March Madness Is Everywhere

The 2011 NCAA Tournament begins tonight with two first round "don't call us play-in" games on truTV. The channel is just one of several networks in the CBS family that will carry live tournament action. For the first time, every game will be shown live -- that is 67 games on either CBS, TBS, TNT or truTV.

What's truTV you ask? Well, it is the network carrying Wisconsin's first game on Thursday. For Direct TV viewers, truTV is channel 246. Madison-based fans can get Direct TV to follow all your favorite sports teams. Direct TV had TruTV in HD all along, whereas Charter just recently added it to its lineup (and then added it in HD also).

With so many games being televised, your remote control may go haywire over the next couple of days. CBS Sports has you covered with a bracket detailing the game times and networks for each game.

Cornell vs. Wisconsin Shot Charts

I have a lot of thoughts about Wisconsin exiting the NCAA Tournament in the second round again, but any arguments that could be made about why the Badgers lost can be summarized pretty easily. And anyone who watched both Cornell and Wisconsin play in the first round probably are not surprised at all.

For the second straight game, Wisconsin's perimeter defense was exposed, as was UW's help defense rotations. The Badger guards could not stay in front of the Big Red guards and the interior help D -- particularly by Keaton Nankivil -- was not quick enough to get in good position to cut off the penetration.

One result was early foul trouble for Nankivil, the player whose presence on the court is most indicative of the team's success. Even watching it happen, I was shocked to find out that Nankivil only managed five minutes of playing time. [box score]

Extended bench time for Nankivil effectively killed Wisconsin's chances on the boards. Cornell out-rebounded the Badgers, 27-20, and grabbed nearly 38% of its misses on offense, a figure well above Wisconsin's nation-leading average (26%).

The other by-product of the lax defense was an express lane to the hoop for Cornell. Nothing better illustrates this than a contrast between the two teams' shot charts.* Notice all the activity in the lane for Cornell versus the lack of attempts, let alone points, in the paint for Wisconsin:

Cornell - 61% (33-of-54)
Wisconsin - 49% (24-of-49)
It is no surprise that Wisconsin paid dearly all 10 times it turned the ball over, with the Big Red hitting jump shots from all angles. Trevon Hughes suffered through a really bad performance (6 TOs) in his final game.

The biggest dagger was when Pop went coast-to-coast with a nice move in the lane to get an open lay-up only to miss the bunny. What should have been a 25-23 game with six minutes left before halftime was suddenly a seven-point contest when the deadly Ryan Wittman made a buzzer-beating 3-pointer on the resulting Cornell possession. It was all downhill from there ...

*Shot charts courtesy of CBS Sports, though the accuracy of their charts has occasionally been less than 100%.

Down To The Wire With Wofford

In Friday's opening round action, #4 seed Wisconsin survived the 13th-seeded Terriers rather than tame them.

The Badgers set themselves up for a tight finish in the first half, failing to pull away from Wofford when the Terriers went over nine minutes without a field goal. An eight-point halftime lead evaporated in a hurry when Wofford went unconscious to start the second half to lead 38-37. Give the Terriers credit: they were confident and hit some tough shots. But they didn't have to face UW's A-game by any stretch.

Wisconsin's perimeter defense was lackadaisical pretty much all game. The Wisconsin guards appeared slow of foot, allowing Wofford to get into the lane at will. This opened up a bevy of pull-up jumpers in the paint. Even when they didn't go in, defensive rotations allowed the Terriers to pick up tons of easy second-chance hoops around the basket. Maybe the Badgers were looking ahead to the kind of defense they want to extend to Cornell's 3-point shooters?? Okay, maybe not ...

Jon Leuer (20 pts, 8 rebs) was the star of the day, as he was impossible for Wofford to stop defensively. It was almost criminal that Wisconsin didn't force feed Leuer in the post during the stretch run. Instead UW tried to hang him out high running a fruitless pick-and-roll routine.

Luckily Leuer kept his touch in tact. After hitting the go-ahead jumper with 20 seconds remaining, Leuer also came up with the defensive play of the game by moving his feet against the smaller Cameron Rundles and forcing a ball handling mistake out-of-bounds. He also hit two clutch free throws in a game where neither team seemed to want the freebies. [box score]

It was refreshing to see Trevon Hughes get out to a hot start in this one, which allowed UW to overcome Jason Bohannon's goose egg. Thankfully Hughes also avoided going into full-on "Bad Pop" mode and was able to find Leuer for the winning shot rather than force up a ridiculous shot.

Hughes finished with 19 points, many of them on early drives to the hoop. Amazingly, the Badgers attempted only nine 3-pointers, their lowest total of the entire season.

Bohannon really seems like an all-or-nothing guy. I liked running a specific play for him coming out of halftime. You could tell by that play that Bo knew he needed a third scorer to get things going from the outside to make life easier. I wish they had made more of an effort to get him the ball earlier.

As for J-Bo's defense, what does it say about Bo's respect for Rob Wilson's defense to not put him in at all? I cannot wait until Bo is forced to play Wilson next year. He should have gotten at least a brief audition yesterday and it's hard to believe it's the end of the season and Wilson hasn't earned Bo's confidence yet.

Oh, and props to Jordan Taylor for hustling to poke the ball out of Jamar Diggs's control from behind to a waiting Hughes, whose ensuing lay in gave UW a 49-48 lead. For that, Taylor, you earned bragging rights.

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In high school hoops, the Madison Memorial Spartans will go for back-to-back Division 1 state championships tomorrow night after blowing away Appleton East, 68-48. Their opponent will be 7'1" Boise State recruit Ben Mills and his Arrowhead cronies. Arrowhead narrowly survived a comeback bid by Milwaukee Marquette by hitting a banked 3-pointer in the final seconds. Marquette had upset powerhouse Milwaukee Hamilton the night before. That's March Madness folks.

Mills has looked pretty mobile at the state tournament and might be the best prep big man in Wisconsin. Of course, it's easy for him to move fluidly when he weighs, what, about 190 pounds?! Regardless of his build, he's scored 42 points in two games and has one more to play.

In Division 3 -- you guessed it -- Racine St. Catherine's is back to face another private school in the title game. Meanwhile, Randolph looks capable of moving to 29-0 and taking home yet another gold ball, led by UW-Milwaukee recruit Kyle Kelm.

Wisconsin Takes No. 4 Seed Out East

After failing to validate its dark horse status in the Big Ten tournament, Wisconsin still fared relatively well I thought on Selection Sunday. The Badgers will be the No. 4 seed in the East region, drawing tournament rookies Wofford in the first round.

Wisconsin plays at 1:50 p.m. CT this Friday in Jacksonville, Fla.

A first-round loss would be embarrassing and shocking, so look past Wofford temporarily. Neither Temple nor Cornell scares me as a possible second-round opponent for Bo Ryan's posse.

Top-seeded Kentucky? That's a different story. DeMarcus Cousins is a load for any team, let along a foul-prone and shallow UW front court. And after Cousins you have Patrick Patterson and Daniel Orton. Not to mention All-Everything frosh John Wall has a gear none of these Badgers have.

The Big Ten received five bids this year, down two from last season's seven. Conference-wise, that total ranks behind the Big East (8), Big XII (7) and ACC (6).

Need help filling out your bracket? Don't say ESPN never tried to help ya ...

Link of the Night

The Ohio State blog Eleven Warriors had an interesting post today about one guy's behind-the-scenes experience at the Big Ten Network headquarters. Unfortunately Hoops Marinara has no such access anywhere. Sigh.

Before I delve into the offseason in the coming weeks, I wanted to note how happy I am that Trevon Hughes' Game-winner against Florida State was named the tournament's Pontiac Game Changing Performance. The American voters got it right. The Siena and Villanova clips were equally deserving, maybe even Oklahoma State, but I would have rolled my eyes a bit if the Gonzaga or Pittsburgh clip had won (the Missouri entry was a joke).

I am always afraid that these contrived contests will end up like those episodes of America's Funniest Home Videos, where the clip of the dog in a life jacket wins the money over the only finalist video that actually made you laugh.

In the context of the whole tournament, I though Scottie Reynolds' game-winner (sent 'Nova to Final Four) and Kalin Lucas' three-point play (regional semis against defending champs) were the two most important shots on the list. But Pop's shot was the only one that combined four essential elements: 1) it was an upset, 2) his team was trailing, 3) it was overtime, and 4) it left little to no time for the opponent to get another good chance to score.

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Other old news:
- Gopher-to-be Royce White was named Minnesota Mr. Basketball over Badger signee Mike Bruesewitz. Tubby fans rejoice.

- I did not stick around for the montage after the butt-whippin' UNC served up to Michigan State. But after hearing Wisconsin got two clips into this year's One Shining Moment reel, I finally watched the thing. Nice memories ... - Kirk Penney was named the 2009 MVP of the Australian NBL. He led the league in scoring at over 24 ppg after finishing second in scoring last season.

Give the Big Ten a Gold Star

I was impressed with Penn State's perseverance tonight in digging out the NIT championship against Baylor. Just another example of the Big Ten's strength this year. Can you believe the Nittany Lions finished with 27 wins?!

More specifically, I was impressed with Jamelle Cornley. The undersized, injury-plagued senior forward was a great representative for the Big Ten Conference. He must have gotten the memo. Cornley turned in some gritty performances in the NIT after hurting his shoulder. Penn State will miss his game enormously next year.

Penn State also loses two other seniors who logged a lot of time in Happy Valley in Stanley Pringle and Danny Morrissey. The team loses almost half of its scoring and a third of its rebounding with those three, so I am not sure where the Nitts will fall in the conference pecking order next season. Battle returns of course, and Penn State also has a pair of big, long bodies in Andrew Jones and Jeff Brooks that flashed potential.

As for the real tournament, the Big Ten would have been expected to post a 6-7 record based on seeding alone, but has already secured a winning record thanks to the run by Michigan State. Add an 8-7 record (or maybe even 10-6 if MSU gets crazy) in the NCAA Tournament to Penn State's postseason success, and you almost forget about Indiana's epically embarrassing season and Iowa's impending disaster.

The future looks bright for the conference despite not having any incoming McDonald's All-Americans. The all-conference team was littered with sophomore stars, so keep an eye on April 26 -- the deadline for early entrants to declare for the NBA Draft. Purdue's JuJuan Johnson has already announced he will be back (as expected), while Ohio State's Evan Turner seems the most likely to bolt.

Marcus Landry is in Detroit as I type this, awaiting his chance to display his skills in the NABC College All-Star Game on Friday night. After that, Landry's next stop will be the Portsmouth Invitational event out in Virginia next week to see if he can get any indications that an NBA team might want to take a chance on him. Best of luck to him. Joe Krabbenhoft must settle for getting bashed (along with his father) in the comments section on a hometown newspaper site. Unbelievable ...

So the question is, can I root for Michigan State this weekend? In a word, yes. With conference pride. And also because it helps my ridiculous bracket.

Wisconsin Gets X'd Out

The Xavier Musketeers gave the Badgers a harsh reminder about what elite defense looks like when they put the clamps on Trevon Hughes and company in the second half of Sunday's battle, thus denying Wisconsin a return trip to the Sweet 16.

Wisconsin's apex in the game was the 16-6 run by Hughes and Marcus Landry over a six-minute stretch that spanned the halftime break. However, the 33-26 lead disappeared slowly over the subsequent seven-minute scoring drought.

Even though Wisconsin already finished behind three of the other top defensive teams in the nation during the Big Ten season (with a combined 1-4 record), it had the distinct displeasure of running into two more of the season's best in back-to-back tournament games. Contrast that to last season's run as a higher seed where UW (the second-best defensive team according to Pomeroy rankings) got to play against three teams more known for their offense.

The Badgercentric blog sums up a few other thoughts on Wisconsin's demise. The Badgers missed far too many makeable shots, despite Landry's best efforts. Wisconsin shot 28.6% on the day and only 3-of-20 from long distance. Xavier was suffocating, especially to Jason Bohannon.

I give Xavier a lot of credit, but I still think Hughes and Keaton Nankivil need to finish better near the rim that they did against the X-men for this team to advance any further next season. I absolutely loved Pop's aggressiveness going to the hole and would love to see "NCAA Hughes" show up for the entirety of his senior season. Hughes finished 11-of-13 from the line for a total of 17 points, despite missing all seven 3-point attempts and hitting only 3-of-16 from the field (some of those were garbage shots in the final minute).

To keep the theme going, the X-factor in the game might have been Xavier's freshman center Kenny Frease. The seven-footer scored Xavier's first three points after four minutes of spinning its wheels. Then down the second half stretch, Frease twice drew "and-ones" at crucial moments to reverse any semblance of Badger momentum.

Frease is still pretty raw, but it was a blatant tragedy that the 6'6" Landry had to guard that giant. Not too many teams have the personnel to match those 265 pounds in the post. The shame is that Wisconsin is one of those teams. But both of the aircraft carriers on UW's bench lack either skill or experience ... or more frightening, both.

Landry held his own otherwise, as predicted. He completed his excellent Badger career quite respectably with 18 points, 10 rebounds, two steals and one block. [box score] The Goggled One finishes fifth in career blocked shots with 99 and tied for eighth with 181 offensive rebounds.

Things probably could not have gone worse on the court for Joe Krabbenhoft. Krabby fouled out with zero points and was pretty invisible. Despite a forgettable final game, I look foward to seeing Joe on the sidelines someday for a college team that visits the Kohl Center, or even better, on the UW staff. Krabbenhoft was a great leader and one of the winningest Badgers of all time.

In the end, Xavier out-Badgered the Badgers. The Musketeers were deeper and more skilled and it will be easy to cheer for those guys to win out.

From Now On, Everything Is Icing

More than 24 hours have passed since Wisconsin's most gratifying win of the season. Beating 5-seed Florida State was not an improbable victory, but at halftime it sure seemed like it. And considering the team's hot and cold resolve in late-game situations, I don't think anyone really expected a repeat of the Virginia Tech finish.

But that's what Trevon Hughes gave us. He is an ACC killer. Pop showed the ultimate level of toughness by hanging in over the course of 45 minutes in a game where he made decisions (4 TOs, two critical missed FTs) even he termed "bonehead plays."

"He was really strong with the ball on that particular play," said Marcus Landry. I agree.



In the locker room after the game, footage shows a mix of youthful excitement and flat out relief from some of the players.

For me, Wisconsin missing the tournament would have been confirmation of a disappointing season. By winning one in Boise already, the season is officially a success in my eyes. A fine line isn't it? Not only did the team give Bo Ryan his first coaching victory over a better seed, but the Badgers may have gotten a bit of their end of the game mojo back.

Toney Douglas is a heck of a player. Wow. But Florida State turned out to be just a two-trick pony.

After leading the team with an impassioned halftime talk, Joe Krabbenhoft got a steal and a big 3-pointer to start an incredible 13-0 run. Following Krabby's lead, Wisconsin came out to start the second half as a team. Keaton Nankivil rose from anonymity again. His eight straight points capped the run to give the Badgers a 32-31 lead with 14:40 remaining. At that point, it was a brand new ballgame and a breath of fresh air. [box score]

Nankivil finished with 14 points off the bench and thankfully Bo stuck with him despite some foul trouble. Besides the ankle injury, defensive consistency and overall intensity is what has kept the sophomore off the floor even as fans have been clamoring for him to get more playing time.

"He was tough. Knocked down some shots. Got some confidence going," Ryan said of Nankivil after the game. "I think he was even talking to himself when he went down the court a couple times. Did you see the lips moving? He wasn't trash talking, that's Keaton getting himself going. We knew we had him ready then."

Even so, Wisconsin needed clutch outside shooting from Jason Bohannon to make up the seven-point deficit it faced with five minutes to play in regulation. Again, an impressive display of mental toughness and persistence by the team. Then, when J-Bo hit the first shot of overtime form behind the arc, we started to believe.

Thanks to UW and Michigan, the Big Ten more than held it's own in round one despite Illinois and Ohio State losing. The conference posted a 4-3 record despite having four teams seeded 8th, 10th, 10th and 12th. Since then, Purdue won a second-round game as the Big Ten creeps closer to topping postseason expectations. A sweep by Michigan State and Wisconsin today would guarantee it.

As I expressed earlier, any more wins at this point are gravy. Xavier is a tough, well-coached major conference program stuck in the "mid-major" Atlantic 10 conference. The Musketeers will not be as long along the frontline as the Seminoles were however, which is why I have a feeling Old Man Landry will be a key factor in any success the Badgers have. He needs to rediscover that baseline spin move that served him well through his first three seasons at Wisconsin.

Speaking of Landry's senior season, he needs four more blocked shots to tie Kurt Portmann for fourth place all-time in Badger history. He needs three more offensive rebounds to pass Patrick Tompkins on the career offensive rebounding list.

As we update the seniors' progress on Record Watch, congratulations are in order for Hughes also, who sneaked onto Wisconsin's top ten in career steals in the past few games, passing Wes Matthews. Pop should be able to climb several more places next season.

Player - Career Rebounds (Season Total)
5. Kim Hughes - 806
6. Alando Tucker - 769
7. Joe Krabbenhoft - 753 (217)

Player - Career Off Rebs (Season Total)
2. Mike Wilkinson - 311
3. Andy Kowske - 240
4. Joe Krabbenhoft - 231 (60)
5. Sean Daugherty - 227
6. Brian Butch - 222
7. Michael Finley: 205
8. Patrick Tompkins: 181
9. Marcus Landry: 179 (51)

Player - Career Blocks (Season Total)
3. Mike Wilkinson - 117
4. Kurt Portmann - 102
5. Marcus Landry - 98 (34)

Links:
- Madison Memorial makes good on Jeronne Maymon's vow to win a state title.
- Talk about bad timing. Officials wait until the state tournament to let a Chicago high school powerhouse know about their "illegal" uniforms, which may have cost them a championship.

Bucky, Meet Bubble

The 2008-09 Wisconsin men's basketball team in all likelihood will be remembered for one thing: being painful to watch in the last five minutes of games.

As the Badgers fell to Ohio State on Friday afternoon, not only did they fail to defend their Big Ten Conference Tournament Championship, but they also placed their NCAA tournament fortunes in the hands of a committee rather than removing all doubt. With the loss, Wisconsin dropped to 4-10 against RPI Top 50 teams.

For the record, I expect Wisconsin (19-12, 10-8) to get into the tourney on Sunday. A bid would extend the nation's sixth-longest current streak for NCAA tournament appearances to 11 years in a row. This equals current streaks by Texas and Gonzaga, although all three will move up a few notches if both Arizona and Kentucky fail to get in, as anticipated. Ohio State's win over Michigan State puts the Big Ten Tournament loss in perspective too.

But that 20th win would have looked nice. There are no guarantees of reaching that plateau now, meaning the spectacular back-to-back 30-win seasons might be bracketed by two 19-win seasons.

We should have seen it from the start though -- this is the same team that needed overtime to beat Iona and one of Marcus Landry's best games to bail them out at home against Long Beach State. Trevon Hughes' off-balance jumper was the only thing keeping UW from a total collapse at Virginia Tech (a team unlikely to get in). In that game, the Badgers let a 10-pt lead with less than seven minutes remaining slip to three points and then saw the rebuilt nine-point lead with under a minute left disappear completely. That scare might have been the Badgers' highlight of the season.

To be fair, Wisconsin has won a few games in the closing minutes, as it did with Idaho State. And to their credit Hughes, Landry and the defense closed out Penn State at the Kohl Center to begin the new year. Wisconsin swept a pair of bubble teams in Michigan and Penn State to get it's best road wins of the year. Wins at home against Illinois and a now solid Ohio State team -- plus a winning Big Ten record -- are the linchpins of UW's résumé. The Badgers beat (most of) the teams they should have, but consistently came up short at times they could have gotten marquee wins.

The chances were there. Marquette pulled away after trailing Wisconsin by double-digits several times in the first half in early December. Against Texas, a costly turnover by Joe Krabbenoft turned the tide in the final three minutes of a five-point loss. The Badgers battled on the road against a poor Iowa team, but got outplayed in the extra session. The first Minnesota debacle goes without explanation. A 13-4 Purdue run starting at the three-minute mark was the icing on another painful home loss. In yet another close game, Wisconsin led by a few points at Northwestern nearly the entire second half until -- you guessed it -- the Wildcats took the lead for good with 2:26 left.

All of that brings us back to this team's lack of execution when it matters most. Wisconsin completely breaks the needle, beyond empty, at crunch time. Even as the team improved down the stretch, the Badgers squandered a 12-point second half lead at Michigan State. They went the final three minutes without a field goal at Minnesota using the infamous "stand around for 30 seconds and then miss a long jumper" offense. Wisconsin made zero field goals in the final six minutes yesterday.

In that time, Wisconsin barely touched the post at all against Ohio State's zone, underscoring the need for better passers on the perimeter that can initiate offensive movement. Hughes has some explosive ability, but has proven unreliable in the facilitator role. Combine that with the lack of a true slasher to break down defenses and it is easy to see why the team struggles at the end of games. In the end, Wisconsin's defense is not as solid as the previous two seasons and cannot cover up for the offensive lapses.

What happened versus Ohio State was something you see in the NBA. Instead of turning the ball over, Evan Turner took over. He was the best player on the floor and neither Krabbenhoft nor Landry (especially with four fouls) could keep up with him. When a coach like Thad Matta exploits a favorable match up, Bo Ryan has had nothing to counter with this year.

Beanie Baby Badgers

Tuesday night's game against Purdue is one of Wisconsin's most important games in years. The momentum that has raised expectations over several seasons is on the verge of crumbling. The aura of invincibility surrounding the Kohl Center is fading. Onlookers are questioning the team's toughness. Beating the Boilermakers could restore the luster of the home court and make the statement that the Badgers will not ride silently into the sunset of this year's also-rans.

Then again, Wisconsin is in the kind of trouble that one game cannot fix. The last time the Badgers lost four games in a row was the final four games of the 2005-06 season, when UW went one-and-done in both the Big Ten and NCAA tournament. Despite RPIforecast.com projecting Wisconsin's final RPI to be in the top 40, the program is riding the worst Big Ten losing streak of the Bo Ryan-era.

The general consensus to start the year was that this was one of Bo's most talented teams from top to bottom. Wisconsin returned four experienced upperclassmen who contributed to back-to-back 30-win campaigns. So was everyone wrong about this team's talent? Does this bunch of players just not have the proverbial it?

One thing most people can agree upon is that Wisconsin has regressed defensively. The Badgers have an adjusted defensive efficiency rating much lower than in the previous two seasons, currently ranking 70th rather than in the top ten according to Ken Pomeroy's system. This places them in the middle of the pack in the improved Big Ten. In addition, bad positioning and perhaps a lack of inside size have led to UW committing far more fouls than usual, as John Gasaway's satire illustrates. In a related note, Wisconsin is shooting fewer free throws per field goal attempt and and scoring a lower percentage of its points from the charity stripe as well. The Badgers are taking the punishment, but not dishing out much themselves.

Once you accept these facts, it is easy to try connecting the dots from poor defense to less intensity, from lower intensity to a decrease in toughness. Even Bo questioned the hustle and toughness of his team this year. When faced with pressure, whether literal (UConn, Marquette, Purdue, Minnesota) or situational (Texas, Minnesota again, Iowa), Wisconsin's players shy away more often than they step up.

Take a look at the roster. Over the past two seasons, Wisconsin has bid adieu to one bonafide go-to player (Tucker), a streaky, fearless gunner (Kam), a tireless, lockdown perimeter defender (Flowers), a mobile, shotblocking presence capable of the occassional cheap shot (Stiemsma) and a fiery 7-foot former McDonald's All-American (Butch). Each of these players had a swagger about them. Several were true leaders and confident enough in their own abilities to take risks.

In case you missed it, Badger Centric took a fresh angle on what's been ailing the Badgers -- not enough bad shots from aggressive players. At the very least, an interesting thought. The current Wisconsin players appear uncomfortable stepping into the role of carrying a team on their back when needed. Balanced teams are great (see: 2007-08), but what you and I fear is a collection of highly-rated role players.

Having a team of skilled, "soft" players is not the only problem right now, but it cannot be swept under the rug. The toughest guy on the team is Joe Krabbenhoft, hands down. Krabby had an excellent game against Illinois, perhaps the only bright spot amidst terrible Wisconsin shooting. [box score] It is hard to spot any of his teammates playing similarly, however. I could make arguments for Tim Jarmusz and Kevin Gullikson possessing that intangible toughness and hustle, but neither is skilled enough to crack the rotation's top seven. That is a problem.

Jon Leuer is probably the most aggressive Badger offensively and you can see shades of that trait already in Rob Wilson. (Speaking of Wilson, Bo simply did not play the freshman enough against the Illini, which was inexcuseable in my mind. Wisconsin desperately needed his length and athleticism to slow down Demetri McCamey, as well as someone to shake things up on offense). In the starting five though, Trevon Hughes is the closest thing to a go-to guy and he's already been benched once this year. Marcus Landry and Keaton Nankivil are too laid back. Jason Bohannon is beyond laid back.

Collectively, Wisconsin has been forced out of its comfort zone. As a team and as individuals, the response has not been up to snuff.

Right now, I see a bunch of complimentary players. To turn the season around, Wisconsin needs to find some warriors.

Final Four: Mapping The Rosters

A classic championship game between Kansas and Memphis brought the 2007-08 season to a close in proper fashion last night. The Jayhawks' 75-68 win came in the seventh overtime game in NCAA championship game history. [box score]

When you look back at this tournament a few years from now, Wisconsin's exit will not appear as poor as it seemed at the time. When Davidson hung with the eventual national champion until the final shot, the whole Midwest Region got a boost. If you can't win, you hope the team that beats you was the best in the country. In UW's case, this was close enough. From one angle, you could make an argument--albeit a shaky one--that Wisconsin lost to the second-best team in the tournament this year.

In days leading up to the title game, I started thinking back to a recent New York Times piece on the composition of Wisconsin's roster (thanks to Jon Linder for pointing it out). The map got me thinking both about the direction UW's program is headed and also about what it takes to build a truly elite, NCAA Championship-level squad these days.

Wisconsin has concentrated traditionally on snagging the best players from the state and filling in needed pieces from its midwestern neighbors. Bo Ryan has placed a premium on finding players who will best fit his swing offense and embrace the team concept. It's easy to fill a roster with that kind of players when your legendary head coach has inspired half of the high school coaches in the state to run his system.

I have constructed some player origin maps to show how this type of roster-building strategy appears spatially. Almost every program is going to fill extra roster spots with walk-ons from around the state, so I concentrated on mapping the scholarship athletes. Though we have been able to cherry-pick some talent from Minnesota lately, the 2007-08 roster was still heavily local:

Now look at Monday night's title game match-up. See where Kansas and Memphis are pulling players from? All over. Compare these maps and apparent strategies with Wisconsin's more regional map:

Both school's rosters featured scholarship players from 10 different states this season. Kansas has natural ties to the heartland, but nearly every corner of the country is represented. Memphis' turf seems restricted only to anything east of the Mississippi River. These are two of the nation's premier programs which can basically pick and choose the recruits they want. Similarly, top-flight prospects desire to play for these schools, no matter where they grew up.

The question is, will Bo Ryan change his recruiting. Does he agree with the pessimists that decry a lack of athleticism on his team and feel the need to look outside Wisconsin's borders to find it? More likely is that (1)the recent classes of high school seniors in Wisconsin have been less talented than usual and (2)the Badgers continue to raise their profile nationally in the minds of prep hoop stars.

This fall, five new freshmen will join the Badgers, none of which will be from Wisconsin. The departing senior class this spring consists of four in-state contributors (3 scholarship, 1 walk-on). In just one year, Wisconsin has added three new states to it's recruiting footprint* to up the total to eight. As I mentioned before, this is probably more of a drastic blip than an official trend. If the team keeps winning 30 games a year, though, the opportunities to pick and choose become even greater and more frequent.

*This map assumes 2008 recruit Ryan Evans will occupy Kevin Gullikson's 2008-09 scholarship.

Round 5 (& 6) data

With all the Big Ten teams long-gone and no other 3-seeds left to compare to Wisconsin's run, there is nothing left to track but my pathetic bracket. When North Carolina and UCLA were both eliminated at the Final Four, the debacle was complete.

My picks: 37/63 (58.7%) Round 5 (& 6): 0-3

Elite 8: The Storybook Closes

Davidson, 2008's Cinderella story, needed to hit one more shot to advance to the Final Four but could not get a clean look for Stephen Curry at the game's climax. Instead, four #1 seeds will battle in the Final Four for the first time.

But the Wildcats proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that they were one of the top ten teams in the country this season. Likewise, Kansas proved that it has the defensively capabilities to get an important stop in crunch time, which could be the difference in slowing down the Carolina machine.

What a phenomenal display of team defense by the Jayhawks on that final play. I think everyone was shocked that Curry didn't choose to just force the last shot up himself, as it took a lot to force the ball out of Curry's hands. Although Brandon Rush struggled offensively, he recovered nicely after stumbling to the ground and stuck with Curry. After he jumped in the air, anticipating a shot, it was Sherron Collins who slid in with an air raised high in Curry's face that ultimately forced the pass. Well done.

The UNC-Louisville game was the one I was most anticipating this weekend, though, and it nearly lived up to the hype. However, Louisville's carelessness with the ball denied them another win.

Wauwatosa native Jerry Smith provided the early spark for the Cards and finished with a team-high 17 points. His shot was looking very good from deep range, but he was held scoreless for the final 11 minutes of the contest. It's not worth comparing Smith to Hughes or J-Bo at this point, but I like Smith's energy in the Louisville's pressing scheme and his shooting has really improved. Obviously, he could have helped the Badgers much more than J.P. Gavinski has thus far.

Round 4 data
How the #3 seeds fared: 0-2 (10-4 overall)
(1)North Carolina 83, (3)Louisville 73 [box]
(1)UCLA 76, (3)Xavier 57 [box]

My picks: 37/60 (61.6%) overall | Round 4: 3/4 (75%)

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Washington State's Tony Bennett has turned down the offer to coach the Indiana Hoosiers. According to Hoosier Scoop, Indiana will spare no expense to get Xavier's Sean Miller to fill the vacancy. Former Stanford coach Mike Montgomery will also be a top candidate.

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The future Badgers from the Land of 10,000 Lakes went one for two in capturing state championships this weekend. Benilde-St. Margaret's won the Class 3A, 58-52, over last year's champs, Senior point guard Jordan Taylor made a strong case for Minnesota's Mr. Basketball all week long. Taylor capped off a great all-around tournament with 20 pts, 10 rebs & 6 assts on Saturday night. At State, he averaged 27 pts, 7 rebs, 5.6 assts, 2.6 stls, with over a 4:1 assist-to-turnover ratio. I'd say Taylor's ready for college.

Mike Bruesewitz's Henry Sibley team ran out to a big lead on favored Minnetonka in the Class 4A final, but faltered under pressure, losing 68-59. The junior commit had another nice all-around game, but struggled from the free throw line in the second half. Bruesewitz finished with 39 rebounds in three games at the state tournament.

Now that Royce White has transferred to Hopkins, both the champs and Sibley will be chasing Minnetonka's rival next year.

Sweet 16: Admit One To Dumpsville

Right around the five-minute mark, Jason Bohannon drove the lane and found Brian Butch for an easy lay-in. Bo Ryan immediately called timeout. As the camera cut to him, you could clearly see Bo tear into his team, "That's what we needed. Not any of this ..."

The words became unclear, but as Bo waved his extended hand out over the court, the television audience got the message. Friday's meltdown was one of failed execution. Several Badgers passed up opportunities to drive to the hoop, even turning 180 degrees at times to double back toward the midcourt area to deliver another meaningless hand-off pass. In particular, Joe Krabbenhoft (no surprise) and Marcus Landry did not look for their shot, while Butch didn't seem to make much of a concerted effort to get good position in the post at any point. The offense looked pathetic, the rebounding position was inadequate, the effort was listless ... the tentative Badgers were simply outplayed in almost every way.

I have not felt so wrong about a prediction since I boldly proclaimed in the student newspaper that the Wisconsin football team would upset Michigan in 2001. Not only did Butch fail to show up for this game, but it did not resemble a close game in any way after halftime [box score].

ESPN's Pat Forde wrote the following in a forthright column after the game:

"This was a basketball lecture rapped into Wisconsin's knuckles. The Badgers played most of the game a man down after the injury to guard Trevon Hughes, but that's no excuse. They were the inferior team."

Harsh words to swallow. I'd like to refute the statement eight different ways, but it would just be grasping at the runaway loose end of a long season's rope. Abysmal second-half shooting (23.8%) led to the most embarrassing Badger loss since the infamous Southwest Missouri State game. It will be an entire year before Bo has another chance to prove he can beat a team with a single-digit seed, that he's not prone to postseason upsets and that Wisconsin can hang with unfamiliar and up-tempo teams.

The sad thing is that you could see this coming. Wisconsin recently began shooting more and more 3-pointers, attempting 17, 18, 16, 22 and finally 23 shots from behind the arc over the last five games. As the Badgers became more proficient as shooting the trey as the season wore on, you could see the players become more willing to settle for that type of outcome. When threes are going in, they were in the first half Friday night, you can stay close in games and win them down the stretch. However, an intelligent coach might see those postseason 3-point shooting percentages (34.7, 40.9, 18.7, 50, 29.4) and build a game plan designed to limit interior looks and take his chances with the outside shooting.

But the Badgers seemed to keep banging their heads against the proverbial wall. It is hard to dictate a slower pace in a game against a superior transition team when you are missing long shots, not recovering the rebound and then compounding the threat by not getting back on defense quick enough. Curry's freeze-and-fire that saw Krabby sailing through the air was not only a very heads-up play by a smart player, but also a microcosm of the game as a whole: Wisconsin was never in the right place at the right time.

Perhaps the most frustrating part is seeing another team apply consistent defensive pressure and see your own team fail to do two important things in return: (1) respond aggressively on offense to draw fouls on the pressure defense and (2) man up and increase your own defensive pressure in return. Wisconsin could not score to keep up with Davidson and did not make the Wildcats work very hard to get their buckets. After dominating the glass in the first half, seemingly every bounce went Davidson's way in the second half as the rebounding totals shifted completely back to even by the end of the game.

Davidson possessed the X-factor. Stephen Curry. Meanwhile, Wisconsin's lack of a go-to scorer finally caught up the team. Not even the senior leaders, Flowers and Butch, could muster the emotion or confidence to help get UW's mojo back after the Wildcats had stolen it. The Badgers were out-gunned and they acted like they knew it before anyone else.

Two minor subplots would be the continued inefficiency of the Badger inbounds plays and the lack of depth. With Hughes shelved for what looked like poor performance, but was later revealed to be the gimpy ankle flaring up, Wisconsin went only six players deep. Not to sound like a broken record, but it would have been nice to pull a more seasoned Keaton Nankivil or a third shooter off the bench to shake things up a bit.

At least Michigan State got blown out by a #1 seed. Big Ten down? I think so ...

Round 3 data
How the Big Ten fared: 0-2 (5-4 overall)*
(1)Memphis 92, (5) Michigan State 74 [box]
*.556 winning % is sixth among conferences with more than one team

How the other #3 seeds fared: 2-1 (10-2 overall)
(2)Texas 82, (3)Stanford 62 [box]
(3)Louisville 79, (2)Tennessee 60 [box]
(3)Xavier 79, (7)West Virginia 75 [box]

My picks: 34/56 (60.7%) overall | Round 3: 3/8 (37.5%)

Beat Those Wildcats ... Again

Davidson College famously offered free transportation for the 648-mile trip to tonight's game in Detroit, along with paid tickets and lodging, but only about 350 students will be making the bus trip due to the short-term logistics. Conversely, the Kohl Center is 406 miles from Ford Field, so you've got to hope for a large UW contingent to make up for all the Kansas, Villanova and Davidson fans cheering for the Wildcats in what could be one of the largest crowds ever to see an NCAA Regional game. Diverted traffic will be wreaking havoc on Motown's motorists this weekend, but the thick, unwelcome snow that fell last night hopefully has not kept the Badger faithful from arriving safely in town.

Much has been made of the cavernous atmosphere of Ford Field. Incidentally some have speculated whether something similar is a factor behind Wisconsin's success within the Kohl Center. Much ado about nothing I say. There will be a few constants in this Badger game: Flowers will D up and Curry will still get his shots off (although, didn't you notice, he is on a downward scoring trend? 40, then 30, now ... 20?!)

When it comes down to the strategy, you know Bo is sticking to his plan. Touch the post. It should be Brian Butch's world tonight, with everyone else just a guest. The truly remarkable story will be if Wisconsin can win the game and Butch doesn't have his national coming out party tonight. In that case, one of the other Badgers will have stepped up at the game's tipping point, because without Butch blowing up, this one is going down to the wire. But my money is on Butch; I just feel it. The state will be giddy to advance one its favorite native sons to the Elite 8 in his final trip around the block.

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After reviewing the highlights of Benilde-St. Margaret's quarterfinal victory, I can see why Jordan Taylor nailed so many treys: no perimeter defense. Without seeing the whole game, maybe his attacks to the hoop were so devastating that the other team laid off, I dunno. Taylor did shoot 16-of-18 from the charity stripe and fouled out his defender after all. It was more of the same Thursday night as BSM advanced to the Class 3A championship game with a 100-70 waxing of Minneapolis Patrick Henry.

"We wanted to put our foot on their throat and not let up," Taylor said.

With the win, the Red Knights earned a Saturday rematch with St. Thomas Academy in a repeat of last year's final game.

Mike Bruesewitz notched an impressive 18/16 double-double to lead Henry Sibley into the Class 4A title game on Saturday. He also won the match of wits with uber-talented Rodney Williams. I don't think the Warriors will be intimidated at all by Minnetonka in the championship. This should be a nice comparison of prep hoops between Wisconsin and Minnesota since Madison Memorial spanked Minnetonka earlier this year. Needless to say, I was not that impressed with the Skippers at the time.

Round 2: Two Down, Four To Go

There is a large measure of satisfaction in this Wisconsin team (31-4) making the Sweet 16 after last season's collapse. Setting a new school mark for total victories in a season stands on its own merit too. The team is soaking it in, but has its sights set on bigger things. To loosely quote a great video game, "Congratulations Bucky, but our princess is in another castle."

Wisconsin is one-third of the way through the national championship journey. The Badgers now hold the Omaha belt, but need to win two more "mini-tournaments" to claim the prize of an undisputed champion. Thankfully, next weekend's venue has a Big Ten flavor (Detroit) rather than being in Davidson's home state, where second-seeded Georgetown ran into quite a partisan crowd. That was actually the last game I filled out on my personal bracket. I knew Davidson could scare the elite teams as they had North Carolina, UCLA and Duke early in the season, but didn't have 100% faith in Stephen Curry and Co. to actual knock Georgetown out. Although Davidson might be a better matchup for Wisconsin, I couldn't help but want the Badgers to get a shot at the Hoyas.

Davidson has a recent history of losing to high-ranking Big Ten teams in the NCAA tournament, but it's safe to say this is not your father's Davidson Wildcats. Sophomore Stephen Curry has been the breakout star of the tournament, scoring 70 points in the 10th-seeded Wildcats' two NCAA victories. Davidson will undoubtedly be another en vogue pick to upset Wisconsin. The university has revamped their home page to center on the phenomenon. Most people are probably excited to see Mike Flowers match up with Curry, but I think Curry will be a different assignment than a player like Drew Neitzel. Curry does not have to work nearly as hard to get his open shots -- heck, he doesn't need to be open at all to get a look. As we've seen, even from the Badgers, the team that hits its 3-pointers will most likely win. Good thing Wisconsin has outscored its last three opponents 107-76 in the second half. Nice adjustments Bo.

While some teams like UNC blow out the opposition with hundreds of points, the Badgers have shifted into another class. Along with Washington State, Wisconsin has been one of the most impressive teams in the tourney because they are systematically choking their opponents over the course of the game. If Bill Simmons is right that this year "the best MacGyver team is going to win" than Wisconsin is in great shape. Apparently, the Sports Guy doesn't know that Wisconsin is one of those teams he's talking about, since he picked USC to beat the Badgers.

Greg Stiemsma proved his worth in shutting down Michael Beasley (along with Butch and Landry) and giving him fits on the offensive end as well. The Stiemboat's efficiency numbers were off the chart (14 pts/7 rebs in 14 mins) and his body control on the 3-on-1 fast break finish that led to an old fashioned three-point play was my favorite play of the game [box score].

Like Stiemsma, Trevon Hughes had a phenomenal and efficient game as the Badger guards completely outclassed Kansas State's guards. Even though Hughes led the team in scoring, I was surprised to see that he had scored 25 points ... I'm too used to everyone chipping in their 8-12 points I guess. Do you think the announcers will start to acknowledge that Wisconsin has developed into a very good outside shooting team? They act so shocked when UW's shots start to fall. Wisconsin actually had their fifth-best offensive efficiency performance of the year, posting its second-highest effective field goal percentage (62%).

Meanwhile, Wisconsin's nemesis Michigan State got the benefit of some terrible officiating down the stretch in its win over Pittsburgh. A highly questionable moving screen call on Gilbert Brown was followed by an outrageous charging call on Levance Fields in the final minute. It may not have mattered, but Kailin Lucas was nowhere near having position on Fields as he drove, not to mention a clear-cut swipe by Neitzel that caught all arm. Please Sparty, no more complaints to Badger fans about officiating, huh? Nevertheless, Saturday was another great round of games, particularly because Duke, the nation's nemesis, lost. Sunday's round of cakewalks left something to be desired.

Round 2 data
How the Big Ten fared: 2-1 (5-2 overall)*
(5)Michigan State 65, (4)Pittsburgh 54 [box]
(3)Xavier 85, (6)Purdue 78 [box]
*.714 winning % is best among conferences with more than one team

How the other #3 seeds fared: 3-0 (8-0 overall)*
Xavier (see above)
(3)Stanford 82, (6)Marquette 81 [box]
(3)Louisville 78, (6)Oklahoma 48 [box]
*only the #1 seeds are also undefeated; #2s: 6-2, #12s: 4-2

My picks: 31/48 (64.5%) overall | Round 2: 9/16 (56%)

Round 1: Defense vs. Excitement

Wisconsin is boring.

There. I said it. The thing I notice watching the first two days of the tournament is that all of the exciting games feature pretty poor defense. In a couple of these overtime thrillers, there has been no reason to believe that the team holding the ball in the end cannot just come down the court and make a basket. Connecticut needed one stop and couldn't get it. Drake needed one stop and couldn't get it. Both teams went home.

So when critics call Wisconsin boring, we get upset. But deep down we know it's true. However, Badger fans have been conditioned to value a slower tempo that wins and gets critical defensive stops over a faster pace that does not get those stops and may not win those games that are there for the taking. I think we all agree that the trade-off is a good one. That has been one of the more gratifying parts to the season for me. Except for the game at Purdue, UW has seized those victories that were up for grabs. Now I just need Wisconsin to keep rolling along and getting those stops to prove me right.

It only gets tougher from here though. Wisconsin was too big and too strong for Cal State Fullerton on Thursday, evidenced by its 47-20 rebounding advantage. Despite not clamping down on the Titans for the first six minutes or so, the Badgers held the Big West champs to 36% shooting. Offensively, at least the Badgers made it to 70 points. Purdue did its part in trying to shed the "plodding" conference perception that is so rampant by throwing up 90 points. The Big Ten started out 3-0, winning by an average of over 12 points.

Joe Krabbenhoft was quite impressive with the ball. He looked eager to shoot and was fairly accurate, even sinking a 3-pointer. The threat of Krabbenhoft is one of the few missing ingredients to this team's ultimate success. After firing some ill-advised threes in the first few minutes, the team settled down and got better shots. Wisconsin finished only 3-of-16 (18%) from behind the arc after appearing to be on pace to shoot 25 or more in the game [box score].

Greg Stiemsma gave the Badgers some very good minutes as well. Hopefully he is well-rested enough to face man-child Michael Beasley on Saturday afternoon. Kansas State, only 143 miles from its Manhattan, KS campus in Omaha, are the fourth-closest to home of any team in the tourney.

Round 1 data
How the Big Ten fared: 3-1*
(5)Michigan State 72, (12)Temple 61 [box]
(6)Purdue 90, (11)Baylor 79 [box]
(9)Arkansas 86, (8)Indiana 72 [box]
*tied with ACC for third, behind Big East (7-1) and Big 12 (5-1)

How the other #3 seeds fared: 3-0
(3)Xavier 73, (14)Georgia 61 [box]
(3)Stanford 77, (14)Cornell 53 [box]
(3)Louisville 79, (14) Boise State 61 [box]

My picks: 22/32 (69%)

Top moments:
1. Western Kentucky tops gun-slinging Drake on Ty Rogers' buzzer-beater in overtime. Ultimately, the Bulldogs needed one more of their 42 3-point attempts to go in. While Adam Emmenecker was spectacular (14 assists) without making a single field goal, Hilltopper point man Tyrone Brazelton was even better -- 30 points and the game-winning assist.
2. Stephen Curry dropping 30 of his tournament-high 40 points in the second half of Davidson's upset win over perennial underachiever Gonzaga. Curry hit 8-of-10 3-pointers even though the entire stadium knew he was going to get the ball and try to shoot on each possession.
3. Belmont takes Duke to the limit. Gerald Henderson's drive to the hoop in th waning seconds helps the Dukies avoid perhaps their most embarrassing loss under Coach K.
4. Point guard A.J. Price leaves the game on crutches in the first half and then watched from the bench as his UConn teammates fall to 13th-seeded San Diego in overtime.
5. Top seeds dominate. UCLA holds Mississippi Valley State to a record-low 29 points on Thursday, followed by North Carolina hanging 113 points on Mount St. Mary's.

Hoops Marinara Celebrates 100th Post With Unimaginative Tournament Picks

How appropriate that the 100th post drops on Hoops Marinara the day before the 2008 NCAA Tournament begins. But there is no time to sit and reflect on the blog's modest introduction to the world over the past year. With apologies to the Super Bowl and Mount St. Mary's, which won the play-in game Tuesday night, tomorrow is the greatest day in sports. It kicks off a roller coaster weekend where coaches' job security, players' legacies, fans' dangerously high blood pressure and gamblers' house payments are all on the line.

Inevitably, some first-round games will be clunkers. Those #1 seeds will be blowing some poor opponent out by halftime and CBS will switch to a different game. How do you know when one team has the game in the bag? Well, consulting The Bill James Lead Calculator would be a start. James created an easy formula for determining when the comeback ship has sailed and it becomes officially safe to leave the building at a college basketball game. It's so intriguing that I already have it memorized! Read the full article to get the full enjoyment, but in a nutshell, here's how it works:

1. Take the number of points one team is leading by and subtract 3.
2. Add a half-point if the team in the lead has the ball, otherwise, subtract a half-point if the trailing team has the ball.
3. Take that resulting number and square it.
4. Now compare it to the time remaining: if the number is greater than the number of seconds left in the game, the lead is 100% safe, set in stone, locked-in.

For example, a 12-point lead with one minute left in the game is statistically insurmountable according to James. That seems like pretty common knowledge, but at what point does a 25-point lead mean you don't have to worry about your team screwing things up? With 7:44 remaining, that's when. I think it will come in handy ... or at least improve my quick math skills while hoping someone proves James' formula wrong.

Now for the picks. I cannot justify any of the standard 5/12 or 4/13 upsets this year. And the upper tier of teams are too superior to get booted out very early either. The middle rounds will be where this tourney earns its keep. But I do love the 10-seeds this season ...

Round 1 winners:

EAST
(1)North Carolina, (8)Indiana
(5)Notre Dame, (4)Washington State
(6)Oklahoma, (3)Louisville
(10)South Alabama, (2)Tennessee
MIDWEST
(1)Kansas, (9)Kent State
(5)Clemson, (4)Vanderbilt
(6)USC, (3)Wisconsin
(10)Davidson, (2)Georgetown
SOUTH
(1)Memphis, (8)Mississippi State
(5)Michigan State, (4)Pittsburgh
(11)Kentucky, (3)Stanford
(10)St. Mary's, (2)Texas
WEST
(1)UCLA, (9)Texas A&M
(5)Drake, (4)Connecticut
(6)Purdue, (3)Xavier
(7)West Virginia, (2)Duke

Sweet 16:
EAST
(1)North Carolina, (5)Notre Dame
(3)Louisville, (2)Tennessee
-Possibly the most exciting, highest-scoring regional final games of all-time. Even with Wisconsin on, I might sneak a peak at one of these games. UNC and Tennessee are destined for a classic collision.
MIDWEST
(1)Kansas, (5)Clemson
(3)Wisconsin, (2)Georgetown*
*These two games would be the opposite of clashes in style. But the UW-G'Town contest would be interesting as a matchup of experience (Butch, Flowers, Landry, Krabby) versus tournament experience (last year's Final Four run for the Hoyas). Gotta vote the alma mater through.
SOUTH
(1)Memphis, (4)Pittsburgh
(3)Stanford, (2)Texas
-I don't trust Texas or Memphis. Even though I know nothing of Stanford besides the Lopez twins, I'm picking Texas to lose because I already have too many top seeds advancing. Pittsburgh is finally healthy and they have good players at every position. Same as Memphis, only better disciplined.
WEST
(1)UCLA, (5)Drake
(6)Purdue, (2)Duke*
*Very excited for this matchup. Very similar teams here (both Badger killers) and Big Ten could really earn some bragging rights here. I had Duke picked, but I will go with my heart, not my head.

Elite 8:
EAST
(1)North Carolina vs. (2)Tennessee
MIDWEST
(1)Kansas vs. (3)Wisconsin
SOUTH
(4)Pittsburgh vs. (3)Stanford
WEST
(1)UCLA vs. (6)Purdue

Final 4:

(1)North Carolina vs. (1)Kansas
(3)Stanford vs. (1)UCLA

I like UNC over UCLA in the championship game. The Tar Heels have Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough on the inside, a great point guard in Ty Lawson and plenty of athletes in the stable. UCLA conters with phenom Kevin Love on the blocks, Darren Collison running point and great finishers in Westbrook and Shipp. The difference is Wayne Ellington for UNC and UCLA's lack of consistent outside shooting. They've gotten too many breaks already.

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Those "Minnesotan Badgers" are proving themselves to be winners. Jordan Taylor and Armond Battle both scored 20 points as Benilde-St. Margaret's advanced to the Minnesota Class 3A State Tournament for the second straight year. Mike Bruesewitz led his team to a Section 4A Championship as well, scoring 11 of his game-high 19 points in the second half. (Not a bad game for Rodney Williams either).

On another prep note, the Illinois Associated Press announced their All-State teams recently. For Badger fans, note junior Diamond Taylor earned honorable mention in Class 3A. Tons of D1 talent at the Class 4A level too. The Big Ten has already claimed eight players from the first and second teams in those divisions, including four headed to Illinois. Up to three additional players may wind up in the conference as well. The lower classes (1A & 2A) feature some names you might recognize as one-time interests of the UW staff.

Big Ten Champs Grab A 3-Seed

Wisconsin will ride a 10-game winning streak into the NCAA Tournament as a 3-seed in the Midwest region. The Badgers will play Thursday versus Big West champion Cal-State Fullerton (24-8) in Omaha, NE.

I think the Badgers had a legitimate argument to be a #2 over either Duke or Texas based on performance in the last 10 games, but I'm not surprised that the Big Ten seedings were down in general. Wisconsin's thorough domination of Illinois to capture the Big Ten Tournament title did not come into play during the seeding process of course, thus Georgetown's loss to Pittsburgh and Texas' loss to Kansas could not drop them below the Badgers.

Still, UW fared better than other Big Ten teams. CBS' Seth Davis felt fifth-seeded Michigan State was a likely upset candidate, while Purdue fell to a 6-seed. The crumbling Indiana Hoosiers were given an 8-seed and Ohio State saw its bubble burst Sunday afternoon.

Looking ahead, I hope Michael Flowers has the chance to shut down freshman phenom O.J. Mayo. For the record, Wisconsin should advance to the Sweet 16 against either USC or Kansas State in my opinion, but first they will have to get past the 14th-seeded Titans, who have a shutdown defender of their own.

I'm still a little bummed about not getting third shot at Purdue this past weekend. As a consolation, UW has captured both conference championships in the same season for the first time ... hopefully the first of many conference trophy sweeps. More importantly, at 29-4, Wisconsin has every opportunity to win 30 games for the second year in a row and break the school record set last season.

The game also featured a couple of plays that are quickly becoming Wisconsin trademarks. Just as Jim Nance and Billy Packer were discussing the early days of NCAA basketball being financed by NCAA boxing income, Krabbenhoft laid out an Illinois guard with another vicious pick. It was the very same kind that knocked Eric Gordon down and temporarily made thousands of Illini supporters become Badger fans. Secondly, inbounding from under the opponent's basket against full-court pressure, Michael Flowers threw the ball off of the back of unsuspecting Calvin Brock to start an unlikely fast break.

The Badgers, Flowers in particular, routinely proved Packer clueless during the game by burying 3-pointers. Wisconsin hit 9-of-18 treys and only shot two free throws [box score]. Marcus Landry was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player and was joined on the all-tournament team by Flowers, who added three more steals against Illinois.

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Off-topic, today was my first exposure to the very sweet new Pontiac G8 GT commercial which recreates the old Spy Hunter video game. Two thumbs up!