First things first, if you like up-tempo basketball, the West is the region for you.

This is noticeable at first glance as six of the top 12 teams in tempo (possessions per game) in the 2012 March Madness bracket tournament reside in the West Region. What’s more, seven teams that led their conference in transition points per game — Michigan State, Missouri, Marquette, Murray State, Memphis and Iona — are in the mix, and that statistic doesn’t include the likes of Long Beach State, which thrives in up-tempo styles, or Davidson, which averages 68 possessions per game, or Louisville, which just reinvented itself as a full-court pressing team, or Florida, which prefers a half-court pace but creates much of its offense on long rebounds and secondary-break 3s.

Every NCAA tournament region is entertaining. That’s the unified theory of March. But this one might be the best. At the very least, it will certainly be the fastest.

And one of the teams competing in the region is the Missouri Tigers. Missouri fans were upset they didn’t receive a No. 1 seed after the Tigers clinched the Big 12 tournament title, but that was always an unlikely outcome. (It’s hard to argue with Michigan State’s case for that final No. 1, especially after the Spartans topped off their already-excellent season with a Big Ten tournament title and yet another win over Ohio State.)

But Missouri fans have a legitimate beef with the selection committee on at least one issue: Committee chair Jeff Hathaway said the Tigers were the fourth No. 2 seed behind the Buckeyes, Duke and Kansas. Sure, the Tigers’ nonconference schedule didn’t match that of those teams, but come on. Duke? Really?

The good news? In spite of itself, the committee still treated Missouri…

Read More » Can Missouri win the West bracket of March Madness?

This year, Kentucky is the favorite in the dirty dirty South.

The 2012 March Madness bracket tournament is finally here and while Kentucky is the odds-on favorite of the South bracket, this is no easy road to the Final Four.

You see, the Kentucky Wildcats are in a bracket with multiple dangerous teams, including Connecticut and Wichita State, even before they could possibly get to Duke or Baylor, a team with the length to match Kentucky more than any other team in this region.

Wichita State and VCU have the look of Sweet 16 teams. The only problem is, only one of the two can get to the third round since they are pitted against each other. That’s a shame. But it also ensures that one of the two will be playing in the third round.

Duke can also pose a threat to Kentucky. Almost everyone has heard of Duke’s Austin Rivers and he will definitely be on some NBA radar screens over the next few months.

There’s also South Dakota State who has the best nickname in the field — the Jackrabbits — and one of the best hidden gems of the tournament in guard Nate Wolters. The Jackrabbits are no joke. They won handily at Washington and could cause some problems for any team that come across them this March.

Colorado is one of the hottest teams in the country after…

Read More » Who’ll test Kentucky in their March Madness bracket?

A fitting end to what has been a wild tournament.

The 2011 March Madness bracket tournament is over and after a field of more than 60 programs, only one remain, the Connecticut Huskies, your winner of the 2011 NCAA National Championship.

On a night when the massive arena felt like a dusty old gym, the Connecticut Huskies made the Butler Bulldogs look like the underdogs they really were, winning the national championship Monday night with an old-fashioned, grinding 53-41 beatdown of the Bulldogs.

Walker finished with 16 points for the Huskies (32-9), who won their 11th straight game since closing the regular season with a 9-9 Big East record that foreshadowed none of this.

They closed it out with a defensive showing for the ages, holding the Butler Bulldogs to a 12-for-64 shooting. That’s 18.8 percent, the worst ever in a title game, which made for an ugly overall night but turned into the kind of game a grizzled old coach like Jim Calhoun could love.

At age 68, he became the oldest coach to win the NCAA championship and joined John Wooden, Adolph Rupp, John Krzyzewski and Bob Knight as only the fifth coach to win three NCAA titles.

He did it by accepting the reality that the rim was about as wide as a pancake on a defensive-minded night in Houston, by making his players pound the ball inside and insisting on the kind of defense that UConn played during this remarkable run, but which often got overshadowed by Walker’s theatrics.

Connecticut outscored Butler by an amazing 26-2 in the…

Read More » Connecticut Huskies won the 2011 NCAA Title

Are you ready for this people? (Well, those of you who follow college hoops anyway…)

The 2011 NCAA Final Four is officially set as Kentucky, Connecticut, VCU, and Butler have all punched their tickets to Houston for this upcoming weekend in one the most unpredictable Final Fours in recent memory.

For the first time since seeding began, we don’t have a one or two seed remaining at this point, which means that anything could happen on Saturday. No.11 seed VCU takes on No.8 seed Butler before No.3 Connecticut takes on No.4 Kentucky. Anything can happen this weekend, making this one of the most intriguing Final Four match-ups in the history of college basketball.

In the Final Four match-up between the VCU Rams and the Butler Bulldogs, nobody expected these two teams to make it this far, much less meet each other in the Final Four.

Both programs went through a long and difficult road, to say the least, especially the Butler Bulldogs who many people expected to lose in the very first round despite their status as defending champions.

When that didn’t happen, lots of fans decided it was buzzer-beater luck and predicted a loss to No.1 seed Pittsburg. But Butler’s stars Shelvin Mack and Matt Howard are two of the most determined players in college basketball and they wanted to return to the Final Four. Both have had spectacular tournament runs and, despite the absence of 2010 lottery pick Gordon Heyward, Butler has now returned to the…

Read More » VCU – Butler kicks off the 2011 NCAA Final Four

Who will advance to the national championship game?

The 2011 NCAA Final Four rages on this weekend as the Connecticut Huskies take on the Kentucky Wildcats in the second of this Saturday’s Final Four double-header.

Coming into this game, the Connecticut Huskies will have arguably one of the best players in the country with Kemba Walker. He averages just short of 24 points per game, while also grabbing 5.3 RPG and dishing out 4.5 APG.

Walker’s running mate, freshman guard Jeremy Lamb (11.1 PPG and 4.3 RPG), gives the Huskies a potent offensive attack. Add Shabazz Napier (8.0 PPG, 2.4 RPG and 3.0 APG) and you have a backcourt trio that can go up against anyone.

In addition, the Huskies have long, athletic frontcourt players. Alex Oriakhi (6’9″, 240 lbs.) has a fierce inside game (9.6 PPG and 8.6 RPG) while freshman Roscoe Smith (6’8″, 205 lbs.) provides nice outside skills (6.5 PPG and 5.2 RPG). Senior Charles Okwandu (7’0″, 255 lbs.) comes off the bench to provide strong rebounding and a shot-blocking presence for the team.

So how in the world can the Kentucky Wildcats go toe-to-toe with these monstars? Well, they have guards that are long and talented, giving them probably the best backcourt among the teams in the Final Four.

Freshman point guard Brandon Knight (17.2 PPG, 3.8 RPG and 4.2 APG) runs the show and also leads the team in scoring while shooting guard Doron Lamb, who also happens to be a freshman, is a threat from…

Read More » Connecticut takes on Kentucky in Final Four Game

Kansas did not get a lot of credit when the season started.

Everyone knew they would be good, they are always good. But teams like Kansas State and Baylor were getting all the advanced press. Kansas State was the team favored to win the Big 12 argued numerous critics. The Kansas loss in the second round of last year’s tournament to Northern Iowa might have soured people on the Jayhawks’ bid this 2011 March Madness bracket tournament.

But lo and behold, by January 17, the Kansas Jayhawks were 18-0 and Kansas State was 13-6. No one was questioning Kansas anymore except for head coach Bill Self. Self continued to tell his team that they were overrated, were not as good as their record indicates and needed to watch out and not buy into their own hype.

By the end of the season, Kansas was 32-2, winners of the Big 12 Championship and a clear No. 1 seed in the March Madness college basketball tournament. The team is loaded with stars including the Morris twins. Kansas has set itself up as one of the teams to beat and is a clear favorite for the NCAA tournament.

So who can stand up to the Jayhawks now?

Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish hope Ben Hansbrough can follow in his brother’s footsteps, leading a team to the Final Four. Hansbrough and Tim Abromaitis form one of the best shooting backcourts in the country. Notre Dame will have a tough road, though…

Read More » Can Kansas get their respect this March Madness?

It’s no surprise that Duke is still in the middle of all the madness this March.

The West region of the 2011 March Madness bracket tournament features the Duke Blue Devils on one side of the bracket and the San Diego State Aztecs on the other.

It’s the old guard, a staple of March Madness, a powerhouse team like the Duke Blue Devils going up against the hot team from a small conference in San Diego State. The West region is full of intriguing teams, making it a group to keep an eye on as the NCAA tournament heats up.

A big-time third-round game could feature No. 4 Texas vs. No. 5 Arizona. Two weeks ago, the Longhorns were a potential 1 seed and the Wildcats were considered a possible 2 seed. If Missouri gets past Cincinnati, it could pose problems for Connecticut, which lost four of its last five before making its five-victory run in the Big East tournament.

The defending champions from Duke look ready for a repeat run after winning all of their games by double digits in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament. Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith are one of the best 1-2 punches in the country.

On the other hand, San Diego State has a veteran squad that plays tough defense, which makes them a Final Four-caliber team. SDSU sophomore forward Kawhi Leonard could go pro after this season and guard D.J. Gay comes through in the clutch.

Of course, we also have other teams looking to dethrone Duke like the Connecticut Huskies who, after winning the Big East tournament, have showed they could play with anybody in the nation. Kemba Walker regained his early-season form, and wing Jeremy Lamb is a future star.

Meanwhile, coach Fran Dunphy has the Owls in familiar territory…

Read More » Can Duke defend their NCAA National Title?

And so it begins.

At first, there were no surprises. Selection Sunday went as most expected, with Ohio State, Kansas, Pittsburgh and Duke getting No. 1 seeds for the 2011 March Madness bracket tournament.

But all of a sudden, teams that appeared to be on the wrong side of the bubble, Virginia Commonwealth, Clemson and UAB, were invited to the Big Dance. At the end there were head-scratching snubs such as Colorado, Virginia Tech and Harvard. This year’s tournament is all about more madness than ever before.

In the East, nobody will be able to coast into the Sweet 16. The Ohio State Buckeyes will have its hands full against the winner of George Mason-Villanova. The UAB-Clemson winner should cause trouble for West Virginia, and Kentucky drew a tough Princeton team.

The No. 1 overall seed has one of the best players in the country, freshman forward Jared Sullinger. The Buckeyes also have a freshman at point guard, Aaron Craft. Those are the most important positions to make a deep run. But Ohio State doesn’t have a deep bench.

Still, the Buckeyes are the top-seeded team for a reason, and have a good veteran core surrounding their freshmen, with David Lighty, Jon Diebler and William Buford.

The Buckeyes (32-2) haven’t been punked by anybody…

Read More » Can the Buckeyes come out on top of March Madness?

Yes? Even though many question their No.1 seeding in the tournament?

In case you didn’t know, the Pittsburgh Panthers claimed the top overall seed in their region of the 2011 March Madness bracket tournament by being the best team in the Big East Conference during the regular season. Yes, they got knocked out early in the Big East Tournament, but their body of work was impressive enough to get them a top spot, and with little argument.

This region is wide open, especially if the Pittsburgh Panthers fall early. The Panthers could have a tough third-round game against Butler, last year’s runner-up. Nobody should be shocked if Kansas State, St. John’s or even Utah State gets hot and makes a Final Four run.

Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon, who played at TCU, is the current titleholder of “best coach without a Final Four appearance.” That could change this year, as the Panthers have excelled under Dixon and his defensive philosophy. Pitt doesn’t have any marquee players, but wins games with toughness, gritty defense and fundamentals.

Meanwhile, there will be teams that will look to knock the Panthers out, like Florida. The Florida Gators aren’t the prettiest No.2 seed, especially after falling 70-54 to Kentucky in the SEC championship. But Florida, which hasn’t won a tournament game since its second consecutive title in 2007, can make a run behind forward Chandler Parsons and diminutive guard Erving Walker.

There’s also Wisconsin. Bo Ryan is one of the best coaches in…

Read More » Are you betting on Pittsburgh this March Madness?

If you’ve been following the NBA, then you’ll realize hoops fans already had their fair share of some madness this year.

Of course, the madness in college hoops don’t officially begin not until the 2011 March Madness gets here. Yes, it’s coming and business officially picks up right after the highly anticipated Selection Sunday.

The 2011 NCAA national championship will be determined during a month-long battle of skill, determination, and dazzling performances by top competing college teams leading up to the Final Four games played April 2 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas.

This year, the number of teams participating in the tournament jumps from 64 to 68. With the tourney expanding to 68 teams, the final four at-large teams and final four automatic qualifiers will play in the “First Four” round in order to advance into the traditional 64-team bracket.

In addition, the round after the “First Four” is now officially called the “second round” (formerly known as the first round) which consists of 32 games. These will be followed by the “third round” (formerly known as the second round) of 16 games — a.k.a. the Sweet Sixteen.

Confused? Don’t worry, all you need to know is which team you should be betting on when March Madness…

Read More » Teams to bet on for the 2011 March Madness