Trav's Thoughts

Welcome to another Manic Monday with Morgen. Don't forget to cruise by MM HQ at It's A Blog Eat Blog World. Today's theme is Pull.

This was the first thing that popped into my mind...Bullwinkle and his classic, "Watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat".



Then I thought of the classic Radio Flyer. There was no better way to pull your toys around the neighborhood.



Then I thought of the drawer pulls we installed in our bathroom. We love the bronze finish.



Then I realized that no matter how fed up I am with drug cheats in professional sports, there's no way I can go through an entire spring and summer without pulling for my Dodgers!

Happy Opening Day to all you baseball fans!

For the first time in tournament history, all four #1 seeds have advanced to the Final Four.


South regional champion Memphis plays West regional champion UCLA.


Midwest regional champion Kansas plays East regional champion North Carolina.

Looks like the tournament selection committee got it right. Cool.

Davidson has a chance to spoil the #1 seed party in San Antonio next week. There's always a chance. The Wildcats must do what they did against Wisconsin, which is get other players involved in the offense early to take some of the pressure off Stephen Curry.

But whereas Wisconsin is as big as Kansas, they are nowhere near as quick. Davidson will be challenged to contend with the length and quickness of the Jayhawks. It's a tall order, but this is one underdog that could pull it off. If Kansas has any breakdowns in execution, it can be vulnerable to the upset.

Davidson is aggressive early on both ends of the floor. Defensively they are double teaming when the ball goes inside, then rotating to take away the next available pass.

Offensively, the Wildcats show no fear of taking the ball inside and challenging the bigger defenders for Kansas.

Davidson is also competing. They are getting back on the break and not letting Kansas get up and down the floor without challenge. The Wildcats are showing toughness, and so far the Jayhawks haven't shot the ball well.

It's a physical game so far, and that certainly favors Kansas if it stays like this the whole game. But I like the way Davidson is refusing to back down. That style will get under the skin of a heavy favorite and could force key mistakes.

Kansas has stepped up the defensive pressure. Curry has missed his first five shots, all of which have been challenged. In fact, Davidson really hasn't had a clear open look yet due to the excellent defense from Kansas.

And with all that, Davidson is not intimidated and has a three point lead at the under 12 minute time out. The tempo favors the Wildcats.

I expected Kansas to be quicker than Davidson, but right now the teams look fairly evenly matched. The Jayhawks are bigger, but not appreciably quicker.

There's a shot going down for Curry. And now another one...and another! Look out for the offensive explosion.

Shots are starting to fall for Kansas now. Success from the perimeter will allow the Jayhawks to stretch the Davidson defense and open up the middle where Kansas has a decided advantage.

But the surprising thing is that Kansas is unable to handle Curry and Davidson on the defensive end.

Davidson is really getting after it on the defensive end. They are sticking with the double team on the interior. Kansas must consistently score from the outside to make the Wildcats pay for it.

It's a tie game at the under four minute time out.

Kansas just can't get going on the break. The Jayhawks have no quickness edge, and Davidson is getting back easily on defense to prevent Kansas from getting uncontested layups.

Kansas is starting to force offense and make mistakes. The haven't really solved Davidson's defense yet.

Kansas has a two point lead at the half.

Curry starts the half with two big shots to give Davidson the lead. He doesn't need much room to get a shot off.

But Kansas comes right back with stronger defensive pressure to create some turnovers and get the lead back. The Jayhawks are also making it much tougher for Curry to get the ball now. And the strength of Kansas is becoming a factor as they extend the lead to six at the 12 minute mark.

Then, just as Kansas starts to feel comfortable, Davidson comes storming back to take a one point lead. And this time it's other players besides Curry who get it done.

Davidson is really make it tough for Kansas now. The Wildcats aren't going away. Kansas looks like it is starting to feel the pressure, while Davidson looks relaxed and in control.

Kansas goes on a little run to get the lead back after a couple of Davidson turnovers.

Curry has also gone a bit cold.

Kansas is going almost exclusively to its bigs inside now. And the defensive pressure on the perimeter is making it difficult for Davidson to run its offense.

It's a three point lead for Kansas with 3:31 to play.

Kansas is dominating the boards on both ends of the floor. They lead by four with 2:20 to play.

Curry may have run out of magic. Davidson got a turnover and rushed down the court, but Curry missed from the three point line and then the Wildcats were forced to foul. Kansas leads by six with 1:15 to play.

Curry misses again. Davidson gets the rebound and calls time out with :59 to play.

Davidson gets inside and Kansas fouls. The Wildcats make one of two and get the rebound...and there's the Curry magic! The Wildcats cut the lead to two with :54.5 to play.

Davidson has a chance to tie with 16.8 to play.

Curry couldn't get a shot off and had to give the ball up, and the shot was missed. All credit goes to the Kansas defense. They knew Curry wanted the shot and they made him give the ball up.

Kansas becomes the final #1 seed to advance, the first time that has happened in tournament history. Kansas will play North Carolina.

Congratulations to Davidson on a great run.

I think that this game is going to come down to the speed, quickness, and savvy play of the Texas backcourt against the size, strength, and physicality of the Memphis backcourt. The interior match ups will be important, but bigs need littles to get the ball to them. So I say that the winner will be the team with the set of guards that is able to control tempo, minimize turnovers, drive and penetrate, shoot well from the outside, and defend.

Memphis gets the early edge, utilizing their strength inside and size outside.

Then the Tigers become a bit careless, failing to block out and then making a lazy habit pass for a turnover. However I do like the patience Memphis is showing on the offensive end.

Texas is doing the things it needs to do with one notable exception...they aren't putting the ball in the basket, falling behind early by nine as Derek Rose hits his first four shots.

Augustine has been able to get out on the break for Texas, but the Longhorns still aren't able to score consistently.

Texas keeps trying to do the things that have been successful for them all season, but Memphis is well-prepared. The Longhorns need to adjust. Memphis looks very comfortable at this point in the game.

And now Texas is just in panic mode as they fall behind by 16 with about eight minutes to play.

Memphis has gotten a bit careless with the basketball, but they have made up for it with tremendous defensive intensity and Texas hasn't been able to take advantage. The Tigers have complete control of all aspects of the game at this point.

Memphis is bigger and stronger, and Texas has not found a way to exploit its quickness advantage on the perimeter. The Tigers are playing with poise.

And yet, Texas only trails by 11 at the half.

It's a simple formula for the Longhorns in the second half. Find a way to make shots. Smaller, quicker teams can beat bigger, stronger teams. But you have to execute and take advantage of every opportunity.

Texas comes out on fire, scoring the first six points of the second half to cut the lead to five.

Memphis quickly restores order and pushes the lead back to 12, as Texas is unable to make shots consistently.

Memphis has relentlessly utilized it's size and strength to counter everything Texas has tried. The Longhorns can't get off an uncontested shot, and they have been unable to make the tough pressured shot.

This is the best game I've seen Memphis play. The Tigers were poised and controlled. They showed none of the tendency toward sloppiness that they had earlier in the season. Texas went into a fouling strategy with about six minutes to play, and Memphis responded with excellent free throw shooting.

The Longhorns just couldn't keep the score close enough to put any kind of game pressure on the Tigers. Texas was really never competitive in the game.

Memphis played like champions and advanced relatively easily to the Final Four, where they will play UCLA.

That's three out of four #1 seeds in the Final Four. Now it's down to Kansas to complete the party of #1 seeds.

There you go Sugarbaby!

This is an intriguing match up between a couple of outstanding big men, David Padgett from Louisville and Tyler Hansbrough from North Carolina. Padgett is comfortable running things on the perimeter, which could have an impact on Hansbrough's ability to be an effective rebounder.

Louisville is a tremendous pressing team. North Carolina must make them pay for that pressure with early offense. It has been rare that the Tarheels have been unable to do just about anything they wanted in a game this season. Therefore I think the key to this game is going to be whether Lousiville can show patience on the offensive end.

It's an odd thing to suggest that an up tempo, pressing team needs to slow the game down to be effective, but I think the Cardinals need to do this on the offensive end to minimize the number of possessions for North Carolina.

So far the Tarheels have broken the press pretty easily behind the speed and ball handling of Ty Lawson. North Carolina's defense is forcing turnovers, which the Cardinals can't afford.

The Tarheels are terrific in the open court and so often Hansbrough out races everyone, even after a rebound he can trigger the outlet and get down the floor quick enough to follow up a miss or even score the goal himself.

North Carolina is dominating the offensive glass, in addition to playing tough defense and getting out on the break. The Tarheels are showing just why they are the overall #1 seed in the tournament.

Louisville is trying to hang in on the strength of its defense, but the Cardinals must stop turning the ball over. They have the athleticism to match up with North Carolina, so they just need to adjust to the defensive pressure and be more patient offensively.

That's the way...run the offense through Padgett. He's a terrific passer from the high post and he just proved it by hitting a cutter for a layup. Louisville needs more of that kind of play.

Just as Louisville started to get in a rhythm and close the gap, North Carolina went on a run to extend the lead again. The Tarheels are so good at running their break after a made basket.

They run the fast break offense very much the way the Lakers of the 1980's used to run Showtime. Hansbrough will grab the ball quickly out of the hoop and fire an outlet pass. The ball will rarely hit the floor as the Tarheels quickly move downcourt to score within 3-5 seconds after the made goal.

This is a complete basketball team, hitting its stride at just the right time. North Carolina is in control, leading at the half by 12.

Start of the second half...if Hansbrough is going to throw the ball at the basket and have it go in, then that's that for Louisville. He flicked an off balance jump hook from the baseline, and then heaved a lay up as he was falling down and out of bounds. Both shots went in.

Good things happen for Louisville when they run the offense through Padgett. He gets a jump hook on a baseline spin move. Then he gets a defensive move and keys the break with a strong outlet pass.

The game is in reach for Louisville, down only 10 in the first four minutes of the second half. The must show consistent patience and execute their offense. Then they must hustle back defensively and challenge North Carolina's shots.

The other thing the Cardinals need to do is keep Hansbrough off the boards. They must control their defensive glass and not allow the Tarheels to get second shots. At the same time, getting a few offensive rebounds of their own would help...as they just did with Padgett getting a rebound and passing cross court for a three point shot.

But just as Louisville cuts the lead to four, here comes Hansbrough's tenacity as he barrels down the lane to get the rebound for a dunk.

North Carolina continues to attack the pressure. Sometimes they are stunningly successful, but now Louisville is starting to create more turnovers. And the lead has been cut to one with just over 11 minutes to play.

The Tarheels still have Hansbrough. He gets a pass in the lane and scores to restore momentary order. Plus he's fouled, making the free throw to push the lead back to four.

But Louisville has found the range from the three point line. They have also minimized the fast break points, creating more turnovers and forcing North Carolina to run offense. That minimizes the number of possessions for the Tarheels and keeps the game close.

Now the Cardinals have tied the game with 10 minutes to play.

Louisville can't afford turnovers from impatience. Two times down the floor they have been called for travelling, allowing North Carolina to push the lead back out to four. But they did just pick up the fourth foul on a key player for the Tarheels, which could be significant as the game goes under eight minutes.

Hansbrough is so difficult to deal with on the low block. He is so strong that a guard won't be able to dig the ball out of his hands. The best strategy is to try and push him off the low block and make him receive the ball more than five feet from the goal. Then you play him straight up and do your best to stay between him and the basket. You can't foul him because he is an outstanding free throw shooter.

Easier said. He's got 23 points and 12 rebounds with just over six minutes to play.

Louisville is trying to hang in, but they've turned the ball over on three straight possessions and trail by five with about three minutes to play. North Carolina shows patience on offense, as running clock is now as important as scoring.

And Louisville turns it over yet again.

North Carolina has taken advantage of the turnovers to extend the lead to 11 with one minute to play behind the excellence of Tyler Hansbrough on both ends of the floor. Hansbrough finishes with 28 points and 13 rebounds, 20 of those points coming in the second half.

And to tell you what kind of player Hansbrough is, with less than 10 seconds to play and his team up by 10, the kid dove on the floor after a loose ball.

So the second #1 seed has advanced to the Final Four next weekend.

There are two more spots and the Final Four dance card will be filled.

This is going to sound stupid, but most sports platitudes sound stupid so I think I'm ok. 3 seed Xavier must play a full 40 minutes today in order to beat 1 seed UCLA.

What does that mean?

It means that Xavier must focus on fundamentals, protect against unforced errors, take good shots, score around the rim, and get back on defense. And they must remain focused on these things for the entire game, because UCLA is too talented and will take advantage of any breakdown.

It's just that simple. But that doesn't make it easy to achieve.

UCLA is off to an excellent start on the offensive end. They are good enough to win games solely on the strength of their defense, so when they shoot the ball well it becomes so difficult to beat them.

The Bruins challenge every pass, every shot, and every rebound. They don't gamble on steals very often, which means they are rarely out of position to make the right defensive play.

As well as UCLA is playing defensively, Xavier is only down by three at the eight minute time out.

The intensity picked up over the next 5 minutes, and both teams had trouble with ball control. Neither team could score consistently. But Xavier seems to be doing the things it needs to do to keep the game close and give itself a chance in the second half.

However, in the final two minutes of the half UCLA tightens the screws defensively and started to take control, leading by 9 at the half.

Xavier got the first bucket of the second half, but then the Bruins focused their defensive intensity and extended the lead to double digits. The Musketeers had all kinds of trouble figuring out how best to attack UCLA in the half court.

UCLA struggled in its early round games, but today they have it all working. The Bruins are over-powering Xavier and the Musketeers can't get any offense going. UCLA has surged to a 20 point lead at 14:36 to play.

Xavier picked up the third foul on the great freshman from UCLA, Kevin Love. I would suggest that this could work to the Musketeers advantage, but they just aren't playing well enough to make that a valid statement.

To Xavier's credit, they have stepped up the defensive pressure and forced UCLA to scramble a bit. But they still can't make shots consistently to close the gap. They are down 16 at the 12 minute time out.

Xavier finally gets an outside jumper to go, and immediately fall victim to a brilliant full court outlet pass from Love and an easy lay up for UCLA, keeping the lead in double figures.

UCLA has taken complete control of the game, pushing the lead to 20 again with just about seven minutes to play. The Bruins kept Xavier from getting into any kind of offensive rhythm.

It wasn't a very exciting game. UCLA was in control for pretty much all of it. And so the Bruins become the first team into the Final Four. There is a very real possibility that all four #1 seeds will advance to the Final Four, the first time that has happened.

The Bruins go to their third consecutive Final Four. UCLA last won the tournament in 1995, which was the school's 11th national championship in men's basketball.

It's so tough to watch seniors close out their careers when the game hasn't gone in their favor. I tip my hat to them all as they move on to the next phases of their lives. As the NCAA commercials say, most of these athletes are going pro in something other than sports.

10 seed Davidson played with tremendous confidence against 3 seed Wisconsin, normally an outstanding defensive team. The Wildcats had success early with a balanced attack. Leading scorer Stephen Curry rubbed his defender off multiple screens, freeing himself for open looks. Although smaller than Wisconsin, Davidson played quicker than the Badgers with a full court press that forced rushed jump shots and turnovers. Wisconsin seemed to panic just a bit early in the second half and tried to take advantage of their size. But Davidson countered with the brilliance of Curry and an unwillingness to back down. The Wildcats took advantage of every mistake Wisconsin made to win in decisive fashion and advance to the Midwest Regional final. Curry has scored 103 points in three tournament games.

Note: Davidson College paid the way for hundreds of its students to see the basketball team compete in the Sweet 16 in Detroit. The college paid for transportation, lodging, and a ticket to the game. Read the story here.

3 seed Stanford had trouble with the quickness of 2 seed Texas. For whatever reason the Cardinal perimeter players refused to dump the ball inside to the 7' Lopez twins until mid-way through the first half. Texas had no answer for it and Stanford gradually crept back into the game. The Longhorns were forced to double team in the post, which freed up Stanford's perimeter shooters for wide open looks that they failed to make consistently. Ultimately Stanford failed on the defensive end to adjust to the quickness of the Texas guards. The lesson from this game is this: if you have two excellent post players, but you don't know the proper fundamental way to get them the ball in the right place at the right time, you might as well not have them at all. Texas played a solid all around game to advance to the South Regional final.

1 seed Kansas is big, strong, and athletic. They play a controlled, unselfish style. They can get out and run on the break or play a physical half-court game. They are deep, well-coached, and they don't make a lot of mistakes. The Jayhawks over-powered 12 seed Villanova. It's great when the lower seeds pull off upsets and bust the brackets. But sometimes it sets up a situation where the lower seeds can't compete in later rounds. Kansas took advantage of Villanova's inability to compete and advanced easily to the Midwest Regional final.

1 seed Memphis was too fast and too talented for 5 seed Michigan State to handle. When the Tigers are interested and motivated, they look unbeatable. MSU looked like they were playing with 10lb weights on their sneakers. Memphis smothered the perimeter players and dominated the interior. The Tigers were prepared for everything MSU wanted to do, and were about 5 steps quicker than the Spartans. Memphis outrebounded the best rebounding team in the Big 10 by double digits. MSU was able to take advantage of the lack of focus from Memphis in the second half, going on a run to cut into the Tigers' 34 point lead. The Spartans got as close as 14 and then began to foul, hoping to capitalize on Memphis' poor free throw shooting. Memphis finally did enough to win by 18 and advance to the South Regional final.

Midwest Regional Final: 10 Davidson vs 1 Kansas

South Regional Final: 2 Texas vs 1 Memphis

The overall 1 seed in the tournament advanced with a blow out of 4 seed Washington State. WSU did a pretty good job of controlling tempo early in the game, but they couldn't keep the offensive pressure on UNC. The Tarheels didn't get much offense from Tyler Hansbrough in the first half, but they were still too athletic and too big for the Cougars. In the end, WSU just couldn't match UNC offensively and the Tarheels played outstanding defense to advance to the East Regional final on Saturday.

3 seed Xavier raced out to an early 18 point lead over 7 seed West Virginia. The Mountaineers chipped away in the second half behind Joe Alexander, and took the lead in the final minute. Xavier re-took the lead, and then WVU tied it again. Alexander missed a free throw that might have won the game at the end of regulation. Alexander then fouled out early in the overtime. Joe Mazzula did his best to keep WVU in the game, but Xavier used strong outside shooting and timely rebounding to win and advance to the West Regional final.

The thing that has bothered me about 2 seed Tennessee all season is carelessness. They rely on athletic ability, and often play too loose and try to make althletic plays rather than the simple basketball play. That frenetic style is going to win plenty of games against teams that aren't as quick, but when you match against a team of equally skilled athletes it can do more harm than good. Louisville, the 3 seed, plays a chaotic defensive game as well, but they are much more controlled and mature offensively. The Cardinals exploited Tennessee's lack of basketball IQ at key moments, and reigned in their own tendency to play too fast. Tennessee started to panic and made too many bad plays out of the context of the offense. Louisville took advantage and advanced to the East Regional Final.

1 seed UCLA was just too strong for 12 seed Western Kentucky. The Bruins are one of the best defensive teams in the country, and they showed it by holding the Hilltoppers to 20 points in the first half. UCLA contested every drive to the goal and had a hand in the face of every jump shooter. They controlled the boards on both ends of the floor and broke the Western Kentucky press with ease. UCLA freshman Kevin Love is one of the best passing big men I've ever seen. His outlet passes made it almost impossible for Western Kentucky to put any pressure on the Bruins. However, Western Kentucky made a furious run in the second half, forcing turnovers and creating foul trouble for UCLA, putting the issue in doubt until the Bruins restored order late to preserve the win and advance to the West Regional Final.

East Regional Final: 3 Louisville vs 1 North Carolina

West Regional Final: 3 Xavier vs 1 UCLA