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The Big Dance at a Glance:
Sweet 16, Day Two
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| At the Water Cooler |
| SW Missouri State recorded this tournament's first moral victory ... If Elton Brand doesn't kill you, William Avery will. If Avery doesn't kill you, Trajan Langdon will. If Langdon doesn't kill you, it just goes on and on ... Temple's extended hot shooting is getting a little eerie ... Oklahoma's Ryan Humphrey will eat up the Big 12 next year. And don't get us started on Eduardo Najera ...
Michigan State may bring the ball from backcourt to frontcourt quicker than any remaining team, but it won't mean squat unless Mateen Cleaves decides to take over the tournament. Right now, he's the least valuable of the eight remaining starting point guards ...
Would we get in trouble for saying Kentucky's Scott Padgett is a better-rebounding, better-passing Wally Szczerbiak? ... Michigan State's Flintstones win the tourney's "Best Group Tattoo Award" ... Hey, if you have been on the Miami (Ohio) bandwagon, watch those ankles as you jump off ...
Gonzaga SF Richie Frahm , a sharpshooting swingman who was 5 of 8 from three-point range in Gonzaga's 73-72 upset over Florida. He must continue the hot shooting in the face of UConn's sticky perimeter man-to-man defense.
Final Four fever The Final Four locks in two teams Saturday. If St. John's wins the South, watch for the "New York, New York" cliche; if Ohio State wins, it's "Scoonie, Scoonie." Out West, UConn looks like the only team with a shot to defeat Duke; If Gonzaga wins? You'll be wishing you never heard of the word "Cinderella."
Duke's margin of victory goes down each game from here on in (17 and counting...).
Flint pride
If Spokane was the town to be from on Thursday, the cradle of Michigan State's stars is the city of today. The Flintstones are one win away from taking their city to the world. Up next: New York's Queensbridge neighborhood, if favorite son Ron Artest can lead St. John's past Ohio State on Saturday.
Regional semifinals, day one
Second round, day two
Second round, day one
First round, day two
First round, day one
Selection Sunday
Charting the Tournament,
Game by Game |
Elite Eight
Sweet 16
Second Round: S | W | E | MW
First Round: S | W | E | MW
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| The Bandwagon |
| Wally's World |
Not Friday |
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| Temple |
Oh, that zone! |
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| Purdue |
Purdon't |
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| Eduardo Najera |
Gutsy performance |
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| Oklahoma |
Out Sooner or later |
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| Flint, Mich. |
Town pride |
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| Elton Brand |
Ready for NBA |
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| Trajan Langdon |
3 = layup |
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| Steve Alford |
On to Iowa? |
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By Dan Shanoff, CNN/SI
Read a new "Dance at a Glance" Thursday through Monday throughout the NCAA Tournament.
More of what we know...
and what we don't know
We know the only teams with any chance to beat Duke are still alive.
We don't know which of them (UConn, Kentucky, Michigan St., St. John's) can put together the mistake-free run to do it.
We know Wally Szczerbiak can shoot.
We don't know if his teammates realized that they needed to shoot occasionally too.
We know we're mystified by Temple's three-game hot-shooting binge.
We don't know if Michigan State can develop a killer instinct quickly enough to beat Kentucky.
We know Kentucky's Scott Padgett is playing as well as anyone else left in the tourney field.
We don't know if Kentucky shooting guard Tayshaun Prince could withstand a stiff breeze without being knocked over.
We know UConn is feeling the noose of pressure starting to cinch up.
We don't know whether Maryland will learn from or be hamstrung by its thumping at the hands of St. John's.
We know Gonzaga would be the biggest Cinderella to get to the Final Four since Villanova '85
One day, two answers
What can you expect from Saturday's regional finals?
In the West, UConn brings one of the largest albatrosses in college hoops -- no Final Fours, despite its wealth of talent -- to the game against everyone's Cinderella, Gonzaga. If it wasn't such a David-and-Goliath story, you'd really want Huskies coach Jim Calhoun to earn that first Final Four trip, if only to quiet the critics, just like Syracuse's Jim Boeheim did in '96 and Arizona's Lute Olsen did in '97. On the other hand, you'd have to be a real grinch (or from New England) to root against Gonzaga, which has played throughout March like an experienced tournament squad. The Bulldogs' pressure defense, clutch shooting and self-confidence closely resemble the 1987 Providence Final Four team, led by a young Rick Pitino and scrappy Billy Donovan.
In the South, it's two equally compelling stories -- Ohio State's amazing turnaround from an 8-22 campaign last year, behind second-year coach Jim O'Brien and his Boston College refugee Scoonie Penn, and St. John's return to national prominence, thanks to New York kids who stuck around and brilliant first-year coach Mike Jarvis.
The Buckeyes have been carried by Penn, the stellar point guard, and Michael Redd, his sweet-shooting backcourt partner. The Red Storm have dropped two straight opponents with an unlikely set of zone defenses. The zone will get the best of Penn and Redd, too.
For two reservations in St. Pete, we'll take the Johnnies and UConn , dumping the albatross and striking midnight for Cinderella.
| Saturday's Regional Finals at a Glance |
Marquee Matchup: St. John's PG Erick Barkley vs. Ohio St. PG Scoonie Penn (South)
Two of the most valuable players of the tournament go head-to-head. Penn has the greater ability to take over offensively, but the Buckeyes rely more heavily on Penn for scoring than the Red Storm do with Barkley, who can concentrate on making his already-great teammates better -- and stopping Penn.
Under the Glare: Jim Calhoun, UConn
It's really an unfair, no-win situation for the Huskies' coach: If he wins to get to his first Final Four, he was supposed to be there; if he loses, he gets the "Scarlet C" (and that doesn't stand for "Connecticut").
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| Watching Saturday's Games |
| Region |
Matchup |
Site |
| West |
(1) UConn vs. (10) Gonzaga |
Phoenix, 3:40 p.m. ET |
| Subplot: UConn looking for first Final Four; Gonzaga is wearing one of the tourney's last Cinderella slippers. |
| South |
(3) St. John's vs. (4) Ohio St. |
Knoxville, 6 p.m. ET |
| Subplot: The Buckeyes aim for a miraculous one-year turnaround; the Johnnies try to return to the Final Four for the first time since the Mullin Era ('85). |
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| The Glance picks the regional finals |
| Day |
Matchup 1 |
Matchup 2 |
| Saturday |
UConn (1) d. Gonzaga (10) |
St. John's (3) d. Ohio St. (4) |
| Sunday |
Duke (1) d. Temple (6) |
Kentucky (3) d. Michigan St. (1) |
Predictions from Thursday's regional semifinals: 3-1
(Missed: Michigan State -- what was I thinking?)
Overall prediction total: 37-19 |
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