I'm not sure what's replaced the watercooler as the gathering place in offices of the 21st century but, whatever it is, the buzz around it this morning is the Final Four. For the first time ever all four first seeds have advanced to the final weekend and the biggest beneficiaries are no doubt making themselves known to their co-workers. Maybe it's the receptionist who spends more time discussing her romantic life than studying Pomeroy Ratings or the guy from Accounting who doesn't watch sports but likes to be part of the office hullabaloo but those are the ones counting their winnings right now.
Whether you thought the tournament was boring or scintillating to this point, you'll doubtlessly agree that the top seeds advancing has taken some of the fun out of it. Hopefully it will mean some spectacular basketball on Saturday and Monday but it is antithesis to the surprise and drama that has made March Madness part of the national lexicon.
That surprise was what made us take a chance on Pittsburgh or West Virginia two weeks ago because we've watched for years and knew that it wouldn't come down to the chalk teams. And for that we've been repaid by the heckling of coworkers who wouldn't know Stephen Curry from Eddy Curry. And, worst of all, Clark Kellogg's annual safety dance has finally paid off which ensures another decade of bland picks.
Yesterday Michael David Smith asked if Xavier could control Kevin Love in last night's Elite Eight matchup. The answer came back with a resounding no, which shouldn't come as too much of a shock at this point. Love doesn't appear to be stoppable by anyone in the college game right now. Without a doubt, part of the reason is his enviable shooting range.
The only thing Love can't seem to do is convince NBA scouts of his bona fides.
I hesitate to use the word choke because he made a sensational shot just to get the "and-one" play and tie the game 64-64 in the first place. He isn't a goat so much because his production was there in the second half and led to West Virginia's comeback effort.
But, let's get real: his missed free throw cost them the game and a chance to play UCLA in the West Regional Finals. He will be haunted by this for a long, long time.
The most glaring example of West Virginia's bungling came at the end of regulation. Star forward Joe Alexander was at the free-throw line with 14 seconds left, looking to convert a three-point play after his quick turnaround tied the score at 64.
Burrell jarred at him, "Come on, you are going to miss this one," and Alexander responded with a comment that, as Burrell put it, "You don't want to put in any [article]." After a longer-than-usual approach, Alexander's free throw rimmed out, and the game went to overtime.
There's really not a weakness in this 19-year-old's game, but I thought it was interesting that as Dick Vitale was breaking down the UCLA game on ESPN, it was the four assists that he singled out.
"I think his passing ability is the best I've seen from a big guy in many a year," Vitale said.
There's a great YouTube of former UCLA coach John Wooden praising Love's passing ability, and when Wooden sings your praises, you know your game is fundamentally sound. Says Wooden, "I always like those that pass well, are always looking for the pass first, then the shot. I think he does that. I haven't seen anyone since Bill Walton and the one before him was Wes Unseld, and I've seen him twice in the last week get the ball off the board, turn, keep the ball up as he should, three quarters of the length of the floor to a player who took off and is streaking up. He likes to score and add to his statistics and there's nothing wrong with that, but not at the expense of others."
Since I last talked to you, Western Kentucky has made a run on UCLA. After trailing by 21 at the half, the Hilltoppers have outscored the Bruins 29-15 in the second half to trail (as I write this) by nine. There is under 9:00 left in the game.
How did they do this? Get UCLA in foul trouble.
Russell Westbrook, Darren Collison and Josh Shipp have all got four fouls apiece. Because those guys have to sit, Western Kentucky has decided to press UCLA full court. That has forced 17 UCLA turnovers and some easy baskets for WKU.
Tyrone Brazelton is leading the charge with 18 points (including three makes from behind the arc).
Oh, since I've written this ... UCLA's lead is down to four points.
UPDATE: With less than six minutes left, Collison fouled Courtney Lee on a three point shot. Collison has fouled out and the lead is still four.
Using a 28-7 run to end the first half, the UCLA Bruins are cruising against Western Kentucky. At the break, they lead their Sweet 16 game with the Hilltoppers, 41-20.
It's the classic matchup between a #1 seed and a #12: the bigger and faster team is taking care of business.
UCLA's offense and defense are just so efficient. Offensively, the Bruins are shooting 51%. They are dominating the paint with Kevin Love and James Keefe and pretty much getting whatever shot they want.
Defensively, the Bruins are holding WKU to just 19% shooting (an ugly 6-of-32). The Hilltoppers' star, Courtney Lee, has scored just five points on 2-of-13 shooting. Nearly every attempt by Western Kentucky is challenged and UCLA is constantly pressing in the half court.
Better news for UCLA fans: Josh Shipp has found his stroke. After scoring just six total points in the Bruins first two tournament games, Shipp has eight at the break ... including a three point shot.
It's not fair to tag Joe Alexander with goat horns because he missed that free throw on the "and 1" with 15 seconds left. Yes, it would have given WVU a 1 point lead, but there is no guarantee that the refs would have still swallowed their whistles on the contact when Lavender pulled up for his shot. Alexander also had 14 points in the second half and had 10 rebounds in the game. Without Alexander, there is no comeback and chance for WVU to win.
The killer for WVU was something that might be vaguely familiar to Mountaineer fans. Giving up a wide open look to a solid 3-point shooter in a corner at a key moment, because the defense collapsed too much. In this instance, the Mountaineers were defending the inbounds play and two players chased Josh Duncan, leaving B.J. Raymond all alone in the corner on the other side. The inbound pass went to him on one bounce and he drilled it to put Xavier up by 4 with 29 seconds left. Xavier came away with the win in OT, 79-75
WVU lost to Pitt back in February. In the final seconds of regulation, WVU up by 2 and Pitt's Ronald Ramon took the inbounds pass. He couldn't find an open shot and passed to Keith Benjamin who began a drive to the basket. Ramon ran to the corner and his man left him to help on the drive. The ball was tossed out to Ramon who drained the open 3 at the buzzer.
It should be worth mentioning at this point that Xavier Coach Sean Miller was a star point guard in the 80s at... Pitt.
At halftime Xavier has a 32-25 lead over West Virginia. Surprisingly, West Virginia should feel pretty good considering they fell behind by 18 with 9 minutes to go. They clamped on defense, holding Xavier to only 4 points the rest of the way.
West Virginia has done this, despite 0-6 on 3s, Joe Alexander saddled with foul troubles and only 3 points. To say nothing of Xavier shooting 6-12 on 3s.
If this seems familiar, it's because West Virginia started similarly against Duke in the previous round. The Mountaineers were down against Duke and shot poorly in the first half, but got within 5 by the half. In the second half, they turned on the offense and after not hitting 3s, began connecting.
West Virginia can't be expected to continue shooting that poorly from outside, and it is hard to believe the Musketeers can continue to be that hot from outside.
A very interesting occurance has come to Cincinnati fans: the Xavier Musketeers will meet the West Virginia Mountaineers in the Sweet 16. Normally, that doesn't mean much ... but WVU is now coached by Bob Huggins, the former coach at the U of Cincinnati.
You listen to people around town and the buzz is more about Huggins that the Muskies.
Huggins is a god in the Nati. He took a Bearcat program that was lying in the gutter and vaulted them into a Final Four appearance in 1992. Since then, he made Cincy basketball matter as they transitioned from the Metro Conference to the Great Midwest to Conference USA to, ultimately, the Big East.
Huggs never got to coach his team in the Big East as he was run out of town by Cincinnati's president Nancy Zimpher in 2005. You know how some Indiana fans won't come back after Bobby Knight was run off, the same thing has happened to the Bearcats. There are people that have abandoned the Bearcats program and who are elated at Huggins' ability to take West Virginia to the Sweet 16. Even after he left, he still has endorsement deals in the city.
No matter what the final score actually turned out to be, UCLA won. The Bruins came back and Texas A&M wilted under the pressure. Donald Sloan, the Aggies leading scorer had the ball and was driving to tie the game and send it to overtime. The UCLA defense blocked his attempt and stripped the ball to send it the other way. Well, blocked might not be the correct word as these photos indicate.
These aren't photos FanHouse has permission to post. So, we can only link to them. They do suggest that UCLA continues to lead a charmed life when it comes to late calls -- made or not. Last I checked Josh Shipp getting all wrist, is not the usual way to get a clean block.
Actually, maybe not in this case. Making the free throws -- no lock itself, as Sloan is only a 67% FT shooter and the Aggies were 3-7 at the line that night -- would have only sent the game into overtime. Texas A&M hardly looked like the team it had been for the first 30-35 minutes. Neither did UCLA. The Bruins would have been the team heading into the OT with the momentum and energy.
Still, you never know. I also know I don't want to be anywhere near UCLA fans when the late calls start swinging the other way.
I'm not sure what's replaced the watercooler as the gathering place in offices of the 21st century but, whatever it is, the buzz around it this morning is the Final Four. For the first time ever all four first seeds have advanced to the final weekend and the biggest beneficiaries are no doubt making themselves known to their co-workers. Maybe it's the receptionist who spends more time discussing her romantic life than studying Pomeroy Ratings or the guy from Accounting who doesn't watch sports but likes to be part of the office hullabaloo but those are the ones counting their winnings right now. 
With all due respect 
UCLA beat Western Kentucky 88-78 Thursday night, and freshman center 
Since 
Using a 28-7 run to end the first half, the UCLA Bruins are cruising against Western Kentucky. At the break, they lead their Sweet 16 game with the Hilltoppers, 41-20.
It's not fair to tag Joe Alexander with goat horns because he missed that free throw on the "and 1" with 15 seconds left. Yes, it would have given WVU a 1 point lead, but there is no guarantee that the refs would have still swallowed their whistles on the contact when Lavender pulled up for his shot. Alexander also had 14 points in the second half and had 10 rebounds in the game. Without Alexander, there is no comeback and chance for WVU to win.
At halftime Xavier has a 32-25 lead over West Virginia. Surprisingly, West Virginia should feel pretty good considering they fell behind by 18 with 9 minutes to go. They clamped on defense, holding Xavier to only 4 points the rest of the way. 
A very interesting occurance has come to Cincinnati fans: the Xavier Musketeers will meet the West Virginia Mountaineers in the Sweet 16. Normally, that doesn't mean much ... but WVU is now coached by 
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