Anyone going to be able to top the story of Anthony Johnson this month? I
doubt it. And even if it happens, good. These are the kinds of things
- the human-interest pieces - that take us away from the bubble talk (which is
admittedly fun) and make us say, "Hey, wow, now this is really something. This
is worth forwarding to a friend." The Grizzlies got an automatic bid thanks to
Johnson scoring two-thirds of the team's points last night. It was an epic
comeback, one that had the Twitter world buzzing as it all unfolded.
It its 109-year span of playing basketball, Montana has never been ranked. It did make
one Sweet 16 - back in 1975, when the tournament was 32 teams deep and it lost
in the second round to eventual champion UCLA - and got a first-round upset
over Nevada a few years back. But the school is largely void of any rich
basketball history. So this is the year. Johnson's heroics in defeating Weber State
is the launching pad for a season unlike any other. Think about what the school
is going through right now. Calls from around the country - including this very
blog! - are flooding into the athletic offices, searching for Johnson and head
coach Wayne Tinkle (avoiding sophomore puns at all costs here).
You know about Johnson's backstory, so
how can you not root for this team to pull off an upset? There would,
seemingly, be no better club to win next Thursday or Friday than this one.
Player to know: This is a joke, right? If you want to bare-bone stats on
Johnson this season, here you go: 19.6 PPG; 50.6 percent from the field; 88
percent from the foul line; 46 percent from 3-point range.
The Vitals:
»Record: 22-9, 10-6 Big Sky
»Team colors: copper, silver and gold
»We're thinking: a 16-seed
»KenPom ranking: 104
»RPI: 124
»Best win: @ Oregon (15-15)
»Worst loss: Idaho State (7-22)
»Notable stat: Montana shot the ball more effectively (49 percent from the
floor; 40 percent from 3) and held opponents to the worst field goal percentage
(41.7) in the Big Sky.
»Most recent tournament history (eight total appearances):
-2006 (12-seed):W first
round over Nevada,
87-79; L second round to No. 4 Boston College, 69-56.
-2005 (16-seed): L first round to Washington,
88-77.
Very few bubble teams can secure a bid on Thursday, but early-round losses for any of them would likely extinguish their hopes.
Florida must beat Auburn. Georgia Tech must get by North Carolina. And Pac-10 contenders Washington and Arizona State must each avoid quarterfinal upsets to set up their crucial semifinal clash.
The number of open spots in the tournament shrunk from eight to seven on Wednesday with Notre Dame pretty much securing an at-large bid with a fifth straight win. On the other hand, South Florida removed itself from contention with a loss to Georgetown and Seton Hall damaged its hopes by falling to the Irish.
Last Five In, First Five Out
61.
Illinois (18-12, 10-8, RPI: 75) Although it's hard to imagine a
team with victories over Clemson, Vanderbilt, Michigan State and
Wisconsin not making the field, Illinois is in jeopardy as a result of
its bloated RPI and poor finish. The Illini have to avenge Sunday's loss
to Wisconsin in the Big Ten quarterfinals, or Selection Sunday will be
very dicey.
62. Washington (21-9, 11-7, RPI:
50): The Huskies finished a game behind Arizona State in the Pac-10
standings, but victories over Cal and Texas A&M are more impressive
than anything on the Sun Devils' resume. A Pac-10 title game appearance
is a must for Washington, meaning the Huskies will probably have to
defeat Arizona State in the semifinals to get there.
63. San Diego State (20-8,
11-5, RPI: 36): Unlike other bubble teams, San Diego State's NCAA
tournament hopes can be summed up fairly simply. A win over likely
Mountain West semifinal opponent New Mexico would put the Aztecs solidly
in the field, while a quarterfinal or semifinal loss would likely knock
them out.
64. Georgia Tech (18-11, 7-9, RPI:
44): Can a team that finished below .500 in the ACC and lost eight of
nine road conference games make the NCAA tournament? This season,
absolutely. The Yellowjackets' victory over Duke is keeping them afloat
right now, but they need a first-round ACC tournament win over North
Carolina at minimum and perhaps a quarterfinal victory over Maryland on
top of that.
65. Arizona
State (22-9, 12-6, RPI: 55): Eight
wins in their final 10 games earned the Sun Devils second place in the
Pac-10 and a spot on the bubble, but their most impressive victories are
over bubble teams Washington and San Diego State. They must beat the
Huskies again in the Pac-10 tournament semifinals to merit legit
consideration.
------- CUT LINE --------
66.
Seton Hall (19-12, 9-9, RPI: 54): Seton Hall lobbied hard for a
bid after its loss to Notre Dame on Wednesday night, but that missed
opportunity could be a killer. Although the Pirates haven't lost to a
single team outside the top 75 in the RPI this season, outside of a win
over Pittsburgh, their best wins are Louisville and Cornell.
67. Mississippi (21-9, 9-7, RPI:
56): It took a late surge to get to 9-7 in the SEC for Mississippi to
give itself a chance to make the NCAA tournament. Non-conference wins
over Kansas State and UTEP will help the Rebels' cause, but without a
quarterfinal victory over Tennessee this week, Ole Miss is probably
NIT-bound.
68.
Memphis (23-8, 13-3, RPI: 46): Memphis' RPI is solid because it
played strong non-league competition, but the trouble is that the
Tigers didn't win any of those games this season. They'll need to get to
the Conference USA title game by perhaps beating Alabama-Birmingham for
a third time and then hope that other bubble teams continue to falter.
69.
Mississippi State (21-10, 9-7, RPI: 68): No bubble team
endured a more damaging week last week than the Bulldogs, who lost at
Auburn and then got torched at home by Tennessee. The Bulldogs face a
must-win SEC quarterfinal against fellow bubble team Florida and then
depending on how other bubble teams fare, they may still need one more
win after that.
70. Alabama-Birmingham (23-7, 11-5, RPI: 41): UAB's victories over Butler and fellow fringe bubble team Cincinnati are helpful, but the Blazers' 11-5 conference record includes losses in all three meetings with UTEP and Memphis. Advancing to the Conference USA title game with a win over Memphis is a must for third-seeded UAB, but the Blazers may need to win the tournament to get a bid.
Thursday's Bubble Look-ahead
• Georgia Tech vs. North Carolina — There's no more intriguing matchup today than this battle of underachievers. Tech can't lose here or its out.
• Cincinnati vs. West Virginia — Either Cincinnati makes things very interesting with a big upset, or Bob Huggins sends his former team to the NIT.
• Arizona State vs. Stanford — Sun Devils must get this one to set up their potential Pac-10 semifinal match-up with Washington.
• Washington vs. Oregon State — Ditto for the Huskies. A must-win.
• Florida vs. Auburn — The Gators may need two SEC tournament wins depending on how other bubble teams fare, but no doubt they need this one.
• Memphis vs. Houston — This is the first of two must-wins for the Tigers.
• San Diego State vs. Colorado State — Like Memphis in Conference USA, the Aztecs likely need two wins in the Mountain West tournament.
Had his future wife not finagled a tryout for him at a local junior college four years ago, Montana's Anthony Johnson never would have been in position to lead the Grizzlies to an improbable NCAA tournament berth on Wednesday night.
In fact, he probably wouldn't be playing basketball at all.
The bargain Nance brokered revived Johnson's basketball career and put him on a path toward blossoming into easily the most jaw-dropping story of March so far. The 6-foot-3 senior erupted for 34 of his Big Sky tournament record 42 points in the second half of Wednesday's 66-65 victory in the title game, singlehandedly willing Montana back from a 20-point halftime deficit to stun top-seeded Weber State.
"I feel like I'm kind of dreaming right now," Johnson told reporters after the game. "I'll probably end up watching on TV and it will sink in when we get back home."
Although Johnson averaged a team-high 18.9 points per game for Montana this year, he'd never had a superhuman night like this before. On Wednesday, Johnson was simply unstoppable in the second half, beating two and three Weber State defenders by getting to the rim, pulling up for mid-range jumpers or sticking an occasional contested 3-pointer.
To better understand what Johnson accomplished Wednesday, consider this for a moment:
• He scored Montana's final 21 points of the night
• He shot 11 of 15 in the second half and 14 of 14 from the free throw line
• He buried the go-ahead shot with 10 seconds to go, weaving through defenders until he found a sliver of light at the elbow and sinking a pull-up jumper to win it.
"We were going to get it to A.J.," Montana coach Wayne Tinkle told reporters after the game. "We're going to ride him."
Maybe the best part of Johnson's story is that he returned the favor his wife once did for him.
When Division I scholarship offers began pouring in for Johnson after he blossomed into an elite scorer at Yakima Valley, he told coaches that he'd only consider their school on one condition: They find a spot for his wife on the women's team.
"She got me my first opportunity to right off the bat play basketball," Johnson told MontanaGrizzlies.com. "If it wasn't for her using the power she had, there would be no Anthony Johnson playing basketball, period. When I had an opportunity to return the favor, I felt pretty good about it."
Familiarity is good. CBS seems to know that, which may be why its announcing teams for the NCAA tournament are almost identical to last year.
We don't need surprises when we flip on the first round of the tournament next Thursday at noon EDT. I like the routine. There will be a brief, uninformative pre-game show in New York featuring Greg Gumbel; a slightly modified intro featuring at least one clip of Christian Laettner's shot playing over the familiar CBS NCAA basketball theme and then a cut to a far-flung locale for the first game of the day, probably with Ian Eagle announcing that he'll take us to our game as soon as it begins.
It's as routine as going to fireworks on July 4th or watching the Detroit Lions lose on Thanksgiving. It's the greatest. Why mess with it?
Thankfully, CBS didn't. Here's the network's list of announcer pairings for the first two rounds of the tournament. It looks quite similar to last year's:
• Studio: Greg Gumbel, Greg Anthony, Seth Davis
• Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg
• Dick Enberg/Jay Bilas
• Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery
• Gus Johnson/Len Elmore
• Kevin Harlan/Dan Bonner
• Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel
• Tim Brando/Mike Gminski
• Spero Dedes/Bob Wenzel
Other than our usual complaints about the bland Clark Kellogg, it's a fine list. (Although we do wish Greg Anthony was given something more to do rather than try to get a word in over Seth Davis in the studio.) Len Elmore is normally a pretty reserved dude, so it's nice that he's with the powder keg of excitement that is Gus Johnson. As much fun as it would be to have a Gus/Bill Raftery pairing, there's a reasonable fear that the two would spontaneously combust if they had to announce a buzzer beater together.
Jay Bilas is given the job of keeping viewers from ignoring all the errors made by the 75-year old Dick Enberg, who is experiencing the inevitable decline that all legendary announcers go through. Enberg hasn't yet his Pat Summerall territory, but he's definitely slipped a lot in recent years. Bilas can't really get into a groove with Enberg, which is a shame because he's as good as they come. It's great that ESPN allows Bilas to moonlight for CBS during the tournament, we just wish they'd send Dan Shulman along too.
If we can assume that the teams are listed in ranked order, that would mean the Gus/Len pairing will get to call a regional. (Keeps fingers crossed.) The "H" team of Spero Dedes and Bob Wenzel is the only new one from last season (Dedes replaces Craig Bolerjack).
If you're like me, you frequently wonder how much game is still possessed by old college basketball coaches. There's little doubt young guys like Jeff Capel and Dane Fife still got game, but what of the older guard?
We all know know Mike Krzyzewski is one of, if not the, greatest coach of all-time and that he also played guard at West Point. But how's his jumpshot at age 63? And Jim Boeheim teaches the zone defense to Syracuse players like Socrates taught philosophy to Plato. But can he still take away the high post in practice?
There are no answers to these questions in this blog post, only a video to confirm that, yes, the skills of older basketball coaches have yet to fully erode. At an ACC tournament shoot-around Wednesday, Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg drained a half-court hookshot that looked, dare I say, Kareem-esque:
Later on his Twitter page, Greenberg boasted that he "displayed his range" at practice and thinks he still "might have eligibility." (Eligibility questions? Too bad Tim Floyd isn't still at USC.)
Virginia Tech will play the winner of Wake Forest-Miami in Friday's ACC quarterfinals. No word on whether Greenberg will suit up and come off the bench for the Hokies.
Could Notre Dame actually be better without Harangody?
We now know the answer to that question is an emphatic "no" after watching Harangody lead the Irish to their biggest win of the season on Wednesday night. In just his second game back from a bone bruise in his right knee. Harangody came off the bench to score 20 points and grab 10 boards in 24 minutes, propelling Notre Dame to a 68-56 victory over Seton Hall that removed any remaining doubt that the Irish are at-large-worthy.
If this victory brought sweet relief for Notre Dame, it will mean four anxious days for Seton Hall. The Pirates played their way into at-large consideration largely by winning the games they were supposed to this season, but they needed another marquee victory over a team like the Irish to feel comfortable at all about their chances.
Seton Hall seemed to have a great chance to get that victory until Harangody checked into the game four minutes into the first half with tentative-looking Notre Dame already down 9-2. The senior ignited the Irish with his scoring, rebounding and hustle, posting 15 points and nine rebounds before the break to help give his team a 28-21 lead that it never relinquished.
With the Irish now safely in the field, take a few seconds to reflect on what they've done to get there.
After a Feb. 17 loss to Louisville, Notre Dame had an injured star, a 6-8 record in Big East play and no marquee wins besides a home victory over West Virginia in early January. Now the Irish have rattled off wins over Pittsburgh, Georgetown, Connecticut, Marquette and Seton Hall, a five-game win streak impressive enough that it might vault the Irish all the way to an eight or nine seed.
You can credit coach Mike Brey for slowing down the tempo, getting his team to work for better shots and better masking Notre Dame's defensive inadequacies. You can credit Harangody's co-stars Tim Abromaitis, Ben Hansbrough and Carleton Scott for shouldering more of the scoring load now that they couldn't simply stand around after dumping it inside.
Just don't attribute Notre Dame's success to Harangody's absence. We learned today that with a healthy Harangody and an improved supporting cast, the Irish are more dangerous than ever.
"John Wall was like, 'who is that?' And I was like, 'I don't know,'" Cousins recalled. "I thought it was the coach from Tennessee -- I mean Georgia. I don't know. That was crazy."
Of course, Stallings probably needs no introduction to Cousins: The Kentucky freshman abused the Commodores for a total of 40 points and 15 boards in the Wildcats' two victories this season.
"A lot has been made of John Wall, but I think Cousins ... is just as much of a factor," Stallings said earlier this season. "He's really becoming a dominant inside player, maybe the dominant inside player in our league."
If loving "One Shining Moment" is wrong, then I've never wanted to be right. But with the recent announcement that Oscar and Grammy winner/over-singer Jennifer Hudson will take over the song for this year's NCAA tournament, I may have to reconsider that position.
CBS announced this week that Hudson recorded a new rendition of "OSM" last month and that it will air at the conclusion of the men's national championship game on April 3. She will be the fourth artist to perform the song for the network, following singer/songwriter David Barrett (1987-1993, 2000-2002), Teddy Pendergrass (1994-1999) and Luther Vandross (2002-2009).
It's a pretty obvious choice; Hudson is known for her soaring vocals and inspirational recordings, so "One Shining Moment" is right up her alley. Whether you like it or not, it's impossible to deny that the song is the height of schmaltz. My fear is that Hudson's voice will only intensify that feeling.
To me, the ultimate rendition was from Pendergrass. Even if you thought the song was cheesy, what were you going to do about it? Say something to Teddy P? I think not. (Eddie Murphy summed it up best in "Delirious." Warning: NSFW language on that link.)
Here's the classic Teddy rendition:
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That's smooth, silky and a little bit intimidating, sort of like a musical version of Randolph Childress. Considering that Pendergrass passed in January, running his version would have been a grand tribute. But, like I said, I get the Hudson thing. She's a big star. Plus, if the NCAA opts out of its contract and takes the tournament to ESPN, this might be the last time CBS shows "One Shining Moment."
Perhaps I'm being unfair to Ms. Hudson though. Maybe I just miss Teddy P. Maybe I have an inherent bias against people who didn't even finish ahead of this guy on their season of "American Idol." Or maybe Hudson was so good in "Dreamgirls" that I'm unfairly projecting my disdain for Effie upon her. It's probably a combination of the three. Hudson is a great singer. Though she won't bring the raw, yet delicate, machismo to "OSM" that Pendergrass did, I'm sure she'll do fine.
So you go ahead, Jennifer. Sing the hell out of "One Shining Moment." And like always, I'll be watching with goosebumps. (Unless your version airs over clips of Duke celebrating a title. Then we'll have problems.)
Since I wrote that post the Bulldogs won 13 in a row. Oh, and they had won seven straight before that. Nobody enters the NCAA tournament with a longer winning streak than this team. It's possible Butler is very, very good. Wright State was a sneaky upset pick in Tuesday night's Horizon title game, but it stood no chance. Butler completed its perfect season in the league by roughing up the Raiders, 70-45. This group was the class of the league and proved so by kicking the last team into its grave with authority. Who knew Butler could blow someone out so effectively!
Butler has moved up alongside Xavier and Gonzaga to create the troika of mid-major teams that have become a staple in March. The school has made the Sweet 16 twice since the tournament expanded in 1985 (2003 and 2007), but is this the year when it can get to the Elite Eight? Some might consider it a dark horse for the Final Four. But with the style they play, winning four straight games is a tall task.
Player to know: Gordon Hayward. The sophomore is the team's best player (no disrespect to Matt Howard) and has such a high ceiling that he could be a First Team All-America by his senior year. Hayward puts up a team-best 15.4 points per game while snaring 8.5 rebounds and making 83 percent of his foul shots. A big man who can hit the freebies? Clutch.
The Vitals:
»Record: 28-4, 18-0 Horizon »Team colors: blue and white »We're thinking: a 4-seed »KenPom ranking: 25 »RPI: 17 »Best win: @ Ohio State (24-7) »Worst loss: Minnesota (18-12) »Notable stat: If the 20 consecutive wins doesn't do it for you, how about the defense across the board? Butler allows 59.7 points per, and that's 13th best in the country. Plus, it keeps foes to 30 percent from the 3-point line and 41 percent from the field. If you can't get out of the 50s, you're not going to win against this team. »Most recent tournament history: -2009 (9-seed):L first round to LSU, 75-71. -2008 (7-seed): W first round over South Alabama, 81-61; L second round to No. 2 Tennessee, 76-71 (OT). -2007 (5-seed): W first round over Old Dominion, 57-46; W second round over No. 4 Maryland, 62-59; L Sweet 16 to No. 1 Florida, 65-57.
What defines "north" in Texas? Denton. That's the town these guys are from. Denton's 50 minutes north of Dallas. If North Texas rings a faint, hazy bell it's because you correctly picked Memphis to beat it three years ago, when it was a 15-seed. This season, the Mean Green (again, terrific nickname) reeled off 11 straight wins to end their Sun Belt season and catapult into the NCAAs. A win isn't likely, but never completely write off a team that's made a habit of collecting W after W in February and March.
North Texas took out Troy, which also owned a 13-5 record in conference, in Tuesday night's title game. One of the closest championship games so far this week, it was Josh White who lifted his team to the win. White hit a pull-up jumper from just beyond the foul line to give the Mean Green a 65-63 lead with 20 seconds remaining. Good, good game, and we hope you didn't miss it.
Player to know: White's the most dynamic player on the team, but he also was on the leaderboard for most turnovers per game in the Sun Belt. White shoots it well from the free throw line (83 percent) and will have to play at a level above what he's shown, most likely, to give UNT even a puncher's chance next week.
The Vitals:
»Record: 24-8, 13-5 Sun Belt »Team colors: green and white »We're thinking: a 16-seed »KenPom ranking: 166 »RPI: 120 »Best win: @ Western Kentucky (21-13) »Worst loss: Florida International (7-25) »Notable stat: Two players shoot better than 55 percent from the floor. George Odufuwa (61 percent) and Eric Tramiel (56 percent) pay rent in the paint and make the most of their chances. And Tuesday night they combined for 27 rebounds. How often do you see a mid-major team with effective bruisers down low? We've got some here. »Most recent tournament history (two total appearances): -2007 (15-seed):L first round to Memphis, 73-58.
Very few bubble teams can secure a bid on Thursday, but early-round losses for any of them would likely extinguish their hopes.
Familiarity is good. CBS seems to know that, which may be why its announcing teams for the NCAA tournament are almost identical to last year.
As Notre Dame reeled off season-saving win after season-saving win without injured star 
Earlier this season 