A Real Man's Game

Today is arguably the greatest day of college hoops all year. 11 conference tournament finals, plus the ACC, Big 10, SEC, and Big 12 semifinals. It doesn't get much better. And in each game today, there was a man. At this time of year, you can't play like a boy, you've got to play like a man.

Here are today's men and today's hoops:

• Conference USA: Memphis 57, UAB 46. How about Shawne Williams getting 18 points and 8 rebounds in leading Memphis to their 1st Conference USA title. UAB had no answer for his inside/outside game. Memphis doesn't shoot the 3 well, but they make enough to keep you honest.
• America East: Albany 80, Vermont 67. Jamar Wilson was single-handedly responsible for ending Vermont's Cinderella run, scoring 29 leading Albany to their first ever NCAA tournament.
• Atlantic 10: Xavier 62, St. Joe's 61. St. Joe's was up 10 with about 6 minutes left when Stanley Burrell put X on his back. He hit three 3s down the stretch, then Justin Doellman hit the go ahead free throws to get X the win. Xavier finished 10th in the regular season in the A-1o, and they're going dancing. This, with their best player hurt, and their senior point guard kicked off the team about a month ago.
• Pac 10: UCLA 71, California 52. Jordan Farmar is the best point guard west of the Rockies. He had 19 points and 3 assists to lead UCLA, who pulled away in the 2nd half.
• MAC: Kent St. 71, Toledo 66. Kent has great guards, but it was forward Kevin Warzynski's 21 points off the bench that led the way for Kent. Toledo cut a 15 point deficit down to 3 with 3 minutes left, but a Warzynski putback stemmed the tide and Kent is back in the Dance. Kent's guards are quick, athletic, and can shoot. You don't want any part of them in the 1st round.
• MEAC: Hampton 60, Delaware St. 56. Jaz Cowan led Hampton with 15 points and 7 boards in a rematch of last year's MEAC title game. Hampton almost blew a 16 point 2nd half lead, but Cowan got some big baskets down the stretch to hold off the Hornets.
• Big East: Syracuse 65, Pittsburgh 61. He didn't play a great game tonight, but Gerry McNamara still had 14 points and 6 assists as the Cuse completed their transformation from dead to alive. Demetris Nichols had a big shooting night for the Cuse, 4/5 from 3 and ended up with 15 points.
• SWAC: Southern 57, Arkansas Pine-Bluff 44. Peter Cipriano had 21 points and 9 boards for the Jags as they survived being the top seed to win the title.
• MWC: San Diego St. 69, Wyoming 64. Steve Fisher (yes that Steve Fisher from Michigan) and his club survived overtime and the bubble with the big win tonight. Brandon Heath didn't have a great night, but he was great when he had to be, hitting the go-ahead shot that was among his 22 points.
• WAC: Nevada 70, Utah St. 63. Another overtime thriller out west as Nevada won the regular season and conference tourney titles. Sorry Brad, Nick Fazekas doesn't get the nod in this game. Marcellus Kemp hit a huuge 3 to put Nevada up 4 late in the overtime. Nevada has some outside game to complement Fazekas in the middle. Look out for them in the NCAAs.
• In the ACC, it will be Duke vs. Boston College for the championship. Greg Paulus and Josh McRoberts stepped up for the Dukies, combining for 31 points. Paulus had an outstanding game: 18 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and just 1 turnover. Duke's role players need to step up like this from here on out. Boston College were men all-around, making UNC look like boys. UNC had no answer for Craig Smith (23 points, 15 rebounds), who seemed to score at will, as did the rest of the Eagles. The Heels kept fighting back, but BC's experience showed in the end as UNC's inexperience showed (allowing Craig Smith to get a layup with 2 on the shot clock after the BC lead was cut to 3).
• In the SEC, it will be Florida vs. South Carolina. This South Carolina team is tournament tough, they won the NIT at the buzzer if you recall last year. If they win, they burst somebody's bubble. Florida took it to LSU in the final 8 minutes, turning a close game into a runaway. Florida used its depth to its advantage, their frontcourt continues to play well.
• In the Big 12, it will be Kansas vs. Texas. The Longhorns had to survive a 2nd half Texas A&M rally to win. PJ Tucker came to play today, scoring 26 and grabbing 13 boards. Kansas was too much for Nebraska, shooting 52%, getting 21 assists on 30 field goals. It's amazing how well they play together for being so young.
• And in the Big 10, it will be Iowa vs. Ohio St. in the finals. Iowa was the beneficiary of Michigan St. being worn down by Illinois last night. The Spartans had no giddy-up, as they were beaten up and down the floor by usually slow Iowa. I'm surprised Tom Izzo didn't complain afterwards. Ohio St. was led by JJ Sullinger's 19 points and 15 rebounds. IU had no answer for him, but Roderick Wilmont had a great look at the end but short-armed it.

I promised a bracket, and here it is (teams are in seeding order). And this is assuming all of the favorites win tomorrow. I followed all of the bracketing rules the best I could.:

• Washington DC regional: UConn, North Carolina, Gonzaga, Kansas, Tennessee, Washington, Wichita St., Indiana, California, Cincinnati, Seton Hall, Kent St., San Diego St., Xavier, Davidson, winner of Monmouth vs. Hampton (play-in game)
• Atlanta regional: Duke, UCLA, Iowa, LSU, Oklahoma, Syracuse, NC State, Marquette, Southern Illinois, UAB, Texas A&M, Michigan, Montana, Winthrop, Pacific, Southern
• Minneapolis regional: Villanova, Texas, Florida, Boston College, George Washington, Michigan St., Georgetown, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Bradley, Hofstra, UW-Milwaukee, Iona, South Alabama, Penn, Oral Roberts
• Oakland regional: Memphis, Ohio St., Pittsburgh, Illinois, West Virginia, Nevada, UNC Wilmington, Northern Iowa, Arizona, Arkansas, Bucknell, Alabama, Murray St., Northwestern St., Belmont, Albany.

Some notes:

• UConn is my overall #1.
• Allen Ray's eye injury isn't as serious as once thought, he may be ready to go Thursday, so they stay on the 1 line.
• Seeding will be very interesting tomorrow. I was surprised when I heard the committee already had the top 7 lines seeded. Historically, they've figured out who's in first, then seeded the bracket.
• Last 6 teams in: Cincinnati, Hofstra, Texas A&M, Seton Hall, Michigan, Alabama. Keep in mind that if South Carolina wins the SEC tournament, one of these teams won't make it.
• Last 6 teams out: Missouri St., Creighton, Maryland, Utah St., Air Force, George Mason.
• Missouri St. has no big non-conference win. Creighton has suffered injuries, hurting the quality of their team. Maryland hasn't beaten anybody and they haven't been the same since losing Chris McCray. Utah St. and Air Force have nice records, but no signature wins to hang their hat on, which is probably the result of no one wanting to play them. Hofstra gets the nod over George Mason because they beat them twice down the stretch. Seton Hall gets in because of their 5 Top 50 wins and 9-7 Big East record.

We'll find out the real field tomorrow. Last year, I was 63/65 ( I had Miami and Maryland in, Northern Iowa and Iowa out). The only hard part is getting the last 6-7 teams right because you know the rest due to automatic bids or you just know. So guys like Joe Lunardi, skilled at the bracket, aren't as smart as you think. Lunardi also needs to stick to analyzing the numbers and not analyzing basketball, his basketball analysis is average in my opinion. I don't claim to be that smart either, this is just what I think the field will look like tomorrow night.