Bracketology: 2/22

Less than a month away from tournament time, we still have major questions about several conferences and teams. I'll predict the tournament field and results, give reasons why, and update it each week. Here are my calls as of 2/20. Seeds are listed L-R. Left most seed is top team for that group. (Pitt will get #1 overall seed, UConn is top #2 seed...)

# 1 SEEDS: Pittsburgh, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Memphis
Skinny: The top 3 seeds are self-explanatory. Memphis should win out, including their conference tournament, and UConn will lose a few more without Jerome Dyson.
#2 SEEDS: Connecticut, Wake Forest, Michigan State, Duke
Skinny: Michigan State would probably be a #7 seed if they played in a conference. Duke slips into this group with a 101-91 win vs Wake today.
#3 SEEDS: Missouri, Villanova, Marquette, Louisville
Skinny: The #3 seeds are where the drop-off begins. A team like Mizzou couldn't compete with some of the teams above it. 5 Big East teams land in the top 3 seeds.
#4 SEEDS: Clemson, Arizona State, Xavier, Kansas
#5 SEEDS: UCLA, Gonzaga, Washington, Purdue
#6 SEEDS: LSU, Purdue, Illinois, Tennessee
#7 SEEDS: California, Florida State, Utah, Butler
#8 SEEDS: Dayton, West Virginia, Syracuse, Arizona
#9 SEEDS: Wisconsin, BYU, Utah State, Minnesota
#10 SEEDS: Boston College, Kentucky, South Carolina, Ohio State
#11 SEEDS: Texas, Davidson (SoCon), Siena, Florida
#12 SEEDS: Virginia Tech, VCU (CAA), Providence, Penn State
#13 SEEDS: UNLV, Oklahoma State, Creighton (MVC), Buffalo (MAC)
#14 SEEDS: Vermont (America East), WKU (Sun Belt), American (Patriot), Weber St. (Big Sky)
#15 SEEDS: ND State (Summit), Robert Morris (Northeast), UT-Martin (OVC), Cornell (Ivy)
#16 SEEDS: Morgan State (MEAC), Stephen F. Austin (Southland), Jacksonville (A-Sun)

Play-In Game: Long Beach (Big West) vs. South Dakota (Ind.)

Last Six In: Florida, Virginia Tech, Providence, Penn State, UNLV, Oklahoma State
Last Six Out: Miami (FL), Cincinnati, Georgetown, Michigan, St. Mary's, Temple

Pitt Recaps - Villanova/L & Notre Dame/W

It was the last college basketball game at The Spectrum this past Wednesday. It was the court where Christian Laettner made his shot and a bunch of other cool stuff happened: 4,000 Grateful Dead concerts, some NBA Finals games and some monster truck rallies.

Kids' seats are just $8!!

No one in Pittsburgh really cared, however it would have been nice to beat Nova there and make Wilt Chamberlain cry.

The first half was okay. Pitt had some guys in foul trouble, but it got out to a big enough lead that by the time guys started filing to the bench, the Panthers were still up 31-26 at halftime. Tyrell Biggs got to quick fouls in the first ten minutes or so, not good. DeJuan Blair got two quick fouls with about five minutes left in the first half, whatever.

Villanova may have one of the worst scoring teams year in and year out, but one thing you can say about them is that they will play hard every night and go all out on every possession, especially on the defensive end. They had no business being close at halftime, but they hung around.

The announcers are bitching about Scottie Reynolds not having any points in the first half. Ding, he hits a three to begin the second and the announcers stayed on his nuts from then on. Pitt got down by a few points,  and right around the 10 minute mark everybody knew that the patented Second Half Surge® was coming. DeJuan Blair decides that he can't let that happen, so he reaches in at the three point line for his fourth foul and the Panthers didn't have any in the tank for a comeback without its big man.

Quick recap of the second half: 78 Jermaine Dixon steals, a lot of Pitt missed field goals, too many Dante Cunningham mid-range jump shots to count, and Reggie Redding's 10-10 perfection from the free-throw stripe although he only shot like 60% coming in. This led to a 67-57 Nova win, after which Jay Wright probably cried.

At least I won't have to hear "The Spectrum" ever again unless he is a dildo-themed villain in a superhero movie.

By now, you have heard LeVance Fields' quote about not going on a losing streak in the Big East. Notre Dame didn't get the memo. The Irish had lost four in a row coming into Saturday afternoon's game and Pitt was off to defend the Pete's hardwood (insert sexual innuendo here).

In the first half, it was like The Miracle Worker. Helen Zeller hit 6-8 threes in the first 20 minutes like someone was signing him the coordinates for the hoop.

Left: Helen Zeller. Right: Mike Brey. Center: Three pointers flowing into basket

Not only was Helen Zeller draining threes, it was the entire Irish team. Notre Dame hit 11-22 threes in the first half including two from Kyle "I Do Drugs But Since I Am Good At Basketball Notre Dame Threw All Of Its Moral Values Out The Window To Allow Me To Continue To Play" McAlarney who, as Sir Dick Groat says, is: "A guy you need to start covering when he comes off the bus."

DeJuan Blair had a double-double in the first half and was making Harangody look like a fool on both ends of the court and Ashton Gibbs had 13 points in the first half. Gibbs and Blair were the only reasons Pitt was down just 45-39 instead of like 45-20. Towards the end of the half, the Panthers were starting to actually contest three point shots by the Irish and you could tell the momentum was starting to turn a little bit.

Pitt started out the second half with a three pointer by Fields and a three point play by Sam Young to tie the game. From then on, Pitt left Notre Dame in the dust. The SHS® was in full effect and while Notre Dame was turning the ball over like crazy. Pitt was scoring at will, whether it was on the first shot or via offensive rebound.

Helen Zeller must have stayed in the locker room, because he didn't show up in the second half, and McAlarney must have smoked his stash during the break because he went on to turn the ball over 32 times. Harangody, however, showed up to play for the final 20, or at least on the offensive end. I think he was the only Notre Dame player who scored in the second half, actually. Blair finished with 11 (YES 11!!) offensive rebounds and 22 (YES 22!!) total rebounds. Harangody ended up with 11 total rebounds, but who cares? Blair was cleaning glass like it was his job.

Look at the reflection!! Amazing!!

Pitt won 93-80. It would have been like 70-56 but Notre Dame was dick and fouled for the last six minutes of the game. Not really but you get what I mean. Notre Dame didn't even attempt a three point shot in the second half until there were about five minutes left, did they forget who they were? No matter, this is a huge bounce-back win for Pitt.

Key stats:

22 rebounds for Blair

7/0 AST/TO ratio for Fields

0 points for Tory Jackson

18 points for first half Helen Zeller

0 points for second half Helen Zeller

8-8 foul shots for Brad Wanamaker

13 points for first half Gibbs

49-26 rebounding edge for Pitt

6 first half turnovers for Pitt

0 second half turnovers for Pitt

Next game is vs. Robert Morris on Monday, but the next REAL game is @ DePaul next Saturday.