March 25 - Salim Shoots Down Sutton

Can anyone stop Arizona Wildcat Salim Stoudamire? That is the question being asked throughout the college basketball world today after the desert scorpion fatally stung Eddie Sutton’s Oklahoma State Cowboys last night in Chicago. The numbers may not be awe inspiring – 19 points and 7 assists on 7/11 shooting – but numbers alone don’t explain what Stoudamire meant to his team last night. Trailing by four with two minutes to go, Stoudamire nailed a crucial three to keep Arizona in the game and then with the game on the line, he nailed a game winning jumper with five seconds remaining. In both instances, there was never any doubt in my mind that those shots were going to find the bottom of the net. That is the way it has become with Stoudamire. He is locked in – much like Glen Rice was in 1989 and Dennis Scott was the following year. He is simply having one of those runs where everything he throws up finds its mark. This guy is simply fearless and that makes him particularly dangerous with the game on the line. Illinois will be favored in tomorrow’s Regional final, but I am not sure they want any part of Salim. The Illini has a solid backcourt of its own, but Coach Bruce Weber may not have an answer for Stoudamire. I am not sure anyone has an answer for Stoudamire right now.

Last night’s game between Arizona and Oklahoma State is already an instant classic and I am sure ESPN Classic would have it queued up if it had the re-broadcast rights. Last Saturday’s game pitting Wake Forest against West Virginia was a hell of a game, but for my money, last night’s game has been the most exciting of the tourney thus far. It was heavily hyped over the past week but it certainly didn’t disappoint. The key to the game was Oklahoma State’s inability to shut down Arizona from the field. The Wildcats ended up shooting 66 percent which is simply amazing considering it came against a team coached by Eddie Sutton. Had Ok State not been able to force some turnovers, the game wouldn’t have been close, but Sutton’s crew was able to get some cheapies and Joey Graham had a great game that helped the Cowboys keep it close. But each time it looked as if Ok State was finally ready to pull away, Arizona would counter with a stiff right. And in the last five minutes, Ok State just couldn’t get any stops as Arizona made five or their final six field goal attempts. Such marksmanship proved to be the key to the game.

The loss has to be devastating for Sutton. He took the core of this team to the 2004 final four and this squad looked like it was ready for a return trip. After all, six of Sutton’s top seven players were seniors and many, including myself, felt that this was the team that was going to get Sutton his first NCAA championship. Sutton, who is closing in on 70, now faces the job of rebuilding his team and time is getting short. Who knows if he will ever be able to get back to this spot with such a talented stable. On the bright side, Ok State’s loss means I will not have to see anymore shot of John Lucas looking like a crazed madman in the stands. Someone has to calm this guy down and tell him that psychotic dads belong in woman’s tennis and not men’s basketball. As for Lute Olsen, he now moves on to play Illinois on Saturday, looking for his sixth trip to the Final Four. He has a flawed team but he has a guy riding shotgun who is white hot right now and that could be enough to lift Arizona by Illinois. Saturday’s game could be another classic.

The Washington Huskies sure got dealt a bad hand last night. It was bad enough that they had to go up against a very lethal Louisville team, but it was another thing entirely to expect them to overcome an incredibly biased officiating crew. I know Washington lost by 14 so it’s hard to go crazy over the officiating, but that game would have had a much different outcome had the officials swallowed their whistles at least once or twice. Some early calls actually went against the Cardinals but the officials then attempted to rectify the situation by giving Louisville a huge windfall on its early investment. In about a four minute period, Washington got deluged by calls, including two cheapies that sent guard Nate Robinson to the bench for the balance of the first half. Other bad calls followed and at times, it seemed Washington players couldn’t wipe their ass without being called for hand checking. Just as the fouls were beginning to pile up, Louisville’s outside bombers began finding daylight and started making threes from just inside the Arizona state line. It was a bad combo for the huskies who saw a seven point lead turn into a ten point deficit in the blink of an eye. From that point on, the Huskies were never able to get back in the game. I am not saying Washington would have won the game had the officiating been a bit more even, but it sure would have helped them keep it tight.


So what do we have tonight? Well, the big game and really the only one that has much of my interest will pit Michigan State up against Duke CBS loves this game since it matches up two the game’s heavyweight coaches. Michigan State’s Tom Izzo has never beaten Coach K but tonight could see that streak come crashing down. I think Michigan State matches up well with Duke and I suspect they are going to give the Devils trouble. Spartan center Paul Davis has the size to matchup with Duke Center Sheldon Williams and Michigan State has guys on the perimeter that can play strong man-to-man defense. As such, J.J. Reddick may not find many open looks tonight, at least not from inside twenty-two feet. Hell, it he starts making bombs, Duke will win, but if he shoots as poorly as he did against Mississippi State, the Devils will have trouble moving on. I like the Spartans getting four in this one.

In the other early game, NC State will take on Wisconsin in a game that shouldn’t be televised at such an early time. This one is bound to be ugly and will surely scare kids under the age on eleven. Neither of these teams has ever run a fast break and both are content to pass the ball twelve times before taking a shot. This game will be so boring that it should be sponsored by Ambien, the nation’s leading sleep aid. With that said, I am taking Bo Ryan over Herb Sendek in this snoozer. As for the late games, it is impossible to pick against Carolina. They just have too many guns and Villanova can do little other then circle the wagons and hope Carolina kicks the game away. I don’t see that happening. And rounding out the night, we got Kentucky going up against Utah for the sixth time since 1993. I wish I could say Utah will break their winless streak against the Cats tonight, but I don’t think it is going to happen. Kentucky doesn’t have much, but they have enough D to give Utah fits, especially point guard Marc Jackson who handles the ball about as comfortably as Michael Jackson handles his responsibilities as an adult. The Utes have never been able to handle Kentucky’s athleticism and tonight will be no different. KU wins by eight.