Eazy Buckets Will Return On Monday

Sorry I've been busy!

My championship pick is #2 West Virginia vs #5 Michigan State.

I actually had West VA in the championship game from the beginning, but it would not surprise me if both Butler and Duke won. I've been wrong so many times during this tournament.

Interesting Note: Georgetown played 3 out of the Final Four teams, and could not beat West VA in any of the matchups.

South Region Sweet 16 Predictions

Game #1 #3 Baylor (27-7) vs. #10 St Mary's (28-5)March 26 -- 7:27 PM

St. Mary's Omar Samhan has been putting up big time numbers so far in the tourney, 305 ppg and 9.5 rpg. Let's be real though! He did it against teams with no real big man, and Baylor has about 3 or 4 of those.

Baylor is the second tallest team in the nation, and that height will make Samhan look very average tonight. If he has a big game again, then St. Mary's will win because it will mean that Baylor bigs got into foul trouble.

LaceDarius Dunn and Tweety Carter may be too athletic and good for St. Mary's guards, and they don't shy away from taking the ball to the hole. If St. Mary's guards can stay in front of Carter and Dunn, then there is a chance for St. Mary's.

I'm going with Baylor in this game. I picked them to go to the Final Four in the beginning and it looks like it will happen.

Game #1 #1 Duke (31-5) vs. #4 Purdue (29-5)March 26 -- 9:57 PM

It's amazing to me that Purdue made it this far without Robbie Hummel. I actually thought they would lose the first round against Siena, but I sure was wrong. Purdue still has E'Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson around, and they have both provided Purdue with reliable scoring.

Chris Kramer of Purdue was the 2nd round hero, as he surprised America and decided to take the ball to the hole to win the game instead of shooting the open jumper. Purdue has said that they will put 6'3 Kramer on 6'8 Kyle Singler of Duke. With that height difference it will be interesting to see how that works out.

Duke honestly only has three real options with Singler, Jon Scheyer, and Nolan Smith. So, if Purdue can eliminate one of those three then they can win the game. Both teams want to play the game at a slow pace, so if Purdue speeds Duke up and gets them out of their sets then they can win.

I actually like Purdue in this game, because of Moore on the perimeter and Johnson inside. This should be a VERY boring game, but aren't all Duke games boring?

Midwest Region Sweet 16 Predictions

Game #1 #2 Ohio State (29-7) vs. #6 Tennessee (27-8)March 26 -- 7:07 PM

Ohio State is as balanced as a team could get, but they only go 6 deep. Evan Turner, aka Penny Hardaway 2.0, will have a tough time on the offensive side of the ball with Tennessee's J.P. Prince guarding him. Prince matches Turner's length and athleticism, and if Prince can lock up Turner then the Volunteers have a real chance of winning. Turner was horrible in the 2nd round with turnovers, as he had 9.

Like Prince, Ohio State's David Lighty will have a tough assignment in Tennessee's Scotty Hopson. Lighty is a shutdown defender, and if he can take Hopson out of the game then Tennessee will be forced to find another option on their thin roster.

This Tennessee team knows their roles and how to play them, and have rebounded well after losing soon-to-be NBA Draft lottery pick Tyler Smith. They have shown the capabilities to win against a better team, as they've beaten two #1 seeds in Kansas and Kentucky.

With that said I'm a little hesitant to take Tennessee in this matchup, because Ohio State wins the matchup battle and they'll have the best player on the court.

I'm going to say Ohio State in a close game.


Game #2 #5 Michigan State (26-8) vs. #9 Northern Iowa (30-4)March 26 -- 9:27 PM

Yeah, yeah they beat Kansas. Honestly, what I saw last Saturday was uninspired basketball from Kansas. They played like they expected to win, similar to Syracuse last night. Michigan State will not come into this game sleeping on Northern Iowa, and I'm sure by now they're sick of the way the media is overrating them.

Northern Iowa got by the first two rounds because of Ali Farokhmanesh's three pointers. First round he hit one with 4 seconds left to win and against Kansas he hit one with 34 seconds left to seal the deals. This team seems to live and die by the three, and that's not always good as we saw Cornell die by the 3 last night against Kentucky.

Michigan State will be without their heart and soul of the team, point guard Kalin Lucas. The Lucas loss will be huge for them as they move forward in the tournament. His backup, Korie Lucious, is not as good as him at distributing the basketball. The loss will hurt Michigan State in the next round, but not tonight. I think they had enough time to prepare for Northern Iowa without Lucas so they will be fine tonight.

I'm calling for an all Big Ten Elite 8, as I predicted from the start.

Gilbert Arenas Gets 30 Days In A Halfway House

Gilbert Arenas avoided the suggested 3 months in jail, but did not get off free as he was sentenced to 30 days in a halfway house.

Arenas will also have to complete 400 hours of community service and he has to pay a $5,000 fine.

The Washington Wizards are still trying to void the remaining money on his six year, $111 million contract.

It's still hilarious to me that Arenas left the three guns by Javaris Crittenton's locker with a sign saying, "Pick One."

West Region Sweet 16 Preview

Game #1 #1 Syracuse (30-4) vs #5 Butler (30-4)March 25 -- 7:07 PM

Many people (including myself) underestimated Butler coming into the tourney, but they were fools doing that. Butler has not lost since Dec. 22, 2009, as they are currently on a 22 game win streak coming into their Sweet 16 matchup with Syracuse. Syracuse has breezed through the first two rounds, and have done so without their starting center Aeinze Onuaku. Onuaku will miss his third game in a row against Butler.

Syracuse
Coming into the tournament all experts on ESPN wanted to talk about was the fact that Syracuse had lost two games in a row. They even gave them the label of a "Slumping Team," but Syracuse has proven that is far from the truth. Syracuse has been one of the most impressive teams so far, and the only team you can compare them to is Kentucky. They have beaten their opponents by an average of 22.5 points, and they have done this minus their starting center.

Syracuse is led by the Big East Player of the Year, Wes Johnson. Johnson is averaging 24.5 ppg, 10 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.5 spg, and 1.5 bpg. He is shooting 61% from the field, including 64% (7-11) from 3's. He's simply playing like the Player of the Year right now. Senior Andy Rautins is also stepping up with 18 ppg, 6 rpg, 5 apg, 1.5 spg. Freshman Brandon Triche has ended his late season shooting slump, as he's averaging 11.5 ppg through the first two rounds. Also, look for Rick Jackson to have some success down low, as Butler had trouble guarding UTEP's Derrick Caracter until he got into foul trouble.

Syracuse needs to keep their intensity up in the 2-3 zone. Their athleticism and length have made this year's version of the 2-3 zone very hard to beat. These players are dedicated to playing the zone to the best of their ability. The fact that they are playing minus their center has made this zone a lot faster.

Butler
Butler is the hottest team in the nation right now, and it is really confusing why they are a #5 seed in the first place. They are a balanced team that feeds off of each other's energy. They have also gotten by the first two rounds without their star player, Gordon Hayward, putting up the same stellar numbers he did in the season.

Butler's Shelvin Mack is the reason they are even in the Sweet 16, because they would have lost without Mack's 7-9 3-pointers in the UTEP game. As a team, Butler has hit 20 3-pointers, and they have to do the same to beat a team that plays a 2-3 zone like Syracuse.

They need to turn Syracuse into a jump shooting team, because Butler lacks height and will have a tough time preventing Syracuse from scoring in the paint. Also, they need to send multiple people at Syracuse's Wes Johnson because he will tire one defender out. If Butler plays like they did in the first half against UTEP, then Syracuse will blow them out. So, by an means necessary they need to keep the game close.

My Pick: Syracuse, because they are just playing so good right now. They are a balanced team which makes them very hard to figure out. The only way I see Butler winning is if they somehow get Syracuse in big time foul trouble, because Syracuse honestly only goes 7 deep.

Game #1 #2 Kansas State (28-7) vs. #6 Xavier (26-8)March 25 -- 9:37 PM
This is a good Sweet Sixteen match up, and has the potential to be the best game this round. Kansas State is actually better this year than two years ago when they had Michael Beasley and Bill Walker, who now both play significant minutes in the NBA. Xavier got its revenge in the second round, after Pittsburgh eliminated them from last year's tournament. Xavier is a very underrated team. These teams met in December, and Kansas State won 71-56.

Kansas State
In the first match up Kansas State got an early lead and never looked back. If they can get out to an early lead in this game, then they will have no trouble winning. They have a lot of length and athletcism that allows them to play with anyone in America.

Dennis Clemente (18 ppg) and Jacob Pullen (24.5 ppg) form one of the best guard tandems in the nation. If they are both on, then they will win without a doubt. Pullen scored 34 points in only 29 minutes against BYU, and if Xavier gives him any room to shoot he will make them pay. Against BYU, Pullen was 7-12 from 3's.

Kansas State had a tough task against BYU, and that was keeping Jimmer Fredette in check. Although Fredette scored 21 points, Kansas State forced him into many bad shots. They will have to play that same type of defense against Xavier's Jordan Crawford. In the first matchup Kansas State held Xavier to 29% shooting from the field.

Xavier
Yes, Xavier lost the earlier match up but they are a different team now then they were in December. Xavier shot themselves in the foot by shooting 64% (21-33) from the free throw line. They'll have to shoot a better percentage if they want to have a real chance of moving, but so far in the tourney they've shot around 64% from the line.

This cannot be the Jordan Crawford show, if Xavier wants to win he needs help. He's averaging 27.5 points so far in the tourney, but in the first round game he was the only person on the team to score double figures. Matter fact, he was the only player on Xavier who was being aggressive and looking for his shot against Minnesota. In the second round he did get help from Jason Love (14) and Terrell Holloway (13).

Xavier is also going to need their big men to hit the glass and grab rebounds. They just can't stand around in the paint, they have to play aggressive. In the first round, the starting big men combined for 20 rebounds, but that fell to 14 in the second round as Pittsburgh guards out rebounded them. The only way to beat a tall and athletic team like Kansas State is by hitting the boards and staying aggressive in the paint, and do not allow them to push you around.

My Pick: Xavier, but I'm not too sure. I really like that Jordan Crawford kid and with revenge on the line I think he will will his team to victory. A star has been born and the nation will soon take notice.

East Region Sweet 16 Preview

Game #1 #2 West Virginia (29-6) vs. #11 Washington (26-9)March 25 -- 7:27 PM

If you go by the seeding, then this game is a mismatch in West Virginia's favor. That is far from the truth as Washington has just as much talent as West Virginia. Both teams are hot. Washington is on a 9 game win streak and West Virginia is on a 8 game win streak.

West Virginia
Bad news for West Virginia coming into this game, as they lose their starting point guard Darryl "Truck" Bryant for the rest of the tournament due to an injury. The loss isn't a big deal, because he was playing his way out of the starting lineup anyway. He's been lost lately, as he's averaged 4 points and 2 assists in the tourney games.

West Virginia will depend on Joe Mazzulla to run the offense, which he has been doing better than Bryant already. He's averaging 4 assists in the tourney and plays great defense, but he offers little to nothing on offense. If Mazzulla can stay in front of Washington's Isiah Thomas, then West Virginia will have no trouble winning this game. That's not an easy task at all.

No question De'Sean Butler and Devin Ebanks will show up to provide West Virginia with offense, as they are the best forward duo in the nation in my opinion. They will need a player like Kevin Jones to contribute also. Also, if Mazzulla gets into foul trouble it will be smart for West Virginia to give Butler the ball handling duties.


Washington
After a surprisingly easy defeat of New Mexico, no one is sleeping on Washington anymore. So ignore the fact that they're a #11 seed! Plus everyone knows if a team makes it to the Sweet 16, then they are capable of winning.

Washington has two players with extreme NBA potential. Both Quincy Pondexter (18 ppg & 8 rpg) and Isiah Thomas (17 ppg & 7.5 apg) are putting up solid numbers so far in the tournament. They will have to be on their A game against West Virginia. Thomas needs to try to get West Virginia's Mazzulla in foul, because it will make West Virginia make major lineup changes. Pondexter needs to continue to will his team to victory.

In order for Washington to pull the upset, they will need Matthew Bryan-Amaning and Elston Turner to continue their solid play in the tourney. Bryan-Amaning is giving Washington 13ppg, while Turner is providing 12 off the bench.


My Pick: I have to go with West Virginia in this game, but the upset can happen. The way West Virginia likes to wear their opponents down will be key. Also, I love West Virginia's overall enthusiasm, as you can tell they love playing together! Although Washington ran through New Mexico, they have to play another physical Big East team. They didn't do so well against Marquette's physicality.


Game #2#1 Kentucky (34-2) vs. #12 Cornell (29-4)March 25 -- 9:57 PM

Classic David vs Goliath matchup here. Kentucky is led by three freshman and a junior, who plays the role of the "senior" leader. All four of those players could end up first round draft picks in THIS year's NBA draft. Cornell is a smart team that loves to shoot 3's, and once they are in front it is hard to comeback on them. Also, with the game being played 60 miles away from Cornell's campus, the fans will be in attendance rooting for Cornell.

Kentucky
Everyone knows this team, and most people love this team. Calipari took his pre-NBA showcase from Memphis to Kentucky and got the same results, wins. Hopefully in a few years all the things that this team accomplishes won't be thrown out the window due to NCAA violations.

Kentucky has had ZERO problems so far in the NCAA tournament, and that can continue in the Sweet 16 as long as John Wall, Eric Bledsoe, DeMarcus Cousins, and Patrick Patterson show up. Honestly they only need these four players to win this game. I smell a mismatch as Wall and Bledsoe should have no problem getting the hole, and Cousins and Patterson are too strong down low.

If Kentucky can get Daniel Orton to play like he did the first round, then they will cruise to victory. Orton had 8 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 blocks. I don't think people recognize but Orton would be a star at any other school, and once Cousins and Patterson are gone he will play himself into the NBA draft lottery.


Cornell
Cornell may be the story of the tournament so far, but honestly a lot of experts picked them to be in the Sweet 16 (including myself). They are on a 9 game win streak, and turned some heads after beating Wisconsin by 18. Cornell is a smart team, as they ironically come out of the Ivy League.

They shot 53% (8-15) from 3's in that Wisconsin game, and have hit 17 total through the first two rounds. They will need that success to beat Kentucky, because they simply do not match up with Kentucky. Louis Dale (23.5 ppg) and Ryan Wittman (22 ppg) have to keep knocking down their shots.

Cornell's 7-footer Jeff Foote needs to be ready to play defense down low because Kentucky has height, as they are the tallest team in the nation averaging 6'7. If Foote can hold his own down low then Cornell has an honest shot at winning the game.

My Pick: Kentucky, cause I know Cornell will not be able to keep Kentucky's guards from penetrating at will. Plus everyone knows Calipari teams don't lose until the Elite 8, as he proved at Memphis.

New Jersey Nets Get 8th Win Of The Season!!

The New Jersey Nets improved their record to 8-63 with a 93-79 victory over the Sacramento Kings.

The Nets have 11 games left to try to avoid going down as the worst team is NBA history. The record is currently held by the 72-73 Philadelphia 76ers, who went 9-73.

Two more wins keeps the Nets out of the record book! I'll be rooting for them (NOT!).

Seriously, how embarrassing can it be to lose to the Nets right now!

WELL DAMN: Former Boston Celtics Star Antoine Walker Is Flat BROKE

One of my homies sent me a link with some disturbing news about Antoine Walker.

Walker made over $110 million in his 13 year NBA career, but has nothing to show for it. Now at age 34, Walker is playing professional ball in Puerto Rico to get his funds in order.

Sad story, but hopefully a lesson to kids on the come up. Be smart with your money.

Peep the video

West Virginia Loses Darryl "Truck" Bryant For The Rest Of The NCAA Tournament

The West Virginia Mountaineers took a big loss Tuesday as they prepare with their Sweet Sixteen matchup against Washington Thursday.

Starting point guard Darryl "Truck" Bryany will miss the rest of the tournament after breaking his right foot.

Bryant was averaging 9.3 ppg, 3.1 apg, and 2.2 rpg. It is unclear if Bryant broke his foot in practice or during last week's tournament games.

Coach Bob Huggins said Bryant complained about his foot hurting and the break was discovered when they took him for X-rays.

Bryant will be repleaced by Joe Mazzulla who is averaging 2.2 ppg and 1.8 rebounds. Mazzulla has had 15 assists in the last three games.

Bryant was having a rough end to the season. He had a terrible time in the Big East Tournament in his hometown of New York City. Bryant was a non-factor in the Moutaineer's run to the title.

In the three games he only only scored 2 points total and shot a combined (1-13) from the field while seeing his minutes stop drastically.

When Will UConn's Women Basketball Team Lose?!

Once again UConn reminded everyone that they are on another level, and after tonight's 90-36 victory over Temple in the NCAA Tournament that was clear.

It was the 74th win in a row for this team, as they showed no remorse playing against their former assistant coach. The ex-assistant coach, Tonya Cardoza, had to watch her former team beat her current team by 54 points.

Maya Moore led UConn with 19 points in just 16 minutes.

Seriously, this is getting out of hand! Can any women team beat this UConn team? With Maya Moore (their best player) coming back next year they should have no problem adding to the win streak.

My Favorite Female Baller: Dawn Evans of JMU

I'll admit! I barely watch women's college basketball, but next season I may actually own season tickets for James Madison University women's team.

JMU is worth the ticket, and it's all because of 5'7" junior guard Dawn Evans.

Evans numbers are Player of the Year worthy. She averages 24.6 ppg, 4.6 apg, 2.6 rpg, and 1.1 spg.

Honestly though the real reason she caught my eyes is because she is a VERY beautiful young lady. True definition of a beautiful baller.

Somebody get me in contact with her!

Baylor's Brittney Griner Sets NCAA Record With 14 Blocks

Remember the girl from Texas that was made famous when she dunked the ball with ease in high school last year? If you don't then it's cool because I honestly forgot all about her. Brittney Griner is now a 6'8 force for Baylor University's women team.

Well last night her Baylor team played against Georgetown in the 2nd round of the women's NCAA Tournament (aka UConn's Tournament to Lose).

Griner ended any chance of Georgetown winning with a new tournament record 14 blocks. The sad part about is that Griner had more blocks (14) than Georgetown as a team had total field goals (12).

What's even sadder is that Georgetown shot 12-70 from the field!

Besides blocking shots and throwing down dunks, Griner has also proved that she can throw some hands too. In March, Griner punched Texas Tech player Jordan Barncastle in the face. The punch broke Barncastle's nose!!

She may be my favorite women's player (nevermind Dawn Evans is).
Video Of The Punch

Griner only received a 2-game suspension for this. Talk about taking it easy on her!

Stephon Marbury Wins Chinese All-Star Game MVP

In case you were wondering no Stephon Marbury was not filming his reality TV show as he promised this summer after putting out many weird videos. He has been playing this season in the Chinese Basketball Association.

On Sunday, the league held its All-Star and Marbury played on the team after becoming the most popular American import.

Former NBA player Stephon Marbury justified his status as the highest profile import in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) with an MVP performance at the league's All Star weekend.

The former Minnesota, New Jersey, Phoenix, New York Knicks and Boston point guard, twice an NBA All Star, scored 30 points at Beijing's Wukesong Arena to lift his North team to a 133-121 victory over the South Sunday.

More than just his scoring, it was his array of "no-look passes, alley-hoops and mid-court three-pointers" that won Marbury Most Valuable Player honors and rescued what had been "quite a dull game," according to the Xinhua news agency.

It's pretty sad Marbury won't get any credit for this, as people still look at him as a joke. It's pretty impressive that he hit a couple of half court 3's.

It looks like the NBA doesn't have to worry about ever hearing from Marbury again. THANK GOD!

Jordan Crawford Is Far From a One-Dunk Wonder!

I'm sure everyone has heard the story by now. Xavier sophomore guard Jordan Crawford dunked on LeBron James in a pick up game last summer, and soon after Nike had every video camera seized that was in the building filming.

Most people (including myself) think LeBron himself had the tapes seized, as he seems to have this Diva-like attitude. LeBron couldn't take people having video evidence of him getting dunked on!



Since then the tape of the dunk has emerged on YouTube.
Video Footage of Crawford's Dunk on LeBron

Crawford was made famous that day as the kid who dunked on LeBron James, but now Crawford is doing his best to get out of the shadow of that dunk.

After starting his career at Indiana where he averaged 9.7 ppg, 3.4 rpg, and 2.3 apg, Crawford transferred to Xavier. As a sophomore he is now leading the Xavier Musketeers into their Sweet 16 matchup against Kansas State.

Crawford is averaging 20.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg, and 2.9 apg for the season, but has increased his numbers for the tournament so far.

Crawford is averaging 27.5 ppg, 6 rpg, 3 apg, 1.5 spg, and 1 bpg.

If he continues this play he will get a chance to one day again meet LeBron, but this time in the NBA. One thing's for sure, LeBron will not be jumping to try to defend another one of Crawford's dunk.

Chris Paul Returns To The Hornets And It Is Clear The Team Has A Real Dilemma

On Monday, New Orleans Hornet's all-star point guard Chris Paul returned to action against the Dallas Mavericks, after missing 25 games with an injured left knee.

The Hornets beat the Mavericks 115-99, but the team played a lot better without Paul on the floor. That was evident after the Hornets took control of the game by going on a 23-0 run.



The point guard that fueled that run was rookie Darren Collison. Collison continued the all-star performance he's had since Paul got injured.

With Paul last night the Mavericks were out to a huge lead of 27-9, as Paul had 0 points and 2 assists. He finished the game with 11 points, 3 assists, and 1 steal.

In came Collison and the Hornets went on a 45-18 run and took a 52-45 lead into halftime. Collison had 10 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. He finished with 16 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals.

Since Collison has already proven his worth minus Paul in the lineup, the Hornets have a HUGE dilemma in my opinion. They cannot keep both Collison and Paul, as they will soon have to pick between one or the other.

Honestly, if I had to make the decision I would do it this summer. The 2010 Summer is the most anticipated free agency field ever. The Hornets could get a nice deal with Chris Paul made.

Lord knows the Hornets need a real 2-guard as Morris Peterson is a joke of an option and Marcus Thornton is too small for the position.

In my opinion, the Hornets would get the most for Paul and therefore should take advantage and send him away in a sign-and-trade deal. I know Paul has been the face of the franchise for years now, but it's a business at the end of the day.

Collison has been playing just as good as Paul.

Gilbert Arenas May Face 3 Month Jail Bid

Just when things with Gilbert Arenas seemed to be quieting down, prosecutors have recommended that Arenas serve 3 months in jail for bringing guns into the Washington Wizard's team locker room.

Prosecutors are also seeking 3 years of probation and 300 hours of community service to go along with the jail time.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh said Arneas gave inconsistent statements about why he had the guns at first and since admitting to the truth has shown no remorse for his actions.


In case you don't know the story Arenas and teammate Javaris Crittenton had a heated debate about a gambling debt owed from a card game on the team plane. The arguement resulted in Arenas bringing 4 guns into the lockerroom. Crittenton responded by pulling out a gun of his own and chambered a round.


Crittenton has since pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor gun charge and was sentenced to a year of unsupervised probation.

Both players were suspended for the rest of the season.

The Washington Wizards have moved on from this incident by making some weird roster moves, which included trading Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood, and DeShawn Steveson to the Mavericks for basically Josh Howard's expiring contract and now torn ACL.

Let's hope that both players somehow find their way back in the league. One thing's for sure, if Arenas makes it back into the league he will not be known as Agent Zero anymore. He recently filed the proper paperwork with the NBA offices to change his number from 0 to 6.

The Greatest Moment In Basketball History

This video is of the 2007 Division 2 National Championship between Barton College and Winona State. Just when the game looked over, Barton College's Anthony Atkinson scored 10 seconds in the final 45 seconds to win the game.

This is hands down the best moment I've ever seen in basketball.

I actually got to meet Atkinson at a Phoebus High School JV football game in 2008. He's a pretty cool dude. Atkinson is married to the then Phoebus JV coach Ron Johnson's daughter.

Oklahoma State's James Anderson Declares For The NBA Draft

After having one of the best seasons in recent Big 12 history, Oklahoma State's James Anderson declared for the NBA Draft. No surprise he decided to skip his senior season. In my opinion, he would've been dumb to come back with nothing else to prove in the college game.

The 2009-10 Big 12 Play of the Year averaged a league best 22.3 points a game. As a 6-6 2-guard Anderson has the size and skill to play in the NBA immediately.

"I believe now it's time to test my basketball skills against the best players in the world," Anderson said. "I have worked hard to improve my abilities over the last three years. ... I believe that I am fully prepared both athletically and emotionally for the challenge of playing in the NBA."

Draftexpress.com has Anderson going #20 to the Spurs.
Nbadraft.net has him going #14 to the Rockets.

MRI Confirms Michigan State's Worst Fears

Michigan State will indeed have to finish out the 2010 NCAA Tournament minus their leader in junior point guard Kalin Lucas.

An MRI confirmed the junior guard ruptured the Achilles tendon in his left foot during the first half of Sunday's NCAA tournament game against Maryland.

The recovery time for this injury is around 4-6 months. That means it could be weeks before the 2010-11 season starts when Lucas is finally healthy again.

The injury means that Michigan State will be without its team leader in minutes (31.6), points (15.2), and assists (3.9).

Horrible news personally for Kalin Lucas as he had the ability to play himself into a first round draft pick this season. Lucas still has a chance to be a 1st round pick in the 2011 draft.

Lucas will be replace by Korie Lucious, the hero of Sunday's game against Maryland. Lucious, a 5-11 sophomore, averages 5.2 ppg and 3.2 apg.

Can Anyone Stop Syracuse and Kentucky From Meeting In The National Championship?!?!

There have been plenty of upsets and surprises throughout the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament. Top seeds have disappointed, as a #1 seed, a #2 seed, three #3 seeds, and three #4 seeds all have fallen. Essentially 8 of the top 16 seeds in the tournament were eliminated in the first weekend, including the overall #1 in Kansas.

Syracuse and Kentucky are two teams that have not disappointed and just have been dominate in every fashion of the games. As a matter of fact, there is no one playing better than the Orangemen of Syracuse and the Wildcats of Kentucky.



Kentucky started its domination off on Thursday by beating #16 seed East Tennessee State 100-71. Syracuse followed up on Friday by beating #16 seed Vermont 79-56, the margin would of been a lot wider but Syracuse put in reserves the last couple of minutes.

Those margins of victories over #16 seeds surprised no one, because honestly the 1 vs. 16 matchup is always predicted as a blowout. Both Syracuse and Kentucky looked like NBA teams in their first round matchups.



In the second round Kentucky and Syracuse were suppose to meet teams that were capable of pulling the upsets, but I don't think either team got that message.

Kentucky met a Wake Forest team that had a point guard that could keep up with John Wall's speed, a small forward with NBA written all over him, and size in the front court to matchup with Kentucky. Kentucky ended up blowing out Wake Forest 90-60. The game was over after Wake Forest's Al-Farouq Aminu (the small forward with a NBA future) went out early in the game with foul trouble.

Syracuse met a Gonzaga team that was suppose to exploit Syracuse's weakness in the post, but it was soon discovered that that weakness did not exist. The game was close early, but Syracuse soon put it on cruise control and blew Gonzaga out 87-65.

The strong second round performances proved that Syracuse and Kentucky are the best two teams in the tournament, or they're at least playing like it so far.

Both teams are playing team ball and being led by their star players.


Syracuse is led by the Big East Player of the Year, Wes Johnson. Johnson is averaging 24.5 ppg, 10 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.5 spg, and 1.5 bpg. He is shooting 61% from the field, including 64% (7-11) from 3's. He's simply playing like the Player of the Year right now.

Senior Andy Rautins is also stepping up with 18 ppg, 6 rpg, 5 apg, 1.5 spg. Freshman Brandon Triche has ended his late season shooting slump, as he's averaging 11.5 ppg through the first two rounds.


SEC Player of the Year John Wall hasn't had to do much the 1st two rounds (or play much either only playing 29 minutes a game so far). Wall is averaging 15.5 ppg and 9 apg through the first two rounds. His numbers don't blow you away like Johnson's do, but the numbers have allowed his team to be the dominate force they have been so far.

Wall's back court mate Eric Bledsore is averaging 21 ppg, 3 apg, 2.5 rpg, and 3 spg. With those numbers Kentucky may be losing both of their freshmen point guards to the NBA after this season. The other freshman phenom DeMarcus Cousins is averaging 12 ppg, 8 rpg, 2.5 apg, and 2.5 bpg.

If both of these teams continue to play the way that they are, then there is no doubt in my mind that these two will meet April 5th in Indianapolis for the National Championship.

UP NEXT: Kentucky takes on #12 Cornell & Syracuse takes on #5 Butler.

The Sweet 16 Is Set!

Click on the brackets to enlarge them.

Bitter Sweet Win For Michigan State Over Maryland

Korie Lucious hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send Michigan State to the Sweet Sixteen. Michigan State survived a late rally and beat Maryland 85-83. Lucious scored 13 points off the bench, and filled a huge void for Michigan State when they lost their star point guard.

Michigan State showed flashes of why they have a legit shot to make a second consecutive Final Four appearance building a 16 point lead. Durrell Summers added 26 points and Raymar Morgan finished his career with 17 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 blocks.


A scary sight for Michigan State fans, as they saw their All-American point guard Kalin Lucas go down with an apparent Achilles injury. Lucas went down after trying to turn to run back down the court with 2 minutes left in the first half. This is the second time this season that Lucas has gone down with an ankle injury.

Michigan State now has to face the fact that they may be without Lucas for the rest of their run in the NCAA tournament. Against Maryland they blew a 16-point lead in the 2nd half after the game seemed out of reach.

Lucious may have to step up big time when Michigan State takes on Northern Iowa in the Sweet Sixteen.


The Maryland loss marks the end of the career of senior Greivis Vasquez. The Venezuela native almost led Maryland to a come from behind victory. His floater over Michigan State's Raymar Morgan put Maryland up 83-82 with 6.6 seconds to go.

Vasquez finished with 26 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals.

The 2009-10 ACC Player of the Year came through when his team needed him most. Honestly I will miss Vasquez in the college game. I love the kid's cocky demeanor and his love and passion for the game of basketball. He is the type of player that I would want on my team as he pushes his teammates to do their best at all times.

Syracuse Is Scary Good In Win Over Gonzaga

The Gonzaga-Syracuse 2nd round matchup was suppose to be a good game, and some people even gave Gonzaga the edge because Syracuse was without injured Arinze Onuaku. Onuaku was out for his 2nd consecutive game, but that did not slow down Syracuse as they crushed Gonzaga 87-65 to advance to the Sweet 16. In fact, at times Syracuse looked a lot better playing small minus Onaku.

Syracuse was without their other bigman Rick Jackson for most of the 1st half because of foul trouble. Jackson picked up 3 fouls early in the first half.

Wes Johnson led the Orangemen with 31 points and 14 rebounds, as he showed why he was named Big East Player of the Year. Johnson looked like a man amongst boys.

Syracuse only had a 32-28 lead with 4 minutes left in the first half, but used a 15-4 to go up 47-32 at the half. Andy Rautins came out firing in the 2nd half, hitting 3 3-pointer in the first 3 minutes as he ended any hope in Gonzaga making a comeback. Rautins finished with 24 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists.

Brandon Triche also added 13. Syracuse made 12 3-pointers as a team.

Before the opening tip, Robert Sacre was overheard calling Syracuse "soft" and a bunch of "pretty boys," encouraging the Zags to take the game to the Orange. Sacre would end up regretting those words, but showed up to play as he ended up with 17 points, 8 reboudns, and 4 steals.

The only other help he got was from Elias Harris, who finished with 24 points and 8 reboudns. Harris did most of his work in the beginning of the game.

Syracuse moves on to Salt Lake City, Utah to play the Butler Bulldogs in the Sweet 16. Butler is currently on the nation's longest win streak of 22 games.

The Washington Huskies Are Forreal!

Quincy Pondexter hit the game winning shot against Marquette in the 1st round. No heroics were needed Saturday as Washington pulled off its second upset in a row by beating New Mexico 82-64.

Pondexter led the way again with 18 points and 5 rebounds. Isiah Thomas and Matthew Bryan-Amaning added 15 points each.

Washington is a hot team at the right time! They are playing with great chemistry and look like they are out there having fun. With athletes and scorers like Pondexter and a point guard with good decision making like Thomas, Washington has the ability to pull off more shockers!

Washington will play the winner of West Virginia/Missouri. Whoever Washington gets better be ready, because Washington is going to give them hell.

Just A Reminder: Kentucky is VERY GOOD

If you were ever having any doubts about Kentucky's ability to win a national championship with 3 freshmen leading the way, then Saturday erased them.

Kentucky completely dominated a good Wake Forest team, beating them 90-60.

Wake Forest stayed close for a while in the game, but things got out of hand when their team leader Al-Forouq Aminu went out the game with 2 early fouls. Aminu ended the game with 16 points and 8 rebounds.

The much hyped up Ish Smith and John Wall matchup was won by Wall. Ish Smith played horribly and finished with 2 points (1-9), 4 assists and 3 turnovers. Early in the first half things turned bad for Smith when he exploded to the rim for a dunk only to miss it. Wall finished with 14 points and 7 assists, but he too struggled with turnovers as he had 5 of his own.

Darius Miller also contributed a career-high 20 points for Kentucky. Freshmen Demarcus Cousins and Eric Bledsore added 19 and 13, respectively.

The Kentucky Wildcats move on to face the winner of Cornell/Wisconsin in the Sweet 16.

St. Mary's Pulls The Upset Over Villanova

St. Mary's exposed a major weakness Villanova had all season, their lack of a true post presence. Omar Samhan had 32 points and 7 rebounds to lead Sain't Mary's to the 75-68 upset of #2 seed Villanova. There were points in the game where Samhan seemed unstoppable, as Villanova simply had no answer.



The loss also marked the second game in a row that Scottie Reynolds suffered a horrible shooting night. A day after going 2-15 in a first round win over Robert Morris, Reynolds concluded his Villanova career by shooting 2-11 from the field. He finished with just 8 points.

Northern Iowa Stuns Top-Seeded Kansas

Northern Iowa pulled off one of the biggest upsets the NCAA tourney has seen in a long time. The Panthers, out of the Missouri Valley Conference, defeated the number one overall seed Kansas Jayhawks 69-67 in the second round.

The Jayhawks were considered by most expert the safest pick to cut the down the nets as the National Champions. That dream ended Saturday as Northern Iowa led most of the game by 8. The Panthers withstood a serious comeback effort by the Jayhawks after the lead was cut down to one.



Northern Iowa's Ali Farokhmanesh got the ball wide open at the 3-point line with around 30 seconds to go. Since his team was winning most people (including myself) expected Farokhmanesh to pull the ball out and burn the clock until he got fouled. Farokhmanesh had other plans as he took a 3-pointer that gave the Panthers a more secure lead of 4. That shot will now live on in NCAA Tournament history.



The Jayhawk's loss was the last game that Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich will ever play together as Jayhawks. Collins, a graduating senior, finished with 10 points, 4 assists, and 3 rebounds as he shot bad from the field and turned the ball over 5 times. Aldrich, who is expected to declare for the upcoming NBA Draft, finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 blocks.



Of course the Jayhawks will also lose freshman phenom Xavier Henry to the league. He already has the game for NBA and probably would've went straight out of high school if it was allowed.

Northern Iowa moves on to the Sweet 16 to face the winner of Michigan State/Maryland.