NCAA Tournament Tidbits: 03.25.11
Posted by Brian Goodman on March 25th, 2011Throughout the NCAA Tournament, we’ll be providing you with the daily chatter from around the webosphere relating to what’s going on with the teams still playing.
East
- People are quick to forget that the Ohio State basketball program was in disarray when Thad Matta arrived in Columbus. Considering this, it can be stated that Matta has been nothing short of a miracle worker.
- Kentucky freshman forward Terrence Jones has had a theme play out over his solid freshman campaign- he plays very well in big games. This should be good news for John Calipari and the Kentucky faithful, as Friday’s game versus Ohio State qualifies as such.
- It is hard not to root for a guy like Buzz Williams. The Marquette coach has had an interesting career that has included stops at small schools like Oklahoma City University, Texas-Arlington, and Texas A&M-Kingsville.
- An interesting Q&A with North Carolina freshman point guard Kendall Marshall. Marshall has been nothing short of spectacular since taking over the point guard reigns from since-departed Larry Drew II.
- Can Ohio State survive and advance if their star, Jared Sullinger, does not shine? We say they can, due to the fact that William Buford, Jon Diebler, and David Lighty are fully capable of carrying the Buckeyes on any given night.
Southeast
- The craziness of March Madness has Butler in position to reach the Final Four again. It will not be easy though, as they will have to get through the Florida Gators.
- Butler’s strong defense threw Wisconsin off their game. If the Bulldogs defend that well against Florida, they will probably advance to next weekend in Houston.
- Florida guard Kenny Boynton slowed Brigham Young‘s Jimmer Fredette just enough for the Gators to get the victory. Pretty impressive for Boynton, who was recovering from an ankle injury.
- After an almost four-year hiatus from winning big-time games, Florida head coach Billy Donovan proved on Thursday night that the Gator program is back to being one of the premier in all of college basketball.
- Even though its season is over, Brigham Young head coach Dave Rose made a point to praise the toughness of his Cougar squad. BYU enjoyed a 32-5 dream season that may not be duplicated soon.
Southwest
- Those who haven’t had the chance to visit historic Allen Fieldhouse will get what some may call the next-best thing: A Google Earth rendering of Kansas‘ home court. The tech giant is rendering several arenas to give users a unique visual perspective.
- The tip of the iceberg? Richmond coach Chris Mooney has been added to the list of candidates to lead Tennessee. Why the Vols’ athletic department would leak such a list is beyond us, but Mooney is bound to receive interest from a number of schools, especially if his Spiders can top the Jayhawks in San Antonio tonight.
- While many coaches aspire to lead a blueblood school or another of college hoops’ elite programs, Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton has built a career of bringing struggling teams back from the dead.
- VCU guard Joey Rodriguez shot around with NBA marksman Steve Kerr, who joined Turner’s broadcasting crew for March Madness. Coach Shaka Smart routinely uses NBA player photos in his scouting reports to compare players.
- Jayhawk forward Marcus Morris, a vocal leader, had some words for some of Richmond’s players after passing them in a tunnel at the Alamodome Thursday afternoon. Morris has never held back his emotions, so this is nothing new for the big man.
West
- A dominant second half run by Arizona left Duke stunned in Anaheim Thursday night. Derrick Williams only scored two points in the Wildcats’ 19-2 run that turned the tide, but still posted a career-high 32 points and 13 boards.
- The always-flowery Bill Plaschke of The Los Angeles Times is one of many who Kemba Walker won over on Thursday. Scoring 36 points, including 14 straight, will do that to someone.
- Championship runs often lead to tours of the late night talk show scene. If Arizona manages to cut down the nets in Houston, it won’t be anything new for coach Sean Miller, who appeared on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” in the 1980’s.
- Connecticut freshman Jeremy Lamb continues to grow by the game. For all the talk surrounding Kemba, Lamb has shot 74% in three tournament games while going 9-11 from beyond the arc.
- Momentum shifted for the Huskies against the Aztecs with two technical fouls called on Steve Fisher‘s team, particularly one called when Jamaal Franklin bumped into Kemba Walker during a dead ball.
Brian Goodman a Big 12 microsite writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BSGoodman.
