Sports Editor
It all comes down to this: Who can put together six straight wins and find themselves cutting down the nets in the Final Four in San Antonio?
Here are four keys to look at in a preview of March Madness:
1. Hoosier hoops is back
The rich basketball pride that surrounds Indiana was dealt a heavy blow in 2005 when zero Division I teams gained a birth into the tournament. Four teams come into the tournament this year with serious contention for the title:
Purdue
A late season loss at Ohio State kept the Boilers from winning their first Big Ten title since 1996. Gritty coach Matt Painter has done a good job keeping recruits in his backyard, boasting nine players from the state of Indiana, including Northwest Indiana natives E'Twaun Moore (East Chicago) and high school teammates Robbie Hummel and Scott Martin (Valparaiso).
Notre Dame
Coach Mike Brey's team comes into the tourney having just had their lunches handed to them in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament with the upset by Marquette. However, Fighting Irish turned heads in the Big East this season led by Big East Player of Year Luke Harangody from Schererville, Ind.
Indiana University
After enduring a circus that led to the eventual departure of former coach Kelvin Sampson, the Hoosiers come into the tourney with the most talent a Bloomington team has had since the Knight era. Assistant Dan Dakich (Andrean High grad) took the realms of the team and leads the inside-out combo of Big Ten Player of the Year D.J. White and Eric Gordon.
Butler
At a local Indianapolis Subway before the season began, rookie coach Brad Stevens entered with his Butler Bulldog sweat suit on and was asked by the employees if the coach ever came by. The fresh faced 31-year-old coach may only look like an undergrad student but his Bulldog squad is nothing short of a contender in the tournament, led by guards Mike Green and A.J. Graves.
2. Upsets are on the menu
Rather than picking the toughest mascot or the best looking uniform, try these teams:
Davidson
Getting the leftover recruits in the state of North Carolina is a tough task, but coach Bob McKillop and one of America's best shooters, Stephen Curry (son of former NBA sharpshooter Dell Curry)have led the Southern Conference champs to close loses to North Carolina (four points), Duke (six points) and UCLA (12 points).
Here are four keys to look at in a preview of March Madness:
1. Hoosier hoops is back
The rich basketball pride that surrounds Indiana was dealt a heavy blow in 2005 when zero Division I teams gained a birth into the tournament. Four teams come into the tournament this year with serious contention for the title:
Purdue
A late season loss at Ohio State kept the Boilers from winning their first Big Ten title since 1996. Gritty coach Matt Painter has done a good job keeping recruits in his backyard, boasting nine players from the state of Indiana, including Northwest Indiana natives E'Twaun Moore (East Chicago) and high school teammates Robbie Hummel and Scott Martin (Valparaiso).
Notre Dame
Coach Mike Brey's team comes into the tourney having just had their lunches handed to them in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament with the upset by Marquette. However, Fighting Irish turned heads in the Big East this season led by Big East Player of Year Luke Harangody from Schererville, Ind.
Indiana University
After enduring a circus that led to the eventual departure of former coach Kelvin Sampson, the Hoosiers come into the tourney with the most talent a Bloomington team has had since the Knight era. Assistant Dan Dakich (Andrean High grad) took the realms of the team and leads the inside-out combo of Big Ten Player of the Year D.J. White and Eric Gordon.
Butler
At a local Indianapolis Subway before the season began, rookie coach Brad Stevens entered with his Butler Bulldog sweat suit on and was asked by the employees if the coach ever came by. The fresh faced 31-year-old coach may only look like an undergrad student but his Bulldog squad is nothing short of a contender in the tournament, led by guards Mike Green and A.J. Graves.
2. Upsets are on the menu
Rather than picking the toughest mascot or the best looking uniform, try these teams:
Davidson
Getting the leftover recruits in the state of North Carolina is a tough task, but coach Bob McKillop and one of America's best shooters, Stephen Curry (son of former NBA sharpshooter Dell Curry)have led the Southern Conference champs to close loses to North Carolina (four points), Duke (six points) and UCLA (12 points).
Drake
First-year coach Keno Davis and senior guard Adam Emmenecker have led the Bulldogs to their first tournament birth since 1971. The 6-foot-1 Emmenecker, a former walk-on, had only two career starts before emerging as Missouri Valley Player of the Year his senior season.
Xavier
Winning the Atlantic 10 regular season title for the second consecutive season, the Musketeers went 26-5 overall and 14-2 in the Atlantic 10 as it set a regular-season school record for victories. Guard Stanley Burrell is a lock down defender who has the team ranked sixth in RPI, having scored big wins over Kansas State, Indiana and Dayton.
3. Playing against a new style
These teams employ a style that coaches hate to play against:
Georgetown
The Hoyas currently use the Princeton offense, which is a unique slow, disciplined style of play that is very rare in the modern college game. The hallmark of the offense is the backdoor pass. This experienced club has a unique weapon in 7-foot-2 Roy Hibbert.
Wisconsin
This team isn't coach Bo Ryan's most talented club, but the stifling defense that they employed led the country in scoring defense at 53.4 points per game. They will wear you down and force you to play their ugly style of game, offensively and defensively.
UCLA
The Bruins won their third straight Pac-10 title using coach Ben Howland's aggressive man-to-man defense. Guard Darren Collison's quickness will try to lead this team to its third straight Final Four.
North Carolina
One word to describe their fast break offense: relentless. The Tar Heels, using ultra-quick Ty Lawson will try to beat you down court and take quick shots which helped them score 86 points per game.
4. Players of the year
Tyler Hansbrough
The main cog in the nation's best team, Hansbrough is a low post player that craves physicality which leads to his nickname "Psycho T."
Michael Beasley
Months away from probably cashing in as the NBA's number one draft pick, B-Easy is a player that can single handedly take over a game with his superior skill.
Kevin Love
The nephew of the Beach Boys' lead singer Mike Love has had a spectacular freshman season at UCLA culminating into the Pac-10 Player of the Year as a freshman. He prides himself on his outstanding outlet pass, which leads to easy buckets.
Luke Harangody
The Big East Player of the Year award went to 'Gody after a sophomore campaign in which he helped his Irish finish second in the always strong Big East. The 6-foot-8 bruiser finished with 20.8 points per game and 10.2 rebounds per game.
First-year coach Keno Davis and senior guard Adam Emmenecker have led the Bulldogs to their first tournament birth since 1971. The 6-foot-1 Emmenecker, a former walk-on, had only two career starts before emerging as Missouri Valley Player of the Year his senior season.
Xavier
Winning the Atlantic 10 regular season title for the second consecutive season, the Musketeers went 26-5 overall and 14-2 in the Atlantic 10 as it set a regular-season school record for victories. Guard Stanley Burrell is a lock down defender who has the team ranked sixth in RPI, having scored big wins over Kansas State, Indiana and Dayton.
3. Playing against a new style
These teams employ a style that coaches hate to play against:
Georgetown
The Hoyas currently use the Princeton offense, which is a unique slow, disciplined style of play that is very rare in the modern college game. The hallmark of the offense is the backdoor pass. This experienced club has a unique weapon in 7-foot-2 Roy Hibbert.
Wisconsin
This team isn't coach Bo Ryan's most talented club, but the stifling defense that they employed led the country in scoring defense at 53.4 points per game. They will wear you down and force you to play their ugly style of game, offensively and defensively.
UCLA
The Bruins won their third straight Pac-10 title using coach Ben Howland's aggressive man-to-man defense. Guard Darren Collison's quickness will try to lead this team to its third straight Final Four.
North Carolina
One word to describe their fast break offense: relentless. The Tar Heels, using ultra-quick Ty Lawson will try to beat you down court and take quick shots which helped them score 86 points per game.
4. Players of the year
Tyler Hansbrough
The main cog in the nation's best team, Hansbrough is a low post player that craves physicality which leads to his nickname "Psycho T."
Michael Beasley
Months away from probably cashing in as the NBA's number one draft pick, B-Easy is a player that can single handedly take over a game with his superior skill.
Kevin Love
The nephew of the Beach Boys' lead singer Mike Love has had a spectacular freshman season at UCLA culminating into the Pac-10 Player of the Year as a freshman. He prides himself on his outstanding outlet pass, which leads to easy buckets.
Luke Harangody
The Big East Player of the Year award went to 'Gody after a sophomore campaign in which he helped his Irish finish second in the always strong Big East. The 6-foot-8 bruiser finished with 20.8 points per game and 10.2 rebounds per game.
Published in the PUC Chronicle on March 17, 2008
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