Stanford's overtime win over Marquette was the best game of the second round, a game that was only topped by the fantastic Western Kentucky-Drake game on Friday in the race for the best game of the weekend. The Cardinal seemed to have a plan in OT, consistently dribbling the ball to the right side, where Brook Lopez established superior post position and scored time after time. A double team might have helped here, but Tome Crean seemed to think that Lopez would eventually start missing. This almost worked, until Lopez's uber-athletic game winner with a few seconds left. Like most younger brothers, Robin is not nearly as good as his older brother, but played well nonetheless with 18 and 9. While the Lopez brothers certainly possess some talent on the basketball court, I would like to think if they took on me and one of my brothers we would be able to exploit them with our quickness and exceptional outside shooting. Sure, these guys are at least a foot taller than each of us, but don't underestimate the influential power of the forearm shiver to one's kidneys. Brook will think twice before he comes back to my block. I am not saying we would blow them out, but I am not sure it would be too close.
In another great game, Butler let me down in OT against Tennessee, which sets the stage for a great game with Louisville next Thursday, who crushed the over-seeded Sooners from Oklahoma. UCLA was less than impressive against Texas A&M, but Kevin Love demonstrated why he is sensational with two great shots in the game's waning moments. Memphis advanced despite the fact that they cannot shoot free throws. I don't care what Calipari says, this team does not make them when the game is on the line. The Shaq defense does not play here. I had mentioned Duke was about to lose in an earlier post, but it feels great to say again that Coach K will not make it to the second week of the tournament for the second year in a row after losing to West Virginia. I have to agree with experts who say that WVU will advance to the Elite Eight (see here). UNC demonstrated that it is the best college basketball team on the planet by annihilating a bad Arkansas team. I must offer a correction to a previous post where I said that everyone on UNC's roster scored in Friday's rout of Mount St. Mary's. In fact, only 15 of the team's 16 members scored. It is worth noting that Marc Campbell (the 1 of 16 who didn't score) managed a hit a three late on Sunday so that everyone on the roster scored in the tournament's first weekend. The weekend's biggest shock came when the Davidson Stephen Currys beat Georgetown, despite trailing by 17 in the second half. The only thought that comes to mind is Stephen Curry is good.
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