The Big Ten is known for having the most tradition and the most loyal fans in college athletics, having been around the longest. The stadiums are the biggest, and the fans really take their sports seriously. I have a serious bias to my hometeam's old haunts of Kinnick Stadium and Carver-Hawkeye Arena, but I will do my best to judge the conference's best fairly.

Top Football Stadiums:
1. Beaver Stadium (Penn State)-Located in Happy Valley, Pennsylvania with a capacity of around 105,000 (but probably more), Beaver Stadium has a slight edge over Ohio Stadium in my book. It is one of the most scenic campuses and places to play football around, and there are few things cooler than white out Saturdays. The student section is one of the best around, and this stadium generates a ton of noise, unlike some of the "other" massive stadiums around. The "We Are Penn State" chant is also one of the best in the country. The sheer size, noise, and the beauty of it all makes this the best stadium in the Big Ten.
2. Ohio Stadium, or the "Horseshoe" (Ohio State)-Another massive, historic stadium located in Columbus, Ohio with a capacity around 105-106,000. As obnoxious as OSU fans usually are, they support their dominate football team very well and fill up this hulk of a stadium every Saturday. The "Shoe" generates tons of noise, one of the most intense atmospheres in college sports, and the fans are pretty close to the field as well. You haven't lived until you've seen an OSU-Michigan game here. The scripting of O-H-I-O is one of the best traditions in sport, and they are known for spelling out those letters after touchdowns too. Could have easily been voted the top Big Ten stadium.
3. Camp Randall Stadium (Wisconsin)-Located in Madison, Wisconsin with a capacity of around 80,000, Camp Randall has one of the wildest and most raucous crowds in the nation. They make Camp Randall a sea of red every Saturday. This stadium is also the oldest in the Big Ten, filling every gameday with tradition. They are known for the "Jump Around" after the third quarter, when the famous party song blares out over the speakers and the entire stadium bounces around crazily like pogo sticks. Fans also stick around for the "5th" quarter, when the band plays more songs, win or lose, and keeps the fiesta atmosphere going well after the game.
4. Kinnick Stadium (Iowa)-My personal favorite, for obvious reasons, located in Iowa City, Iowa with a capacity of 70, 585. Kinnick has a unique, old school feel not found in any other stadium around the country. The brick structure gives it a very scenic appearance, and the way the Hawkeyes all roll up in the bus and touch the iconic Nile Kinnick statue on their way inside the stadium has become an amazing tradition. The Hawkeye fans are known for filling up Kinnick no matter if the team is winning or losing, but the atmosphere is one of the craziest around if the team is winning. The quintessential Midwest fall flavor is felt all around Kinnick, with fans tailgating on Melrose and the stadium just popping up along the street, like it has always been there since the beginning of time. Kinnick doesn't have the jaw-dropping capacity of other elite stadiums, but they generate just as much noise because the fans are packed in like animals and are sooo close to the field that they can basically reach out and touch the players on the sidelines. Gold-out and black-out games have become new traditions, intimidating mono-color seas of fans. The Hawkeyes are known for the "Swarm," when the whole team emerges from the locker room to the sound of the fight song holding hands. The "four corners" chant (the stadium is made up of four sections) is when the fans spell out I-O-W-A after every touchdown. Kinnick truly is a pageantry-filled legend every Saturday.
5. Michigan Stadium, or "The Big House" (Michigan)-The Big House, located in Ann Arbor, Michigan with an official capacity around 110,000, is intimidating and legendary for its incredible size alone. It is probably the most overrated stadium in the country, because while it's historic, huge, and well known in all circles of college football it doesn't generate much noise and the fans can be notoriously passive at times. Whenever they play Ohio State here it is an incredible atmosphere, and just to witness a stadium so huge is pretty amazing in itself, but The Big House is a fairly quiet 110,000.
6. Memorial Stadium (Illinois)-Located in Champiagn, Illinois with a capacity just under 70,000, Memorial Stadium, dedicated to the fallen heroes of WWI and WWII, hasn't always been the most intimidating atmosphere. The Illini have had an up and down history and haven't always had very full crowds, but as they showed last season when they went 9-3 and made it to the Rose Bowl, when Memorial Stadium is filled up it can be an insane atmosphere. The fans are loud and the student section raucous, and CHief Illiniwek used to be one of the cooler traditions in sports. But the fact that the team isn't always good and the fan support not always there makes it hard to put this place higher on the list.
7. Spartan Stadium (Michigan State)-Once described as a "snakepit" by Lee Corso, this 72,000-seat stadium in East Lansing, Michigan reminds me a lot of Memorial Stadium in the fact that the fans aren't always there or very into the games here, but when the team is winning, which isn't guaranteed, it can be a dangerous atmosphere. The fans are right on top of the action and the place is built to be loud, the team just has to return to consistent prominence and the fans will show up in full force. It looks like Mark Dantonio is doing a good job of doing just that.
8. Ross-Ade Stadium (Purdue)-Not a horrible stadium by any means, but this 65,00-seat stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana isn't very loud or very "big" for Big Ten standards. Last year when Purdue played Ohio State it seemed as if they were just as many Buckeye fans there as Boilermaker fans. Purdue has a pretty good fan base, and that annoying Boilermaker can sure create a lot of frustrating noise, but this stadium is just fairly boring and passive as far as Big Ten stadiums go.
9. Ryan Field (Northwestern)-Located in Evanston, Illinois, just outside Chicago, with a capacity of around 42,000, this is by far the smallest and most scenic stadium in the Big Ten. But in college football, scenic isn't what's important for the home team. Fans rarely show up in full force and the noise level is pretty pathetic; last year opposing teams' fans showed up with much more frequency than the actual Northwestern fans did, especially in the Iowa game. A nice little place to play but one of the least intimidating atmospheres in college sports.
10. Memorial Stadium, or "The Rock" (Indiana)-The late Terry Hoeppner really tried his best to make some traditions out of IU football, including the famous "Play 13" motto and re-naming Memorial Stadium "The Rock" while putting that famous rock just outside the field. The Hooisers returned the favor by making a bowl game last year, but they will be hard-pressed to do it again and this stadium is known for having some of the weakest fan support in the country. It is almost always half-full in this 50,000-seat stadium in the middle of Bloomington, Indiana, and the fans hardly ever make much noise. Even when the team is succeeding, fans rarely flood the gates to get tickets. Last year's IU-Purdue game was the 1st time I had ever seen it full. Hopefully that will change with last year's bowl game, but I don't see that happening with the lack of any real winning tradition here.
11. Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (Minnesota)-Even though Minnesota is moving to a fancy new outdoor stadium in 2009, they will still be playing one more year in the Metrodome, one of the worst atmospheres in college football. On a beautifully crisp fall Saturday, noone wants to go inside a stale dome and root on a crappy football team, but that's what Gopher fans have had to do for a while now. The Metrodome is useful for facillitating so many Minnesota pro teams as well as the college team, but a dome is just not a good place for college football, even if drinking is allowed inside. The only good memories I have of this place was in 2002 when the Hawkeyes won the Big Ten and students smuggled the goalposts out of here. Gopher fans, be glad you are moving out of this horrible stadium. Oh, by the way, it holds about 60,000 people (rarely ever that full) and is located in Minneappolis, Minnesota.

Top Basketball Arenas:
1. Kohl Center (Wisconsin)-One of the nicest and fanciest basketball arenas in the country, it is just such a beautiful place to play a basketball game. Really a borderline NBA arena. It's huge, the fans are rabid and they always show up, and it's a huge deal whenever the Badgers lose here. One of the best places to catch a game, and one of the toughest places to win.
2. Breslin Center (Michigan State)-No one wins here either!! I'm not even sure if Michigan State lost here last season, and I know Iowa hasn't beat them here since 1993!! One of the main reasons is the noise. The Breslin Center may be the loudest arena in the country, helped out by the swarming student section that surrounds the court and takes the "good" seats. Just a mind-numbingly loud place to play, and the Spartans are a different team here.
3. Assembly Hall (Illinois)-The large groups of "Orange Krush" students who clutter the arena push this one over the top; they are so loud and so close to the court that it's almost impossible to keep them out of your head and push the noise away. The swarms of orange that infest the arena on gamedays is one of the most intimidating things in college basketball, and when the Illini are winning there is really no better student section around.
4. Assembly Hall (Indiana)-Some of the best tradition of any arena in the country, with a definite old school "Hoosiers"-feel to it. The people here love basketball and fill the arena up every gameday, and the Hoosiers usually deliver with fantastic performances here.
5. Value City Arena (Ohio State)-Some of the loudest and best fans in the country, this is also one of the nicest arenas and best places to catch a game. Kind of a generic feel and not the most tradition felt here inside the arena, but a damn good one and one of the toughest to play in all over the country.
6. Mackey Arena (Purdue)-Another tradition rich arena in basketball-hungry Indiana, the fans here love their hoops and pack the arena every time the Boilermakers play. When the team is doing well it is one of the best homecourt advantages in college basketball.
7. Williams Arena, or "The Barn" (Minnesota)-They have a nickname for their rowdy student section, and they can be one of the loudest and craziest around when the team is doing well, but the team hasn't been very good lately so the impact of the great crowds haven't shown through as much.
8. Carver-Hawkeye Arena (Iowa)-The attendance has been declining steadily throughout the Steve Alford era as he pushed die-hard fans away, and culminated in last year's rebuilding mess, but when this place is full and the Hawkeyes are rolling it is one of the elite arenas in the country. There is a reason Iowa went undefeated here two years ago. Iowa fans are loud and rowdy when the basketball team is performing and I am confident Lickliter will get the team winning again and the fans back in their seats.
9. Crisler Arena (Michigan)-Michigan hasn't been relevant since the Fab Five days, but they have a large fanbase and a great recruiting area, plus with the new coach they will be back in action soon and fans should return to this arena, with one of the better student sections around, and make it one of the best arenas in the conference.
10. Welsh-Ryan Arena (Northwestern)-One of the cooler venues around, it has a definite high school feel to it with the low seating capacity and wooden bleachers. Fans rarely flock to the arena in full force, but it has a really cool, old school simplistic feel to it and is unique in the Big Ten.
11. Bryce Jordan Center (Penn State)-Definitely a dud of an arena, it is generic, boring in design, and rarely full. Basketball is not taken too seriously in Happy Valley, and this depressing venue reflects that.

Iowa's overall facilities are pretty solid, especially for football, and while we may not have the fanciest or shiniest new places for our athletes in the Big Ten, you have to consider that we are the smallest Big Ten state and have the smallest recruiting and alumni base, so for the size of state that we have, Iowa does a damn good job. Our football facilities are above average and are definitely up there with the elite teams in the nation. Along with the legendary Kinnick Stadium, we have the Kenyon Practice Fields, which is a bevy of different fields like grass or turf to practice on. They can do scrimmages, conditioning drills, and etc. They have all the practice room for any situation that they need to practice for. The "bubble" is a large indoor practice facility built by Hayden Fry in the 1980s to practice in when the temperatures get cold, and while it definitely still serves its purpose it is kind of an eyesore on the campus these days and too many sports use it in the offseason, so renovations to it are likely on the way. Football also has the large athletic hall that contains the weight room and all the legendary banners and trophys honoring Hawkeye acheivments such as bowl games and award winners. It's a great place for fans to visit and relive great Hawkeye moments and accomplishments, and a great training/film place for the players. A very fancy football-only facility. Carver is the arena where our men's and women's basketball teams play, and also where they share practices. A weight room is located here, along with the locker rooms and coaches' offices for basketball and wrestling. Wrestling has their own training area here. A practice facility is currently being built so men's and women's basketball don't have to share practice time or practice at inconvenient times, along with more weight room areas so wrestlers and ballers don't have to share the weights and better office areas for the coaches. Carver is being renovated as well with better seating and transportation around the arena, and more luxury seating to pay for the cost of these renovations. Duane Banks Field is our dump of a baseball field, one that could pass for an average high school field. You can tell baseball doesn't mean much in the Big Ten. Pearl Field is the softball area, a very nice facility and one of the best softball fields in the Big Ten. The old Fieldhouse has turned into a rec area, with a weight room, track, and plenty of courts to practice on for intramural teams or for the real players for pickup games. Track facilities, indoor and outdoor, are located near the softball field, along with an assortment of golf courses for the golf team to practice on and a large stock of tennis courts near Kinnick Stadium. Field hockey (Big Ten tournament champs) has their own field on the outskirts of campus, while soccer has their own playing field as well.

In 2008-09, Coach Lickliter will be entering his second season as the man in charge of the Iowa Hawkeyes. Expectations are a little higher within the Iowa communiy thanks to the flood of talented freshmen entering the program, but with the departure of star senior guard Tony Freeman, the pre-season hype for next year is significantly lower. The Freeman departure will be sure to create all kinds of controversy and debate all across the state of Iowa, seeing as Tony basically came out and said Lickliter didn't want him on the team. As more facts and more stories have come out about the ordeal, Freeman's biased take on the events seem a little farther away from the real truth. Freeman did have loads of talent with a Big Ten body and the best shot on the team, one of the few players who could create his own shot, but his frenetic, fast-paced, shoot-1st ask questions later style clashed with the team-first, slow-pace that Lickliter wanted to play at. Freeman didn't want to change his game or adapt to Lickliter's ways, so he was told his playing time would be reduced because there would be more bodies coming in for depth next season. Freeman didn't like it, so he's leaving. It's a tough loss and I have a hard time wondering why Lickliter couldn't keep such a skilled player on the team for his senior year, and I do feel sorry for Tony and his admittedly big ego because he obviously had intentions of coming back, but this decision will be best for the team's future if not for next season. Like the move or not, Lickliter is putting his stamp on the program and letting it be known that he is doing things his way and not bowing down to the players. His system is a fun one to watch and effective as any when it is run correctly, but he is still getting the players he needs to build it. Getting rid of Freeman gets him one step closer to that goal. Last year was a tough rebuilding season expected of a 1st-year coach with a less-than-stellar crop of talent left; players left, and we had to rely on average bench players and freshman to carry the team. We kind of lived or died by Freeman and his shooting theatrics for most of the season as he recovered from an ankle injury in the nonconference, but as the year went on we found some options in hardworking post player Cyrus Tate and the smooth, skilled freshman Jake Kelly. Their continued development is key for next year's success. Our defense was pretty fantastic all year long in '07-'08, but scoring was the major problem. We never really ran any semblance of a consistent offense and moving without the ball appeared to be a foreign term to our boys. We never fed the ball inside enough and our best players took threes 70 percent of the time they had the ball. And most of the time, these weren't good threes. Tough to score more than 50 a game when that's all you shoot. We also just didn't have enough scorers or players who could take their man off the trouble, and Lickliter's 7-man rotation left him forced to play the same scrubs even when they messed up. The players got tired, and as the year wore on, disinterested with all the losing. The last few games were fairly uninspired efforts, and it was obvious they were ready to get next season on the road. Besides the painful loss of Freeman, we lose three seniors in Seth Gorney, Kurt Looby, and Justin Johnson along with walk-on junior Dan Bohall, who is also leaving the program. Gorney was a fairly soft big man with a pretty but inconsistent shot; he rarely played tough inside though, especially for a 7-footer, but his size will be missed. Looby was an athletic highlight reel, a long-armed jet back who would rise for crowd pleasing alley-oops and blocks. He never put on much strength or fine-tuned his raw game though, and Lickliter refused to play him consistently this season. Johnson could shoot threes; leave him open and I'd put my money on him any day of the week. But his role should have been spot-up shooter, not big-time scorer, which is what he was expected to be this past year. He never had much of a handle or couldn't take shots off the dribble, relied on for too much offense, but as a shooter he was great. Bohall played a lot in the nonconference with the injury to Freeman, but his shaky handle and D-2 speed left him more and more on the bench as the year wore on, especially after his public intoxication charge. He slowly got back into favor with Lickliter and played against Northwestern and Penn State, earning minutes with hard play and tough defense. He was going to be hard pressed for playing time with the new bodies coming in though, and leaving is probably a good choice for him.

Coming up soon, I will be going over all the players returning and coming in, and analyzing the things the Hawkeyes need to do better to win next year and what the players can do to provide it.

The most important player we have coming back is going to be Jeff Peterson, who will have to take over the point guard duties full time as a sophmore after a roller coaster last season where he started strong but finished the season barely getting any minutes. Jeff has a quick 1st step and does a fantastic job getting into the lane, but he struggled to find a balance between passing and creating his own shot, and he left his feet way too often. Towards the end of the season, turnovers became a huge problem as well, and he wasn't finishing with as much explosiveness as he was at the beginning of the year. Lickliter couldn't afford to keep him on the floor for long periods of time and it was obvious the freshman's confidence started on a steep decline...with Freeman's absence and the job of point guard thrust soley on Jeff's shoulders, I think he will get his mojo back, improving his decision making and outside shot to become the surprise Hawkeye star this year. We will need him to play major minutes, because there is really no depth at all for the point position besides an incoming freshman or two, so Peterson needs to be the man. Cyrus Tate and Jaryyd Cole will both be back as team captains to control the low post, and will be counted on for a lot of scoring and essentially all of our points in the paint and rebounding. Tate emerged as our best player towards the end of the Big Ten season last year, using his strength and crafty finishing around the rim to get a 20 and 10 almost every game; he was our hardest worker night in and night out, often the only Hawkeye on the floor playing with any semblance of energy. Cole started as a freshman, and Tate ironically didn't emerge until after Cole tore his ACL late in the nonconference. Now both will be playing together, and only good can come from that. Cole was a great athlete and powerful finisher who also played with a reckless energy on the floor, grabbing offensive boards and showing his toughness and Big Ten body. He needs to improve his free throw shooting and outside touch, but his inside skills and energy make him a valuable post player. Jake Kelly needs to get stronger and more confident with his driving and decision making, but his bevy of offensive skills, outside shot, and impressive length make him a versatile scorer and skilled player, often leading the Hawkeyes in scoring last season. J.R. Angle and David Palmer both return as well; neither of them got many minutes last season and that doesn't figure to change with 6 new bodies coming into the program for 2008-09. Angle is a good shooter and good passer, but he doesn't have the athleticism or the handle to get many minutes, while Palmer was never in great shape and apparently didn't impress Lickiter with his practice habits enough to get some burn in the post, where we were woefully thin last year. Both of these guys will probably ride the pine again.

The 6 incoming recruits are creating an immense amount of hype in and around the university. Three Mr. Basketballs for their respective states is usually quite the class in itself, but when you add two Juco transfers and an ever-improving 6 foot 10 big man that just creates the potential for this class to be special. The first guy that comes to mind for me is Matt Gatens, a 6 foot 5 guard from Iowa City High who has been generating hype for years and playing in the Prime Time League since he was an 8th grader. He recently was named Mr. Iowa Basketball, the highest honor a senior baller can acheive, and his team won the state championship. Gatens brings a lot of intangibles to the court, along with great size, unselfish play, and a great overall ability and knowledge of the game. He has been a Hawkeye since berth and his committment was never a question; I have no doubt in my mind that he will play the game the "Lickliter way" and be an immediate contributor. Anthony Tucker was named Mr. Basketball for the Minnesota Metro-Cities area, and his team also won the state championship. If Lickliter were still at Butler, Tucker would definitely be a player he would go after, and there was concern at the beginning of the recruiting process of whether Tucker was a big time player or not, but after his huge performance in the state tournament, there is no doubt in anybody's mind of whether or not he's capable of performing at the Big Ten level or not. Tucker is a similar player to Gatens, a 6 foot 5 combo guard who can play both the 1 and the 2. He's unselfish but can also take over a game with his shooting and scoring, and proved that he can be a leader and a star player with his high school team last season. Tubby Smith is going to be disappointed he let this guy slip out of his backyard. Aaron Fuller was Mr. Arizona Basketball this past year, leading Mesa High in just about every statistical category. Major schools didn't start recruiting him until late because they considered him a tweener, a 6 foot 7 post player who didn't excell on the wing as much. But Fuller put up monster scoring statistics and showed off his athleticism and versatility all year long, proving that he could play for any big program in the nation. Iowa jumped on him early, before Lute Olson and Arizona did, and many people are saying this guy is one of the biggest sleepers of the entire Big Ten recruiting class. The two junior college transfers, Jermain Davis from Kirkwood in Cedar Rapids and Devan Bawinkel from Illinois, will contribute immediately with outside shooting, a consistent problem overall last year, and with guard depth, which we need with the loss of Freeman. Bawinkel originally started at West Virginia before Bob Huggins got there, and proved that he has the outside touch to compete at this big time level. And finally, there is Andrew Brommer, a strong post man from Minnesota. Brommer was mostly an afterthought in this class, an average big man who needed to put on some strength and get more skills before he became a real contributor. But word on the street is that he's grown an inch or two and added some serious muscle, so if this is true Brommer could really come in and contribute right away seeing as we lack any semblance of post depth. John Lickliter, the coach's son, will also be coming to Iowa next year as a walk-on. John led City High to that Iowa state championship last year as the team's point guard, and while he looks like an underdeveloped 8th grader he makes up for that with his shooting, ball-handling, and passing.

So the main questions are, how much better will we be than last year and how will these guys help? I think a moderate improvement should be expected; at least a couple wins better and potentially an NIT berth, especially with the painfully easy nonconference schedule we have lined up. Besides the Las Vegas Invitational, where we will go up against the likes of Kansas State and Kentucky, and the typical in-state rivals, there are no opponents that seem too intimidating and double-digit wins before the Big Ten season is a realistic expectation. There are bound to be some growing pains with all the young players, and Jeff Peterson is going to have to step up and be a leader at the point guard spot, which is a question mark, but I think the players will definitely be more in tune to Coach Lickliter and his system so you will see the offense run with much more fluidity and precision. Not so much one and one play and poor shot selection, but unselfish passing and open looks from three. We have shooters than we did last season, along with established leaders in the post, so with more of a committment to get the ball inside and better outside shooters that, some of our offensive woes should be cured. It will be hard to get a grip on this team until the Big Ten season comes around with so much inexperience, but the influx of fresh and exciting new talent is already causing Hawkeye fans to get a little amped up.

This year's NBA playoffs have been one of the most exciting in years, with the parity and crazy competetiveness in the West and the Celtics return to glory in the East, there are just so many fantastic storylines and close battles to follow. To start things off, Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol have lead the Lakers to a 2-0 lead over the Denver Nuggets early in their series. The Nuggets' inability to focus and play hard on defense have just killed them, as we all knew it would. They have loads of star offensive talent and some good overall depth, and they play at a blinding pace that puts up big points in a hurry, but their lack of defense just makes it almost impossible to win games. Teams are putting up 120 on them on a regular basis. Kobe also came out big time in Game 2 with a fantastic 49 point performance, and Gasol had 36-16-10 in Game 1, so L.A. is getting huge contributions from both superstars. The Lakers play great defense, they have great depth around Kobe, and last of all, they have the best player in the NBA in Kobe Bryant, just a vicious and unstoppable scoring machine. Pau has been the big difference, scoring plenty in the post and helping the offense flow with more fluidity thanks to his pretty passing. Lamar Odom has provided his usual versatility on the offensive end and Derek Fisher has been a great leader. Luke Walton is a valuable glue guy off the bench, along with Sasha Vujacic and Ronny Turiaf. Allen Iverson has poured his heart out and put up great scoring numbes as usual for the Nuggets, and JR Smith has been a huge scoring boost off the bench, but noone is playing defense. Melo has been good, not great, and Kenyon Martin has been up and down. Denver's next game at home will determine who wins this series...it's already a known fact that the Nuggets can score, but if they don't buckle down on defense in Game 3, than Denver will be going home in the 1st once again and the heat on George Karl's seat should be pretty hot. Melo might also be on the trading block, as he hasn't been able to lead this team and get them to play over the top. We'll see what happens, at least these games should be entertaining.

An undermanned Houston team lead by Tracy McGrady, who actually hasn't ever gotten out of the 1st round, just in case you haven't heard that one before:), is down 2-1 to the Utah Jazz after gutting it out for a surprising victory at Energy Solutions Arena last night. The Jazz are a better overall team because the Rockets are lacking their dominate center, Yao Ming, but Tracy has been elevating his game to the superstar standards we are used to seeing from him and the role players have stepped up to make the team competetive. Houston really missed Rafer Alston in the first two games in Houston, where the Rockets lost both, but Houston got him back for the 1st one in Utah and he made a huge difference, running the offense well and hitting outside shots. T-Mac got a lot of blame for sub-par 4th quarters in the 1st two home losses, but with the talent difference between these two teams everyone on the Rockets has to play a near-perfect game to have a chance to win. McGrady did pick it up majorly in the 4th, with 7 points, in the win at Utah. The Jazz have a deadly pick and roll combo going with unstoppable point guard Deron Williams and the strong Carlos Boozer, who also has an effective mid-range shot. Utah also has a bevy of players I like to call assassins, or otherwise average guys who can shoot and seem to always hit the big shots that just kill the opponent's momentum. Mehment Okur is a matchup nightmare with his size and his three point shot, Matt Harping is a bully of a player who always muscles his way around for 10-12 points, Kyle Korver has one of the prettiest shots in the NBA, and even high octane backup point Ronnie Price has hit some backbreaking three pointers. Utah also has a great inside bench player in Paul Milsap and a rising star in super-athlete Ronnie Brewer. They are just a deeper and better team, but Houston gets by with excellent defense and fantastic efforts from bench players to complement the scoring of T-Mac. Luis Scola and Carl Landry are two draft surprises picked up in the 2nd round this year, and both have been huge. Scola is a deadly scoring threat and he plays harder than anyone, while Landry is one of the strongest finishers in the league. Rafer has played the best ball of his career, especially during that amazing 22-game winning streak, and he's a vital leader for this team. Bobby Jackson gives the team a frenetic source of energy and outside shooting off the bench, Shane Battier is the team's best defender and a deadly spot-up shooter, while the amazing Dikembe Mutombo has found new energy in his old bones and been an incredible inspiration to his teammates, blocking shots and getting boards like the old days. It will be a tough task to win two in a row on the road in Utah, but with the heart and toughness this Houston team shows I think they have a good shot. They finally got Utah for the 1st time in 5 tries, and with T-Mac getting started in the 4th I see this as going to 7 and Houston pulling out an amazing comeback win.

The San Antonio Spurs already have a 3-0 lead on a Phoenix Suns team that was really hopin that this would be the season they came over the top and had a shot at the title; that's why they got Shaq, to battle big men like Tim Duncan on defense. The Suns haven't played poorly overall in this series, but after losing Game 1 in double overtime, which was perhaps the best Game 1 of all time, it just seemed like that was a punch in the gut and they have had a tough time recovering. That, and the Spurs have played some absolutely amazing basketball, the kind they usually do come playoff time. The way they are brutally efficiently murdering the Suns, I can easily see them putting up another championship banner. Duncan hitting a three to send Game 1 into double overtime really set the tone here. Parker has had his best playoffs as a pro, continuing the beautiful show he put on in last year's Finals and scoring at will with his speed and elusive moves. Duncan has been Duncan, consistent domination in the low post, while Manu Ginobli has been doing the usual scoring and big shot hitting. Steve Nash appears to be finally wearing down, and I have a sad feeling his time in the league is running out. He still has an amazing mastery of the court and a great outside shot, but physically he's having a tough time. Grant Hill and Leandro Barbosa have been offensive no-shows, while Raja Bell has had some difficulty guarding Ginobli. Amare Stoudemire is dominating like usual, but is the only one player consistently scoring big points. And Shaq hasn't made that much of an impact because he's been in a lot of foul trouble and Phoenix players haven't been hitting enough outside shots, so his production and surprisingly decent free throw shooting have been negated. I don't think the Suns have enough left, and their role players aren't playing well enough, to come back and even win a game in this series, let alone win the whole thing.

The New Orleans Hornets, the surprise team of the NBA this year, take on the 7-seed Dallas Mavericks, who finally came together to end the regular season and played the best ball they had played since the controversial Jason Kidd trade. A lot of people were picking Dallas because of the playoff inexperience of the Hornets, but Dallas is not a complete team mentally and they don't have a great big man. I just think New Orleans has more talent, and Kidd doesn't stand a chance guarding Chris Paul, who I think is already the best point guard in the league. Paul is so fast and unstoppable off the dribble, he controls the floor like Steve Nash, has consistent 12-18 assist games, and can take over games with his scoring and outside touch as well. He needs to work on his outside shooting a little bit more but is already the best point guard in the NBA, and Kidd doesn't have the legs anymore to guard him. He is the reason I'm picking New Orleans to finish what they have started in grabbing a 2-1 series lead and put Dallas out, because he has not played like this is his 1st playoffs. The Hornets destroyed Dallas in the 1st two games, but the Mavs responded at home, where New Orleans hasn't won since '98, and Dirk played fantastic to lead them to a victory. David West needs to score about 20 with his midrange excellence, Tyson Chandler needs to play with a ton of energy as far as blocking shots and getting dunks, and Peja needs to drain the open threes he is sure to get. These are all things NO did in the 1st two games but didn't do in Game 3. The bench scoring of Bonzi Wells and Jannero Pargo is also vital for New Orleans, because they don't have a whole lot when the starting 5 goes out. Dallas needs Dirk to play like a superstar everynight, like he did in Game 3, and for Jason Kidd to push the ball and get the team easy buckets like the J-Kidd of old. Josh Howard needs to snap out of his slump and start scoring, and Jason Terry needs to hit his outside shots. Whether it's the strong Erik Dampier or the undersized but quicker Brandon Bass, Dallas also needs a big man to step up and play well against Chandler and Hilton Armstrong, who will play some for the Hornets just to match the bulk of Dampier. I think this will be a pretty even series but Chris Paul won't let his team lose.

I'll breeze quickly through the Eastern Conference, where I see Boston coming out, just not so particularily unscathed after dropping one in Atlanta in Game 3. I thought the Celtics would blow by the Hawks easily; they are an inexperienced, undisciplined, and can't shoot the ball consistently. Boston has the best big three in the NBA, led by the super-intense Kevin Garnett, sharpshooter Ray Allen, and all-around scorer Paul Pierce. The offensive emergence and increased confidence of Rajon Rondo has also been huge in Boston's breakthrough, along with the improved play of big man Kendrick Perkins and bench guys like Leon Powe, Glen Davis, and James Posey. They are a complete team that has a balanced offense that can score in a variety of ways, fantastic defense, and the best leadership of any team around. Lots of playoff hunger, and I just didn't think Atlanta would be able to match the execution and the bodies Boston would send at them. For the 1st two games, Boston dominated exactly as I thought. But the athletic and energetic Hawks, led by sky walker Josh Smith, who has emerged into an amazingly entertaining player, came back and flat out controlled the intensity in one of the best crowds to see a Hawks game ever. Should be an entertaining series now, but with all the good vets on this team Boston will regain their form and control the rest of the series. Cleveland relies way too much on Lebron, the rest of the supporting cast is inconsistent at best, but the Wizards don't play consistent defense and they have too many selfish one-on-one players. Neither of these teams is elite, especially with Washington having a hobbled Gilbert Arenas, but just to see Lebron is reason enough to watch. Cleveland has a 3-1 lead, and Lebron won't let them lose it. The most irrelevant series in the entire playoffs is Orlando versus Toronto, where neither team has a legit shot at the title. Dwight Howard is the best young big man in the game, a vicious rebounder and monster finisher around the basket, but Chris Bosh should give him a run for his money with his offensive skills and exceptional quickness and length. Should be an entertaining individual matchup, but the series will probably depend on the point guard battle, between Orlando's Jameer Nelson and whoever plays for Toronto (TJ Ford or Jose Calderon). Hedo Turkoglu will also have to continue his very impressive scoring. Neither of these teams is very complete or consistent, but some talented young big men are on display. Orlando is up 3-1, but if Toronto can push it and get Orlando out of their post up game they can get back in it. And finally, the Philadelphia 76ers are tied 2-2 with the aging Detroit Pistons. The Pistons are viewed all over as a team that has a bad habit of playing nonchalant basketball, but they can turn on the switch at any time. They still have tons of veteran experience and clutch talent/chemistry, but the young, athletic 76ers are eager to overtake them. So far, Phila. has played with a reckless energy and at a blinding pace that has made Detroit look like they are playing in quicksand. Turnovers and careless offense/defense have hurt Detroit, and they are far from the same team that they were a couple years ago, but the 76ers are also far from perfect and they struggle to shoot and score in the halfcourt, lacking a true offensive big man. Detroit should be able to pick it up and control the rest of this series, they have more talent and valuable playoff experience. They are not the elite team they used to be though, and I see them losing in the 2nd round.

Iowa football has been an immense disappointment for the past three years; we were expected to rise into the consistent elite of college football but instead have shifted into irrelevance, especially after the no-bowl postseason of last year. Once again, our schedule is one of the easiest in the nation, missing the big boys of Ohio State and Michigan. Besides the running backs and the linebackers, almost everybody is returning to a team that struggled with consistency and that elusive 1st down for much of last season. The offense was efficient and rarely turned the ball over, but really had trouble scoring and in all facets of the offense. The offensive line played poorly, our quarterback was inconsistent at best, and our play-calling was questionable and conservative, not sticking enough to our strong running game. The defense was overall fantastic, but being on the field for so long at times with our poor offense just got them exhausted and eventually they would inevitably wear out and give in. You still have to question the lack of blitzes in our defensive play-calling as well. But with so many players back, our off-field woes that defined last season seemingly behind us, and all of those young wideouts with a year of experience under their belts, I truly believe (once again) that surprises are in store for the coming season. I think we will have a hungry attitude to prove all the doubters wrong, and with the valuable game time everyone got last year and the very manageable schedule, I think we can sneak up and have a shot at the Big Ten crown. I'm ready for Kinnick to be sacred ground once again, for players to represent the university well off the field and on, and for Kirk Ferentz to show the nation that he still is the best in the business and lead Iowa back to the top where we belong. We start the year off at Kinnick against 1-AA Maine, the school where Kirk coached before coming to Iowa. He should be willing to beat his old team by at least 35. There will be no excuse for not blowing these guys out in this glorified scrimmage. The next opponent isn't much better; Florida International is a fledgling program just getting their D1 start, and they should be our tackling dummies when they come to Kinnick. I never want to dismiss an opponent like that, especially after the upset spectacle that was last season, but if we want to get back to Big Ten championship form we have to take care of these opponents. Iowa State then comes to play us at Kinnick this season; there are a lot of people who want to end this rivalry because the damn Cyclones have been giving us fits ever since Dan McCarney took over there in the late '90s, but it is good for the state and always gets the people excited. We should beat them, because like usual we have more talent on paper, but you can't play these games on paper and ISU always comes to play against us. You'd think we should beat them at Kinnick, but you cannot take anything for granted in this series. It should be a great game and a great atmosphere, but very unpredictable. Will be looking forward to this one, as usual. The toughest and most hyped nonconference game we have comes next, when we take on Pittsburgh at their place. People have been saying Pitt is on the rise for years, but they have yet to live up to expectations. They finally showed a spark of promise at the end of last season when they beat West Virginia and kept them out of the national title game, so they just might be a sleeper team this year, and will be dangerous no doubt. I just don't see them living up to expectations though, and I think this will be a good game with Iowa having a chance to win. The Big Ten season starts off as easy as can be expected as well, with a date against Northwestern at Kinnick. The Wildcats have given us hell recently but we finally stopped the curse and got revenge at Ryan Field last year. We can never take them lightly, but this is a game we must have. We then have two road dates against Michigan State and Indiana, neither of them the most intimidating road environments. MSU is a dangerous squad that appears to be on the rise with head coach Mark Dantonio, but they are losing some offensive and defensive talent from last season. This may be our toughest road test though; they will want revenge after our double overtime victory last season. Indiana won't be nearly as scary as they have been the last two years, with Hawkeye-killer James Hardy departing to the draft and QB Kellen Lewis suspended indefinitely. Their homecrowds are rarely even half-filled, so this isn't the most deadly road environment in the world. I think Indiana falls to build off of last year's success and Iowa beats them again, finally. Next up is a big home game against Wisconsin, a rivalry game against a much-hated team that has beat us two years in a row after a 6 year period of Iowa dominance. Will be a vital game if we want to challenge for the big crown. The Badgers will have a great defense and a physical running game, but we almost beat them last season and I think the players will be ready to win this one. Next up is a road date at Illinois, last year's surprise Big Ten runner-ups and representatives in the Rose Bowl. They lose all-world back Rashad Mendenhall and need to find a capable replacement or else they're going to be one dimensional, and Juice Williams is not going to lead them to the Big Ten title. This is a very winnable game for Iowa. A home date against Penn State finishes off this tough stretch. Penn State loses inconsistent QB Anthony Morelli and their All-American linebacker Sean Lee is out for the season with a torn ACL, but they will still be a solid bunch with a pretty good defense. The development of a QB will be vital there. Again, especially with this game being at Kinnick, this is very winnable. Purdue comes to Kinnick the next week. They killed us last year with a little dose of Dorien Bryant and some horrible offensive play. Well, Bryant is gone, but Purdue's offense still figures to be explosive with QB Curtis Painter returning as a senior and the running backs returning. Purdue's improved defense will be the guy, but you'd think our players will be ready to get revenge for last season's embarassing 34-6 defeat. The last game of the season is the obligatory Battle for the Floyd of Rosedale at the Metrodome against Minnesota, the worst team in the Big Ten last year by a long shot. They somehow landed a great recruiting class, but they probably won't reap the fruits of these rewards for at least a year or two. I still expect them to be below-average.

The two biggest questions for the Iowa Hawkeyes next year are on offense, at QB and running back. Our offense was very poor last season, and the real only bright spot for the last 5 or 6 games was Albert Young and Damian Sims, our running backs. Young put the team on his shoulders for a couple games, and Sims had two TDs in a win over Northwestern. But both of them are gone. The guy who is back is Jake Christensen, our inconsistent (at best) leftie quarterback who missed high and wide and low and just about everywhere else in a season where he showed us the strength of his arm but also some very poor accuracy. He didn't checkdown to his 2nd and 3rd options enough and took way too many sacks, getting happy feet and not throwing the ball away. He needs to show that he's more comfortable in the pocket and more decisive when he chooses to run and pass, and not take big sacks that kill a drive. Our offensive line was a major reason there was so much pressure, but Jake still needs to get rid of the ball quicker, whether it goes into somebody's hands or sails out of bounds. I know he has the arm to be successful and he had a fantastic attitude last season, and I applaud Kirk for not tryin to create an unneeded QB controversy by putting someone else in, but this season it will be a different story if he struggles, because there will be better backups waiting in the wings. Ricky Stanzi is the 2nd string guy right now, a sophmore who played amazing in our annual spring scrimmage and really got the fans talking about our QB situation. He is taller than Jake and much more decisive, and he's able to make a lot of softer, touch passes that Jake seemed incapable of last season, such as the screen pass. Jake played well in the spring game as well and he does have Big Ten experience, but if he struggles early in the year, say against Iowa State or Pitt, than Kirk shouldn't hesitate to give Stanzi a try. Currently, Marvin McNutt is the 3rd string guy. He's a raw leftie and a fantastic athlete who is still getting all the mechanics and nuances of passing down, but he has potential to be a good QB someday. We also have three QBs coming into the program next year who were at the spring game but obviously couldn't play because they're still seniors in high school. James Vandenberg is a record-setting stud from Keokuk, Iowa who seems to have all the tools in his repitoire, but he never played amazing competition in high school. His superstar stats should get him a good look though and he might be a good one. One of the most exciting prospects is Chris Wienke, who had committed to Michigan before their coaching change. Wienke was one of the top quarterbacks in the nation, a pro-style passer with seemingly all the mechanics and skills of the traditional drop-back QB. And finally, there's David Blackwell, a fantastic athlete who may be moved to linebacker or reciever when he comes to the program. A lot of big SEC schools were recruiting him, but Iowa was the only school that gave him a chance to play QB, so we'll see what happens there. It's getting to be quite the logjam at the position.

Running back is incredibly thin right now in the spring, with only one scholarship back practicing as we wait on three of them that are coming in the fall. Jevon Pugh would have been our only returning back with any carries in a regular season game, but he got homesick and went back to Florida. So now, our number 1 guy in the spring is Paki O'Meara, a walk-on from Cedar Rapids whose power and hard work must be impressing Coach Ferentz. It's great to see him getting recognition for his hard work, but it's unrealistic to think that he'll still be the number 1 guy come fall. Nate Guillory, a juco transfer from Texas, is the only guy on scholarship right now. He's a little guy with blazing speed and a taste for the home run. He still needs to work on his blocking ability and to run for small gains sometimes instead of going for the 20-yard run everytime, but he has explosive potential and could easily be the number 1 guy here pretty soon. Special-teams menace Jayme Murphy, a tough and physical player with tons of big hits on his highlight reel, has also been tryed at running back but the walk-on banged up his back in the spring. Next fall, we'll have junior Shonn Greene coming back to the program after spending a year at Kirkwood Junior College to get his grades back in order, along with freshmen Jeff Brinson and Jewel Hampton, both record setting running backs with loads of potential. Greene was a fantastic back in his short time at Iowa before he got in academic trouble; he was powerful and fast and really has star potential, but the only thing is that he hasn't played football in over a year and might be out of shape. We need him to return strong and in-shape to have a great running game next season. Brinson is creating a lot of hype because of his 5,000 career rushing yards in high school and the big Florida schools who were recruiting him; he is very powerful and athletic and he could be our back of the future. Hampton is another speedster from Indiana who put up 2,600 yards in his career. He also has potential to be our future back or contribute right away.

If they are healthy, our wideouts could be a pleasant surprise after the much needed experience last season. With injuries and suspensions, our wideout group was woefully thin and young last year, with freshman thrown into the fire and having to play major time. We lost one of our better ones, James Cleveland, after a drug arrest, but the majority of everyone is back and healthy and they could be a pleasant surprise if everything goes according to plan. Andy Brodell is big and extremly fast; most Hawkeye fans can still remember the havoc he wrecked on Texas's defensive backs in the '06 Alamo Bowl. He was looking like our number 1 guy and a valuable possesion reciever last season before he hurt his hamstring, and coming back healthy this year is huge for our passing game. Trey Stross was also hurt for a few games last season and that made a major impact. Trey is fast, athletic, and he has great hands. He has star potential and could have a huge season. Derrell Johnson-Koulianos was a big surprise last year with the injuries; he made some amazing, sportscenter worthy plays and catches and was our most dangerous big-play guy in the passing game. He's a great athlete and can also be used in a variety of ways. He needs to cut down on the drops this season, but keep on providing big plays. Colin Sandeman was banged up last year but showed a tough, physical side, speed, and a willingness to catch them over the middle. He could be a valuable contributor. Paul Chaney has major speed, but he's a little guy who couldn't always hang on last year. With his explosive quickness, he's a threat everytime he touches the ball though. We have Tony Moeaki coming back healthy at tight end as well; he showed in his limited time last year that he's a legit John Mackey candidate. He has great hands and quickness for a guy his size, and he's a fantastic blocker. Almost everything you can want in a tight end. He will probably be Jake's favorite target, as he showed in the Syracuse game last season when he had 3 TDs and over 100 yards. Brandon Myers is the backup tight end and played very well in Moeaki's absence; he's not the explosive athlete or blocker that Moeaki is but he has good hands and was a reliable target. Allen Reisner is also a big target to look our for; he has gotten a lot stronger and faster this spring and has gotten more of an opportunity with spring injuries. Lots of depth at this position. Perhaps the biggest X-factor on the team besides the running game is the offensive line; they were horrible last year, which is surprising for a Kirk Ferentz coached team, and allowed some of the most sacks in the nation. JC contributed to some of those sacks, but the line just never gelled or played as a consistent unit. Defenses were constantly in the backfield, and these guys never became that stout "family" that our best lines have been. Some names to look for include Rafael Eubanks and Rob Bruggeman, who are battling for the center position. Whoever loses the battle will probably start at another spot, because both of these guys are leaders and too good to be left off the field. Seth Olsen will be the lone senior, and should be a cornerstone of the line. He was somewhat inconsistent, but was our best run blocker. Bryan Bulaga, Kyle Calloway, and Dan Doering are all great young linemen with loads of potential, and they will need to be good for us to have success. Dace Richardson came into Iowa with the hype of an All-America, a future NFL star and cornerstone left tackle. Injuries have kept him on the sideline more than on the field, but if he get his knee injuries worked out than he can be our best lineman. Julian Vandervelde is another fairly young lineman who played average last year; he isn't bad but there may be better guys at his spot.

Our defense looks to be our strength once again, keeping up with the Iowa tradition of being tough, hard-hitters and playing straight up, traditional D with no fancy tricks. Simple and fundamental; that's how Iowa plays defense. We don't blitz often, but if everyone mans their position and smacks their opponents around than it's a porven formula for success. We must replace two corners, two defensive ends, and two linebackers but for the most part the replacements should be better than the guys they'll be taking over for. The D-line should be a major strength, with seniors Mitch King and Matt Kroul holding down the middle for the 4th year in a row while Adrian Clayborn and Christian Ballard take over for Kenny Iwebema and Brian Mattison, who both graduated. King plays harder than anybody on this team, with a reckless energy and constant motor that make up for his lack of size. He is always active and making big plays, probably our best defender. Kroul is his less-heralded partner, but he is always solid in run support and rarely makes mistakes. Clayborn and Ballard are far more explosive and quick off the line than Iwebema and Mattison; we should see more pass rushing and getting in the backfield with these two. They both made huge plays in our wins down the stretch last year in limited time. Clayborn is massive, a great athlete, and has All-Big Ten potential, while Ballard is a little undersized but will almost always be quicker than the lineman he is matched up against and should be able to wreak havoc in the backfield on a regular basis. Hardworking seniors Mike Klinkenborg and Mike Humpal, both stalwarts in stopping the running game and tackle machines with loads of heart, have graduated and finding their replacements is a big priority. AJ Edds was the other starter last year, and he should be one of our best players. He is quick and a solid tackler, a sideline-to-sideline playmaker who is surprisingly solid in coverage. He will also be counted on for leadership. Jacody Coleman, Pat Angerer, and Jerimiha Hunter are the other three guys competing for the last two spots. Coleman played fantastic when subbing in for Klinkenborg last year; he showed a non-stop motor, great quickness off the line, and very solid tackling ability. Angerer has been banged up his entire Hawkeye career, but he plays with a lot of heart and has had a great spring. He will probably take one of these spots. Hunter was one of the stop high school players in the nation when he committed to Iowa, a 5-star recruit and Parade All-American. He has great athleticism and can run and make plays all over the field, but something must not be panning out because he is not making much noise on the depth chart. If he's your back up though, you know you have some good linebackers. The safety spots will be held down by heavy hitter Harold Dalton and the young Brett Greenwood. Dalton plays in the Marcus Paschal vein, in that he isn't great in coverage but can really lay some big hits on you across the middle and in the backfield. Greenwood was a great surprise last year; he made a few freshman mistakes, but he worked his way up from being a walk-on and made his share of game-saving plays, including an interception of Eddie McGee to beat Illinois and a pick against Minnesota on a two-point conversion attempt to win that one. He plays with a ton of energy and should be Iowa's next walk-on surprise. The great Charles Godfrey and the not-so-great Adam Shada have departed, leaving room for Jordan Bernstein and Bradley Fletcher to take over the corner spots. Bernstein was one of the most highly regarded prospects out of Iowa in years when he committed, and he has loads of potential. Hopefully he can realize it next season. He has great speed, athleticism, and size, which all combine to give him lockdown corner potential. Fletcher was very inconsistent and got beat often before the last few games of last season. He made a few picks and played solid coverage, a nice improvement over Shada, who got beat a couple times every game. If Fletcher can play like he did to end last year he will be just fine.

As for special teams, it's been a team weakness for a couple years now; in 2004, our rock-solid, reliable kicking game and blocked punts truly helped lead us to the Big Ten title, but since then special teams has really been regressing. We have potential studs and lots of speed in the return game, but our kicking game is a big question mark. Daniel Murray has more accuracy than Austin Signor, but a weaker leg, and vice versa. I thought Murray would be our guy after the Michigan State game, when he hit two 40+ kicks, but he missed multiple extra points in the Western Michigan game to raise doubts about his leg once again. I still think he is more consistent than Signor, who is good for kickoffs, but we can't afford to miss extra points. Punting started off as a weakness, but with all the practice he got thanks to our poor offense Ryan Donahue eventually became one of the Big Ten's best. He has a very strong leg and should be very reliable for the punting game. So, with our easy schedule, potentially dominate defense, and hopefully the emergence of a running back to go along with the improved passing game, I think we can go 9-3 or 10-2. I know those sound like lofty goals with the underacheiving we have been doing lately, but it's a realistic possibility and anything less than 7 or 8 wins with this schedule is disastrous.

Memphis controls the number 1 seed in this region, where they will matchup with the Southland conference champs, Texas-Arlington. Memphis is perhaps the most athletic team in the nation, perfect at executing their dribble-penetration centered attack now famously known as the dribble-drive thanks to freshman point guard Derrick Rose, who I think is the best point in the nation. Few, if any, teams in the nation can guard the bevy of athletes that Memphis puts on the floor every night; when they are attacking in transition, forcing turnovers with their pressure defense, and just overwhelming teams with their aggressive offensive style than there is NO team in the nation who can stop them. Rose is big, strong, and cat-quick, unstoppable off the drive with a decision making ability that belies his freshman status. He's got a beautiful pull-up and deadly jumper, and seems to already know the balance between scoring and dishing. That's good because he has plenty of athletic teammates to pass the ball too. Chris Douglas-Roberts is their most consistent player and scorer, a lanky athlete with a wide array of quirky ball-handling moves and tear drops to put up 15-20 points every game. Robert Dozier is long and (surprise) athletic, a valuable defender and finisher around the rim who can also step out and hit the outside shot. Very versatile. The key to the team is probably Joey Dorsey, pretty much Ben Wallace in blue and white. When Dorsey can control his emotions and stay out of foul trouble, he is the most intimidating inside player in the nation. He attacks the glass with a vicious ferocity, finishes stronger than anyone in the college game, and is great at blocking shots from the help-side. Shawn Taggert is also a valuable scorer off the bench. They have loads and loads of depth and size at every single position, which only adds to the impossibility of guarding them. If Memphis wins it all, they will have set the record for most wins of any team, ever. They should get started with UT-Arlington, an athletic team as well but one that doesn't have the size or depth to keep up with these Tigers. Memphis doesn't even have to be focused to win this one. Mississippi State plays Oregon in the 8-9 game. Pretty hard to get a read on either one of these squads, as they appear to be evenly matched. Oregon got in with a mediocre record thanks to their brutal schedule and end of season improvement; they really miss Aaron Brooks as a leader from last season but they do have plenty of experience and scoring talent. I think Miss. State is a much more balanced team, and their stingy defense should frustrate the jump-shooting heavy Ducks. They have more size and should attack the inside and score in transition...MSU in a close one. Michigan State has been incredibly inconsistent all year long, their offense seemingly coming and going with however Drew Neitzel is shooting that night. They have played unstoppable at the Breslin Center, and they have good size and good athletes, but they have yet to put it all together and Neitzel has not shown the perfect J that everyone expected this season. They will play Temple, another dangerous A-10 team playing fantastic down the stretch. They have a lot of confidence and offensive talent, and unless MSU's big men can play career games to exploit their weak inside presence, than I think that Temple will pull the upset and put the Spartans' up and down year to rest. Pittsburgh will destroy an Oral Roberts team that has become quite the mid-major dynasty, making the NCAAs three years in a row, but has yet to get over the hump. Pitt is playing some of the best basketball of anybody in the tournament, fresh off a Big East tourney title. They have their scrappy leader back, Levance Fields, playing as well as any guard in the country, along with freshman beast DeJuan Blair controlling the boards and the paint and Ronald Ramon stroking threes. Pitt is an extremly tough team that thrives off of physical play and getting to the free throw line, and if they can do that they can beat anybody. Marquette's athletic guards will befuddle undermanned Kentucky, who could really use the inside presence of Patrick Patterson in this game to exploit the lack of any real post presence for the Golden Eagles. Stanford takes on Cornell in a battle of the brains, but the Cardinal have loads more talent than Cornell and this won't even be close. The amazing 7-foot Lopez twins will destroy the Big Red inside, and Stanford's underrated guards will make sure that Cornell's shooters don't get too many open looks. Saint Mary's will pull off a minor upset over Miami, a very athletic and surprising team that will be enjoying their 1st March Madness bid in a while. St. Mary's is extremly balanced and they play great defense, their only problem is they lack a real go-to scorer and may not be able to keep up with Miami's athletes. This should be a close game, the X-factor would have to be the scoring of guard Patty Mills for St. Mary's; he has played inconsistently down the strech and will need to be big for the Gaels to win. Finally, Texas will take down Austin Peay with extreme ease. DJ Augustin will play with the Peay guards and score plenty, or he might just decide to dish to his bigger and faster and stronger teammates (Peay has no starter over 6 foot 5) to dominate the paint and the glass, to open up the periemter for AJ Abrams and his three pointers. Won't even be close. Memphis will eke out a close one over Mississippi State, which could be their wake up call in the tournament. Dorsey's success inside will be important, because MSU has the athletes and size to match up pretty well with Memphis's perimeter players. I think Pitt will crush Temple with their scrappy style of play and the inside presence of Blair, who needs to stay out of foul trouble. Stanford will ride their 7-footers to victory over whatever overmatched forward will be guarding them from Marquette...Brook Lopez's scoring should counteract whatever points the Marquette guards come up with. Texas will take down Saint Mary's easily, as they did in the regular season. Texas has too many threats for the Gaels to guard, and the fantastic Longhorn backcourt will have their way. Pitt will pull off the upset and take down Memphis by slowing down the tempo and playing with a grinding pace that the Tiger's won't stomach; Blair can actually hang with Dorsey and they might get each other into foul trouble, and this just might come down to whatever team makes their free throws (both teams shoot them horribly). I think the physical pace this game will take favors Pitt. The Stanford guards won't be able to handle their Texas opponents, and while Brook Lopez might score a large share of points Augustin will control the tempo and if they're hitting their three than I say Texas in a blowout. Texas will ride their homecourt advantage and hot shooting from their backcourt to a close win over Pitt, and advance to the Final Four.

West

UCLA takes the number one seed in this region, where they take on a horribly overmatched 16 seed in Mississippi Valley State. The Bruins have the best defensive guards in the country, tenacious playmakers who force turnovers and control the ball better than anyone. They also have one of the top big men in the country in freshman Kevin Love...he may not look the part or run the fastest, but he's got the best fundamentals in the country. He finishes strong, can hit the three, and throws the best outlet passes I've ever seen; UCLA will get at least 2-3 transition buckets off of those every game. Darren Collison and Russell Westbrook are both extremly fast and set the tempo on defense...Westbrook is an outstanding athlete and finisher while Collison sets the tempo for the entire team with his leadership. Josh Shipp is also a very important scorer, and when he hits threes he gives the Bruins another dimension. They have trouble scoring sometimes, but if they can hit their outside shots they are unstoppable with that defense they have. Their defensive intensity and the poised play of UCLA's guards will be like nothing their opponents in the 1st round will have seen before, and I expect this to be a typical 1-16 blowout. Texas A&M has been up and down all year, struggling with shooting and guard play, but they have played much better down the stretch and they have some great big men; if they can get DeAndre Jordan going again then that adds another dimension to their game. BYU is a very good team that has dominated their conference and overacheived all season long. They have some great shooters and smart guards, but I think the Aggies have a lot more talent and their athletes in the paint and will come out with the victory. Drake vs. Western Kentucky is a fantastic battle of deadly mid-majors, basically two Cinderellas duking it out before they take on the Kings. Drake has been the best story of college basketball all year long, winning a conference title and getting to the tournament for the 1st time since the '70s with smart play, a lot of three point shooting, and some great pressure defense. Josh Young has been the big scorer, Adam Emenecker the poised and brilliant leader, and Klayton Korver the deep trey shooter. This is a very deep and balanced team, and everybody can really shoot it. WKU also has lots of sleeper talent and outside shooters...this game could be a back and forth battle of perimeter shots. I still think Drake is too good to lose...this season is destiny for them. UConn takes on San Diego, a Cinderella squad that put on a great run to win the WCC tourney and land in the NCAAs. The Huskies seemed to peek at the wrong time, playing better than everyone for a stretch midseason before fading towards the end and getting blown out in their conference tourney. It will be interesting to see which UConn team shows up, but they have the talent to make a pretty deep run if they can pull it all together. Hasheem Thabeet is an extremly tall and intimidating presence inside, especially on defense, while Jeff Adrien provides the consistent scoring and AJ Price the leadership at point. Jim Calhoun has never lost a 1st round tournament game in his tenure, and even if they're not playing great they will still beat an overmatched San Diego squad. Purdue, the surprise team of the Big Ten, takes on the great story of Baylor, a team that has come full circle since the basketball disaster of a few years ago and finally made the NCAAs. Purude came out of nowhere with a bunch of great freshman to finish 2nd in the Big Ten conference. Robbie Hummell is a great all-around hustle player and E'Twaun Moore is a fantastic three point shooter, and both frosh have played big roles in the Boilermakers success. Baylor has one of the most explosive and entertaining set of guards in the entire country, and they are lead by the high-scoring Curtis Jerrells. Baylor plays out of control at times and they can turn the ball over, and while Purdue plays more under control, the young Boilermakers have never seen guards like Baylor's before and I think the Bears keep their miracle season going. A very experienced, smart, and deep Xavier team takes on the ultimate Cinderella, 14 seed Georgia. Georgia was horrible all year long before winning 4 games in 3 days to win the SEC tournament. XAvier won't take them lightly with a great leader like Drew Lavender, and the Bulldogs will be too worn out from their miracle run to put up much of a fight against the balanced Musketeers, who can attack you in so many ways and play great defense. West Virgina is playing fantastic basketball lately, and while Arizona has loads of talent they seem disjointed and without leadership right now thanks to the absence of Lute Olson. Joe Alexander leads the Mountaineers in scoring and intensity; he is a fanastic athelete and shooter, and hardly anyone has played in his time zone the past few weeks. Arizona has a similar player in Chase Budinger, a very talented scoring guard in Jaryd Bayless, and a very tough, athletic post player in Jordan Hill, but they have yet to put all that talent together and play consistently and I don't see it happening against a very hot WVU team. Finally, Duke takes on Belmont. Duke played better than a lot of people expected this season, relying heavily on three point shooting, defense, and the individual scoring of Gerald Henderson to win games. Their reliance on the outside shot and lack of any inside scoring presence makes them vulernable, but they should still beat a little Belmont team that relies just as strongly on the three pointer. UCLA will frustrate the hell out of A&M's guards with their stingy defense, and pull out a close, low-scoring victory. Drake will pull out an upset over UConn with hot shooting and by forcing turnovers; I just feel something magical coming from Des Moines, Iowa and UConn is not playing like the UConn of old. Baylor will run into a much more disciplined and battle-hardened Xavier team with the guards to contain theirs' and the post players to cause problems for the Bears. They are just a better and more balanced team, and they've been here before. Duke will beat West Virgina with their defense, but they will need to hit their shots and get Gerald Henderson going or else West Virginia is going to ride their Duke-hatred to victory. The Mountaineers are playing hungry right now and I don't see anyone on the roster of the Blue Devils who can stop Alexander, but I'm still saying the Coach K team wins here. UCLA has athletes that Drake has never seen before, and the way they play defense I don't see Drake getting too many easy looks. I just see the Bulldogs getting overwhelmed here, and their miracle run will end. Xavier will beat Duke with balance and smart play, the way they have been winning all season. They have an inside scoring presence, which Duke lacks, and they don't have to shoot threes to win. This will be a low-scoring, defensive oriented game, and Xavier will win. UCLA-Xavier should be a great game, and whichever team can hit some shots will come up with the victory. Both squads play defense and are evenly matched, but if UCLA's athletes can get goin and force some turnovers then they might run away with it. It really all depends on which team shoots better, and I'm gonna go with UCLA to make their 3rd Final Four in a row, and win it this time. In my bracket, I have UCLA overcoming Texas with, you guessed it, defense. Love and Mbah a Moute will also have their ways inside. North Carolina will get revenge on Georgetown to advance to the championship game as well, riding a legendary performance from Hansbrough and making the Hoyas try to keep up with their blinding pace, which hardly anyone in the nation can do. In the championship game, I think Ben Howland gets his 1st title by slowing down the pace and frustrating Hansbrough and Lawson with defense. UCLA is on top again. In the real championship game, Kansas took down Memphis for the crown. Memphis played better than anybody from the Sweet 16 on, crushing each opponent on their way to a title game against a Kansas squad that just barely survived against Cinderella darling Davidson and then shocked the nation by jumping on Carolina 40-12 before rolling to a fairly easy victory!! Memphis really lost the title game before Kansas won it by missing free throws down the stretch that could have clinched it and not fouling Mario Chalmers soon enough before he hit the amazing tying three to send the game into overtime. It was one of the best championship games in memory, it's just too bad Memphis had to let it slip away like that. It's good to see that Kansas finally put their mass of talent and balance together to win the whole thing this year; they definitely proved they are the best team in basketball.