DETROIT ? Maryland’s loss to North Carolina State in the ACC semifinals Saturday put a frown on coach Gary Williams’ face, but the defeat didn’t cost the 26-4 Terrapins a top seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Looking for the NCAA favorite? That’s easy.
Duke is the favorite because Duke is always the favorite. Every summer, Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski invites every other coach in the country to his house. He tells them which players he is recruiting that year. They are free to recruit anybody else. Then Krzyzewski coaches as well as anybody in the country.
Duke’s towel boys were high school All-Americans. Duke is the favorite.
Also, Maryland is the favorite because Maryland won the ACC ahead of Duke. The last time Maryland played Duke, Maryland won.
The Terrapins are capable of setting all sorts of tournament records, including Highest Recorded Blood Pressure for a Head Coach Who Lived to Tell About It (Gary Williams, 1,400 over 850.)
Maryland is the favorite.
And of course, Kansas is the favorite because Kansas went undefeated through the Big 12 season, which is slightly to that side of impossible. The Jayhawks’ offense seems like a Porsche 0 to 60 points in 4.3 seconds but in reality, it usually takes Kansas at least 10 minutes to reach 60.
Kansas is the favorite.
Oh, you wanted one favorite. Sorry. Can’t do that. There are three heavies and 62 others in this tournament.
Kansas has won 29 of its past 31 games. Duke has won 17 of its past 19 and one of those two losses was to Maryland. Maryland has won 18 of its past 20 and one of those two losses was to Duke.
There are some other good teams, particularly Oklahoma, which has beaten both Kansas and Maryland. But give me Kansas, Duke and Maryland and you can have the other 62.
What separates these three from everybody else? Some teams have standouts and some teams have depth, but these teams have both.
Duke’s Jason Williams, Maryland’s Juan Dixon and Kansas’ Drew Gooden are all first-team All-Americans.
Williams is … well, take your typical nice-guy, good-student, great player that makes people hate Duke so much, and square him. He’s tougher to defend than lipstick on your collar. He’ll surely leave school after three years with at least one national title, a Duke degree and millions of dollars in his future.
Dixon is Maryland’s answer to Williams. He’s quicker than a U.S. Open green, intimidated by nothing and get this a senior. The NBA isn’t sure about Dixon, but when he submits his resume to the league, he can list several dozen opponents as references.
Gooden is what happens when you put a shooting guard in a center’s body and lock him in college for three years. He scores, he rebounds, he’s the worst thing to happen to Big 12 players since mid-terms.
Those three can each carry their respective teams, but in most games they don’t have to.
These teams aren’t perfect. Kansas lost to Oklahoma on Sunday, and Maryland lost to North Carolina State the day before.
And, we know, no guarantees in the NCAA Tournament. There is a decent chance that one of these teams gets knocked out before the Final Four maybe even two.
But if all three get knocked out, it would be stunning.
DETROIT ? Maryland’s loss to North Carolina State in the ACC semifinals Saturday put a frown on coach Gary Williams’ face, but the defeat didn’t cost the 26-4 Terrapins a top seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Looking for the NCAA favorite? That’s easy.
Duke is the favorite because Duke is always the favorite. Every summer, Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski invites every other coach in the country to his house. He tells them which players he is recruiting that year. They are free to recruit anybody else. Then Krzyzewski coaches as well as anybody in the country.
Duke’s towel boys were high school All-Americans. Duke is the favorite.
Also, Maryland is the favorite because Maryland won the ACC ahead of Duke. The last time Maryland played Duke, Maryland won.
The Terrapins are capable of setting all sorts of tournament records, including Highest Recorded Blood Pressure for a Head Coach Who Lived to Tell About It (Gary Williams, 1,400 over 850.)
Maryland is the favorite.
And of course, Kansas is the favorite because Kansas went undefeated through the Big 12 season, which is slightly to that side of impossible. The Jayhawks’ offense seems like a Porsche 0 to 60 points in 4.3 seconds but in reality, it usually takes Kansas at least 10 minutes to reach 60.
Kansas is the favorite.
Oh, you wanted one favorite. Sorry. Can’t do that. There are three heavies and 62 others in this tournament.
Kansas has won 29 of its past 31 games. Duke has won 17 of its past 19 and one of those two losses was to Maryland. Maryland has won 18 of its past 20 and one of those two losses was to Duke.
There are some other good teams, particularly Oklahoma, which has beaten both Kansas and Maryland. But give me Kansas, Duke and Maryland and you can have the other 62.
What separates these three from everybody else? Some teams have standouts and some teams have depth, but these teams have both.
Duke’s Jason Williams, Maryland’s Juan Dixon and Kansas’ Drew Gooden are all first-team All-Americans.
Williams is … well, take your typical nice-guy, good-student, great player that makes people hate Duke so much, and square him. He’s tougher to defend than lipstick on your collar. He’ll surely leave school after three years with at least one national title, a Duke degree and millions of dollars in his future.
Dixon is Maryland’s answer to Williams. He’s quicker than a U.S. Open green, intimidated by nothing and get this a senior. The NBA isn’t sure about Dixon, but when he submits his resume to the league, he can list several dozen opponents as references.
Gooden is what happens when you put a shooting guard in a center’s body and lock him in college for three years. He scores, he rebounds, he’s the worst thing to happen to Big 12 players since mid-terms.
Those three can each carry their respective teams, but in most games they don’t have to.
These teams aren’t perfect. Kansas lost to Oklahoma on Sunday, and Maryland lost to North Carolina State the day before.
And, we know, no guarantees in the NCAA Tournament. There is a decent chance that one of these teams gets knocked out before the Final Four maybe even two.
But if all three get knocked out, it would be stunning.
DETROIT ? Maryland’s loss to North Carolina State in the ACC semifinals Saturday put a frown on coach Gary Williams’ face, but the defeat didn’t cost the 26-4 Terrapins a top seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Looking for the NCAA favorite? That’s easy.
Duke is the favorite because Duke is always the favorite. Every summer, Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski invites every other coach in the country to his house. He tells them which players he is recruiting that year. They are free to recruit anybody else. Then Krzyzewski coaches as well as anybody in the country.
Duke’s towel boys were high school All-Americans. Duke is the favorite.
Also, Maryland is the favorite because Maryland won the ACC ahead of Duke. The last time Maryland played Duke, Maryland won.
The Terrapins are capable of setting all sorts of tournament records, including Highest Recorded Blood Pressure for a Head Coach Who Lived to Tell About It (Gary Williams, 1,400 over 850.)
Maryland is the favorite.
And of course, Kansas is the favorite because Kansas went undefeated through the Big 12 season, which is slightly to that side of impossible. The Jayhawks’ offense seems like a Porsche 0 to 60 points in 4.3 seconds but in reality, it usually takes Kansas at least 10 minutes to reach 60.
Kansas is the favorite.
Oh, you wanted one favorite. Sorry. Can’t do that. There are three heavies and 62 others in this tournament.
Kansas has won 29 of its past 31 games. Duke has won 17 of its past 19 and one of those two losses was to Maryland. Maryland has won 18 of its past 20 and one of those two losses was to Duke.
There are some other good teams, particularly Oklahoma, which has beaten both Kansas and Maryland. But give me Kansas, Duke and Maryland and you can have the other 62.
What separates these three from everybody else? Some teams have standouts and some teams have depth, but these teams have both.
Duke’s Jason Williams, Maryland’s Juan Dixon and Kansas’ Drew Gooden are all first-team All-Americans.
Williams is … well, take your typical nice-guy, good-student, great player that makes people hate Duke so much, and square him. He’s tougher to defend than lipstick on your collar. He’ll surely leave school after three years with at least one national title, a Duke degree and millions of dollars in his future.
Dixon is Maryland’s answer to Williams. He’s quicker than a U.S. Open green, intimidated by nothing and get this a senior. The NBA isn’t sure about Dixon, but when he submits his resume to the league, he can list several dozen opponents as references.
Gooden is what happens when you put a shooting guard in a center’s body and lock him in college for three years. He scores, he rebounds, he’s the worst thing to happen to Big 12 players since mid-terms.
Those three can each carry their respective teams, but in most games they don’t have to.
These teams aren’t perfect. Kansas lost to Oklahoma on Sunday, and Maryland lost to North Carolina State the day before.
And, we know, no guarantees in the NCAA Tournament. There is a decent chance that one of these teams gets knocked out before the Final Four maybe even two.
But if all three get knocked out, it would be stunning.
DETROIT ? Maryland’s loss to North Carolina State in the ACC semifinals Saturday put a frown on coach Gary Williams’ face, but the defeat didn’t cost the 26-4 Terrapins a top seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Looking for the NCAA favorite? That’s easy.
Duke is the favorite because Duke is always the favorite. Every summer, Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski invites every other coach in the country to his house. He tells them which players he is recruiting that year. They are free to recruit anybody else. Then Krzyzewski coaches as well as anybody in the country.
Duke’s towel boys were high school All-Americans. Duke is the favorite.
Also, Maryland is the favorite because Maryland won the ACC ahead of Duke. The last time Maryland played Duke, Maryland won.
The Terrapins are capable of setting all sorts of tournament records, including Highest Recorded Blood Pressure for a Head Coach Who Lived to Tell About It (Gary Williams, 1,400 over 850.)
Maryland is the favorite.
And of course, Kansas is the favorite because Kansas went undefeated through the Big 12 season, which is slightly to that side of impossible. The Jayhawks’ offense seems like a Porsche 0 to 60 points in 4.3 seconds but in reality, it usually takes Kansas at least 10 minutes to reach 60.
Kansas is the favorite.
Oh, you wanted one favorite. Sorry. Can’t do that. There are three heavies and 62 others in this tournament.
Kansas has won 29 of its past 31 games. Duke has won 17 of its past 19 and one of those two losses was to Maryland. Maryland has won 18 of its past 20 and one of those two losses was to Duke.
There are some other good teams, particularly Oklahoma, which has beaten both Kansas and Maryland. But give me Kansas, Duke and Maryland and you can have the other 62.
What separates these three from everybody else? Some teams have standouts and some teams have depth, but these teams have both.
Duke’s Jason Williams, Maryland’s Juan Dixon and Kansas’ Drew Gooden are all first-team All-Americans.
Williams is … well, take your typical nice-guy, good-student, great player that makes people hate Duke so much, and square him. He’s tougher to defend than lipstick on your collar. He’ll surely leave school after three years with at least one national title, a Duke degree and millions of dollars in his future.
Dixon is Maryland’s answer to Williams. He’s quicker than a U.S. Open green, intimidated by nothing and get this a senior. The NBA isn’t sure about Dixon, but when he submits his resume to the league, he can list several dozen opponents as references.
Gooden is what happens when you put a shooting guard in a center’s body and lock him in college for three years. He scores, he rebounds, he’s the worst thing to happen to Big 12 players since mid-terms.
Those three can each carry their respective teams, but in most games they don’t have to.
These teams aren’t perfect. Kansas lost to Oklahoma on Sunday, and Maryland lost to North Carolina State the day before.
And, we know, no guarantees in the NCAA Tournament. There is a decent chance that one of these teams gets knocked out before the Final Four maybe even two.
But if all three get knocked out, it would be stunning.
