TOURNEY WATCH: 3/28/2010

to Duke/Baylor? Baylor got jobbed. I counted not less that 3 (more likely 4 or more) instances in the 2nd half where Duke was the definitive beneficiary of a blown call, 50-50 call, or no call.

1) Zoubek committed a blocking foul when Acy (I think it was him) was called for a charge. He was twisted sideways and still just arriving on the spot when contact happened. Blown call, in favor of Duke.

2) On Acy’s “dead ball contact technical foul”, Scheyer threw an elbow after said contact. I am pretty sure it is still the 2009-10 NCAA basketball season during which it has been made very public that intentional elbows – whether landed or not – are to be technical fouls. However, as should now be expected, there was nothing called against Scheyer/Duke. No call, in favor of Duke.

3) After the game was very nearly 100% decided, in the final minute Baylor was called for a reach-in foul when it seemed to me it was all ball/hand (is the hand no longer ‘part of the ball’ when touching the ball?). This one was a 50-50 call going Duke’s way.

Certainly Baylor blocking out 1 or more Duke players on missed shots by Duke would have helped. But honestly, how does Duke always get those calls? It drives me nuts and only fuels my hatred for blue-bloods like Duke. >.< Ugh – here’s hoping WVU blows them the hell out of the water and mops the court with them.

I’m sure I was among the most angry at Huggins when he “did what he had to do”… if Frank speaks rightly (I have NO reason to suspect otherwise) and Huggins did tell the recruits to stay and promote Frank as a worthy successor, then I am firmly in the camp rooting for WVU vs. Butler in the Championship Game.

I guess a lot of this “anti-Duke”ness could be attributed to the immediately recent nature of their dismissal of my final chance for a right pick (Baylor to Final Four). However, this is far, far, far from the first time I have witnessed a victory by Duke in this similar manor.

there’s any doubt at this point that we have Frank because of Huggins. There’s too much evidence that points to that. We not only have the statements from numerous participants at the time including Frank and Tim Wieser, but the assistant coaches as well.

I always liked Huggins, even when he was at Cincinnati. I’m not sure why, but I just liked his toughness and the way he got so much out of seemingly inferior players.

I’ll put aside my Big East hatred for one night (maybe two) and hopefully, we’ll see WVU move on. In addition, I’m so damn old I actually remember Jerry West and West Virginia’s heydays. Their program has had some ups and downs similar to ours, so it’s easier to root for them, even if they do have to put up with the rest of the Big East.

I don’t remember much about that. Sure, what he did was slimy and I didn’t like the hiring of Coach Martin any more than most people. However if he did build the KSU program, then we owe him our thanks.

I like him better than anyone left in the tournament, so I guess I’ll cheer for WVU. I probably won’t watch any games though.

because of what appears to be a commitment to not graduating players and a lack of focus on coaching fundamentals. However, if I were a KSU fan I would have a hard time being angry with him for leaving. Not only did he bring in your next coach (who appears to be totally committed to K-State), but he pulled the anti-Rich Rod and went home when home needed him. Maybe it’s too simplistic an approach to a fairly cynical profession, but I never have much in the way of hard feelings for coaches who want to return to their roots.