Enough Already

Syracuse basketball fans are in for several more years of rude condescension and unbending adherence to a system that every opponent knows is coming.
That's because Jim Boeheim knifed his most loyal assistant in the back and then stepped over his grave.
Mike Hopkins waited patiently for Boeheim to retire, and when the old man finally announced he would coach for only 3 more years, 2 years ago, Hopkins was named the coach in waiting.
But suddenly, a few days after the end to a disappointing season, Mike Hopkins accepted the job to be the head coach at Washington. Almost as suddenly, Syracuse offered a new contract to Jim Boeheim, which he happily accepted.
While everyone is saying the right things, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Hopkins would not have left if he was 100% sure he was getting the job after next season as promised.
For whatever reason, he must have felt there was at least some chance he was going to get screwed so he took a head coaching job while he could get one.
Clearly, Boeheim still wanted to coach, and Hopkins knew it. Boeheim, it seems, did nothing to try to keep Hopkins, offering nothing in the way of assurances he would get the job, and he certainly wouldn't do something as noble as retiring immediately, so instead Syracuse lost its head coach in waiting and is stuck with several (many) more years of the Jim Boeheim era.

He Can Coach My Kids Anytime

I used to think of Kansas State coach Frank Martin like this:

Now I think of South Carolina coach Frank Martin like this:

It all changed for me when Martin was asked, essentially, what's wrong kids these days?

Martin responded: “You know what makes me sick to my stomach? When I hear grown people say that kids have changed. Kids haven’t changed. Kids don’t know anything about anything. We’ve changed as adults. We demand less of kids. We make their lives easier instead of preparing them for what life is truly about. We’re the ones that have changed. To blame kids is a cop out.”

Demanding, understanding, with an occasional yell. That's my kind of coach.

When kids come into this world, they don't know whether they should be spoiled or hard-working. We make them that way by the challenges we allow, and don't allow them to face.

Frank Martin has the right idea. He can coach my kids anytime.

No One To Blame But Themselves

The Syracuse Orange will be watching the NCAA Tournament for the second time in 3 years (not the way Jim Boeheim wanted to spend his latter years, but that's another post for another time).
The Orange were squarely on the bubble with an 18-14 record. Working against them, 4 horrible losses (St John's, Georgetown, UConn and Boston College), a poor road record (2-11) and a miserable RPI (80-something), which would have been the worst RPI to ever get an at-large berth, breaking the record they set last year.
But working in their favor, Syracuse finished 10-8 in the top conference, won 6 games against the RPI top 50 and was a completely different team that they were in November and December.
But when you lose 14 games, and blow several chances at a statement win, or even an easy clinching win, and don't get it, you really can't blame the committee.
Every team ahead of the Orange has pros and cons when rated head-to-head.
My only issue is with what seems to me to be some inconsistency in the criteria from year-to-year. It seems like last year SU was rewarded for big wins, this year those didn't matter as much. Perhaps the committee didn't want to keep stretching their criteria for the same team, and certainly it didn't seem like last year's Final Four run mattered at all.
But at least I have the Virginia game saved on my DVR.

Which is Better: New York City or Greensboro

A leader who is often surly, nasty, dismissive and vindictive towards the media. He often picks fights with the media, especially over petty issues. And he mocks anyone who questions him.

Yes, I am talking about Jim Boeheim.

After his team lost in the ACC tournament he explained why he thinks the tournament should be in held in big cities every year.



The city of Greensboro responded with a snarky tweet:

Now personally, I believe representatives for a city should behave with a little more civility, but I understand that this is the culture of our youth, especially on Twitter, and you don't get attention if you don't "clap back" or retweet.

But in Boeheim's defense, he was asked the question. And it seems like someone followed up asking specifically about Greensboro. Sure he didn't have to answer so rudely. He made fair points which would have been better received had he not doused them with jerkiness.

The Greensboro Grasshoppers, a single A affiliate of the Miami Marlins will host "Jim Boeheim (No) Value Night" on April 11.

All fans with a valid Syracuse, NY Driver's License will be given a free ticket, $20 in food and beverage vouchers, and a pre-game meet and greet with retired Hall of Fame Bat Dog, Miss Babe Ruth.

"Contrary to what Jim Boeheim thinks, Greensboro is a great place and we want to show off our city, our ballpark and our southern hospitality to our friends from Syracuse. We know that not all of them are whiners and grouches like their basketball coach," said Grasshoppers Team President and General Manager Donald Moore.

Boeheim will be honored during the "Whine of the Game" that night sponsored by Carolina Pediatrics of the Triad. "We may invite the coach to attend, although his presence will bring us no value, none," Moore continued. "I suspect he may already have plans to be at a game in New York, Washington, or Atlanta that evening and unable to come."

Good Thing Pat Garrity Isn't So Thin-Skinned

Rick Pitino had to be restrained from going after a fan at halftime of Louisville's game against North Carolina.



Apparently the fan said "hey Pitino, you suck." What angered Pitino so much was that the fan was an older gentleman, not a student.
How foolish of security to eject the guy, and escort him in the same direction Pitino was walking.

When I was in college Notre Dame's Pat Garrity lined up for a free throw. A hush came over the crowd. And I yelled "I fuckin hate you Garrity."
Good thing I wasn't ejected.

Cardiac Cuse

The latest in a long line of heroic last second shots for Syracuse this season came from John Gillon nailing a 3-pointer off the glass to beat Duke 78-75.



It's always exciting to beat Duke. It's always exciting to win on a last-second shot. When both happen and the game is nearly essential for your tournament hopes, then it's even better.

And the Gillon shot joins a long list of buzzer beaters and game winning shots.

I'd Rather Have the Donuts

A woman hits a half-court shot at a Siena Saints basketball game, as part of a promotion for Dunkin Donuts. She won a $500 DD gift card, which would last Master Bates about a week and a half.
But look what happened next.



Her boyfriend set the whole thing up, and after her miracle shot he took off the coffee cup costume and proposed to her.
Pretty good night, $500 worth of a donuts and a diamond ring.



Note: don't be a douche and vote with the mentality of I'd sell the diamond ring and get $5000 worth of donuts. So there!"

To Storm or Not to Storm

Syracuse fans were criticized nationally for storming the court after the team's upset victory over then #6 Florida State.

The thinking goes, that yes, this year Florida State was having a better season than the Orange, but when you compare the histories of the programs, a win over Florida State should be expected.

That debate was rekindled, a little, today, when the Orange beat a top ten team at home for the second straight week, this time knocking off #9 Virginia.

This game had some added juice to it because it would have been Jim Boeheim's 1000th win had some wins not been forfeited as part of the NCAA's sanctions against the coach and the program.

I will say I agree with the old grumps that it is "beneath" Syracuse to charge the court after a win over Florida State.

But I charged the court after a big win over Georgetown, and I charged the field after Donovan McNabb's famous "throwback to Brominksi" victory over Virginia Tech. Both were indelible experiences of my college experiences and I don't blame the students one bit for wanting to have their own special memories.

Note: One of my favorite posts is about an NC State student who did the same. Please click if you don't remember the story.

Funny Basketball Videos

Russell Westbrook travels



Siena's coach does a phantom handshake line after Rider's coach and team don't show up



Carmelo Anthony lets Ron Baker's locker room nickname slip

If At First You Don't Get Punished, Trip, Trip Again

Grayson Allen vaulted himself into second place on the most-hated Duke players list (no one will ever top Christian Laettner) by trip Elon's Steven Santa Ana.
What's worse, Allen threw a fit on the bench after being pulled from the game, seemingly acted as if his trip/kick to the back of the knee was warranted because Santa had grabbed his arm.

He also didn't seem to remember that this is the third time in his brief career that he has done something like this.
After the first two, Allen received nothing more than a reprimand from the conference and some excuses from his coach, which I objected to.
Now arrogant Coach K is once again behaving indignantly, saying that the discipline is between him and the player.
Infractions need to be met with consequences or they become habits. That is what has happened here and I think will continue to happen, as I would be shocked if Allen was suspended for more than 3 games, because Duke's 4th game from now is against a good Florida State team, and the game after that is against an even better Louisville squad.
Note: the reaction that Allen is getting has nothing to do with his color. He's an asshole, a jerk, a dirty player and if color plays a role at all it's because people perceive that a black player engaged in similar misbehavior would have punished far more severely, a long time ago.

Prayers For Pearl

Syracuse legend Dwayne "Pearl" Washington died Tuesday after a battle with brain cancer. Pearl was 52.

You saw this year's team wearing shirts bearing his name during their surprising run to the Final Four, as part of the fundraising effort to pay for his medical care.

He played for Syracuse from 1983-1986 and was the first real star the school had. His battles with Patrick Ewing and Georgetown were part of what helped build the Big East into the best conference in the country.

It was Pearl who helped blaze the trail of top recruits like Rony Seikaly, Sherman Douglas, Derrick Coleman and Billy Owens to make their way to cold, snowy Syracuse to play for a curmudgeonly coach.

He never reached his potential in the NBA, playing only three years of the Nets and Heat.

It was with the Nets that Pearl played alongside Duane Washington and due to their similar names, they were often confused.
People thought Pearl had a drug problem, but that was Duane.
In fact, ESPN.com ran a picture of Duane with the article announcing Pearl's death.

Even though he never had the pro career he wanted he was always remembered fondly at Syracuse, and became a fixture around the program.

I saw him once at the bookstore, Dick Vitale was doing a book-signing there ahead of broadcasting a Big Monday game, and Pearl walked in. Vitale stopped his canned speech about young people and began to talk about Pearl as a player and as a person. I skipped class that day.

It Was An Honor Just to Compete

So the dream scenario did not play out the Syracuse women's basketball team got decimated by UConn, just like everyone else.
It doesn't even make sense to analyze the game, because in a 31-point loss, 1 or 2 or 10 different plays wouldn't change the outcome.
But I do wish they had gotten off to a better start and kept it competitive for a while.
I also wish Syracuse's best two players, Alexis Peterson and Brianna Butler, hadn't played their worst games and the worst time, though surely UConn deserves a lot of credit for forcing them into it.
Peterson averaged 24 points per game in the tournament, but had only 11 in this game, on 0-6 from 3-point land. She also had only 1 assist and 4 turnovers.
Butler, who set the national record for most 3-pointers made in a season in the Washington game, added only 1 to her total, shooting 1 of 8 from the field.
But these ladies should be very proud of what the accomplished. They have set all kinds of high-water marks for the program, brought a lot of joy to the Syracuse community and put the program on the map.
Butler, Maggie Morrison and Cornelia aka Corn Fondren are moving on, but Peterson will be joined on next year's team by Isabella Slim, the Day sisters, and possibly Brittney Sykes, who could come back for a 5th season because she played in only 3 games last year after suffering a knee injury.

Hopefully the program will continue to build on the success of this year's team, bringing in more and better recruits and building a national power that can one day compete with UConn.

So You're Saying There's a Chance

Oddsmakers have Syracuse at +4000 in tonight's National Championship game against UConn. That means a $100 bet returns $4000. Also known as 40-1.
So essentially, if the two teams played each other 41 nights in a row, UConn would win 40 times, Syracuse once.
And that seems about right to me. This UConn team is great. They have great players, and they play great together. They have won 3 straight titles and 74 games in a row. Their average margin of victory is 40 points. They've played all the toughest teams and beat them, no, slaughtered, them all.
So that's the case for the 40 games, what about that other one time?
If tonight is to be that 2.5% chance come true, here's how it could happen.
UConn is thin, they really only play 7 players, and one of them, Katie Lou Samuelson broke her foot in the National Semifinal and will not play.
Syracuse is a great pressure team that routinely plays 9 players. It will be hard to press successfully with Moriah Jefferson running the point, but they need to force some turnovers and wear out UConn.
On offense Syracuse needs to attack the basket to draw fouls, and also to kick out for open 3s. Syracuse made 12 out of 33 3-pointers against Washington (36%) and 14-30 (47%) against Tennessee. They will need to shoot at least 40% to have a chance.
So if they can do that, press effectively, wear out UConn and get them in foul trouble, while shooting the lights out from distance, they may have a chance.

Payback's a Bitch

All the North Carolina fans are bemoaning their bad luck today, losing the National Championship game on a buzzer-beater. How awful!
And yes, it must be heartbreaking and if it happened to Syracuse I would still be in my bed, under the covers, cry-bernating, but, remember the game was tied. If Villanova didn't win it there, it was going to overtime, a roughly 50.50 proposition.
It has got to be a lot worse to lose a championship where you actually have a lead with less than a second to play!
And a miracle 3 beats you.
That actually happened. And in this case North Carolina was the WINNING team.
1994 women's NCAA tournament, UNC (in white) vs. Louisiana Tech (in light blue).



That was Charlotte Smith with the game-winner and if you keep the video rolling you will see a young Marion Jones at the bottom of the pile.

So as you see, North Carolina really has nothing to complain about.
Live by the title-winning, buzzer-beating 3, die by the title-winning, buzzer-beating 3.

That One Will Be Replayed Forever

After Northern Iowa's amazing buzzer-beater from halfcourt beat Texas, Nails and I were talking about the greatest buzzer-beaters in tournament history.

We discussed some amazing early-round shots, like Bryce Drew vs. Mississippi, but decided that for the best ever the stakes needed to be higher.
NC State's Lorenzo Charles won the title with a buzzer beat in 1983, but it was a weird dunk, putback type of thing.
So we decided the best might be Christian Laettner vs. Kentucky.
Until tonight!

The first 2395 seconds of this game were fun and well-played. Some of those moments would have been memorable and remarkable, were it not for what happened in the final 5 seconds.

First Marcus Paige (who got his team to this point with an amazing steal under the basket, which I still don't understand how he was able to pull off) nailed an amazing off-balance, double-pump, closely-guarded 3, to tie it.



But Villanova was able to remain calm and execute a perfect play, Ryan Arcidiacono, with a dribble up the court and the dish to Kris Jenkins, who calmly stepped into the shot and nailed the game-winner as time expired.



It's hard to criticize because Villanova just made the perfect play, and because the game was tied so UNC had to defend the paint too, but I don't think Berry did a good enough job of slowing down Arcidiacono, and I think Isaiah Hicks made a terrible mistake by backing up, giving Jenkins the space he needed to get the shot off.

Normally, I reject the instant-classification of games and players, as I try my best to remember what happened in the past, but there is no doubt, zero doubt, that this is the best ending in the history of the National Championship game.

It's Really Real

Just because I was sure that I had fallen asleep on the couch when Syracuse trailed Virginia by 15 points with 9 minutes to go and dreamed what happened next, I decided to go back and watch that final stretch again.

And since Texas A&M's epic comeback against Northern Iowa deserved a breakdown in its own post, this one did as well.

Syracuse score listed first, throughout:

9:47 left: Michael Gbinije hits two free throws. 39-51
9:31: London Perrantes hits deep 3, his 6th of the game, taps his forehead. 39-54

9:17: Trevor Cooney drives, dishes to Tyler Roberson for a dunk. 41-54
8:52: Malcolm Brogdan drives, misses, Tyler Lydon rebounds
8:46: Trevor Cooney drives, gets a layup. 43-54
8:33: Virginia breaks the press, Darius Thompson hits a layup, 43-56
8:23: Malachi Richardson gets fouled, hits 2 free throws, 45-56
8:17: Virgina breaks the press but Anthony Gill travels under the basket
7:56: Richardson drives and hits one over Gill, 47-56
7:50: Gbinije strips Thompson, Thompson falls, takes out Lydon
7:37: Richardson drives & misses, Roberson fouled going for rebounds, makes both free throws 49-56
7:31: Virginia breaks the press, Devon Hall gets easy layup, 49-58
7:13: Richardson hits step-back 3. 52-58
7:05: Perrantes throws bad pass, Richardson knocks it out off Brogdan
6:51: Tyler Lydon hits a 3, 55-58
6:40: Brogdan drives, misses
6:37: Gbinije streaks full-court for layup, 57-58
6:00: Perrantes misses floater
5:50: Richardson knifes through the lane for a layup, 59-58
5:26: Brogdan drives, shot blocked by Lydon
5:18: Perrantes fouled by Roberson
5:00: Perrantes missed 3
4:38: Richardson face up for another 3, dons the 3-goggles, 62-58

3:56: Hall missed shot, Lydon taps rebound to Cooney
3:27: Richardson drives on Brogdan, misses, Roberson taps rebound off the glass, Richardson grabs it, fakes Tobey and goes up for a layup, 64-58

And there you have it. That's what a 6-minute, 25-4 run looks like when you break it down.

And this is what it looks like when you edit it all together in one 3-minute video:



11 possessions (12 if you include the Gbinije free throws) and Syracuse scored every time, missing only one shot.
Over that same span, Virginia made 2 out of 7 shots and turned it over 3 times (the travel, the bad pass, and the strip steal)

Now let's get back to Boeheim. He absolutely deserves a ton of credit for pushing the envelope and going into the zone. But (and it's not just me saying this, Charles Barkley said the same thing) you have to imagine they could have won more games over the years had he been as willing to abandon his game plan and try something different.

Also, the players play. Yes, he surely coached them to drive to the basket, but he couldn't have coached them to hit those 3s. The players did that. And they needed every single one of those plays to win this game and make the Final Four, where it may require more coaching strategy, and more incredible play to beat North Carolina and eventually take home the title.

It's So Crazy I Feel Like It's Not Real

I admit it. I gave up. And this wasn't one of my half-hearted, prepare-for-the-worst give ups, this was the real-deal, game's-over, start-dealing-with-the-hurt give up. There were 9 and a half minutes left. The Orange had gotten behind by 16 points. Then they cut it to 8.
Virginia hit 3 3-pointers and it was back to 15.
And I'm pretty sure everyone reading this had pretty much the same thoughts.
But not Chase. I told him it was over, hoping that if we started mourning early, the grieving process wouldn't result in tears when the stone-cold truth finally set in.
Chase said "it's never over til it's over." And even more importantly, he believed it.
It's great to be 8.

I'm still in shock over what transpired over the next 10 minutes and I promise to watch that stretch again and have a more detailed, thoughtful, basketball analysis of one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the NCAA Tournament.

But for now I just want to speak from the heart.

I have always given Coach Boeheim a tough time for mostly 3 things but they all changed tonight:

1) His prickliness. He's a grumpy old curmudgeon. Sometimes it's cute and acceptable, other times it's rude and condescending. Tonight, even though he barely cracked a smile he said he's never been prouder of a group than he was of this team.

2) His tournament record. Yes, it's good, and he's now going to his 5th Final Four, but with all the great teams, 1 title seems too few, especially considering all the upsets (Navy, Richmond, Vermont, Texas A&M, Marquette, Dayton) all double-digit seeds that knocked off superior Orange teams. And until tonight, the Orange had never pulled off a major, shocking upset in the tournament.

3) His strategy. He plays 2-3 until the cows come home and if you can beat it, well then, he'll shake your hand and offer kind wishes for luck in the next round. Tonight he changed, he adjusted. He saw that when given time Virginia was picking apart the zone and nailing 3-pointers from the place now known as Curryland. But he made an adjustment, threw something at them that they weren't expecting and it helped them win the game.

As I tried to rationalize with an 8-year-old I explained that Syracuse would have to score nearly every time they had the ball.
And wouldn't you know it, they pretty much did, scoring on 12 straight possessions that turned a 54-39 deficit into a 64-58 lead.

Malachi Richardson provided the spark offensively, nailing 3s, and even more importantly driving to the basket and getting fouled. You were impressed when a freshman named Gerry McNamara scored 18 points in the first half of a tournament game (yes, I know it was the Final), how about a freshman scoring 21 in the second half, when every single one was crucial.

And even more amazingly perhaps, Tyler Lydon, helped seal the victory with his defense (5 more blocks, 2 down the stretch) and his rebounding.

He also made a 3-pointer with one shoe, though that part may have been forgotten with all the other much more improbable things that occurred later.

And as always it was the senior duo of Trevor Cooney and Michael Gbinije who led this team back by always making plays and finally closing out on shooters. They don't just lead emotionally, the lead with their play and their effort. They deserve all the adulation they received from the Orange fans in Chicago.

And speaking of adoring fans, they had a pretty good party near campus, 500 kids, at least, turning up on Walnut.

But that wasn't all they were celebrating.

The Syracuse Orange women's basketball team also made the Final Four. Suffering no letdown after their big upset of #1-seed South Carolina, pounding the Tennessee Lady Vols, who while good, ain't what they used to be.

Alexis Peterson had another great game, this time scoring 29 points to go along with 6 assists on 11-20 shooting (3 of 4 from deep).

And always bringing the emotion and energy we have come to expect from her.

And of course, keeping true my adage about the women's tournament: win or lose, everyone on both teams cries after the game.

And then leading the team in a rousing rendition of "what up squad?"

The other big star was Brianna Butler who had been in a shooting slump until she nailed 4 of 10 3-pointers against South Carolina and then 6 of 15 against Tennessee, including 2 in 30 seconds in the 4th quarter that turned a 4-point lead into a 10-point lead from which the Orange never looked back.

They're going to need all the 3s from Butler, Peterson, Maggie Morrison and everyone else to have any prayer against UConn in the National Championship game. But the Orange do have a winnable game coming up against Washington, another surprise regional winner, coming from the 7 seed to knock off Stanford (which had vanquished Notre Dame) to earn its spot in the Final Four.

These two teams met in a preseason tournament and the Orange won by 4, but had a much bigger lead before holding on.

But that's an issue for another time, for tonight we will celebrate and try to hold on to the feeling of the best day in the history of Syracuse sports. The day the men's and women's teams overcame great odds and tough opponents to make it to the Final Four.

What A (Bria or Briana) Day!

Today has the potential to be a monumental day in Syracuse basketball history.
By the end of the day, we could have not one, but two teams in the Final Four!
At 3:30pm the women play followed by the men at 6.
Entering the women's tournament it seemed like a 3-team race. UConn would likely win, Notre Dame and South Carolina had a chance. Both those teams lost only one game all season, to UConn.
But Friday night, not only did #4 Syracuse knock off South Carolina, but Stanford beat Notre Dame.
In both those regions the 7-seed beat the 2 and the 3, setting up 4 vs. 7 in both regionals for a date in the National Semifinals.
Syracuse's 7th-seeded opponent however is Tennessee. The second-best program in women's college basketball history.
But this is not the Tennessee teams you may remember under Pat Summitt.
This is the highest seed the Lady Vols have ever gotten. Syracuse lost to them once already this season, 57-55 in Tennessee.

A brief aside about why I like women's basketball: Yes, I prefer men's. But the games are close enough to still be basketball and different enough to still be interesting.

The skill level in men's is obviously higher. But the women play a more wide open game (because they're smaller, they cover less floor space), they pass more and because they don't shoot 3s as well (Syracuse has 3 players shooting 31% or higher on at least 145 attempts), they don't just stand there jacking them up.

But my favorite difference is the emotion. The players aren't in college trying to kill time before they go pro. In the NCAA Tournament, win or lose every player on both teams cries.

And Syracuse fans get one extra reason to enjoy the game: Alexis Peterson.
A pound guard who relentlessly pushes the ball, plays tough defense, shoots 3s and most importantly, makes her free throws, 86% on 29 attempts in the tournament.
And as for the aforementioned emotion -- she's got that too.

The men will also be trying to reverse an earlier defeat against conference rival Virginia. In fact, it's not much of a rivalry, Virginia has beaten Syracuse all 3 times they played since the Orange entered the ACC.

The narrative (that I don't quite believe in) is that non-conference teams can't figure out the 2-3 zone, but conference foes know just what to do. But as the great Pete Bell said "it's know what you do, god damn it, it's how you do it." If SU aggressively doubles the post, and still gets back out on shooters, it's more difficult for teams to beat the zone. If the opponent makes their 3s, contested or otherwise, then the zone is beat.

I don't have high hopes for their chances against Virginia but for a team that wasn't even supposed to be here, it's been a great tournament run, no matter how it ends.

And we can also remember the senior seasons of Trevor Cooney and Michael Gbinije fondly.

But both these teams have surprised us before, maybe they have more in store.

Women Are Oranges Too

While most of the Syracuse University community is thrilled, rightfully so, with the surprising run of the men's team to the Sweet 16, we shouldn't forget about the women.
The women's team is continuing to set new high-water marks in program history.
This year it was most wins (27 and counting) and highest tournament seed (#4) which entitled them to host the first two rounds at the Carrier Dome.
They dominated #13 Army in the first round and then dispatched #12 Albany in round 2.
Unfortunately in the Sweet 16 Syracuse will face one of the best teams in college, 1-seeded South Carolina, led by Coach Dawn Staley and 6'5" sophomore star A'Ja Wilson.
The Gamecocks beat the Orange twice last year, once in a close game at a preseason tournament in the Bahamas, and again in the NCAA Tournament's second round, this time by 29 points.
But this year the Orange are healthy (several key players missed that game last season) and improved.
I don't have high hopes for them winning this game, but one of the most exciting developments around the athletic department in recent years has been the improvement in other sports, besides just men's basketball and men's lacrosse.
The ascension of the women's basketball team has been a key part of SU's emergence as an intercollegiate athletics power.
And these young ladies deserve our support. Their game will be on ESPN tonight at 7, before the men's game.
Especially point guard Alexis Peterson who is one of the most fun players to watch.

Upsets and Favorites

Before March Madness gets going I thought I would share some thoughts about the bracket, unfortunately all my thoughts seem to be taken by everyone else too. Kansas, UNC and Michigan State: Almost everyone is picking them for the Final Four and so am I.

Villanova and Virgina: Have recently been high seeds and always disappoint.

Oregon and Xavier: Good teams that are being overlooked because of their pedigree, or lack thereof, don't be surprised to see one in the Final Four.

Oklahoma: I really like this team but I am scared off by how much they rely on the 3-point shot. One bad game and you can lose to anyone.

Fourth Final Four team: If I choose Texas A&M I am going with the same four teams as Pres. Obama, which isn't bad politically, but it is bad strategically. So that leaves me with Duke, Baylor and Texas. I like Texas, but their best interior player, Cameron Ridley, is limited in how many minutes he can play. Believe it or not I'm going with Duke.

12 over 5 upsets: I do like Indiana and they suffered an upset on an unlucky shot in the Big Ten tournament. Baylor is playing Yale, and though Ivy teams do have a history of upsets and near-upsets, I don't think Yale has what it takes. That leaves South Dakota State over Maryland, and Arkansas-Little Rock over Purdue, so I am going to pick them both. UALR because they play a slow style that could breed an upset and SDSU because Maryland has a lot of talent but has terribly underachieved.

11 over 6 upsets: I like Texas and Notre Dame to advance, but I am picking against Seton Hall and Arizona. Seton Hall won a difficult conference and faces a Gonzaga team with a couple of good big men in Sabonis and Wiltjer. Arizona just got a tough draw vs. Wichita State. The Shockers got the 11 seed they deserved, maybe underseeded by a little, but they struggled with injuries so they're actually better than they appear. They play great defense (#1 in kenpom's AdjD) and have two great experienced player in Fred VanVleet and Ron Baker. And I actually have both those teams winning two games. Because...

14 over 3 upset: I am picking Fresno State to beat Utah. Utah is a 3-seed but ranked 28th by kenpom. But they were 13th in what the site classifies as luck. Their luck runs out.

13 over upset: Not picking any because they only one I kind of like is Iona vs Iowa State, but talented big men usually help stave off upsets.

10 or 7 over 2 upset: I am picking Iowa to knock off Villanova, setting up a matchup vs Wichita State in the Sweet 16 for the opportunity to play Kansas for a chance to go to the Final Four. You may remember the battle of Kansas from last year, when a big deal was made of the Jayhawks not playing the Shockers. Wichita State got them last year, the result could be different this time but I have Iowa disrupting it.

As for my pick to win it all. I am going with Tom Izzo and Denzel Valentine.