dance....that was a pathetic effort the Cardinal displayed against Louisville....

I like Rick Pitino because he goes into the streets of New York City to get his players....freshman point guard Edgar Sosa (photo) learned the game while playing at famous Rucker Park.....these NYC kids are tough and do not get rattled.....this is where Michigan coach Tommy Amaker should be recruiting....recruit the NYC kid!!!....

Just think Blue fans....Pitino could have been coaching in Ann Arbor if the Michigan athletic department would have put out the money for him....

Bob Knight will never make it to the Final Four while at Texas Tech....

By the way, if anyone cares, Michigan got smoked by Florida State in the second round of the NIT....

If Florida is going to get tripped up anywhere, I just have a feeling it may happen in the Sweet 16 if they have to play Maryland....

I had Virginia Commonwealth in my bracket.....but I also had Oral Roberts....

I would rather have the grapefruits and make some bold picks than have BB’s and play it safe...

Butler survived the dreaded 5-12 match-up.....three other 5-12s go today....#5 USC vs Arkansas.....#5 Tennessee vs. Long Beach State......#5 Va. Tech vs. Illinois.....history shows that at least one, if not two, number fives will fall....I think Va. Tech has to worry....

All the so-called "experts" are calling for Notre Dame to lose to Winthrop today....the only reason I don’t see it happening is that too many people are expecting it....the Irish know that people are calling for them to lose so expect Notre Dame to play well and win a tough contest....

More Sterger

For more about Jen Sterger, here is a link to her latest S.I. posting

Sterger S.I.

Here is another shot of the lovely Jen

The Big Picture Interviews Jen Sterger

Check out The Big Picture's interview with Sports Illustrated.com's Advice Babe - Jenn Sterger....click on The Big Picture link on the right

By the way, Sterger is the one on the left

Long live Chief Illiniwek

Tuesday was a sad day for longtime Illinois fans as The Chief was officially chopped....

The University officially voted to end all ties with Chief Illiniwek, their longtime mascot....
Chalk one up for the Political Correctness Police....now the Chief’s scalp hangs in their offices....

Long Live The Chief....may his memory be eternal!!!

Talkin women's hoops

Good news Steel City people....it looks like the Penguins are not moving....ESPN reports that inside sources state there will be a news conference today announcing that a deal has been struck to build the Penguins a new arena in the city of Pittsburgh....
The women’s bracket was announced last night.....Duke, North Carolina, Tennessee, and U. Conn are the number 1 seeds...
An interesting possible Sweet 16 match-up would pit Tennessee vs. Ohio State which would be played at Dayton....
First, OSU will have to get through a tough second round match-up against Middle Tennessee State who has a 26 game winning streak....
Duke is the top overall seed with a 30-1 record....but they too may have an interesting Sweet 16 match-up if they have to play Michigan State.....Lady Sparty is a quiet #5 seed....
I will give my women’s picks on Wednesday....
Can someone please tell me why Akron, Washington, and U.Conn did not make the NIT???...
What about the Golden State Warriors ending Dallas’ 17-game winning streak....on Sunday I took the Lakers, at home, and with seven points against the Mavs....the Lakers lost by 35!!!....

Bracket Thoughts

Before the pairings were announced on Sunday evening, my Final Four choices were Florida, North Carolina, Texas, and Georgetown....

Well, that changed after everything was announced because Carolina, Texas, and Georgetown are all in the same bracket....let’s breakdown the brackets....

East
This is a very tough bracket with Carolina and Georgetown as the 1-2 seeds....Texas has the talent and the one player in Kevin Durant to win this bracket....Carolina has a tricky second round match-up against either Marquette or Michigan State....you can never discount Tom Izzo during this time of the year....
Doesn’t belong - Arkansas....I believe that spot should have went to Syracuse.....
Don’t sleep on - Oral Roberts - they winnable games in the first two rounds
Who will win this bracket - Georgetown - the Hoyas gained valuable experience last season by making the Sweet 16....Jeff Green is hot for the D.C.. crew...

South
Thad Matta has a possible second round match-up against his former team, Xavier who could give OSU some trouble....BYU has an RPI of 18....a possible Sweet 16 match-up for is OSU vs. Tennessee....these two played earlier this season in Columbus with OSU winning by 1 point....I was surprised that Louisville was a number 6 seed....I think the Cardinals are better than that....Memphis has to be the quietest team all year....the Tigers are 30-3 and not talked about... .a possible second round match-up between Louisville-Texas A&M will be a good one...
Don’t sleep on - Tennessee - they have the talent to win this bracket because they can shoot the 3 ball....they got shocked in the first round of the SEC tourney, so they will be ready for a run....
Who will win this bracket - Louisville - if the Cards can get by Texas A&M in the second round, they should win this bracket....Ohio State will have a hard time with Tennessee in the Sweet 16....my second choice is Texas A&M.....

Midwest
It all comes down to Florida, Florida, Florida.....say what you will, the fact remains they are the team to beat....they are the defending champs and Joakim Noah has elevated his game.....however, the Gators possible second round game against Arizona could be interesting....the Cats had the second toughest schedule in the nation this year and never underestimate Lute Olsen....this wily coach may have the ability to pull off an upset....many people are calling for Winthrop to upset Notre Dame....I don’t see it happening....Wisconsin is fortunate to be a #2 seed with their dismal performance over the past two weeks...
Don’t sleep on - Maryland - the Terps got bounced early in the ACC....but they may have the freshest legs.....
Who will win this bracket - gotta go with Florida....

West
UCLA is not the #1 seed - big deal....they are still seeded out west.....Kansas’ second round match could be Kentucky or Villanova.....I could see Villanova beating Kansas....Kentucky cannot hit the three-point shot this year....Duke has been playing poorly as they are 4-6 in their last 10 games....look for VCU to win....a nice Sweet 16 game is Pitt vs. UCLA....Ben Holland goes against his former Steel City team....
Don’t sleep on - Pitt - they are battle tested by playing in the Big East
Who will win this bracket - Kansas - they are due to make the Final 4 again, but really, don't sleep on Pitt - they are my "ghetto" pick...
Overall - Look for Georgetown to beat Florida and cut down the nets in Atlanta...

Saturday Morning Tourney Thoughts

What has happened to the ACC tournament?....Maryland - gone, Duke - gone; Virginia - gone....and what about N.C. State and their two impressive wins....the Pack was down by 14 last night to Virginia but came back and won by 8....

The Georgetown-Notre Dame semi-final game in the Big East tourney was one of the best games of the year....Big East Player of the Year Jeff Green had a monster game with his silky smooth game that reminded me of James Worthy....the spark for the Hoyas was the play of Patrick Ewing, Jr off the bench (photo)...

The Hoyas take on Pitt tonight for the Big East title....boy does time go by fast....1989 was the last time Georgetown won this tournament.....Hoyas win tonight....

Don’t look now, but the Holy Cross Crusaders are dancing....

When will the Michigan administration wake up and smell the coffee after its third loss this season to Ohio State?....

Looks like we are looking at an Ohio State-Wisconsin title game....

Bubble teams that I would put in - Kansas State and Texas Tech......bubble teams that are out - Florida State, Iowa, and Stanford

Finally, I just saw one of the sickest things on television.....the Today Show was showing a video of Rose O’Donnell hanging upside.....the dingbat supposedly does this for 15 minutes each day to help with her depression.....just the site of her hanging upside down was gross....

Random Thoughts

This Pittsburgh Penguins saga about possible relocation needs to get resolved now....

The New York Jets got a steal in Thomas Jones at running back....the Jets have a young upcoming offensive line anchored by Nick Mangold and D’Brickashaw Ferguson....Jones should do well especially since he probably will not be sharing time in the backfield.....

The Chicago Bears are taking a risk with just Cedric Benson as their number 1 back....Benson is a load, but he has not proven he could carry the ball 20-25 time a game....plus he has a history of nagging injuries....

Cleveland finally got a big name back in Jamal Lewis....Lewis is a definite upgrade from what garbage Cleveland has back there now....but the fact remains that Lewis is getting up in age and has seen his better days as a workhorse....the Browns would have been better to trade for Thomas Jones....

Looks like the Raiders are a lock for Jamarcus Russell....

Just when it looked like Mike Shanahan was going to commit to Mike Bell as his running back, the team went out and got Travis Henry....

With Detroit picking up Tatum Bell from Denver two things can be assumed: 1. the team has lost faith in Kevin Jones; and 2. Adrian Peterson will not be drafted by Detroit....

What is up with Kobe Bryant slyly giving a cheap shot to opponents?....

Did anyone notice Hillary Clinton’s fake drawl this past weekend when she was campaigning in Alabama?.....she is a piece of work....

What’s up with this story about John Rocker allegedly using HGH when he played baseball?.....who cares....the guy is out of baseball and is a whack job....

It’s almost 7:30 a.m. on the east coast, does anyone know where Barry Bonds is?.....

What is up with Tommy Lasorda and his alleged visits to prostitutes?....he allegedly liked watching some girl-on-girl action....Tommy is our boy!!!....so maybe it wasn’t the Slim-fast diet that helped him lose weight years ago....

PAC 10 Tournament Overview

The PAC-10 tournament begins today ta the Staples Center in Los Angeles....UCLA is the top seed and the team to beat....

The Wednesday match-ups are actually play-in games for the four bottom teams.....if Washington wins tonight, they get to play in-state rival Washington State (#2 seed) on Thursday....State is higher ranked, but watch the Huskies in this game....Washington is a deceiving 18-12 as UCLA found out this past Saturday when they lost up in Seattle....the Huskies are led by freshman guard Spencer Hawes....

Another good match-up on Thursday is #4 Oregon vs. #5 Arizona....the 20-9 Cats have been an inconsistent team of late even though they have an RPI rating of 13.....the Ducks are 5-6 in their last 11 games but are 23-7 overall....take the Cats here....

This could set up a possible Arizona-UCLA semi-final....the kitties have lost twice to UCLA so don’t expect an upset here either....it should be a good game, but UCLA wins...

In January, this may have been the best conference in the nation....but the top teams have faded over the last month....UCLA is the clear cut best team in the conference and will win the league tournament....I could see Washington beating Arizona State, Washington State, and even USC to make the conference finals....but the luster has faded from this conference....

Big XII Tournament Overview

The Big XII tournament begins on Thursday in Oklahoma City with the top four seeds getting a first round bye....the top seeds are: #1 Kansas, #2 Texas A&M; #3 Texas, and #4 Kansas State....

Without a doubt, the team to beat is Kansas....but there are some other loaded guns ready to explode in this conference....

Bob Huggins makes a difference....in just his second year at the helm at Kansas State, Huggins has the Wildcats a #4 seed with a 21-10 record....their second round match-up should be a doozy against Texas Tech....after a mid-season slump, The General has Tech back on track with a 20-11 mark and three straight wins to close out the regular season....

An interesting first round game is #7 Oklahoma State vs. #10 Nebraska....Okie State is 20-11 but surprisingly they are 0-8 on the road in conference games this year....they have a tremendous player in Keith Boggan who can take over a game....I believe Okie State needs to prove to the committee that they can win on the road if they want to go dancing....they need to win at least 2 games in this tournament....I don’t see it happening....the children of the corn will rise and pull the upset here...

If everything pans out right, the big match-up in this tournament will occur on Saturday in the semi-final game between Texas A&M and Texas....they split the season series....Acie Law vs. Kevin Durant....this will be a great game....I’ll say this, if Durant surprises everyone and does not go to the NBA after this season, look for Texas to win the NCAA title next year....this team is loaded with young talent, and Durant is a special special player.....if he gets blazing hot, he is the type of kid who can carry the Longhorns on his back....

Anyway, I will have to go with the Aggies if there is a rematch....that would set up a Kansas-Texas A&M title game...the Aggies have beaten the 27-4 Jayhawks already this year in Lawrence, Kansas....but that was back in early February....as much as I think there are many quality teams in this conference, right now I have to take Kansas to win the conference tournament....they are playing too well of late....

Here are a couple of interesting Big XII facts....the Jayhawks have held every opponent under 50 percent shooting this year....Kevin Durant has nine 30-point games this season.....