One Month for the Resume

With only one month left until the tournament starts, it’s time to dig deeper into what’s out there. Although I probably should’ve focused a little more on the BracketBuster side of things, I like to save that for conference tournament time to catch teams as their entering Selection Sunday. I was able to catch some of that action as well as the numerous other games on Saturday’s card.

• Although it's not tournament related, it needs to be said that Jim Calhoun is a whiny cry baby.
• Davidson will be a non-factor in this year’s tournament. Don’t expect another Elite Eight run because they lack a cohesive offense outside of letting Curry rip it up.
• Butler on the other hand showed some nice features. Gordon Heyward is a player in the Singler/Hummel mode, who somehow escaped the Big Ten. Matt Howard’s got moves in the post. They probably couldn’t handle a team with superior athleticism, but the right matchup could suit them.
• St. Mary’s is coming along without Patty Mills. The win against Utah St. will prove to be vital on their resume. Omar Samhan is an immovable object in the lane. The only thing St. Mary’s could’ve done better was get Diamon Simpson the ball more, but that will happen when their PG returns. Hopefully the improvements elsewhere don’t go out the window.
• North Carolina got a little tight in the final minutes against Maryland. Danny Green, specifically, came up short on a couple shots, which just screams of nervous energy.
• While I do like Marquette’s perimeter trio, it does worry me that they don’t have a post presence. What separates them from a team like Duke is that their offense don’t rely heavily on the three-pointer and because all of their guards can attack the rim. Plus I have faith in the seniors' ability to score late in a close game.
• Marquette’s defense isn’t as good as it’s been in previous years. McNeal still deserves the defensive praise, but they lack an interior presence and they give up too many good looks from range.
• It looks like Providence won’t make the tournament, but if they do, remember that defense isn’t part of their vocabulary.
• When the game was on the line, Tyreke Evans did what was necessary to get Memphis the win. He started looking for his shot and dribbled off screens to find open 18-footers. The only negative was his inability to completely ice the game with better foul shooting.
• California lacked leadership in the final minutes against Oregon State and typically that falls on the shoulders of Jerome Randle, one of my least favorite point guards. The Bears only had seven assists as a team and you couldn’t tell Randle was even on the floor during half the game.
• The other knock on Cal’s performance was lackluster defending. Get your hands up fellas!