The pressure turns up now that these teams are in the Sweet Sixteen and it takes a full team effort to advance as the quality of opponent teams face increases exponentially. These are the men that must step up today in order for their teams to advance.
Leonard must produce for the Aztecs to win.
No. 3 Connecticut vs. No. 2 San Diego State
#15 Kawhi Leonard - Forward 6-7 225 Sophomore Riverside, CA 15.6 ppg 10.6 rpg 1.5 spg, leads team
Strong on ball defender, better help defender. He and forwards Malcolm Thomas and D.J. Gay will have to protect the paint and limit the drives of UConn's Kemba Walker, because there is no guard in the country that can stay in front of Walker man-to-man.
Leonard is a solid ball handler that can grab the defensive board and start transition offense. They will need him to drive the paint when he receives the ball on the perimeter rather than settling for jumpshots, as he only shoots 29-percent from 3-point and it's not really his game.
No. 3 Brigham Young vs. No. 2 Florida
#1 Kenny Boynton - Guard
Can the athletic Boynton end the Jimmer Show?
6-2 183 Sophomore Pompano Beach, FL 14 ppg 33-percent 3-point
Boynton forms a solid backcourt with All-SEC guard Erving Walker and is instrumental on defense as the 5'8" Walker does not defend bigger guards very well. Boynton will be asked to defend BYU's Jimmer Fredette, a threat to score as soon as he enters the arena and the nation's leading scorer. No. 5 Arizona vs. No. 1 Duke
#23 Derrick Williams - Forward 6-8 241 Sophomore La Mirada, CA 19.1 ppg 8.2 rpg 60-percent field goal
Williams has elite NBA talent.
Williams is slated to be an NBA Lottery Pick, and his tournament performance could convince NBA GMs to select him No. 1 overall, much like how Memphis guard Derek Rose jumped Kansas State forward Michael Beasley in 2008.
Duke is a perimeter oriented team that relies heavily on getting offensive rebounds and second chance points. The Wildcats will need Williams to dominate the glass and limit the Blue Devils' opportunities.
No. 8 Butler vs. No. 4 Wisconsin
#30 Jon Leuer 6-10 228 Senior Orono, MN 18.7 ppg 7.3 rpg, leads team
Leuer might be the toughest player left in the tournament to defend off the pick-and-roll as he is comfortable extending out to the 3-point line (38-percent) and is good and finding teammates cutting to the basket for open layups. He will be a problem for Butler big men Matt Howard and Andrew Smith who could end up getting into foul trouble trying to defend Leuer and Badger guard Jordan Taylor.
I know how you feel right now. Your previous excitement about Mach Madness and how unstoppable your brackets will be in your pay-to-play pools has by now likely dissipated into torment, frustration, and utter disbelief. All year long you heard the experts saying that the Big East is the best conference ever and deserves 13 NCAA Tournament bids. And then Morehead State happened. O.K., there had to be an upset somewhere in the first round and Louisville was it. Later on that day Gonzaga -- the vintage 1990s tourney Cinderella -- brutalized fan favorite-to-make-a-run-to-the-Final-Four St. John's and effectively dover the Red Storm and anyone (including me) riding their bandwagon off the steepest of cliffs. Villanova and Georgetown limped into the tournament, but surely there is enough talent on those teams to handle the likes of George Mason and Virginia Commonwealth of the Colonial Athletic Assosication. Nope. If that wasn't enough, how about the most consistent Big East team for the entire season and No. 1 seed Pittsburgh getting their hearts ripped out by Butler, and No. 2 seed Notre Dame with Big East Player of the Year Ben Hansbrough getting waxed by Florida State (somewhere, Charlie Ward and Warrick Dunn are smiling)? Should've saw it coming though. Last year everyone was clamouring about the Big East too, and the only team to make the Final Four from that conference was West Virginia; which was probably the least lauded team of the pack ranked in the top of the Big East standings. The same thing has almost happened this year. Marquette and Connecticut are the only two teams left in the NCAA Tournament out of the 11 selections from the conference. The Golden Eagles hovered around .500 in the Big East all season while the Huskies seemed destined for a first round tourney exit before Kemba Walker basically carried them to five wins in five days to win the conference tournament.
Sights set on Final Four.
So what is the explanation for this? Do they beat up on each other in the regular season and are too worn out to perform in March? Are they overlooking teams that play outside of conference because of arrogance? This time of year, it's hard to explain anything that happens in a basketball game using rational thought. If that were the case, all four No. 1 seeds would make it to the Final Four every year. Either way, don't slit your wrists if you had a bad weekend and your bracket is about as useful as nuclear wasteland, because most of America is probably with you. Just sit back, enjoy this weekend's games, and root for your friends who still have hope in their brackets to fail miserably.
Texas is 10-0 in the Big 12, including a win over #1 Kansas.
Kansas (24-1, 9-1 Big 12) enters the week as the nation's number one team after previously unbeaten Ohio State (24-1, 11-1 Big Ten) fell to Wisconsin at the Kohl Center in Madison last Saturday, even though Texas knocked off the Jayhawks 74-63 in Lawrenceon Jan. 22. Still, the Longhorns (22-3, 10-0 Big 12) were edged by only one vote by Kansas in this week's balloting and it would not be surprising for Texas to overtake that #1 ranking even if both teams win out during the regular season. The reason why: You don't mess with Texas' schedule. Coach Rick Barnes put his team in a position where they would battle tested come this time of year by playing a rather brutal non-conference schedule, despite having a young team. The Longhorns have recorded wins over Illinois, North Carolina, and Michigan State, while losing to Big East powers Pittsburgh and Connecticut by a combined three points (their third loss was on the road to Southern California Dec. 5, a clear aberration at this point). All five of those teams are ranked top 50 in RPI. The strategy has paid off as Texas is 10-0 in conference play with wins over #16 Texas A&M (twice), Baylor, #13 Missouri, and that "W" against the then second-ranked Jayhawks on the road. As a result, many experts believe Texas is the team to beat right now. (including a friend of mine who told me on Facebook about a month ago that he could easily see Texas in the Final Four. I see where he's coming from now, especially since he predicted the Melo Syracuse team to win the NCAA championship in 2003, when the Orange weren't even ranked!) Bob Knight called sophomore guard/ forward Jordan Hamilton the best offensive player in the country and for good reason. Hamilton, a very athletic and aggresive slasher out of Dominguez H.S. in Compton, is averaging 18.9 points per contest and can score on the drive and is shooting well from distance (41%). At 6'7" 220, he definitely has a little Carmelo Anthony in his game. Inside is true freshmen Tristan Thompson averaging 12.8 points and 7.5 rebounds. He is 6'8" but plays alot taller than that because of his long arms. I can see a little Hakim Warrick in him. Sophomore guard J'Covan Brown, former McDonald's All-American and Florida-transfer Jai Lucas, along with Turkish product Dogus Balbay, fill out the other guard spots. Maybe combined they can bring to the table what Gerry McNamara did. But there are teams on the rise that will have something to say come tournament time, and teams that better find a way to get their act together quick, or they won't make it out of the first weekend.
Pick your poison between Marcus, right, or Markieff.
On the Rise
The Morris Twins and Kansas - Despite the humbling setback to Texas, the Jayhawks have imposed their will on almost every other team they have played this season. They lead the nation in field goal percentage (52.3), Marcus Morris is averaging nearly 17 ppg on 61 percent shooting while Markieff Morris averages 13 per on 59 percent shooting.
Brad Wanamaker and Pittsburgh - With leading scorer Ashton Gibbs out with a MCL injury, the senior from Philly dropped a big 21 points at the Pavillion against Villanova Saturday to lead the No. 4 Panthers (23-2, 11-1 Big East) to a 57-54 win last Saturday.
Harrison Barnes and North Carolina - Maybe its just me but Barnes looks like he is finally benefitting from the college weight room. Barnes appears to be more defined in his body, and his game is also responding, as he has scored in double figures in eight of 10 conference games. In case you needed visual evidence . . .
On the Fall
Kemba Walker and UConn - I had Walker as P.O.Y., as many others did earlier, and he's still averaging 22.8 ppg, good for seventh in the country, but the game against Syracuse in Hartford killed it for me. Kemba had 8 points and the Huskies just looked plain awful against the 2-3 zone. I know not everyone can defend like the 'Cuse but why wouldn't other teams just zone up UConn and make someone other than Walker beat you?
The Illini are fading away.
Chris Singleton and Florida State - The big win over Duke Jan. 12 in Tallahasee may not mean anything now that Singleton will undergo surgery to repair a broken right ankle. Singleton led the Seminoles in scoring (13.8), rebounding (7.1), steals (2.1), and 3-point percentage (37.5).
Demetri McCamey and Illinois - Bruce Weber has had a long drought since reaching the NCAA Tournament Final in 2005 (with mostly Bill Self's players) but had the talent and experience this year to atleast make a push in the Big Ten. McCamey averaged 16.2 points, 7.2 assists, and shot 52.5 percent from three in the first 19 games of the season. In the last six games McCamey is averaging 7 points, has 25 assists to 21 turnovers, and is shooting 32.5 percent from distance. The Illini (16-9, 6-6 Big Ten) are 2-4 in those games.
Still Dangerous:
G - Nolan Smith - Duke
G - Jimmer Fredette - Brigham Young
F - Terrence Jones - Kentucky
G/F - Jordan Hamilton - Texas
Knowles hit 7 3's on the 'Cuse Feb. 12
F/C - Jared Sullinger - Ohio State
Players to Watch
G - Ben Hansbrough - Notre Dame
G - Preston Knowles - Louisville
F - John-Paul Olukemi - Oklahoma State
G - Jordan Taylor - Wisconsin
G - LaceDarius Dunn - Baylor
G - Erving Walker - Florida
F - Mouphtaou Yarou - Villanova
G - Dwight Hardy - St. John's
F - Derrick Williams - Arizona
G - William Buford - Ohio State
