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Archive for the category “UNC Correspondent”

26 Jun 2013
4 Comments

Examining the PJ Hairston Situation- Best-Case and Worst-Case Scenarios

By now, the case of North Carolina guard PJ Hairston has been well publicized. Hairston, the Tar Heel’s leading scorer and top returner from 2012-2013, was caught earlier this month driving without a license, in possession of marijuana and with a 9mm firearm and nine rounds of ammunition outside of his rental car in nearby Durham. That was probably enough to earn him a huge suspension from Coach Roy Williams. But it turns out that was only the beginning.

Read more…

Posted by Mr. Tar Heel in ACC only, Basketball, Opinion, Scandal, UNC Correspondent
12 Jun 2013
5 Comments

…And the Real Carolina Prevails!

In a season full of extra innings, postponed contests and 57 wins (so far), the North Carolina Tar Heels have always found a way to come out on top. After torrential rain caused Game 3 of the Chapel Hill Super Regional to be moved to Tuesday afternoon, the boys in blue showed their neighbors down south who the real Carolina is (recognized by 49 states), defeating border rival South Carolina 5-4 at Boshamer Stadium.

But what’s so amazing isn’t that the team’s postseason hopes are still alive. After all, they’ve been ranked #1 in the country almost the entire year and were the #1 seed in the tournament. No, most remarkable is the streak that the Tar Heels take with them as they set off for their sixth College World Series since 2006, and tenth overall- they haven’t lost two games in a row all season. That’s not just tough to do, it’s nearly impossible.

Read more…

Posted by Mr. Tar Heel in ACC Network, Baseball, ESPN, UNC Correspondent
27 May 2013

More Good News for North Carolina/More Good News for the ACC

And the good news just keeps coming for the Tar Heels, as the North Carolina Women’s Lacrosse team defeated the previously undefeated Maryland Terrapins in 3OT Sunday night for program’s first NCAA National Championship. Sammy Jo Tracy scored the deciding goal just 31 seconds into triple-overtime to give North Carolina the 13-12 advantage and end the game against their longtime ACC rival.

Read more…

Posted by Mr. Tar Heel in Baseball, Conference News, Lacrosse, UNC Correspondent
26 May 2013
2 Comments

North Carolina Wins the 2013 ACC Baseball Championship!

After nearly 50 innings in 3 days, North Carolina’s hard work finally paid off. They can finally rest (and they need to) as 2013 ACC Baseball Champions. In a game that was exciting, but never truly in doubt, the Tar Heels defeated the Hokies 4-1 in front of an ACC Championship record crowd of 8,697 at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. It was the perfect way to cap an unusual, and record-setting weekend in college baseball’s most-exciting conference.

Read more…

Posted by Mr. Tar Heel in Baseball, Conference News, UNC Correspondent, Uncategorized
24 May 2013
7 Comments

Virginia Tech Advances to ACC Baseball Championship

Just moments ago, Virginia Tech beat Georgia Tech in the 3:00pm game of the ACC Baseball Championship. The Hokies advance to the finals on Sunday for the first time ever, already boasting more wins in this year’s tournament (3) than they have ever achieved since they joined the conference in 2004. Virginia Tech’s opponent for Sunday’s game is still to be determined, but is likely to be decided tomorrow night in the 7:00pm sellout (standing room only was running out when I left the stadium) tilt between North Carolina and North Carolina State. Read more…

Posted by Mr. Tar Heel in Baseball, UNC Correspondent, Uncategorized, Weekend Preview
14 May 2013
1 Comment

With Kansas, Andrew Wiggins Isn’t Maple Jordan

So decision day came and went and Andrew Wiggins will not be playing in the ACC next year. Both Florida State and North Carolina lost out this afternoon when the nation’s consensus #1 recruit picked the Kansas Jayhawks. Am I upset? I’m not sure yet. After reading up on Wiggins, I’m just not sure he’s the type of guy I want on my team. You’ll probably think I’m just bitter. Didn’t I write a glowing article about him yesterday? Stay with me. His decision, and the way he went about it, told me a lot that I didn’t think about before.

Throughout Wiggins’ recruitment I kept hearing that the reason he didn’t speak to the media was because he was “shy.” But if that was the case, why did he drag out his recruitment so long? Why did his coach and brother issue statements about him almost daily? And why did he have such a “low-profile” announcement? Certainly, he realized that by doing it all that way, he would get even MORE attention in the long run?

I totally understand that some things are out of his control. Maybe he didn’t ask for all of this, but his ability commands it. He’s a truly gifted player, perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime find for Bill Self. So the circus surrounding him is just the reality of the situation. But in waiting until the second-to-last day of the signing period, I really lost a lot of respect for him. I’m just going to be honest. Maybe he WAS truly on the fence. I apologize to him for being quick to judge. But that’s just not my impression. From what I’ve read, he’s been down to Kansas and Florida State for a while. So why drag it out? It just doesn’t seem fair to the other coaches, having them make visits and calls when he’s made up his mind. Spending good money, real money, on an effort that wouldn’t change anything. Yes, I even feel for John Calipari, who I’m sure you know that I do not have a lot of respect for.

I do realize that this was an important decision for Wiggins. I remember being in his shoes, at least somewhat, in deciding what to do with the rest of my life. But isn’t this just a pit-stop on the way to the NBA? A colleague of mine at work pointed me to a story today where Wiggins said that he didn’t want to enroll in summer school. That pretty much ruled out North Carolina before the announcement since that’s a requirement for incoming players. But I just don’t understand why Wiggins would think this, or even worse, say it. Doesn’t he want to be with his teammates? So I wasn’t too optimistic to begin with. But, why wouldn’t Wiggins want to enjoy the extremely shortened college experience that he’s going to have? That just doesn’t make sense. I do get this- his actions and words portray a player who is driven. A guy who’s extremely focused and motivated. Yet, a guy who’s is almost TOO inwardly motivated. TOO focused. Through his actions, he’s made a lot of people wait. In waiting, he’s made everything about himself. That doesn’t sound like a team player to me.

But most commentators will be quick to mention how much he will improve Kansas’ team. There’s no doubt they’re right. After all, the Jayhawks are losing the majority of their minutes from last year, including another superstar freshman, Ben McLemore. But most polls have them going from a borderline top-25 team to a top-5 team! I just don’t see it. There’s just not enough experience on that team to make a deep run. I’m be happy to be proven wrong, though. For all my skepticism surrounding Andrew Wiggins’ motivation, I absolutely respect him as a player. He’s certainly a sight to see and would have made an impact wherever he went. But his actions just don’t feel right to me. A good teammate is someone who doesn’t just want to make himself better, he wants to make everyone around him better; even at his own expense. Maybe Kansas will find this out. Think of some of the great point guards- Jason Kidd, Steve Nash…even Kendall Marshall from North Carolina. They have a pass-first mentality. A team mentality. They would want to be there for their teammates the very first second they could. And they would do everything in their power to make sure that the spotlight was on anyone but them.

I’m absolutely certain that Andrew Wiggins will have a great college career. He’ll use his brief time at Kansas to resume his rightful position as the #1 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft and go on to be an All-Star for years to come. But after some reflection on the latest “Decision,”  I can only hope that I’m wrong about him. I want to believe that Andrew Wiggins is the shy kid that everyone else talks about. Young men certainly need more role models that embody the trait of humility. But like everyone else, I’ll just have to wait and see. As I said yesterday, I hope that Wiggins is happy with his decision. Surprisingly, I am too.

Posted by Mr. Tar Heel in Basketball, UNC Correspondent, Uncategorized
13 May 2013
1 Comment

I’m Andrew Wiggins, and I’m a __________

At North Carolina, we have an awesome set of videos at the Dean Smith Center. During men’s basketball games, former Tar Heel greats appear on the video board in a montage where they take turns saying- I’m __________, and I’m a Tar Heel. Michael Jordan. Rasheed Wallace. Jerry Stackhouse. Antawn Jamison. Vince Carter. Tyler Hansbrough. It’s incredible. But there’s one guy that I want to see up there that isn’t there yet- Andrew Wiggins.

By now, you know who he is. The consensus #1 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. The best high school prospect since Lebron James. A guy they call “Maple Jordan.” Tomorrow is possibly the biggest day of the entire offseason for college basketball fans. At 12:15pm in a “low-key” ceremony, Wiggins will announce his decision between North Carolina, Florida State, Kentucky and Kansas. But where will he go?

I’m not sure. His coach says he’s not sure. Maybe even Wiggins himself doesn’t know….yet. But the official signing day window closes on Wednesday, so Wiggins is doing his due diligence and announcing at the last minute. In my opinion, there’s only one real option, and that’s to go to North Carolina. Stay with me, I know what you’re thinking. This guy’s name is “Mr. Tar Heel.” He’s a Carolina grad. He lives near Chapel Hill. OF COURSE he wants Wiggins to go to North Carolina. But no, really. It’s his best option.

Think about it. North Carolina is returning a suddenly veteran team with Marcus Paige, PJ Hairston and James Michael McAdoo. They’re receiving big-man help in top prospects Isaiah Hicks and Kennedy Meeks. They have an opening in the starting lineup that just happens to be at Wiggins’ position. And not only that, but the spot was vacated by a player from Kinston, NC- Wiggin’s father’s hometown. Wiggins’ North Carolina roots run deep. His father was raised here. He almost went to prep school here. And his father grew up wanting to play for North Carolina, only to be turned down by the legendary Dean Smith. So maybe the Wiggins’ family has a chip on their shoulder, I don’t know. Maybe his father still hates North Carolina? Or maybe he wants his son to realize the dream that he always had; to play on the biggest stage, with the best players, against the top teams. North Carolina is the only place he can do this.

If you ask anyone who’s not from the United States to name a college basketball player, they’ll almost always go back to Michael Jordan. Why? Because not only was he greatest ever, but he was the most visible ever. He made himself a brand. THE brand of college basketball. North Carolina is one of the most recognizable, if not THE most recognizable brands in all of college sports. Lebron James is on record stating that he wanted to go there. So is Kobe Bryant. And Dwight Howard. It’s not hard to see that Wiggins might like to be a part of that legend. So why not? Without Wiggins, the team’s ceiling is high for next year. With Wiggins, it’s immeasurable. Where else can he have this kind of schedule?-

Conference                        Non-Conference

Duke (twice)                      Kentucky

NC State (twice)               Michigan State

Syracuse                              Louisville (possible Hall of Fame Tip-off matchup)

Notre Dame (twice)

Virginia

Maryland

Pittsburgh

The answer? Nowhere. That’s basically a who’s who of NCAA tournament success past and present. And as any North Carolina fan knows, you can go ahead and add Kansas to that list too because the NCAA will continue to match us up with them in the Tournament until they disband. To be a star on the biggest stage, Wiggins has to be on the biggest stage.

He can’t do that at Kentucky. Sure, there’s a lot of hype surrounding John Calipari’s program right now. But did anyone watch last year’s NIT flame-out fiasco? It’s not like those players weren’t the top recruiting class either! Having great players doesn’t guarantee success. You have to have a great TEAM. Kentucky just hasn’t shown that, there’s too much ego. After all, Calipari just isn’t the kind of coach that people give him credit for. The reason he gets so many players to the NBA isn’t because he develops prospects into NBA stars. It’s not his own doing. These guys are ALREADY NBA-ready players. He just babysits them for one semester. If they didn’t have to go to college, they wouldn’t. The one reason they probably stay? Money. Yes, I said it! Think about it. What other coach has gotten so many Final Fours vacated? Right, Calipari stands alone. There has to be something going on. Of course he wasn’t “implicated” in any of the charges, but that’s a weak excuse. Neither was Butch Davis, or Cam Newton, but don’t tell me those guys didn’t do anything wrong. There was money exchanged. And the sin of omission is just as bad as the sin of commission. You can’t claim ignorance if it’s your job to know. If anything, John Calipari is guilty as charged with the utmost gross negligence. It’s his program. He should know what’s going on. Is he a bad coach? Absolutely not. It takes talent to get to the level that he’s on. Is he a nice guy? Maybe, I’m not sure, I’ve never met him. But he isn’t the Midas of the NBA draft. Kentucky isn’t guaranteed a title next year. Williams and Self are the better coaches in this bunch anyway.

But Kansas just doesn’t seem like a great fit for Wiggins either. The Big 12 is weak, and no, Marcus Smart’s return doesn’t change that. It only makes it a two-horse race. Kansas will probably walk through the conference again like they always do, because there’s really no competition outside of a few teams. The Jayhawks also lost a lot from last year’s squad. They just don’t have the veteran presence of some of the other teams on Wiggin’s list. Not to mention that there’s an ongoing scandal surrounding last year’s top player Ben McLemore now. Does Wiggins really want to be associated with that? What if the NCAA comes down hard on the Jayhawks in his only season? Don’t get me wrong, Bill Self IS a great coach. I’ve seen that enough times by watching his team beat my team in the NCAA tournament. But why go to a place that he really has no connection to? No family, no history, and really, a weaker roster than some of his other choices. It just doesn’t make sense.

Which brings me to Florida State. If he was going to go there because of his family connection, why didn’t he just decide that a long time ago? That would have saved a lot of people a lot of time, and a lot of money. It makes you wonder. One thing the Noles have going for them is a very similar schedule to North Carolina. In fact, they get to play North Carolina while the Tar Heels have to play an FSU team that looks weak with the loss of sharpshooter Michael Snaer. But if that wasn’t enough, Wiggins’ best friend Xavier Rathan-Mayes has already signed on to move to Tallahassee. So maybe that is enough for Wiggins. I’m a family guy, so I can totally respect that. I’d even cheer for him when he wasn’t playing North Carolina. But even with Wiggins, the Noles aren’t a Final Four contender. Sure, they’d be better. A LOT better. But they just don’t have the firepower, or experience needed to go all the way.

So what will he do? We’ll find out tomorrow afternoon. I hope that whatever he chooses, he’s happy. Certainly, everyone hopes for that. As a North Carolina fan and graduate, I’d love for him to come to my school. But if he didn’t, I wouldn’t regret it. I just hope he wouldn’t either.

Posted by Mr. Tar Heel in Basketball, March Madness, Opinion, UNC Correspondent, Uncategorized
22 Apr 2013
5 Comments

Conference Expansion is Over? Post Grant-of-Rights Moves for the ACC

In case you haven’t heard the big news (see tjcuseacc’s post below), the presidents of the ACC unanimously agreed to sign their media rights away to the conference through the 2026-2027 season today. Yes, even Notre Dame (without football, of course). That’s huge. Now if anyone wants to leave, we can basically still own them even though they’ll be playing other teams. So go ahead, Virginia. If you want to travel and play Indiana instead of Duke you can. But it’ll cost you.

This is the “Grant of Rights” thing that had the entire Internet proclaiming the safety of the Texas (Big) 12, even though they’re about as stable as a broken chair. Despite our huge media markets, overall athletic quality and strong history, it’s the only thing that basically separated us from this level of security. But the gap has been closed.

So take a deep breath. Not only does this pretty much kill all of the WVU-blogger talk that our league is about to explode, but it gives us all hope for the future. How about that, Maryland? So what’s next? The league’s leaders have certainly come a long way in the last few months- inviting Louisville (which looks like the smartest move EVER now), pledging solidarity, announcing the creation of a network study….but there’s a lot more to do.

1) Create the ACC Network- We all knew that it was only a matter of time, and the grant-of-rights is exactly what ESPN has been waiting for. If the network didn’t think that the teams were committed to each other, why would they have wanted to throw a lot of money in our direction? They wouldn’t have…but now they can. What television network wouldn’t want a strong presence in Boston, New York, Pittsburgh, DC, Richmond, Raleigh/Durham, Charlotte, Atlanta, Miami, Louisville? Right. This is pretty much a no-brainer. Yes, the Worldwide Leader has pledged a lot of money to the SEC through its own network. But a lot of the markets overlap, and if bundled together, ESPN would have a hold of the preeminent football and basketball brands in all of college sports. We already knew that the league was studying this. We weren’t sure if ESPN is interested. But after today, they pretty much have to be.

2)  Divisional Realignment/Addition of More League Games in Football- It’s not a secret that most fans don’t like the Atlantic and Coastal divisions. It’s not really the names. They actually make sense, unlike the soon-to-be-defunct “Legends” and “Leaders” in the Confidential’s least-favorite conference. But what should the league do? North and South divisions aren’t really feasible, even if they seem obvious. Every team that would be in the “North” division wants to play a Florida team each year. Recruiting IS important, after all. And slotting Miami into the North, while sensible, due to their Big East roots, seems awkward. You can’t move Virginia Tech either. The Hokies LEFT left the Big East so they could play more Southern teams; they don’t want to be in the North. That and John Swofford doesn’t want to make his most consistent team unhappy. Especially when they have a spot waiting for them in the SEC, grant-of-rights notwithstanding. Let’s not even get started with Virginia.

So what CAN the league do? They HAVE to go to 9 conference games…at least. The Big 12 does it. The Big 10 is doing it. More league games just makes sense. It makes scheduling easier, and more predictable, which is actually what fans want- even if they’ll say they want variety. League games matter. Games against FCS teams don’t. That’s why fans don’t show up, FSU. That’s why the Big 10 has outlawed FCS games for their teams in the near future. UNC is in the same league as FSU to play them all the time…not once every 5-8 years. So let’s say 10 conference games; no FCS games; a permanent out-of-conference rival; plus Notre Dame every three years. With that, a new scheduling model would develop.

What if each team had TWO permanent partners on the other side. UNC’s would be NC State and Wake Forest. That’s sensible. Now what if the remaining 5 teams were grouped into two categories (this is for UNC)- longtime rivals (Clemson, FSU) and new faces (BC, Syracuse, Louisville). What if we had non-permanent partner games with our longtime rivals more frequently than with the new faces? Wouldn’t that make everyone happy and create exciting match-ups for fans and television? Check out some of UNC’s potential future schedules under this model-

2014

Georgia Tech                     Miami

Duke                                     Pittsburgh

Virginia Tech                      Virginia

NC State                              Wake Forest

Clemson                              Louisville

Tennessee                          Notre Dame

2015

Georgia Tech                     Miami

Duke                                     Pittsburgh

Virginia Tech                      Virginia

NC State                              Wake Forest

Florida State                       Boston College

Tennessee                          East Carolina

2016

Georgia Tech                     Miami

Duke                                     Pittsburgh

Virginia Tech                      Virginia

NC State                              Wake Forest

Clemson                              Syracuse

Tennessee                          Maryland

Those are great schedules. You’ll notice that that UNC will play Clemson and Florida State every other year. That’s a win-win situation for fans AND networks. It makes scheduling easy. And it actually feels like a conference again. The new yearly game against Tennessee? Why not? There have been rumors about an ACC-Big 12 scheduling alliance and that really makes sense. But almost half of the ACC teams already have a regular rival in the SEC and our leagues overlap geographically. So maybe we just have to suck it up and play #1.

As a fan, it’s hard to find anything wrong with those schedules. Yes, they would need to be worked out for every team. And it probably wouldn’t be this simple. But the reasons to change the current model are. The league has experience a lot of growth in the past few years. Let’s continue to adapt and change for the better.

What do you think? What do you feel that the ACC’s next move should be?

Posted by Mr. Tar Heel in Conference News, Conference Realignment, Football, Schedule, UNC Correspondent, Uncategorized
03 Apr 2013
2 Comments

NCAA Tournament- Final Four Conference Breakdown

The tickets to Atlanta have been punched, and this time, only two major conferences remain. What’s left is a who’s who of the future of the ACC, an upstart underdog and a Michigan team that looks a lot like the Fab Five. Let’s see how they got there.

ACC

Tournament Teams (4)- Duke, Miami, North Carolina, North Carolina State

Remaining Tournament Teams (0)-

Verdict- No one was going to beat Louisville after what happened to Kevin Ware. No one. Not Duke, not the Miami Heat. No one. The raw emotion that Ware’s gruesome injury caused among his teammates, his coach and the crowd, were just too much to overcome for the Blue Devils. So while they went mostly cold in the second half, they can hang their heads high. After all, the season ended in a much better way than last year’s first-round flameout against Lehigh. An Elite Eight, while the standard for such a high-level program, is still an accomplishment. Coach K loses highly-productive seniors Ryan Kelly, Mason Plumlee and Seth Curry this offseason, but he reloads next year with a class headed by #2 recruit Jabari Parker.

Big East

Tournament Teams (8)- Louisville, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Villanova, Georgetown, Syracuse, Marquette

Remaining Tournament Teams (2)- Louisville, Syracuse

Verdict-  We should really just merge this section with the  one for the ACC, but we won’t, because the Big East deserves one last send-off. It really is incredible that a conference that had such a bad first round has been able to rebound with such a great Final Four. It’s things like this that make the Tournament so incredible , and it’s what we’ll miss so much when basketball season ends. Syracuse looked impressive in a 55-39 sleeper against soon-to-be former conference rival Marquette, while Louisville cruised to an emotional win over soon-to-be conference rival Duke in the Elite Eight. Both teams have the potential to go all the way, and they proved this during this past round, but Louisville has the better matchup on paper this weekend. Since both remaining teams will be heading to Greensboro in the next few years, we’re not sure what type of foundation this leaves the “new” Big East…

 Big Ten

Tournament Teams (7)- Michigan State, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Michigan, Minnesota, Indiana, Illinois

Remaining Tournament Teams (1)-  Michigan

 Verdict- And one remains. The story all year has been about how great the Big Ten is, and here we are, with Michigan in the Final Four. Does this silence the critics? It’s hard to tell. The Wolverines have a lot to prove, but they look up to the challenge. Sunday’s game against Florida proved that they ‘re capable of handling elite teams and hanging with high-level programs. That’s a good sign. And it’s not to say that Michigan isn’t a high-level program too, but they haven’t experienced the same kind of success that the Gators have recently. That’s just a fact. Michigan is really quite an interesting team. They’re a talented team, but they’re not a surprise team like Wichita State. They’ve been a good team, but they weren’t expected to be here like Louisville. Can they finally bring a banner back to Ann Arbor? This time they won’t have to take it down…

 SEC

Tournament Teams (3) – Missouri, Ole Miss, Florida, Kentucky

Remaining Tournament Teams (0)-

Verdict- It’s hard to explain what happened to Florida. They just…couldn’t do it. They’re definitely as talented as Michigan. And Billy Donovan is a great coach. But sometimes it’s just not mean to be. Teams come out cold. They lose focus. They get in a hole early. And that’s what happened to Florida on Sunday. Unfortunately for them, it meant the end of their season. And unfortunately for the SEC, it meant the end of their tournament. While the conference may never be a hoops powerhouse, Kentucky once again becomes a team to watch in 2014. If they’re able to add Canadian phenom Andrew Wiggins, they just might cut down the nets again next year. Not bad for a team that couldn’t even win one game in the NIT.

It all ends in less than a week. It’s been an exciting basketball season, and it really is too bad that it’s almost over. While there haven’t been any truly exceptional teams this year, the parity seen has created one of the most unpredictable tournaments in years. Don’t be surprised if the Shockers win it all on Monday.

Posted by Mr. Tar Heel in Basketball, March Madness, UNC Correspondent
30 Mar 2013

NCAA Tournament- Elite Eight Conference Breakdown

Eight teams remain. Just like that, the field has been cut in half again. After an up-and-down second round filled with blowouts and surprises, the Sweet Sixteen proved to be just as exciting, producing the Tournament’s first overtime game. Are these the best eight teams in the country? Maybe, maybe not. But they’re the best eight in this tournament.

ACC

Tournament Teams (4)- Duke, Miami, North Carolina, North Carolina State

Remaining Tournament Teams (1)- Duke

Verdict- Miami just couldn’t take care of business. Forget that Reggie Johnson couldn’t play due to injury, this is a team that scored only 16-points in the first half of Thursday’s loss against Marquette. That’s a not a winning formula. Now they must seek to replace departing seniors Julian Gamble,  Kenny Kadji, Garrius Adams, Trey McKinney-Jones, Durand Scott and Johnson, while dealing with the real possibility that star sophomore point guard Shane Larkin still has time to enter the NBA Draft. Looking at the team’s roster, that’s just about every single player who got significant minutes this season. They just didn’t capitalize on the rare experience that they had, and the opportunity to do so has passed. Duke, on the hand, is leaning hard on its veterans to great success, as five out the seven players in Duke’s tight rotation are upperclassmen. Led by senior wingman Seth Curry, the Blue Devils looked confident in their first win against Power-Six competition this tournament.  Say what you will about Duke always receiving favorable seeding (and they do, just look at the 2010 Championship cakewalk), but they don’t often lose to teams that they shouldn’t, and they have the ability to overachieve when they need to. Next up is a strong Louisville team, which will be a preview of future ACC matchups when the Cardinals officially join the conference in 2014. With powerful scorers on both sides, look for this to be the most exciting game of Sunday’s lineup.

Big 12

Tournament Teams (5)- Oklahoma State, Kansas State, Iowa State, Oklahoma, Kansas

Remaining Tournament Teams (0)-

Verdict- With just three minutes left in the Jayhawks’ game against Michigan, it looked like the boys from Lawrence were going to walk their way into the next round of the Big Dance. A healthy lead, and a favorable clock, were only two of the factors working in their favor. But then they worked against themselves. They got lazy. They got content. That’s when Trey Burke took over. After a scoreless first half, he exploded in the second half, and made a capped off Michigan’s unlikely run when he made a three-pointer to tie the game with 4.3 seconds left. The Big 12 has now been eliminated from the NCAA Tournament. It’s easy to think that the ceiling for this Kansas team was higher, but they lost focus when it counted the most. And it cost them their season.

Big East

Tournament Teams (8)- Louisville, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Villanova, Georgetown, Syracuse, Marquette

Remaining Tournament Teams (3)- Louisville, Syracuse, Marquette

Verdict- Suddenly, the Big East has gone from an afterthought, to a real threat in this tournament (if you ignore the fact that Louisville and Syracuse are now ACC teams). Marquette didn’t just hang on in this round, as they had against Davidson and Butler, they destroyed a hapless Miami team that fell to the inconsistency that has plagued them all season. Louisville and Syracuse looked strong in wins over tough competition, with the Orange taking out the second number one seed, the Indian Hoosiers. In the Elite Eight, the Big East will face a problem that it often encounters this time of year- Syracuse and Marquette are playing each other, which means that only two Big East teams can advance to the Final Four.  With a tough matchup against a veteran Duke team, the Louisville Cardinals must stay focused if they want to make it to Atlanta too.

 Big Ten

Tournament Teams (7)- Michigan State, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Michigan, Minnesota, Indiana, Illinois

Remaining Tournament Teams (2)-  Ohio State, Michigan

 Verdict- For the first time since the Fab Five, Michigan will be in the Elite Eight. Think about that for a minute. That’s twenty years. Where have they been? It’s hard not to be impressed with the program that John Beilein is building in Ann Arbor though, especially after an unlikely comeback against a dominant Kansas team. A once proud program, the Wolverines now carry the banner for the conference with their longtime rivals, the Ohio State Buckeyes. While Big Ten fans will still point to their league’s dominance this year, their tournament success has now been eclipsed by the resurgent Big East, which has three teams still dancing. In order to defend the title of “best conference” bestowed on them this season, the Big Ten must come out strong in the Elite Eight. A favorable matchup against a well-coached Wichita State team could have Ohio State looking ahead at the wrong time, while Michigan needs to stay focused in order to not fall prey to their own success.

 Pac-12

Tournament Teams (5)- Oregon, Arizona, UCLA, California, Colorado

Remaining Tournament Teams (0)-

Verdict- Much like the Big 12, the Pac-12 is now without a representative in the Big Dance. Neither loss was surprising, as both schools lost to higher-seeded teams. Yet, while Oregon can hang their heads high after a surprising run in the Tournament, Arizona probably can’t help but think that the opportunity to advance got away from them. Long before LaQuinton Ross’ last-second shot, an early 11-point lead quickly became only a four-point lead at halftime. The killer instinct seen in the first few minutes of the game, was replaced by a frantic effort to keep up, and the Wildcats just couldn’t hang on. While the conference might have had a better-than-expected tournament, it has to be disappointing nevertheless.

 SEC

Tournament Teams (3) – Missouri, Ole Miss, Florida, Kentucky

Remaining Tournament Teams (1)- Florida

Verdict- Florida is now the bad guy. After taking out Tournament-darling, and pseudo in-state rival Florida Gulf Coast, the Gators now have a target on their back. Everyone loves a Cinderella. No one likes the team that beats them. In order to advance to the Final Four, Florida must embrace this role and run with it. They face a Michigan team that just completed a surprising run of its own; the unexpected Cinderella of the third round. If they can use their position as a strength, it would not be surprising to see the Gators in Atlanta next weekend.

It’s hard to believe that it took this long to get an overtime game in the Tournament. While there have been numerous buzzer-beaters, an all-out, grind-fest hasn’t been seen until now. Here’s to hoping that the Elite Eight can reach the bar that has just been set.

Posted by Mr. Tar Heel in Basketball, March Madness, UNC Correspondent, Uncategorized

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