Lavin, UCLA are still kicking

Just when you thought Steve Lavin's pulse finally had stopped, the man's heart keeps right on beating. Nobody -- especially the so-called hoops experts in Southern California -- thought that UCLA had what it takes to make noise in this tournament. The Bruins were soft. They were young. They had no production from the point-guard spot. Worst of all, they were poorly coached (again). Surely, this would be the one year Lavin would play dead -- and stay dead -- and the school could go about the business of finding someone else.

Yet once again, Lavin has his Bruins in the Sweet 16, the fifth time in his six years in Westwood. You'd imagine that now, finally, the local yokels would leave him alone and stop speculating on his job status every time his team hits a bump in the road, but I'm not optimistic (especially since I moved to L.A. in late December, giving me a front-row seat to the circus). Yes, UCLA underachieved this season and winning a couple of games in this tournament doesn't erase a mediocre campaign, but a coach's job security should never come down to one or two games. I don't think Lavin's job ever was in real jeopardy, but the fact that he still was so mercilessly picked apart in his own backyard reflects more poorly on his critics than it does on him.

Despite his shortcomings (and what coach doesn't have shortcomings?), I've long said that Lavin is the perfect man for the UCLA job. He's Tony Robbins, Mr. Positive, never failing to look at the glass as one-tenth full. How ironic that he and his players are headed for San Jose while Henry Bibby and his USC Trojans are staying home, blowing their best chance ever to finally emerge from the shadow cast by its crosstown rival.

Mark my words, folks: At the first sign of trouble next season, the carping over Lavin will begin anew, the thrilling OT win over Cincinnati long forgotten. So before we look ahead to the next round, let's raise a glass to the unbreakable, unflappable, unbeatable Steve Lavin, who used up his nine lives a long time ago but still refuses to die.

Sweet 16 Hoop Thoughts

EAST

Looking Back: I'm not exactly sure what Jim Harrick was complaining about, but Jonas Hayes' off-the-ball, across-the-court shove on Southern Illinois' Rolan Roberts clearly was an intentional foul. In that situation, a referee can give a player plenty of leeway, but the rule explicitly states that a defender must make some sort of play on the ball. Harrick should be more concerned about why his team blew a 19-point, first-half lead. I actually had more problems with N.C. State's Julius Hodge being called for a late foul on UConn's Caron Butler. Most people seem to think it was a good call, but if it was such an obvious foul, why did Butler almost make the shot?

Looking Ahead: That Maryland-Kentucky matchup is the best of the Sweet 16 games, but I still like the Terps to win comfortably. UK got a career-best performance out of Tayshaun Prince and still only beat Tulsa by five points. Plus, Maryland is one of the few teams in the tournament which can bang inside with the Wildcats. Look for UConn to get past a plucky Southern Illinois team, but not without some trouble. At this stage in the tournament, you need to have good shooting, and the Huskies still are suspect in that area. Oh, and UConn fans ought to get a nice, long, last look at Butler, because when the season is over he's going, going, gone.

Tip-in: I STILL haven't gotten a $#!!@ e-mail from Tony Robertson.

MIDWEST

Looking Back: What an amazing turn of events for Kansas. First, the Jayhawks almost fall to No. 16 Holy Cross and appear to lose Kirk Hinrich to injury, then they blitz Stanford with Hinrich providing 15 points, eight assists and five rebounds in 21 minutes. Dare we say this is a team of destiny? Oregon also showed impressive maturity in vanquishing Wake Forest, but I'm not sure the Ducks would have advanced had Demon Deacons guard Craig Dawson not hurt his shoulder.

Looking Ahead: Illinois seems to be a hot pick these days because it won nine of 10 games coming into the tournament, but upon further review that streak doesn't seem so impressive. Most of those wins came against the lower tier of the Big Ten (though it could be argued that the entire conference was one large low tier this season), and the team that the Illini lost to in the league tournament (Ohio State) was exposed in a blowout loss to Missouri. I like Kansas to advance easily to the regional final, where the Jayhawks will face an Oregon team that should beat Texas if it can force a quick tempo.

Tip-in: Much as last season's West Regional (which featured Georgetown, Maryland and George Mason meeting in Boise, Idaho) was the impetus for the new "pod" system, this region (featuring Texas emerging from Dallas and Illinois from Chicago) will force the committee to revisit the system. My recommendation: Mend it, don't end it.

SOUTH

Looking Back: Some might point to Duke's struggle against Notre Dame as a sign that the Blue Devils can be had. No doubt that is true, but I took it as an indication that this team has real resiliency, which it hadn't shown during the regular season. I also had the pleasure of being in Greenville, S.C., with Stan Heath's marvelous Kent State team. Shame on Alabama for not taking the Golden Flashes more seriously.

Looking Ahead: I know Indiana has a great player in Jared Jeffries, but the Hoosiers actually present a more favorable matchup for Duke than did Notre Dame (thanks to point guard Chris Thomas, the Irish had some success running with the Blue Devils). The Hoosiers prefer to play at a slower pace, but Duke won't let them and should win going away. Pitt, with its muscular players at every position, is also the worst kind of matchup for Kent State, which doesn't have great size in either the frontcourt or backcourt.

Tip-in: With Heath's tournament success coming on the heels of Tom Crean's great season at Marquette, it's been quite a year for former Tom Izzo assistants. Guess it's just a matter of time before Brian Gregory, who has been Izzo's top guy on the bench since Crean left, gets his shot.

WEST

Looking Back: OK, so I overshot myself on USC, but I did give you Missouri in the Sweet 16 (along with Kent State and Southern Illinois). If the Tigers had a solid point guard, they'd be a Final Four team, but as it is they have great talent beyond Kareem Rush. (Don't be surprised if Rickey Paulding turns out to be a better player than Rush, by the way.) Also, Oklahoma was tested by Xavier in much the same fashion as Duke was by Notre Dame, and the Sooners passed with similar flying colors. The outside world still doesn't know how good OU is, but it's about to find out.

Looking Ahead: That UCLA-Missouri game is, to me, the second-best game on the board after Maryland-Kentucky. The determining player will be Bruins center Dan Gadzuric because Missouri's biggest weakness is post defense. The Tigers need to have a good shooting performance (especially from Clarence Gilbert) to win, and it says here they will. Arizona is another hot-and-cold team that depends too much on outside shooting. I think the Sooners will handle the Wildcats comfortably and advance.

Tip-in: Now that the Bearcats' terrific season is over, Bob Huggins can drop all pretense that he's not interested in the West Virginia job. I think Cincinnati can keep Huggins, but the school is going to have to step up because Morgantown wants him badly. If WVU can't get Huggins, look for Florida assistant John Pelphrey to be near the top of the next tier of candidates.

Sports Illustrated staff writer Seth Davis covers college basketball for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.

 

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