NCAA early round recap and Sweet 16 preview

I am back in the saddle after a spending the first two rounds of the tournament in Las Vegas, watching most of the action from the Bellagio sports book, though at times the flat screen in my room at the Palazzo was the only viable option based on my "condition" at the time. Now that the cobwebs in my head are clearing (though the memories are still and likely will continue to be hazy), I see that my bracket has held up nicely (how about Cleveland State and Arizona!) through two rounds, though Louisville and Pittsburgh did their best to scare me. I heard from many of you over the past week and want to hear your thoughts on the tournament below in the comments field, but first, here is a recap of the early action with a look ahead to Sweet 16/Elite Eight...

East Region

Best Game, actual and Vegas style: Oklahoma State's thrilling 77-75 win over three-point favorite Tennessee in round one, with Cowboys point guard Byron Eaton scoring the decisive three-point play on a drive with 7.2 seconds remaining after the two sides traded the lead throughout the second half...As an aside, anyone who says the first two rounds were less than thrilling obviously did not enter an office pool or wager. Trust me, it helps a lot.

Best Player: Sam Young, Pittsburgh. The Panthers had their struggles in winning their initial two games, but whenever they seemed to be up against it, there was Young hitting big shot after big shot and often from long range. Young hit half of his 3-pointers (8-of-16) and averaged 23 points and 10.5 rebounds in the first two rounds, including a double-double in the first round followed by drilling Oklahoma State for 32 points, hitting on 12-of-20 shots.

Best Team: Villanova looked anything but a potential Final Four team for much of the game against American and trailed by double digits in the second half. However, with essentially a home crowd cheering them on, the Wildcats came back to roll the Eagles and they dominated UCLA over the weekend, crushing the Bruins on both ends of the court. If they can keep up their defensive intensity for two more rounds to go along with their high-octane offense, the Wildcats will be headed to Detroit.

Final Four bound: Say what you want about the Pitt Panthers, but they just win. Sure it can be scary at times and I suspect members of the Oakland Zoo, the Panthers fan base, have scant amount of fingernails left to chew on. The Panthers have yet to make past the Sweet 16 in the Jamie Dixon era and that my friends is the big hurdle; if they get past Xavier, the weight of the world will feel much lighter for Pittsburgh with that monkey off its back. Even with the winner of Duke-Villanova (should be one of the more entertaining games of the entire tournament) looming, Pittsburgh will survive and advance to the Final Four in Detroit.

South Region

Best moment: Freshman Demetri Goodson's Tyus Edney-like full court dash for the game-winning bank shot in Gonzaga's 83-81 win over 12th seed Western Kentucky in round two.

Best moment, Vegas style: My friend Mike excitedly hugging all those around him in the closing seconds of Akron's stirring 77-64 backdoor cover against Gonzaga in the first round like he just witnessed his beloved Washington Redskins winning the Super Bowl or received an invite to join Hef and the bunnies at the Grotto. The Zips, getting 13.5 points, battled the Zags in the final moments like a Final Four berth was on the line and the crowd at the Bellagio's sports book reacted in kind with the back and forth action. Nothing like a point spread win in Vegas, the best place to watch the tourney.

Worst time for a shooting slump: Arizona State guard James Harden is viewed as a top-10, maybe top-5 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, but he did not help his cause with his NCAA Tournament play. In two games, the 6-5 Harden connected on only 3-of-18 shots, missing all but one of eight attempts from beyond the arc.

Final Four bound: Despite the return of Ty Lawson boosting UNCs chances and Oklahoma's Blake Griffin dominating the first two rounds like no other player in the field, this chalk region remains the most competitive. Gonzaga has all the tools to take down North Carolina and while I called for the upset on one of my office pool entries, I am not going against Tyler Hansbrough and friends just yet. Oklahoma-Syracuse is must see TV with Jonny Flynn and the Orange squeezing out a win. Jim Boeheim has his team playing their best ball right now and they will…just come up short against a Tar Heels squad that is poised for one more Final Four run.

Midwest Region

Best Game: The braggart in me wants to claim it was Cleveland State throttling Wake Forest, but since that game was never in doubt, I will go with Siena's double-OT win over Ohio State. Paraphrasing Bill Raftery's comments during the broadcast, how about the double order of onions served up by Saints guard Ronald Moore, who nailed the game-winning three pointer after sending the contest into the second extra session with a long bomb from almost the same exact spot.

Best Trio: Arizona's Nic Wise (50 points), Chase Budinger (35) and Jordan Hill (33) scored a combined 118 points in the first two rounds, or 76.1 percent of the Wildcats entire output in wins over Utah and Cleveland State. They will need to keep up that pace and perhaps improve on it against a deep and swarming Louisville Cardinals squad in the Sweet 16.

Best Coaching Job year to date: Seriously, how does Kansas coach Bill Self have the Jayhawks back into the Sweet 16 after losing nearly all of their production following the championship run from a year ago. Sure, he can still roll out talented players like Sherron Collins, the one holdover from the 2008 run, and Cole Aldrich, who dominated Dayton in the second round to the tune of 13 points, 20 rebounds and 10 blocks, but these Jayhawks are ahead of schedule.

Final Four bound: I have been on the Louisville bandwagon for some time and the Rick Pitino version for years and I will not be hoping off either of them now despite the Cardinals uneven play in the early rounds. Their depth should get them by Arizona and their offensive versatility will prove to be too much for Michigan State after the Spartans eke out a win over Kansas.

West Region

Best Team, by far: Connecticut entered the tournament seemingly a little off kilter, as they failed to match their early season level of play following the injury to forward Jerome Dyson. Two uber-dominant wins put any immediate concerns to rest as A.J. Price and crew were clearly the most impressive squad of the early rounds.

Best Sweet 16 matchup: If you love non-stop, back and forth, explosive action, Memphis-Missouri is the game for you. The battle of the Tigers features two squads that want to pressure you all over the court and have the athletes to do just that. If the winner has enough gas left in the tank, they are heading to Detroit.

Best Celeb sightings: For this NFL-based site, I won't go into detail over our group seeing former NBA star Antoine Walker or partying with Paddleball National Semi-finalist and magazine cover boy Jon Lubow. Former Ravens head coach Brian Billick was poolside at the Bellagio, reading from a notebook with a big NFL logo on it. Yes, I know that is hard to top, but I think seeing Mike Ditka maning the first base seat at the blackjack table next to mine will do the trick. While I could not see the table action from my third base perch, I was able to hear him talk to the cards, fist bump his fellow players after a winning hand and get all worked up as if he was still pacing the sidelines. Sweet.

Final Four bound: Yes, UConn has looked unbeatable early on, but I previously predicted Purdue would get by them and following their impressive win over a game Washington crew, I am not about to jump ship. Therefore, the Boilermakers will take care of Huskies in back-to-back games, but then the run ends against the Tigers of Memphis. Memphis was another slow starter in the tournament, but they righted the ship against Cal-State Northridge and then dominated Maryland in round two. Now that they have their sea legs under them, the Tigers should ride the wave into the Final Four.