Daily Tourney Talk (Thursday)

The Kentucky story has moved to its own post since it is so BIG!

Sweet 16, Friday March 22, 2007 CBS TV Schedule

4:10pmPT/7:10pmET Butler vs Florida

4:27pmPT/7:27pmET Vanderbilt vs Georgetown

6:40pmPT/9:40pmET UNLV vs Oregon

6:57pmPT/9:57pmET USC vs North Carolina

Elite 8, Saturday March 23, 2007 CBS TV Schedule

12pmPT/3pm ET: Road to the Final Four

1:40pmPT/4:40pmET Memphis vs Ohio State

4:05pmPT/7:05pmET UCLA vs Kansas


Sweet 16 Recap

Ohio State managed another comeback this time against Tennessee, with Greg Oden earning his (scholarship) money with a last-second block that sealed that deal... On the other game, UCLA out-slugfested Pitt in an emotionally draining game for the Dixons and the Howlands.

Clark Kellogg has taken the day off because one of his kids is playing in some high-school or peewe playoffs!

Jay Bilas is sitting there while Dick Enberg advertises CSTV. I wonder if he can't help it but say, "Hey watch ESPNU instead!".

The first block of games gave us two highly contested games that went down to the wire... Southern Illinois earned national respect even among the BCS homer as it gave Kansas all that it could handle. Bill Self breathed a sigh of relief as he avoided another NCAA loss to a "mid-major". Had Kansas lost, the FireBillSelf.com sites would probably start springing all over the place (enboldened by the Kentucky coaching change perhaps)... On the other game, Memphis (as I predicted) was able to match Texas A&M's intensity, wear out Acie Law who is famous for his clutch performance in the last four minutes, and eek out a win thanks to Antonio Anderson bothering Acie Law enough to make him miss a layup and then hit two clutch free throws. As far as the zebras taking an eternity to decide how much time it was left, they probably decided that the ball bounced in-bounds and then included the time it took for it to hit the floor out of bounds or something like, otherwise it doesn't make any sense... This win made John Calipari a lot more money as it increased his stock both at Memphis and also as a candidate for some of the big openings that have popped up or will pop up as a result of the Kentucky/Michigan dominos. His last five NCAA wins were against mid-majors and a lot of people thought he could never beat a solid "BCS" team. Not only did he beat a very solid Texas A&M team, he beat them in San Antonio, Texas, in front of a decidedly pro-A&M crowd. Two back to back Elite 8 appearances, and Derrick Rose coming in next year.

New College Basketball Drinking Game: Everytime a coach gets hired or fired. And by drink, I mean drink water, orange juice, milk, soy milk, diet soda, tea or vitamin water :-)



Draftology

Josh McRoberts is a big spoiled Dookie cry baby caught crying in a towel. Even his crying was mechanical! And oh yes, he declared for the NBA draft. Happy Trails Mecha-Cry-Baby!

Derrick Caracter announces he will return (ha! where did he think he was going? the USBL (ha!) or the NBDL or the Belgian league?)


Sweet 16 Part One today

Four games today, played two at a time, airing live on CBS

CBS TV listings press release and CBS TV listings here

Check with your local CBS station to find out which game will be shown in your city/state.

The games start at 4pmPT/7pm ET on CBS and CBS-HD

Also don't miss a 90-minute pregame Tourney Talk show on CSTV at 130pmPT/430pmET, and a recap of the press conferences right before it also on CSTV

Post-game coverage on 1) your local CBS station, 2) one hour long ESPN Gameday at 10pmPT/1amET and ensuring SportsCenter, 3) 30-minute official March Madness highlights show on CSTV, repeating throughout the night.

Sweet 16 Part 2 will air tomorrow night on CBS, starting at 4pmPT/7pm ET


Drama Queen Carousel

Illinois AD turns into a drama queen, calls player Warren Carter an idiot, and yelling at Bruce Weber and players. Now he (is forced to) apologize.


Crying Carousel Update

This time it was one of Jim Boeheim's kids caught by the ESPN cameras crying uncontrollably after Clemson beat Syracuse in the NIT quarterfinal. At least Boeheim's kid is just a kid... On the other hand, Josh McRoberts is a big spoiled Dookie cry baby caught crying in a towel. Even his crying was mechanical!


Coaching Carousel Update

Tubby Smith is out of Kentucky!

Minnessota has a new head coach, his name is .....Tubby Smith!

CSTV Insider Brian Curtis predicts Lon Kruger at Michigan

Grouchy and bitter was Jeff Ruland during their almost winningless season, just one year after being considered a hot coach leading his team to post-season play. So as all things effemeral, Jeff Ruland is out as the Iona head coach! I wouldn't want to be the AD facing him to break the news, unless I had Paul Bunyan as a security guard!

It is official, Steve Alford joins Bob Knight in the Southwest as he will become the new New Mexico head coach, hoping to turn the Pit into a strong homecourt advantage. ESPN story. New Mexico is allegedly commiting millions to upgrade the storied Pit (their home arena).

Colorado State stays in the neighborhood as they pick up the North Dakota State head coach who led ND State to an impressive debut in D1, with some very high profile road wins in the last couple of years (Wisconsin, Marquette)

Biggest job openings as of right now: Michigan, Iowa, Minnessota, South Florida (only because they are in the Big East), and Utah

ESPN's Coaching Carousel Tracker


Transferology

Cleaning house is Norm Roberts at St Johns as Ricky Torres and Avery Patterson announce their intention to transfer out. Don't be shocked if in a couple of weeks St Johns picks up two new 2007-2008 players or transfers.


OJ Mayo Mania

A recent NY Times story chronicles the recruiting of OJ Mayo, which surprised some people as OJ Mayo refused to give Tim Floyd his cellphone number.

However, Tim Floyd gave his version of the story today as he appeared (via telephone) on ESPN2's Cold Pizza. Floyd set the record straight (or gave his own spin) on the situation as he stressed that Mayo is a very mature person ("he is like a 35yo"), and Floyd explained the cellphone to "financial reasons". Floyd also said/claimed that he now has Mayo's cellphone number but does not call him frequently. Floyd pointed out that Mayo does not need the usual "babysitting" that most recruits are accustomed to. ("Babysitting" is continuing to show "love" to recruits after they commit. If a coach stops going to their games, calling, texting or writing, the recruits get insecure). Floyd also confirmed that OJ Mayo recruited himself to USC and came to him with a game plan. Floyd also chastised Wilborn of PTI for criticizing OJ Mayo's behavior based on the NY Times story.

So what really happened? The truth is out there and probably somewhere in between...