Weekends and Odds 3/10

Ok, so it's a little more difficult to churn one of these out each day when I have to go to my actual job. So I decided I'll do a hodge-podge of things that have happened and things to come for the weekend.

UC


The 'Cats are playing like their pants are on fire. No, wait, sorry. Those are their new Adidas-provided uniforms. In any event, the Bearcats were 3-point underdogs to Georgetown, The Orange were favored to win by 7.5, and now the Louisville Cardinals are assumed to win by 2. Sounds like an "us against the world" scenario, which I'm sure Mick loves. And the way they won both games was fantastic. Edge-of-your-seat, wild buzzer-beating action that makes other teams take notice. This team will scrap for a full 40 minutes.

I know they didn't play the first 2 rounds of the tournament because they were seeded so high, but if the 'Cats can knock off the 'Ville tonight, I feel like this team is gonna have last year's UConn vibe around it. They don't have a Kemba Walker...but they've got enough guys that, if they're on, can shoot the lights out from behind the arc. I feel like UC bumped itself up from say an 11 or 12-seed at the start of the tournament to at least a 6 in the NCAA tourney. There's no telling where they may get placed if they take down Louisville again.

XU


I didn't get to catch any of Xavier's game last night, but a win is a win, even if it's only 1 point right? I feel like if X was a bubble team before the tournament, that was cleared up last night. There aren't too many bracket busters this year. And as a whole, this seems to be a down-year for a lot of the power conferences as well. Of course, this is all a moot point if Xavier can keep winning. They will face a tough test today in St. Louis, whom they've lost to twice this year, by 5 at home and by 11 on the road. Should X advance to the A-10 title game, they'll get either St. Bonaventure or UMass. UMass knocked off top-seeded Temple last night. And UMass also beat both St. Bonaventure and Xavier in regular-season play. So it's still going to be an uphill climb for the Musketeers, but if Holloway can put together a few total package games, there's no reason they can't still win the A-10.

I'd like to hope the Muskies have gotten their heads back on straight. They've had their ups and downs through the A-10, but it really is intriguing how different they've been since the Brawl. It seems Holloway's game is directly affected by his ability to swagger. And it seemed that in the games immediately following the Punchout, he became reserved, possibly fearing he'd get technical calls against him that he wouldn't have gotten prior. I think winning the A-10 tourney would do a lot for his, as well as the rest of his team's, swagger.  

OSU and UK


Both are in action today. OSU had little trouble with Purdue yesterday, but they face a tougher test in Michigan, who beat them in regular season play. OSU is still fighting to secure a top-seed in the tournament. Syracuse losing to Cincinnati has opened the door to whomever wins the Big 10 tournament to possibly steal that 1-seed. After Michigan, the Buckeyes would still need to get through Wisconsin, whom they beat at Wisconsin, or Michigan State, with whom they split the regular season series.

UK had a little trouble getting past LSU on Friday, but all they need to do is win. With their near-spotless record, it would be hard to see them knocked out of the top-seed for the tournament. And if Anthony Davis plays at even 80% of what he's capable of, the Wildcats are still in good shape. today's opponent, Florida, gave them little pause in the regular season. And unless Vanderbilt or Andy Kennedy's Ole Miss teams know something we don't, I would have to imagine the 'Cats will steam-roll their way to an SEC Championship.

NKU


You know I couldn't get away without doing any NKU stuff. Unfortunately the women's team fell to Quincy last night in the first round of the D-II tournament. So, that's it for the women's team in Division Two. Next year, on to the Atlantic Sun Conference, even though you can't see the Atlantic, and rarely the sun, from Highland Heights. The women finish with 6 regional championships and 2 D-II national titles (2000, 2008). At the time of the most recent win, NKU was the only school to have 2 women's national championships in the same sport, at any division level, in the state of Kentucky. Nancy Winstel will take her traditions and tenacity with her to Division One.

The men meanwhile play this evening against Findlay. This is not the most talented group of NKU players that has ever graced the court. But they seem to play like a team. And they find ways to win. When they need to shoot threes, they do it. When they need to slow the game down and play defense, they have that ability. With NKU being about 150 miles closer to Louisville than Findlay is, I hope that the support for the team will be large. Bellarmine has reported that the tickets for the first session is sold out. NKU has only lost 6 games all season. And this is the same team that beat West Virginia in exhibition play. This is the last chance at a D-II championship for the Norse. They have never won one before. And if they do it this year, it would be on their home court, which would be awesome.

Reds

I don't want to say much on the Reds now...as I haven't been able to see anything yet. But as always, I'm stoked for the season. Opening Day tickets sold out in 40 minutes. Aaron Boone is the grand marshall of the Opening Day Parade. Barry Larkin is going to Cooperstown (And the Reds will most likely retire #11). Plus, ya know, the World Series and all that. I think this is the year.

Peyton

What a weird press conference. You don't usually see the player at the press conference when the team is releasing him. So awkward. I hope Peyton's still got some in the tank. I'm not gonna speculate where he'll end up. But whoever gets him is gonna get an immediate boost. And if he can't go right away, he'll probably be a pretty good mentor for someone else. My fiance is upset that he will no longer be within driving distance to see play.

Marching to the Madness in Highland Heights

Apologies for the lateness of this post. (Like you were on the edge of your seat, waiting.) I had some business-like issues that had to be addressed this morning.

So the selection shows for the Division-II NCAA basketball tournament were last night. Both the men's and women's teams at NKU have once again made the Big Dance. Both teams had earned a bye in the Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament. The women fell in their first game in the tournament to eventual champion Maryville. The men beat Kentucky Weslyan and Missouri-St. Louis before falling in the finals to the University of Southern Indiana.

Early on in the GLVC championship game, it seemed as if the Norse were in complete control. They were shooting three's at will. The halftime score was 27-17, with the Norse on top. However, the second half was an entirely different story. The Screaming Eagles closed the gap out of the break, and totally erased the 10-point deficit. For the next 10 minutes or so, the game was back and forth. Both teams had the same amount of made field goals, as well as the same amount of made three-pointers. However, the difference was the foul shooting. Southern Indiana finished the game with 12 made foul shots, compared to the Norse's 2. At one point, USI got so hot they were actually up 11. However, in the closing minutes, the Norse nearly made it a game, climbing to within 2. However, late fouling and missed shots were the Norse's downfall, ultimately ending the game with USI taking home the 60-56 victory and the GLVC trophy.

But with the Selection Show came renewed hope for both teams. The women's team will be a 4 seed and face GLVC rival Quincy in the first round. They have not yet faced Quincy this year. The men's team is also the 4 seed and gets a match-up with GLIAC foe Findlay.

Of course, my bias toward these teams makes me think they're going to advance in the tournament. But both teams have single-digit losses during the season. The women's team features GLVC player of the year Casse Mogan, and they have not lost 2 games in a row all season. The men's team has a very balanced offense, going inside or shooting threes when necessary.

Should they advance, the Lady Norse could get top-seeded Ashland...or perhaps the team that knocked them out of the GLVC tourney, Maryville. Maryville, despite winning the GLVC trophy, was seeded 8th because of their 19-11 regular season record.

And if the men were able to get past Findlay, it could set up a match against 8th seed Lewis, whom the Norse took down twice in the regular season. Or it could create a marquee match-up with 2011 NCAA champion Bellarmine, who despite being upset by USI in the semis of the GLVC tourney, were awarded the top seed. The Norse would be looking for revenge, as the Knights took the W's in both meetings during the regular season. An extra incentive for the men's team: should they advance all the way to the Elite Eight, they'll have much more support the rest of the way, as the quarter and semi-finals as well as the NCAA Division-II championship will be held at the Bank of Kentucky Center. So regardless of the teams involved, Highland Heights will see late-season basketball games. But I'm sure there would be many more fans if the team in black and gold was still playing.