Levance Fields is starting to look like the type of player who gets a lot of face time in One Shining Moment. 

Leading off

I think we were fooled. Both by Memphis and Duke. Timing and circumstance propped both teams up in the polls for much of the year. I think the Tigers are good and has the makings of a great team if Evans returns especially with the recruits they've have coming in.

Duke's ACC Tournament titlle helped get the Blue Devils the No. 1 seed, but they won that tournament thanks to the conference's best teams getting knocked out before Duke had to face them. These Blue Devils never quite played like the best Duke teams did. 

What to look forward to today

Oklahoma vs. Syracuse. Is this Blake Griffin's last college game? Jonny Flynn's? Could be a classic.

Fearless Prediction of the day (3-2 at these so far)

UNC is going to thrash Gonzaga. The Zags barely beat Illinois and barely beat Western Kentucky. Carolina is a different animal and Gonzaga is going to be done quickly.

Questions I don't know the answer to:

Is Missouri good enough to beat Memphis?

Obama  35        vs.       Vautour 37

  vs.

I'll update this after tonight's games. The full Presidential bracket is here.

Today's picks:

Me: Michigan State, Oklahoma, North Carolina
Obama: MSU, Louisville, Syracuse, North Carolina

Links:

Wetzel looks at Levance Fields and 

After writing about DeJuan Blair's backside yesterday, Pete Thamel writes about Fields' ... courage.

Joe Posnanski looks at Mike Anderson.

The NY Times looks at a pair of particularly unlovable players.

Rick Pitino suggests that coaches not the NCAA should police recruiting. I think he should be slightly more realistic and have Santa Claus, the tooth fairy and the Easter Bunny handle it.

Gene Wojciechowski wonders if this is Jim Calhoun's final ride.

Buzzer beaters:

Former UMass athletic director Bob Marcum liked to hold court from time to time. Give him a few captive listeners and he enjoyed sharing his opinion on almost anything sports related. I remember one night, Marcum saying that he thought Missouri was one of the most underrated college basketball jobs in the country. It's in a good conference and is near recruiting bases in St. Louis and Kansas City and not that far from Chicago. Yesterday may have been the start of that coming to fruition.

...10 hours til tip...