NCAA Tournament Capsules: The next Stephen Curry, step right up
It happens nearly every year: an unheralded player, maybe from a school few people know about, goes on a scoring tear or single-handedly carries his team through a couple of rounds of the NCAA tournament.
Two years ago, little Stephen Curry from Davidson dashed his way through the bracket, shooting the Wildcats past Gonzaga, Georgetown and Wisconsin on the way to the regional finals.
There was Wally Szczerbiak taking Miami (Ohio) to the 1999 Sweet Sixteen, Bo Kimble carrying Loyola Marymount into the 1990 regional finals after the death of Hank Gathers, Fennis Dembo hoisting Wyoming to the regional semis in 1987. Perhaps the greatest one-man show was Larry Bird in 1979, leading Indiana State to the title game against Magic Johnson and Michigan State.
So who could be this year's Curry, Kimble or Bird? The guys who aren't Evan Turner, Sherron Collins, John Wall or Scottie Reynolds?
Here are a few to keep on eye on. Actually, five from each region:
WEST
Derrick Caracter, UTEP, Jr., 6-9, 280 — Randy Culpepper was the Conference USA player of the year, but Caracter made the Miners an inside-out team after transferring from Louisville. He's a lane-clogger who can be a game-changer.
Jordan Crawford, Xavier, So., 6-4, 195 — Remember the secret video of someone dunking on LeBron James? That was Crawford. Turns out, he's far more than just a dunker. The leading scorer in the Atlantic-10 has a great all-around game.
Jimmer Fredette, BYU, Jr., 6-2, 195 — The only D-I player to score 40 points twice this season, Fredette patterns his game after John Stockton, but is a better scorer. He can change a game shooting or passing.
Derick Nelson, Oakland, Sr., 6-5, 236 — You might want to keep an eye on a guy scores 36 points in the Summit League title game — with a broken nose.
Dominique Sutton, Kansas St., Jr., 6-5, 210 — It's not always the scorers who make a difference. Sutton doesn't have much range outside 12 feet, but can change a game with defense and rebounding. He's a shutdown cornerback in a hoops jersey.
MIDWEST
James Anderson, Oklahoma State, Jr., 6-6, 210 — It's hard to be unheralded as the Big 12's player of the year, but Anderson doesn't get the same attention as other scorers in the country. Don't be surprised if he drops 40 on someone.
Armon Bassett, Ohio, Jr., 6-2, 180 — Explosive scorer who led the Bobcats to a surprise win in the Mid-American Conference tournament, scoring a record 119 points in four games.
Jordan Eglseder, Northern Iowa, Jr., 7-0, 280 — The big fella has a good touch around the basket and is a force in the lane at both ends.
Aubrey Coleman, Houston, Sr., 6-4, 200 — Might be the most likely player to go on a Curry-like run. The nation's leading scorer (25.6 points) will be ready to fire after going 4 for 20 in the Conference USA title game.
Brady Morningstar, Kansas, Jr., 6-3, 185 — OK, OK, he plays on the nation's No. 1 team, but Morningstar's contributions often go unnoticed. He makes the Jayhawks go with his entry passes, spot-up shooting and denying defense.
SOUTH
Kevin Anderson, Richmond, Jr., 6-0, 175 — The Atlantic-10 player of the year has given opponents a case of arachnophobia, averaging 17.8 points a game this season to help the seventh-seeded Spiders win 12 of their last 13.
LaceDarius Dunn, Baylor, Jr., 6-4, 205 — Dunn honed his skills by tying his left hand behind his back at the urging of a middle-school PE teacher. It worked. He's the leading 3-point shooter in the tournament at 42.5 percent and has a sneeze-quick release.
Ronald Moore, Siena, Sr., 6-0, 156 — This kid knows how to dish. The scrappy guard leads the nation with 7.8 assists per game, close to what some teams averaged this season. Plus, he was there when the Saints knocked off Vanderbilt in the 2008 tournament and Ohio State last year.
Jerome Randle, Cal, Sr., 5-10, 172 — If you don't know the Pac-10 player of the year, you will. The gritty point guard can put up points in bunches, hands out assists with the best of them and is one of the nation's best free-throw shooters.
Donald Sloan, Texas A&M, Sr., 6-3, 205 — Sloan has become the go-to player for the Aggies since his childhood friend, Derrick Roland, suffered a gruesome leg injury in December. He scores and usually guards the opponent's best perimeter player — a rare all-around combination.
EAST
Demontez Stitt, Clemson, Jr., 6-2, 175 — The driving force behind the Tigers who's usually lost in Trevor Booker's shadow. When Stitt penetrates and hits jumpers, it forces teams to back off Booker and they pay for it along the baseline.
Ryan Wittman, Cornell, Sr., 6-7, 215 — The Ivy League player of the year, Wittman is the key to the Big Red's attack, averaging 17.5 points. He's hit 100 3-pointers this season and 368 in his college career. An NBA career could await him.
Kevin Thompson, Morgan State, So., 6-9, 240 — The sophomore was the MEAC's defensive player of the year, ranks fourth in the nation with 11.9 rebounds per game and leads the team with 50 blocks this season. Oh, and he's second in scoring at 12.9 points per game.
Noah Dahlman, Wofford, Jr., 6-6, 215 — The Terriers are making their first NCAA appearance in big part due to this Southern Conference player of the year, who leads the team in scoring (16.8 ppg) and has scored in double figures in all 34 games this season. He doesn't miss much, ranking 11th in the nation by hitting 58 percent of his shots.
Brian Qvale, Montana, Jr. 6-11, 265 — Averages 9.7 points on 60 percent shooting and posts 6.9 rebounds and nearly two blocks per game. When the Grizzlies rallied from a 22-point deficit against Weber State to win the Big Sky tournament, Qvale pulled down 14 rebounds and blocked six shots. Hey, Montana guard Anthony Johnson needed someone else to hit the boards so he could put up a tournament-record 42 points.
1 vs. 16 usually lopsided in NCAA tourney
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The NCAA tournament is famous for the little guys shocking the marquee powerhouses and turning into the darlings of March.
Upsets happen. In every region, every year. With one lopsided exception: No. 1 vs. No. 16.
When brackets are e-mailed to the office staff after the 65-team field is set, typing the "W'' in that 1-16 matchup is about as automatic an annual occurrence as ringing in the New Year on Dec. 31. With good reason: The Washington Generals have better odds at victory over the Harlem Globetrotters than a No. 16 seed does over a No. 1.
100-0. That's the career record for No. 1 seeds against 16th seeds since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985.
Yet those unlucky 16s, sometimes schools you never heard of from small college towns across America, always think big even if they should pack light.
This year's likely one-and-doners: Lehigh, East Tennessee State, Vermont and Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Those four have a combined 17 tournament appearances. Top seeds Kansas, Kentucky, Syracuse and Duke have a total of 14 — as in NCAA national championships. All but the Wildcats have won a title in the past 10 years.
Yet, the rallying cry from these small schools is the same every season: Why Not Us?
Why not indeed? Because if there was ever a bracket where the 1-16 matchup might merit a little more study, perhaps it's this one: Syracuse vs. Vermont. After all, this upset has happened before, only five tournaments ago.
In 2005, it was a 3-14 matchup. Win on Friday, and the Catamounts would not only add to their lore as Orange squeezers, they'd pull off one of the monumental upsets in sports history.
"When I saw that name pop up, it fired me up a little bit," said Andy Rautins, a fifth-year senior with the Orange who grew up in Syracuse. "I think everybody around Syracuse took that loss to heart. It's definitely going to be a payback game."
If the game is even tight at halftime — or especially in the waning minutes — that would be enough of a stunner. The No. 1s usually destroy and demoralize the 16s by halftime — and make CBS want to cut away to a more competitive game.
No No. 1 wants to become the answer to a trivia question.
"Yeah, it enters your mind. You don't want to be the first school to lose to a 16 seed," Kentucky guard John Wall said on Wednesday. "They could come out and hit a lot of shots and they might get the lead and feel confident. We've just got to go out and play basketball like we've been doing this whole season, and don't overlook no team."
Last year, top-seeded UConn beat Chattanooga 103-47 in the third-largest margin of victory ever in the NCAA tournament. But two other No. 1s — Louisville and Pittsburgh — won their games by 10 points.
And remember, the 16 over 1 upset has happened once in the women's tournament: Top-seeded Stanford lost to Harvard in 1998.
Eastern Tennessee State was also a No. 16 last season when it threatened Pittsburgh. Coach Murry Bartow said the near-miss helped his team gain confidence and makes them believe they can finish the job this season.
"I think the mental part of it is big, that, 'Hey, we can win this game if we do these things well,'" he said. "I think our guys really believe that. Obviously, we're smart enough to know we'll have to play our best game of the year."
Sometimes the underdog sneaks in some body blows and jabs that stumble the heavyweights.
An overwhelming underdog in its first NCAA tournament appearance in 2006, Albany led No. 1 Connecticut 50-38 about 8 1/2 minutes into the second half. The 21 1/2-point favorite Huskies were flustered in Philadelphia until, well, they remembered how top seeds are supposed to dominate and used a 20-4 run to snuff the Great Danes' upset bid.
There have been other "can you believe this?" moments in the first two days of the tournament.
— 1989. East Regional. No. 1 Georgetown, 50, No. 16 Princeton 49.
Ivy League champion Princeton was considered so little of a threat that ESPN broadcaster Dick Vitale said before the game he would hitchhike to Providence, R.I., where the game was played, if the Tigers won.
"I'm going to be their ballboy on their next game, and then I'm going to change into a Princeton cheerleading uniform and I'm going to lead all the cheers. Let's go Tigers! Let's go Tigers! ... Never happen," Vitale said.
Almost did.
The Tigers led Alonzo Mourning and Big East power Georgetown for most of the second half and were only 3 minutes away from the shocker.
Mourning put the Hoyas ahead 50-49 lead with 23 seconds left and blocked a pair of shots late — including a controversial non-foul call — to hold on for the win.
"I knew how they played and I didn't want to play against that system," former coach John Thompson said on Wednesday.
Thompson, back in Providence to support his son, the coach of the third-seeded Hoyas, is always reminded of one of the most famous close calls in tournament history.
"I always tell them their claim to fame was that they almost beat us," he said. "I heard Bobby Knight say this and it's very, very true what Bobby said, the emphasis on seeding was never significant to me. I never went into the tournament being concerned about who was seeded against who."
— 1990. Southeast Regional. No. 1 Michigan State 75, No. 16 Murray State 71, OT.
The Ohio Valley champion Racers pushed the Spartans in regulation and became the only No. 16 seed to lose in overtime.
"It was one of those situations where you think you're going to go out there and have an easy game because you hadn't heard of the school," former MSU star and current assistant coach Dwayne Stephens said by phone Wednesday. "The game got tight and the longer we let them stick around, we got tighter. Luckily, Steve (Smith) made some baskets to get us out of the jam."
Murray State's Greg Coble sank a 3-pointer as time expired to send the game into OT. Murray State had future NBA player Popeye Jones — the kind of prospect most of the automatic losers don't have on their roster. Jones had 37 points and 11 rebounds, one reason why they led 68-67 late in the game.
The Spartans were understandably nervous about being on the wrong end of history.
"Heck yeah. We didn't want to be the first one to lose to a 16. It was bad enough we went to overtime," Stephens said.
Mike Peplowski, another player from Michigan State's team, was only thinking about pulling off the win.
"I was so young, I didn't know the significance of what happened until much later," said Peplowski, who was a redshirt freshman during the 1989-90 season. "Now, I can only imagine what it would be like to watch a game like that now as a fan, thinking, 'Oh my God, a 16 might be a 1.' It definitely almost happened to us."
— 1996. West Regional. No. 1 Purdue, 73, Western Carolina 71.
Western Carolina, making its first trip to the tournament, had two chances to tie or win in the final seconds after Purdue's Brad Miller missed the front end of a one-and-one with 11.6 seconds left.
Western Carolina point guard Joel Fleming then put up a high-arching 3-pointer that missed. But the rebound came out long and Catamount Joe Stafford grabbed it and fired up a running 15-footer that also missed as the buzzer sounded.
"I felt we could make history as the first number one seed to lose to a number 16. That's the kind of history I make," Purdue coach Gene Keady said after the game.
-- Dan Gelston
Obama predicts Jayhawks will win national title
NEW YORK — The First Fan appears to be a big fan of basketball programs from Kansas.
President Barack Obama predicted Kansas and Kansas State to join Kentucky and Villanova in the men's basketball Final Four this season, with the Jayhawks defeating Kentucky for the title.
Obama filled out a bracket for ESPN for the second straight year Wednesday.
Last year, Obama correctly picked North Carolina to win the national championship. His bracket ranked 903,125th overall, just above the 80th percentile in ESPN's online contest.
Obama predicted in January that Kentucky would reach the national championship game when he called coach John Calipari to congratulate the program on raising more than $1 million as part of the "Hoops for Haiti" telethon. He also warned the Wildcats not to take success for granted.
Kentucky had just reached No. 1 and, after the phone call, promptly lost to South Carolina.
"They lost to the Gamecocks and I think that was a good lesson for them," Obama told ESPN's Andy Katz. "And I think Calipari will have them ready."
The Wildcats are one of the youngest teams in the NCAA tournament, though, and Obama said he likes the Jayhawks' experience — including senior guard Sherron Collins.
"Balanced team, they've got Collins in the backcourt. I always like teams in the tournament who've got experience," Obama said. "Terrific guards."
If things play out like Obama anticipates, the Jayhawks would have to beat Kansas State for the fourth time this season to reach the national championship game.
When asked if Obama had seen Wildcats coach Frank Martin and his menacing sideline glare, the president replied: "I have. He's a scary dude. I could send him up to Congress to get them to vote for health care."
"I'll tell you what, Kansas State impresses me," Obama added. "They always play tough. And I think they're going to be motivated. They get to the Final Four."
Obama predicted several first-round upsets: No. 13 seed Siena over Purdue, 12th-seeded Cornell to beat Temple, and Murray State to upset fourth-seeded Vanderbilt.
"I like Murray State — they've got a well-balanced team and they're athletic," Obama said. "I like Cornell, which I think gave Kansas a run for its money. I think they have a terrific team. And Siena. Look, I feel bad for Purdue."
The fourth-seeded Boilermakers are a trendy upset victim after losing star guard Robbie Hummel to a torn ACL during a game Feb. 24 against Minnesota. Hummel ranked second on the team with 15.7 points and 6.9 rebounds a game.
Other teams that Obama likes include No. 1 seeds Syracuse and Duke, both of which he has losing in the round of eight, seconded-seeded West Virginia and No. 3 seed Georgetown.
Obama was part of a sellout crowd that watched the Hoyas defeat Duke 89-77 on Jan. 30 at the Verizon Center in Washington. He was joined at the game by Vice President Joe Biden, political strategist David Axelrod, press secretary Robert Gibbs and Reggie Love, his personal aide and a former Blue Devils player.
"They don't have any seniors on their team. They're a young team," Obama said of the Hoyas. "But I think they're getting better. I think (Coach John) Thompson does a great job. So I'm feeling pretty good about Georgetown making a nice little run."
Obama also filled out the women's bracket for the first time, picking No. 1 seeds UConn, Tennessee and Stanford to reach the Final Four along with No. 2 seed Notre Dame. He has the Huskies beating Stanford for the second time this season in the national title game.
"They came here last year after they had won the championship," Obama said of the defending national champion Huskies. "Wonderful young women, obviously a great coach and a great program, and so I've been watching them throughout the season, and I think it's fair to say that they're the best team in all of sports right now."
-- Dave Skretta
Ed secretary: ban NCAA teams with low grad rates
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan pushed a proposal Wednesday to bar men's college basketball teams from postseason play if they fail to graduate 40 percent of their players, an idea that didn't go over well with the NCAA and coaches preparing for March Madness.
If put into practice this year, a dozen teams in the NCAA tournament would be ineligible, based on an annual study from the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida.
That includes a No. 1 seed, Kentucky, which graduated 31 percent of its players, according to the institute's latest report.
"Frankly, that's a low bar, and not many teams would be ineligible," Duncan, who played college basketball at Harvard, said on a conference call. "Over time, we should set a higher bar. But it's a minimum, a bright line, which every program should meet to vie for postseason honors."
Duncan emphasized the troubling disparities between graduation rates for black and white players.
The annual report examining the NCAA tournament field found that 45 teams graduated 70 percent or more of their white players, up from 33 teams last year. But only 20 teams graduated at least 70 percent of their black players, the same as last year. Two teams — Maryland and California — graduated none of their black players who started school from 1999 through 2002, Duncan said.
Even so, the study pointed out, graduation rates for black basketball players are 18 percent higher than for male black students who are not athletes.
The men's basketball teams that would barred from postseason play this year if Duncan's idea were adopted: Maryland (8 percent graduation rate), California (20 percent), Arkansas-Pine Bluff (29 percent), Washington (29 percent), Tennessee (30 percent), Kentucky, Baylor (36 percent), Missouri (36 percent), New Mexico State (36 percent), Clemson (37 percent), Georgia Tech (38 percent) and Louisville (38 percent).
Bob Williams, an NCAA spokesman, said the sports governing body shares Duncan's concern about low graduation rates of some tournament teams. But he said the NCAA believes a ban based on graduation rates wrongly penalizes current student-athletes for the academic performances of those who entered as freshman eight to 11 years ago.
The numbers cited Wednesday by Duncan measure six-year graduation rates for the freshman classes that entered college from the 1999-2000 through 2002-03 school years. Schools are not penalized for players who transfer or go to the NBA as long as they are in good academic standing at the time.
For the past six years, the NCAA has used a formula called the Academic Progress Rate that measures factors such as athletes' academic eligibility, progress toward graduation and staying in school. A school faces sanctions if it fails to achieve a certain score for two consecutive years.
So far one school, Centenary, has been banned from Division I postseason basketball under the system. Another three — Georgia Tech, Tennessee and New Mexico State — have lost scholarships, Williams said.
"What we want to do at the end of the day is change behavior so that when people come to college, they have to be prepared to do the work and institutions are prepared to support them academically," Williams said. "We shouldn't measure success by how many teams receive a ban."
Duncan said that while the NCAA has made progress in recent years, it hasn't gone far enough. He said making the postseason is "the prize," and a great motivation. Duncan said he's open to using a different calculation other than older graduation rates if it is "fair, honest and transparent."
Duncan made a similar argument speaking at an NCAA conference earlier this year, but is using the spotlight of the tournament to press his case again. The federal government can't mandate minimum graduation rates for postseason eligibility. That's the NCAA's decision.
Coaches' reactions were largely critical.
"We're going to graduate three seniors on this team, and we're going to have a junior that's going to graduate this year," Kentucky's John Calipari said. "So, academically, I'm all about that."
Tennessee Coach Bruce Pearl said his program is "disappointed and apologetic in many, many ways to be on that list." He said numbers have improved each year he's been there but "they're not where I want them to be. I want to graduate them all."
However, Pearl also said Duncan should concentrate his efforts on secondary education, saying the real problems lie in under-equipped schools beset with budget issues.
"I share the pain in not having student-athletes graduate," Pearl said. "But I don't want to deny the opportunity to students that aren't prepared. And I'm going to stand up here and I'm going to fight for the student-athletes that come in and aren't as prepared."
Georgetown coach John Thompson III, whose university gets high marks for graduation rates, said Duncan's 40 percent cutoff "sounds harsh. That's just my initial thought. Our responsibility is to help young men grow up. And when you say graduate, what time frame are we talking about? What are the other factors that fall into place? Are we talking about a four-year window, five-year window, 10-year window?"
-- Eric Gorski
Notebook: Aussies invade Providence for NCAA tournament
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Is this Providence or Perth?
When No. 10 seed St. Mary's plays seventh-seeded Richmond in the South Regional on Thursday, six of the players suiting up will be from the deep, deep south: Australia.
Five Aussies play for the Gaels, who have had a pipeline from Down Under since Adam Caporn came over in 2001. He attracted Daniel Kickert to the program, who helped attract Patty Mills, and the rest followed.
"Mills kind of opened up the flood gates as far as that goes because he's such a big-name guy all the kids look up to," said St. Mary's coach Randy Bennett. "If it was good enough for Pat and Daniel and Caporn, I guess the rest of them thought it was good enough for them."
Forward Ben Allen said he transfered from Indiana after talking to fellow countryman Lucas Walker while on an Australian basketball tour.
"He was on the St. Mary's team, just transferred as well," Allen said, "and he talked to me about transferring. I wasn't getting much playing time for Indiana, and I thought it would be a better idea for me to go out and get more playing time."
Allen said he doesn't know Josh Dunker, the sophomore from Sydney who plays for Richmond.
Crikey, it's a big country.
FORMER NEIGHBORS: Villanova coach Jay Wright will be playing a former neighbor when his No. 2 seed Wildcats take on 15th-seeded Robert Morris in the South regional on Thursday.
Colonials coach Mike Rice used to live right down the street in Philadelphia when he was an assistant at Saint Joseph's from 2004-06. And there's just a little bad blood there.
"I'm just upset that Mike told a story about me smoking a cigar when I told my wife I wasn't smoking cigars at my kids' Little League games," Wright joked.
Rice took advantage of his time in Philly to build a recruiting base. Robert Morris has four players and three coaches from the city.
"A lot of people don't go into the city of Philadelphia and recruit, because they say, 'Oh, you're never going to get that kid. Oh, you don't have a connection there," Rice said. "To be there and to coach there, to really build that relationship is going to be a lasting positive."
The Colonials also start a player named Dallas Green at forward. But he's no relation to the former baseball manager who led the Phillies to the World Series title in 1980.
PICKS AND POLITICS: Kansas State guard Jacob Pullen tried to act nonplussed when told President Barack Obama picked the Wildcats to reach the Final Four out of the West Regional.
"I voted for him so he had to vote for us," Pullen said Wednesday.
Actually, the Wildcats were honored to be a favorite on the executive bracket. Playing out in the Little Apple, they don't get much national attention.
"We're from small Manhattan, Kansas, and we've got President Obama watching us, which means we're doing something big," said forward Curtis Kelly said.
Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl thinks there might have been a political motivation behind President Obama's decision to pick his No. 6-seeded Volunteers to advance past No. 11 San Diego State in the first round of the Midwest Regional.
"I think President Obama overwhelmingly carried the State of California," Pearl said. "He doesn't need to be concerned there. He didn't carry Tennessee."
The president has Tennessee losing in the second round to Georgetown. His Final Four is Kansas, Kansas State, Villanova and Kentucky, and he has Kansas beating Kentucky for the title.
"I think it's really neat that he's willing to do the brackets and (tick) half the people off," Pearl said.
SUNFLOWER LOCKER ROOM: Here's an interesting locker room pairing in Oklahoma City: Kansas and Kansas State.
The two in-state rivals aren't actually in the same room, but they're right next to each other inside the Ford Center.
Has there been any animosity?
Not yet.
For all the heat of this rivalry, the players actually like each other.
"I don't know if I'm pulling for them, but they're good guys," Kansas guard Tyshawn Taylor said. "We have good competition and I love playing with them. I'm rooting for my Big 12 teams, so I guess I can say I hope they do well."
LOUISIANA APPETITE: There are several reasons why Baylor coach Scott Drew was pleased to open the NCAA tournament in New Orleans — and not all of them have to do with basketball.
The coach's father, Homer Drew, was an assistant to longtime LSU coach Dale Brown in the 1970s. The younger Drew said he ate his first solid food in Louisiana, "so that's why I love Cajun food, I guess."
Drew is also a fan of Louisiana athletes. His starting guards, Tweety Carter and Lacedarius Dunn, are both from the state. Carter grew up near New Orleans, while Dunn is from Monroe. Both went to small Christian high schools and played against each other in the state playoffs.
"We come down here just to eat, so recruiting makes it easy," Scott said. "There's a lot of great talent in this state, and we'll continue to recruit here most definitely."
Baylor, the No. 3 seed, opens against Sam Houston State on Thursday.
-- Pat Eaton-Robb
Team Features
Buckeyes loose and ready for NCAA debut
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Evan Turner sat down and, just like a lot of kids would if given the chance to play with a live microphone, began to make a rhythm sound with his mouth while pretending he was performing in concert.
"This is a March Madness piece," he said, laughing.
Teammate David Lighty scoffed at the impromptu — and off-key — rendition: "His beat was terrible."
That's how No. 5 Ohio State began a news conference on Wednesday about all the pressures and hype surrounding the NCAA tournament and the Buckeyes' first-round date with UC Santa Barbara in Milwaukee at 9:30 on Friday night.
For the record, the Buckeyes appear to be anything but uptight and nervous.
They addressed several serious topics with the silliness expected of underclassmen who are now officially on spring break.
At the same time, they spoke like old hands about this NCAA stuff.
"We're more relaxed, we're a very experienced team," guard Jon Diebler said. "Coach (Thad Matta) always says, 'Act like you've been there.' Well, we have been there. We haven't won a tournament game yet, but we know what to expect now."
These are good days to be a Buckeye. Second-seeded Ohio State (27-7) has won 15 of its last 17 games, including the last seven, following up a share of the Big Ten title by winning the conference tournament with two dramatic victories and then a blowout in the finals over Minnesota.
Turner, the top player in the conference and a favorite to be the national player of the year, is on one of Sports Illustrated's regional covers this week. He even had his name dropped by a particularly big college basketball fan.
"It is good to be here in the Buckeye State. Congratulations on winning the Big Ten championship," President Barack Obama said before a speech on health care on Monday in Strongsville, Ohio. "Yes, that kid Turner looks pretty good. You guys are doing all right."
Turner, averaging 20.3 points, 9.2 rebounds and 6 assists a game, was humbled by the mention.
"That was pretty nice of him. That was really cool. He didn't have to say that," he said. "That's something that I have to go back and think about it later."
One reason the Buckeyes feel especially good about themselves and their NCAA chances is a year-old disappointment. Four starters are juniors, and they missed the biggest tournament two years ago (although they did go on to win the NIT). So when they made the NCAA field a year ago, it was a new experience.
It didn't last long. Seeded eighth, they fell to ninth-seeded Siena 74-72 in double-overtime in the first round, blowing a 14-point second-half lead.
"We were kind of happy that we made it last year," said Lighty, unable to play in that game after missing most of the season with a broken bone in his foot. "We were just so excited about finally getting to the tournament. Now that we're there (again) we know what it takes to win a game in the tournament, just from the experience. That, our play right now, and our mindset will probably be the biggest things that will give us an advantage."
The loss to Siena taught the current Buckeyes several important lessons.
"Every team's good. Just because you have 'Ohio State' across your chest doesn't mean you're guaranteed to win. Also, you can't relax against any team," said Diebler, the Buckeyes' 3-point-shooting specialist. "Now you lose and you're done. And I know a lot of us don't want to be done. We're still hoping to spend our spring break here, practicing every day."
Seven of the Buckeyes are recovering from a strain of the flu that spread through the team the past couple of days. But Matta said everyone is healthy and will be fine with another night's rest.
There has been some complaining by Ohio State's fans that the Buckeyes were stuck in the same regional as top-ranked Kansas, the tournament favorite. But Matta made it clear that he's far more concerned with just winning the three games it would take to get to a potential showdown with the Jayhawks.
"I'll give you a great answer (if we end up) playing Kansas, how unfair I think it is," he said with a laugh. "But I'd just like to get there."
Ohio State's omnipresent fans are expected to flood Milwaukee for the game, just a few hours' drive away. Turner, a Chicago native, expected around 30 relatives and friends to make the short drive.
"My family usually travels in a pack," he said with a smile.
As appealing as it is to the Buckeyes to be playing relatively close to home, Matta said he'd prefer to be playing in an easier bracket farther away.
"Absolutely. Give me easy," he cracked. "I'm an American, man. Give me the easy way."
Despite all the good feelings surrounding the Buckeyes, not everyone thinks they'll go deep in the tournament.
After all, the First Fan mentioned Turner, but he picked Kansas to win the title.
-- Rusty Miller
Pitt, Gibbs shooting for more in NCAA tournament
PITTSBURGH — Ashton Gibbs glanced at the statistics sheet following Pittsburgh's 50-45 loss to Notre Dame in the Big East tournament and didn't believe what he saw.
The Panthers, forced into a slow-paced game by the Fighting Irish's deliberate offense, scored only 16 points in the second half.
Another number surprised him, too: Gibbs, Pitt's leading scorer and lone proven outside shooter, took only four shots. Or as many shots as some top shooters manage in four or five possessions.
"I want to take what the defense gives me, and I took four shots. It's something that I did — and we lost," Gibbs said.
In a season that began with coach Jamie Dixon re-emphasizing the importance of playing don't-give-them-a-step defense, the third-seeded Panthers' inconsistent offense might be their biggest worry heading into Friday's NCAA West Regional game against 14th-seeded Oakland (26-8) in Milwaukee.
While the Panthers are among college basketball's biggest overachievers, winning 24 games after being picked to finish ninth in the Big East Conference, they've regressed offensively since last season.
They allow an average of only 61.4 points per game, but their scoring average is down nearly 10 points per game — from 77.8 to 68.1. They've been held to 66 points or fewer in eight of their last 15 games, a slump that has forced them to play excellent defense merely to stay in games.
Gibbs is a concern, too. After scoring 20 or more points three times in a four-game span from Feb. 8-21, he has been held to 13 points or fewer in four of his last five games and five of his last seven.
It's difficult to have a big game when a player is getting only four shots.
"I'm looking at how I can get myself more open — that wasn't a regular routine for me during the season — but at the same time, I'm going to take what the defense gives me and not try to force anything," Gibbs said. "My team has been doing a great job of finding me open spots and screening for me, now it's my turn to get away from my man and get as open a shot as I can."
Pitt senior Jermaine Dixon suggested there was another reason for Pitt's inability to score against Notre Dame.
"Notre Dame slowed the game down big time, but when we got shots, we took quick shots," he said. "They were holding the ball for 30, 35 seconds. We've got to take better shots."
Gibbs needs to take more shots, if only because he understands what can happen if Pitt keeps struggling for points.
This is Pitt's ninth consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament, yet the Panthers have advanced past the round of 16 only once since 2002 — losing to Villanova 78-76 in a regional final last season.
"Anybody can be beaten at any given time," Gibbs said before the Panthers left Wednesday for Milwaukee. "Being in the NCAA tournament is something you've got to cherish. We have a good seeding now, and it's our turn to take advantage of it."
Jamie Dixon likes that Pitt beat Marquette at Milwaukee's Bradley Center only last month, since that's where the Panthers play Friday — and, if they win, where they will play Sunday against sixth-seeded Xavier or 11th-seeded Minnesota. The Panthers beat Xavier 60-55 in a regional semifinal last season.
Gilbert Brown, one of only three current Pitt players who played substantial roles in the tournament last season, also isn't scoring consistently. His scoring totals over his last 12 games: 25 points, 0, 23, 6, 16, 5, 16, 3, 17, 0, 19, 3. The 5-point game was at Marquette.
Based on his pattern, at least Brown is due for a big game against Oakland.
"If we can maintain our focus, and just go out there and execute like we're supposed to, we should be fine in these first couple of games, even though I know they're going to be tough ones," Brown said. "You see the potential games that you could play (later), but your main objective is to focus on the first game."
-- Alan Robinson
Seminoles head to tourney slowed by shooting woes
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — After an impressive regular season three-game romp through the Atlantic Coast Conference, Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton thought his sophomore-dominated team was on its way. That only time would tell how far the Seminoles might go.
During a 10-day stretch in mid-February, the Seminoles ripped Boston College, Virginia and North Carolina by 15, 19 and 10 points respectively — the last two among Florida State's five road wins in league play.
But then the unranked, defensively oriented Seminoles (22-9) suddenly found themselves unable to score, blew a late lead at home to Clemson on Feb. 28 and were knocked out of the ACC tournament last week by 11th-seeded North Carolina State.
"Our execution wasn't nearly as good as it was in those games and we've been working the last couple of days to make sure we're getting back to that level," Hamilton said Wednesday. "It requires all of us being on the same page at the same time."
The Seminoles finished with enough gold stars on its NCAA resume to qualify for their second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament after an 11-year drought.
But those two late season losses, sandwiched around sloppy wins over Miami and a slumping Wake Forest team, left the Seminoles seeded ninth in the West Regional with their opening round test in faraway Buffalo, N.Y. against a Gonzaga (26-6) team that travels even a greater distance to play. It's the first meeting for the Seminoles and the Jesuit university from Spokane, Wash.
"They're a lot like gunslingers," Hamilton said about the Bulldogs from Spokane. "They'll play anybody, anywhere. They had a helluva (nonconference) schedule and withstood the test."
Even with their own quick draw guard, Toney Douglas, a year ago, the Seminoles didn't get past the first round in the NCAA tournament — losing to Wisconsin.
Douglas led the Seminoles in scoring in 31 of 35 games last season and gave Florida State a clear go-to player, something they've missed this season as seven different players have snared game highs.
"We really don't talk about last year's team," Hamilton said. "We've grown up. I'm focusing on where we are now."
Two of the five sophomores in Hamilton's eight-man rotation, 7-1 Solomon Alabi (11.6 points , 6.2 rebounds) and 6-9 ACC defensive player of the year Chris Singleton (10.3, 7-1 rebounds) were the lone Seminoles who averaged double figures.
Neither is as effective without production from 3-point sharpshooter Deividas Dulkys and slashing freshman guard Michael Snaer. When they're cold, it can be a tough night for the Seminoles regardless of how well their defense performs.
"The potential is here for us to be a good offensive team," Hamilton said. "I feel positive we've been able to accomplish what we have with the shortcomings that we have. Hopefully that'll be good enough for us to proceed through the NCAA tournament."
Florida State has steadily climbed the ladder during Hamilton's eight seasons in the perennially rugged ACC, climaxed with a third place finish this year after being fourth a year ago. Only third-ranked Duke has a better record in the ACC over the past two seasons than the Seminoles' 20-12 mark.
Now, Hamilton knows, future progress will be measured by performance in the NCAA tournament.
He believes the Seminoles will have to score 70 points or better to beat Gonzaga.
"When we're challenged, we seem to respond very well," he said. "I'm expecting us to bounce back from the North Carolina State game, but more than anything else I'm expecting us to really be a lot more in sync."
-- Brent Kallestad
Georgia Tech players checking cell phones at door
ATLANTA — Georgia Tech players plan to give up their cell phones once again — this time before the NCAA tournament.
The Yellow Jackets have already reaped the benefits of muting distractions this postseason.
Georgia Tech players relinquished their phones before last week's Atlantic Coast Conference tournament and then made a run to the championship game.
But some of the players were skeptical when they first heard coach Paul Hewitt's suggestion. However, success has made believers out of them.
So the Yellow Jackets (22-12) are adopting the self-imposed ban again.
Senior D'Andre Bell says the move helped the Yellow Jackets become closer as a team. The players talked more with each other instead of texting with friends and family members.
"I felt as if we were a family for the first time," Bell said, adding there were tangible benefits on the court. "Trust. More selfless moments out there on the floor."
Some players had to be won over by the idea that they needed to spend time away from their cell phones.
"I don't want to say we never talked," said guard Iman Shumpert. "Not having your cell phone, though we didn't anticipate it having that much of an effect, I think it did have a really big effect.
"Guys are hanging out or getting sleep. It definitely makes you hang around each other, because we're the only people we can talk to."
Bell said he expected the strategy would be successful.
"I wasn't surprised at all because anytime we were at the dinner table all you could hear was texting, buttons being pushed, looking down at the phone," Bell said. "Now it's fun arguments or insightful discussions about who we think is better in sports or where we came from or why we think a certain way. We really got a chance to learn about each other."
Bell and other players say that led to better communication on the court and may have been a factor in freshman Derrick Favors emerging as a more vocal and confident player in the ACC tournament.
"He's an introvert," said Bell of Favors. "He normally walks with his head down and walks slow. He was walking with his head up. He is exuding a whole different persona, even off the court."
Bell shook his head in disbelief when he said Favors "was actually talking" on the court.
"He was involved in these conversations. He actually started some of these conversations," Bell said.
"This is the most he has ever talked. In the game he was like 'Hey I was open. Give me the ball. When I do this, this is what that means.'"
The 6-foot-10 Favors, the ACC's rookie of the year, had a career-high 22 points and 11 rebounds in Tech's 65-61 ACC championship game loss to Duke.
Hewitt said he only suggested the ban and then left the room when players voted.
Bell said the vote was not unanimous but all players turned in their cell phones.
Hewitt said his idea for the cell phone ban was just his latest attempt to bring the players together.
"I just didn't think that we were connecting as much as I wanted to see and I'd been trying to find ways to get that all year," Hewitt said.
The result took Hewitt back to his playing days.
"That was the most chatter I had heard at the back of the bus all year," Hewitt said. "It was like the old days when I was playing. We played cards, we talked, we slept. That was it."
Added Hewitt, holding his hands together as if texting, "It was none of this."
Georgia Tech, the Midwest Regional's No. 10 seed, will play No. 7 seed Oklahoma State (22-10) in Milwaukee. The Georgia Tech-Oklahoma State winner will play Sunday against the winner of No. 2 seed Ohio State's game against UC-Santa Barbara.
It wasn't easy for some of the players to spend most of the week without their phones. Even Bell, an enthusiastic supporter of the move, had to make peace with some of his friends when he returned to Atlanta.
"I had 87 text messages and I had about 10 voice mails," Bell said. "When my phone is off, it doesn't give me missed calls, but I had a lot of angry people on text messages."
Those "angry people" will have to brace for another period of mobile detachment from the Georgia Tech players. Hewitt is not one to mess with a winning strategy.
-- Charles Odum
Cal suspends Amoke for NCAAs, perhaps beyond
BERKELEY, Calif. — California starting forward Omondi Amoke has been suspended indefinitely by coach Mike Montgomery for a violation of team rules, a blow for the eighth-seeded Golden Bears heading into their NCAA opener against No. 7 Louisville on Friday in Jacksonville, Fla.
The school provided no further details about what the 6-foot-7 sophomore did to be suspended. Cal is coming off its first Pac-10 regular-season title in 50 years.
Amoke moved into the starting lineup late in the season and had started 14 games total. He was averaging 4.8 points and 4.6 rebounds.
