We start in the Missouri Valley Conference. Once the land of multiple "mid-major" giants, Northern Iowa is a sure fire lock this year after knocking off Illinois State. Kwadzo Ahelegbe (1) may be the guy to watch on this squad. He seems to have clutch written all over him after he dropped 8 of his 12 points in OT.
While most of us get down with the Atlantic 10, since it is SB '09 right now lets go walking on the sun like Smashmouth. ETSU is going dancing. Mike Smith (2) wants to take his team deep and he has proven that. Over his last 10 games he's averaged over 20 ppg. Unfortunately the Bucs may get stuck with a 15 or 16 seed. Time to lace 'em up Mike.
Out of the Ohio Valley Conference we got my dudes from Morehead State. Let me first state that not a single team in this conference is from Ohio. But, that's besides the point. They beat Austin Peay in the tournament final. I was actually pulling for Peay because my dad dropped this chant on me (I guess he played against A. Peay back in the day and they had some dude who's last name was "Fly"). Big Chuck, "Fly's open, let's go Peay!" Regardless, Morehead State is dancing and they are looking for More.....Head. They got this cat named Kenneth Faried (3) he is the real deal. This guy averages 14 and 13 which are beast type numbers no matter what conference you're in. The guy is 6'8" 215 so he's nimble and quick on his feet.
Radford is coming out of the Big South Conference. A conference they dominated all year. However, I'm not really down with their style mainly because of this white stiff they have on their squad who thinks he's more black than Marshall Mathers. VMI would've been my sexy pick out of the Big S. but that's not the case. The Holmes Twins on VMI make for a heck of a story worthy of Vern Lundquist narrating on a Saturday afternoon in March. Unfortunately, we'll be hearing about Artsiom Parakhouski (4) who is just this white stiff but, I'll give him his due he had 26 and 18 in the championship game and is the catalyst for this team.
We all thought Davidson and Steph Curry would run the Southern Conference but that pattern was full. Chattanooga stole an at large bid from someone and they too are dancing. There is nothing too exciting about Chattanooga besides their nick name, Mocs (5). They went 18-16 on the season and they never had a winning streak of more than five games. But, give them some props they are dancing and Cincinnati is not. Suck one Mick Cronin.
I love VCU. Mainly because Anthony Grant is the man and he is so good the University continues to take loans out just to keep him there. However, I think after this season Anthony is moving on to a much more high level job. Remember, VCU beat Duke in the NCAA tournament back in 2007. I suggest you watch VCU if you get the chance too. Eric Maynor (6) is a legitimate NBA talent and he makes the Rams go. I like Anthony Grant and Maynor to have this team making some noise over the next week or so.
North Dakota State Univeristy (7). There is only one reason to have a soft spot for this team. This is their first year playing Div. I ball and they are going dancing. That's a good enough story for me.
Western Kentucky is back and poised to make another deep run. Last year they lost a close game to UCLA in the Sweet 16 round. Orlando Mendez-Valdez (8) should draw enough attention from other teams to allow other guys on this team to step up. I only saw these guys play one other time this year and within the first minute of the game Mendez- Valdez dove on the floor on the sideline and busted his head open on a chair. If he makes another play like that in the tournament it will probably show up on One Shining Moment the night of April 6th.
Cleveland State stole another at large bid from someone. Them and Butler battled all season long. Butler had a 2-0 lead in the season series going into the game and they were playing on their home court. So all the chips were stacked against The Vikings. However, Gary Waters (9) coached his team to a real nice win.
Cornell won the Ivy League. They had the Defensive Player of the Year and the Rookie of the Year on their squad. Ryan Wittman (10) lead Cornell in scoring again for the third straight year and was a unanimous selection to First-Team All Ivy League.
Gonzaga is back in the tournament. Is anyone surprised? They own the WCC but St. Mary's did make it tough this year. I think had Patty Mills been healthy all season we would be talking about St. Mary's right now. It seems like Jeremy Pargo (11) has been at Gonzaga forever. I love his game and I like him to help lead Gonzaga in the Dance toward a second weekend appearance. I don't think they are as talented as they have been in the past. But, they are a solid team who prepares well for March by beefing up their non-conference schedule. Don't be surprised to see the 'Zags making plays again this year.
Siena defended its MAAC title and is back in the tournament this year. I don't have a specific player to watch on this team, but, Kenny Hasbrouck is legit. Bob Gavagan (12) was a manager with me at Xavier for two years but transferred to Siena. He is still a manager and I swear it's a combination of his karma and Siena's talent that has Siena dancing. An example of his karma is when he made his first road trip as a freshman to George Washington, Stanley Burrell captured Xavier fan's hearts by bottoming out a trey at the buzzer. Coach Miller kept Bob on road trips that year until they lost to LaSalle in Double OT.
Portland State is back in the mix this year after being bounced out last year by Kansas. Portland State may be able to play with the big dogs this year as they beat Gonzaga earlier this season. Viking fans will be looking for Julius Thomas (13) to make more late game heroics. If that's not good enough for you, Dupree Lucas played at Portland State.
Good ole' Mt. St. Marys put Robert Morris' boutonnière on and are headed to the dance. Jeremy Chappell (14) is the guy to watch on this squad. He is going to have to put up big time numbers if Bob Morris wants to advance.
American University laid pipe to Holy Cross to win the Patriot league. They will be riding a 13 game win streak into the dance. This is also their second straight appearance. Garrison Carr (15) is the team leader and the main man for American. He was the tournament MVP which tells me he's a PTP in big time situations. He knocked down big time threes to swing the momentum. He's got ice in his veins.
Binghamton has done it! They're dancing! This is their first ever dance. So, they are like a freshman in high school going to homecoming. They had the balls to ask that hot freshman girl to the dance and she accepted. DJ Rivera (16) is the big man down low getting the job done. He averages a shade of 20 a game and about 7 rebounds as well. The Bearcats probably won't be crowned homecoming king but they certainly will be looking to cut a rug up come Thursday. It has also been brought to my attention that none of the coaches in the America East conference voted for any Binghamton players because most of them were academically inelgible last year. So clearly, they have a chip on their shoulder.
Memphis is doing it again. Is anyone surprised? They haven't lost a C-USA game since 2006. John C is really getting it done in M-Town. The switch from Adidas to Nike certainly had no affect on their play this year. They really turned it on come conference play. However, who is going to challenge them? Tulsa is probably the best competition they face. No thanks Tulsa. Tyreke Evans (17) is the man on this team. I truly believe that he will be better than Derrick Rose in the league. Ever since he has been put into the starting line up he's done it all and probably the main reason they are slapping once again. Look for the Tigers to make another deep run in March.
The automatic bids continue to roll. Out of the A-10 Temple just got a gift from Father Christmas about nine months early...they are going dancing. I was really looking forward to promoting Aaron Jackson from Duquesne had the Dukes won. Unfortunately, I'm pimping Dionte Christmas (18). I don't want to blast this guy. In fact, I'm going to do the opposite; I'm giving him some mad love. He lead the A-10 in scoring the past three years. This is extremely tough do in any conference let alone a conference where many teams often rely on one guy to do a lot of the work. Kris Kringle helped lead Temple to the A-10 tourney title last year as well. Don't be so quick to have Temple out early this year. They waxed Tennessee this year and took it to a very talented Xavier team in the semi-finals of the tournament.
We're going going, back back, to Cali. USC is in the mix. They knocked off a solid Arizona State team in the Pac-10 tournament. Taj Boyd (19) is the guy to watch on this team. Him and Orange Juice last year were a leathal combo. Now that Juicy is gone Taj is one of the many solid dudes on this team. I would also to make everyone aware of the fact that Master P's son is on this team so be sure to listen to some "It Ain't My Fault" this March.
Out of the Big 12 everyone though Oklahoma would roll, but we were left with Mizzou and a stingy Baylor team that was playing for their post season lives. Mizzou got the best of the Bears and spoiled their chance at winning four games in four days. I would like to give Mike Anderson (20) props for turning this program around after Quin Snyder left it in disarray.
Remember the days of Andre Miller and Rick Majerus at Utah? Yes, that would've been back in 1998. Well, guess what? The Utes have that swagga back. They polished off San Diego State in the Mountain West tournament. Let me tell you this. They have one of the biggest bodies down low keeping the block hot. Luke Nevill (21) straight out of Australia gets the job done. Averaging close to a double-double this 7'-2", 265 pound man is a load to handle. In his career at Utah he has scored almost 2000 points. Keep an eye on this big boy.
Boom goes the dynamite. The Morgan State Bears are dancing. Does anyone know anything about the MEAC? I don't. As I researched this squad they appeared to have taken control during conference play. Reggie Holmes (22) averages about 17 points per game. I can't really justify picking them to win. But at least they are one of the best 65 teams in the country. That's something Cincinnati cannot say.
Akron won their first ever MAC tournament for a bid to the dance. Over the last month leading up to the tourney the Ak-Rowdy had only won four games. However, they won four games in four days to go dancing. Anthony "Humpty" Hitchins (23) is a freshman and contributes heavily for the Zips. Not to mention his nick name is pretty stellar. Keep in mind, no MAC team has won a NCAA tourney game since 2003.
Louisville knocked off arguably the hottest team during championship week in Syracuse. I pretty much figured they were destined to win the Big East tournament after that 6-OT thriller. They just ran out of gas. Louisville is legit and could easily go to the Final Four if not the championship game. I have been talking about a lot of freshman and while Louisville is filled with talent like Terrence Williams, I think Samardo Samuels (24) is the guy to watch as the 'Ville starts dancing. He's a big body down low and can hold his own against the big boys.
Out of the good old SWAC is my team Alabama State. As they celebrated their berth to the dance some dude kept pointing to something shaved in his head and then in the background someone unloaded a water cooler on the coach. Probably not a smart idea since you're still on the court. I figure their pep band is probably pretty good and can play some good tracks during 30-second and full timeouts. If you don't pick 'Bama State to win at least one game then you must be crazy especially when they have a dude on the team named Chief Kickingstallionsims (25). Chief averages 8.8 and 4.4.
Utah State once laid claim to the longest active winning streak in the country this season. They are in after winning the WAC tournament. It was played on Nevada's home court so I'll give Utah State credit for going on the road and winning. They have three dudes who average in double figures with Gary Wilkinson (26) leading the charge at 17 a game.
Cal State Northridge punched their ticket late last night. They knocked off my dudes from Pacific to win the Big West. Tremaine Townsend (27) averages close to a double-double and could be looking to be the king Matador when it comes time to dance.
Stephen F. Austin is repping the Southland conference in the tourney. They knocked UTSA out in the championship game. The Lumberjacks (28) going to be a team that a lot of people will pick to win. But they are second in the country in defense and no one wants to go up against a mid-major that is second in the country in defense. That just spells upset.
Duke won the ACC and did so by beating a very solid Florida State team. Once again they are poised to make another deep run in March. They play very sound on both offense and defense. No one will want a piece of them again. However, last year West Virginia sent them packing early. Nolan Smith (29) is their young point guard who plays very hard and does a lot of good things for them. If you haven't read the story on ESPN or seen the feature about him on Outside the Lines I suggest you do so. Nolan has more than just basketball motivating him to be better.
Mississippi State won the SEC and did it by winning four game in four days like Georgia did last year. Somewhere Lawrence Roberts and Winsome Frazier are smiling. Jarvis Varnado (30) is the big man down low that brings his lunch pail to work everyday. Much like Ken Johnson on the 1999 Ohio State Final Four team Jarvis swats anything that comes his way.
Purdue won their first ever Big Ten tournament championship by knocking off the Buckeyes. While Purdue suffered injuries throughout the year they battled hard. If they are knocking down threes they are tough to beat. E'Twaun Moore (31) is one of those bad boys who can burn silk from deep.
One of the baddest dudes to watch as this tourney gets rolling is DeJuan Blair (32). He is a man child and absolutely destroys anyone and anything in his path. He could probably be a tight end in the NFL if he wanted to just like Antonio Gates. Just look at how he blasted Hasheem Thabeet. This dude is getting a double-double before halftime most times. He must stay out of foul trouble. In all of Pitt's games against West Virginia this year he fouled out. End result, loss.
West Virginia has been a funny team all year long. But they are solid and held their own in a tough Big East. Everyone loves Thuggins because of the way he coaches and the type of players he signs. One of these players is Devin Ebanks (33). Ebanks can rebound the hell out of the ball and as his offensive game improves he is going to be a force. Look for him to play a key role if West Virginia wants to advance.
West Virginia will advance at least to the second round because they are playing Dayton (34) in the first round. They suck and have no one worth mentioning to watch. All of their players are dumb.
What's also dumb is the fact that Wisconsin got into the tournament. But I'm not here to take sides. Trevon Hughes (35) is a really solid player and is liable to catch fire at any moment. Sticking with the Big Ten, Evan Turner (36) from Ohio State is one of the smoothest players I have seen play this year. He has an all around legit game. If you want to compare him to someone in the league look right at Grant Hill. He's got inside and outside game. He can do it mid-range and he can get to the rack and rock that rim. He also handles the rock, rebounds, and defends. Tom Izzo has Sparty back to true March form. They are going to be a tough out for anyone. Raymar Morgan (37) is very good. Raymar is surrounded by a lot of other solid players as well. Don't be surprised to see the Spartans going deep on your brackets. Minnesota was the surprise this year in the Big Ten. But, you can't doubt Tubby Smith and his ability to coach and recruit. He did a phenomenal job toward the end of last season which set the tone for the Gophers this year. One guy everyone should pay attention to is Lawrence Westbrook (38). Westbrook is Minnesota's go to guy and always gets the attention of the opposing team's best defender. Yet, he still puts up big time numbers. Illinois got into the dance. If you feel like you need knowledge about them I can drop this on you. Mike Davis (39) is the guy to watch on Illinois. No, this is not Mike Davis who coached at IU and is now at UAB.
If it's dudes who rip the twine you're looking for, go no further than UNC's Wayne Ellington (40). Note to all defenses, close on on Ellington, he will light you up and his range is pretty deep. Jeff Teague (41) is another man you don't want to heat up. Once he gets going Wake Forest is unstoppable. Teague not only rips the twine is the engine that makes the car go for Wake. Mike Montgomery's Cal Bears have a sniper in their line up. Jerome Randle (42) is knocking down 47% of his threes he hoists. Better guard him. The Atlantic 10 had a rude awakening when Brad Redford (43) entered the scene. Xavier's tiny little sharp shooter has the green light to grip and rip. When he rips that ball is more often than not to find the bottom of the cylinder. When I say he has no range I mean it. Check out the Dayton game film from March 5th and let me know from how deep he pulled up from in the second half. AJ Abrams (44) has the green light as well. Rick Barnes down at Texas has something special with Abrams and he will torch you if you don't prepare well enough or refuse to switch on screens with him. UCLA has one of the best point guards in the college game that can light it up from deep. Darren Collison (45) will not only blow by you but he's not scared to lace it in your eye. Clemson isn't scared to hoist from long range. They have a three headed monster. Three dudes that shoot 40% or better from deep. KC Rivers (46) is one of the three and if you're not careful he'll make you pay.
If you didn't think 'Cuse was winning the Big East tournament after that 6-OT thriller against UCONN then you're probably not a fan of college basketball. I definitely thought they had that thing in the bag. Unfortunately, they ran out of gas about 10 minutes too soon. The heart and soul of 'Cuse is Jonny Flynn (47). Flynn is one of the most likable players in the game today. He got the MVP in the Big East tournament and 'Cuse didn't even win. That should say something about what he brings to the table. Another special guard in the Big East is Scottie Reynolds (48). Scottie just goes about his business and at the end of the day when you look at the box score you'll find yourself wondering when and how he filled up the stat sheet like he did. Another stat sheet stuffer from the Big East is UCONN's Jeff Adrien (49). Adrien doesn't really get the praise he should because of all the attention Hasheem receives. However, UCONN isn't a #1 seed without Adrien. This tournament is really going to be missing a great player. Marquette will not have Dominic James (50) due to injury. This is too bad because it's his senior year and he had the Golden Eagles flying high before getting hurt. Believe me when I say Marquette will play inspired basketball to try and get W's and rings for their homie Dominic.
Arizona barely got into the tournament. It's been a weird season for the Wildcats with Olsen stepping down and Brandon Jennings firing off Europe instead of 'Zona. Someone who really has gotten lost in the fold but a legit talent is Chase Budinger (51). Chase does it all and no one really gives him the time of day. His stats speak for themselves: 18, 6, and 3. Oh by the way he's a white guy with hops and he can stroke it from deep. Washington is another team that can make a deep run and it's all because of the big boy Jon Brockman (52). Brockman is a force. He's not quite DeJuan Blair, but he could easily be the west coast version of big DeJuan. A once player of the year candidate from Arizona State, James Harden (53) is to the Sun Devils that Chase B. is to the Wildcats. Once again, he is a dude he does it all.
Al Skinner and the Boston College Golden Eagles are in the mix. They tend to ride the Rice train. By Rice train I mean Tyrese Rice (54). Even as a guard he stuffs the state sheet pretty good. Just ask North Carolina if he's the real deal. Maryland slid in as an at large team which is good because I'm a Gary Williams guy. However, Greivis Vazquez (55) is not my guy. He's good, I'll give him that. But, I don't think he got the memo when he opened his mouth and said Cameron Indoor was his court. No Greivis, that wasn't the case. Just stick to playing and less talking. Al Thornton has moved on to the Clippers but they still got a bad man down there in Tallahassee. Tony Douglas (56) from Florida State was recently described to me as being just as bad as Buster (Douglas). Tony has real nice skill and he certainly isn't a guy you want to get hot if you're playing against Florida State.
The defending champs, the Kansas Jayhawks will once again be Rock Chalk Jayhawking perhaps all the way to Detroit. They were a little talked about team but slowly but surely they rolled through the Big 12 and won the regular season title. Sherron Collins (57) is what's left of last year's squad and he has held it down this year. The Aggies of Texas A&M are dancing. This time it's minus Acie Law IV. However, they do have Donald Sloan (58). Sloan is an all around good player. In their loss to Texas Tech in the Big 12 tournament Sloan dropped 22. There is no longer a Sutton at Oklahoma State but there is a Travis Ford (59). Ford took the chance and left UMASS for a much more high profile job. In his first year he got the Cowboys into the dance. Nice work Travis. If we're talking Big 12 then we gotta talk Okalahoma. If we're talking Oklahoma then we gotta talk Blake Griffin (60). Blake should get the player of the year award this year in college. That's all I really gotta say about the guy. Oklahoma is legit and I think they are about to make a run all the way to Detroit.
There's no Fab Five but Michigan is back in the tournament. While Manny R was out trying to get paid by the Dodgers, Manny Harris (61) was making it rain in the Big 10. Manny and Michigan laid it to Duke and UCLA this year. Don't be too surprised if they ruin someone's March this year. A common squad in March lately comes from the 'Nap. Butler is dancing again all at the hands of a young coach and a white guy who wears #54 that's not a stiff. Matt Howard (62) is a real nice player. Trent Johnson at LSU could very well win the coach of the year award. LSU went on a tear after losing to Xavier in January and won the SEC West. Marcus Thornton (63) drops almost 21 a game and has the range to do it inside or out. As much as I hate Tennessee and Bruce Pearl because I think they do everything the wrong way and are this decade's version of the 1990's UC Bearcats I think JP Prince (64) is real nice. He's not scared to rise up and put one on your head from time to time. The mormons got their say and BYU is dancing. Before Wake rolled out there and snapped their home court win streak they were one of the hottest teams in basketball. Lee Cummard (65) is their best player and is looking to establish the fact that mormons can slang the rock too.
This is my favorite time of the year. Nothing beats filling out your bracket. I cannot wait for Tuesday night for that play in game. This Thursday through Sunday are easily the 4 best days of the year. On April 6th we will be crowning a new champ and already looking forward to November. Be easy.
War Sean Miller because he's my hero.
'Killa