2009 NCAA Tournament: West/East Regional Finals

Another 3-1 evening puts me at 44-12…but no thanks to the former defending champions. True, Bill Self and Kansas got further than a lot of people thought they’d get (be honest, how many of you had them losing to the Fightin’ Hicks), but allowing Michigan State to go on 12-2 run in the closing minutes didn’t help my overall bracket. Two-for-two is the goal for today.


#3 Missouri Tigers (31-6, 12-4 Big XII) vs.
#1 Connecticut Huskies (30-4, 15-3 Big East)
West Regional Final
University of Phoenix Stadium – Glendale, AZ
The Huskies continue to roll through the tournament, despite the dealings of dirty Jim Calhoun and the lack of Jerome Dyson. In fact, of all eight teams remaining, UConn has bested everyone else. Their dominating performances of Texas A&M and Purdue is better than Villanova’s games against UCLA and Duke (especially since American almost tripped up the Cats). Louisville didn’t look good against Siena. Michigan State struggled against USC and Kansas. Pitt has escaped in all three rounds. UNC almost found a way to lose to LSU. Oklahoma couldn’t put Michigan away until late. UConn is the only team that has looked good in all three rounds.

Missouri, after struggling against an undermanned Marquette team, looked very impressive in Glendale against Memphis. Even as Memphis tried to make things interesting in the last 10 minutes, the game was never really in doubt. Missouri shredded the improved Memphis defense with ease. J.T. Tiller went from being a set-up guy to a 23-point scorer in one evening. Mizzou finally showed in the NCAA Tournament what they had been showing all season long in the Big XII. They forced 14 turnovers and added 17 assists. All five starters were in double digits. The Tigers got an extra 20 points off the bench. More importantly, Missouri got their transition game going again. It was lacking in their wins over Cornell and Marquette.

So as far as this game goes, I need Missouri to win (for the office pool) and I think they have a pretty good chance of winning. However, they don’t have the defensive players to stop Jeff Adrien and Hasheem Thabeet in a halfcourt game. If UConn limits the Tigers transition game, then there are mismatches all over the court for Connecticut. This game tilts to UConn, but without Dyson, the guard position is still a problem for the Huskies. And you saw how much freshman sensation Tyreke Evans struggled handling the ball on Thursday (His 33 points was good…but his six turnovers gave Mizzou several easy baskets. It got so bad, Antonio Anderson was running the point for the majority of the 2nd half). A.J. Price is good enough to keep the Tigers running game to a minimum. Stanley Robinson is always good for a couple of key plays. And if there is ever a game that Thabeet will prove he’s ready for the NBA, this has to be the one for UConn.
Pick: Connecticut 84, Missouri 79



#3 Villanova Wildcats (29-7, 13-5 Big East) vs.
#1 Pittsburgh Panthers (31-4, 15-3 Big East)
East Regional Final
T.D. Banknorth Garden – Boston, MA
Pittsburgh did their best to just skirt by in rounds one, two and three. They have yet to play a good 40 minutes in this tournament. DeJuan Blair has had several good, but nowhere near great games. Yet, Pitt has managed to beat two very good teams in Oklahoma State and Xavier. They also beat an under-seeded East Tennessee State. So in a weird way, that has to be encouraging to Pitt fans. Their team hasn’t looked good, but they’ve kept winning. Somehow Jamie Dixon managed not to choke before the Elite 8 this season. And most importantly, the Panthers managed to break through their personal glass ceiling. They have the Sweet 16 monkey off their back. These all have to be good signs for Pitt fans.

On the other hand, maybe it’s a sign of things to come. Maybe Pitt just isn’t good enough. Maybe the Pitt team we saw against OSU and Xavier is the same team that will show up the rest of the way. Maybe Blair is just a very good player and not a great player. Maybe Sam Young and Levance Fields will have to carry this Pittsburgh team instead. Especially since the roll players (Jermaine “Please Don’t Compare Me To Juan” Dixon, Tyrell Biggs and Brad Wanamaker) have virtually disappeared in the last couple of weeks. This Pitt squad has really become a three-man team.

Villanova, despite the record and the seeding, is the better of the two teams. Not only that, they made the NCAA Tournament a more tolerable place since they ejected the Dookies back to Durham for another long offseason. So there is a lot to like about these Wildcats. Since I’m running low on time, I’m going to go light on the actual analysis. Villanova has been dominating for the past 80 minutes of basketball. Their inside guys have stepped up, and they have the muscle to match up with Blair and Young. I think Villanova will win this game, but I took Pitt to make the Final Four when I filled out the brackets. I’m going to stick with the Panthers for the sake of my brackets, but that’s the only reason.
Pick: Pittsburgh 72, Villanova 68