Before I start, I promised my pick, and that is Memphis. Even though Kansas looked incredible against North Carolina, I like how Memphis is rolling right now.

Of course, I’m forced to listen to Billy Packer and Jim Nantz once again – man, do I hate listening to both of them.

First Half

- Memphis darts out to a quick 9-3 lead after the first 4 minutes. Play is a bit helter-skelter right now, especially on Kansas’ part. Two early turnovers show the Jayhawks are feeling the pressure.

- Even though they are ahead, Memphis is standing around way too much on offense. On their last possession, 4 guys were standing around watching Derrick Rose go one-on-one. They won’t beat Kansas that way.

- Kansas comes out of a TV timeout and ties up the score at 9. They’ve tightened up their defense and are forcing Memphis to take some very tough shots. Memphis is trying to get by on their athleticism instead of working the ball for a good shot, and it isn’t working very well. 12:30 left in the first half, and the score is Memphis 13, Kansas 11.

- Kansas guard Brandon Rush is eating Chris Douglas-Roberts for lunch right now – two straight drives where he beat Douglas-Roberts off the dribble. Not a good sign for Memphis.

- Mario Chalmers hits the first trey of the game to put Kansas up 18-13. Memphis’ Dorsey picks up a silly over-the-back foul on the next trip down the floor. Memphis looks rattled.

- Memphis bulldozer, Pierre Miles, has come into the game to give Dorsey a rest. Miles is 6′8″ and 310 pounds. Miles needs to throw his weight around to throw Kansas off their game.

- The game has opened up now – both teams are pushing the ball up the floor and launching threes. Kansas up 24-21 with 7:25 to go in the half.

- Douglas-Roberts hits a three from the top of the key to push Memphis ahead 26-24. He has 13 points already. Kansas better find a way to stop him or it could be a long night.

- On a non-game note, the Nike’s “my better is better than your better” commercial is very annoying. Not so much the message, but the ridiculous music that grates on your eardrums. Back to the game…

- Dorsey, Dozier and Taggart each have two fouls for Memphis with 2:31 left in the half. Memphis could be in serious trouble if they get into foul trouble.

- Kansas is shooting 57% from the field, while Memphis is shooting 41%.

- Kansas is also out-rebounding Memphis by 8. Kansas is able to rotate more big guys in and Memphis’ front line looks tired.

- Rose has not scored for 16 minutes. You wonder if he’s fully recovered from the stomach bug that he was fighting yesterday.

- With one minute to go, Memphis has pulled the ball out to milk the clock, which is a little surprising. Calipari must be trying to avoid some late silly fouls.

- Kansas up 33-28 at the half. Memphis has not looked very good at all – little movement on offense, sluggish on defense, not scrambling after loose balls. Rose has been mediocre at best.

Second Half

- Memphis is actually trying to use a little ball movement as well as some screens. We’ll see how long that lasts.

- Dorsey picks up foul #3 for Memphis at the 16:07 mark – not good news for the Tigers. Kansas up 39-38 at the 15:15 mark.

- Rose is looking absolutely awful on the defensive end. Kansas’ guards are beating him off the dribble at will, he’s falling for ball fakes and looks slow.

- Kansas’ 1-2-2 zone is giving Memphis fits – they are still trying to beat the zone individually instead of passing the ball around.

- 8:50 left in the game and Kansas is up 47-46. Memphis just missed a free throw to tie the game – we shall see if Memphis’ poor foul shooting will cost them in this game.

- Kansas has now gone to a box-and-one defense to try and take Chris Douglas-Roberts out of the game. Interesting move by Bill Self. This defense might give Derrick Rose more room to operate, which could be dangerous. Memphis has scored on two straight possessions against the box-and-one to go up 49-47.

- Another non-game tidbit – they just showed a commercial for Ironman, starring Robert Downey Jr. Yeah, when I think if superheroes, I think of Robert Downey Jr. Nice casting there…

- Rose hits another jumper to push the lead to 4. Rose is starting to heat up a bit – perhaps Kansas should put the box-and-one on Rose instead of Douglas-Roberts.

- Kansas is starting to force some shots and looks a bit rushed. Memphis on a 7-0 run, and Kansas has dropped the box-and-one.

- Memphis just missed an alley-oop that could have pushed the lead to 6. Meanwhile, Kansas can’t throw it in the ocean right now.

- Rose hits a driving layup and draws the foul – Memphis up 54-47 with 5:00 to go in the game.

- Rose hits a fall-away bankshot as the shotclock was expiring to push the lead to 7. Rose’s prayer was answered…

- Dorsey just picked up his 4th foul with 3:36 to go. How long will Calipari leave him out?

- Memphis up 56-51 with 3:30 to go. Kansas goes back to the 1-2-2 zone to try and slow Rose down.

- Rose misses a long three but Memphis grabs the long rebound. Memphis is content to milk more time off the clock.

- Kansas has now started to foul the Tigers out on the perimeter. Kansas is content to make Memphis beat them from the foul line. Memphis up 60-51 with 2 minutes to go.

- Collins hits a huge three for Kansas to lower the Memphis lead to 4. Another quick foul by the Jayhawks.

- Douglas-Roberts hits two free throws – Memphis’ lead is back to 6.

- Dorsey just fouled out after getting caught on a defensive switch. If this game goes to O.T., advantage goes to Kansas.

- Chalmers hits two free throws for Kansas – 62-58 Memphis. Memphis has hit its last 5 free throws.

- Douglas-Roberts misses the front end of his one-and-one. Uh-oh.

- Arthur hits an inside bucket for KU to trim the lead to 2.

- Chalmers nearly steals the ball once again and Memphis calls time out. Memphis up 62-60 with 44 seconds left. The Tigers have 19 seconds left on the shot clock.

- Collins drives down and might have been fouled – tough break for KU. Douglas-Roberts is fouled.

- CDR missed both free throws, but Dozier gets the long rebound for Memphis. What a break. Rose is fouled and will get two free throws with 11 seconds left. Memphis’ foul shooting will definitely either win or lose this game for them.

- Let’s see what the freshman sensation Rose does at the line: #1 rims out. Not good. #2 is perfect. Memphis by 3, and KU has no timeouts.

- Chalmers hits a fantastic three from the top of the key with 2 seconds left to tie the game!!! What a shot. And to overtime we go, although the game should be over. Foul shooting…it is all about foul shooting. Memphis missed 4 of its last 5 foul shots, and that may have cost them the national championship.

OVERTIME

- Kansas comes out and makes another steal from the Memphis guards – Chalmers and Collins have such quick hands. KU goes up by two.

- Dozier throws up a wild shot in the lane for Memphis, and the Tigers have no chance at the offensive board with Dorsey out of the game.

- Great alley-oop from Chalmers to Arthur puts Kansas up four. Again, Dorsey wasn’t there to take up space for Memphis.

- Kansas now up 69-63 after a nifty layup by Darnell Jackson. Memphis is losing control of this game in a big hurry.

- CDR hits two freebies to pull Memphis back to within 4. 2:21 remaining.

- Memphis forces Chalmers into a deep three which is short. Great defensive set by the Tigers.

- Rush breaks behind the Memphis defense for the easy layup. CDR follows up with a quick trey – Kansas up 71-68 with 57 seconds left.

- Chalmers is sent to the line with 45 seconds left. First shot is perfect. Second shot is perfect. KU up 73-68.

- CDR misses an easy layup and Kansas forces the jump ball. Possession arrow to the Jayhawks. Memphis now must start to foul.

- Great break for Memphis as Collins slips and goes out of bounds. Memphis ball.

- CDR misses a long range three and Kansas gets the rebound. For as good as he is, Rose has been passing the ball very quickly – he looks like he wants nothing to do with the ball on offense right now.

- 18.2 seconds left and Collins is on the line for two: first shots rattles around the rim and goes in. Second shot is good. Kansas up 75-68.

- Rose misses another three and Kansas is the champion.

If it’s been said once, it’s been said a thousand times – if you don’t shoot your free throws very well, you’re vulnerable. Period. This game was Memphis’ to win, and they couldn’t do it because they didn’t make free throws. Period. End of story.

And I hope the Memphis fans enjoyed Derrick Rose, because you’ll never see him in a Tiger uniform again.

Post from: EveryJoe

National championship game – as it happens

As I watch the brackets roll out on ESPN, (I’d watch CBS but I cannot stand Billy Packer and Jim Nantz) here are my gut feelings and thoughts as the matchups are announced:

East Region
- If you look in the dictionary under “sacrificial lamb”, you’d find these two entries: Mount St. Marys and Coppin State. Have fun playing the Tar Heels boys.

- North Carolina/Kansas in one semi-final could be a doozy. UCLA and Memphis not so much.

- Notre Dame (#5) vs George Mason (#12) is a scary matchup for the Irish.

- Butler (#7) vs. South Alabama (#10) will be a good game.

- Tennessee vs. Louisville in the region semi-finals would be outstanding.

Midwest Region
- Clemson as a #5 seed could be very dangerous, although drawing Villanova as #12 seed is a trap game. #4 seed Vandy is also in that half of the bracket, and they need to be watched.

- USC #6 vs Kansas State #11 is going to be awesome – Beasley versus Mayo. Great game.

South Region
- The winner of Mississippi State/Oregon could give top seed Memphis some problems in the second round.

-#12 Temple vs. #5 Michigan State could be an upset special.

- #6 Marquette vs. #11 Kentucky is very, very intriguing. If Marquette gets by UK, they’ll probably face Stanford, which would be a good game.

West Region
- #8 BYU vs. #9 Texas A&M should be a good game. BYU bombed in the MWC tournament final, so buyer beware.

- Drake (28-4) as a #5 seed is intriguing. Given their schedule, that might be a little bit high. Their matchup with #12 Western Kentucky is a possible first round upset in the making.

- #7 West Virginia vs. #10 Arizona is a toss-up.

- Georgia fights through an incredible SEC tournament, and they draw #3 Xavier in the first round. Tough draw.

More detailed analysis coming up later.

Post from: EveryJoe

NCAA tournament brackets – my first impressions

The list was pretty good, and I wholeheartedly agreed with some of the entries.

For example, Duke basketball. I absolutely, unequivocally hate Duke basketball. Bobby Hurley. Christian Laettner. Cherokee Parks. Those freaking Cameron Crazies. You can stop jumping around now. Please stop jumping around.

Maxim also mentioned distracting opposing players while shooting free throws. Another very overrated part of the game. Do you actually think waving your arms back and forth during a shot will distract anybody? Please…

While their list was pretty good, I believe it was incomplete. There are lots of other things that are lame about college basketball. Here are a few more…

The post-season NIT Tournament – once upon a time, in a college basketball world far, far away, the post-season NIT tournament was THE only post-season tourney in town. It actually meant something. Now, it is an afterthought, a tournament for mediocre teams that weren’t good enough to get into the Big Dance. And please don’t even get me started on the new College Basketball Invitational presented by something called The Gazelle Group.

Bobby Knight press conferences – yes, the General’s pressers can great places to get sound bytes. Yes, it is always enjoyable to watch light into an unsuspecting SID. But, to be honest, his schtick is old. The profanity-laced tirades are old. His sarcastic and condescending attitude towards many in the media is old. Just old.

Jim Nantz and Billy Packer – I have never liked Billy Packer as an announcer. He might as well come out dressed up in a superhero costume, because he is the true Captain Obvious. And Nantz tries to paint every single game like it is the game of the century, every play is the best thing he’s ever seen. Jimmy – save that syrup for your clubhouse chats at Augusta in April.

Now I’d like to hear from you, the readers. What have we left off our lists?

What are the lamest things in college basketball? What do you absolutely hate about the game? What drives you absolutely crazy?

(Sorry – Dick Vitale was already listed on the Maxim list…try again).

Post from: EveryJoe

What’s lame about college basketball