NCAA bracket breakdown AP Graphics BKC SWEET 16 MATCHUPS, BKC SWEET 16 PREVIEW
A look at the matchups for the third round of the NCAA tournament (seedings in parentheses):
Thursday's Games
SOUTH REGIONAL
At San Antonio
Texas A&M (3) vs. Memphis (2)
Texas A&M - UP: The Aggies get to play closer to home than they did in the first two rounds, which included beating Louisville less than 80 miles from its campus.
DOWN: The Aggies have to return to their defensive ways after allowing Louisville to score 69 points, 10 over their average, and shoot 44 percent, well above the 37 percent that is second-best in the country.
Memphis - UP: The Tigers shot 73.8 percent (45-for-61) from the free-throw line in their two wins, well above their season mark of 61.8 percent, which is one of the worst in Division I.
DOWN: Leading scorer Chris Douglas-Roberts (15.4), who had 16 points in each of the tournament wins, sprained his left ankle against Nevada on Sunday and his status for Thursday is uncertain.
Ohio State (1) vs. Tennessee (5)
Ohio State - UP: The Buckeyes found out they can overcome the loss of Greg Oden when they rallied for 78-71 overtime victory over Xavier after the freshman center fouled out near the end of regulation. Freshman point guard Mike Conley Jr. scored 11 points in the overtime.
DOWN: Oden has to prove he can overcome the foul trouble he faced against Xavier, including the frustration of the hard foul with seconds left that kept him from playing in the overtime.
Tennessee - UP: The Volunteers are playing as well as they have all season and have to be bolstered by their 68-66 last-minute loss at Ohio State in January, one of Oden's best games of the season with 24 points and 15 rebounds.
DOWN: The Volunteers had trouble defending the backcourts in their first two games and guards Mike Conley Jr. and Ron Lewis of the Buckeyes had solid games against them earlier in the season.
WEST REGIONAL
At San Jose, Calif.
Kansas (1) vs. Southern Illinois (4)
Kansas - UP: The Jayhawks were impressive on offense in the opening rounds, averaging 95 points with seven players scoring nine or more against Niagara and five getting that many against Kentucky. Kansas shot 61 percent (23-for-38) from 3-point range in the two games.
DOWN: Three of the Jayhawks' four losses this season have come in games when the opponent tries to control the tempo, the way Southern Illinois plays.
Southern Illinois - UP: The Salukis are third in the nation in defense, allowing 56.1 points per game, a number neither Holy Cross nor Virginia Tech reached against them in the first two rounds. The Salukis matched their season high with 12 3-pointers against Virginia Tech.
DOWN: Junior forward Matt Shaw, the Salukis' third-leading scorer (11.4), sprained his ankle against Holy Cross, didn't play against Virginia Tech and is questionable for Kansas, which averages 79.5 points per game.
UCLA (2) vs. Pittsburgh (3)
UCLA - UP: The Bruins will play their third straight game in California, the same route they took in reaching the championship game last season. They held their opponents to 42 and 49 points in the first two rounds, their second- and third-best defensive efforts of the season.
DOWN: Leading scorer Arron Afflalo (16.7) had one of his worst games of the season in the second-round win over Indiana, shooting 2-for-11 from the field (0-for-3 on 3s) in scoring 10 points. The Bruins shot 36 percent (17-for-47) in that game, well off their season mark of 48 percent.
Pittsburgh - UP: The Panthers survived a bad ending to regulation when Levance Fields missed two free throws with 2 seconds left and the score tied to beat Virginia Commonwealth in overtime. Center Aaron Gray played more like himself the last two games after struggling through the Big East tournament.
DOWN: The Panthers shot just 61 percent (25-for-41) from the free-throw line in the first two games while averaging 16.5 turnovers. They will have a much longer trip to get ready for what should be an emotion-filled matchup against former Pitt coach Ben Howland.
EAST REGIONAL
At East Rutherford, N.J.
Georgetown (2) vs. Vanderbilt (6)
Georgetown - UP: Seven-foot-2 center Roy Hibbert dominated inside in the Hoyas' first two games with double-doubles, averaging 13.5 points and 12.5 rebounds while blocking five shots.
DOWN: The Hoyas were just 4-for-16 from 3-point range against Boston College in the second round, a game in which six players accounted for all but six minutes played.
Vanderbilt - UP: Derrick Byars lived up to the billing as Southeastern Conference player of the year with 27 points, 15 on 3s, in the double-overtime win over Washington State. He played 45 minutes, the last 13 with four fouls.
DOWN: The Commodores had the longest trip of all the teams still playing going from Nashville to Sacramento to East Rutherford. They have been outrebounded by an average of 1.8 per game, while the Hoyas grab 5.8 more than their opponents.
North Carolina (1) vs. Southern California (5)
North Carolina - UP: The Tar Heels are one of the deepest teams in the country with 10 players averaging 10 minutes a game. They are second in the country in scoring (86.1) and third in rebound margin (8.7).
DOWN: The Tar Heels had three players score 67 of their 81 points in the second-round win over Michigan State, well off their usual balance that has five players averaging between 18.6 and 9.8.
Southern California - UP: Freshman center Taj Gibson had 17 points and 14 rebounds in the Trojans' second-round win over Texas in which they held the Longhorns to 68 points, 14 below their season average.
DOWN: The Trojans have to make a cross-country trip and get ready for a team that will want to play at a much quicker tempo. They have only won six times this season when their opponent scores more than 70 points.
MIDWEST REGIONAL
At St. Louis
Florida (1) vs. Butler (5)
Florida - UP: The Gators have become a second-half team, outscoring the two opponents last weekend 116-70 after halftime. They used second-half domination in both of their Final Four wins last season on the way to the national championship.
DOWN: The Gators have struggled at the start of both games in the tournament, about the only thing they have done wrong.
BUTLER - UP: The Bulldogs have registered wins over five schools from the power conferences, including Maryland in the second round. They are 8-0 on neutral courts this season, one in which they reached a Top 10 ranking for the first time in school history.
DOWN: The Bulldogs don't match up well against Florida in any statistical category, especially rebounding. Butler is outrebounded by 1.5 per game, while the Gators are fourth in the nation at plus 8.2.
Oregon (3) vs. UNLV (7)
Oregon - UP: The Ducks were 11-for-23 from 3-point range in their second-round win over Winthrop, well above their season mark of 38.6 percent. In their eight-game winning streak only one team has scored more than 63 points.
DOWN: The Ducks' starters have dominated the minutes in the tournament, playing all but 25 in the opener against Miami and all but 26 against Winthrop and they didn't outrebound either opponent.
UNLV - UP: After struggling with their shooting in the opening win over Georgia Tech, the Runnin' Rebels shot 46 percent against Wisconsin, including going 10-for-20 from 3-point range. Point guard Kevin Kruger averaged 7.5 assists in the two victories.
DOWN: The Runnin' Rebels are banged up heading into a game where they will meet a team that likes to run as much as they do. Wink Adams has a badly bruised his tailbone and Kruger, his backcourt mate, is recovering from a bruised ankle. Swingman Wendell White is nursing bruised ribs.
AP NEWS
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Terry's status uncertain for regional semi vs. USC
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- North Carolina senior Reyshawn Terry again sat out practice while recovering from strep throat, leaving his status in doubt for Friday night's East Regional semifinal against Southern California.
"We're hoping, but I am not real, real encouraged," coach Roy Williams said Thursday.
The 6-foot-8 Terry is averaging 9.8 points for the top-seeded Tar Heels. He scored 14 points Saturday in a win over Michigan State.
While his teammates ran through a loose practice Thursday afternoon, Terry sat on the bench in sweats, occasionally dribbling a ball between his legs. He did little during the Tar Heels' morning workout.
Terry has been sick for several days.
"Now his throat is more [of] a problem, the lack of energy, not eating for a couple of days," Williams said.
If Terry does not start, Williams said either Marcus Ginyard or Danny Green would play in his place.
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LET'S DANCE!
Lock in brackets, march to a TV, let madness begin
Posted on Thu, Mar. 15, 2007
By K.O. Jackson
The Journal Gazette
Associated Press
Have you left your bracket picks to the laaaaast minute? Your odds of picking the perfect bracket are still 9 quintillion to 1.
A little office dancing in March could lead to huge shopping in May.
But first, Wanda Jenkins has to pick the winner of the 2007 NCAA Tournament in her company's office pool.
With 64 teams divided into four regions competing for the national championship, the odds of picking a perfect tournament bracket are 9,223,372,036,854,775,809 (9.2 quintillion) to 1.
If that sounds maddening, consider: "If everyone in the world filled out a bracket a million times," says R.J. Bell, president of the Las Vegas-based Pregame.com, one of the country's largest sports betting information Web sites, "the odds would still be 1,000 to 1 someone would have a perfect bracket. You have better odds playing scratch off lottery tickets.
"I call office pools the 'herd mentality.' The NCAA says there are more than 30 million office pools in the U.S. More than $3 billion will be wagered on games until the championship.
"While the Super Bowl is the biggest single sporting event, the NCAA Tournament is right behind it. People become fans of the games. They root, cheer and bet when they don't do it all year. But being in an office pool and winning one gives them something to talk to their friends about."
Or, gives them someone to take shopping.
Jenkins, 28, isn't sure which team she will select. Her favorite team is the University of Michigan, where she met her husband, Phillip, but the Wolverines aren't dancing this year.
As a result, Jenkins plans to "look for a team that has a cute coach and dresses nice. I don't know," she says as she, her husband and several friends watched college basketball games recently at Hooters.
"If I do win, I am going to save that money and go to that Vera Bradley sale in May with my girlfriends and leave him at home."
Selecting a winning team or filling out a bracket based on a coach's appearance isn't exactly how Bell advises people to fill out winning brackets.
Instead, the Ohio native and Ohio State University finance major's Web site offers insights that are understandable to novice observers and bettors.
"Our Web site is more for the casual fan. In fact, we cater to casual fans and people in office pools," says Bell, adding that since last week, he has appeared on more than 30 national radio and TV shows and has conducted numerous newspaper interviews discussing bracketology.
"What we've done is edit things down (more) than what you may find elsewhere (about filling out brackets). It's like being in school and having to read the book or reading (Cliffs) Notes. If you have time, read the book. If you don'thave time, read (Cliffs) Notes. We are the (Cliffs) Notes since most people don't have time to read the book.
"There are some simple rules we follow: The No. 1 seeds always win the first two games. Since 1989, a No. 12 seed has won the first game and made it to the second round. For the last 18 years, the eventual national champions have all been seeded 4 or higher. What is unique about what we do here is that we applied an academic approach to this, and we've done our research."
After the ball is tossed into the air today, however, it's food, drinks, good times and basketball.
And, on Saturday, expect leprechauns and bagpipers.
"We've got more than 60 TVs in here, and they will all be on, playing all the games," says Dan White, co owner of Wrigley Field Bar and Grill, 6527 E. State Blvd. "When they named this 'March Madness,' it was a perfect name for it. It is one of our busiest days of the year. And this year, St. Patrick's Day is on Saturday, so we will have people in and out of here all day watching games and listening to bagpipers.
"What I like most about March Madness is how diverse the people are who come in here. You have doctors, dentists, young, old, man, woman, and they are seated at different tables watching games and cheering and before long, the tables are pushed together, and they are rooting together. I think that is neat."
After the 65 teams were selected Sunday evening, Peter Miller used his lunch hour Monday to fill out 10 brackets at Buckets Sports Pub & Grub, 6282 W. Jefferson Blvd.
Miller, of Roanoke, says four brackets – one each - are for each Indiana school in the tournament. The six others "are just how I am feeling at the time and what I've seen of some of the teams on TV. That's my selection committee.
"It's really a crapshoot, but it's fun. I really love basketball this time of year. We don't have an office pool per se, but my buddies and I do our own. It gets us out of the house for three weekends for wings, beer and basketball. What could be wrong with that?"
Hilario Castillo, manager of Buffalo Wild Wings, says March Madness is big business at his Coldwater Road location because "this is Indiana". We love basketball in Indiana.
"We have the bracket challenge going on. We will have all the games on. Fans come in here to root for their favorite team and see an upset. No matter who does well, people like basketball here."
kjackson@jg.net
Fortwayne.com
Perry fired as Georgia state basketball coach
March 4, 2007
ATLANTA (AP) -Four years after replacing coaching legend Lefty Driesell, Georgia State men's basketball Coach Michael Perry has been fired.
"We are grateful for what Michael Perry has done for Georgia State during his tenure as an assistant and head coach and we wish him and his staff well," said Georgia State athletic director Mary McElroy said Sunday.
Perry, a former assistant under Driesell, joined the Panthers' staff in 1997. In 2003-4, he led the squad to a 20-9 record and the semifinals of the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament.
But his teams have struggled since, posting a combined 62-75 record in three consecutive losing seasons. Georgia State went 11-20 this season, and lost to Virginia Commonwealth 73-60 in the quarterfinals of the Colonial Athletic Association tournament on Saturday.
Perry has two years left on his contract and Georgia State will honor the terms of the agreement, McElroy said.
AP NEWS
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Copyright 2006-2007, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved
Byars' big performance lifts Commodores past Wildcats
Feb. 25, 2007
CBS SportsLine.com wire reports
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Derrick Byars has been building his case for Southeastern Conference player of the year throughout league play. His performance against Kentucky may boost him above the pack.
Byars hit the first of two free throws, got the rebound and hit an 8-foot jumper that gave No. 17 Vanderbilt its first lead, and the Commodores held off Kentucky for a 67-65 victory Sunday.
"It was the biggest play of the game," Byars said. "I missed a free throw, and (teammate) Dan Cage tapped it out to me. I saw (Kentucky's) Randolph (Morris) down there, and he beat me earlier, so I just wanted to get it up quick."
That sequence capped a 21-point second-half performance for Byars, who responded to a halftime talk from coach Kevin Stallings.
"We kind of challenged Derrick at halftime," Stallings said of his senior who had hit just 2 of 8 shots in the first half. "We didn't think he had one of his better first halves. I want to try and remember exactly what I said, because he was pretty spectacular in the second half."
With the victory, the Commodores moved into sole possession of second place and hold the tiebreaker over the Wildcats for the Eastern Division's No. 2 seed for the SEC tournament by virtue of a season sweep.
Byars finished with 26 points, and Shan Foster added 21 as the Commodores (19-9, 9-5) erased a 10-point second-half deficit. They didn't lead until Byars went to the free-throw line with 29 seconds left.
On the next possession, the Wildcats' Sheray Thomas lost control of the ball, and the Commodores came up with it. Kentucky (19-9, 8-6) fouled Foster, who missed the first free throw and made the second.
The Wildcats called timeout and got the ball to point guard Ramel Bradley, closely guarded by Byars.
Bradley drove the lane, was triple-teamed and threw up a shot that missed. Time expired in the scramble for the ball.
"We were just trying to get the ball inside, get a good shot, maybe get fouled taking the ball to the basket," Kentucky coach Tubby Smith said.
Bobby Perry led Kentucky with 18 points, and Jodie Meeks added 15 as the Wildcats outshot Vanderbilt 58 percent to 41 percent. But the Commodores scored 20 points off Kentucky's 22 turnovers.
"It's just very disappointing when you can't make the plays down the stretch, don't get stops like you should, and you don't value the basketball," Smith said. "The turnovers really hurt us."
Perry scored 11 first-half points in leading the Wildcats to a 32-23 lead at the break.
This was a rare fourth consecutive win by Vanderbilt over Kentucky and matched the Commodores' four-game winning streak of the 1972-73 and 1973-74 seasons.
Stallings believes his team is building momentum as tournament time approaches.
"A lot of teams are fighting to get into the tournament, and playing their best basketball. To know you can get it done at the end does wonders for your confidence," Stallings said.
"I looked at the clock with four minutes left, and even with the game being as close as it was, there was no doubt on our team that we were going to win."
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