March Madness: leave it alone
No matter the outcome of the men's college basketball championship tonight, the past three weeks of the NCAA Tournament have been exhilarating.
In a year where the underdogs have done exceedingly well against the big-name powers, it's only fitting that the tournament concludes with a David vs. Goliath matchup -- Butler, a small school making its first appearance in a title game, against Duke, a basketball behemoth seeking its fourth national championship.
It's a made-for-Hollywood story that has parallels with a legendary Indiana high school basketball tournament that was turned into the 1986 movie "Hoosiers" and was coincidentally shot in part in Butler's gym.
The NCAA couldn't have come up with a better storyline if it had tried, and yet the organization that regulate's college athletics wants to mess with a winning formula - all in the name of greed.
The NCAA seems determined to expand the field from 65 to 96. Last week, its spokespeople were talking as if it's a done deal, although the proposal is still to be voted on.
For sports fans, there is good reason to oppose the expansion. By further opening the field, the NCAA will make regular-season play and postseason conference tournaments largely meaningless. With some of the power conferences being all but assured that more than half of their teams will be getting into the NCAA Tournament, the schools will be spending the first four months of the season largely playing to improve their seeding. There will be little motivation for anyone to start paying attention to the competition until March hits. Nor is expansion likely to create more Cinderella stories. Teams 66 to 96 may win one game, possibly two, but that's it. None will have the talent or the teamwork to make the Final Four. Butler may be this year's big surprise, but it needs to be remembered that the Bulldogs were ranked the 11th best team in the country when the NCAA Tournament began.
Fan concerns aside, expansion further perverts what should be the NCAA's mission - retaining some semblance that college players are students first, athletes second.
Already the tournament takes the players on advancing teams out of class a couple of days a week for three weeks. In the proposed expanded format, there would be 16 teams whose players would miss school for an entire week.
College basketball already is looking too much like the minor league of the NBA, with an increasing number of players refining their game for one year on the college circuit before jumping to professional riches. They are recruited with no intention that they will pursue or get a college degree. Expansion would only further fuel the perception that colleges, their presidents and their coaches are using these athletes to enrich their schools or themselves.
The only reason the NCAA is thinking expansion is money. More games means more ticket sales and, more significantly, more TV revenue. If the NCAA expands the tournament, it will be saying that academic integrity means nothing to it.
Copyright (c) 2010 Commonwealth Publishing, Inc
March Madness Predictions, Elite 8 Betting Odds & NCAA Bracket PicksAfter a NCAA bracket picks win on Thursday, the Butler Bulldogs advanced to the Elite 8 betting odds matchup against the Kansas State Wildcats set to tip-off today at 4:30PM in the 2010 mens basketball tournament. This March Madness predictions matchup will take place in Salt Lake City at the EnergySolutions Arena.
If your making any Elite 8 picks on this March Madness predictions matchup the Elite 8 betting odds makers currently list the Kansas State Wildcats as the -4(-110) point Elite 8 betting odds favorite versus the Bulldogs who have been posted as a +4(-110) point NCAA bracket picks underdog. If your planning to make your March Madness predictions on the game total the Elite 8 odds makers have posted the total to 135( ov-110).
The Butler Bulldogs excelled on defense holding Syracuse to 59 points and wiull be looking to earn their 24th straight college basketball picks victory as they face Kansas State tonight. Currently the Elite 8 odds makers have them listed as the +4 1/2(-110) point Elite 8 odds underdogs.
Kansas State is coming off a huge double OT win over Xavier which has advanced them to the Elite 8 odds matchup against Butler. Jacob Pullen led the Wildcats with 28 points giving the Wildcats the 101-96 college basketball picks victory.
(c)2010 OnlineSportsHandicappers.com
Duke is headed to the Sweet 16
The #1 Duke Blue Devils (31-5) are headed to NCAA Men's Basketball Championship 'Sweet 16' after defeating the #8 California Golden Bears (24-11) 68-53 in Jacksonville, FL. The South Region match-up was expected to be one that Duke would set the pace in and the Blue Devils did just that as they shot 47 percent from the field and took advantage of numerous Golden Bears turnovers. Nolan Smith led all scorers with 20 points and was supported with solid performances from Kyle Singler (17 points) and Brian Zoubek (14 points).
With the victory, the Blue Devils are heading to the Sweet 16 round of play for the 19th time in coach Mike Krzyzewski's tenure at Duke. The standout performances by Smith and Zoubek had Coach K singing their praises in playing a leading role in the win. "He (Smith) has been probably the unsung hero, he and Zoubs, I think, because you knew that Kyle and Jon coming in were going to be -- and they have been really good. But Nolan, especially at the end of a clock, is our go-to guy."
Duke now prepares to play the #4 Purdue Boiler Makers (29-5) on Friday and are three wins away from a National title. The Boiler Makers tangled through overtime with the #5 Texas A&M Aggies and secured a final seconds victory 63-61 to move on to the Sweet 16. Look for a game preview later in the week as these two teams prepare for their meeting in Houston, TX.
Other tournament notables: Cinderella is definitely ready for the Sweet 16 round of play that is set to begin on Thursday. As three #1 seeds remain (Kentucky, Syracuse, Duke) fans will have all eyes on the #1 Kentucky Wildcats (34-2) as they take on the #12 Cornell Big Red (29-4) who are leading contenders to becoming the Tournament 'Cinderella' team. The only way for this not to happen is if the Big Red is outdone by the #9 Northern Iowa Panthers (30-4). The Panthers took down the #1 Kansas Jayhawks (32-3) to move on to a Friday match-up with the #5 Michigan State Spartans (26-8). Not far behind both contenders is the #10 St. Mary's Gaels (28-5) who face the #3 Baylors Bears (27-7) after toppling the #2 Villanova Wildcats (25-8).
Women's March Madness notables: In 2010 NCAA Women's Basketball Championship first-round play, the #2 seed and host Duke Blue Devils (28-5) moved on with a decisive 72-37 win over the #15 Hampton Pirates (20-12). Other area notables, the #9 NC State Wolfpack (20-14) exited the Tournament early with a 74-54 loss to the #8 UCLA Bruins (25-8) while the #10 UNC Tar Heels (19-12) suffered an 82-76 loss to the #7 Gonzaga Bulldogs (28-4). The Blue Devils' next game is Monday night as the team takes on the #7 LSU Tigers (21-9) at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, NC.
Copyright (c) 2009 Clarity Digital Group LLC
The Top 10 Reasons CBS is Back for March Madness
Sunday is the NCAA tournament bracket selection show on CBS (ticker: CBS). So, with March Madness in the air, I thought I would take a page out of David Letterman's book and highlight a CBS Top Ten for you:
10) CBS owns the rights to March Madnes. CBS has a $6 Billion, 11-year rights deal with the NCAA for the Tourney, with 3 years and $2.1 Billion remaining. CBS pays the NCAA a licensing fee of roughly $610 million.
9) New mobile products for the NCAA March Madness Championship are rolling out so you can have the tourney at your fingertips.
8) Leno's return to late night television was too late! David Letterman's 'Late Show' earned $271 Million Ad Dollars in '09 vs. 'The Tonight Show' earning $175.9 Million Ad Dollars in '09.
7) According to Ad Age, from Sept. 21st '09 to Feb. 14th '10, Letterman's audience was 4.2 million viewers vs. ‘The Tonight Show' total audience of 2.92 million viewers during a longer period from June 1st '09 to Jan 24th '10.
6) CBS's total advertising revenues tied to the tourney are roughly $600 million - third to just the World Series and the Super Bowl.
5) According to WPP-owned Kantar Media, CBS's online March Madness revenue totaled 5% of the overall $600 million plus ad revenue pie last year, up from 3.5% the year before and expected to edge even higher this year.
4) Fun fact: office pool betting tallied across the U.S. reaches over $3 billion for the NCAA tournament this year, with the online CBS tourney brackets being utilized the most of any online options.
3) Tiger Woods is planning his return to Golf later this month in preparation for the 2nd most-watched sports event of the year, the Masters, aired by CBS in April.
2) Insider Sumner Redstone owns over a half million shares of stock in CBS, now more shares than Viacom (ticker: VIA-B) (see my other Haute Investing Article). link to this http://www.hauteliving.com/blog/viacom-kicks-off-the-new-decade-with-viable-strength/
1) CBS's stock is up 375% from its March '09 low a year ago.
In the words of Dickie V, CBS and March Madness are "awesome baby!"
(c)2010 Wall St. Cheat Sheet
March Madness is about ready to tip off
Let the Madness begin.
Sure, most folks associate March Madness with the NCAA Tournament, that delirious three-week run of brackets, buzzer-beaters, heartbreakers and heroes that determines the national champion in college basketball.
But the Madness actually gets under way this week all across the country with conference championship tournaments, those maddening, money-making postseason parties that serve as the tune-up to the Big Dance.
And the men's teams from three in-state schools - BYU, Utah State and Weber State - would seem to be your best bets to be dancing a little over a week from now.
BYU, already assured an NCAA berth based on its glossy 28-4 season record, will be trying to enhance its seeding when the Cougars enter this week's Mountain West Conference tournament as the No. 2 seed at Las Vegas.
While many schools might be content just to earn an NCAA berth, BYU wants more. And who could blame them? After all, the Cougars haven't won an NCAA game since the early days of the Clinton administration back in 1993.
During this decade, prior to this year, the Cougars have earned six previous NCAA tourney trips - and lost in the first round every time. Their seeding has generally been blamed for BYU's first-round failures, dealing the Cougars a difficult 8-9 matchup like they've had the last two years against Texas A&M.
But this year's team has a much stronger resume and has given itself a great opportunity to earn as high as a No. 4 seed, thus drawing a first-round opponent that's a double-digit seed (No. 13), who'd be somebody the Cougars could conceivably crush.
Indeed, the long wait might finally be over for coach Dave Rose's ballclub. But a couple more wins in the MWC tourney would sure help strengthen the Cougars' case.
Utah State has already proven itself, hands down, as the best team in the Western Athletic Conference.
But the Aggies (25-6) don't ever get much respect come NCAA tourney time, always getting handed a double-digit seed, which severely diminishes their hopes for some postseason success - or, what's worse, being left out of the field entirely, like they were in 2004 despite a glittering 25-3 record and Top-25 ranking.
USU's last opening-round win came back in 2001, and they've suffered four first-round exits since then.
Perhaps by winning the WAC tourney title this week in Reno, Nev., the Aggies' stock can climb a little higher in the eyes of the NCAA Selection Committee and help USU avoid being paired up with a first-round Goliath that's too tall to take down.
But despite all their regular-season success year in and year out under coach Stew Morrill, the deck, it seems, is always stacked against the Aggies.
Weber State - for the second straight year and their third time in coach Randy Rahe's stellar four-year run as the Wildcats' head coach - is the top dog in the Big Sky Conference.
And they'll have a chance to prove it again on Tuesday and Wednesday, when the Big Sky tourney returns to Ogden.
This time around, though, the 'Cats (19-9) are hoping to avoid the terrible disappointment that befell them a year ago, when they suffered a stunning setback to Montana State in the semifinals and were relegated to the NIT.
And who knows? If it can claim the Big Sky tourney title as expected, perhaps this year's underdog Weber State squad can produce another NCAA shocker like it did in 1999 against North Carolina and in 1995 against Michigan State.
Utah (14-16) and Utah Valley (12-17) aren't gonna get invited to any Big Dances this year. But UVU has the homecourt advantage for the Great West Tournament and, in the immortal/infamous words of a former BYU star receiver, will try to make magic happen and earn a berth in the second annual 16-team CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT).
In the meantime, the rest of us will sit back and anxiously await this special time of year, when Selection Sunday - one week from today - is must-see TV, and filling out that bracket sheet becomes a stressful yet joyous occasion.
Yes, let the Madness begin - right now.
deseretnews.com
Kentucky Wesleyan 93, UW-Parkside 66
It was a loss Parkside men's coach Luke Reigel could accept.
While his team's season ended with a 93-66 loss to Kentucky Wesleyan in the GLVC quarterfinals Sunday at Owensboro, Ky., the loss came against a team that Reigel said, "could win the national championship." What's more, a youth-oriented Parkside team, which finished 10-19, put down a foundation for the future.
"I think the future's really bright," he said.
Parkside hung with Wesleyan in the early going and was within 22-19 on a jumper by Grant Johnson with 7:52 left in the first half. But Wesleyan then got untracked and opened up an insurmountable lead.
"They just shifted it into another gear," Reigel said.
Parkside was led by Johnson, who had 16 points and five rebounds. Jeremy Safford went 3 for 6 from 3-point range and scored 13 points.
(c)Copyright 2010, JournalTimes.com
Schneck, SCSU win a big battle
There shouldn't have been a question who the two best centers in the NSIC were entering Saturday's game between St. Cloud State and Minnesota State-Mankato.
Any and all questions were put to rest: the Huskies' Matt Schneck and the Mavericks' Travis Nelson are the best.
But it was Schneck that won the battle and the war with a monster game. He finished with a career-high of 34 points and had five assists while hauling down 18 rebounds in the Huskies' 92-84 upset win over the No. 4-ranked Mavericks in a classic college basketball game in front of more than 2,000 fans.
"I wanted to relax and play my game. It helps when everybody came to play like they did," said Schneck, who was saddled with foul trouble against Southwest Minnesota State Friday and had eight points.
"There was a great energy in the locker room before everybody got out there. It seemed like everybody was focused and ready to go."
2 Top Big Men
Both big men had their offensive games on display. The win immediately eliminated a chance for the Mavericks to clinch home-court advantage in the NSIC Tournament in March.
Mankato (15-2 NSIC, 22-2 overall) still leads the Huskies (14-3, 20-4) by a game in the conference standings.
Schneck had 21 second-half points and capped off his night with an off-balance layup with .8 seconds remaining. Schneck wore out Mankato's post defense, especially Nelson, who was quiet down the stretch but finished with 24 points.
"Those are two awfully good post players going up against each other," St. Cloud coach Kevin Schlagel said. "Matt has had a phenomenal year. He's been there to pick us up this entire season. We needed him to be a big offensive threat and he was just a man out there. What a performance."
Said Schneck: "I have the utmost respect for (Nelson). It was a good battle tonight. I felt good. I had everything going. The guys were really looking to feed me the ball."
Mankato coach Matt Margenthaler singled out his team's defense.
"Defensively, we just weren't good enough," he said. "Our bigs were dominated in the post and our guards were dominated off the dribble. We're too good to allow that to happen. They were the more aggressive team."
Wins stats battle
The Huskies won the rebound battle 45-33. St. Cloud State shot 51.5 percent to the Mavericks' 46.8 percent. Jefferson Mason led the Mavericks with 28 points and 13 rebounds.
The Huskies had three others in double figures. Josh Ortmann and Brett Putz each contributed 15 points. Andrew Bernstetter had 12 points, seven rebounds and three blocks.
The game was physical and grueling from the start. It wasn't much different from the teams' first meeting Jan. 16 in Mankato, which the Mavericks pulled out 88-76.
St. Cloud State won despite having second-leading scorer and junior point guard Taylor Witt fouling out with 3:29 left. It was a one-possession game for most of the second half until the Huskies took control midway through. SCSU took the lead for good at 59-58 on a drive by Ortmann, who took over point-guard duties from Witt while he was on the bench.
"It was an adjustment, but the coaches have put me in situations to be prepared for that," Ortmann said. "I did the best I could. It's always a big win when you beat the fourth-ranked team in the country. We're starting to get to that point where we're playing our best basketball. We're a confident team, but a humble team. We don't take anyone for granted."
Added Schlagel: "That's the first time I can remember Taylor being in foul trouble. Fortunately, those other guys picked him up. Josh took care of the ball and Nate was a spark off the bench offensively and defensively.
"You want to be in big games at the end of the year. They're still the team to beat. We know we'll probably see them somewhere down the road and it will be another great game."
A spinning left-handed layup by Schneck at the 6:12 mark started a 9-3 run to put the Huskies up 74-65. The run ended with Putz hitting a jumper in the lane with 3:36 left.
Putz put the game away with a four-point play with 1:22 left. He drove to the hoop, was intentionally fouled and hit both free throws to put St. Cloud State up 84-73.
The Huskies next play at 4 p.m. Saturday when they host Minnesota-Crookston.
MSU-MANKATO (84)
Jefferson Mason 9-11 10-14 28 (13 rebounds), Jermain Davis 4-12 3-5 11, Travis Nelson 10-16 4-4 24, Jesse Clark 0-4 1-2 1, Joe Drapcho 0-1 0-0 0, Marcus Hill 1-5 0-0 2, Cameron Hodges 4-8 5-9 13, Stephen Kirschbaum 0-1 0-0 0, Taylor Morrow 1-4 0-0 3, Mitch Grundman 0-0 2-2 2, Curt Greeley 0-0 0-0 0. FG 29-62, FT 25-36, REB 33, PF 23, TO 6.
ST. CLOUD STATE (92)
Theo Rothstein 0-3 0-2 0, Andrew Bernstetter 5-9 2-2 12 (7 rebounds), Matt Schneck 14-24 6-10 34 (17 rebounds, 5 assists), Taylor Witt 3-8 0-0 6, Josh Ortmann 4-8 7-9 15, Brett Putz 5-9 2-2 15, Mahmoud Abdelfattah 0-0 0-0 0, Nate Phillips 3-5 0-0 6, Jesse Fisher 0-1 0-0 0, Tim Bergstraser 1-1 2-2 4. FG 35-68, FT 19-27, REB 45, PF 26, TO 11.
3-point goals: MS 1-9 (Davis 0-4, Drapcho 0-1, Hodges 0-1, Kirschbaum 0-1, Morrow 1-2), SC 3-13 (Rothstein 0-1, Bernstetter 0-1, Witt 0-4, Ortmann 0-1, Putz 3-6); Technical fouls: none; Fouled out: Witt, Bernstetter, Clark; Points in the paint: SC 46, MS 38; Points off turnovers: MS 16, SC 10; Second-chance points: SC 14, MS 13; Bench points: SC 25, MS 20; Halftime score: SC 37, MS 35.
sctimes.com
|
