One Man’s Thoughts...

As we move closer to war and farther from the tip-off of the NCAA Tournament, here are one man’s thoughts on the current issues in College Basketball, before all our thoughts go out to our courageous troops overseas.

• The more I hear Ben Howland say he’s happy here in Pittsburgh, the more I’m expecting him to shock the university and take a one-trip to Westwood.
• Imagine how good Connecticut would have been WITH Caron Butler in the lineup.
• I may be the only man in America who thinks neither Kentucky or Arizona will win the championship. In Kentucky’s case, streaks are made to be broken. In Arizona’s case, if the players can’t get fired up to play, then there is something wrong with the team.
• Of all the teams that have a seed lower than 4, Missouri scares me the most. The majority of teams would be unable to overcome a 20-point deficit to Oklahoma and Mizzou almost did.
• If Donatas Zavackas can hit at least 40 percent of the 3-point attempts, the Panthers will go very, very far.
• Syracuse playing in Albany is very close to a home game for the Orangemen. But lest all Panther fans forget, the Civic Arena first round matches were home games for Pitt.
• Just because Dayton’s never been a basketball powerhouse doesn’t mean they aren’t a scary team.
• Same goes for Memphis, Colorado, and Creighton.
• Don’t expect Gonzaga to be a bracket buster this year.
• I may also be the only person in America picking Weber State over Wisconsin. Usually, the most likely uspets never happen.
• There is no excuse for any basketball program players to quit before the season is over. St. Bonaventure’s players should be ashamed because they stooped to the level of the programs’ fallacies.
• Enjoy the NBA, Carmelo.
• If Howland does leave for UCLA, don’t expect Pitt to look into Jim Harrick.
• Do you realize, Georgia went from Tubby Smith to Harrick? That’s like Batman going from Michael Keaton to Val Kilmer.
• Expect more upsets this year than in years past due to parity in the league. One of those will be Creighton over Duke in the Sweet Sixteen.

--John Biles