GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The questions, gentle and revolving around basketball, were over, and most of the media had scrambled out of the room when Jim Calhoun, still sitting at the podium, cleared his throat.
"I have one thing to say," said the Connecticut coach, grabbing the microphone, and this time his voice sounded authoritative, confident, as if he had finally come to grips with the scandal banging at his front door. Calhoun proceeded to announce that at 7:00 Thursday morning, roughly 12 hours before the Huskies put the finishing touches on a 72-60 win over Purdue in the NCAA West Regional, he had spoken by phone with UConn athletic director Jeff Hathaway -- a conversation Calhoun characterized as "very fruitful."
GLENDALE, AZ -- The questions, gentle and revolving around basketball, were over, and most of the media had scrambled out of the room when Jim Calhoun, still sitting at the podium, cleared his throat.
"I have one thing to say," said the Connecticut coach, grabbing the microphone, and this time his voice sounded authoritative, confident, as if he had finally come to grips with the scandal banging at his front door. Calhoun proceeded to announce that at 7:00 Thursday morning, roughly 12 hours before the Huskies put the finishing touches on a 72-60 win over Purdue in the NCAA West Regional, he had spoken by phone with UConn athletic director Jeff Hathaway -- a conversation Calhoun characterized as "very fruitful."
The scrappy Purdue Boilermakers forced the top-seeded Connecticut Huskies to slow down and play a defensive-oriented game Thursday night in the Sweet 16. In the process, though, they learned a couple things. First of all, you can't spot a team of UConn's caliber an 8-0 lead. Secondly, they don't have a Hasheem Thabeet in the Big Ten.
The 7'3" Tanzanian behemoth stuffed the stat sheet as much as he affected Purdue's game with his presence. Thabeet put together a sparkling 15-point, 15-rebound, 4-block effort, while also putting the handcuffs on Purdue's post-scoring.
Gotta love Robbie Hummel's toughness, not to mention his ability. The kid did everything he possibly could to make sure the Boilermakers didn't get run out of the building. But in the end, Purdue didn't have anything or anybody that could do anything at all to combat Hasheem Thabeet.
There is no shame in this. No one does. There's no player in college basketball that has any kind of answer for Thabeet, which is why UConn remains a worthy 1-seed and one of the favorites to win the whole thing in spite of the absence of Jerome Dyson. They still have way too many good players to be counted out, and they have the game-changer in the middle. Thirteen rebounds, four blocks, just one foul...he did everything he wanted to do tonight, and as a result the Huskies didn't have to sweat.
The jury is still way, way out on if the Big Ten will prove that it deserved seven NCAA Tournament bids, but Purdue ensured that one of the conference's higher seeds would be around for the weekend. The fifth-seed Boilermakers fought off No. 12-seed Northern Iowa, 61-56 in the West Region's first round.
The 5-vs.-12 matchup always carries heightened upset potential, and Northern Iowa looked fully capable of bouncing the Boilermakers, entering Thursday's game winners of five straight, which included the Missouri Valley Conference tournament championship. Purdue led by as much as 14 early in the second half before Northern Iowa came back. But with the game at a classic Big Ten pace, Purdue managed to hold on.
The NCAA tournament is just one day away, so FanHouse writers and editors got together to talk over each region. The Midwest Region got the ball rolling, followed by the East. The South looks like it could go to the top seeds, but what about the West? Here is the last installment of our NCAA FanHouse Roundtables.
Chris Burke: Unlike the other three regions, where it's the top seeds' bracket to lose, UConn may not have the same stranglehold over things due to Jerome Dyson's injury. The Huskies have lost two straight and are just 4-3 since Dyson hurt his knee, so they look, to me, like the most vulnerable of all the No. 1 seeds. It doesn't help that, after the first round, they may not have another easy game. The other six teams in the top-half of this bracket can be considered threats, from Washington right on down to Mississippi State and Northern Iowa.
For much of the season, the Purdue Boilermakers have failed to meet lofty preseason expectations. Of course, they've had to deal with the constant injury issues in the back of Robbie Hummel -- the preseason Big Ten player of the year. Even when Hummel played, there were stretches where he was noticeably hampered by the back woes and wasn't playing up to par.
If the past two games in the Big Ten Tournament are any indication, though, Hummel and the Boilers are back. They will be a very dangerous out in the NCAA Tournament if this carries over, because they currently look like the team who was in most preseason top 10 lists.
The Big Ten has enjoyed something of a renaissance in 2009. Often maligned in past seasons, due to tumbling conference RPI rankings, they still need to have a collectively strong showing in the NCAA Tournament to silence the naysayers. For now, though, they can bask in the glory of sitting second in conference RPI and having up to a whopping nine teams in Big Dance contention.
Obviously, they aren't getting nine in. The more likely figure is seven at this point -- which could easily move up or down in the case of a few upsets this coming weekend across the nation. While there are several other story lines, the main one coming from Indianapolis Thursday through Sunday will be the bubble implications.
When it comes to the Big Ten, there are a few tiers of similar teams. Illinois and Purdue are similar. Iowa and Indiana are similarly bad. There's a big amoeba in the middle where every team is on the bubble. Then, you are left with Michigan State. They are in a class all by themselves.
Sunday we received another reminder, as they turned Purdue away despite a sub-par shooting performance.The pressure defense and the quick-paced offense were just too much for the Boilers.
A few weeks ago I did a halfway point roundup for the Big Ten, in which I buried Wisconsin and hailed Penn State to no end. Boy, do I look like an idiot now. Since then, Penn State crumbled, while Wisconsin has done a 180.
The Nittany Lions were embarrassed by Michigan, lost at home to Wisconsin, and handily lost at Purdue. They now sit just 6-6 in conference play, and their RPI has plunged into the 80s. With road trips to Illinois and Ohio State -- not to mention hosting Illinois and Minnesota -- it would appear they are fading back into obscurity.
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The questions, gentle and revolving around basketball, were over, and most of the media had scrambled out of the room when Jim Calhoun, still sitting at the podium, cleared his throat.
The scrappy Purdue Boilermakers forced the top-seeded Connecticut Huskies to slow down and play a defensive-oriented game Thursday night in the Sweet 16. In the process, though, they learned a couple things. First of all, you can't spot a team of UConn's caliber an 8-0 lead. Secondly, they don't have a 
Gotta love 
The jury is still way, way out on if the Big Ten will prove that it deserved seven NCAA Tournament bids, but Purdue ensured that one of the conference's higher seeds would be around for the weekend. The fifth-seed Boilermakers fought off No. 12-seed Northern Iowa, 61-56 in the West Region's first round.
The NCAA tournament is just one day away, so FanHouse writers and editors got together to talk over each region. The 
For much of the season, the Purdue Boilermakers have failed to meet lofty preseason expectations. Of course, they've had to deal with the constant injury issues in the back of 
The Big Ten has enjoyed something of a renaissance in 2009. Often maligned in past seasons, due to tumbling conference RPI rankings, they still need to have a collectively strong showing in the NCAA Tournament to silence the naysayers. For now, though, they can bask in the glory of sitting second in conference RPI and having up to a whopping nine teams in Big Dance contention. 
When it comes to the Big Ten, there are a few tiers of similar teams. Illinois and Purdue are similar. Iowa and Indiana are similarly bad. There's a 
A few weeks ago I did a 
