The rapid evolution of Women’s College Basketball is going unnoticed, by and large due to the fact it lacks mainstream popularity. The men’s game has changed more over the past few years, but it is the women’s game that has seen a dramatic turn. Unfortunately, it’s not “all good”.

One of the positives has been increased athleticism. The athletes in today’s women’s game can jump higher and run faster without sacrificing talent level. This has made for more excitement. Dunking has become more prominent in the game. We went from Lisa Leslie dunking in a game being a huge deal to women having a dunk contest in practice for fun. One can only assume that dunks will be a common part of a woman’s game shortly.

One of the negatives has been the increased frequency of physical altercations. This year in particular the game has been marred by several fights. The most popular was the Britney Griner incident. There have been more technicals, and ejections this year than in past years. There was also a pre-game incident between Louisville and Georgetown.

Is there a correlation between the to; I’ll say maybe. Time will tell. For all the good changes, there has to be some bad ones as well, unfortunately. The bottomline is; as long as UCONN is dominating and the games aren’t drawing crowds all of these changes, good and bad, will go unnoticed.

Honestly I don’t know much about either of these guys but I hope that Herb is just a fierce competitor. Clearly however he’s not too intelligent. We’re talking about a one on one isolation scenario where the nut punch is in plain view.

At least in the NBA dudes like John Stockton and Larry Bird would get in their licks amidst traffic. When a bunch of players are all in the same area it’s way easier to get away with.

This, while entertaining, was pretty moronic.

This really has been the most exciting NCAA tournament I can remember, which is really saying something considering there’s very rarely a weekend of tournament play that isn’t incredible. I was watching the games at a bar yesterday and after they were through, the bar switched to the Hawks-Spurs game. It’s absolutely impossible to watch an NBA game after an NCAA game – the rowdy crowd is replaced by bored fans, college bands are replaced by hip hop beats blaring through arena speakers, and kids playing their asses off on defense are replaced by overpaid stiffs flopping to the ground every time they’re on defense. The difference in the quality of play is simply remarkable. It’s like watching a Tarantino movie to completion and then Transformers 2 comes on.

Northern Iowa beat Kansas on Saturday in what will be the biggest upset in this year’s tourney. However, the shot hit by Ali Farokhamesh, toward the end of the game (seen above) was one of, if not the,  ballsiest shots I have ever seen.

Of course, you’re saying, “yeah you say that now because he made it.” Well yes, but think about the situation. Think about the outrageous confidence Farokhamesh had in even putting the shot up. If he missed the shot, Kansas would have had the ball with plenty of time and a chance to win with a bucket. That never crossed his mind. Instead, he knew that when he hit it, the game was over.

Yeah, if he missed he would have looked like the biggest idiot, but he didn’t. And judging by the way that shot went in, it appeared as if that wasn’t a possibility. It was also very intelligent because who is to say they get an open look 20 seconds later. That was most likely the best look they were going to get. You’re the number 9 seed, you’re playing the favorite to win the tourney and you get an opportunity at a kill shot. Ali Farokhamesh didn’t hesitate and killed Kansas.

There’s just something really slimy and sketchy about Billy Donovan, which makes any rumors involving him leaving the Gators somewhat believable.  But St. John’s?  Doubtful.

NEW YORK -- Florida coach Billy Donovan seems more focused on trying to land stud recruit Brandon Knight than he is on becoming the next coach at St. John’s.

Despite a published report to the contrary, St. John’s AD Chris Monasch has not contacted Jeremy Foley, his counterpart at Florida, for permission to speak with Donovan, a St. John’s spokesman said.

“I am very happy here, and we have a very good team coming back next season,” Donovan told Lenn Robbins of the Post in a text message. “St. John’s has a great tradition, and I have great respect for that program.”

So Billy Donovan turns down offers to coach professionally for the Magic and from Kentucky, but he’s going to accept an offer from St. John’s?  That’s like turning down a couple of models, only to go down on the girl from Precious.  St. John’s does indeed have a storied history, but why leave the gorgeous weather and incredible recruiting advantages that Florida offers for a mediocre program that’s constantly suffocated by the superior recruiting of its fellow Big East schools.

Although, the way the Big East has looked in the tournament this year, maybe Donovan would be a good fit.  Dude LOVES losing in the first round.

Billy Donovan may leave Florida after all, but he ain’t going to St. John’s if he does.

[zagsblog]

Georgetown, Marquette, Notre Dame, Louisville, and Villanova have all been eliminated already, each of them except Louisville losing to a lower-seeded team. And you just knew that Villanova was destined to lose, especially considering their abysmal performance against Robert Morris. Only Syracuse, Pitt, and West Virginia remain, and it won’t be surprising to see any of these teams knocked off. For years I felt the Big East was a bit overrated, and this was the first year I actually bought into the hype. Maybe it was a bit premature, because I can’t remember a more putrid performance by a conference. Maybe Syracuse will go on to the Final Four, but anything short of that is a huge pile of feces for the Big East.