March Madness Predictions - Possible #1 Seeds
With Selection Sunday only two days away, it's time to figure out who will be the one seeds in the big dance this year. It's a little harder this year than most as this whole season has been pretty topsy-turvy as far as who have been the dominate teams have been. With only the conference tournaments left to go, the contenders and pretenders have revealed themselves in different ways.
Locked in at #1
Kansas Jayhawks (30-2, 15-1 in Big 12)
Kansas has arguably been the best team in the college ranks the whole season only losing at Tennessee and at Oklahoma State. The Jayhawks have a championship pedigree, having won the NCAA title two years ago and are led by Senior point guard, Sherron Collins and Junior center, Cole Aldrich. Experience at the point guard position and in the paint make a deep run in the tournament significantly easier.
The duo is supported by a couple of extremely talented wings in freshman sensation, Xavier Henry and emerging sophomore forward, Marcus Morris. All four averages in double figures and are surrounded by a group of experienced role players. Kansas is a lock for the one seed and are likely to get the top seed overall.
Kentucky Wildcats (30-2, 14-2 in SEC)
The Kentucky Wildcats are the other lock for a one seed even if they falter in the conference tournament. Kentucky is the polar opposite team of Kansas in that they are led by youth instead of experience. Freshmen G John Wall, G Eric Bledsoe and PF DeMarcus Cousins have dominated the competition for most of the season with their only losses being at Tennessee and at South Carolina.
Junior center Patrick Patterson is the lone hold-over from the previous regime, but Coach John Calipari uses him as a leader on and off the court. Patterson and Cousins provide for a dynamic front court with size, strength, exceptional rebounding (10.1 Cousins, 7.5 Patterson) and superior scoring ability (15.6 points; Cousins, 14.9 points; Patterson). The guard play has been exceptional from John Wall who is the odds on favorite to be number one overall in this summer's NBA Draft. Look for Coach Cal to take another team deep into the NCAA tournament as Kentucky plays well beyond their years.
5dimes review: The Rest
The other teams in Division One are really playing for a 1A and 1B seed because Kansas and Kentucky are by far the elite teams this year.
But we need four number one seeds. There have been a bunch of good candidates, but many have been knocked off that pedestal in recent days. Here's the list of teams that couldn't make the cut.
Purdue Boilermakers (26-4, 14-4 in Big Ten)
Purdue lost its top player, Robbie Hummel to a season-ending knee injury late in the season. Up until that point, Purdue looked like a one seed and a sweep of the Big Ten tournament would still get them there, but without Hummel, Purdue is not an elite team. They're still very good, but not a one seed.
Kansas State Wildcats (25-6, 11-5 in Big 12)
K-State looked like a one seed until they dropped their last two regular season games to Kansas, in blowout fashion, and in overtime to lowly Iowa State. K-State will make an argument if they can sweep their way through the Big 12 tourney, but they will likely be destined for a two seed.
Ohio State Buckeyes (25-7, 14-4 in Big 12)
Ohio State lost potential player of the year, Evan Turner, to a fractured vertebrae early in the season for six games. The Buckeyes struggled without him and their seven losses are due to his inability to play for them at full strength for a lot of the season.
Now with Turner playing like a man possessed (and knocking down a game winning 40-footer a couple hours ago at the buzzer to edge Michigan), Ohio State may be the most dangerous two seed in the dance. Their seven losses will likely keep them from a top seed.
Final Two #1 Seeds
Syracuse Orange: (28-4, 15-3 in Big East)
Despite losing their last two games of the season, at Louisville with little to play for and everything at stake for the Cardinals, and in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament to Georgetown, the Orange will still get a one seed. In the game against Georgetown, the Orange lost center Arinze Onuaku to a knee injury and promptly lost control of the game to sophomore sensation, Georgetown forward, Greg Monroe. It is too bad because Onuaku held Monroe in check for most of the contest.
If Onuaku is seriously hurt, the Orange will be in trouble, but preliminary tests were negative. He is getting an MRI today. Now with added rest due to that loss, Syracuse will represent the Big East this year as the lone one seed from the conference.
Duke Blue Devils: (27-5, 13-3 in ACC)
The Dukies will get to be the final one seed this year. Led by senior guard, Jon Scheyer, Duke has dominated ACC competition and have looked like one of the best shooting teams in recent memory. C Brian Zoubek has played big minutes for the Blue Devils in the second half of the season and has become a force to reckon with underneath and added a dimension to the Blue Devils it has sorely needed for years; an inside/outside game. Look for Coach K to take his guys deep in the tournament again as a weak ACC has given Duke a one seed, making the path that much easier.
Make no mistake however; this team can be beaten by a team with better athleticism, as Duke's weakness has been athleticism since the days of Boozer and Battier almost a decade ago now.
Copyright (c) 2009 - Sports Betting Forums
Georgia State men's basketball one and done
The Georgia State University men's basketball team lost 68-67 Friday night against Hofstra University in a game that was oh so typical of the 2009-10 season. The Hofstra Pride and GSU were playing in the first round of the Colonial Athletic Association Men's Basketball Championship at the Richmond (Va.) Coliseum. The Pride entered having won nine of their last 10 games.
Last weekend, the Panthers lost at Hofstra, 87-74, in the regular season finale. This time Georgia State exhibited more of their gritty, defensive style of play, but still lost the heartbreaker. Up 67-66 with 30 seconds to go, Hofstra gave the ball to the CAA's player of the year, 6-3 junior guard Charles Jenkins. Georgia State stopped him in the lane, but Jenkins found 6-10 senior forward Greg Washington open for a successful foul line jumper with 15 seconds left.
The Panthers then also gave the ball to their star player, 6-1 senior guard Joe Dukes, who had his usual all over the court game. Dukes scored 15 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished out six assists. But in a rare departure for Dukes, he had 10 turnovers and it was a turnover in the lane at the end that doomed GSU.
Georgia State was down 52-41 with 10 minutes to go. Senior 6-6 forward Ousman Krubally sparked the comeback with a pair of layups. Despite playing with four fouls, Krubally ended his college career in style with 19 points and four rebounds. Most impressive, he made 11 of 12 free throws despite his career average of making only about half of his foul shots.
Unlike last week's game against Hofstra, the Panthers rebounded and shot the ball well. There was no problem with the team's effort, but close games against superior opponents almost always went the wrong way for Georgia State this past season. GSU finished 12-20.
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Nittany Lions put down Wildcats' attempt at record 19th winThe Big Ten standings show Penn State is the worst team in the conference. The way the team played against Northwestern shows otherwise.
The Nittany Lions (11-17, 3-13 Big Ten) blew out the Wildcats 79-60 in University Park, Pa., sweeping the season series. Wins over NU (18-11, 7-10) account for two of Penn State's three conference victories on the season.
"We didn't come out prepared," junior guard Michael Thompson said. "Every team in college basketball is a good team."
Penn State started strong and kept the pressure on. Though the Nittany Lions briefly trailed 6-5, they were able to score at will against NU's matchup zone, hitting seven of their first nine attempts from the field, while getting offensive rebounds on their two misses. It would take nearly seven minutes for Penn State to have a possession in which it did not score.
The Cats were able to stay close at first because of their 3-point shooting. Their first 18 points came off of six 3s, but it wasn't a sustainable form of offense.
"Early on, we're making those 3s," coach Bill Carmody said. "But you could tell they were fool's gold. They were end-of-clock, not-really- in-rhythm kind of shots."
It took NU until the 5:22 mark of the first half to score its first 2-point field goal. By then, the Cats were already down 11, and their lack of an inside presence was already hurting them.
"The entire year on the road, our center spot just hasn't been able to get any production. Almost none," Carmody said. "Our only real threat on the inside is Johnny (Shurna), and they were all over him."
As NU's hot shooting cooled off, Penn State's offense kept going. The Cats allowed 49 points in the opening period -more than they've allowed in entire games.
"It didn't matter the personnel that was in there," Carmody said. "Whatever we were trying to do - man, matchup, 1-3-1, it didn't matter. We just weren't able to stop them, which was reminiscent of a few games in the past couple of weeks."
Penn State went on to shoot 57 percent from the field. Carmody made the decision to become less reliant on playing the 1-3-1 zone defensively before last Thursday's game against Iowa, because opposing teams had been exploiting it with 3-point shooting. The scheme worked against Iowa, but backfired against Penn State.
The Cats often looked confused, which led to uncontested layups and 7-for-13 shooting from beyond the arc from the Nittany Lions. This was the best any opposing team has shot percentage-wise against NU all season long.
"After a while, they weren't even running an offense," Carmody said. "They just kept it spread and were taking our guys individually."
The game went out of hand in the second half, as a 14-point halftime lead increased to 20 by the 14-minute mark. NU's deficit grew to 25 points, which put the game effectively out of reach.
"We tried to fight back," Thompson said. "We just didn't come ready to play, and we got off to a slow start."
Much like in the first matchup between the teams, Penn State's scoring didn't come from point guard Talor Battle, who leads the conference in scoring and is the only player to average double figures on the team. Battle led the team with 16 points, but David Jackson and Chris Babb were key contributors, nailing 4-of-5 3-pointers.
"It's more about us," Thompson said. "For us to be successful, we need to do a better job communicating on defense."
The loss prevented the Cats from earning a school-record 19 wins, and guarantees that after a promising start, the Cats will finish with a losing record in conference.
"We haven't been a good road team all year, and the last three weeks our defense has been spotty at best," Carmody said. "We're not getting anything inside, and I don't know what to do."
dailynorthwestern.com
Missouri basketball knows road gets tough vs. BuffaloesBOULDER, COLO. -- It takes a lot to upset Missouri basketball coach Mike Anderson. But he was clearly perturbed when a postgame questioner characterized the Tigers' 70-53 victory over Nebraska on Jan. 23 as an "easy win."
"Easy win?" Anderson shot back. "I don't know what you've been watching, but there are no easy wins in the Big 12."
That certainly was true Wednesday night, when Texas A&M strolled into Mizzou Arena and did away with MU's 32-game home winning streak 77-74. At the same time, top-ranked Kansas pulled even in the final minute of the second half before prevailing in overtime at Colorado 72-66.
Obviously, Missouri (16-6 overall, 4-3 Big 12) will have no clear advantage when it takes on Colorado (11-11, 2-6) this afternoon at Coors Events Center, despite the Buffaloes' 10th-place standing in the league.
"When it gets to conference time, you can't dwell on losses or get too happy on wins, because on any given night any team can beat you," Mizzou guard Kim English said. "This is the best league in the nation."
Missouri appeared well on its way to another home-court triumph Wednesday, leading 55-46 with 12 minutes, 44 seconds remaining. The Aggies had other ideas.
The Tigers started clanking shots, A&M started hitting some while continuing to dominate the boards, and Mizzou's youth began to show. "We weren't getting ball movement, and guys started going one-on-one," guard Zaire Taylor said. "Sometimes you play to play, as Coach would say, instead of playing to win."
Gradually, Missouri's poise evaporated.
"We're still learning ... about composure, not panicking," Anderson said. "It's a never-ending lesson to be learned. But you've got to have poise, whether you're up or down, whether you're chipping away or building a lead."
That's even more amplified on the road: Big 12 home teams are 30-14 in conference play. In addition to its near miss vs. Kansas, Colorado on its home floor has knocked off No. 24 Baylor and Nebraska, and it fell to No. 11 Kansas State by just six points.
Still, Anderson's Tigers are 3-0 in Boulder. Before that, Mizzou had dropped four in a row there.
"Whether you're at your house or on the road, you're in a dog fight," MU guard J.T. Tiller said. "We have to come in with the mentality of killer instinct from here on out."
stltoday.com
Stockton men fall to Rutgers-Newark
Richard Stockton College lost 64-53 to Rutgers-Newark in a New Jersey Athletic Conference men's basketball game Saturday night.
Deshawn Singleton scored a 17 points for Rutgers-Newark.
Kai Massaquoi had 14 points and six rebounds for Stockton. Santini Lancioni added 13 points. Omar Smith had 11 points and nine rebounds.
Richard Stockton 24 29-53
Rutgers-Newark 32 32-64
RS-Smith 3 4-8 11, Brown 4 0-0 8, Farrow 2 1-2 5, Lancioni 4 4-4 13, Massaquoi 5 4-5 14, Kelly 1 0-1 2. Totals-19 13-20 53.
RN-Singleton 6 5-10 17, Barnes 4 0-2 8, Johnson 4 2-2 13, DeShields 0 3-4 3, Smith 2 2-2 6, Muhammad 2 1-3 5, Moore 3 0-0 9, Gillens 1 1-1 3. Totals-22 14-24 64.
3-pointers-Johnson (3), Moore (3) RN; Smith, Lancioni RS.
Records-Stockton 15-6 (5-4), Rutgers-Newark 15-6 (5-4).
Stockton track and field: The Ospreys' women finished fourth among 12 Division II and III teams and the men fifth out of 13 at the Thomson Invitational at the University of Delaware.
Stockton's Meredith Malloy won the women's 3,000-meter run in 11 minutes, 11.1 seconds. Chris Huch won the men's high jump at 6 feet, 6 inches.
Ocean County men's basketball: Ocea•County College defeated Passaic County Community College 73-60.
Charles Kelley had 23 points, nine rebounds and three steals for Ocean. Will Smith scored 16 of his 17 points in the second half and added 15 rebounds and six assists. Tom Paterno had 10 points, 12 rebounds and five assists.
PCCC 33 27- 60
OCC 25 48 - 73
PCCC-Simmons 3 0-3 6, Wynter 2 0-0 4, Whitten 2 2-2 6, Lewis 3 3-4 11, Lozano 6 3-4 18, Rodriguez 1 0-2 2, Ortiz 4 2-2 11, Enemuo 1 0-0 2. Totals-22 10-17 60.
OCC-Smith 7 2-2 17, Gray 0 2-2 2, Reeves 1 0-0 2, McKeon 2 0-0 6, Paterno 5 0-0 10, Salley 6 1-3 13, Kelley 8 4-4 23. Totals-29 9-12 73.
3-pointers-Lozano (3), Lewis (2), Ortiz PCC; Kelley (3), McKeon (2), Smith OCC.
Records-OCC 17-6, PCCC 15-8.
Ocean County women's basketball: Heather Neumann had 12 points, five steals and three assists for Ocean in a 65-51 loss to Passaic.
Kayla Linfante added nine points and had 13 rebounds.
PCCC 27 38 - 65
OCC 20 31 - 51
PCCC-West 5 5-6 15, Jones 4 4-5 14, Armstrong 1 0-0 2, Marin 4 2-4 11, Womack 0 4-7 4, Williams 7 1-2 15, Mclean 2 0-0 4. Totals-23 16-22 65.
OCC-Neumann 4 2-2 12, Johnson 0 1-3 1, Frank 3 1-2 7, Linfante 3 3-6 9, Martino 3 4-4 10, Wallace 3 1-4 9, Applegate 1 0-0 3. Totals-17 12-21 51.
3-pointers-Neumann (2), Wallace (2) Applegate OCC; Jones (2), Marin.
Records-OCC 14-9, PCC 18-7.
(c) 1970-2010 Press of Atlantic City Media Group
Crusaders basketball happy to be at home
BELMONT -- After playing six of its first eight Conference Carolinas games on the road, Belmont Abbey College's basketball team successfully began a closing stretch in which eight of the final 12 games will be at the Wheeler Center Saturday.
"I'm just happy we've got a chance to be at home," Crusaders coach Stephen Miss said after Saturday's 83-76 victory over Queens improved his team's record to 8-7 overall and 4-5 in the league. "We lost six of our top players from last season and, early on, that showed.
"So we're a young team that's been on the road a lot and a team that's struggled to close out games. Now we're doing a better job finishing games and we're going to be at home."
The Abbey also has won two straight games without senior forward Chad Patus, whose status remains questionable to Monday's home league game with Lees-McRae.
In his place in the starting lineup has been freshman Jay Council, who has set a career-high twice in the past three games with 17 points at Barton and 20 at Queens.
"He's capable of scoring points and he's been able to help us," Miss said of Council.
Junior guard Richard Barbee continues to lead the team, averaging 19.8 points per game while scoring in double-figures in 13 of the 14 games in which he's played. Patus (15.3) and Kyle Phillips (13.6) have been other top scorers.
gastongazette.com
Rochester upends Ridgewater, 92-72
WILLMAR -- The Rochester Yellowjackets handed the Ridgewater Warriors their third straight loss on Saturday 92-72 in MCAC Southern Division men's basketball.
Rochester (2-1, 13-3) showed impressive offensive balance, hitting on 10 three-pointers but also were able to go to the iron repeatedly for points and rebounds despite not having a player over 6-foot-4.
"That was a tough three-game stretch," said Ridgewater sophomore center Casey Sussenguth, referring to road losses in the past eight days to Minneapolis and Fergus Falls which, with Rochester, lead the South standings.
Sussenguth's early three-point play gave Ridgewater its only lead, 14-13. It stayed close the first nine minutes before Rochester pulled away on the strength of seven 3-pointers in the first half.
Sussenguth tallied a game-high 26 points. Mike Weber added 19 points and Tyler Stein, who hit three of the Warriors' four treys, ended up with 14 points.
Demetrius Williams led the Yellowjackets with 17 points.
Ridgewater plays Minnesota West on Wednesday in Worthington.
Rochester 92, Ridgewater 72
Rochester (2-1, 13-3) 40 52 - 92
Ridgewater (1-3, 8-9) 34 38 - 72
ROCHESTER - 37-68 FG (10-20 3-pt); 8-12 FT; 43 rebounds; 23 fouls ... Scoring: Logan Drager 12, C.J. Johnson 3, Shiron Williams 2, Aubrey Rhodes 4, David Fristsch 14, Demetrius Williams 17, Joe Conway 13, Josh LaPlante 2, Brandon Milde 16, Kavon Martin 8, Colin Kurk 2 ... 3-point shots: Drager 2, Johnson 1, Fritsch 1, Rhodes 1, D.Williams 3, Conway 1, Milde 1 ... Rebound leaders: Fritsch 9, Martin 7 ... Assist leaders: Fritsch 6, Rhodes 5 ... Steal leader: Conway 4
RIDGEWATER - 25-56 FG (4-13 3-pt); 18-30 FT; 19 rebounds; 12 fouls ... Scoring: Shawn Neu 3, Tyler Stein 14, Andy Kalenberg 3, Breck Weber 2, Mike Weber 17, Casey Sussenguth 26, Nathan Nietfeld 7 ... 3-point shots: Stein 3, Neu 1 ... Rebound leader: Sussenguth 7, Nietfeld 7 ... Assist leaders: Sussenguth 7, Neu 5 ... Steal leader: Neu 3
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