Some Quick, Random Thoughts

I’m alive and well, despite my general absence. A few quick thoughts as we head into the heat of conference tournament weekend, and the start of high school sectionals. Normally I’m not a big conference tournament fan, but for some reason the games yesterday have really gotten me excited for the weekend.

1) A few posts back I pondered the possibility of a Milwaukee Bradley Tech vs. Milwaukee Bay View rematch in sectional finals, which would be interesting, given the high profile disturbance that the last meeting caused. Well, seeding didn’t allow for a finals matchup, but tonight we’ve got the two teams meeting in the semi-finals at the Al McGuire Center. Milwaukee Public Schools and the WIAA are undoubtedly holding their breath over this one. What do you think will be the higher number tonight: points scored by both teams in the first half of the game, or number of security guards at the Al McGuire Center? I’ll take the latter. And for the record, I fully expect a game with no incident (though I've been naive on this point before).

2) I’m not sure what bothers me more about Marquette’s loss to Pitt last night–the fact that I don’t get to watch them play again tonight and tomorrow, or the fact that the loss derailed any chance that I had of living in a bizarro world where Dan Fitzgerald is the MVP of the Big East tournament.

3) Despite last night’s loss to Pitt, I’m very encouraged by the fact that Marquette’s role players are stepping up in big ways. If the normal go-to guys can get healthy and/or get back on track (and Dominic James can limit his three-point shots to no more than two tosses per game), things should be looking up for the Golden Eagles.

4) With UCLA’s loss to Cal yesterday, it’s official: no one wants a one seed. Unfortunately for UCLA, I still think it’s going to be pretty tough for the committee to not give them a top seed.

5) Hey, Sidney Lowe–nice win over Duke last night. You’ve improved light years since the last time you played them. Now that you’ve got your team in order, we need to talk about your courtside attire. Could you possibly dial it down a bit? Last night I kept expecting to see Bishop Don Magic Juan sitting to your right as your top assistant.

6) Last night I accidentally flipped on a Conference USA tournament game between Rice and Central Florida, while I was looking for the Washington-Washington State game. Anyone else remember the days when C-USA was a legitimate conference?

7) Michigan State and Wisconsin tonight. With as much as the Spartans and Badgers have played one another of late, it sort of feels like I’m watching and NBA playoff series. The only difference is that this will be the third game that they’ve played in just over two weeks. The NBA would stretch three games out way longer than that.

It’s a big weekend, so hopefully I’ll squeeze in some thoughts before Sunday night. For tonight, though, I’ll be relaxing watching some high school hoops, and enjoying some Badgers on the DVR. Hope your weekend is as action-packed as mine.