[The Poet]

OK, as some of you may have noticed, there was some action on CBS last night which involved initials other than NCIS or CSI . . . namely, NCAA:

Butler 63 - Syracuse 59 = And another 1 bites, and another 1 bites, and another 1 bites the dust. Just as I said, the Syracuse zone can be beaten. And just as I said, Butler was not the team to do it. You read that right, for although the Bulldogs did manage to swing the ball around and get open looks, they missed a lot more of them than they made, and thus should have lost the game. However, I did not count on The Orange being totally incapable of holding onto the orange, and could not predict that they would have more turnovers than a bakery chef. Nor could I predict that they would be the first to panic, as they began to midway through the first half, and would begin to hoist up bad shots much too quickly in an attempt to erase their deficit all at once. When you put these 2 together, you realize why Butler got more shots than did the 'Cuse . . . yet did not hit any more! No, the Bulldogs were 21-52 with 6 threes, and the Orange were 21-48 with 7. The difference was at the line, and Butler's 15-21 was just enough to beat the 10-14 of Syracuse. Hey, you move the ball, you drive, you pass, you try to create, you use time, you get fouled. You run down the court and hoist up a prayer within 10 seconds, you don't. There was your game.

West Virginia 69 - Washington 56 = These two banged and pushed all night long, and the refs seemed to let them get away with it too . . . with the exception of Pondexter, that is. Yet though the Huskies' star had to sit out the end of the first half with 3 fouls, and never seemed to get his flow back in the second stanza, Washington hung tough in a close game for 2/3rds of the contest. But the Mountaineers have been a better team all year, and were again last night, making the plays they needed on both ends to build their lead and take the win.

Kentucky 62 - Cornell 45 = Do I really have to say it . . . again? Once the Wildcats got their rhythm and got the flow going, they were all over Cornell like mint on julip and quickly wiped out Big Red's early lead. That game was over by halftime . . . or so we thought. But once more, as they have done time and time and time and time and time again, the kittens took a 'Catnap, and bam!, Cornell was right back into it, down by as few as 6 with lots of time left. Yet Cal's yelling and screaming finally woke his litter up once more, and they managed to do just enough to make this appear to be no-contest . . . to those who did not watch it. A better, more talented team (can you say WVA?) might just have booted another 1 outta the Dance last evening. Cornell was not that squad. Congratulations to them for their stellar season, and too bad for these Cinderellas that their stars are on a lower sphere than those orbiting Lexington.

Kansas State 101- Xavier 96 (2OT) = What a game. What a freakin' game! There were nearly as many ties and lead changes as there were fouls (53 whistled in all), and neither team gave an inch. Often one feels bad for the team that loses such a matchup, but it's awfully hard to feel bad for the Musketeers who were bested in this duel, that's just how good a game it was. If you missed it . . . well, indeed, you did miss it. Now we'll see if K-State can recuperate in time to give us the same with Butler . . . who is a very similar team to those gritty X-Men.


And speaking of getting one's rest, did you get yours? Reason I ask, there are some more games starting soon:

Ohio State vs. Tennessee = Evan Turner is certainly one of the best individual players left in the field, and he alone may be capable of moving the Buckeyes past the Volunteers. As for the Vols, they did beat Kansas, thus could beat anyone on a given night. But as the men in orange have much less NCAA experience than do their distaff sisters . . . hey, it is called Summit Court, not Pearl . . . I'd say OSU has that edge going for them. Buckeyes by a bucket.

Baylor vs. St. Mary's = The Big 12 crowd wants us to consider this a NC, but the Gaels ain't gonna forfeit. They beat the crap out of perennial fixture Gonzaga a few weeks ago, and they have one thing in their favor the 'Zags never do . . . they do their talking on the court, not in the press. And let's face it: Baylor's not exactly a household-name powerhouse of college hoops itself. They are no more use to the spotlight as is St. Mary's. Might be a lot closer than you'd think. If the Bears are not in hibernation, I'd say they have a slim advantage.

Michigan State vs. Northern Iowa = The Spartans have been here before, in case you don't remember. As for the Panthers, it's virgin territory. This could be a factor, if their scrotes tighten up too much. But don't forget that MSU is without their star PG Kalin Lucas, and keep in mind how tough NI's man-to-man help defense can be. If you can't keep the ball, you can't score it . . . just ask Syracuse. After seeing what Northern Iowa can do, I'd call this a pick-'em.

Duke vs. Purdue = Now that Kansas is done, the Blue Devils have the best mix of talent, experience, and coaching. Sadly for them, that talent comes last in that list. No, it's not that they are bad, but they really do not have some outstanding athlete who can put a team on his back and carry them all if needed. They have good scorers, good defenders, good rebounders, yet none of them are NBA-lottery picks. As for Purdue, they have had difficulty scoring more than 50 points without Hummel figuring into their mix. And with the Dook D . . . maybe not quite their classic Wojo-in-your-sneakers stickiness, but pretty dang good nonetheless . . . it will be a problem for the Boilermakers to do so tonight. If this is played in the 70s or 80s, Duke will cruise to a win. If the iron is unkind and their shots won't drop, and Purdue can keep it in the 50s or 60s, the Boilermakers have a shot. The X-factor? Dook has gotten into the habit of falling on their faces about this time of year. Will these seniors want to get off that snide too badly, or just enough? Duke by 3 possessions, that's my call.

We'll talk more later. As for tonight, enjoy.