Pat Summitt continues to set the standard

With her announcement of stepping down as Tennessee's head women's basketball coach, Pat Summitt has shown once again just how much better she is than everybody else doing this coaching thing.

You know most of the story. 16 SEC regular season and tournament championships. 18 Final Fours. 1,098 wins. Tennessee never missed an NCAA Tournament during her 38 years at the helm, a feat that absolutely boggles the mind. But by stepping down due to her battle with early-onset Alzheimer, Summitt showed she knew when her time had come, a characteristic not displayed by many athletes or coaches these days.

There was Michael Jordan coming back to play for the Washington Wizards when he shouldn't have been, and Brett Favre ruining his relationship with Green Bay before heading to the New York Jets and Minnesota Vikings. Even then, Favre stuck around until scandals surrounding his penis did more to force him out of football. In college football, both Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno hung on to their jobs at the helm for way too long, the latter ending in disastrous circumstances. Bobby Petrino hadn't been at Arkansas for long, but he was revered by the Razorback faithful. Now, he's out of a job because he too let his ego and perceived importance get the best of him.

Not Summitt, though. Somehow (sarcasm), she managed to avoid the inflated sense of self that has ruined so many other sports personalities. She knew earlier this season that this would have to be her last, but where she differed from so many others was that she followed through on that. Sure, Summitt will still be the "Coach Emeritus" (whatever that means) at Tennessee, but she's done with the profession. She'll still be there so Tennessee can recruit competitively, but Summitt knows it's time to hang up the proverbial whistle.

Always good to know that there are still some decent, smart people in the sporting world.

Why I'm not worried about the Heat, even a little bit

I couldn't find much to write about in the past week and change. But with the NBA playoffs coming up soon, there has been an interesting development in the league that is quickly becoming the biggest headline: the Heat are losing games, they can't keep pace with Chicago. Can they pull it together and win a championship? Wait...that's been the headline of the NBA for the past two seasons.

In this most recent addition of "The Heat can't cut it", the Heat have gone 3-4 while trying to make a push for the Eastern Conference's top seed. Of greater note is the fact that three of those four losses came to the Boston Celtics (twice) and the Chicago Bulls. The fact that as the season winds down, and the Heat are unable to beat other playoff teams from the East gives some people concern (or fills them with glee). Bill Simmons even took the time to write a column about how his beloved Celtics are back, and that they could mess with the Heat in a playoff series if they stay healthy. Sorry, not gonna happen. Because while I'm no expert on the NBA, I watch enough to know that the regular season is mostly meaningless.

In the NBA's regular season, getting into decent position in the playoffs is the only concern. It is a rarity to have a game in which both teams really play hard on a given night in the NBA. Take this BS Report podcast with Steve Nash, who talks about in a normal NBA season, having "scheduling losses", losses that a team basically just surrenders due to the grind of its schedule at that time. Yeah, sometimes in the NBA teams don't really show up. When they do, it's fantastic. That is why the playoffs are so entertaining. Because teams and players are giving it everything they've got in the playoffs. That's also why the regular season can't really be used to evaluate a playoff bracket.

Take Lebron James' first team for example. In the two years before James left for Miami, the Cleveland Cavaliers had the best record in the NBA and lost in the playoffs. In 2009, the Cavs were an unbelievable 66-16 in the regular season, but were dispatched pretty easily by the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals. If not for a buzzer-beater by James in game 2, that would have been five game series. A 66-16 team was manhandled. Orlando, despite its inferior regular season record, was the better team. In the next year, everyone knows what happened. Cleveland went down to the Boston Celtics in six games, and Lebron "quit" in game 5. (This is an argument for another time, but I watched the game, and just don't agree that he had already quit on the Cavs. Look at his game 6 stats for at least some evidence). Whether or not James had given up, what always seems to be lost in that story is that clearly, the Celtics were a much better team than they were given credit for during the regular season. Everyone thought the C's beating the Cavs was an incredible upset, but then the Celtics beat the Magic easily, and almost won the Championship over the Lakers. It seems obvious to me that the Celtics flipped a switch in the playoffs and started playing real basketball. They just wanted to get into position, and when that happened, with all their veterans, become the team they knew they were capable of being.

So what was it about those Cavs that made them so good in the regular season but unable to get over the hump in the playoffs? The answer is simple: they played hard every night in the regular season. Players like Anderson Varejao hustled like crazy every night and were awarded as All-Stars in the regular season. But the playoffs started, and the Varejaos of the world start going against guys who are more athletically gifted, more talented and now playing just as hard, and things got ugly. (Varejao's career stats: 7.3 points, 7.2 rebounds. His career playoff numbers: 6.0 points, 5.6 rebounds (according to databasebasketball.com). In 2009-10, Varejao averaged 8.6 points and 7.6 rebounds. In the playoffs that year, he went for 5.7 points and 6.5 rebounds. In both cases, he played less minutes per game than during the regular season, but that is just as telling as the decrease in numbers: Varejao couldn't get the job done quite as well anymore).

Now look at last season, in which the Heat were the second seed in the East behind the Bulls. Miami went 0-3 against Chicago in the regular season, and it looked like Chicago had a serious mental edge. But then after losing game one, Miami reeled off four straight wins in relatively easy fashion, burying the Bulls in the fourth quarter each time. The Heat proved it was a better team than Chicago was.

Given the way this NBA season has gone, there's no reason to expect a different result in the playoffs. The Bulls almost exactly the same team as last year: a hard-playing group of most good players that operate around one unbelievable superstar. They have managed to win without Derrick Rose this year, which might be better for the Bulls come playoff time, but it's unlikely. When everybody is playing as hard as Taj Gibson and Joakim Noah are, Chicago looks a whole lot more pedestrian. And when everybody in Miami is playing that hard, the Heat will become a whole new animal, similar to last year.

Hopefully it will still result in a team on a mission from the West dispatching them in the NBA Finals, so the Heat narrative can continue.

We found baseball in a hopeless place

One hundred sixty-two games. It can be easy to forget in the early season excitement of Major League Baseball (which begins tonight, at least in the U.S.), that we've got to last through five and a half months and 162 games just to get to the playoffs. And that means if your team is not very good, after a month-long (maybe) grace period of just being happy to watch baseball, the sport can get pretty old and pretty depressing pretty fast. That's not a good thing, because a few tennis Grand Slams aside, baseball's the only thing going on during the summer months.

This is precisely why I'm concerned about the 2012 MLB season. According to Grantland.com baseball writer Jonah Keri, it would be a surprise if the New York Mets (my favorite team) were to finish anything better than last in the NL East. In ESPN.com writer Jayson Stark's annual preseason prediction of the World Series winner, the Mets qualified as one of the ten teams that have "no shot to be cooking in October." And in a division that possesses expected contenders in the Phillies, Braves and Marlins, let alone the popular sleeper-pick Washington Nationals. It could be a very long season for the Metropolitans. The Amazin's are looking like anything but in 2012.

So how to enjoy a season of baseball in which the team I like will probably be 10 games off the lead within the first 40 games of the season? Fantasy baseball will certainly help. But the key to continuing to enjoy baseball lies in following individual pursuits. Will David Wright, one of the great Mets of my lifetime, finally enjoy a healthy season and return to his original form? Will any of the young players (Ike Davis, Lucas Duda, Ruben Tejada) have a breakout year and be a pleasant surprise in an otherwise dark year? How impressive will Johan Santana be after sitting out last year due to surgery? Outside of the Mets, how about Jose Reyes? Will he continue to be the dominate game-changer he was in 2011, or will he go back to good-but-not-great form after securing himself that massive contract?

With so many players, so many games and so, so, so many numbers, there is always something that can be enjoyed about baseball. Really, where else can we so easily access a hitter's batting average against a certain pitcher when he is facing a 2-1 count? Nowhere else in sports that I'm aware of. Love it. So tune in tonight, tomorrow and over the weekend.

Evaluating the Final Four games on anything but basketball

For the first time since I can't remember, I won't be able to watch the Final Four games tonight. Yes, devastation. Luckily, there is a way of figuring out which teams will meet in the Championship game without even catching a whiff of basketball.

Kentucky vs. Louisville
Mascot
Kentucky's mascot is among the most generic in all of sports, right alongside bulldog; that being said, Louisville's mascot is the Cardinal. The Cardinal is a non-predatory bird, and while it looks cool and is the state bird of Ohio, that's about all it has going. Sorry, Cardy, the Wildcat takes round one.

Roster names
Pretty easy call on this one. Junior guard Twany Beckham aside, UK's roster is a veritable who's-who of average basketball player names. Darius Miller. Terence Jones. Anthony Davis. Sam Malone. Coach Cal is an unbelievable recruiter, but he's got to work on getting his name-game up. On the other hand, Louisville has two guys with the last name Smith on its roster and still manages to be more exciting. Whether its freshman Angel Nunez (anybody named Angel is automatically getting my attention) who doesn't play at all or sophomore Gorgui Dieng (same goes for anybody named Gorgui--or Dieng, for that matter) who starts for the Cardinals, Louisville has cool names on lockdown. The 'Ville has some guy named Stephan Van Treese on its roster. That dude sounds like he should be the son of a Duke, but is disappointingly just from Indianapolis. Still, his name's getting the job done. Even one of Louisville's more boring names, Kyle Kuric, rolls off the tongue nicely due to its alliteration. Cards even things up.

Most Interesting Man test
This test is inspired by the Dos Equis commercials featuring the "Most Interesting Man in the World". Which team has a guy who might speak French in Russian? Or maybe he could have inside jokes with total strangers? Basically, who would I want to hang out with most? And the answer to this one goes to the the resident winner of the name game as well--Gorgui Dieng. While in Louisville last weekend I spent time hanging out with a guy from Tanzania who was friends with the people I was visiting. He was funny, always in a good mood and ready to mix it up with whoever, and told some absolutely fascinating stories. Gorgui may not party quite as hardy as anybody in Lexington, but I'm thinking he'd be way more interesting to listen to between the weekends, telling me stories about his time in Senegal and what he thinks of the States. That definitely sounds better than talking to Anthony Davis about how crazy it was at this one AAU Tournament he played at when he was 15. Edge, Louisville.

Most Interesting Coach test
Same as before, but with the men running the benches for both teams. Unfortunately, I know very little nothing about either team's coaches beyond the leading men, so there are only two candidates I could choose from in this one. And that seems like a pretty easy call. Coach Cal may be deplorable, but is there any doubt he'd be a fun to hang with? It is clear as day from interviews that his players like him, and he's doing something right in order to fill his roster with future NBA-ers year after year. I'm guessing it's got to do with that personality. Coach Pitino on the other hand? Larger than life guy, for sure. Ultra-successful college coach, yes. But he still strikes me as very meh. The only thing I'd want to talk about is what a conversation Ricky probably wouldn't be keen on having.

Who is more worth rooting for?
Well, neither team. It's Kentucky and Louisville. The only way to make this worse would be to replace one of the teams with North Carolina and bring Tyler Hansbrough back to the Tar Heels' roster. But Louisville has several seniors and guys who aren't going to be making money playing professional basketball in the U.S., and other guys who might make the money, but still won't be playing. Set aside the fact that Kentucky is a farm team for the pros and how much that sucks in general. Most of the guys playing on that team will have plenty more shots on glory when they are in the pros. This is just a stop for them. No matter how much they really care about this Championship and no matter what happens over the next three days, the future is bright for them. For Kyle Kuric and Peyton Siva? The future (as far as basketball is concerned) is the next three days. So this has to the to the Cardinals.

For anybody not able to keep track, Louisville pulled off the upset, 3-2. Despite all the indications, opinions and talent to the contrary, here is some hard evidence that the Cardinals have a chance. And hey, even if Louisville does get thrashed tonight, at least Gorgui Dieng will have given it some pride: MVP of this column.

Ohio State vs. Kansas
Mascot
If there is a mascot that Ohio State would actually beat, it is escaping me. Seriously, Ohio State are the Buckeyes. And not even the tree. The seed on the tree that peanut buttery snacks are modeled after. Even if it was the tree, the Buckeye is not an especially impressive angiosperm. Were they the Ohio State Redwoods, then maybe we're talking. But Buckeye? Let alone the fact that Kansas' mascot is a mythical bird. This is not close. Point KU.

Roster names
Mostly boring on both sides. All of Kansas' cool is coming from guys that don't see the floor: Naadir Tharpe, Niko Roberts, Merv Lindsay (Merv!). The Jayhawks do have two guards with decent names in Tyshawn Taylor (once again, on the strength of alliteration) and Elijah Johnson (on the strength of Elijah), but KU has clearly left this one wide open. Ohio State doesn't have much to shout about in the category either, however. It is always a good thing to have a Weatherspoon on the roster, and J.D. Weatherspoon proudly sports the scarlet and grey from the sidelines. So Ohio State has that going for it, which is nice. Throw in LaQuinton Ross and Evan Ravenel, and the name game is going down to the wire. The way I see it, it comes down to Merv Lindsay and Evan Ravenel. And while Merv has the advantage of having a fake first name for a first name and a real first name for a last name, I think only Gorgui Dieng has a shot at beating Evan Ravenel for full-name glory. Kudos to Ravvy's parents for having the guts to name him Evan. That could have gone south quickly with so many e's, a's and v's in such a short span of syllables. But it hasn't. Point Buckeyes.

Most Interesting Man test
Thomas Robinson is an incredible player with an incredible story. He has put his younger sister before himself at all times, and should be commended for that. But in spite of that and in spite of my disdain for him, I don't think there's any choice other than Jared Sullinger for Most Interesting Man in this game. Sully's larger-than-life personality has been on display since his freshman year. It reached a nationwide audience when we saw him singing "Party in the USA" on ESPN, but it is there for all to see in the middle of games as well. Sullinger puts his tongue out and cheers and nods when good things are happening for his team. But this year, the other side of Sullinger was seen much more frequently. He was pouting when things weren't going well. He quit on his team because he allowed things he couldn't control get the better of him a couple times. Right now, however, Sullinger appears to have his swag back in full force. And even though he annoys me to watch on TV, I have no doubt he'd be a blast to be around in person. Buckeyes, 2-1.

Most Interesting Coach test
Thad Matta's name is Thad Matta, and that is awesome. Thad also is kinda cool because he's not like any of the other mega-successful coaches of big programs in the country--Mike Krzyzewski, Roy Williams, Bo Ryan, John Calipari, Billy Donovan, Jim Boeheim, etc. All those guys are totally composed in their interviews. Thad doesn't have that polished feel about him. He seems much more genuine in his comments because of that. That being said, he coached at Xavier, which pretty much ends this argument. Bill Self is another one of those boring, polished automatons, but he hasn't been at Xavier. Sorry for that Ocean's 12-esque, buildup and anti-climax, but I needed to write something. Edge, Kansas.

Who is more worth rooting for?
The T-Rob story speaks for itself. That guy is pretty well worth rooting for, as are the other veterans on his team, but Ohio State has some worthiness of its own. The Buckeyes are coming off a year in which they were far and away the best team in the country, but suffered in the Elite Eight due to a poor shooting game. What's more, that loss came at the hands of a freshman-laden Kentucky team. This year's UK team is totally different, but I would imagine the leftover Buckeyes would still love a shot at returning the favor. Jared Sullinger has said he came back this year because of the sting of last year. Whether or not you like Sully (and I don't), that's what college basketball is all about. And Kansas' last national championship came in 2007, while OSU hasn't cut down the Nets since 1960. I'd say that means point, Bucks.

Finaly tally comes to Ohio State 3, Kansas 2. The scientific approach delivered by Ken Pomeroy says it will be Kentucky-Ohio State. The non-scientific but educated consensus from the ESPN pundits says we're getting Kentucky-Kansas. And this non-scientific and not-educated is pimping a Louisville-Ohio State final two. I guess that adds up to a fun night of basketball.

No need for teams in the Hunger Games

I finally got around to seeing the Hunger Games today, and came out the other side thoroughly pleased. An unnecessary District 11 riot aside, the movie was really good. But before getting too into those thoughts, a couple generals ones first.

One thing I haven't had the chance to do much of since going to college is see movies at the theaters. A combination of the fact that for the most part I was content waiting to see movies when they came out on Netflix and the fact that, believe it or not, there is almost always something to do at school that sounds just as fun as going to the cinema, I just haven't been to the actual theaters much lately. But wow, is it fun to go. I love watching movies at anytime, but there is nothing quite like the seats rumbling beneath you when the bass kicks in on the speakers that are playing way too loud while you watch that gigantic screen.

And this brings us back to the Hunger Games, which took full advantage of the opportunities afforded by a movie theater. We walked in during the first trailer, which was for some horror flick called House at the End of the Street. This movie would have blown by pretty quickly, but it happens to star Jennifer Lawrence, and the trailer involved some time with her putzing around in a tank top, which will always work for me. I don't know the last horror movie I watched, but #HATES (as was thrown together at the end of the trailer) just might be the next one. I love Jennifer Lawrence. The rest of them were exciting ones as well: The Avengers, Snow White and the Huntsman (which has a chance to be good, but has one serious flaw: Kristen Stewart is not gonna pass as fairer than Charlize Theron anytime soon), G.I. Joe: Retaliation (starring The Rock!), What to Expect When You're Expecting (looked pretty funny, but then again so do most comedy trailers) and a 30-second teaser bit for the Twilight Breaking Dawn part 2 (more on that later).

Then the movie started. I won't bore anyone with my every thought on the film, but I really enjoyed it. I loved the way the cameras were used in that out-of-control sort of way, especially during the time in District 12. It made the movie feel that much more intimate, which was good for a movie that was based on a first-person narrated book. Speaking of the narration, the Katniss in this movie if probably a better version of the Katniss in the book. While Katty seems like a great gal in the books, she is also prone to infuriating fits of stupidity. She just doesn't make very good decisions and never seems to read people the right way. Not having been a teenage girl in my time, it was at times brutal to read what was going on in Katniss' head, because it just wasn't very smart stuff, coming from an otherwise intelligent individual. But making the movie from a third-perspective was a great move, because all that pent up emotion was left in the capable hands of Lawrence. And I gotta say, Jenny killed it. Her wandering eyes in scenes with Peeta and her scenes with both Primrose and Rue were excellent. I got all the Katniss I needed without getting any of the Katniss I didn't want. And that all involved plenty of Jennifer Lawrence. And any review of this movie should not happen without mentioning that Stanley Tucci, Elizabeth Banks and Lenny Kravitz were absolutely perfect as Caesar Flickerman, Effie Trinket and Cinna, respectively. Awesome.

The other big bonus from this film was my major concern coming in. Leading up to the movie, I saw Facebook and Twitter updates about people who had tickets for the movie, and were pumped up about it. At the end of many of these people's updates was the hashtagged phrase #teampeeta. Having read the Hunger Games trilogy, I understood the reference. During the height of the Twilight Saga's reign, there were people proclaiming that they were on #teamedward or #teamjacob, the two young men chiefly involved in Bella's life. Now I have not read the Twilight books, so I don't know if Jacob was actually a love option for Bella or if he was actually worth rooting for in that love triangle, but I assume he was, because many people boasted about their #teamjacob-ness. And that is what upset me. Sure, there are two dudes heavily involved in Katniss' life: Gale and Peeta. She has those confusing teenage-y feelings about both dudes. Of course, the feelings are nonsense, but she has them. But what bothers me is the thought that anyone might proclaim to be a part of #teamgale. Seriously? Gale is hardly even involved in the first book! And in the second and third when he plays a bigger role, he just shows that the disgruntled, moany 18-year-old who can't get over a 16-year-old girl who's a bigger bad-ass than he is. All Gale does is whine about the Capitol and he votes to have a Hunger Games of the Capitol's children (if you've only seen the movie or read the first book, sorry. But this isn't giving much away, you'll get there). How could anyone be on that dude's team?

No thanks, I'll take Peeta, the guy who does nothing but good, says all the right things, has everything awful happen to him in the world but still maintains some sense of himself (a self that is better than everybody else in the supremely f-ed up world Suzanne Collins created). That was my concern. That this movie was going to be portrayed as some Twilight love triangle. That's not what it is. Peeta is always the shockingly better option. Was there really anybody on #teamgale going in? Has anybody who's seen the movie decided to stay on that bandwagon? I hope not.

Why Kentucky-Louisville can do nothing but harm

Over the weekend I visited some friends in Louisville, and it was my first time staying more than a day in the great state of Kentucky. On Friday night, we headed out to a bar and caught the end of the North Carolina-Ohio Sweet 16 game, which was almost the coolest thing ever. Really, though, we were heading out to catch the Kentucky-Indiana game, a game that I didn't particularly care about, and my friends sort of cared about because now they live in Kentucky. We got to Molly Malone's and it took all of about four seconds to realize that we were not going to be sitting down at any point to watch the game there. But that was fine, as I've been to a Dayton-Xavier game in a Dayton bar, and if you don't arrive early enough, you'll be standing all game long as well.

That was where the similarities and familiarities about watching basketball stopped. What followed was unlike anything I've seen before. Every possession, whether it was a turnover, missed shot, made shot, three-pointer, dunk or timeout, was met with a groan or a cheer. When Cody Zeller scored, the bar groaned. When Cody Zeller missed a shot and it was rebounded by Kentucky, the entire bar erupted. If Christian Watford missed a shot and IU grabbed an offensive rebound, a collective groan was guaranteed. When Anthony Davis scored, a bar-wide cheer was assured. Even if a timeout was forced or called after a loose ball, the crowd at Molly Malone's went berserk one way or another. It was unbelievable. So many things that really didn't matter in the grand scheme of the game were met with despair or joy. Hundreds and hundreds of times over, this process continued.

I'm a huge basketball fan. I would say I care about my teams as much as anybody else I've met. But it wasn't even close the amount these people seemed to have invested in their Wildcats. At least in the city of Louisville, the same seemed to go for the Cardinals. This is why I'm concerned about the loss of life possibilities that could result from Louisville and Kentucky's Final Four matchup this weekend. I don't actually see how violence can be avoided. We've all heard about the Dodgers fan being beaten into a coma and two San Francisco 49ers fans being shot after a 49ers-Raiders game. Well, from what I could tell this weekend, the people in Kentucky are at least as insane as the nutjobs involved in those incidents. And this is a Final Four game, compared to a regular season and a preseason game (as in, it's a little bit more important).

Whatever the result of the game, while I had fun in Louisville over the weekend, I'm thinking I'll be glad not to be back in the coming one.

Sweet 16 Friday Primer

While yesterday's picks for the games resulted in just s 2-2 performance (Syracuse and Ohio State being the ones I got correct), I will also pat myself on the back for correctly prescribing the formula for Louisville to win. The Cardinals got their defense on and played a game in the 50s (in Michigan State's case, the 40s), and turned in an impressive win. Kudos to Florida for totally proving me wrong. Billy Donovan's crew dominated Marquette in the second half, outplaying and out-hustling them. Some better shooting from Marquette would have made that game closer down the stretch, but I don't think the result would have been different. Florida was the better team Thursday night. And in a best of one series, sometimes being on your game on a given night is what matters most.

Xavier vs. Baylor, 7:15 p.m.
On paper this looks like an easy win for Baylor. Baylor is the superior team physically and is still waiting on a good game in the tournament from its best player, Perry Jones III. But you can never really count Xavier out, can you? Four Sweet 16s in the past five years. It makes me sick to hear about it, because this year Xavier shouldn't have even been in the tournament. A Matt Kavanaugh layup would have done the trick. But Xavier survived that game, and then survived Notre Dame and beat Lehigh. I do not like giving praise to the Musketeers, but somehow, they get into this type of situation year after year. And Baylor is a soft, vulnerable team. Xavier may not be likable, but they are definitely not soft. Gangsta and "zippin' 'em up" jokes aside, this is a tough team. And they have a guy who lives for the moment in Holloway. If the Bears come out the least bit lackadaisical, you can bet that Xavier will jump all over them, and that could all there is to this game. One would hope, however, that a team of college basketball players can find motivation to play hard in a Sweet 16 game, regardless of its opponent. I think Baylor does that, and we're finally done with Holloway in college basketball.

Ohio vs. North Carolina, 7:47 p.m.
In any given year of college basketball, if Ohio University were playing North Carolina in one of the early season tournaments held at a neutral site, like the Puerto Rico Tip-Off, most everyone would look at the names of the teams, think, "that's going to be a blowout," and probably not watch the game. Just because this is a Sweet 16 game does not mean it should be approached any differently. To get here Ohio has done some great things, and its game against South Florida in the third round was an extremely fun one to watch, but this is North Carolina. Kendall Marshall or not, they are superior to the Bobcats in every way. They can put out a front line of Tyler Zeller, John Henson, James Michael McAdoo and Harrison Barnes. How exactly is OU going to compete with that? They aren't. It's been a great ride for OU, but don't feel bad if you end up changing the channel or starting your Friday night pregame early in lieu of finishing this game.

Indiana vs. Kentucky, 9:45 p.m.
If the three games listed so far go the right way, March 23, 2012 will be the greatest NCAA Tournament night of my life in which a team I was rooting for didn't win the National Championship. Unfortunately, it is much more likely that Kentucky, North Carolina and Xavier will all win than it is that they will all lose. Of course, the pundits have reminded us a couple hundred thousand times that Indiana is responsible for Kentucky's sole loss this season. So sure, perhaps that will give IU some confidence heading into the game. But let's dissect how likely a repeat is for the Hoosiers. First off, that game was a home game for Indiana. This will be played on a neutral court. For anyone who will be watching his/her first basketball game tonight, that makes more than a small difference. In addition, it was a game in which Indiana possessed a hefty lead, but saw it vanish in no time when Kentucky flexed its muscle in the second half. And finally, it took a buzzer-beater from beyond the arc to secure the victory. Basically, it was the type of thing that only happens a couple times a season for a team, and it was only able to happen because Indiana had played a great game in its home gym on that day. To me, this has 15-20 point UK win written all over it. Then again, there hasn't been a single buzzer-beater all tournament long, so maybe...

North Carolina State vs. Kansas, 10:17 p.m.
This looks like the most intriguing matchup of the night. NC State has been playing excellent basketball, mainly through its big men, since the ACC Tournament. If not for a missed call on an offensive foul, the Wolfpack would have played for the ACC title, and had a great shot at beating Florida State. Since then, they've been dominant in the NCAA Tournament. They dispatched a very good San Diego State easily by executing a good game plan to perfection. But that was by exploiting a size advantage against the Aztecs. In the third round, NC State proved the win was no fluke by beating Georgetown and Henry Sims, a pretty good big man in his own right. Now, things only get tougher. The NC State front line will have to deal with Thomas Robinson and Jeff Withey of Kansas, perhaps the best duo in the country (Zeller and Henson from UNC would be the other option). Kansas is coming off a lackluster performance against Purdue, but the Jayhawks survived Robbie Hummel's last stand. If Tyshawn Taylor and Robinson can get back on track and deliver typically strong games in the Sweet 16, my gut says Kansas is too good for NC State. But if they're a bit underwhelming again? We'll have an 11 seed in the Elite Eight for the second straight year.