Bracket Buster Saturday

3 weeks until Selection Sunday, I'm starting to feel it:

• Winthrop/Missouri St. Winthrop deserves an at-large bid if they don't win the Big South tourney. Torrell Martin is getting healthy, Michael Jenkins can't be left alone outside, and Craig Bradshaw is the difference maker inside. They're experienced, quick, athletic, and good. Missouri St. needs to win out and make the Valley semis. That would put them at the minimum 22-10 with 13 Valley wins, which should be good enough.
• Georgetown/Villanova. Seems like ages since I watched this game. Villanova didn't score during the last 3:30, becoming too conservative on offense, running the shot clock down instead of running their stuff and taking the first good shot. That's what I'd do if I were the coach. Run one set, turn it over unless you get a wide open shot, then clear it out for your point guard. Roy Hibbert was a non-factor, but Jeff Green certainly was. He's played like an All-American since the last time these teams played. Everyone for Nova except for Scottie Reynolds was 11/38, ouch.
• UCLA/Arizona. Mustafa Shakur finally played well against Darren Collison, but Darren is still Mustafa's daddy. Collison had 15 assists to go with 17 points as Arizona is 0-4 against the LA schools this year. Collison had more assists than Arizona did as a team. The Cats are all flash and no substance. There were multiple times in the 2nd half where a defensive stop might have ignited a run, but it never came.
• The only way you can beat Florida is if your guards outplay their guards. Vanderbilt did that, forcing 20 turnovers and shot 58% from the field, 48% from 3. Corey Brewer had 6 turnovers, Taurean Green 5.
• Washington/Pittsburgh. The Huskies at-large hopes are gone, they needed to win this game. They played pretty well, but 15 turnovers are too many against a team like Pitt at their place. What's held the Huskies back have been their guards, and Pitt's guards played well today.
• What a break for Michigan St. to play 4 straight home games at this point of the season. They've gotten Michigan and Iowa, now they get a chance at #1 Wisconsin this week.
• Alabama shouldn't be on the bubble, they're too talented. A lot of things have happened to them that have been out of their control, but there's still time to put it all together and beating Kentucky was step #1.
• Texas A&M is quietly playing their way into a #1 seed.
• How does Tennessee get whipped at South Carolina?
• Indiana/Michigan. Michigan finally beat someone worth mentioning, but IU played without starting point guard Earl Calloway, so this isn't as good of a win for Michigan. Indiana didn't have a good week. They shot the ball like a Kelvin Sampson Oklahoma team would today. Armon Bassett finally looked like a freshman.
• Southern Illinois/Butler. SIU was the better team, but Butler just wouldn't die. SIU's guards wore down Mike Green and AJ Graves, forcing Graves to miss another free throw. Jamaal Tatum was money again, hitting big shot after big shot. Matt Shaw is playing really well also. But credit to Butler for hanging in, they wouldn't quit. Hinkle Fieldhouse was rocking and it felt like an NCAA Tournament game.
• Memphis/Gonzaga. Another NCAA tournament-like game. Gonzaga is trying to prove they're good without Josh Heytvelt, and they did, but they needed to win this one. They've become the ultimate bubble team now. They have a great non-conference resume, but they've lost too many games since and really need to get the automatic bid to be safe. Memphis's pressure gave them a double digit lead, but after Gonzaga settled down and made it their tempo in the 2nd half, it was anyone's game. Memphis moves the ball well, but they still only have a couple of guys who can make jump shots and make free throws consistently. But Memphis does have balance, which makes them hard to guard. Jeremy Pargo's dunk was sick with a capital S.
• What's happened to Oregon?
• Bradley/Virginia Commonwealth. Two teams that are mirrors of each other, but Bradley's big game experience was the difference in this one I think. That and the zone defense they switched to in the 1st half that slowed VCU down. This is when Bradley got hot last year and they have that potential with Michael Ruffin and Will Franklin handling the ball, Jeremy Crouch able to hit 3s in bunches and Zach Andrews able to do some dirty work inside. VCU needs the automatic bid now to get in. Bradley is keeping hopes alive for another 4 bid Valley.
• North Carolina/Boston College. Unfortunately, the difference was Jared Dudley's 5 missed free throws after being fouled on 3 point attempts. UNC is starting to find the going tough so their half-court oriented players have to step up and they did tonight. Tyler Hansbrough had a big night, but more importantly Reyshawn Terry hit big shots. UNC won't be able to run as much as tournament play starts and the game slows down. They'll need to execute in the half court. Tough week for BC. They showed up too late vs. Duke and they could've won this one tonight. But 11/21 foul shooting at home isn't good enough.
• One team I don't want to play right now: Louisville. Everyone's healthy and they're playing some D.

I have to say NBA All-Star Saturday Night was entertaining. I like the whole team competition and the skills challenge. The Charles Barkley/Dick Bevetta (NBA ref) race was funny. Charles somehow won. I've always loved the 3-point shootout. I remember Larry Bird raising his finger in the air before his clinching shot went down. "Who's going to finish second?" he asked when he entered the locker room. And the slam dunk's gotten better. It'll never be like it was in the Jordan/Wilkins/Spud days. But how can you not love 5'7 Nate Robinson? He didn't win this year, but he is electrifying. Plus, the commentary by Barkley, Reggie Miller, Magic Johnson, and Kenny Smith is hilarious.

Tomorrow, I'm getting knighted into the Knights of Columbus. I'm very excited about this. It gives me a chance to get involved at church here and give back to the community.

And I binged on my mom's chocolate chip cookies today. If you had one, you'd keep eating them too. It's good that my long run is tomorrow.

I think I'll go see a movie Monday on my day off. I'm thinking Dream Girls. And maybe I'll see something else, why not? Good choice to put Beyonce on the cover of the Swimsuit Issue. But I would've loved to have seen some other musicians. Maybe Nelly Furtado, Katherine McPhee, Carrie Underwood, ya know?