Reflections on Round of 16 action in the NCAA Tournament:
- The dodgeball shot that Josh Harrelson of Kentucky gave Jared Sullinger of Ohio State was priceless. I'd really like to see those two big duffers go at it in some one-on-one action with nobody else on the floor.
- Best coaching name in the tournament: Chaka Khan, er, I mean, Shaka Smart of VCU.
- What is up with TBS' Craig Sager? First, Sager makes more than necessary out of a comment Kansas' Markieff Morris made yesterday, between practices, to Richmond players. (I saw the clip--it was nothing.) Then, Sager focused on the dust-up between KU and Richmond prior to the game in his halftime interview with Bill Self. You could tell that Self was miffed, and he let the media know that in the postgame press conference.
- Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley were more comfortable in the CBS studio last night and tonight. Clearly, having fewer teams to worry about helped these guys step up their game versus the less-than-stellar quality of their commentary last weekend.
- Regional MVPs--Round of 16: Southeast Regional - Alex Tyus, Florida Gators, who went off for 19 and 17 versus BYU; West Regional - Derrick Williams of Arizona, of course, with his dazzling array of vicious dunks, sharpshooting from behind the arc, and 32 points and 13 boards stat line versus one seed Duke; Southwest Regional - Brady Morningstar of Kansas, the senior leader who had 18 points (4 of 7 from three), four assists, and continued his lockdown defense in KU's dismantling of Richmond; and East Regional - DeAndre Liggins, who seemed to have a huge shot for Kentucky whenever needed in their win over Ohio State. Liggins had 15 points, 6 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals.
- Check out the following stats and tell me there isn't bias involved as part of the whole Duke mystique. The Blue Devils have lost to lower-seeded teams in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2011. They, of course, won the national championship last year, sandwiched around these losses, including losing as a one seed to teams seeded 5th (Michigan State in 2005), 4th (LSU in 2006) and 5th (Arizona this year.) My point is that one never hears a member of the media questioning Duke's penchant for losing to lower seeds during March Madness.
- Let's all welcome back Josh Selby's (Kansas) three-point shot.
- I'm getting really, really tired of the Southwest Airlines "Red Tape" commercial.
- Steve Kerr has done a pretty good job on color commentary. Marv Albert? Well, let's just say that the guy has lost a step or two. Overall, I'm underwhelmed with what the Turner Sports contingent has contributed to the tournament other than the use of the three stations to complement CBS.
- Marquette has a long history of loud, fashion-challenged uniforms dating back to the 1970s regime of Al McGuire. The road unis worn tonight looked like they required a power outlet--they were quite bright.
- Methinks Bill Self would've liked to have won that recruiting battle with Kentucky for the services of Brandon Knight. The kid knows what to do with the game on the line. And, he has a 4.0 GPA.
- The Elite Eight will feature the three teams with the most all-time wins: Kentucky, Kansas and North Carolina.
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