By Jeff Potrykus
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
(MCT)
Forty-nine teams out, 16 teams remain in the 2008 NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament field.
Let’s cut to the chase to salute the survivors and bid adieu to the vanquished.
Thumbs up: Three cheers for Western Kentucky, San Diego, Villanova and Siena, teams that scored first-round upsets in Tampa and gave the tournament the jolt of drama and unpredictability for which most fans clamor.
Western Kentucky, seeded No. 12 in the West, stunned No. 5 Drake in overtime in the opening round and then ended the season of No. 13 San Diego, which had stunned No. 4 Connecticut in the first round.
Villanova, No. 12 in the Midwest, revealed No. 5 Clemson to be a bit of a fraud in the opening round and then ended the season of No. 13 Siena, which embarrassed No. 4 Vanderbilt in the opening round.
Next up in the Sweet 16 is Villanova vs. No. 1 Kansas in the Midwest and Western Kentucky vs. No. 1 UCLA in the West.
Which teams do you think the suits at CBS want to win?
Thumbs down: The 16-team Big East Conference, considered by some analysts to be the best league in the land, went 7-1 in the opening round. Impressive. Then Big East teams went 3-4 in the second round. Not so impressive.
Although West Virginia, seventh-seeded in the West, and Louisville, No. 3 in the East, have legitimate chances to reach the Elite Eight, several of the second-round exits by Big East teams were ugly.
Regular-season champion Georgetown, No. 2 in the Midwest, blew a 17-point lead and lost to No. 10 Davidson. Pittsburgh, the Big East tournament champion and seeded fourth in the South, lost by 11 points to No. 5 Michigan State. Marquette, No. 6 in the South, fell in overtime to No. 3 Stanford.
Although Stanford was the higher-seeded team, the Golden Eagles blew an 11-point lead against a team that lost its head coach in the first half thanks to two technicals and then mismanaged their final possession in regulation before falling in overtime. Notre Dame, seeded fifth in the East, was manhandled by 20 points by fourth-seeded Washington State.
Thumbs up: With a 31-point victory over Winthrop and a 20-point victory over Notre Dame, Tony Bennett has guided Washington State to consecutive NCAA tournament victories for the first time since 1941. Bennett is 52-16 in two seasons as head coach (.765). He clearly has embraced the defensive principles of his father, Dick, but also allows his players a bit more leeway on offense.
The Cougars (26-8) face top-seeded North Carolina in the Sweet 16 Thursday in Charlotte, N.C. Bennett probably won’t leave Washington State after only two seasons because of his sense of loyalty. But if I’m the athletic director at Indiana, I’m setting up an interview as soon as the Cougars’ season is over and doing whatever is necessary to convince Bennett to set up shop in Bloomington.
Thumbs down: CBS has reporters and cameras at sites all over America in an attempt to cover every conceivable angle of play and every worthwhile story.
Why, then, did the crew working UCLA’s 51-49, second-round victory over Texas A&M neglect to examine the biggest non-call-in UCLA’s favor-in the tournament?
UCLA, which benefited from egregious officials’ calls in Pacific 10
regular-season and tournament play, got away with another hack job when Josh Shipp ``blocked’’ a shot by A&M guard Donald Sloan with the Bruins clinging to a two-point lead in the final seconds. Shipp clearly grabbed Sloan’s right arm and ripped the ball free. That allowed UCLA’s Russell Westbrook to scoop up the loose ball and keep possession as time expired.
Afterward, the announcing crew never talked about the final play and CBS didn’t show a single replay, which would have shown the foul.
That’s an irresponsible job by CBS and another blown call that helped the Bruins prevail. The pattern is becoming disturbing.
Thumbs up: Stanford coach Trent Johnson displayed grace and a sense of humor in discussing his dismissal from the Marquette game. Rather than throw a tantrum, he accepted responsibility for putting his team in a precarious situation. Well done.
Thumbs down: Anybody see Duke lately? The second-seeded Blue Devils are at home after failing to get past the second round for the second consecutive season. They survived a first-round upset despite being outplayed by No. 15 Belmont but had no answers for West Virginia in the second round.
Mike Krzyzewski’s teams have lacked a legitimate inside presence for several seasons, a flaw that has eventually placed too much pressure on the perimeter game and led to early exits.
This must be addressed in recruiting or the Blue Devils will continue to be a non-factor.