The Elite 8 Tips off at 6:09 pm today with the first of two matchups that feature 1 seeds vs. 3 seeds, when Gonzaga and Texas Tech hook up for the right to play in next week’s final four. At 8:49 pm, Virginia and Purdue will battle in Louisville with the same stakes.

If you are reading this in a spot where sports wagering is legal and looking for last minute tips to possibly make your wallet heavier, I would stop now! These are both toss-up games to me and while I will probably make a prediction at the end of this post, I might as well flip a coin. In the first matchup, you might have the nation’s best offense in Gonzaga vs. the nation’s best defense in Texas Tech. What a chess match it will be. If that Red Raider defense has any vulnerabilities, it might be against what Gonzaga has, in the big front-line duo of Rui Hachimura and Brandon Clarke. Gonzaga can go even bigger if they want to with 6-10 frontcourt sub Tillian Killie on the floor, and Hachimura and Clarke provide enough versatility for them to play together. The Gonzaga guards must play clean and give their team a chance to get great shots and offensive rebounds every time down the floor. If that happens, Gonzaga has the type of team that can score 70+ vs. the Texas Tech defense, something only three teams have done all year, which is remarkable. While it is strength vs. strength when Gonzaga has the ball, the game might be decided on the other end of the floor, as Texas Tech is certainly a quality offensive team as well. I fully expect Jarrett Culver to shine as he is one of the nation’s best talent, and his running mates in the backcourt, sharp-shooter David Maretti and the steady Matt Mooney are solid and dependable. The factor that tilts this Gonzaga’s way for me is Texas Tech’s inability to score enough or get enough offensive rebounds inside against the formidable Gonzaga front line. That combined with Gonzaga’s offensive efficiency and versatility, has me leaning toward Gonzaga by a couple of possessions in this one.

The prime-time Saturday game features Purdue and Virginia, two programs looking for their first Final Four since the 1980’s. Either Matt Painter or Tony Bennett will shake the label of “One of America’s best coaches to never reach the Final Four,” as both are tremendous coaches year in and year out. There is a neat Indiana subplot to this one for those that don’t know, as Indiana-raised Ryan Cline (Carmel) and Kyle Guy (Lawrence Central) will be squaring off for their respective teams. Cline might have turned in the best shooting performance in NCAA tournament history. If that seems a little extreme, consider that he ended 10-13 from the floor (7-10 from 3) and he was 3-6 at one point, which means he made his last seven straight field goals, six of those from behind the arc. Consider the stakes and the game pressure, and it is hard to find a better shooting performance in tournament history than the Carmel native turned in on Thursday night. Side note, Cline averaged 6.3 points per game this season. Purdue’s alpha-dog is obviously Carsen Edwards and he had another tremendous game despite being limited in the second half. Arguably, no team has improved more than the Boilers from November until March and each player on their team is really maxing out their contributions. While they still have a formidable force inside in 7-3 Matt Haarms (9.5 ppg and 5.5 rpg), this Boilermaker team has proven an ability to win in a wider variety of ways than some of Matt Painter’s best teams. Their last obstacle toward their first Final Four since 1980 is the Virginia Cavaliers, a team that did not fly under the radar at all this year, carrying the number one ranking for most of the year on top of the pressure of not replicating last year’s NCAA tournament’s historical defeat. Virginia has as quality of a backcourt as anyone in the country with Ty Jerome, Kyle Guy and De’Andre Hunter. Rarely, if ever, will you shut down or limit all three of them. Big Mamadai Diakite gives them such a presence on the inside, and tonight in particular might be enough to negate Haarms. While Texas Tech is getting the attention of this year’s best defensive team, Virginia, per normal, isn’t far behind. I think the Boilers torrid shooting cools a bit, some just natural and some due to Virginia’s lock down defense. I’m leaning Virginia in this one, but I think the game is in the balance at the under four time-out.

Enjoy what should be four excellent matchups, and I’m looking forward to breaking them down and previewing the Final Four Monday night on the Sports and Stuff that Matters podcast, with guest co-host Jimmy Meyer.

Four great matchups await college hoops fans as four worthy teams will punch their ticket to Minneapolis for next weekend’s final four. How did we get here and what will happen this weekend?

Duke survived, Sparty impressed, Auburn rolled, Kentucky was tough, Gonzaga was efficient, Texas Tech was dominant, Virginia was Virginia and Purdue outlasted Tennessee in the best game of this tourney and one of the best in recent memory.

I am the one that used the word “survived” when describing Duke, but that’s different than lucky. They have shown their vulnerabilities for sure, but Virginia Tech was a very complete team that can perform well on both ends. Duke played the game without a starter (Cam Reddish). Also, remember had VT converted the layup on a wonderfully executed and called OB, this one would have been overtime (as opposed to last week, UCF would have been marching on). The ironic part of the victory is without the three point shooting of Tre Jones (5-7), Duke may not be marching on, and had UCF gotten their last shot to fall last week, Jones’ three point shooting in that game (1-8) that would have been pointed to as one of the primary reasons that Duke fell. That’s just another illustration of how hard it is to predict this stuff, but we try anyway. Zion Williamson was tremendous, again, 11-14 from the floor. It was RJ Barrett who struggled mightily from 3 this time around, 0-7. It is well documented that Duke struggles from the three point line (their team % of 30.8% would be the lowest for a national champion in well over 20 years should they cut down the nets in Minneapolis), but these guy have to find a way to avoid the 0-7 and 1-8 clips. That said, it’s the defensive end I would be concerned with if I were Duke. Their true first-shot defense was pretty good last night, as VT only shot 25-62 and 9-26 from 3 (they did get more FTA, 18, than Coach K and his staff might like), but they really hurt Duke on the offensive glass with 17 offensive rebounds, 11 by Kenny Blackshear alone. Michigan State really played a complete game vs. LSU and they’ve shown the ability to shoot it efficiently and every Tom Izzo team is capable of corralling a high number of offensive rebounds, and this version of Sparty is no different. Aaron Henry got Michigan State going, Cassius Winston ended up being his normal self with 17 and Gabe Brown gave them a good boost off the bench in a very impressive and complete performance. Tom Izzo’s group has somehow flown under the radar in a lot of people’s eyes, despite regular season and big ten titles and a #2 seed. There is no more flying under the radar anymore, an elite 8, 1 vs. 2 seed matchup with Duke. Despite the uncertainty of Cam Reddish’s status, give me the Blue Devils by 9 after some late free throws.

The midwest regional will pit (3) Kentucky vs. (5) Auburn in an all SEC regional final. Auburn got there by outgunning North Carolina. North Carolina thrives on creating more opportunities than their opponent and they were unable to do that last night. North Carolina does that by playing at a faster pace and dominating the offensive glass. Well, Auburn was willing and able to play at UNC’s pace, and more efficient, especially in the second half when their offense was unbelievably efficient en route to a 36-66 night and 17-37 from three. North Carolina did get 14 offensive rebounds, but Auburn’s interior defense toughened up when they got them as UNC was only able to get 14 points off those 14 offensive rebounds. Auburn had 10 second chance points of their own, all but negating one of UNC’s biggest strengths. This Auburn team is hot and rolling at the right time. A solid, but not overwhelming, 11-7 in SEC play this year, the Tigers won the SEC tourney in convincing fashion and have now beaten two of college basketball’s blue bloods (Kansas in the round of 32 before UNC last night) by an average of over 20 in the big dance. They will have another blue blood waiting on them in the Kentucky Wildcats. Before talking UK, let’s send our best to Auburn’s Chuma Okeke, the versatile 6-8 sophomore who left the game with around eight minutes to go last night after having a wonderful game on both ends of the floor. He had 20 points and 11 rebounds when he left the game and had two huge block’s on UNC’s Nassir Little to whether mini-runs by UNC and regain momentum for Auburn. It didn’t look or sound good for him to play the remainder of the tourney, a big blow to Auburn and my heart breaks for him. Amazingly, this Auburn team puts up 97 points while only getting a combined 21 points from their star backcourt duo of Jarred Harper and Bryce Brown. This was a team win and impressive performance by Auburn. One last note on the Tar Heels. I, admittedly, follow them a bit closer than most teams because of my wife’s long-time allegiance to them and it has certainly been an honor to follow the careers of Luke Maye, Kenny Williams and Cam Johnson. In the era where the young guns run college basketball, Maye and Williams were four year guys who got better and took on an increased role every year and had great careers. Johnson was only a Tar Heel for two years after a transfer from Pitt, but his career had the same path of contributions every year. These guys maxed out their college experiences and won a ton of games and championships and I tip my hat to them. A familiar foe awaits Auburn in Kentucky, who gave up a ten point lead and then overcame a three point deficit in a physical, competitive sweet 16 tilt with previously 33-3 Houston. The Cats certainly benefited from the return of PJ Washington who got them an efficient 16 points. On a night when Reid Travis only found two field goal attempts and Kelden Johnson struggled mightily, it was Tyler Hero who got loose for 19 points on only one three pointer made for him (and it was clutch and timely). Kentucky’s first half defense was tremendous against a strong and physical Houston team (and their second half defense wasn’t bad either), en route to holding Houston to under 40% from the floor and owning a commanding 36-23 margin on the boards. It almost wasn’t enough, and 14 turnovers was a reason why, but it ultimately was. This Kentucky team is winning tough, slow-paced, physical games and that’s a good formula in March. Auburn hasn’t won that way in the dance yet, so we will see if the Cats can make them. The numbers are eye-popping going into this one. In their three tourney games so far, the Cats have given up 52.7 games and Auburn has scored 88 points per game in their three wins. I think the game ends up in the high 60’s and Kentucky finds a way to win at the end.

I’ll offer some thoughts on today’s games, Gonzaga vs. Texas Tech from Anaheim and Virginia vs. Purdue from Louisville, later today.

We are hours away from tipping off the round of 32. I certainly do understand the business side of things, but it is frustrating to only have one game on at a time between noon and 5:15 before the evening hours are loaded up with up to four games at a time. That said, it is a net positive tradeoff as that was part of the contract when CBS decided to share the tourney and have all the games on in their entirety (one of CBS’ conditions was that they have the early afternoon slots on Saturday and Sunday to themselves). That said, they chose the right two games to start the day with as LSU-Maryland and Kentucky-Wofford are both very intriguing matchups.

There was no way that a one seed was going to lose to a sixteen again this year, but three of the four made it a lot more interesting than most people would have guessed. Only Gonzaga was dominant start to finish. Many casual fans can say that Duke, North Carolina and Virginia were sleep-walking (hard to believe in the case of Virginia), and maybe there is a component of that out there, but I also contend that the talent/athleticism gap between a 1 and a 16 is much smaller than it was 10-20 years ago. I don’t expect 16 seeds over 1 seeds to be a regular occurence, but I also don’t expect it to be a once in a lifetime thing either. That said, Friday gave us our share of upsets but chalk did advance at the top of the bracket, as all 12 teams seeded 1-3 advanced, with only a couple of them having any real game pressure on them in the last ten minutes. Despite the quality of teams on the 1-3 lines, the odds of all 12 of them dancing into the sweet 16 is slim. That said, I do see ten of the twelve advancing, which could make for a very “chalky” but outstanding sweet 16. That said, despite me pushing a lot of top seeds through, I don’t think this weekend is going to be a snoozefest by any means. Which ones are the most vulnerable, in my opinion? I will rate the “upset alert” status of the top 12 seeds from 1-10 (1 being no upset alert, 10 being the highest alert).

Let’s start in the east.

Duke – Not vulnerable at all. Central Florida can defend, but I don’t think UCF can score it efficiently enough to give Duke any real threat. Duke’s upset alert status for round 2 = 1.

Michigan State – Minnesota certainly played a complete game against Louisville, getting five guys in double-figures and scoring it efficiently on the inside and the outside. Sparty, on the other hand, struggled with Bradley. Side note, I know Bradley finished middle of the pack in the Missouri Valley, but the Missouri Valley champ getting a 15 seed seemed really low. That is still a quality league even with Creighton and Wichita State going elsewhere. Cassius Winston was brilliant, but will be need some help if Sparty goes deep (hopefully for Sparty fans Kenny Goins got his dud of a game out of the way). There are concerns for Michigan State, but I think they get by their in-conference rival in the round of 32. Upset Alert Status = 2

LSU – Major upset alert status for LSU as they seem to be trending downward and are obviously strapped with some turmoil and they face a very capable Maryland team. Belmont was a popular upset pick to take down the Terps and Maryland was able to hold off a quality Belmont team despite a 3-18 performance from their leading scorer, Anthony Cowan. Maryland’s front court carried a huge load in the victory and it is a front court that is capable of doing a lot of damage on the offensive glass. LSU limiting Maryland’s second chance points will be a huge key if the Tigers want to advance. Upset Alert Status = 8

South

Virginia – Despite a sluggish performance by Virginia and an outstanding one by Oklahoma, I don’t see UVA slipping up this weekend. I don’t want to take away from Oklahoma’s performance (I can’t remember a more lopsided 8-9 game in recent memory), but Ole Miss had slid to the finish line. Oklahoma will not find things so easy going (61 percent on two point shots vs. Ole Miss) against Virginia’s pack line defense and I could see Virginia, first game jitters and last year’s nightmare behind them, taking off on offense in a convincing victory. Upset alert status = 2.

Tennessee – Perhaps I haven’t given Iowa enough credit all year, but I think there is too much talent and athleticism on this Tennessee team to bow out to Iowa. Getting matched up in transition and defending the three point line will be key for Tennessee, but I think they are built to do just that and make Iowa find ways to beat them other than their strengths. Upset alert status = 3

Purdue – I will put Purdue on high upset alert status, but I think it would be hard to call it much of an upset if you fall to the defending national champs. This should be one of the best games of the second round. Villanova was very efficient on offense vs. St. Mary’s despite their low point total (it was a low possession game) and nobody in the dance has scored more points in their career than Phil Booth. Don’t be surprised to see Villanova’s 6-8 Eric Pascall guard Purdue’s number one weapon, the 6-1 Carson Edwards, to use his length to make things tough on Edwards. Purdue is very good on the offensive glass and if Villanova does use Pascall to guard Edwards, that could hurt Villanova on the boards. It’s an interesting subplot to watch. I like Purdue to win a really competitive game, but will have them on high upset alert status (8), even though not many would consider it a huge upset.

Midwest

North Carolina – I’m going to put North Carolina on the highest upset alert status of all the one seeds, but have them advancing. I don’t know how much zone North Carolina has seen this year, start to finish, like they will get against Washington. They will have to knock down some shots, and we all know they have guys that can shoot them and a coach that wants them to shoot them, but the Washington zone could slow down the UNC attack in a lot of ways, but ultimately I think UNC will create enough possessions and get enough offensive boards to get away from a Washington team that shot and played real well vs. Utah State. Give me Tar Heels, with an upset alert status at 4.

Kentucky – I will put the upset alert status high (6) out of respect for Wofford, but I have Kentucky in this one. I think Kentucky’s strength and athleticism will be too much. I see Kentucky challenging Wofford to make tough two point shots and not over help off shooters. PJ Washington’s status is uncertain, but Kelden Johnson was phenomenal in round one and can be again vs. Wofford. Wofford’s late game outburst was fun to watch and Fletcher Magee certainly showed the nation that he is worthy to be remembered as one of the best three point shooters ever, but I think those clean looks will be harder to come by and I think UK exerts their strength on the offensive end and wins this game by 10 points when it is all said and done.

Houston – Houston was dominant against Georgia State, shooting 25-35 from 2 point range and nearly doubling up the Panthers on the boards, 51-27, and holding them to 18-60 from the floor and 6-23 from the line. I think Ohio State has a hard time scoring vs. Houston and don’t see Houston having any problems with a surprise member of the round of 32 in Ohio State. Upset Alert Status = 2

West

Gonzaga – Gonzaga looks for their fifth consecutive sweet 16 and will have to get through Baylor to do it. Baylor plays a matchup zone that is unique and may take Gonzaga some time to get used to, but ultimately this Gonzaga offense is too deep and talented to not score points regardless of which defense they are playing. Gonzaga is also underrated defensively so Baylor will have to score to have a chance. Baylor has battled injuries all year and are without Tristan Clark and a little too reliant on the three point shot (which there efficiency from out there is a reason why they advanced past Syracuse) for me to pick vs. Gonzaga. Upset alert status = 2

Michigan – Michigan will need to get through Florida and this will be a tough task. Florida has been excellent on defense all year, so it is strength vs. strength as we know Michigan has skilled guys and run as good of half court offense as anyone in the country. What happens on the other end of the floor might be the difference in the game. Florida has struggled to shoot from the perimeter and has suffered some major scoring droughts this year. Keyontae Johnson’s double-double was huge for Florida getting by Nevada. He will have his hands full with the Brazdeikis/Teske duo inside and the Michigan backcourt is back to full strength with the return of Charles Matthews. Expect this one to go to the wire. Upset Alert Status = 7.

Texas Tech – Texas Tech is for real, and so is their opponent, Buffalo. This is one of the best matchups of round 2, in my opinion. When I saw the bracket, I wanted NKU to advance past Texas Tech for local cheering reasons, but I also wanted to see Texas Tech’s Jarrett Culver and Buffalo’s CJ Massinburg on the same court. Texas Tech’s defense ranks best in the country by lots of metrics and Buffalo is experienced and physical. It would surprise me if this wasn’t one of the weekend’s best games. Texas Tech upset alert status = 8.

As for the four games not involving a top 3 seed, give me Virginia Tech over Liberty. I love Virginia Tech on both sides of the ball and think they will be able to lock down a talented and fun Liberty offense. I’ll take Florida State over Murray State. Murray State and obviously Ja Morant were super-impressive (and despite Morant’s triple-double they were not a one man show vs. Marquette), but I picked FSU to go to the final four out of the west and I’m not wavering. Too much length, depth and athleticism for Murray State. I’ve shot down two cinderellas in Liberty and Murray State, but I will take UC-Irvine to knock off the red-hot Oregon Ducks and dance into the sweet 16. Irvine leads the nation in two point percentage defense and while the Ducks are capable of lighting them up from three, I don’t think they will. Irvine has the ability to score inside as well and Max Hazzard is a very underrated guard. I’ll take Kansas over Auburn in the only true 4-5 matchup that we have. I think too many people are writing off Kansas. I also think they will have the best player on the floor and be able to capitalize off of an Auburn team, that while talented, can make their share of mistakes too (that almost cost them against New Mexico State).

Final Round Two Predictions –

East -Duke, Michigan State, Maryland, Virginia Tech

South – Virginia, Tennessee, Purdue, UC-Irvine

Midwest – North Carolina, Kentucky, Houston, Kansas

West – Gonzaga, Florida, Texas Tech, Florida State

The field of 68 is set as most know by now. Here are some observations and questions about the committee’s work. Be sure to check my March 18 podcast where myself and Brent Bascom look ahead to the madness, but for now I want to look back at the final selections.

For starters, I have no problem with the four number one seeds, nor do I have any issues with the order that they are placed. I would be willing to bet that there hasn’t been an overall #1 seed finish in third place in their own league by two full games, but that was what the unique case of this Duke team and Zion Williamson’s injury presented. It was going to be hard to rank Duke below Virginia (thanks to Duke’s two wins vs. them) and hard to rank Virginia below UNC (thanks to UVA winning their only head-to-head matchup, so 1-2-3 kind of took care of themselves despite the ACC standings. All three teams can call themselves ACC champs this year in their own way, after Duke won the tourney. Gonzaga as the fourth #1 seed was fine with me all along, especially after Kentucky and Tennessee lost. Conveniently, UNC has a head-to-head win over Gonzaga so the rankings of the four one seeds kind of took care of itself. Where my shock factor, like many, comes is with Sparty. Michigan State wins the regular season and conference tourneys and ends up in the same bracket as full strength Duke? It does not add up to me, especially considering they have beaten Michigan twice in the past eight days and Michigan is (deservingly) a two seed as well. Why these two aren’t swapped is beyond me. I can’t even speculate as to why other than geography in the regional rounds. The UVA/Vols 1-2 makes sense to me, but I am shocked that the other two seeds fell where they did.

From the top of the bracket to the bottom, you have to feel bad for UNC-Greensboro. It appears they were the first team to be left out, and there were some bid-stealers this weekend (St. Louis, Oregon). It appears the committee was able to avoid being overly accused of power conference bias as Temple and Belmont slide in and Clemson, NC State, Indiana, Alabama, Texas and TCU are all left out. They seemed to split the difference with the last few spots as it pertains to big conferences and mid and low conferences. If that was intentional, we will never know and rightfully so. St. John’s sticks out to me as the questionable power conference team to get in. 21-12 is not terrible, but to finish with a losing record in the Big East with a relatively weak non-conference slate (best win – VCU) appears to be a questionable selection to me. I think there are a handful of teams that could make a case to have been in over the Johnnies, even a couple in their own league. Committee chair Bernard Muir did say himself on CBS that despite all the fancy buzzwords like NET and Quads, teams like Indiana and Texas and TCU and Clemson just didn’t rack up enough W’s. It will be frustrating for fans of those teams to watch some teams that they could undoubtedly beat, but there were just too many missed opportunities for all of them.

Some other random thoughts/observations.

Oklahoma was safe all along – I didn’t expect them to have a single digit seed.

Seton Hall was safe all along as well, but I expected to see them higher than a 10, and could make a case for them over almost every 8 or 9 seed. That said, if they couldn’t go any higher than 8, they, like many teams, will probably take the 10 and avoid the 1 seed as long as possible.

I remember the days there was a rule that said conference teams could not play until the elite 8. I missed the year when that rule was explicitly changed, as I look at the bracket and see the possibility of Duke-VA Tech in the sweet 16, Syracuse-Florida State in the sweet 16 and Michigan State-Minnesota in the round of 32.

Bobby Hurley has a chance to meet his old team in the round of 64. He left Buffalo in great hands but I don’t think anyone would have predicted his new team being the 11 seed and his old team being the 6. If that frustrates him, he can just compare his current paycheck to his old one.

I think the top 12 teams were the top 12 teams and the 1’s, 2’s, 3’s kind of took care of themselves. Below that, I am surprised Villanova and Cincinnati didn’t end up a line or two higher than they did.

Speaking of Cincinnati, Tennessee has a right to be frustrated with the pod system favoring higher seeded teams. They could potentially play the Bearcats in Columbus, OH.

Jay Bilas just said it best. The entire nation will analyze the seeds and the picks like I just did for a day or two, then the games will start and that will rightfully be the focus. I will shift my attention to what’s ahead tomorrow night on episode 2 of Sports and Stuff That Matters. Be sure and tune in and enjoy the madness.

Some thoughts and predictions as the clock approaches 9 pm on Championship Week Friday.

Today’s loss by LSU combined with Gonzaga’s loss to St. Mary’s earlier in the week may have paved the way for the ACC to have three number one seeds. If Duke beats UNC and wins the ACC tourney title tomorrow, I believe that the Blue Devils, Cavaliers and Tar Heels will be three of the four one seeds come Sunday. Virginia currently trails Florida State by eight, but I do think their one seed is safe. The debate under that scenario would become Duke getting a one seed over Gonzaga, who beat the Duke head-to-head. I think the committee would go with a full-strength Duke fresh off the ACC title, while keeping UNC on the one line as well. The path has been cleared for Kentucky to claim the fourth one seed, in my eyes, with LSU and Gonzaga losses. Should Kentucky or Duke not claim tourney titles, I think Gonzaga still ends up on the one line.

Indiana fans are not having a great day, whether they realize it or not. Florida posted a huge win for their resume and most likely punched their ticket and Minnesota sjust closed out Purdue. VCU was eliminated from the A-10 tourney and they are viewed as having a stronger profile than the Hoosiers so that league most likely just became a big-stealing league. Ohio State did bow out, competitively, to Michigan State. It would be difficult to see the Hoosiers get in over either Minnesota or Ohio State, considering head-to-head meetings and conference standings. I just can’t count the Hoosiers out, though. They have six quad one wins, and got healthy and surged late despite a disappointing performance in the B1G Tourney. I’m not specifically saying money talks, but they are a prime candidate for a first four game in Dayton, Archie Miller’s old stomping grounds and a short drive from the entire state of Indiana.

There is talk of Alabama on the bubble, and I understand why, but also think their bubble is bursting for good as I type right now as Kentucky seems to be putting them away. Has their ever been a scenario where a 10 seed in a power conference (Alabama) is receiving consideration and the four seed (South Carolina) is not. South Carolina had an atrocious non-conference (and are tied for fourth at that) and I don’t think Alabama ultimately gets in, but it just seemed odd to see a 10 seed on the bubble with a four seed out of the mix. Speaking of power conferences, it is also odd to see the Pac 12 be a possible bid-stealer. Bubble teams are cheering hard for Washington and Arizona State tonight, but the Colorado Buffaloes have had the look of a suring bid-stealer type team and I wouldn’t be shocked if they upset Washington tonight.

Speaking of bid stealers, bubble teams let out a collective sigh of relief as Buffalo narrowly escaped Central Michigan earlier this evening. Bubble teams certainly are cheering for Nevada, Utah State and Kansas tonight. Bob Huggins made it clear with a tweet this morning that his team is not dead yet, and what a chapter to Coach Huggins coaching career this would be if the Mountaineers can throw together two more wins.

Another bubble that probably just burst was Xavier’s and they were oh so close to playing for the Big East Tournament tomorrow night. Villanova came up big in the final minute to force overtime where they secured a 71-67 win. When it comes down to it, Xavier probably just doesn’t have enough wins and it will be an illustration of how fine the line is. Xavier had several competitive non-conference losses to quality teams (combined with one ugly looking loss to Missouri) and had a tough stretch in Big East play. When it was all said and done though, they ended up posting a win against every team in the Big East except Marquette, but it might not be enough. That said, what a sight Indiana vs. Xavier in Dayton, Ohio would be to tip off the tourney!?!?!

Nicole and I executed her birthday present this weekend, a weekend trip to the Duke at North Carolina game in the Dean Dome in Chapel Hill.  Nicole has been a Tar Heel fan living in the Hoosier state since before I met her (and she was 14 when I met her), but never had the right opportunity to go to a game in the Smith Center.  Those who know me well are aware that I am not shy from a road trip/sports fan experience, but coaching high school basketball really limits those out-of-town opportunities between early November and early March.  The season-ending Duke-UNC game typically coincides with the first weekend of our post-season play here in Indiana.  This year, the college basketball calendar is a little later than normal if you haven’t noticed and unfortunately our team here at Lawrenceburg did not advance out of the sectional last weekend.  When you combine those two things, Duke at UNC was on the table this year for us and I threw as much of it together as I could prior to her birthday on November 9 and surprised her with a “you are going to Duke at UNC” note in her birthday card.  I spoke with her boss and made sure she was off work, planned coverage for Lucas and Logan with my mom and her parents (thanks again Mamaw Dotty, Grandma Trudy and Papa Jeff), lined up our typical dog-sitter months in advance instead of last minute like I normally do, booked a hotel in Chapel Hill and had a couple early leads on tickets that came to fruition over Christmas break.  I love the fact that my wife loves hoops as much as me.  A few people gave me “husband points” for such a sweet, well-planned, unique gift.  I’ll take good husband points however I can get them and whenever I can get them, but I also scored a trip to college basketball’s best rivalry for my wife’s birthday.  I kind of felt selfish about it!  Had we won the sectional, Nicole would have been in an unenvious situation of either skipping a Duke-UNC game with tickets in hand and hotel booked or calling a friend or family member to join her in Chapel Hill and skipping our regional.  I certainly wish myself and our team could have put her in that spot, but that wasn’t meant to be and my calendar was clear, so we hit the road Friday, 512 miles from Lawrenceburg to Chapel Hill.

Anyway, every part of the trip delivered, starting with the 2019 Nissan Altima that had only 650 miles on it when we fired it up and over 1700 when we returned it 54 hours later.  We love our kids more than anything, missed them every hour we were gone, and guessed what they were doing about a dozen times, but getting in a car and taking off without kids was something that we probably took for granted for the 13 years of our relationship prior to kids.  Doing a trip that was supposed to be a little over eight hours in a little over eight hours with total control over the radio and food selections the whole time was a welcome blast from the past for us.

We arrived at Chapel Hill on Friday night around 8:30 and intentionally waited to eat a late dinner in Chapel Hill instead of settling for a sandwich out of a bag in the car.  We ate at Top Of The Hill, a local restaurant and brewery right off campus on Franklin Street.  While they didn’t necessarily have a specialty cuisine (their specialty would be the beer that they make right on site), it was outstanding food and drink on a third-floor restaurant with views of both campus and the majority of the strip of restaurants, bars and shop on Franklin Street.  After that, we popped in and out of a couple other establishments Friday night, interacting with both locals and tourists like ourselves.  The crowds were not overwhelmingly large for the night before a big game, but certainly enough people to create an energy.  We even ran into Indiana-born and raised Tar Heel great, Sean May, one of Nicole’s all-time favorite college players (current director of basketball operations at UNC). He was the MVP of one of the best basketball games I’ve seen in person, the 2005 Tar Heel national title win over Illinois in St. Louis. We headed back to our hotel, via a pit stop at Insomnia Cookies, around 11:30 pm.  I’d say the younger crowd was just probably getting going at that point, and I’m certainly not afraid to admit that’s my time to find the television remote and a pillow.

We took full advantage of being tired from a full week of work, a long drive on Friday and a hotel without kids on Saturday morning and slept in and got an intentionally slow start on Saturday morning.  We eventually headed to the highly recommended Breadmen’s, and it didn’t disappoint.  Wall-to-wall Tar Heel athletic (not just basketball) posters, newspapers, ticket stubs with a delicious breakfast selection (the birthday girl’s favorite meal of the day) was a great way to start the day.  I conceded that I would not enjoy a Carolina BBQ joint on this quick trip as that isn’t Nicole’s favorite type of food, but fortunately for me Breadmen’s had a BBQ plate that was available for breakfast that did the job.  It was pulled pork with a vinegar based BBQ sauce.  Throw a couple eggs and some hashbrowns down with that and consider this breakfast meal was pushing lunch time after our slow start and that pretty much filled me up for the day, at least until I tried to unsuccessfully fight off the urge for the late night post game meal.  I don’t think the vinegar based BBQ sauce is one I’d choose back home or in the deep south compared to other options, but it is popular with Carolina BBQ and when in Rome, do as the Romans do. 

After a stroll around campus, we caught up with a couple friends of ours from Chicago at the sports bar Four Corners and passed the early afternoon there.  Nicole and I had ended up there the night before and the crowd was sparse and we had a beverage or two and were able to talk with the owner, the friendly wait staff and even Sean May who popped in for less than 30 minutes with a couple friends, but long enough for me to introduce myself and point out our connection of the Hoosier state and for Nicole to grab a picture with one of her all-time favorite college players.  On Saturday, there would be no small talk with the owner or the wait staff as the place was packed and electric.  It wasn’t too crowded to where you couldn’t talk to your group, but crowded enough to have a great vibe and keep us there the entire time until we started to make our way to the Dean Dome at about 4:30 for the 6 pm tip.  Having experienced Four Corners both on a non-packed evening and an exciting Saturday pre-game atmosphere, I’d recommend it under any circumstances.  The staff is good at what they do and friendly, the place is well decorated with plenty of Carolina history to read and celebrate, the food and drinks are reasonably priced and while I didn’t actually eat there, everything that got carried past me looked delicious.

For those that didn’t or wouldn’t pick up on the name of the bar, it is named after the Four Corners Basketball offense, for which Coach Dean Smith is credited as the innovator of.  Speaking of Coach Dean Smith, I had heard of this when he passed away in 2015 and was reminded of it by a local Friday night in Chapel Hill.  When Coach Smith passed away in 2015, he left in his will $200 to each player that earned a letter under him (unofficially over 180 players) with a note that said “Enjoy a dinner out on Coach Smith.”  To put it simply for me, that is one of the coolest stories I’ve heard.  There’s enough negativity around sports, and college basketball in particular right now, but stories of goodwill are out there as well, but this one is really awesome to me.  As a high school coach, I certainly care deeply about all the players I’ve coached that have made it through our program and look forward to watching those relationships over time as we all grow older.  If any of you guys are reading this, my heart is in the right place toward you, but can’t guarantee that my bank account is or will be to do something like this! 

We walked in the Dean Dome with 50 minutes left before tip, grabbed a coke and some popcorn and headed to our seats in section 222.  The Dean Dome is really a beautiful arena inside.  It is a simple and effective design and they didn’t outsmart themselves with the color pattern of the seats and signage.  It’s Tar Hell blue and white and then more Tar Heel blue.  As a Notre Dame graduate and fan, something that always bothered me about Notre Dame games was the wide variety of colors that filled the stands (blue, green, gold amongst the normal whites and grays) and there was never a dominant color in the crowd like you get at places like Nebraska, Michigan State, and obviously North Carolina.  Being in the sea of baby blue (in a black Jordan brand shirt myself) was really awesome.   The banners in the Dean Smith Center are a sight to be seen.  There are plenty of them, and they are extremely well-organized, simply designed and visible from everywhere.  At every turn of your head, you know you in the arena of one of college basketball’s finest programs.  Another thing that was extremely impressive to me was the small number of Duke fans in the stands.  Like all road teams, they got their small allotment of tickets where the Duke blue was visible, but in the other 20,000+ seats, you saw very little.  I give a ton of credit to the Tar Heel fan base for keeping ticket that carried such extraordinary value on the secondary market out of the Duke fans’ hands, especially considering this was a Saturday game against a team that is 11 miles away.  It was a great game and the environment was electric, start to finish.  As a fan, I have been to more big football games than basketball games.  College football is such a celebration with pageantry like no other sport at any level.  The entire weekend and pre-game experience of a college football weekend is unmatched, but the atmosphere for two hours inside the Dean Smith Center was nearly impossible to touch.  Basketball has some built-in advantages over football in this regard; the arenas are smaller and hold sound better, the game is faster paced and over in just over half the time, and you don’t have to worry about the elements of being too hot, cold, or wet.  When you put 100,000 plus people in a football stadium, inevitably you have lots who are there because it’s the place to be and aren’t super-concerned about what happens on a particular second and six.  Sometimes, you have people who use the game as an opportunity to rest up (sometimes, literally) between the pre and post-game activities.  I think that is typically avoided with a  big basketball game.  I’m not saying that you had 21,750 basketball gurus in the crowd, but I am saying you had nearly that number hanging on every possession, cheering and pulling for each trip like the game was in the balance.  The in-game experience at the Dean Dome last night was as good of a sports environment that I have been a part of start-to-finish. I’ve been to my share of games with great finishes (this was not one of them, the Tar Heels were icing it with free throws in the last minute) where the electricity, intensity and volume in the arena are all through the roof in the closing segments. Those things were through the roof in every segment on Saturday night.

As for the game, it was a high level game between two high level teams.  After a back and forth thirty minutes, North Carolina went on a mid-second half run to open up a 15 point lead and then held off a late Duke run (that seemed inevitable) to secure a 79-70 win and a share of the ACC regular season crown.  RJ Barrett was phenomenal at times, but did end up needing 27 field goal attempts to get his game high 26 points.  The Tar Heels, riding a balanced attack all year, put four in double figures, including seniors Kenny Williams and Cam Johnson.  Luke Maye, the third UNC senior celebrated on senior night, added 16 rebounds and 7 assists from Luke Maye who was not one of the four to get in double figures on a night where he struggled shooting.  Coby White, who has had an outstanding freshman season but struggled at Duke on February 20, including in his individual matchup with Duke’s Tre Jones, sparked the Tar Heels in the second half with fourteen of his twenty one, including eight in the game-changing run.

After the game, we caught back up with our friends from Chicago at Linda’s Bar and Grill on Franklin Street and de-briefed for a bit on the weekend while watching Michigan and Michigan State and consuming more calories than are recommended to be consumed after 8 pm.  We caught an Uber back to the Sheraton and got a decent night’s sleep (time change included) before waking up early and knocking out those 512 miles before 4 pm on Sunday.

As we head into a wide open NCAA tournament, which I plan on blogging and talking about on our podcasts my share so I will just briefly touch on Duke and UNC here to wrap this post up, these are two of the twelve or so teams that have a chance to cut down the nets on April 8.  These are also two teams that could head home in the round of 32 or 16 and be considered as a tourney disappointment.  Both of these teams are extremely talented, but not without flaws or question marks.  For Duke, the obvious situation right now is Zion Williamson, who did not play their last six games (including the first UNC game which he left less than a minute in).  All indications are Zion is back for the ACC tourney and beyond and that is obviously a huge impact.  He was the most dominant player in college hoops for the majority of the season and gives Duke the inside scoring threat that they missed last night and much of the past three weeks.  Zion’s absence might be equally missed on defense as Duke has yielded 70 or more in four of those six games, after only giving up 70 or more five times in twenty-one games between the Gonzaga loss and the Zion injury.  Duke is limping into the big dance (by their own ridiculously high standards), but this is the same Duke team who was labeled as unstoppable early in the season.  At full strength, Duke’s biggest weakness on the offensive end has been their perimeter (and free throw shooting at times).  They can drive the ball, score in transition, score in the post, score off turnovers and score on offensive rebounds.  Teams that rely on great three-point shooting teams typically don’t win and win big in March so a full-strength Duke team on offense is as ready to win in March (and April) as anyone.  If they have Zion at full strength and can get back to defending to the way they were in December/January, they are still as dangerous as anyone, even though they won’t enter this tournament as the unanimous favorite that most thought they would for over half of the year.

As for the Tar Heels, they are capable of beating anyone on any night.  That’s pretty obvious when you go through the gauntlet of the ACC schedule at 16-2.  They’ve improved as much as anyone since day one, as they suffered non-conference losses to what turned out to be an average Texas team and were embarrassed at Michigan before losing again right before Christmas to Kentucky.  When Santa Claus was at his busiest, many had UNC pegged for middle of the pack in the ACC and last night they were cutting down their Dean Dome nets as regular season co-champs with Virginia.  North Carolina’s balanced attack on offense can be a major asset in March.  They don’t count on one guy to go get them 25 every night, but have five guys that could.  Cameron Johnson is solid in every aspect, Coby White can score in bunches, Luke Maye has produced in big games over and over, Kenny Williams is capable and Nasir Little is as dangerous a sixth man as there is in the country.  The Tar Heels are older by their own standards, playing three seniors a lot of minutes.  North Carolina has never built the reputation as a lock-down defensive team and a lot of that has to do with the pace and tempo they play at, but their guards can really defend and they have the ability to create offense with their defense.  North Carolina can offset a poor perimeter shooting night if they have one by creating more possessions and opportunities in the game and eventually wearing down and outscoring their opponents.  The thing that this UNC team lacks compared to their great teams in 2016 and 2017 is that ability to just physically pound teams on the offensive boards and with their ability to score inside.  Kennedy Meeks and Isiah Hicks may not go down with the fanfare of Antwaan Jamison and Tyler Hansbrough, but those two had the ability to just physically dominate inside and find ways to score even though they weren’t necessarily offensive centerpieces.  I love Luke Maye as much as anyone, an under-recruited four year player who has overachieved and gotten the most out of his ability, but he and this Tar Heel team aren’t as physically dominant inside as some that have hoisted the championship trophies in the past.  That said, there is plenty in the strengths column of this Tar Heel team to give fans hope that they can win six in a row in the big dance in March and April.

March Madness is upon us.  One month from right now all the conference tourneys and the entire NCAA tourney will be over.  There are so many ways it could play out and that’s the fun of it.  Enjoy!  I look forward to discussing on podcasts and blogs. 

As for this weekend, it was great to cross the Dean Dome off my sports bucket list and to be with Nicole for her first trip which was ultimately a victory over Duke in a top-5 matchup.  I’ve been in an empty Cameron Indoor Stadium twice, but never for a game.  One does not get a big UNC fan a trip to a Duke game for her birthday, right?  What if the Tar Heels are playing too? 

Welcome to my new blog and podcasting platform, Sports and Stuff That Matters. I’m John Blackwell. I am married to Nicole, who is out of my league in looks and smarts. Lucas and Logan call me dad and still think I’m cooler than I actually am. My mom is awesome and my dad was too. I have one brother in Georgia with a great family of his own, and lots of wonderful people on my wife’s side. I teach teenagers and coach some hoops. There are people who call me Mr. Blackwell, some who call me Coach Blackwell, a handful that call me Uncle John, a whole lot that call me JB and even a few that just call me John. In the winter months there are people in gym bleachers that might call me things I don’t want or need to know.

We will talk sports here and some other stuff that’s going on in the world that people might consider important. I’ll try and do a podcast once a week with a guest co-host, probably posting on Sunday or Monday. During the week, I may blog a little bit or throw together other short and more specific podcasts on top of the weekly show. I’m a lifelong Hoosier, so we will probably hit stuff inside the Hoosier state in a little more depth than other areas, while covering the national landscape as well. We will get serious about some stuff and have fun with it at the same time.

I am too young to remember when Macs came out, but old enough to remember life without the internet. There’s lots I miss about what I consider the good ole days and I am starting to believe the people who used to tell me how much better their good ole days were too. Thanks for finding me and I’d love to hear your hot takes, ideas and what matters to you.