Tournament Thoughts - Sweet 16 Friday

Xaiver needs to start better. They got back in it but Baylor isn't Lehigh. Couldn't come all the way back.

Quincy Acy is nasty. Did you see that dunk off the inbounds play?

Baylor has two guys named Quincy and two guys named Jones. But there's only one Quincy Jones.

After a ridiculous performance against Colorado Brady Heslip was cold in this game, but he nailed 4 big free throws down the stretch.

Xavier almost made the comeback thanks to an incredibly fluky play at the wrong time. A loose ball was tipped around by several guys such that the referees could not determine who touched it last. They ruled a jump ball which gave Xavier possession though replays showed it likely should have been Baylor ball.

During the course of the game a play like that doesn't seem like a big deal. But in the final minute it could decide a game. Maybe that should be added to the the plays eligible for replay review, but maybe only in the final minutes.

I don't know why CBS made such a big deal out of Clark Kellogg watch the Ohio game on a separate monitor. It's almost like they wanted it to be an added sideshow to the game. Why not assign him to a Thursday/Saturday region? I get that Kentucky is the big draw, but if the guy wants to watch his kid that badly, let the poor guy do it.

A really close call for North Carolina. The first overtime game of the tournament. And you got the feeling when it went into overtime that North Carolina was going to win. The longer talent has to compete against a lesser team, the more likely talent will prevail.

A great game by Walter Offutt. I could tell it was Walter Offutt because the names on the back of the Ohio jerseys are in the same size font as those books for old people Papa Poop borrows from the library.

Imagine what Ohio could have done if Cooper and Baltic shot a little better than 5 for 30 from the field. Or maybe if they just shot less.

But speaking of what ifs, what if the Tar Heels had gone to Tyler Zeller more. He had 20 points and 22 rebounds because he had a huge advantage inside. They should have pressed that advantage even more.

I think the turning point of this game was when Ohio was up 57-53 with under 4 minutes to go and DJ Cooper got a steal. On the breakaway he got blocked from behind by Henson. If he could have made that shot and made it 6, or slowed it down and burned some time (and maybe got a better shot off) this game could have ended differently.

I did love Ohio's end of game strategy, go hard at the basket right away. Yes, they gave Carolina a final shot (which they squandered by trying to kill every single second left on the clock) but they got themselves in the best position to score to tie the game.

It's a real shame that North Carolina lost Kendall Marshall though I still hope he can play Sunday. Their offense just wasn't the same without him. Nor was their defense with Stillman White.

But Marshall's absence didn't make Harrison Barnes shoot 3 of 16 from the field.

Jim Nantz is the worst announcer ever. Clark referred to a player as an Allen wrench because he has one only purpose, in this case shooting 3s. Nantz then referred to Cody Zeller's two fouls as a "wrenching" situation. Earlier Gay Nantz referred to a reach-in foul as a reach-around.

Then he jinxed Christian Watford. And before he said he noted that it was going to be a jinx. He'd hit 30-something free throws, Nantz said it, and he missed the next one.

Smart move by Calipari to leave Davis on the bench with two fouls the entire first half. He didn't even waiver when Indiana made a run.

Without Davis Kentucky can still score, but their defense is horrible. Oladipo was driving the lane with impunity.

Cody Zeller had a good game, but not as good as his brother. A few bad turnovers and those two fouls right in a row.

I wonder what the Zellers did. Did one parent go to one game and one parent to another? I'd think that's what you would have to do. Unless they went to Indiana's first weekend and UNC's second.

Speaking of families. I love the Harbaughs. So funny that their sister also married a coach.

Wow did Kansas almost blow this one. You do not foul the 3-point shooter, especially when it is Scott Wood. They did this twice and he made all 6 free throws. But then Wood made a big mistake shooting a 3 when they were only down by 1 point.

And a horrible skip pass that carried Wood out of bounds. They on late game situations is don't turn it over, get a shot up. Give yourself a chance for a foul or a rebound, don't try something that could end in a turnover.

Jeff Withey had 8 points, 5 rebounds and 10 blocks. Rarely do you see a guy with twice as many blocks as rebounds.

Is it just me or do Bill Self and Mark Gottfried kind of look alike?