What's to Like: This is a very good offensive team led by a likely NBA 1st round pick at center in Keith Benson. Benson averages 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 3.7 blocks per game. He also has expanded his game beyond the arc and shot 42% from 3 this year. They beat Tennessee on the road and were relatively competitive with Purdue.
Upset Potential: Oakland is going to score a ton of points regardless of matchup. If Benson stays out of foul trouble, one of the top seeds could be in for a long day at the office.
Butler Bulldogs (23-9) Horizon League Champions
What's to Like: Championship Experience. The Bulldogs got to the NCAA Final last season and even though they are without Gordon Hayward, they are still a fantastic defensive team.
Upset Potential: Regardless of seeding, I'm not sure that a Butler win is viewed as an upset anymore.
Arkansas Little-Rock Trojans (19-16) Sunbelt Champions
What's to like: Nothing. The Trojans did not play anyone good out of conference and they aren't particularly good. Solomon Bozeman is a good 3 point shooter.
Upset Potential: Not much. The Trojans were extremely fortunate to get this far. They should be one and done.
This weekend, ESPN and HBO are showing two outstanding college basketball documentaries. ESPN will air a special on the Fab 5 of Michigan, while HBO chronicles Jerry Tarkanian's UNLV Running Rebels. Here are some highlights of those teams along with some of my other favorite college teams that I have seen.
The Fab 5 were very talented especially on the defensive end, but ultimately came up a bit short losing to Christian Laettner's best Duke team and an uber deep and talented North Carolina squad.
The 1990 UNLV Running Rebels were incredibly talented. Larry Johnson won the Naismith Award and his teammate Stacey Augmon might have been a more dangerous player at the collegiate level. Anderson Hunt was also a lethal shooter.
The 1990 LSU Tigers had Shaquille O'Neal as a freshman and the unbelievable scoring of Chris Jackson who would later change his name to Mahmoud Abdul Rauf. Former NBA Center Stanley Roberts was also on the team. You'll note in these highlights, Shaq scores a triple double against the Loyola Marymount team that featured Bo Kimble and the late Hank Gathers. Sadly this incredibly gifted team lost in the 2nd round of the NCAA tournament to a Georgia Tech team that featured Dennis Scott, Brian Oliver, and Freshman sensation Kenny Anderson.
Phi Slama Jama: No Explanation Neccessary...
The 1996-1997 North Carolina Tar Heels featured Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison as well as one of the great PG's in NCAA history in Ed Cota.
Strangely enough, when I was looking for highlights of the 1986-1987 Syracuse Orangemen, I stumbled upon footage of this fight which I had never seen before. Enjoy!
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