Tourney Seeds

Well Selection Sunday is over and some lost out while others gained. Fans in Illinois and Arkansas are ecstatic that they are in, while Syracuse and Drexel are devastated that they will have to play for a three letter title. Syracuse was robbed, they were hot towards the end in the toughest basketball conference and they sit out while a struggling Illinois team gets to dance. And don't get me started on Arkansas, they aren't even three letter tournament material. The returning champs, the Florida Gators took the overall number one seed and were placed in the easiest bracket, the Midwest. The North Carolina Tar Heels are number one in the hardest bracket the East, which has #2 Georgetown, #Washington State, #4 Texas and #5 Southern California. Good luck in that bracket. Kansas is #1 in the West with #2 UCLA looking for a return to the National Title game. Now to the South, The Ohio State University is number one and will have Memphis at 2 and Acie Law IV and Texas A&M at three. The Gators have the easiest run to the title as overrated Wisconsin, struggling Oregon and Butler will be their opponents. The Gators will only have to deal with the hottest team in the tourney Maryland in a possible sweet 16 match up. With five contenders who could all take the East bracket it is up for grabs. The two teams that stand out are North Carolina and Georgetown but watch out for the Player of the Year, Kevin Durant and his Texas Longhorns. Well this should be fun. Enjoy.

Hoyas build resume once again

The Georgetown Hoyas pounded the Pitt Panthers 65-42 in route to their first Big East title since 1989. Jeff Green led all Hoyas once again scoring 21 while Roy Hibbert scored 18 and had 11 boards to help the Gtown boy's claim their place in history. But more importantly for Hibbert, he turned Pitt's big man, Aaron Gray into a spectator, he only had 3 points. Of Hibberts 11 boards 9 of them were on the defensive side of the ball, keeping Gray at bay. The Panthers only hit 19 of their shots from the field (not including free throws) and if they want to go anywhere in the dance they need to improve on this immediately. The Panthers could probably get a 4 but they might slip as low as 6 with this embarrassing loss. The Hoyas were down only once, when Mike Cook had the opening lay up fall in. The Hoyas used a 15-2 run halfway through the first half to build their lead and distance themselves from the Panthers. Sam Young had 10 points for the Panthers while Keith Benjamin had 6 rebounds. Levon Kendall and Gray were kept to minimum levels as the Hoya defense contained and trapped them all game long. The Hoyas fans chanted "6 more wins" at the end of the game, to try and propel the Hoyas to their first National Title since 1985.

Pitt Survives

Pittsburgh rode a 20-2 run at the end of the second to beat Louisville, 65-59. Antonio Graves netted 10 of his 23 during Pitt's run and secured the Panthers in the Big East title game against Georgetown. With a win in the Championship Pitt can make a bid for a two seed while, a Hoya win could give them an argument to be a number 1. The Panthers were led by Graves and were helped by Mike Green who added 13 of his own to complement his 8 boards. Terrence Williams had 18 points and 7 rebounds and Earl Clark added 12 boards for the second seeded Cardinals. Louisville led by 11 at the half but for the second straight game they blew a big lead. Pitt, the best 3-point shooting team in the Big East was 0-11 from behind the arc in the first half but they got their act together netting 7 of their last 10 attempts from downtown. Pitt gained the lead just under six minutes into the second and never gave it back. Louisville lost 10 of it's last 11 at Madison Square Garden which isn't good for Rick Pitino's Redbirds, who will have to find some way to break this streak if they want to half any chance in next years tourney. Louisville will still be in the dance but their chances of a top 8 seed have been crushed by the Panthers.

Big East Semis

The Big East tourney is well underway and the four teams that remain are fighting for a chance at Basketball immortality. The Hoyas and Irish tangled in the first game and it was a nail biter. The Hoyas edged the Golden Domers 84-82 to advance to their first final since 1996. Big Mean Jeff Green poured in a career high 30 points and added twelve rebounds in the Hoyas win. DeJaun Summers scored 18 and Patrick Ewing Jr. came off the bench to tally 15. The Hoyas were extremely hot in this tournament winning 14 of their last 15 games. Green drove hard to the key with only seconds remaining, scored, and was fouled. And 1. Green missed it however and the Irish motored up the court, with just six ticks left Russell Carter shot from behind the arc for the win but he bricked. Hoyas win. The first person to congratulate John Thompson III, was his father John Thompson II who led the Hoyas to six Big East titles and a National Championship in 1985. The Irish were led by Carter with 21 points including 5 three's. They were helped by an unbelievable performance by freshman guard Tory Jackson, who had 20.

Talk about Intimidating

Imagine being a Georgetown parent. Your 18 year old son has just made one of the most historic and famous college basketball teams in the entire nation. You buy you blue and silver pom-poms, you get your Michael Jordan licensed jersey's, you get your Hoyas seat cushion. You show up for the first parents meeting and you have the cookies and punch, or whatever they put out. You wear your name tag, introduce yourself to the parents that are there and you wait. In walks three parents that don't need a tag, because they are living legends. Imagine seeing John Thompson II, Patrick Ewing Sr., and Doc Rivers show up to parents night. How do you even approach them? How do you even talk to them about basketball? In case you didn't know John Thompson II was the coach when the Hoyas last won the NCAA Title in 1985, he coached Patrick Ewing Sr., his son is current head coach John Thompson III. Patrick Ewing Sr. needs no introduction. A man who stands seven feet tall, holds numerous Georgetown records and a National Championship ring. His son is an emerging superstar who will surely follow in Daddy's footsteps, #33 Patrick Ewing Jr. Then there is Doc Rivers, yes his Celtics are on pace to have the worst record in NBA history, and yes he might not be there next year, but he still knows basketball. His son Jerimah is young pure shooter who has the potential to be great. This is the Hoyas parent association. No other team can even touch them.