Two regional final games and not a #1 seed in sight.  But don’t be alarmed, because there’s plenty of pedigree here.  Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Butler — it reads better that you might expect for a #2, #3, #5 and #8 seed, right?  That’s because they probably are.

And down to eight teams still playing for the ‘ship.

There’s just a single #1 seed remaining as we head into Elite Eight weekend.

#2 Florida vs. #8 Butler – Southeast Region Finals (at New Orleans, LA) – 4:30 pm ET on CBS.

It has come down to this for Butler. One more win and the Bulldogs will head to their second consecutive Final Four after a lot of folks had them losing to Old Dominion in the first round. For Florida, they’re one win away from making it to the big show for the first time since their 2007 national championship, their second in as many years. Brad Stevens and Butler have fueled this run by taking their foot off the gas. Butler is playing at a slower pace but forcing more turnovers and that will again be a key today as it was on Thursday against Wisconsin. Butler forced the Badgers into 11 turnovers, three more than their season average of eight. A similar effort against Florida (12 turnovers per game) could be the difference and subsequently send Butler to Houston. The Gators became three-happy against BYU but survived the Cougars in overtime. Florida can’t fire up 34 threes again and expect to beat Butler, a team that defends the three better than they do inside the arc. Ronald Nored and Shelvin Mack will do a better job defensively than Jimmer Fredette did on the Florida guards and the Gators still shot only 32.4% from deep in the BYU game. The vast majority of Florida’s production comes from their five starters, all players that were around last year. Billy Donovan’s team is experienced in terms of their age and class but this group has never been in this position before. Butler has, and that should give them an edge in crunch time. Florida must work the ball inside because that’s when they’re at their best, controlling pace and creating good looks. The Gators feature the versatile Chandler Parsons along with Vernon Macklin and Alex Tyus (coming off a career game) inside while Butler will go with the foul-prone Matt Howard and Andrew Smith who suffered a nasty ankle roll on Thursday but is considered “likely” to play according to Stevens. The Florida bigs are quicker and should enjoy an edge in the paint if successfully utilized by guards Erving Walker and Kenny Boynton. If Walker and Boynton shoot too many threes and ignore the paint, Butler will win this game. Stevens’ main concern likely is Florida’s potential to do damage in the post making it vital that Howard stay out of foul trouble and Smith remains a presence despite his injury. The Bulldogs must prevent Florida from dominating inside because the Gators will control the boards and the pace of the game if allowed to operate with little resistance under the basket. Butler ranks #19 in defensive rebounding percentage and has to keep Florida off the offensive boards. As we said, Florida is at their best when working in the paint and second chance opportunities can jump start their confidence. The Gators have more depth inside so Garrett Butcher or Khyle Marshall may be needed for some important minutes off the bench to spell Howard and Smith. Butcher came up big against front court heavy Old Dominion and it is players like him who often have solid games to push their team over the top with a lot on the line. Keep an eye on Butler’s three point shooting. If they can’t get anything going from deep against the Florida perimeter defense (allowing only 31.3%), the Bulldogs won’t be able to spread the floor or create open looks inside. This game could come down to the very end making free throws crucial. Butler would have an advantage if it comes to that. While Florida has a slight edge in terms of matchups and talent, Butler has the experience that is such a valuable asset this deep into the tournament. We think they may be able to overcome the matchups and do just enough to keep the Bulldog train chugging along to Houston.

The RTC Certified Pick: Butler.

#3 Connecticut vs. #5 Arizona – West Region Finals (at Anaheim, CA) – 7:05 pm ET on CBS.

The easy storyline here is Kemba Walker vs. Derrick Williams. Two All-Americans, two larger-than-life basketball players, each player coming off dominating performances in the regional semifinal which helped his team knock off their higher-seeded opponent. And there are plenty who will tell that story. But the fact is, rarely, if ever, will those two players be matched up one-on-one on the court. And given how important each star’s supporting cast was on each team’s trip to this place, to this game, that’s not enough of the story. Take Arizona, for instance. In the first half of their win over Duke on Saturday, Williams scored more than 65% of his team’s points, and he was the only thing in the way of a Blue Devil blowout. In the second half, however, he scored less than 13% of his team’s points. Two other Wildcats (Jamelle Horne and Kevin Parrom) equaled Williams’ second half output, while Solomon Hill exceeded it with ten points, and Momo Jones doubled it, with 14. As a result, the Wildcats played what was likely their best half of basketball this season. Earlier, Walker had gotten plenty of support himself, as freshman Jeremy Lamb tied a career-high with 24 points, while fellow freshmen Roscoe Smith (five points, eight rebounds) and Shabazz Napier (six assists) and sophomore big man Alex Oriakhi (five points, nine rebound) helped get the Huskies over the top. The lesson is that while Walker and Williams are players capable of putting their teams on their backs, the collective is much better off when the stars don’t need to do that. As a result, this game may be decided not by which star has the bigger game, but which star gets the greatest contributions from his supporting cast. Now that’s not to say that Jim Calhoun and Sean Miller aren’t spending quite a bit of time this evening trying to figure out the best ways to control the opposition’s elite talent. Expect the Wildcats to start with Jones, who has proven himself a strong defender over the past month or so, on Walker, trying to send him to the inside of the court on penetration where additional Wildcat defenders can help out, and preferring that he shoot from deep rather than get penetration. On the other end, the Huskies will likely shift around trying to find the right matchup for Williams between Oriakhi, Smith and others, ready to send a double-team when necessary. Both teams would much rather that the “other guys” beat them, rather than the stars. And both coaches are preparing those “other guys” to do just that. In a tight game, however, I think the Wildcats have just a couple more options than the Huskies, giving Sean Miller a little better chance to shuffle the cards a bit and find the right combination. That, coupled with what should be a pro-Arizona crowd should give the Wildcats the tiniest of advantages.

The RTC Certified Pick: Arizona.

Last night surely didn’t disappoint, with two games going down to the wire in the early session and a Duke-struction in the second session.  Tonight’s games are heavy on the Cinderella factor, which could be a good or a bad thing, depending on your perspective.

#2 North Carolina vs. #11 Marquette – East Regional Semifinal (at Newark, NJ) – 7:15 pm ET on CBS.

Marshall Makes the Carolina Attack Dangerous

Vegas lists Carolina as only a 4-point favorite heading into the first of two excellent matchups in the Newark regional, but we anticipate a much steeper climb for Marquette than the bookmakers anticipate. The daunting challenge for Buzz Williams will be finding some way to contain the Carolina bigs on the offensive end, notably 6’11 John Henson and 7’0 Tyler Zeller. The Golden Eagles are perennially undersized and plain old toughness and heart can only carry a team so far against superior talents that hold considerable physical advantages. Moderately-used sophomore Chris Otule is the only Marquette player that stands above 6’8 and he must have a career night defensively against either Henson or Zeller. Williams will likely send double teams in the post to aid his forwards in post-up situations just as they did with tremendous success against Syracuse’s Rick Jackson. Sagging off shooters to help in the post could coax the Heels into taking a few too many outside jumpers beyond the arc, a spot on the floor where UNC shoots just 33% on the campaign. Also look for Marquette to attempt the slow the tempo and keep the game in the halfcourt to neutralize Kendall Marshall’s outstanding passing ability in secondary break situations. If Carolina gets off to their usual slow start in the first ten minutes, falls into a shooting funk and one of Henson/Zeller slips into foul trouble, pulling off the upset is a possibility. That’s a lot of ifs. Not only does Carolina hold a considerable advantage down low, but also at the all-important point guard position. While Marquette employs a platoon of actual two-guard Dwight Buycks and the rapidly improving but inexperienced Junior Cadougan, what Marshall has meant to this Tar Heels team down the stretch cannot possibly be overstated. Marshall has dished out 24 assists compared to six turnovers in the tournament thus far and Carolina has only twice to Duke since he was instituted as the starting point guard ahead of the now-departed Larry Drew. A key reason why Marquette upset both Xavier and Syracuse was turnover differential. We’re leaning towards Marshall being able to dictate tempo without turning the basketball over. UNC advances to a showdown against either Ohio State or Kentucky with a trip to Houston on the line.

RTC Certified Pick: North Carolina.

#1 Kansas vs. #12 Richmond – Southwest Regional Semifinal (at San Antonio, TX) – 7:27 pm ET on TBS.

This is the game considered the biggest mismatch of the Sweet Sixteen, with one of the two co-favorites to win the national title lacing up their sneakers to play a mid-major darling, the Richmond Spiders.  To presume Kansas will run away with this one, though, is to make an error of judgment inconsiderate of two things: a) just how well Richmond is playing lately; and b) a recurring tendency by the Jayhawks to allow lesser teams to hang with them longer than they should.  Chris Mooney’s team is built like a mid-major with some high-major talent and athletes on its roster.  The Spiders like to spread the court and play a modified Princeton offense with their big men capable of knocking down jumpers as well as hitting cutters from the high post. Nearly every Spider starter can hit threes, befitting of a team that nailed long  balls at a tenth-in-the-nation best 39.9%.  The two players that the Jayhawk must key on are all-Atlantic 10 performers Kevin Anderson and Justin Harper. Both are athletic players who can pop for 25 on a given night, and with Dan Geriot capable of pulling a Morris twin outside and hitting long jumpers in addition to the range Harper has in his arsenal, the lane should be open for the classic penetration/kicks and the backdoor cuts that the offense is noted for.  As for Kansas, its defense on the perimeter is typically good, holding teams under 30% for the season from deep, but they are small outside, and if the UR big players are able to hit shots, they will keep Richmond hanging around this one.  KU obviously has a huge advantage inside, and as Vanderbilt’s Festus Ezeli showed in the Second Round, if Kansas remembers to throw the ball into the Morris twins from time to time, the big duo should have a combined 40-50-point night.  One problem with Bill Self’s team in this tournament is that they’ve yet to put a complete performance together; they looked and played tight against Boston University for much of the game; and Self even mentioned it afterward.  There were parts of the Illinois game that looked similar.  If Richmond starts nailing some early threes and gets Kansas down 8-12 points, how will the Jayhawks react?  Will they stay calm and play to their strengths inside; or will they panic and face another Northern Iowa situation?  It’s a compelling storyline, and one that will only be answered tonight in San Antonio — it says here that the Morris twins will be too much for UR to ultimately handle.

RTC Certified Pick: Kansas.

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RTC Live will be in both Newark and San Antonio tonight for another night of Sweet Sixteen action that includes not one, two or three, but four double-digit seeds — will more than one remain after this evening?  Join our correspondents as they take you through tonight’s games from courtside.  Feel free to pepper them with questions and commentary throughout the night!

Brian Goodman is an RTC editor and contributor.

Seemingly every March, pundits put forth the idea that playing on consecutive days in conference tournaments wears teams down for the Big Dance. While Connecticut has laregly debunked the theory, imagine playing nearly every day for the whole thing. Welcome to the reality of the Buffalo Funds NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball National Championship, which recently concluded in Kansas City.

Operating outside the parameters of the NCAA are nearly 300 small schools from across the country, 32 of which make the championship’s field. After the 32 schools are selected to compete, a frenzy of 31 games in seven days determines the national champion. All told, the tournament’s finalists played five games in six days, with no days off between the semis and the final. Touting itself as “college basketball’s toughest tournament, ” the event was held solely in Kansas City, which meant nonstop opening round action from 9:00 a.m. local time to around midnight.

Though the schools may be obscure, some of the players are anything but. The tournament featured its share of players with familial connections and histories with some of D-I’s top talent:

• Brian Wanamaker (Texas Wesleyan College) – The twin brother of Brad Wanamaker of Pittsburgh, Brian ran the point this season, averaging 19.1 points per game.
• Michael Stockton (Westminster College, Utah) – Gonzaga fans are familiar with the Stockton family, with David following in the footsteps of his father and NBA legend John Stockton, but Michael isn’t too bad himself, averaging over 18 points per game to go along with four helpers.
• Taylor King (Concordia College) – King’s journey began as a 14-year-old UCLA commit before stops at Duke and Villanova left him a journeyman. Returning home to Southern California, King feels comfortable at Concordia, where he led the Eagles in scoring (15 PPG) and rebounding (7 RPG) this season.
• C.J. Henry (Southern Nazarene, Oklahoma) – The one-time New York Yankees draft pick followed his brother, Xavier, first to Memphis and later to Kansas, but carved out a niche at a smaller school, averaging 13 points per contest.

In Tuesday’s final, televised nationally on CBS College Sports, Pikeville (Ky.) College topped Mountain State (W. Va.) 83-76 in overtime behind 32 points and 17 rebounds from Trevor Setty. Quincy Hankins-Cole, a transfer from Nebraska, also chipped in with 21 and 16.

Pikeville College Won the NAIA Title This Week

Next time they hear about a team losing its legs or looking worn out, a handful of players from a small college in Kentucky can deservedly scoff at their televisions, knowing they conquered a grueling test of stamina to capture a national crown.

Throughout 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

Southeast

If you are interested in participating in our ATB2 feature, send in your submissions to rushthecourt@gmail.com. We will add to this post throughout the day as the submissions come in so keep on sending them.

Game Previews

• #1 Kansas vs #12 Richmond: From the perspective of a Richmond blogger answering questions from a Kansas blogger. (Rock Chalk Talk)
• #2 UNC vs #11 Marquette: Previewing the match-up from dueling perspectives. (Carolina March or Cracked Sidewalks: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3)

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Zach Hayes is an editor, contributor and bracketologist for Rush the Court.

As we did on Thursday, let’s delve into each Sweet 16 participant from both two polar opposite points of view: the indelible optimist and the hopeless pessimist.  Everywhere from Lawrence to Richmond, fan bases are filled with those that see the glass half full and those that view the glass half empty. The optimist will take the viewpoint that their favorite team is destined for Houston while the pessimist sees the bitter end approaching tonight.

Will David Lighty be playing his last game in a Buckeye uniform Friday?

Ohio State

Optimist: It’s very easy to be optimistic about my Buckeyes. We’ve been the best in the nation all season long, losing two road games to teams that went undefeated on their home floor. Duke is the only other team with an offensive and defensive efficiency in the top six and they don’t shoot 42% from three. There are so many weapons in our seven-man rotation that even if two starters slump, there are two other all-conference caliber players to pick up the scoring load. Take David Lighty making seven threes against George Mason as a perfect example. Our two star freshmen are often confused with wily fifth year seniors they way they operate. People don’t talk about how we consistently keeping opponents off the free throw line, either. This team’s maturity and experience will outlast Kentucky and our ability to keep North Carolina in the halfcourt for 40 minutes renders their greatest strength inconsequential.

Pessimist: What does a #1 overall seed earn you in the eyes of this idiotic committee? The hardest road to the Final Four. If there are two teams remaining in the field other than fellow top seeds Duke and Kansas that can match our talent level, it’s Kentucky and North Carolina. I’m worried about Brandon Knight and Doron Lamb having a field day from three. If Terrence Jones decides to play physical in the post rather than drift around the perimeter, I’m worried he may be too big and strong for even an ace defender like David Lighty to handle. DeAndre Liggins can also give William Buford headaches with his length and athleticism. If there’s any weakness to this team, it’s our mediocre three-point defense and Kentucky can really shoot the basketball this season. John Calipari is a master motivator and will surely hammer that underdog mentality into his team’s head all week long, so the pressure is almost totally on us to win or this season’s finish will be tremendously disappointing.

Kentucky

Optimist: All season, Kentucky couldn’t win a close game on the road and struggled in neutral court losses to Connecticut and Notre Dame. Our freshmen were freshmen then. Starting with that road win in the season finale over Tennessee and extending through the SEC Tournament and Saturday’s hard-fought victory over West Virginia, these freshmen, notably Brandon Knight, have finally figured it out. I’m not overly concerned about Josh Harrellson attempting to corral Jared Sullinger. Our post defense – sixth in the country in two-point defense and block percentage – has been stellar all season long, and Harrellson is hitting his stride alongside the freshmen trio. Knight is the true game-changer, though. He’s got the quickness, athleticism and versatility to give Aaron Craft and Kendall Marshall fits trying to defend him. Those road woes masked what was a really strong and capable team all season. As demanding as our fan base may sometimes be, Calipari and his players know they’re not expected to win this region. I fully expect that loose mentality to translate into two shocking victories.

Pessimist: Our defense has been solid all season, but it’s never seen an offensive attack hitting on all cylinders like Ohio State. That team is coming off two NCAA Tournament games where they assisted on 49 of 65 field goals and we needed a Knight game-winner just to edge Princeton. Craft has been an unreal defender all season for them and if Knight is taken out his game similarly to Thursday, our offense becomes stagnant and the Buckeyes will pounce. I realize Harrellson, Liggins and Miller are veterans, but those three haven’t exactly been a model of consistency over their UK careers. Face it: this team depends on their three freshmen for scoring production. Ohio State has a fifth-year senior, two fourth-year seniors and a junior in their starting five. Experience is invaluable when you reach the second weekend.

North Carolina

Optimist: In case you haven’t noticed, Kendall Marshall completely changed this team. We’ve lost two games since January 16 and both came against #1 seed Duke. We’ve scored 75+ points in 11 of those games with Marshall running the show, a true difference maker at the most important position on the floor and someone that’s turned around Harrison Barnes’ rookie campaign. People love to discuss Marshall and Barnes and Tyler Zeller, but it’s our defense that has been steady since the first day of the season, ranking seventh in the nation in overall efficiency. A huge part of that is the shot-blocking ability of John Henson. How can the perennially undersized Marquette frontline possibly contain the constantly improving Henson and Zeller in the post? Remember that this is a Marquette team that lost 14 games this season. It’s not like they can’t be beat.

Pessimist: I’m scared to death of Buzz Williams throwing a zone at us. If there’s one glaring weakness with this Heels team, it’s our 33% mark from three on the season. If we get off to our usual slow start (see: ACC Tournament), Marquette grabs an early lead and starts to gain confidence, freshmen and sophomores like Barnes, Dexter Strickland and Leslie McDonald may start to press and chuck up ill-advised threes. Marquette did a fantastic job of preventing Syracuse from getting out in transition, so the blueprint is there to keep Carolina in the halfcourt against a zone. Our team-wide 67% mark from the charity stripe could also come into play late in games against Marquette and two proficient shooting teams in Ohio State or Kentucky. Contrary to the likes of David Lighty, Darius Miller or Jimmy Butler, the freshmen and sophomores that make up the brunt of our regular rotation haven’t experienced the overwhelming emotion, pressure and consequence that every possession the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament provides. Even Tyler Zeller, a junior, only played 32 minutes in six tournament games during our 2009 title run.

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1. Ralph Nader has been a crusader for numerous causes particularly consumer protection, but it appears that he is shifting his focus to college athletics as he is set to announce a proposal banning all athletic scholarships and replacing them with need-based financial aid. The NCAA has understandably fired back saying that athletic scholarships are no different than other merit-based scholarships that other students can receive. Regardless of the outcome this should be an entertaining debate although we feel the NCAA will win this one in the end.
2. After Tennessee fired Bruce Pearl earlier this week there was a lot of speculation about potential replacements. Most of the the proposed candidates have been a bit of a stretch (Jamie Dixon, Jay Wright, etc.), but Jeff Pearlman has a suggestion for one candidate who would be somewhat outside the box while still being well within the box–Pat Summitt. We think it is extremely unlikely that the school would go in that direction and equally unlikely that Summitt would take the offer, but it is an intriguing possibility.
3. Speaking of Tennessee, Mike Hamilton, the much-maligned Athletic Director, announced that the university would not be granting a release to recruits who signed a National Letter of Intent with the impression that they would be playing for Pearl. Instead, Hamilton has asked those recruits to speak with the new coach before he would consider letting them out of their NLIs. However, this does not mean that Hamilton will let them out of the NLIs if they meet the new coach and the recruit states afterwards that he does not want to go to Tennessee any more, which means that the recruit would have to sit out a year before being able to play for another school. The lesson here, for all recruits and people in general, is not to sign anything unless you absolutely have to sign it.
4. Most college basketball fans have moved beyond the Enes Kanter situation and are focusing on the players that are allowed to suit up, but it seems like some of the media has not as someone asked John Calipari yesterday if his Kentucky team might look like Ohio State‘s if Kanter had been ruled eligible. Of course, Calipari deflected the question with the usual (I like the team I have, etc.), but it might end up being one of the “subplots” that the announcers focus on tonight particularly if Jared Sullinger has a big game.
5. With the Sweet 16 getting underway last night and a number of notable seniors finishing their careers with each game it is worth considering whether some of the less talented ones will be playing competitive basketball again. For those that aren’t NBA material the decision comes down to whether or not they are willing to play abroad. Jon Jacques, who graduated from Cornell last year, decided to pursue his dream of playing professional basketball and offers some insight into the process that these players face.