The slate of games Friday seemed like the hangover most of us suffer on the weekends, nothing compared to the day we had before and just sort of boring. Saturday was another great day of basketball that brought us some new heroes, and new Cinderellas.
In one of my brackets, I went with Richmond over Villanova because I felt the Cats had peaked mid-way through the season and I never thought Jay Wright's prized recruiting class really fit in with the old guns of Corey Fisher, Scottie Reynolds, and Reggie Redding. Well, I was wrong about Richmond but right about Nova riding off into the sunset in the second round. For how good Reynolds played last season in the tournament, he looked like the fifth man off the bench for both games. Despite having 15 against Bob Morris, almost all of that was earned at the line.
The St. Mary Gaels proved that there was another good WCC team other than Gonzaga led by their big man Omar Samhan. He dropped 32 in the second round game and looked like a force to be reckoned with for the rest of the tournament. He impressed me with his multiple post moves, and the energy he brings to the game on the offensive and defensive. I wouldn't doubt them against Baylor next weekend.
The St. Mary's-Nova game was the beginning of an awesome day of basketball when the Panthers of Northern Iowa pulled off the mammoth upset against Kansas. We were cleaning the tornado that was our house when the first half was happening. My buddy Eric informed me UNI was up early and I shrugged it off because I knew Kansas seemingly played down to their opponents then find a way to turn it on leading them to victory. The utter opposite happened as the Panthers continued their dominance over the Jayhawks. Ali Farokhmanesh displayed the biggest set of grapefruits as Vince McMahon once said hitting that three from the corner up 1, plenty of time on shot clock, late in the game... I screamed what was he doing and went nuts after he made the shot. I am not doubting the Panthers couldn't go further than Sweet 16, they seem poised, calm, and that belief they can beat anyone.
A lot like Nova, none of their primetime players showed up when it mattered the most. Sheron Collins was less than steller, Xavier Henry did nothing from the outside, and Cole Aldrich played okay but none of the great Kansas players tried to be the man. Can we agree that Bill Self might be a choke come tournament time? Yes, I understand he won a national championship two years ago, but defeats to Bucknell, Bradley, and UNI speak volumes to me personally. I regret even thinking, pondering that this team could have been as good as 2005 North Carolina... not even close.
Final observation of Saturday is Kentucky overall play. I understand they have beat two scrubs in Wake Forest, and East Tennessee State yet who expects Darius Miller to have the best game of the day? I will be honest with you, I never heard of Miller on UK come Saturday night. He dropped 20 in the first half leading them to victory. The three-headed monster inside of Daniel Orton-Patrick Patterson-DeMarcus Cousins is unlike anything in the tournament. I wish I took the Wildcats further but I believed their youth would get in the way of making a deep run. It's too early to compare them to the Fab Five of Michigan or even mention them together because the FF never had a guy like Patterson who has a ton of experience. I am starting to believe there isn't a team who can stop the Wildcats.
-Charlie.
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