Western Kentucky Basketball

Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers – Congratulations on winning the play in game. Congratulations on getting to the big dance. However, a 16 seed has never upset a 1 seed, so work for that 14 seed next year and good luck.

Texas Arlington Mavericks – Congrats on making it to the tournament, but again bad luck with the 16 seed.  

Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils – Congratulations on making it to the tournament

Portland State Vikings – Congratulations on making it to the tournament.

It’s a hard place to be, the 16 seed, but someone’s got to do it. Not only has a 16 seed never beaten a No. 1 seed, but this year all 1 seeds made it to the final four, so these teams really had their work cut out for them.

Thank you for your hard work, and I hope you enjoyed your experience.

American Eagles – No, this team is not a major clothing store. (Well, it is…but you know what I mean) Congratulations on making the tournament and getting a 15 seed.

Now you have to play Tennessee, a team many thought deserved a 1 seed. Wow, this game was a thrill to watch. I made a bet with my brother before this game started that Tennessee would score 100 points. (I got odds) The score at halftime was 22 to 29. You kept it close and worked hard, great game boys.

UMBC Retrievers – Congratulations on making it to the tournament and earning a 15 seed.

Belmont Bruins – This team deserves quite possibly the most props in this entire list. You boys played an incredible game against one of the most intimidating teams in the NCAA (intimidating, not good).

This game had me out of my chair yelling at the TV. I won’t lie, I can’t name a player on your team, but you almost upset No. 2 seed, Duke and that is worth major props any day of the week. Thank you for your season, and good luck in the future.

Austin Peay Governors – Congratulations on making the tournament.

Only 4 number 15 seeds have upset 2 seeds in the history of the seeding process in this tournament. It is an incredibly hard place to be, and yet Belmont almost made it 5. It’s rare that a 15 vs. 2 is even a game, and this year we got two close ones.

Cal-State Fullerton Titans – I learned a lot about this team since they played Wisconsin in the first round, and I’m a die hard Wisconsin fan. They had the highest scoring average in their conference, and one of the better defenses. Great job reaching the tournament, I’m just not sad you lost.

Cornell Big Red – How is it playing against two twin giants? That’s a tough draw having to play Stanford in the first round. Congratulations on reaching the big dance, better luck next year.

The chance of winning as a 14 seed is considerably better then winning as a 15 seed. It goes from roughly 4% to 16%. Sorry, this year none of the 14 seeds pulled that crazy upset.

Siena Saints – Wow, that’s about the only word that can describe that victory. In the first round Siena beat the hot Vanderbilt ruining many of my friend’s brackets. (haha) Great win boys, and good luck in the future.

San Diego Toreros – Let’s follow one huge upset up with another upset. San Diego took down the heavily favored UConn in the first round. Many ESPN ‘expert’ analysts had UConn going to the sweet 16, and even going to the final four! Well, the San Diego Toreros took care of that. Congrats on the great season, and the huge upset. Good luck next year.

Oral Roberts Golden Eagles – Well, you made it to the tournament. Congratulations you have to play the Big East champions, Pittsburgh. That’s really not fair as a 13 seed. You guys had a great season, and good luck in the future.

Winthrop Eagles – Congratulations on making it to the tournament. You boys kept it close in the first half, having it tied 29 to 29 at half. Unfortunately keeping up with Washington State’s hot 3 pt. shooting isn’t even something that Notre Dame could do, so don’t feel too bad. Great season boys.

13 seeds only have an 18% chance of winning in the first round. That’s just 2% better then 14 seeds. This percentage should go up a little this year after 2 of the 4 pulled the big upset.

Saint Mary’s Gaels – Saint Mary’s fell to Miami (Florida) in the first round as a 10 seed. Congratulations on your excellent season, and even being ranked in the AP poll at one point this year. Good luck in the future.

George Mason – George Mason fell to Notre Dame in the first round as a 12 seed. Thank you for your season this year, and thank you for reminding everyone 2 years ago why we fill out our brackets (so that they can completely ruined by amazing runs like yours).  

Kent State Golden Flashes – Kent State got off to a slow start against UNLV and couldn’t mount enough for a comeback. They fell as a 9 seed in the first round. You had a good season Golden Flashes. (How can you not love a team called the Flashes?)

And now for the part of the tournament where the selection committee decided to rob us of an excellent tournament filled with even more upsets. If they hate the mid-majors so much why do they give automatic bids? Seriously, this could not be a bigger GET OUT sign on the NCAA tournament. The 6 best mid-majors got matched up against each other in the first round. This lowers the 6 best to the 3 best automatically. Basically there are 3 chances of a George Mason happening again, and guess what it did against all odds…

Butler Bulldogs (7) vs. South Alabama Jaguars (10) – I did a fair amount of whining about Wisconsin getting a 3 seed. (THEY TOTALLY DESERVED A 2 SEED) If I was from Butler I don’t know what I would have done.

Butler was ranked 11^th in the AP poll and 10^th in the Coaches poll. So if you think about that, Butler should be a 4 seed or maybe a 5 seed. They received a 7 seed basically so that they could play South Alabama in the first round.

South Alabama was hot coming into the tournament and people thought they could do some damage until they got matched up against Butler. Butler took 2 seed Tennessee to Overtime and lost (to my dismay as I had picked Butler over Tennessee) showing the tournament that just because you’re a 7 seed doesn’t mean you can’t win big games.

Both these teams had excellent seasons, and I hope you have great future seasons and more favorable seeds and match ups.

Drake Bulldogs vs. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers – Drake was thought to be the best and most dangerous of all the mid-majors. Western Kentucky had a great season and took teams like Tennessee and Gonzaga down to the wire.

Not enough congratulations can be given to either of these teams, I’m sure everyone had heard the stories behind Drake’s first tournament birth in so many years. These two great teams gave us an amazing game. In overtime Drake hit free throws to go up 1 with just seconds left, when Western Kentucky took the ball down court and hit a 3 pointer from 15 feet behind the line with 3 defenders in his face. One of the most amazing shots of the tournament and with no doubt ruined many people’s brackets in those few seconds.

Western Kentucky went on to beat San Diego in the 2^nd round, and then they gave UCLA a run for their money in the Sweet 16. Congrats on your seasons boys, and good luck in the future.  

And Last, but certainly not least, Gonzaga Bulldogs vs. Davidson Wildcats – Gonzaga has a tremendous history in the NCAA tournament. They were one of the first mid-majors to have good runs in the tournament, and consistent runs at that.

Davidson, well I’m sure everyone knows exactly this team’s story. Stephen Curry, son of pro Dell Curry, has been labeled the most exciting player in this tournament. Davidson, who was down to Gonzaga, rallied late to win the first round game.  From there, Davidson knocked off 2 seed Georgetown. Then they knocked off 3 seed Wisconsin. *cries* And then, Davidson lost by 2 to number 1 seeded Kansas.

Not enough can be said about this improbable run, other then thank you for catapulting me into first place in my brackets. Great season for both teams, and I wish you good luck in the future. Stephen Curry announced he was returning for his Jr. season, so I doubt you’ll need the luck.

Xavier – A team that is not technically a mid-major, but they come from a weaker conference and I myself lump them into that category. Xavier along with Davidson made it to the Elite 8 this year. They were forced to play SEC champions Georgia in the first round, which many people picked Georgia to win. In the second round the

y had to play a very hot Purdue team that took 2^nd in the Big 10. In the Sweet 16 they had to play a very hot West Virginia team that had just taken down 2 seeded Duke. They beat all 3 of these teams and gave us some nail biting games in the process. I just wanted to congratulate Xavier’s great season and run to the Elite 8.

Yes the tournament is about the powerhouses who make it there every year, this year more so then most years with UNC, UCLA, Memphis and Kansas in the final four.

But let’s not all forget the teams that build the tournament up and give us some breathtaking upsets. Remember the mid-majors when filling out your brackets next year and remember Davidson, George Mason, and Gonzaga from years past.

The UCLA Bruins played their first two rounds of the NCAA tournament in Anaheim, but their offense seemed to be playing in a different time zone.

As No. 1 seed UCLA prepares to play No. 12 seed Western Kentucky in the Sweet 16 on Thursday, the Bruins are trying to light a match under their lagging offense.

UCLA beat the Texas A&M Aggies in the second round by only two points, and junior Darren Collison and freshman Kevin Love combined for 40 of the teams' 51 points.  Take either player out of the picture, and UCLA is planning their offseason. 

Can the Bruins continue to survive at this pace?

Love and Collison cannot have an off night because they are getting very little offensive help from the rest of the team.

Senior Josh Shipp has scored a total of six points in two games and sophomore Russell Westbrook has scored only 14 points in that same span. These two averaged more than 12 points per game during the regular season. UCLA needs more out of them.

The one thing keeping the PAC-10 champs moving on is their defense. Behind Love’s seven blocks, the team held the Aggies to 49 points.

The Bruins better have a plan to stop the Hilltoppers’ senior tandem of Courtney Lee and Tyrone Brazelton, who together average 23 points per game.

The Sun Belt Conference champions would love nothing more than to knock off the top-seeded Bruins.  And unless UCLA’s offense improves, they might get that chance.

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If you're a die-hard sports fan like me who watches a ton of TV, then the chances are pretty good that you've seen the ESPN and/or the Capital One commercials that often feature mascots partaking in ridiculous activities. The Virginia Cavalier, Wisconsin's Bucky Badger, the Stanford Tree, Syracuse's Otto Orange. And then there always seems to be that big red blob with the letters "W K U" etched on a belly similar in size and color to that of Peter Griffin.

While watching these commercials, have you ever asked yourself: "Who the hell is that, and what university does he or she represent?" If you're like me and have ample time on your Tuesday evenings to answer that question, then you would find out that the mascot's name is "Big Red" and it represents Western Kentucky University, the pride of the Sun Belt Conference.

Western Kentucky University? Yes, it exists...just ask Drake and San Diego.

Prior to the 2008 NCAA men's basketball tournament, I could potentially ask a sample of 50 contributors to the Bleacher Report where Western Kentucky University is located, and what conference it plays in. Chances are I could count the number of respondents who replied with "Bowling Green, Kentucky, and the Sun Belt Conference" on one, maybe two hands. And we're supposed to be experts. Yet I would bet that at least 75 percent of those same respondents would probably tell me they recognized Big Red and knew which university he represented.

Thanks to the exploits of the Western Kentucky University basketball team during the 2007-2008 season, and in the NCAA tournament more importantly, this institution of over 18,000 students located in the southwestern Kentucky community of Bowling Green, might just be living up to its tagline as a "Leading American University with an International Reach." People may begin to recognize WKU more for its basketball prowess than for its bizarre award-winning mascot, or for being the alma mater of Cleveland Browns Head Coach Romeo Crennel.

Under 35-year-old Head Coach and WKU alum, Darrin Horn, the Hilltoppers have become this season's Gonzaga. And I'll happily admit that I chose them to play UCLA in the Sweet Sixteen this year, upsetting both Drake and UConn (the latter matchup obviously never came to fruition) in the first two rounds. 

I've always been a believer that in order to have success in the NCAA tournament, you need to have solid experienced guard play, and a number of players who can light it up from the outside from any time. Western Kentucky had that coming into the tournament. They have an NBA prospect in 6'5 swingman Courtney Lee, who has the physique of a Joey Dorsey and the quickness of a Darren Collison (okay, maybe not that quick, but you get the point). They have an experienced and intelligent point guard in Senior Tyrone Brazelton, who managed to light up the scoreboard when teams would often swarm Lee, a solid two guard in A.J. Slaughter. They also feature another sharp shooter in Ty Rogers, who made one of the more remarkable game-ending shots in recent tournament memory against Drake, and two sizable big men in Jeremy Evans and D.J. Hagley who are monsters in the paint, and pride themselves on their defense foremost. 

In checking out these first round matchups on Selection Sunday, I saw a team that, like Drake, had dominated its conference tournament, and seemed to be playing its best basketball at the advent of the NCAAs. But compared to Drake, who was having its best season in 35 years, and had the reputation of the entire Missouri Valley Conference on its shoulders, Western Kentucky really had none of that added pressure. One could argue that WKU's out of conference schedule was comparable to Drake's. WKU played Gonzaga and Tennessee very close on the road, losing by three and six points respectively. It dominated its conference competition, with the exception of fellow tourney member South Alabama.

A 12-5 matchup against a mid-major having to live up to the hype as a highly-ranked squad throughout the season was just what Coach Horn and his team wanted. When it’s this time of year, many coaches feel that its far more preferable for their team to fly under the radar and be perceived as an underdog, then to have all the pressure on them to deliver the goods that were expected all along.

After all, Drake was a team WKU matched up quite well against in terms of overall personnel and general style of play. Everyone talked about Drake's spectacular perimeter play, but no one seemed to mention WKU's guard talent, or its superior inside play. On paper, it should have been an incredibly high-scoring game, and the two teams would not disappoint.

The Hilltoppers carried the momentum of that miraculous finish against Drake (after dominating the first 36 minutes of regulation mind you), with an impressive wire-to-wire win over the University of San Diego. The Toreros were visibly bruised and battered after their hard-fought come-from-behind upset of the Connecticut Huskies, one of the most physical teams in college basketball. The Hilltoppers showed they could score over 100 points one day, and hold a team to 63 two days later.

I had a hunch that this squad was a versatile one that could win a ball game multiple ways, and it showed its ability to clamp down on the defensive end in its second round victory over UCSD.

Just as I predicted.

Yet as much as I love this Hilltoppers squad, they're about to run into a buzz-saw. UCLA is playing its own backyard, and although WKU might have the guard play to keep up with the Bruins for a half, it certainly doesn't have the size, depth or experience that the Bruins have.

I also picked the Bruins to win it all in a Bleacher Report article exactly one month ago, and I'm not straying from that prediction.

This matchup will be close for at least the first half, but UCLA should run away with this one in the last ten minutes, closing out with a 78-67 win.

UCLA will find a way to stifle WKU's studs on the perimeter, and force the Hilltoppers to beat them in the paint, which won't happen.

Nevertheless, the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers should be proud of themselves for a solid season, and a memorable tournament run. One can bet that that the University has increased its "international reach" just a little farther with its basketball team's recent performance. But this being the NCAA tournament, who knows what will happen in this Sweet 16 matchup of 1 vs. 12. I've been wrong in plenty of my picks in this year's tournament, and I could blow this one too.

One thing I am certain of is that Big Red will be out and about in full force in Phoenix, sporting that WKU on his belly, and a constantly drunken and bewildered look on his face.

    With about two minutes to go in overtime, my friend leaned over to me and said, "This is fun."

    I did not think it was fun. In fact, taking a page out of former WKU Coach Ed Diddle's playbook, I had wadded up the red towel that I’d been waving, and began chewing on it.

    Then, I witnessed history happen in Tampa.

    It was the most exciting five seconds in sports that I have personally experienced. Down by one, Western Kentucky’s Brazelton dribbled down the floor. Many of the WKU fans were a bit surprised that some sort of violation wasn't called by one of the refs, who seemed to have it out for us the entire weekend. But fortunately, the ref couldn't find a reason to blow his whistle before the shot, which has now been seen around the world, was made. It was truly unbelievable, baby.

    The Western fans exploded in cheers. We were jumping up and down and screaming at the top of our lungs. Red towels were waving. And then, we had another tense moment as the refs reviewed the film to make sure that Rogers made the shot before the buzzer, and didn't step out of bounds in the process. We thought we were doomed.

    Then the signal came: It counted. It was over. WKU had won.

    The Drake fans showed a lot of class, before, during and after their loss. Many of the Western fans commented on the sportsmanship of their fans. The Drake team was unbelievable. A few times it appeared that we fouled so they wouldn't have the chance for another three, or perhaps the ref was just happy to blow his whistle again. Either way, the Bulldogs gave it a great effort.

    The game on Sunday was fun, but did not have the same intensity as the Drake game. The same ref was there, making the same bad calls, but he couldn't stop Lee and the Tops again on Sunday, although, I'm pretty sure he tried.

Ah, the promise of a new day!  How great thou art! My Siena is an awesome Siena.

OK, enough of the platitudes. Let's get down to hoops. We start off with what should be the most competitive block of games....American vs. Tennessee, Gonzaga vs. Davidson, St. Mary’s vs. Miami, and Western Kentucky vs. Drake.

We're getting started with the hip clothing store vs. the Volunteers. 

Jeff Jones returns to the big time as he was 6-5 in the dance with Virginia. I didn't think he was a bad coach at all and got a raw deal in Charlottesville.

And we're off!

Tyler Smith gets open easily and starts the ball rolling for UT.

Tennessee is the broadband connection vs. American's DSL. The Eagles are playing smart but look outmatched athletically. However, UT does go into brain-lock mode—the Birds have to take advantage.

Cornelio Giubunda nearly matches his scoring average with a basket for American.

Smith gets open down low again. Knotted at 4.

American has used floaters effectively to outscore Tyler Smith and have rebounded fairly well. They're up 6-5 with the under-16 mark.

Zags go up early 2-0.

Bruce Pearl wants to talk it over. American is playing with a lot of early confidence. We may see another 2-15 barnburner.

But for the moment, us here in the Bluegrass will not as we kick it over to Drake/Western Kentucky. Seven seniors are starting this game. A rare sight in this day and age.

Jason Evans continues his hot play with a thunder dunk for Western. He reminds me a lot of Perry Stevenson for Kentucky.

Adam Emmenecker eschews the trey for a drive and gets hacked. You won't see him spot up for the bonus shot.

Crisp passing by the Toppers and they're up 6-2.

St. Mary's is off to a strong start over the 'Canes, 9-2.

Kyle Korver's brother drains a three for Drake then takes the charge. He will then take off with Demi and the kids to Turks and Caicos.

Drake 15-10, St. Mary's 9-7, Tenn 18-15, Zags 20-15.

If a Korver can't shoot the three, is he disowned? 

Steven Gray is on fire for Gonzaga with a dozen already.  He's one of the few Zags players I hadn't heard of. Shades of '99 perhaps?

American is owning the glass but turning the ball over rapidly.

Nobody can shoot in the Canes-Gaels matchup which resembles a grey drizzle so far.

OK, Evans has a much more defined offensive game than Stevenson. 20s in Tampa.

This is a fun game to watch. Both teams have athleticism and smarts. It wouldn't surprise me if either is still playing next week. (BTW, Drake is a Sweet 16 pick in my bracket.)

Tennessee up by seven at the half, St. Mary's riding Patty Mills to a short lead, Western with a bucket advantage over Drake, Zags up by five over Davidson.

Courtney Lee tries to take it coast to coast and into Chicago but gets stopped with a charge in Gary, Indiana. Four Toppers have two fouls.

No free throws for Western yet. Drake is living on the line at 12-for-14.

Gonzaga up by five at the half.

Tyrone Brazleton is doing some damage for the Toppers. They are going with a 4-guard set thanks to the foul situation, but its working well for them.  Of course burning the nets with trey bombs doesn't hurt. Western has built a nine-point lead.

Starting the second stanza in Birmingham, American cuts it to one on a rainbow by Derrick Mercer.

Gonzaga and St. Mary's both up by five at the half.

Nice body control by American's Brian Gilmore. The Eagles are hanging tough like a new kid on the block, down by 3 with just under 25 left. Stephen Curry is shooting Davidson back into it. 

Zags have built a nine-point lead. I could see them being huge on the national scene next year along with Kansas State (and yes I know Beasley is leaving).

Leonard Houston starts the second half for Drake with his third foul trying to stop Lee.

Strike that they give the foul to Korver.

American just tied it at 40.  Garrison Carr has 19 for the Eagles.

Drake is as ice cold as a December cornfield wind. Josh Young breaks the spell finally.

Jonathan Cox has been very effective. Evans and Magley have three whistles apiece for Western.

Orlanod Mendez-Valdez and his ’80s hair hits his second trey. Western is 9-1 when he hits multiple bombs.

Miami has used a 13-3 second half start to lead St. Mary's by five.

Boris Siakam has more charges than a "Big Spender" rescue victim.

Emmenecker is having an off game. His passes aren't finding their targets and thanks to a four-point play, Western is cruising. Korver is going to try and shoot them back in, but Western keeps answering. 66-50 Western thanks to 12 3s.

Miami up by nine, Gonzaga and Davidson tied, Tennessee only up by three, bracket looking quite suspect.

Miami is on a 25-6 run in the second half. I can hear Billy Packer, fresh from a maniacal laugh over the Kentucky loss, wondering how St. Mary's got in the dance in the first place seeing as kids who play there weren't recruited by a single ACC school and are therefore not worth discussing.

Curry has 34 for Davidson, who is currently up by one. But a scandal has erupted as he has been revealed to be B.J. "Baby Face" Armstrong who ran out of eligibility during the Reagan administration. And he would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for you meddling kids.

As if it weren't bad enough, Western gets away with an obvious over-and-back call. T.R. Knight stomps the Drake bench in disgust then forgives Isaiah Washington for his language. But the good vibes don't hide the fact that the 'Dogs can't hit a layup or stop Western.

American is still hanging tough down by six to UT with two minutes to play. Now they're down by nine, so let's go to Davidson-Gonzaga.

Zags commit an offensive foul by an overgrown Danny Bonaduce. The divorce has gotten to him without question.

Quickly, Tennessee has it in hand by 12 with a minute left. Western and Miami are also ahead by double figures.

Austin Daye had to jack it up with only two on the shot clock. Davidson being patient up by a deuce.

Jason Richards bricked it. Jeremy Pargo ties it with a layup.

Curry nails a three. 37 for B.J. “Stephen Curry” Armstrong.

This time, Daye takes a better shot but still misses. Andrew Lovedale, the Davidson glue guy, nabs the rebound and hits two big freebies.

Adam Morrsion looks homeless. Or like a Motorhead roadie. Same difference.

Chalk it up for Tennessee. 72-57.

Daye is having a rough final minute.  He missed the free throw then missed another one but Abdul Kuso gets a lane violation anyway.

Curry gets fouled. This could be it for the Zags. 

Curry gets fouled following some Pargo free throws. This is it for the Zags.  Bonaduce fouls out. Forty for Curry; 30 in the second half. 82-76.

Chalk it up for Miami. Jack McLinton with 38 for the Canes. We are seeing some great individual scoring performances this tournament. 78-64.

Western has the turnover bug and Drake is only down by five.  Following a couple misses, Josh Young has a chance to cut it to four from the line. He does so and Western turns it over and Young drains a three. Now we have a game. Great comeback by Drake.

Brazelton builds it back up to three, but Cox ties it at 88. Twenty-four seconds left.

Emmenecker draws a charge and fouls out A.J. Slaughter in the process. It was a borderline call, but what a clutch play.  But he misses the layup and we have our first OT battle.

Houston starts the OT with a score.

Brazleton answers. 90-90.

Young buries a three. Brazleton answers with his 30th point. 93-92 Drake.

Cox with a huge rebound (27 pts/16 boards).

Young has another clutch three. 

Ty Rogers gets fouled by Cox. He can cut it to two but only hits one from the stripe.

Drake holds it.  Young misses from long range.  Brazleton ties it.  33 for him.

Emmenecker steals it following a Korver miss. Why did Siakam foul?  It looked like Western's strategy. And Houston's an 80 percent shooter.

Houston misses. Western runs down and Korver fouls out. But Siakam is a 68 percent shooter. He hits both. Western up 98-97. Timeout Drake.

After some fierce volleyball action, Cox gets fouled on the offensive rebound. He hits the first then gets some ice. 98s.

Cox hits the second. 99-98. 5.7 seconds left. Cox has 29 points and 17 boards.

Ty Rogers nails a three with no time left!! 101-99 Western! Wow!!

One of the best games I've ever seen. Period.