ESPN Men's Basketball

It's the day after the draft. For me, that means sitting at my desk, staring at my computer screen, and wondering if what I saw last night unfold last night is really how things went down. In other words, I'm still processing all this.

You know what else the Draft Day Plus 1 means? Listicles. Lots and lots of listicles.

You know what I always say: If you can't beat them -- if you can't think of a similarly efficient content delivery format that doesn't rely so heavily on lists, basically -- join them. Without further ado, here's one of a few college hoops-inclined looks at last night's action. Last but not least: The biggest feel-good picks of the 2011 NBA Draft.

1. Jimmy Butler comes full circle: By now, you've almost certainly heard the story of Jimmy Butler. Still, no matter how many times you read Chad Ford's excellent profile of the newest Chicago Bull -- it's like "The Blind Side" of basketball -- the story doesn't get any less affecting. Still, even before anyone knew his backstory, most college hoops fans respected Butler as an unselfish, versatile worker, a guy who agreed to sublimate his own scoring talent and play out of position in order to help his team win. If you felt some strange twinge of second-hand pride at seeing Butler land a guaranteed contract, well, you weren't the only one.

2. Kenneth Faried's contagious spirit: Watch five minutes of Kenneth Faried playing basketball, and you'll immediately develop an appreciation; Faried competes with the kind of drive few players ever possess, let alone harness. When our own Dana O'Neil spent time with Faried and his family in February, she learned the source of that drive. Faried had a challenging upbringing in rundown Newark and Jersey City. His mother, Waudda, fights an off-and-on battle with lupus that has hospitalized her for months at a time. His transition to college was marked by his effect on others, including a professor who cried when O'Neil asked her about Faried, and who easily recalled an essay he wrote as a freshman on his dream of playing in the NBA. On Thursday night, Faried achieved that dream, doing so in his hometown, surrounded by his family, with his young daughter in his arms. It doesn't get much better than that.

3. Isaiah Thomas proves there's no such thing as Mr. Irrelevant: Year after year, the brash, undersized Washington point guard has listened to people tell him why he wouldn't succeed. Year after year, he's only proved them wrong. Chalk Thursday night up as another chapter in Thomas's saga: Derided by many as too small for the NBA, and criticized by some for leaving school after his junior year, Thomas was indeed drafted anyway. The twist? He had to sweat it out, waiting all the way until the very last pick of the draft to hear his name called. Thomas's next step? Proving he belongs. Would you bet against him?

4. The Morris family's big, bittersweet night: The Morii haven't always been the most sympathetic characters in college hoops, and they certainly weren't shy about their confidence in the weeks before Thursday night's draft. But perhaps only the staunchest Missouri fans could have viewed the twins' back-to-back selections with an acid eye. Surprisingly, Markieff Morris was the first of the two to be selected at No. 13 by the Phoenix Suns. Markieff and his brother hugged, did their patented handshake, and just as Markieff took the stage to shake hands with NBA commissioner David Stern, the camera panned to Marcus, sitting in his chair, crying his eyes out. It was a bittersweet moment. For the first time, the twins -- who have always played, lived, and gotten tattoos together -- will separate. As happy as he must have been, Marcus, who was public in his discomfort with the separation, seemed to be processing that fact for the first time.

Then, with the very next pick, the Houston Rockets selected the other Morris. In that way, the NBA draft was just like the rest of the Morii's lives: They did it together.

5. The Purdue duo reunites: Both Purdue players in the draft, E'Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson, were selected by the Boston Celtics Thursday night. Why is this so cool? It's not just because the two close friends get to keep being teammates. It's also because now, Moore and Johnson -- both of whom are high-character, mild-mannered workers -- will have the chance to chase a title together in the NBA, something Robbie Hummel's cruel ACL tears robbed them of in two straight collegiate seasons at Purdue. Thus far, the Celtics seem intent on keeping both players around, at least for the immediate future. If so, the two could be key role players in Boston's last-ditch attempt at an NBA title run in 2012. How cool is that?

NEWARK -- A quick look at the regional semifinals in Newark, where St. John’s sports information director Mark Fratto had the line of the day.

In between press conferences, Fratto read off the do's and don’ts for the media, paused and deadpanned, “Welcome once again to Newark.’’

No. 11 seed Marquette (22-14) vs. No. 2 seed North Carolina (28-7), 7:15 p.m. ET (CBS)

How they got here: Considered the 11th of the 11 teams into the NCAA tournament from the Big East, Marquette instead remains one of the last two standing. The Golden Eagles opened some eyes with an easy win against Xavier and then took out conference foe, and No. 3 seed, Syracuse to advance to the Sweet 16.

North Carolina easily handled Long Island University and then had to hold its breath against Washington in one of the many bizarre finishes in this NCAA tournament.

Storyline: The two programs have met four times before, but Marquette has only won once. It was a doozy. In 1977, legendary coach Al McGuire beat Dean Smith and North Carolina for the national championship.

This will have similar big dog-little dog feel, as the Golden Eagles are sort of the beggars at the feast here. They are not the top seed like Ohio State nor are they a program with the hoopla and tradition of North Carolina or Kentucky.

“We feel like we’ve been overlooked the whole season,’’ Jae Crowder said. “We look at it as disrespect, but we take it as motivation.’’

The fact is, Carolina has plenty of motivation here, too. The Tar Heels were written off early in the season, a disjointed crew that most figured were headed back to the NIT, especially after a brutally bad loss to Georgia Tech.

Instead the Heels -- aided in large part by a shift at point guard -- played their way into a No. 2 seed, earning their stripes via a strong finish in which they won 14 of their final 16, the only two losses coming at the hands of Duke.

“We had a meeting, I don’t remember when it was, but we had a meeting and our team chemistry got better,’’ Tyler Zeller said. “We all pulled together.’’

What to watch: Tempo. North Carolina likes to go and while Marquette isn’t against an uptempo game, the Golden Eagles aren’t interested in a track meet with the Tar Heels. The interesting thing, as numbers guy Buzz Williams pointed out, is Carolina only averages two possessions per game more than Marquette.

“I’ve always said that I would rather win playing in the 80s and 90s because I like that,’’ UNC coach Roy Williams said. “I think the fans like it, the players like it. But we have to be able to win games in the 50s and 60s.’’

Who to watch: Marquette has been a sum-of-its-parts team all season, but if there is one person who needs to be especially on against North Carolina it is Jimmy Butler. The Eagles’ leading scorer will have to produce on offense, but it is his defense that might matter most. Butler will be charged with guarding Harrison Barnes.

“You have to make him uncomfortable,’’ Butler said. “Make him feel like he has to work for every dribble and every move that he makes.’’

There was a time when Barnes was The Guy to watch in college basketball and then a time when no one was watching. The first freshman selected to the preseason All-America team, he suffered his freshman growing pains in front of the nation.

It is no coincidence that Carolina found its way once Barnes found his swagger.

The rookie can pinpoint the exact moment he felt like things were moving in the right direction for him. It was on Jan. 26 in Coral Gables. Barnes sunk the game-winning 3-pointer with six seconds to go against Miami, securing a comeback win for the Heels, and establishing something in himself that, up until that moment, had been missing.

“Some freshmen can come in and make a difference right away,’’ Barnes said. “It took me a while.’’

Of note: Marquette experienced both its nadir and its awakening at the Prudential Center here in Newark. The Golden Eagles lost here to Seton Hall 85-72 in their regular-season finale, a game that at the time put Marquette's at-large bid somewhat in jeopardy. Buzz Williams spent 45 minutes in the postgame locker room, not offering fire and brimstone, he said, but talking about who they needed to become. Marquette became that team -- winning two in the Big East tournament to get off the bubble and into the tournament. ... Perhaps the most critical move of this entire season was Roy Williams’ decision to move Kendall Marshall into the starting spot. The move cost Williams Larry Drew II, who elected to transfer, but it’s been proven well worth it. In two games in the NCAA tournament, Marshall has 24 assists.

What they’re saying:

“I think it’s time of possession. We need to score early and we need to score late. And we need to make sure that what we do offensively prevents them from scoring as quick as they typically like." -- MU coach Buzz Williams on keeping the Tar Heels’ tempo down.

“All the time I hear, ‘We took what they gave us.’ Well I want to take what I want. If you play zone, it doesn’t mean I have to shoot the ball from outside. I am still going to try and get the ball inside. The saying, taking what they gave us, I don’t like it. I still want to take what I want." -- UNC coach Roy Williams

CLEVELAND -- In the middle of the celebratory Marquette locker-room scrum stood Buzz Williams, stripped down to an undershirt over his dress pants. Williams then ripped off his tank top and went into the coaches' area. A moment later, he ran back into the locker room, bare-chested and sweaty, to shout "Sweet 16!"

Maybe that's not the demeanor or behavior you'd expect from Mike Krzyzewski or Jim Calhoun after a big NCAA tournament win. But Williams is not the typical college basketball coach. And Marquette is not your typical Sweet 16 team.

It's a collection of former junior college players and other under-the-radar guys playing in the nation's premier league, for a coach who understands humble beginnings.

"We're a great team with a bunch of no-names," guard Dwight Buycks said.

Syracuse might agree with the first part of that statement, but not necessarily the latter half. The No. 3 seed Orange lost to the No. 11 seed Golden Eagles for the second time this year in Sunday's 66-62 East Regional third-round upset.

Marquette got it done with effort. Syracuse shot 55.3 percent from the field. But the Golden Eagles hounded the Orange into 18 turnovers by doubling the post and pressuring the ball. They raced up the court every time they got a stop or even after a made bucket, getting good looks before the 2-3 zone could formulate. They outrebounded their bigger opponent 30-24, including 12 offensive rebounds.

"Our goal was not to let them set up," guard Junior Cadougan said. "We wanted to push it down their backs and make something happen while their backs were turned."

Jae Crowder hit a 3-pointer to tie the score at 59, and Darius Johnson-Odom nailed the go-ahead 3-pointer with 25.1 seconds left. Both guys came to Marquette from junior college, as did Buycks and defensive stopper Jimmy Butler. Cadougan is from Canada.

Now this group is heading to a blueblooded Sweet 16 in the East Regional, joining the likes of North Carolina, Kentucky and Ohio State.

"It's four junior college guys up here," Williams said on the postgame podium, sitting next to Crowder, Butler and Johnson-Odom. "We were trying to figure out if we could eat at McDonald's or Burger King. We weren't sure what Sweet 16 meant other than it was our 16th birthday."

Williams is understandably drawn to those types of players. He got his start as a student assistant at Navarro College and Oklahoma City University. On Saturday, he recounted the story of how he got his first paying job at Texas-Arlington, which included all but stalking the UTA coach, sleeping in a U-Haul and conniving Oklahoma City into giving him his diploma early.

So the underdog nature comes naturally. Marquette needed it coming into this tournament after going just 7-8 in its previous 15 games and carrying 14 losses on the résumé. The Golden Eagles were the last of 11 teams from the Big East to make the field, and if the committee had to rethink things based on the way the league has fared so far, maybe they would be in the NIT. Ironically, the East Regional semifinals will be played in Newark, N.J., on the same court where Marquette lost to lowly Seton Hall on the last day of the regular season.

Yet here this team is after an impressive win over No. 6 seed Xavier on Friday and after toppling a No. 3 Sunday. The Golden Eagles played with an edge all weekend in Cleveland.

"Buzz is a great coach, and his toughness shows in us," Johnson-Odom said. "As much as he's been through, and as much as the players have been through, the only way we can show it is on the court. I think that's why we play so hard."

After the final horn sounded, Williams made the TV crew wait for the postgame interview. He ran up through the press seating and into the Marquette cheering section, where he hugged his wife, Corey, and their children. He later talked about how they met when he was a Division II assistant and how he took a job at Colorado State 18 days after she moved in with him as his wife.

"He went to juco and has been through that experience," Buycks said. "We've all come in through different paths, and he can relate to that. He knows how it feels to not be granted success right away."

Clear some room in the Sweet 16 for these Golden Eagles. They made their own way there.

CLEVELAND -- The four remaining teams in this East Region pod know how to move on in March. All four have been to a Final Four since 2003, and three of them have national championship trophies encased in glass back home.

Beyond that, we've got the top overall seed (Ohio State) taking on a mid-major power (George Mason). Then it's a Big East grudge match between Syracuse and Marquette in which the lower seed had the upper hand earlier this season.

Let's rock and roll in Cleveland.

No. 8 George Mason (27-6) vs. No. 1 Ohio State (33-2), 5:15 p.m. ET

What to watch: The 3-point arc. Ohio State has been on fire from the outside lately, and the Buckeyes are nearly impossible to beat when William Buford and Jon Diebler are as dialed in as they've been from 3-point range. George Mason was a good shooting team this season (39.4 percent on 3s) but struggled with shot selection against Villanova. The Patriots were able to turn that into a defensive slugfest, but that's probably not going to work against Ohio State. The Buckeyes are holding opponents to 32 percent shooting on 3s in four postseason games.

Who to watch: Jared Sullinger didn't have to do a whole lot in the romp against Texas San-Antonio on Friday, but the Ohio State big man will be a key player against George Mason. The Patriots had a hard time keeping Nova's post players off the glass in the last round, and Sullinger is much more of a load than any of those Wildcats. George Mason will have to clamp down on Buford and Diebler like they did against the Wildcats' Corey Stokes and Corey Fisher in the second half while still accounting for Sullinger inside.

You can bet the Bucks will keep a close eye on George Mason guard Luke Hancock, who had 18 points and the clinching 3-pointer with 20 seconds left in Friday's win against Villanova. Forward Mike Morrison also had a big game on Friday, and the Patriots will need the 6-foot-9 junior to help contain Sullinger.

Why to watch: George Mason is tired of the 2006 comparisons, but that Final Four team beat some of the sport's heavyweights on its way to glory, including a No. 1 seed in UConn. This team will have to take the same path through a powerful Ohio State club that is firing on all cylinders. And the crowd will be heavily on the Buckeyes' side.

What they're saying: "I don't think you want to be an underdog. You probably want to be in Ohio State's position of being the No. 1 overall [seed]. But we're ready to play against a good team. We have confidence in ourselves. We're not worried about being called the underdog." -- George Mason's Hancock.

"Our defense needs to be at its very best on first shots. We've got to limit second shots. But the biggest thing is, based on the way we played yesterday, we've really got to encourage our guys to understand that we're going to have to put the ball in the basket [Sunday]." -- George Mason coach Jim Larranaga

"With us, it's pick your poison. Whatever you want to do, we have a way to counter it." -- Ohio State's Dallas Lauderdale.

"I think they're kind of similar to us. They've got a lot of different guys that can do a lot of different things, from driving the ball, to 3-point shooting, to post-ups. They've got a lot of trigger-pullers within the course of their offense. They do a good job moving the basketball. I think that's the big key -- you have to defend all five guys. And with a one-day prep, you've got to have a great understanding of what all five guys on the floor are capable of doing, because, as I said, they're multi-dimensional players." -- Ohio State coach Thad Matta.

Of note: A win by George Mason would set the school single-season record for victories. The 2006 Final Four team won 27 games. ... Sunday is the winter graduation ceremony at Ohio State, and Diebler, David Lighty and Lauderdale all earned their degrees last week. They'll be a bit too busy to walk in the ceremony, however. ... Watch the pace. Ohio State is 23-0 when scoring at least 75 points. George Mason is 3-5 when opponents score at least 70.

No. 11 Marquette (21-14) vs. No. 3 Syracuse (27-7), approx. 7:40 p.m. ET

What to watch: We went to Cleveland, and a Big East tournament semifinal broke out. These teams might be league rivals, but because the Big East is so big, it's not like they play each other all the time. In fact, they met only once this season, and Marquette won 76-70 back on Jan. 29. The Golden Eagles guards penetrated the Orange's 2-3 zone and got to the rim, shooting 33 free throws and getting the Syracuse post players in foul trouble. They even outrebounded the Orange that night in Milwaukee. Syracuse has a distinct size advantage, but Marquette hopes to neutralize that with quickness.

Who to watch: Syracuse's Rick Jackson had a big night against Indiana State on Friday with 23 points and seven rebounds. Marquette doesn't have many guys who can match his 6-foot-9, 240-pound body. But Golden Eagles forward Jae Crowder had 25 points and seven rebounds in the first matchup of the Orange.

Guards Jimmy Butler and Darius Johnson-Odom will be key for Marquette against the zone. Syracuse guards Scoop Jardine and Brandon Triche will have to do a good job handling the Golden Eagles' pressure on the perimeter and slowing down Butler and Johnson-Odom.

Why to watch: Syracuse is a dangerous tournament team because of its length in that zone, which can overwhelm unfamiliar opponents. But Marquette knows the zone and is coming off a terrific performance against Xavier on Friday night. This might be an 11 vs. 3 matchup on paper, but this has all the makings of a hard-fought, Big East-style game.

What they're saying: "You've got to move the ball more than once, and we can't fall into taking quick shots. The key thing is to get it in the middle or behind the zone. We pretty much know where we can get into the gaps and make plays for each other, by us already having seen it." -- Marquette guard Dwight Buycks

"The first time around, our defense wasn't as good as it is now. Our defense is much improved, and it should mess them up a little because we'll be quicker in getting to spots we weren't able to get to in the game we lost to them." -- Syracuse guard Brandon Triche.

"I told one of our assistants, when we were leaving [Madison Square] Garden, after Louisville beat us the [in the Big East tournament], I'm so thankful that we don't have to talk about or prepare or play against a Big East program until next Christmas. And so on Sunday we're doing the Selection Show and they show Xavier first, they're the higher seed, then they show us. Everybody's like rah, rah, rah. And then the next team that pops up is Syracuse." -- Marquette coach Buzz Williams.

Of note: The Jan. 29 game was the last of a four-game losing streak for Syracuse. Orange players said their strong second-half effort in that game helped them get their season back on track by playing with more effort. ... Marquette has lost its second game in the NCAA tournament in each of the last two years and hasn't won two games since the 2003 Final Four run. ... If Marquette hits a big 3, you can be sure to see players making the "3-point goggles" gesture. The Golden Eagles claim to be the first college team to adopt the new trend, which started with the Portland Trail Blazers this season. Marquette grad Wesley Matthews told the Golden Eagles about it, and they have run with it. The goggles made an appearance in Friday's win against Xavier.

CLEVELAND -- If you go by the seedings, Marquette was the 11th -- and last -- Big East team to make the NCAA tournament field. Appropriately enough, the selection committee awarded the Golden Eagles a No. 11 seed.

"We were just happy we got in," guard Junior Cadougan said.

They sure didn't look like a team just happy to be here Friday night. Talk about hot in Cleveland. Marquette thoroughly dismantled a good Xavier team, one that went 15-1 in the Atlantic 10 regular season. The Golden Eagles shot a blistering 57 percent in the first half, made half their shots in the second half and led by as many as 18 in a 66-55 victory.

The offensive effort wasn't a surprise for a team that led the Big East in scoring this year. Defense made this look like a dangerous tournament team.

Xavier's star guard Tu Holloway went just 1-for-8 from the field, not making his lone shot until about 12 minutes left. Marquette threw multiple defenders at him, doubling him off ball screens and thoroughly frustrating him the entire night. The rest of his teammates didn't fare much better.

"That was one of our best defensive efforts ever," Marquette guard Dwight Buycks said. "We took their star out of the game, which was everything. They didn't really have any response."

That kind of defense hasn't been a staple for Buzz Williams' team this year, which is why it remained maddeningly inconsistent. Marquette came into the NCAA tournament just 7-8 in its last 15 games, and it lost its final regular-season contest to lowly Seton Hall. It was also good enough to beat Notre Dame, Connecticut and Syracuse this season.

The Golden Eagles certainly own the tools to be a good defensive team. They are blessed with quick guards who can pressure the perimeter and disrupt sets. Jimmy Butler, at 6-foot-7, can bother shooters with his length, and he really hounded the shorter Holloway on Friday night.

It's more of a concentration thing. Forward Jae Crowder said the team rarely practices offense in practice anymore. The majority of the sessions are focused on getting stops. Williams called Friday's effort the best performance relative to the scouting report his team has had all year long.

"We've got a lot of people who can score the ball," Buycks said. "Defense will get us where we're trying to go."

Where they're going is to Sunday's third round. And if they get a rematch with Syracuse, whom they've already beaten this year, that might not be the end. Not bad for the last team from the Big East to get in.

"We want to be the last one to stay in," Crowder said.

CLEVELAND -- Forget that "No. 11" by Marquette's name. This is officially a Team No One Wants To Play in this NCAA tournament.

At least, that is, if the Golden Eagles can duplicate Friday's effort against Xavier. They were simply terrific from start to finish in a commanding 66-55 win over the Atlantic 10 regular season champions.

Marquette shot 53.3 percent from the field and shut down Xavier star Tu Holloway, who had only one field goal and five points. Buzz Williams' team is a threat to get to the Sweet 16 if it can match this performance on Sunday.

Turning point: Marquette was in control most of the way and built an 18-point lead in the second half. But then Xavier finally got a little feisty, going on a 14-4 run to get back within eight. The Musketeers had a chance to get closer, but Holloway's difficult night continued when he was called for a charge. Marquette scored the next seven points to end the threat.

Key stat: Marquette's top two guards, Darius Johnson-Odom and Jimmy Butler, outscored Xavier's backcourt duo of Holloway and Dante Jackson by a count of 34-15.


Star player: Just about everybody played well for Marquette, but Johnson-Odom had the best night. He scored 19 points and hit 4-of-6 3-pointers.

Miscellany: With Holloway and Jackson struggling, Xavier needed someone to pick up the scoring slack. Surprisingly, that was Andrew Taylor. The senior finished with 16 points; his previous career high was seven.

What's next: Marquette will take on the Syracuse-Indiana State winner Sunday. If the Orange prevail, that means there will be a Big East rematch in the second round. The Golden Eagles beat Syracuse 76-70 in the teams' lone meeting this season.

CLEVELAND -- Here's a look at Friday's evening action from the East Regional at Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena:

No. 6 seed Xavier (24-7) vs. No. 11 Marquette (20-14), 7:27 ET (truTV)

What to watch: Two basketball-obsessed, big-city, Jesuit schools known for their outstanding guard play and March success. Yes, please. Xavier dominated the Atlantic 10 and has a legitimate superstar in guard Tu Holloway. Marquette was just 7-8 in its final 15 games but had the highest scoring attack in the Big East. If the shots are falling, the Golden Eagles can beat anyone.

Who to watch: Holloway. Marquette players saw some great guards in their league, including UConn's Kemba Walker and Providence's Marshon Brooks, and they say Holloway compares favorably. "Kemba from what I can tell is a little faster, but they both have their scoring mentality," Golden Eagles guard Jimmy Butler said. "They both can shoot it. They both get to the line extremely well, and they both run their team extremely well." Butler is no slouch, either, averaging 16 points and 6.1 rebounds as a dangerous penetrator.

Why to watch: They say guards win in March, which is a debatable cliché. But this matchup should ensure an entertaining game. These are different types of teams, though. Xavier excels on defense and has better big men than it gets credited for, while Marquette usually needs to shoot well from the outside and get to the free throw line to win. Either one could pose a difficult potential opponent for Syracuse in Round Two.

What they're saying: "I think the biggest focus for us would be the ball screen. Focus a lot on that because every possession they're going to set two to three ball screens and try to get into the paint and distribute off of a ball screen, that being a side or flat ball screen, or to the baseline or things like that. So we've got to be ready for many types of ball screens they'll throw at us." -- Butler, on the defensive keys for Marquette.

"New York is full of great point guards every year. And I was fortunate enough to play against and with Kemba. And it's not new to me what he's doing in the college basketball world. I watched him do it firsthand in the backcourt. He never had a game like that against me, I'll say." -- Holloway, on the Kemba Walker comparisons.

Of note: The Golden Eagles have made more free throws than their opponents have attempted this season. "And it's odd in a way, because they don't necessarily have Shaquille O'Neal in the low post that's drawing fouls left and right -- they do it by committee," Xavier coach Chris Mack said. "They do it by driving the basketball." ... These two teams met early last season, with Marquette winning by 10. Xavier went on to win two 2010 NCAA tournament games on Marquette's home court, the Bradley Center.

No. 3 seed Syracuse (26-7) vs. No. 14 seed Indiana State (20-13), Approx. 9:57 ET (truTV)

What to watch: If you want to boil this down to a simple storyline, it's Syracuse's size and 2-3 zone against Indiana State's four-guard attack. All but one Sycamores starter stands between 6-foot-3 and 6-foot-5, and they spread the floor with their abundance of ballhandlers and shooters. How will that work against the Orange, who shorten the court defensively with guys like Rick Jackson and Kris Joseph? In an effort to simulate Syracuse's length, Indiana State practiced against a six-man zone this week, with the sixth defender standing in the low post holding up a hockey stick. The actual game may be even more difficult. On defense, the Sycamores can switch every screen, but they could get pounded on the glass.

Who to watch: The 6-foot-10 Jackson, who was named Big East defensive player of the year, could dominate the paint. Indiana State will have to use its quickness to neutralize him. The Sycamores define balance; they have seven players averaging between six and 11 points. Point guard Jake Odum will have to get in the lane against that 2-3 zone and kick out to shooters.

Why to watch: Never underestimate the Missouri Valley champion, even in a down year for the league. Just ask Kansas last year. Syracuse's 2010 tournament run came to an end in the Sweet 16 against another mid-major from Indiana: Butler. The Orange made this year's motto "Unfinished Business" in remembrance of that defeat.

What they're saying: "[On] selection Sunday, all we know about Indiana State was Larry Bird went there. And after watching film on them and reading the scouting report, they're a good team just like us. ... And I can tell you one thing, they can all shoot. And when a team all can shoot, that's kind of tough for our zone." -- Syracuse guard Scoop Jardine.

"It's pretty hard to prepare for the type of athleticism that they have. I mean, in the [Missouri] Valley, it's very few teams that have that type of frontcourt lineup. You can't really simulate that type of stuff. It's really just about willpower." -- Indiana State swingman Carl Richard.

Of note: Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim will be coaching in his 71st NCAA tournament game. This will be the first one for Indiana State coach Greg Lansing. ... The Sycamores played in the 2000 and 2001 tournaments, but they will always be remembered as the 1979 runner-up led by Larry Bird. Lansing said the first thing he did when he came to Indiana State was to watch tapes of that '79 team to get a feel for what the heyday was like. "He wished us luck," guard Jake Kelly said of Bird. "He had some nice comments in some of the news coverage. We walk down the halls everywhere and there's pictures and stuff still. That gets us excited that somebody like Larry Bird is following us and wishing us luck."

Ten thoughts at the end of a debate-worthy night in college basketball:

1. Before we get to the bracket that is, let’s talk about the bracket that should be. In other words, let’s talk about Colorado. How can I put this nicely? The Buffaloes got jobbed. OK, so that isn’t putting it nicely at all. It’s kind of rude, actually. But it’s 100 percent true. CU’s exclusion from this 68-team field -- and UAB’s inclusion in it -- is baffling.

If you’re interested in this little thing called “wins,” the two résumés don’t really compare. Colorado has six top-50 RPI victories; UAB has none. Colorado beat No. 5 seed Kansas State three times and No. 4 seed Texas once. UAB beat ... um, whom exactly? VCU? Kent State? UTEP? Both teams had ugly nonconference schedules, so the only explanation for the committee’s decision is RPI. Colorado’s RPI is 66, while UAB’s is 31. If that’s the committee’s reason, that’s a pretty bad reason.

It’s nice to know that in two days all this selection fervor will die down and we’ll get to the business of enjoying the greatest competition in basketball live and in living color. We’ll forget all about this soft bubble. We’ll remember that not one of the teams on the cut line was all that good in the first place. But until then, there’s no denying it: Colorado got jobbed, and the selection committee can’t give us a good reason why.

2. Speaking of which, selection committee chair Gene Smith did not do a very good job of explaining his committee’s decisions on Sunday night. Meeting with the media mere minutes after the four-day selection haze is the most unenviable responsibility the committee chairman must handle, and I certainly wouldn’t want to do it. But in interviews on ESPN and CBS, as well as in his post-selection show teleconference, Smith practically refused to answer the media’s questions about the committee’s various seeding and selection decisions. Instead, he gave polite nonanswers. In the first question of his teleconference, Smith was asked why Virginia Tech -- the night’s only other surprising snub -- didn’t make the tournament. His response:

“Virginia Tech is a very good ballclub, a well-coached team,” Smith said. “When we looked at them, considering all the other criteria we look at, the committee looks at about 15 different quantifiable criteria, then we have advice from our regional coaches advisory committee, a lot of different things. At the end of the day when we stacked Virginia Tech's résumé up against all the other teams, we just didn't feel like they were a team that should be in the at-large field.”

When pressed a second and third time for specific reasons why the Hokes were left out, Smith responded:

“I would just tell you to look at their overall résumé, look at their schedule, look at how they did relative to their competition that they scheduled in the nonconference schedule.”

These aren’t reasons why Virginia Tech was kept out of the tournament. They’re skeletal explanations of the selection process itself.

They were par for the course for Smith, as chronicled by our own Andy Katz on Sunday night. Smith used the phrase “well-coached” to describe nearly every team he was asked specifically about. He also said there were “10 people in the room and everyone in the room has different emphasis on different criteria.” (Perhaps one criterion would be a good place to start?)

Look: No one expects the committee to get everything right -- it often does a marvelous job under difficult time constraints -- and no one expects the committee chairman to make the entire process an open book. But as the NCAA strives to increase transparency in the selection process and rid fans of the notion that the process is shrouded in secrecy, Smith’s nonanswers only made a frustrating night that much more so.

Anyway, with that whinge out of the way, let’s take a look at the bracket itself:

3. Which No. 1 seed has the toughest route to the tournament? Surprisingly, that team is No. 1 overall seed Ohio State. If seeds hold, the Buckeyes -- who went 32-2 this season -- have the privilege of playing George Mason in the second round, an underseeded Kentucky team in the Sweet 16, and either Syracuse or North Carolina in the Elite Eight. Throw in the rest of this region’s tough outs -- Xavier, Washington, West Virginia and Villanova are all lurking here -- and you can make a rather convincing case that this is the toughest region of them all.

4. Which No. 1 seed has the easiest path? That honor probably goes to Pittsburgh. The Panthers don’t have a friendly second-round matchup; Butler and Old Dominion are both well-coached (that one’s for you, Gene!), experienced tournament teams with unique styles and plenty of talent to boot. But after that, Pitt’s high-seeded competitors (Florida, BYU and Wisconsin) all have their share of potentially fatal flaws.

5. Don’t say the committee favors Duke. That was a common complaint last season, when the Blue Devils were gifted with a wide-open bracket whose toughest challengers -- Baylor and a Robbie Hummel-less Purdue team -- couldn’t stay on the floor with the dominant Dukies in the regional round. This year, however, is different. Duke got Michigan-Tennessee as its No. 8/No.9 matchup, and the Vols have proved capable of playing up or down to any team’s level this season. Duke got a bit of a break with San Diego State and Connecticut at the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, but either team could present problems for Duke on the interior. But the toughest seed came at the No. 4 spot, where an underseeded Texas team -- the Longhorns were very much in the No. 2-seed discussion this week -- could present massive matchup problems for the Blue Devils. If Duke gets past the Sweet 16, it should return to the Final Four. But the toughest matchup of the Devils’ tournament could come earlier than anticipated.

6. The No. 5-versus-No. 12 matchups are always prone to upsets -- if there’s a cardinal rule of bracket-picking, it’s that -- but this year’s matchups should prove to be especially intriguing. Kansas State will play Utah State, a 30-3 team that dominated its conference, beat Saint Mary’s in Moraga, and could be much more dangerous than anyone realizes. In the Southwest, Vanderbilt got the underseeded Spiders as its No. 12 matchup; Richmond has one of the best guards in the country in Kevin Anderson and an emerging (and hyper-efficient) star in Justin Harper. In the West, Arizona will play Memphis in the battle of Josh Pastner, who was a walk-on at Arizona and spent years there as an assistant. And in the East, West Virginia will play the First Four winner of UAB-Clemson. The Tigers are enticingly athletic. The Blazers are playing for respect after schlubs like me spent all night telling people why they don’t belong in the tournament. All of these games are interesting, and for reasons beyond the usual 5-12 intrigue.

7. Speaking of interesting middle-seed matchups, how about these two 6-versus-11 matchups. In the East, it’s Xavier versus Marquette. In the West, it’s Cincinnati versus Missouri. One could argue that Missouri is a bit underseeded given its entire body of work, but the Tigers did notably struggle on the road this season and fell flat in a blowout loss to Texas A&M in the Big 12 tournament. But the Tigers’ style -- up-tempo, frenetic and pressing -- is much harder to prepare for in a single-elimination format than in the familiar rigors of conference play. Meanwhile, Xavier-Marquette will showcase two of the nation’s best and perhaps most underrated players in Xavier’s Tu Holloway and Marquette’s Jimmy Butler.

8. If there’s anything the No. 9 seeds have in common, it’s talent, inconsistency and disappointment. The one team excepted from this theme is Old Dominion. The Monarchs have plenty of the first quality, but none of the second or third. But Illinois, Villanova and Tennessee are this season's poster children for teams that should be much, much better than they are. All three have elite-level talent. All three showed promise throughout the season. All three got their biggest wins in November and December. And all three have been frustratingly incoherent since.

9. Beware the injuries and suspensions. Unfortunately, some NCAA tournament teams don’t get the benefit of coming to the tournament at full strength. Georgetown’s Chris Wright is cleared to play, but will likely have a protective cast on his broken hand. Florida State’s Chris Singleton is questionable for the Seminoles. And in the Southeast, two teams missing key players -- BYU (suspended forward Brandon Davies) and St. John’s (lost guard D.J. Kennedy to a torn ACL this week) -- could meet in the second round Friday. All things to consider as you peruse the field and start filling in your bracket.

10. Need proof this was the softest tournament field ever? OK, probably not. You probably reached this conclusion months ago. But in case you’re holding out, check these numbers from ESPN Stats & Information: Since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985, five at-large teams made the tournament with 14 losses. There are five at-large teams this season alone with 14 losses. There are seven teams with 13 losses, and 13 teams with 11 losses. That’s a whole lot of losing for the NCAA tournament, but that’s what happens when (a) you expand the field by three bids and (b) you have to fill that expanded field from a pool of candidates that can be described only as the decidedly muddled, mediocre middle.

Nearly every time I've written about Marquette this season, I've found it necessary to evangelize on this team's behalf. "The Golden Eagles are better than you think!" "This offense is elite!" "Don't be surprised if Marquette upsets Team X ... in fact, it might not even be an upset at all! Hi-oh!" And so on.

All of those things are still true. I'll keep saying them until they're not. In the meantime, though, it'd be nice if Marquette backed up all this tempo-free excellence and deserving praise with a few more notches in the win column, too.

The Golden Eagles lost to No. 5 Connecticut 76-68 in Milwaukee last night. There's no shame in losing at home to the same team that beat Texas in Austin just three weeks ago, but Marquette has to see this one as a blown opportunity. Not only did Connecticut guard Kemba Walker have his worst game of the season (14 points, 5-of-16 shooting, 0-of-5 from 3), but Marquette led by five with about eight minutes remaining. That's when UConn went on its run, a 13-point outburst that gave Connecticut a late 68-60 lead from which the Huskies never looked back. UConn closed the game on a 21-8 run, and that was that.

This was not as devastating a defeat as the one Marquette suffered at Louisville on Jan. 15. Jimmy Butler and company thoroughly controlled that game and appeared set to cruise to a victory before Louisville rallied all the way back from an 18-point deficit with seven minutes left in the game, eventually winning 71-70 thanks to guard Preston Knowles' last-second heroics.

Marquette should have won at Louisville. It could have won Tuesday. The Louisville game was a gut-punch all-timer; Tuesday night's loss was merely a letdown. Either way, that's at least two major missed opportunities for wins over ranked teams -- not to mention Saturday's loss at Notre Dame, in which the Irish put together a 13-2 run in the second half to erase Marquette's halftime lead -- opportunities the Eagles desperately need to seize if they're want to start impressing pollsters and selection committee members as much as they've impressed those who track per-possession statistics. In the eyes of the former, Marquette is a bubble team. In the eyes of the latter -- as John Gasaway noted this week -- Marquette is one of the best four or five teams in the Big East.

Those are two disparate perceptions, and they're happening because, much like last season's Eagles, Buzz Williams' team only ever seems to play close games. Tuesday night's eight-point loss tied for the largest margin of defeat Marquette has suffered all season.

At some point, though, it's not enough to just be a tough out. It's not enough to compete on a tempo-free basis. Bottom line, you have to win games, and when you have chances to beat ranked teams, sooner or later you have to take them.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- There's no question why most people are here tonight. With the exception of Marquette's smallish fan section and a smattering of early K-State fans, it took almost the entire first half for something resembling a full crowd to arrive at the Sprint Center for Tuesday night's third-place game between Marquette and Gonzaga.

The late arrivals didn't exactly miss a classic, but Gonzaga's 66-63 in over Marquette did have some nuggets worth chewing on. A quick rundown:

• Gonzaga forward Elias Harris finally got it going. This was especially true in the first half, when Harris scored 15 points in 18 minutes on 6-of-9 shooting from the field. Harris has had a sluggish start to the season, including two stinkers in Gonzaga's two losses (five points in the loss to San Diego State, four in Monday night's loss to Kansas State). Steven Gray has taken over much of the Zags' scoring load, but with Harris doing the things that made him such a dangerous player last year -- grabbing offensive boards, stretching opponents' frontcourts by hitting outside shots -- Gonzaga is a much more dynamic offensive team. When Harris is off (as he was in the second half Tuesday night; he went 2-for-10 from the field) the Zags look downright plodding.
• If Buzz Williams is concerned with his team finding an identity -- and most coaches seem to obsess over the i-word -- then Marquette already has a head start. The Golden Eagles are, quite frankly, resilient. They refused to back down to a far superior Duke team on Monday night, and when it looked like Gonzaga was primed to coast during the second half of Tuesday night's win, the Eagles again fought back. They cut the lead to three with 1:13 remaining (and got a great look at a three after Williams called timeout), and then cut it to two with 47 seconds left thanks to a quickfire Jimmy Butler three. With 2.5 seconds left, the Golden Eagles still had a chance to win the game, and with a better inbound play -- instead of the handoff pass back to Butler, the inbounder, that resulted in a 30-foot heave -- Marquette could very well have sent the game into overtime.
• Butler is one of the more underrated players in the country. The versatile guard-forward combo presents matchup problems for almost any team that tries to guard him; no team has really held him in check yet this season. He's too quick to be guarded by a big, and too big and athletic for a guard to affect his shot. He contributes on the glass -- which Marquette, with its dearth of interior depth, desperately needs -- and even though he isn't a three-point threat, Butler still manages to find his shot with intelligent mid-range play. Just a really impressive player, and one to pay attention to as Marquette moves forward this winter.
• Marquette is short in the frontcourt already, but it would be much worse off were it not for junior college transfer Jae Crowder. Crowder isn't going to tear up the Big East this season -- at 6-foot-6, he's pretty undersized for a Big East center -- but he has contributed solid rebounding and the occasional interior bucket thus far. It's something, at least. A team this small will take it.
• It wasn't the prettiest win of Mark Few's career, nor was it the most exciting, but it was thoroughly necessary. Back-to-back losses to San Diego State and Kansas State (in a very non-neutral environment, no less) can be written off as early speed bumps, products of a tough non-conference schedule. Losing to Marquette in a deathly quiet gym would have been far more disconcerting. The Zags desperately needed a win to keep from being written off as overrated, and sure, it wasn't the prettiest win ever, but it counts. It came at a good time, too. Gonzaga gets a brief rest from truly brutal non-conference dates -- their next game is a Nov. 30 home date with Eastern Washington -- before resuming the murderer's row with a Dec. 4 game against Illinois, followed by trips to Washington State (Dec. 8) and Notre Dame (Dec. 11). A neutral-court loss to Marquette is the last thing the Zags needed at this point.

CBE Classic Consolation Game: No. 18 Gonzaga vs. Marquette, 7:45 p.m. ET

No moral victories for Butler, Marquette

College basketball players hate to talk about moral victories, and Marquette forward Jimmy Butler wasn't any different after his team's scrappy and impressive loss to Duke Monday night.

"You can lose by 30 or you can lose by one and it's still a loss in that column," Butler said. "But we proved that we can play with the best of them. We wanted to show the world that you can't sleep on the Marquette Golden Eagles."

Consider that point proven. Given the loss of star forward Lazar Hayward this offseason, Marquette entered the season looking like a fringe bubble team. But the Golden Eagles might be much better than that. Butler & Co. played Duke to a tie with 11 minutes remaining in the second half Monday night, and they refused to wilt despite unrelenting pressure from a team with superior talent and size. Contrasted with Gonzaga -- a team ranked in the Top 25 that got blown off the floor in a nightcap loss to K-State -- the Golden Eagles looked ready for anything.

What to watch for: Size vs. speed

Marquette's biggest weakness -- size -- might also be its biggest strength. Buzz Williams' team is a versatile bunch with a bevy of guard-wing combos at its disposal, but its interior presence is limited to junior college transfer Jae Crowder and raw freshman talent Davante Gardner. Neither player could stop Mason Plumlee from dominating inside Monday night. Still, Marquette's offensive versatility -- especially in the form of Butler, who is too quick for big men and too big for guards -- was enough to keep it in the game.

How will that play out against the Zags? It's another tough matchup. With Elias Harris and Robert Sacre in the frontcourt, Gonzaga is by far the taller, stronger team, and Marquette could again struggle to keep a bigger opponent off the glass. But the Eagles' quickness could give a plodding Gonzaga team all sorts of matchup issues on the offensive end. How that dynamic plays out -- strength vs. speed, size vs. versatility -- will determine whether Gonzaga rebounds from its second straight loss or suffers another disappointing defeat at the hands of an apparently ascendant team.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Quincy Pondexter made the game-winning shot after a four-point first half he called "horrible."

How did he turn it around against Marquette? Well, fear can be an incredible motivator.

"The fear of it being my last collegiate game ever, that's really what propelled me to play well," Pondexter said.

His Huskies teammates reminded him during the game of that very fact.

"I told Quincy, 'You don't want this to be your last game, so act like it,'" Isaiah Thomas said.

"I told him, 'If we lose, you're done. Pick it up,'" Venoy Overton said.

And it happened, with Pondexter scoring 14 second-half points, many of them coming while bullying his way into the post. And then, with the ball in his hands at the top of the key and the game tied, Lorenzo Romar gave him a chance by not calling timeout.

"Let your senior have a chance to win it," Romar explained.

Pondexter drove the lane with Jimmy Butler guarding him, went up and under, and hit the shot.

He turned to find his father in the stands after the game and said he thought he saw tears in Roscoe Pondexter's eyes.

With his career so close to ending, Pondexter extended it for at least another night.

The Huskies survived and advanced.

NEW YORK - In a stunning departure, Marquette appears headed to another photo finish. The Golden Eagles dug themselves out of an early 15-4 rout and now it's anybody's game.

Here are a few quick thoughts before the second half starts:

• Greg Monroe is clearly the best player on the floor tonight. The Hoya big man has 14 points but it's how he's running the floor that's really impressive. Late in the half, Monroe blazed down the court to block Maurice Acker from behind, a sensational block at the glass that ignited the Georgetown crowd. Monroe also has five rebounds and three assists.

• With Monroe leading the charge, the Hoyas are getting anything they want inside. Of their 37 points, 22 are in the paint.

• If Monroe is the best player, Lazar Hayward isn't far behind. The senior has 12 points and has zipped two 3-pointers.

• The Hoyas have to be mindful of the arc. Marquette shoots a sizzling 58 percent from 3-point and already has four in the half. Pretty much everyone in a Golden Eagle uniform is a threat on the arc, including big men Jimmy Butler and Hayward.

Polls are a snapshot of a team over the course of a week, a quick glimpse of who is playing well from Monday to Sunday.

Kansas deserves to be No. 1. The Jayhawks won at Kansas State in overtime in a place where Texas could not. The win will be enough to propel the Jayhawks to No. 1 in the country when the polls are announced on Monday.

But who is No. 2?

That’s where the debate gets interesting between late Saturday and Monday morning.

I would lean toward Syracuse. The Orange had quite a week. Remember, this is about what you have done during the week. It's not necessarily about a team's entire body of work.

Syracuse had one of the more impressive wins earlier in the week when the Orange steamrolled Georgetown in the final 30 minutes at home last Monday. That's the same Georgetown team that took out Duke in convincing fashion Saturday.

Villanova has quite an argument as well with a home win over Notre Dame for its only game of the week. But Syracuse has played a tougher slate than Villanova. Overall, if you compare their sole losses, then losing to Pitt, even at home, may be a tad better than losing at Temple. This argument has holes on both sides so deciding who is most worthy of the No. 2 spot right now might come down to how you feel about the pair. And right now, after Syracuse found a way to win at DePaul when it didn’t play well, the edge could go to the Orange.

Of course, the Kentucky nation would have an issue with the Wildcats not being No. 2 after dismantling one of the hottest teams in the country in Vanderbilt. The Wildcats looked quite special in running away from the Commodores. The question is does Kentucky get knocked down this week because it lost a game, even though it was on the road at South Carolina? The answer for now is yes. Remember the poll isn’t about where teams will finish in March but how they’re playing over the course of a week.

• One thing is certain: Texas is dropping lower than No. 6 and Michigan State will at least stay put at No. 5 after a week in which the Longhorns fell to Baylor and Michigan State beat Northwestern.

• Maybe I shouldn’t have dumped off my original sleeper team so early. UTEP beat UAB in double overtime in Birmingham to draw into a first-place tie with the Blazers in Conference USA. I still think UAB is the only team in the league that can get in as an at-large unless Tulsa wins at Duke.

• Here’s what’s great about the Ivy League. You go, you dress and maybe you can get into the game. Cornell played 18 players in the first strike against Harvard in the Ivy League chase.

• San Francisco will not have another crowd like the one it had to beat Gonzaga late Saturday night. But credit the Dons, they did what Santa Clara and others in the league could not -- hold on to beat the mighty Zags. Other WCC teams tend to freeze when they have a chance to shut down the Zags.

• The Big East will investigate how the officials handled the West Virginia-Louisville game, especially in going to the monitor to (ahem) look at the shot clock when they may have actually been looking at who should have possession on an out-of-bounds play. Official Mike Kitts didn’t make a call and when no call is made on the floor, the possession goes to the team with the alternating possession arrow, which was Louisville. The ball actually did go off Louisville and West Virginia got the ball. So while the call was right it was not handled correctly. Louisville coach Rick Pitino criticized the officials by saying he was “tired of the officiating.” The Big East says it will investigate.

• Marquette’s Jimmy Butler told me Saturday he was speechless after making the game-winning shot to beat Connecticut. The Golden Eagles had been 1-7 in games decided in the final five minutes this season.

• Notre Dame’s loss at Rutgers is the kind of defeat that can send a team to the NIT.

• Siena’s win over Marist should clinch the Saints’ BracketBuster date at Butler. Announcements are due Monday.

• Maybe the most bizarre event of Saturday occurred in the USC-Oregon game. USC manager Stan Holt got a technical foul after saying something to official Bobby McRoy, which led to the game becoming tied at 47-47 with 4:35 left. Holt left the bench and the Ducks went on a 10-0 run to essentially win the game 67-57. USC coach Kevin O’Neill was quoted in the Oregonian late Saturday night saying, “That’s on me and that will be rectified -- it already has been -- he’s gone. That’s incomprehensible to me, in a two-point game, that our manager would get a technical foul. It’s unforgivable, it’s unprofessional. I apologized to our team for it, also." Holt was a three-year graduate manager. The only remaining question was how he did he get home from Eugene after O’Neill clearly tossed him off the roster?