C'mon now Zebras!

As I have been watching the NCAA Tourney I have been disappointed. The Officiating has been AWFUL!

Saturday March 19th- Butler vs. Pitt

With less than 2 seconds left Butler's Shelvin Mack fouls Pitt's Gilbert Brown. Brown steps up to the line down 1. He hits the first but misses the second. As Butler's Matt Howard snags the rebound Pitt's Nasir Robinson grabs a hold of his arm while the game was tied at 70! I just don't see how the refs can go so whistle happy at the end of the game. Im under the influence in the final seconds of a game you let the boys play.

Sunday March 20th- North Carolina vs. Washington

Washington has the ball with 5 seconds left down 3. The ball is Thrown up in the air from half court by Washington with 3 seconds left. Stupidly enough a Carolina player jumps up and tries to grab it, bouncing off of his hand at about 1.2 seconds left. But the clock continues to roll down to .5 seconds. The refs don't even think about looking at a replay, thus giving the game away to the 'Heels.

Sunday March 20th- Texas vs. Arizona

Texas has the ball up by 2 with 14 seconds left. Texas gets called for a 5 second violation. But hold on Texas coach Rick Barnes signals for a timeout at the 4 second mark left in the inbounds. The zebras don't give Texas the OBVIOUS timeout and Arizona gets the ball, converts a 3 point play and goes on to win.

Thursday march 24th- UConn vs. SD St.

After a UConn timeout a San Diego St. walks to his bench clapping due to his enthusiasm  and bumps UConn's Kemba Walker on the shoulder. Kemba Walker, being a smart player, sells it and collapses to the floor. The Aztec gets a Technical foul and the game was never the same because of a HUGE momentum switch.

The Officiating this year has been disgraceful. Get the calls right and I'm a happy fan. So C'MON NOW ZEBRAS! Get it right!

Cinderella? Eh I'll Pass

Like myself, many people enjoy seeing the "Cinderella" stories at this time in March. I love it when a 4 Seed gets upset by a 13 seed. But in my opinion, I find it to be kind of annoying as the Tournament goes on. I want to see the big boys square off. I don't want to see Morehead State vs Richmond. I will pass on Wisconsin vs. Butler. I want to see the best teams in college basketball play and fight to get a win against each other. I may be in the minority here. The tournament is set up to crown a champion. But in reality more times than not, I walk away from the basketball season saying to myself "The best team in basketball wasn't awarded the trophy."

Take last year for example. Kansas and Kentucky were clearly the two best teams in the nation. Both of these teams were praised by analysts around the country. I would have loved to have seen these two battle it out for the Championship. But Kansas got beat in the Second round to Northern Iowa, and Kentucky lost to West Virginia in the Elite 8. So instead we got a good Duke team against an average, to say the least, Butler team. It ended up being a fantastic game but I walked away hungry.

It is my belief that there is a flaw in the Men's College Basketball method of crowning a champion. The winner of the Championship in my belief does not show us a Champion. It shows us who can reel off six straight wins.

Show me the Power Houses.

March Madness is Here

The season of March Madness is upon us. To us hardcore College Hoops fans, this is almost like a second Christmas. It is one of the most riveting, and exciting times of the year. You have the usual great basketball teams squaring off, but thrown into that you've got the "Cinderella" teams. With that being said, I would like to offer some of my thoughts on this years tournament:

The Good.

The Xavier Muskateers (24-7) are a force to be reckoned with. I would consider Tu Holloway as one of the most exciting players in all of the land. I really like them to move on vs. Marquette in the first round. I also find there matchup against the Syracuse zone favorable. Syracuse has trouble with quick Point Guards.Tu Holloway will have a field day breaking through the defense. I might be crazy but I like the Muskateers to reach the Final Four.

The Bad

The Wisconsin Badgers (23-8) have some good shooters to say the least, but they just aren't getting it done for me. They come into the "Big Dance" losing 2 strait to Ohio State and Penn State. The Buckeyes completely embarrassed the Badgers in a 93-65 beatdown. They also lost to Penn St. in the Big 10 tournament 36-33. Thats right they scored 33 points in 40 minutes of basketball. Thats just embarrassing. I expect them to get bounced out to Belmont.

The Ugly

The Villanova Wildcats (21-11) come limping into the tourney losing 5 strait and losing 10 of their last 15 ball games. This is just shameful if you are a Villanova faithful. I can somewhat understand losing to teams like UConn, Pitt, St. Johns and Notre Dame. But losing to Providence, Rutgers and South Florida? Thats just UGLY. Thankfully for the Cats they started strong enough to get an NCAA tourney bid. I see the Cats losing to George Mason early.

So fill out your bracket, grab your remote, sit back and let the MADNESS BEGIN!