Get that shot out of here! Stromile Swift rejects Chris Mihm, preserving LSU's lead late in the game.
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Player to watch
Earl Watson. The boyish point guard for UCLA might have our favorite line of the season: 17 points, 16 assists, 4 steals and zero turnovers. With the Bruins' complement of high-flyers, Watson's a threat to register an assist before he even crosses halfcourt. Nobody throws a better half-court lob.
Random thought
How big a smile did John Brady crack when the LSU coach saw not one, not two, but all three West Region teams seeded above his Tigers fall in the second round?
Stock Rising
Jaraan Cornell. Some people say he lost his edge when he screwed up his ankle back in his sophomore season. Some people say a lot of things. Cornell came through with his second big finish in the tournament, hitting for 13 points over the final 9:30. In the first round, he nailed three 3-pointers in the final nine minutes. He's the anti-Microwave -- must preheat before use.
Bracket buster
We can't swing a dead cat (sorry, Arizona) in the West and not hit one. Sure the Wildcats looked vulnerable, but to see a No. 1, 2 and 3 to go down in the second round? That hasn't happened since 1992, when No. 1 Kansas lost to UTEP, No. 2 USC lost to Georgia Tech and No. 3 Arkansas lost to Memphis.
Sorry to see you go
Utah. We love to see what Rick Majerus will pull out of his bag of tricks (besides a half-eaten rack of barbecue ribs), and the taste we got in the first half against Michigan State left us craving more. A healthy Utah team and a Majerus motivated to take out the big boys could have done some serious damage in this year's tourney. The Utes will be back next year, pumped up by the additions of Britton Johnsen (back from a Mormon mission) and Chris Burgess (eligible after transferring). Until then, just think of Rick when you order that extra cheese...
User Message of the Day
Cinderella isn't back, you just didn't learn from last year. The Zags are for real, and will go farther than
you think. Remember they only lost by five last year to the eventual champs, UConn. We don't want
your support because of being an underdog, we just want some deserved respect.
-- bobuyehara
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Daily Word: Critics served a healthy dish of crow
The criticisms aimed at Steve Lavin's coaching ability and Dick Bennett's system during the season
were unnecessary and unwarranted.
Pundits in Los Angeles were quick to point out Lavin's faults during UCLA's erratic
season. A poll run on the Los Angeles Times web site openly questioned Lavin's coaching ability. His
dismissal was regular grist for the coaching rumor mill, with Rick Pitino, Rick Majerus and John Calipari
as prospective candidates. There were even calls for the UCLA assistants to be examined.
Meanwhile, Bennett was blasted in Madison, Wis., for playing a style considered too boring -- dating back to when the Badgers tallied an anemic 32 points in a first-round loss to Southwest Missouri State in last year's NCAA
Tournament. Questions arose if the 56-year-old coach should look at retiring sooner rather than later.
Two rounds into the NCAA Tournament, no one is challenging Lavin's coaching skill and few would dare call Wisconsin a bore after it blew out out Fresno State and Arizona.
So, what happened? Both coaches were given up on too soon, without most critics showing any patience or examining all the facts.
For more of Andy Katz's Daily Word, click here.
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QUESTION OF THE DAY
Who will make it to the Final Four out of the West Region? |
ESPN.com's Andy Katz
Forget about my bracket picks (I originally had St. John's beating LSU in the Elite Eight), I'm going with Gonzaga. Wisconsin looms as a legitimate threat to knock off the Tigers, and Gonzaga has already taken care of St. John's. The Bulldogs are the pick because of their confidence. Matt Santangelo and Richie Frahm are the two most experienced guards remaining in the bracket. Nothing seems to faze either one of them. Casey Calvary and Axel Dench were with the Elite Eight team a year ago as well, and can handle Purdue's physical play inside. The bracket opened up for the Bulldogs when they pulled the second-round upset, just like last season. They will be the fan favorite at the Pit and have the intangibles -- confidence, cockiness and composure -- to make an improbable run to the Final Four.
ESPN.com's Greg Collins
Why change now? The LSU Tigers were my pick out of the West when the brackets were announced, and they still are. The matchup with Wisconsin is probably tougher than the one the Tigers expected to get against Arizona. But with Stromile Swift showing the motivation and ability to take over a game in key moments, he should continue to be the difference for LSU on its way to Indianapolis. He's strong enough to survive Wisconsin's interior scrum (and Purdue's, should the Boilermakers beat Gonzaga). The only man left who might be able to slow him down is Gonzaga's Casey Calvary, an underrated leaper with a fine set of post moves. Jabari Smith is as fine a complementary frontcourt player as there is in the nation, and the two of them should be able to swing a wrecking ball through the rest of the West.
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TOURNAMENT CHALLENGE
The Madness is under way. This year's pool is larger than ever, with 590,000 brackets submitted. Click here to check your brackets. Some interesting tidbits:
St. John's loss was more costly than Arizona's. Ninety-two percent picked the Johnnies to make it to the Sweet 16, compared to 87 for the Wildcats. As for getting to the Elite Eight, 78 percent picked St. John's and 58 percent picked Arizona.
A combined 10.2 percent of all entries lost their national champion when Arizona and St. John's lost.
Of the No. 10 seeds, Gonzaga got the most support to make the Sweet 16 (1.6 percent of all brackets), followed by Seton Hall (1.4), UNLV (one percent) and Creighton (.35 percent).
More brackets picked Gonzaga to make the Sweet 16 than Wisconsin, despite the Badgers having a better seed.
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ESPN BRACKETS
Bracket fever has hit ESPN! We have our own Tournament Challenge group, and you can check it out. First, you'll need to log on to the Challenge main page with your entry, and then check out the Featured Group Great Minds of Bristol U. to see our predictions for the NCAA Tournament. Jay Bilas still holds a 10-point lead over Andy Katz, although both took a hit by losing one of their Final Four teams (St. John's). Saturday's biggest mover was David Lloyd, who correctly picked all four Sweet 16 entrants from the Midwest to rocket up to third place. |
Cinderella Watch
Are they or aren't they? Gonzaga was a fixture in last year's Cinderella Watch, but this year isn't the same. Beating St. John's is quite an accomplishment. But it's not outside the type of results the Zags hoped to achieve this season, judging by their schedule.
Why else do you face Temple, Cincinnati and UCLA over a seven-day stretch in December? Although the Bulldogs came up empty in two of those three (only defeating UCLA), they didn't schedule those for their health. They did it because they know to be the best, you have to play the best.
Yes, Gonzaga is the underdog's underdog because of its enrollment (4,435 students) and location (Eastern Washington, which could just as well be Siberia for most people east of the Mississippi). But that's only if you look at the Zags on the surface. Looking closer, you see three players who could get NBA looks in Matt Santangelo, Richie Frahm and Casey Calvary. Gonzaga also has a system that fits perfectly with its personnel, and they have a core of veterans who learned from last year's trip to the doorstep of the Final Four.
Calling them a Cinderella two years in a row is a blatant lack of respect. It connotes a sense that in the backs of people's minds, the Zags don't really belong -- they're "crashing" the Big Dance.
The only thing Gonzaga is crashing this year is the brackets of everyone who didn't remember last year.
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