March Madness Notebook: Day 6

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

It took until the final game of the regular season, but I'm finally ready to say Cincinnati can play some basketball. I've been saying on Twitter the last six weeks that the Bearcats are brutal to watch, but they bring lockdown defense and scrap their way to wins over decent teams.

If they play that grinding style in the NCAA Tournament, however, chances are good that their game(s) will be decided on a late possession or two, where they could be exposed as a team without a true game-breaker who can score when a critical basket is needed.

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March Madness Notebook: Day 5

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

It's the final Saturday of the regular season for many teams; others are already in their conference tournaments. ESPN Classic got college basketball fans in the mood this morning with the replay of the great 1985 final between Villanova and Georgetown. Twenty-two of the Top 25 teams take the floor Saturday; five games involve one ranked squad against another.

Today's Headlines
+ As Duke prepares to battle for ACC supremacy against hated rival North Carolina, word comes that freshman point guard Kyrie Irving's toe is improving, but not enough to play.

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March Madness Notebook: Day 4

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

The St. John's loss at Seton Hall was more surprising than it was damaging. Missing out on a double-bye and only getting one off day in the Big East Tournament won't crush the Red Storm. The conference event is the most brutal in the country, but if there's one team that can muscle its way to four wins in four days at Madison Square Garden, it's probably a St. John's team that has won a handful of big games at that very venue under Steve Lavin already this season.

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March Madness Notebook: Day 3

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

I never thought I'd say this, but North Carolina hasn't gotten the hype this season that it typically gets. Perhaps it's because the Tar Heels struggled through a miserable 2009-10 and maybe expectations weren't as high for Roy Williams' bunch heading into this year.

But UNC is playing some pretty good basketball these days, and if Jared Sullinger is the only freshman you've heard a lot about, then you haven't been paying attention. Harrison Barnes is just as valuable to his Heels as Sully is to Ohio State. Did you see what he did at Florida State Wednesday night?

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March Madness Notebook: Day 2

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

We saw more failures than successes in last night's games involving bubble teams. Plus, BYU suspended its best player not named Jimmer.

But college basketball wasn't all doom and gloom Monday night. No. 1 Ohio State got a record-setting performance from its record-setting three-point expert. And, keeping in the Big Ten, can you imagine Purdue with Robbie Hummel this year? E'Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson might be the best 1-2 punch in the country. And don't forget to watch the video at the end of this post!

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March Madness Notebook: Day 1

By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season

Welcome to the month of March, and welcome also to a new feature here on OGS called "March Madness Notebook." Each day through the NCAA Championship Game on April 4 we'll be dropping some bullet-pointed nuggets to help you navigate the best month of the year.

Ready? Good, let's get started:

Top Four Seeds
+ EAST — Ohio State: The Buckeyes will be the tournament's overall No. 1 seed.
+ SOUTHEAST — Duke: This could be a toss-up between the Devils and Pittsburgh by the time Selection Sunday rolls around on March 13.

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