The Perfect Tournament?

The latest issue of Sports Illustrated proclaimed this year's NCAA Men's Basketball tournament the "perfect tournament." In many ways, they are right on.
Start with the Butler story. Playing their home games in the same building that filmed the epic upset movie "Hoosiers," the Bulldogs became only the second "mid-major" team to make it to the Final Four this decade. Butler has always been one of the top mid-major programs in the country, sometimes referred to as the "Gonzaga of the Midwest." Well in 2010, the Bulldogs are going to where Gonzaga never could - the Final Four, in their home city.
It's rare that the Final Four has a home team. Illinois had a lot of fans in St. Louis and 2005 and Michigan State was surely the fan favorite last year in Detroit. But Butler, a mid-major, will be playing next weekend a mere six miles from their campus. In the best college basketball town in the country, too. That story alone makes the Final Four intriguing.
But where there is an underdog, their is always a favorite. While Butler may be the ultimate underdog this weekend, Duke, college basketball's ultimate favorite will look for their fourth title this weekend. A Butler-Duke match up would be an epic ending to a great tournament.
Michigan State and West Virginia may have something to say about that. Great stories in their own right. The Spartans are making their sixth Final Four trip in 12 years and West Virginia looks for their first title game appearance since 1959.
But back to what has already happened.
Short of a 16 seed beating a 1, this was the perfect tournament. We saw Villanova struggle against 15 seed Robert Morris before being ousted by the Cinderella St. Mary's Gales. If Butler hadn't made the Final Four, this year's story would be Cornell, an Ivy League team making their first tourney appearance advancing to the Sweet 16. Nothing says Cinderella like an Ivy League team.
The number one overall seed, Kansas, lost to another mid major Northern Iowa. Who would have thought that the three best teams all season, Kansas, Kentucky and Syracuse, would all be gone before the Final Four?
We had great finishes too. Murray State, yes, another Cinderella, beat fourth seeded Vanderbilt with a three-pointer at the buzzer. Two days later, they nearly knocked off Butler. The lead in the Michigan State-Maryland second round game changed hands three times in the final second. Had MSU not made their three-pointer at the buzzer, it very well could have been the Terrapins making their third Final Four trip this weekend.
ESPN front runners questioned how good this torunament would be without the likes of North Carolina, UCONN and Arizona. The answer? The best ever.

Classy/Unclassy

Both the winners of this week's Classiest and Unclassiest person of the week award come from the world of college sports.

Classy: Frank Martin - The classiest comment of the week had to come from Kansas State basketball coach Frank Martin, who said as much as it hurts to lose in the Elite Eight, it is going to be pretty fun for Butler the next week and the city of Indianapolis "having one of their own there." Coming off a tough loss in the biggest game in school history, Martin should not have been thinking of anything other than the loss. While many coaches would have ignored a question like that, Martin was classy enough to recognize the "feel good, Cinderella" story Butler represents.
Unclassy: Urban Meyer - University of Florida football coach Urban Meyer threatened to ban and fight an Orlando Sentinel reporter because of a quote from a Florida player critical of Tim Tebow was published in his article. If the player actually said that, he has every right to print it. Urban was way out of line. If anything, Meyer should have been upset with the player for being dumb enough to criticize a QB that only lost two games in as many years as a starter. I guess the time off did not do much for Meyer's stress level. He is turning out to be a bigger jerk every time he makes the news.

Illini split NIT home games

CHAMPAIGN - Perhaps as the best team not to make it to the NCAA Tournament, the Illinois Fighting Illini were considered a favorite to at least advance to the NIT semifinals in New York City next week. After wins at Stony Brook and against Kent State, the Illini looked poised to salvage an otherwise disappointing season with an NIT final four appearance.

But arriving at the Assembly Hall Wednesday night were the Dayton Flyers, who lived up to their nickname and aired out a 77-71 victory over the top seeded Illini. 

A D.J. Richardson three opened the game for the Illini, but an 8-0 Dayton run immediately followed, and the Illini never saw the lead again. 

Dayton opened their first offense possession with a powering dunk, but went run and gun style most of the way. The Flyers hit half their shots from beyond the arc (6-for-12) in the first half, opening up a 38-25 halftime lead. 

Illinois had come back from deficits like this all year. But Dayton looked like the more determined team and Illinois seemed to struggle with their up tempo pace. 

"They (Dayton) caused us some problems in the first half," Illinois guard Demetri McCamey said. "We dug ourselves a big hole and it is tough to come back when you are down by 15+ points."

McCamey had 13 points and eight rebounds to lead the Illini, who conclude the 2009-2010 campaign with a 21-15 record.  

"Dayton did well in transition. You can't give up that many points in transition to a team like that," McCamey said. 

The Flyers continued to control the game in the second, but Illinois hung in there and forced the Flyers to make free thrown down the stretch to secure the win. A three-pointer by Bill Cole brought the Illini to within six with a minute and a half remaining and a Mike Davis jumper cut the deficit to five with 29 seconds to go, but Chris Johnson and Paul Williams of Dayton both hit clutch free throws, sealing the Flyers' berth in the semifinals. 

"Their style, quickness and athleticism got to us early," Illinois head coach Bruce Weber said. "They were much more on their toes than we were."

Tyler Griffey came off the bench to have a nice game, netting 11 points for Illinois. Griffey will be one of the Illini returners for 2010-2011 that hopes to use Wednesday's loss as motivation.

"It was alearning experience for me this year," Griffey said. "It is great to be apart of the Illini family and this loss should just make us hungrier for next year."

The Illini defeated Kent State Monday evening to advance to the Elite Eight of the NIT. The Illini and Golden Flashes were evened at halftime before Mike Tisdale, Davis and McCamey pulled away from them in the second half.

"All three juniors are going to step it up and put time in the offseason if we are going to be successful," Weber said. 

Weber also discussed the possibility of McCamey entering the NBA Draft. 

"I hope Demeteri does play at the next level but I hope that will not happen until next year," he said. "He is going to get advice and if he would be a first round pick, we will help him get ready for that."

The Illini should be better next year. Assuming McCamey returns, the team will still have all but one player from this year's team that saw significant minutes.  

Photos: Top: Illinois senior Dominique Keller (23) chases after a loose ball during the Illini win over Kent State Monday.

Bottom: Illinois freshman guard D.J. Richardson drives the lane against Dayton. 

 

Another heartbreaking end for SXU

Another SXU Women's Basketball team with a shot at a national championship, another heartbreaking loss to a team not as good in the most important game of the year. 

The SXU Cougars women's basketball team completed their memorable 2009-2010 campaign with a tough loss, a 73-69 loss to seventh ranked and second seeded Azusa Pacific. Widely picked as either the favorite or co-favorite to win this year's national championship, this loss stings more than any in the program's 10-year history. Only the 2007 second round loss to Lambuth could even compare. 

The Cougars have been a solid program since they began play in 2000 thanks to the expert coaching and recruiting by Bob Hallberg and his staff. The team has won either the CCAC regular season or tournament championship in nine of the ten seasons. They have beaten the number one team in the country twice, qualified for the nationals eight years in a row and produced numerous All-Americans.

But not until this year did the Cougars reach the Elite Eight. Out of all of the great Cougar teams in the past decade, this year's squad was the best. The personnel, as well as the record, proved that. SXU had an impressive 27-1 regular season mark and finished the season with a 31-2 overall record. No other Cougar team had an experienced trio of Erin Hannemann, Kathlyn McClain and Alex Barone coupled with a tough Sholanda Young and an emerging Marissa Young. 

This team could have gone all the way. No doubt they had the talent to. But for the fourth year in a row, SXU was eliminated by a team seeded lower than them. They didn't play horrible against Azusa, only losing by four points. But at the NAIA Tournament level, you have to playt your best every game. They didn't have their best game Saturday night and that is what did them in. 

Because of the graduation of Hannemann and McClain, 2010 will always be a "what could have been" year. But I am fully confident SXU will contend for a national title in the near future. I wouldn't even count them out next year. 

Barone returns as the team's glue at point guard. Marquita Smith improved all year and was outstanding in Jackson last week. As long as the Cougars have a good rebuilding class, as they always do, they will be fine. They will win the CCAC easily again. But the only thing left for them to accomplish is a national championship or at least a title game appearance. 

Hallberg believes his team will be back too. "We are not interested in rebuilding, we are interested in reloading," he told the WXAV radio crew following Saturday's loss.

The Cougars will reload and they will still be a fun crew to watch despite the losses of Hannemann and McClain. 

The loss of Hannemann will be extremely tough to combat. She is one of the three best players in SXU history and arguably better than SXU Hall of Famer Mary Cain and soon to be hall of famer Candis Jackson, who I would rank as the two best prior to Hannemann. 

Despite the frustrating end, SXU had a banner year. 31-2 is an incredible mark put forth by an incredible team. 

Lady Maroons rough opener

CLINTON - The post-Shelbi Rentmeister era began on a sour note for the Clinton Lady Maroons Friday night. Five fourth inning runs by the Heyworth Hornets proved to be too much for Clinton, a team that hadn't lost an opener since 2006.
Abby Van Winkle and Emily Lyons combined for five RBI on two hits in the third inning that broke open a 2-1 game. A Dakota Springer RBI single in the fifth gave Heyworth their eighth and final run of an 8-1 victory.
Clinton's lone run came in the first when leadoff hitter and starting pitcher Meghan Matthews scored on a single from Ashley Toberman.
Matthews did well on the mound in her first career varsity start as a pitcher. A disastrous fourth inning spoiled outing. Meghan worked herself out of a pair of jams in the third and fifth innings.
Clinton head coach Emily Starkey said that while the team's infield will stay pretty much the same throughout the year, the outfield will be a rotation until they are confident with what they have.
With the losses of Rentmeister, Casey Barretts and Kristen Wherry, this team may take a few games to gel. But Starkey is confident the team will pick it up as the season progresses.
I agree. The team still has experienced talent in Matthews, Rachel Austin and Emma Donnelly. But what they have now that they haven't in a few years is potentially a star-studded freshman class. Morgan Hickman started at second base Friday and probably will for the next four years. Bailey Walker hopes to fit in well as the team's number two pitcher before taking over as the ace in 2011.

Photo: Clinton outfielder Alicia Mitchell runs the bases during the Lady Maroons' 8-1 loss to Heyworth Friday evening in Clinton. 

Indianapolis: More than just sports

The reason I like Indianapolis more than any other "mid-major" city in America is that it is first and formost a sports town. The capital city of Indiana hosts the Indianapolis 500 in May, the largest single day sporting event in the country. In addition to having the best single day sporting event, the town is all home to the best team in the best sport, the Indianapolis Colts of the NFL. The town is painted blue every Sunday during football season. Over the last 12 years, this basketball hotbed has turned into a football town. Indy is home to mid-major college programs such as Butler and IUPUI and also professional teams like the NBA's Pacers, IHL's Ice and the minor league Indians. In addition to hosting the Big Ten Tournament on a yearly basis, Indianapolis is on a six-year rotation to host the NCAA Final Four. In 2012, Lucas Oil Stadium, the Colts' new home field, will be home to Super Bowl XLVI.

Much of the time, Indianapolis' tourism is sports-based. I made my 20th visit to the city last weekend to see the Illini play in the Big Ten Tournament. Unlike the previous 19 trips to the city, I wanted to make an attempt to see what the city had to offer outside of sports.

Following the Illini's impressive win over Wisconsin, my father and I walked over to the Indiana Convention Center and then over to the Canal Walk.

The canal walk is not far from downtown and convenient for anyone who would like to get a quick view of the museums, public art and historic landmarks. It reminded me of the Amstel Light commercial where scenes from Amsterdam were used as background shots. It was so quiet, you would never know you were near the downtown area of a major U.S. city.

One of the spots on the walk I wanted to hit was the USS Indianapolis memorial. The USS Indianapolis was the final United States ship to be sunk during World War II. It's not as big as I thought it would be, tucked away in a corner next to the canal. But I liked it, it provides information on the ship and is a good tribute to one of the final events of the War. Any history buff that visits Indianapolis should definitely make a trip there.

No big city in the midwest is better for a family visit. I had a chance to visit the nation's only accredited combined zoo, aquarium and botanical garden Saturday morning. Although the animal viewing experience would be a lot better in the summer, I enjoyed my visit. THey have a fun Dolphin show to attend in the Dolphin Dome. Sea creatures, bears, flamingos, elephants, giraffes. A lot of things to see at the zoo and they aren't far from each other either.

Families also enjoy the Indianapolis Children's Museum, the largest in the world.

The most recognizeable Indianapolis landmark is the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Monument Circle. This monument is not much smaller than the Statue of Liberty and has stood as Indiana's centerpiece since 1902. The town is also fun for church lovers, with a number of tall structures not far from the Circle.

While New York and Chicago are known for their junk food like hot dogs and pizza, Indianapolis is known for a classier food, their steaks. If you are looking for a fancy, expensive dining experience, you will have plenty to choose from in downtown Indianapolis. One day I will have to set aside some extra money to dine at St. Elmo's Steakhouse on Meridian Street. Some have said that is the best place for a steak in the country.

New York is the city that never sleeps. Conversely, Indianapolis is known as "nap town." It is often quiet downtown, but there is plenty to look at and do at the right hour. The best part of the town is its big city feel with the friendliness of a small town.

Photo: The USS Indianapolis memorial sits alongside the Central Canal in Indianapolis. It commemorates the people that died in 1945, when it became the last American ship to be sunk in World War II.

Illini hang on against Badgers

INDIANAPOLIS - Leading through the entire game, the Illinois Fighting Illini avenged last Sunday's loss to the Wisconsin Badgers by knocking them out of the Big Ten Tournament, 58-54 Friday in Indianapolis.
Although a win wouldn't guarantee the Illini a berth in the NCAA Field of 65, a loss would all but leave them out.
Illinois came out with an edge, but Wisconsin's struggles from the field were also much of the reason the Illini jumped to a 7-0 lead and a 29-18 advantage with two minutes remaining in the half. Illinois was held scoreless the final two minutes, but Wisconsin could only muster a pair of free throws themselves.
The Badgers struggles continued. They went scoreless through the first four and a half minutes of the second half. Illinois built a 34-20 lead with 15:58 remaining and led 41-26 with 11:10 to go.
A D.J. Richardson three pointer gave the Illini their largest lead, 46-30, with 6:31. But the Illini would still have to sweat out the narrow victory.
Trevon Hughes connected on a few huge three point attempts and the Badgers were making a timely comeback. A Hughes trey cut the Badger deficit to 54-51 with 38.1 seconds to go.
Wisconsin had a shot to tie the game at the end, but a three pointer fell short with less than 10 seconds on the clock.
Mike Tisdale led Illinois with 19 points.
The Illini were eliminated in the Big Ten semifinals the following day, losing to top seeded Ohio State in double overtime.