-The Knicks suffered an excruciating loss to the Magic at The Garden- damaging any playoff aspirations they had. Leading 87-84, they allowed Jameer Nelson to drain back-to-back three’s down the stretch to fall 94-89. But what this game will be remembered for is the missed goaltending call on a key Stephon Marbury drive. With the game tied, Marbury drove the left baseline and put up an eight-foot floater. As it was on its way down, Orlando’s Dwight Howard blocked it. There was no call. Despite wild protests from Isiah Thomas who was on the court at one point, play continued. And when Nelson used a Howard screen to knock down a go-ahead trey, the Knicks would never recover. The costly loss was their fourth straight and dropped them to a season worst 10 games below .500. With only 12 games remaining, Thomas’ club finds itself in dire straits- two full games behind the eighth seeded Nets and now 2.5 behind Orlando.

-To Thomas’ credit, he didn’t lash out at the officials afterwards, instead pointing out that “they’re not perfect.” One statement though loomed large as he talked about his team’s free throw inefficiency, which has cost them several times during this up and down season. Tonight, his team misfired on 14 of 37 which he pointed towards for the loss. The coach basically said that if they were a much better free throw shooting team, they could’ve had a much different season. It’s not hard to disagree when you consider that they’ve been in the majority of their games and certainly lost a lot of crushers. The “little things” such as a simple fundamental like the charity stripe can be the difference between being only average to a good team. The good teams can knock’em down in crunch time.

-If you haven’t seen HBO’s special on UCLA basketball, we definitely recommend it. They did an outstanding job covering the John Wooden Era, which saw the legendary Wizard of Westwood lead the Bruins to 10 championships including a remarkable seven in a row from 1967-73. The record 88-game winning streak was covered including when Digger Phelps’ Fighting Irish finally haulted it. Most stunning though was how dismayed Bill Walton was about losing four of the final 10 games of his brilliant career, adding that “It could’ve been perfect.” Also covered was Wooden telling his players before the 1975 championship against Kentucky that it was his final game. Most telling was the reaction and how they performed to make sure their Hall of Fame coach went out the appropriate way- what else- a winner! If you get the chance to catch this outstanding documentary, you won’t be disappointed.
-Congrats to the Rutgers Lady Scarlet Knights on advancing to the Final Four with a convincing 64-45 win over Arizona State. After shocking Duke in the final minute Saturday, they pulled away from ASU in the second half to cruise to the 19-point win. They were led by Matee Ajavon’s 20. Center Kia Vaughn had a strong game with a double double (17 and 10) while blocking two shots. Freshman Epiphanny Prince added 10 points and 10 rebounds. The run to their second Final Four was put in proper perspective by Essence Carson, who chipped in with 11 points and eight boards:

“It was sort of like a dream where we just felt…as long as we stuck to our game plan- and that’s to continue to believe in ourselves- then we can continue to get it done. This entire run through the NCAA tournament has been sort of unreal, but at the same time we understand that all the hard work we put in put us there.“

Congrats to them and best of luck in the Final Four where they’ll do battle against LSU, who dismantled Uconn 73-50 thanks to a dominating performance from center Sylvia Fowles. She finished with 23 points and 15 rebounds. The big center intimidated Geno Auriemma’s Huskies. She’ll be a tall order for the Rutgers women next weekend in Cleveland.

-We’ll be talking sports at the top of the hour on our Hard Hits blog show. Check it out!

This is what’s on my mind. So let’s get to it:

1.I’m tired of freaking Islander fans bitching and moaning whenever their team loses to the Rangers about the refs. The officials weren’t the reason your team lost the last three games by the same score of 2-1. Henrik Lundqvist was! After reading my co-host’s ridiculous rant on his blog and seeing the same crap spewed by our Battle of NY Islander contributor, I’ve had enough! When your team gets 10 power plays including two 5-on-3’s (plus a late man-advantage which the fans got called and the Fishsticks did absolutely nothing on), you have no right to complain. Funny but I didn’t see much desperation from the Islanders when the game got to overtime, where a win for their postseason hopes meant everything. The Rangers were the team that attacked more and got a legit call if you would take your freaking orange and blue blinders off Gary! You want to blame the refs? I got a piece of advice for you: Go buy a case of Kleenex!!!!!

2.Sometimes, I think Daily News columnist Mike Lupica lives in his own warped world. In yesterday’s Shooting From The Lip, he continued to go on his Dolan bashing crusade bashing the Knicks every turn. If NY’s most biased columnist wants to compare Larry Brown to Isiah Thomas when it comes to running the Knicks bench, he needs psychiatric help. Thomas might not be a good exec but he’s done a much better job coaching the team he put together than the chaotic Brown. Brown was nothing but a distraction last year. From the crazy lineups he put out to how he went behind players’ backs and bashed them, he was never going to work here. Give Thomas a healthy David Lee and Jamal Crawford plus Quentin Richardson and the Knicks aren’t struggling (1-5 since Isiah’s extension) and a season high nine under as they get ready to battle Orlando in a crucial game. Even more, they’d probably have at least six more wins had Lee and Crawford not gone down. So Lupica is grasping at straws and the reason is simple: His disdain for Isiah and Dolan, who everyone knows is a clown anyway.

3.While we’re on the subject of Lupica, all he ever does is obsess over what the Yanks’ other option is if Mariano Rivera goes down. What’s the Mets’ option? Aaron Heilman or Ambiorix Burgos who got lit up all Spring? Maybe this clown should worry about his own team because if Billy Wagner goes down, the Mets’ options aren’t exactly scaring anyone. Especially with valuable setup man Duaner Sanchez now shelved for 3-4 months. Guess Sanchez did too much hanging out with Carl Pavano.

4.If there is a problem for the Yankees, it’s the latest hits to their rotation. With ace Chien-Ming Wang out the first month with a hamstring injury and Andy Pettite held back due to back spasms plus Jeff Karstens’ sudden elbow trouble, the Bombers’ rotation is in serious trouble. Especially if Pavano is starting Opening Day. Kei Igawa better not flop.
5.If light hitting Doug Mientkiewicz is the first baseman and Josh Phelps doesn’t make the roster, something’s very wrong in the Bronx. They should rename the ex-Red Sock best known for keeping the 2004 World Series ball Mr. Automatic. And that’s not a compliment!

6.Josh Hamilton has been a great story this Spring for the Reds. The former Tampa Bay 1999 No.1 overall pick has won a spot on Cincinnati and could get a lot of PT in centerfield. Not long ago, it looked like he would flop and be conquered by drugs instead and only god knows if he would’ve become another statistic. A year later after starting over in Rookie A Ball with Hudson Valley last summer, the 26 year-old from Raleigh could finally be ready to start fulfilling lofty expectations. We’re rooting for him!

7.Arkansas should be ashamed of themselves for axing men’s hoops coach Stan Heath. After not qualifying for the NCAA tournament his first three seasons, the Razorbacks posted back-to-back 20+ win seasons and rallied to make the Big Dance with a run to the SEC championship before falling to Florida. They were eliminated for the second straight year in the first round, losing to USC. Though Heath’s Arkansas record was only 82-71, they showed improvement under the former Kent State coach who once guided them to an Elite Eight showing five years prior before taking over in Hog Country for the departed Nolan Richardson. It seems like Heath got a raw deal here. When will universities show more patience?

8.It came as no surprise that Tubby Smith left Kentucky to take over at Minnesota. It was obvious that despite an outstanding tenure (263-83 record over 10 seasons) with the Wildcats, the coach wasn’t good enough for Blue Grass. While it’s true that he won the championship in his first year (1997-98) with Rick Pitino’s players, the ex-Tulsa coach still got his program to the NCAA tournament every year and also reached four Elite Eights. The problem with coaching in Lexington is the ridiculous pressure and high expectations. Since winning the title, Kentucky hasn’t been back to the Final Four, making it the longest drought in school history. In today’s game, it’s harder to get there due to the level of competition increasing. Mid-majors continue to get stronger while NCAA powers lose their star players early to the NBA. This year was a rare exception where the higher seeds were superior and made it to Atlanta. But don’t forget how close Ohio State and Georgetown were to being out of the tournament. Whoever gets the Kentucky position will have to deliver right away. Best of luck!

9.Randolph Morris was a good gamble by the Knicks. The former UK star was able to sign a two-year $1.6 million contract due to a loophole. He entered the NBA Draft after his freshman year but wasn’t selected due to poor workouts. By not signing with an agent, he was able to return to college and play two more years with the Wildcats. Morris wouldn’t have been draft eligible this summer due to not being taken. He was a free agent who could’ve signed with anyone. If the big man improves defensively (sounds a lot like Eddy “Fat Albert” Curry), he could develop into a solid player. He’ll dress for tonight’s Knicks game and probably make his Broadway debut.

10.When legendary St. John’s coach Lou Carnesecca is pulling for the archrival Hoyas to win it all at this time of year, you know times have changed. But John Thompson III’s Hoyas are fun to watch and easy to root for due to the Princeton offense he installed after learning it from another legendary basketball mind Pete Carrill. The backdoor cuts and team oriented style is what made the Tigers such a tough out in the first round. Now Georgetown has used it to perfection to make its first Final Four in 22 years. It should be fun to see how they do next week against Ohio State.

11.When was Roy Williams going to call timeout in OT yesterday? His team fell behind by six and had given up the last nine in bad fashion. Maybe he was waiting for them to get down 20.

Let’s just call this Videos of the Day. One old school and one current.

But we suggest ya’ll check them out. In the words of one eyed downcast UNC alum SC anchor Stuart Scott, “Boo ya!!!!!!”

Classic Naughty By Nature

Cool Akon Track

If you saw Georgetown’s comeback 96-84 overtime victory over North Carolina at East Rutherford, then you know how special it was for John Thompson III’s team. With his father looking on calling the game for Westwood One,  the second seeded Hoyas showed tremendous heart in fighting back to beat a very talented and deep Tar Heels squad.

On one side of the spectrum, you could call it a great comeback by a very focused bunch who never gave up despite trailing most of the night. From the opposite end though, it would be very easy to call this a choke job. That’s how much Roy Williams’ club imploded down the stretch to even make OT a possibility. They somehow blew an 11-point second half lead in a game they controlled throughout.

So, what happened to completely turn around what looked like a UNC win? For starters, the Heels went ice cold from the field. Over a 15-minute stretch, they made only one field goal in 23 attempts. That included bricking the first 12 in OT as Georgetown executed to perfection in the halfcourt set by scoring the first 14 to stretch Jonathan Wallace’s tying three-pointer in regulation to 17 unanswered. That’s how dominant they were down the stretch.

It really is amazing to think about all the ill-advised quick perimeter shots North Carolina took which helped erase their lead. They’ll be left to ponder how they let this one get away. Maybe it was the basketball gods looking down on the Hoyas, who got a measure of revenge 25 years after falling to the same Tar Heels 63-62 on Michael Jordan’s 17-foot jumper with 17 seconds left for the national championship. Now, people will have something else to discuss rather than why Fred Brown threw the ball away to James Worthy as if he was a teammate on that historic night at the Superdome.

They can talk about Wallace’s clutch trey from the left wing with under 35 seconds to play which got Georgetown all the way back to 81-81. Or maybe they can point to underrated guard Jessie Sapp’s relentless ballhandling as he continuously broke down defenders and got into the lane for easy buckets en route to 15 points and also set up teammates with eight dishes. Maybe they might praise Big East Player of The Year Jeff Green, who once again saved his best late in scoring a number of ways inside and outside on his way to 22 and 9. They might even point to how well defensively big man Roy Hibbert played with four fouls, altering shots and pulling down huge rebounds. He finished with 13 points, 11 boards (5 offensive), 6 blocks and even handed out four assists. Or they could even talk about DaJuan Summers’ 20 on efficient 7-of-10 shooting including 2-for-3 from beyond the arc- putting all five Hoya starters in double digits.

The balance allowed the Hoyas to overcome a large free throw discrepancy in which the Tar Heels took 16 more from the line- converting 29-of-34 compared to Georgetown’s 12-of-18. Putting it in perspective, UNC star Tyler Hansbrough made 14-of-16 by himself on his way to a game high 26.

They also overcame a 25-point deficit off the bench (UNC outscored them 32-7).

In the end though, Thompson III’s Hoyas were the more composed team who never panicked unlike their lesser experienced opponents.

They’ll now move on to Atlanta to play Ohio State in next weekend’s Final Four- the first the Hoyas have made since 1985 when they ousted St. John’s in the semis before being upset by Villanova in the final.

With defending champ Florida also winning by posting an 85-77 win over third seeded Oregon, it made us three-for-four regarding The Final Four. The only team we missed on was Texas A & M, who lost to Memphis by a point in the Sweet 16. Our championship is still intact where we have the Gators taking on the Hoyas for all the marbles in 10 days.

We’ll see what happens.

Meanwhile, in the women’s Sweet 16, Cinderella 13th seed Marist had their run end against top seeded Tennessee earlier today. After pulling off back-to-back upsets over Ohio State and Middle Tennessee, the Lady Red Foxes fell to the Lady Vols 65-46.

Candace Parker scored 16 in leading Pat Summitt’s team past the upstarts from Poughkeepsie, NY.

In NCAA history, Marist was just the third No.13 seed to make the Sweet 16. Though Brian Giorgis’ club fell short, he knew what they were up against Sunday:

“We went up against a tremendous basketball team today. It’s tough to lose, but to lose to that team is really not that tough.“

He added:

“They took us out of what we like to do. We don’t have the biggest or strongest team in the world, but we have a lot of heart and we don’t quit.“

They still had a wonderful season in becoming the first MAAC team to win a game in the NCAA women’s tourney. Congrats to them!

As I was surfing the net on yahoo, this story kind of blew me away. If you’re a diehard wrestling fan, you’ll love it though.

Coach Billy Donovan used the legendary Ric Flair to pump up his Gators before their Regional Semi win over Butler. Some highlights from the article which can be read in entirety here:

Flair, who once appeared at Florida’s “Midnight Madness,” strutted through the locker room and did his well-known “Whoooo!”

“We were up, we were energized,” Florida forward Corey Brewer said.

“That was a big kick,” Florida guard Lee Humphrey said of Flair’s visit. “I wasn’t a huge wrestling fan growing up, but some of my buddies were big fans. I would watch it occasionally. I remember when we kids, some of my buddies had those dolls and we used to beat up on the dolls — Macho Man (Randy Savage) and Lex Luger and Ric Flair. That was pretty cool to know that he was there supporting us.”

Who said wrestlers couldn’t motivate basketball players?!?!?!?!?! At least there was nothing illegal done.

They called it destiny. Call it whatever you want but the Rutgers Lady Scarlet Knights exacted revenge on Duke during today’s women’s Regional Semifinal in Greensboro.

The fourth seeded Lady Knights upset the top seeded Blue Devils 53-52 to advance to the Elite 8. But how they did it is what will be remembered. Trailing 52-48 with under a minute to go, they scored five unanswered points to pull off the stunning victory- avenging a 40 point defeat back in December.

With 48.5 seconds remaining, leading scorer Matee Ajavon hit a three to slice it to one. Then former Bergtraum standout Epiphanny Prince ripped away a rebound from Wanisha Smith and went all the way for an off balance go-ahead lay-in with 20 seconds left.

Less than six seconds away from the huge win, Rutgers’ inbounds pass was stolen by ACC Player of the Year Lindsey Harding. She then drove hard to the basket and drew a foul on Myia McCurdy with 0.1 seconds left, putting Rutger’s upset bid in serious jeopardy. A 75 percent free throw shooter, Harding unbelievably missed both to seal the victory for coach C. Vivian Stringer’s Lady Knights.

It was only Duke’s second loss of the season dropping them to 32-2 but ultimately ending their year. Ironically, both defeats came at Greensboro Coliseum where three weeks prior they fell to N.C. State in the ACC Tournament semis snapping a 30-game win streak.

For Rutgers (25-8), this was a great win which was not lost on their coach:

“I believed it was our destiny. When she missed the second shot, I still believed. The only thing I can say is ‘Wow.”‘

Wow indeed.

Harding on the missed free throws:

“They just didn’t fall. It felt good coming off. Everything felt good. It didn’t really go down.”

That had to be extremely tough on the star whose career ended. But her coach Gail Goestenkors pointed out:

“My heart just breaks for her right now. I just don’t want this to be her lasting memory, because she has meant so much to our program.”

That’s sports for you. There are winners and losers. Sometimes, not much separates the two. It’s what keeps fans on their edge of their seat. One minute you’re up. The next, you’re down. Today it went Rutgers’ way and they’re marching on.

Congrats to them!

Meanwhile, the first two men’s Regional Finals were anticlimatic. Top seeded Ohio State pulled away from No.2 seed Memphis to win by 16, taking the South to reach their first Final Four since the 1999 team led by Scoonie Penn and Michael Redd.

Freshman center Greg Oden bounced back from an off game to finish with 17 points and nine rebounds. He was a force in the middle in helping the Buckeyes cut down the nets. Mike Conley Jr. added 19 and Region MOP Ron Lewis finished with 22. Thad Matta’s Buckeyes will get the winner of tomorrow’s East Regional Final between top seeded North Carolina and No.2 seeded Georgetown.

In the second game, No.2 seed UCLA returned to the Final Four for the second straight year by eliminating top seeded Kansas 68-55 to win the West Region. Star guard Arron Afflalo was too much to handle for the Jayhawks, scoring 15 of his game best 24 in the second half. Darren Collison chipped in with 14 as Ben Howland’s Bruins await the Midwest winner between defending champ Florida and third seeded Oregon later today.

The Jayhawks’ undoing was the stifling aggressive D the Bruins played, forcing them into many turnovers.

King Henrik bailed his team out. The Rangers can thank their second-year Swedish netminder for helping them steal two huge points- finishing with 40 saves in a 2-1 come from behind shootout win over the Bruins at TD Bankforth Garden Saturday.

Trailing a much sharper Boston squad by a goal one week after dismantling them 7-0 at MSG on St. Patrick’s Day, the Blueshirts struggled to find offense against Bruins’ backup goalie Joey MacDonald. Unable to beat the ex-Wing who was picked up on waivers last month through the first 58 minutes of regulation, it looked like they would have a costly loss. Then an unlikely source provided arguably the biggest goal of the season to date.

Off a Jaromir Jagr pass which bounced off a Bruin, defenseman Thomas Pock fired a rolling puck past MacDonald to tie the score with just 100 seconds left. It was his second of the season, snapping a 33-game goal drought. Michael Nylander, who was strong all game also registered his 600th career assist.

“For us, there’s no easy game right now,” Pock told the AP after scoring his first goal since Oct. 10. “Every one of the games is a playoff game…We struggled the first two periods, but Henrik [Lundqvist] kept us in the game. He’s been doing it every night. The way he’s been playing is why the defense and forwards can play the way we are.”

His late dramatics forced overtime. But as was the case all day in which they were a stride off taking lazy penalties, the Rangers made the task of getting a valuable extra point difficult when Petr Prucha was sent to the box for hooking with 1:31 remaining. It gave the Bruins their eighth power play. Thanks to Lundqvist and some splendid penalty killing by a unit which was outstanding all day including a crucial late second period five-minute kill of an undisciplined Ryan Hollweg boarding major, they got it to a shootout.

With the Rangers up one after a round thanks to Nylander’s backhand deke topshelf, Matt Cullen was stopped and then Patrice Bergeron deked Lundqvist beating him five-hole to square it. It set the stage for Jagr. The team captain came through by wristing one thru MacDonald’s five-hole to give New York the lead. All that was left was one more big save for Lundqvist, who outwaited rookie Phil Kessel forcing him wide to give the Blueshirts their fourth consecutive victory.

It was even bigger because the Islanders pulled out a 4-3 win in Philadelphia to get to 83 points. The Rangers will enter tomorrow’s pivotal match-up set for 12:30 PM on NBC at Nassau Coliseum in seventh two points ahead of their most bitter rival. They’ll also visit the Islanders one more time in the third to last game of the season on April 3rd. The two meetings could decide if either makes the postseason.

After a lackluster first period in which they killed four minors, Tom Renney’s club struggled mightily in the second. With Boston playing more physical and the Rangers not as sharp in their zone, they finally fell behind.

Off a turnover, ex-Ranger Marc Savard rebounded home a Shean Donovan shot in front and beat Lundqvist for his 22nd at 8:06, making it the first time the Rangers trailed 1-0 in eight games.
The task became even harder when Hollweg took a boarding major. However, Lundqvist and the penalty killers bailed their teammate out. They were even able to generate a couple of shorthanded chances but MacDonald kicked out Sean Avery’s left wing blast to keep his team ahead after 40 minutes.

Finally playing with more zip in the third, the Rangers drew a couple of power plays but couldn’t capitalize. They also were forced to kill a lazy Jagr hook with less than 10 minutes left.

Despite putting more pressure on Boston, they were running out of time. A bad neutral zone turnover led to a huge chance for the Bruins to put it out of reach. That’s when Lundqvist made his biggest save of the contest.

With players scrambling in front searching for a rebound, the goalie somehow got his outstretched pad on an Aaron Ward shot while sprawled out- robbing the former Ranger of a sure goal.

It gave his team one final chance to comeback.

Notes: Forward Martin Straka returned from a bruised knee which kept him out of the previous two games, logging 19:38 with one shot while playing on the top line with Jagr and Nylander. He replaced Brad Isbister, who was a healthy scratch. … In a losing effort, MacDonald finished with 35 saves. … Due in large part to early power plays, the Bruins got the game’s first 10 shots. … The Rangers haven’t allowed a first period goal in nine straight.

What’s happened to the Rangers? They look braindead against the dreadful Bruins in Beantown. The same team they took apart 7-0 last St. Patty’s Day. They can’t beat a freaking career minor leaguer today in Joey MacDonald. And what’s worse? Already down a goal, Ryan Hollweg lost his head and just took a five-minute major for boarding.

It’s obvious that this team thought it was in the bag against an opponent who they outscored by a combined 16-2 the first three wins. Did they really expect the Bruins not to be hungrier today after last week’s beatdown?

If they did they severely underestimated them and will pay dearly unless they awaken in time for the final period. There’s too much at stake for them to lose this because you can’t rely on the Flyers to hold the lead against the Islanders and also know Montreal will beat the hapless Caps tonight and the Leafs will probably exact revenge on the Sabres. Maybe Carolina loses at home to the Sharks but don’t count on it.

This team better wake up soon or it’s going to be big trouble!

If you watched what was another thrilling Regional Semi between the Hoyas and Commodores at The Meadowlands, then you caught the tail end of the dramatic conclusion. Big East Player of The Year Jeff Green was the hero as he made a tough off balance bank shot on the box with two defenders draped all over him with 2.5 seconds left to give second seeded Georgetown a 66-65 win-sending them to their first Regional Final in 11 years.
With two timeouts remaining, Vanderbilt opted for a quick inbounds. However, Alex Gordon’s desperation heave was partially blocked as an excited Hoyas’ bench mobbed the floor to celebrate with their teammates.

John Thompson III’s team fought back from a 13-point first half deficit. After slicing it to two with over a minute left, they were outscored 6-0 to fall behind eight headed to the locker room.

Similar to last weekend’s come from behind victory over Boston College, center Roy Hibbert had a quiet first half with just two points. But early in the second half, that would change as the Hoyas’ coach got his big man involved. Hibbert scored 10 of his 12 in the first 10 minutes on a couple of layups and putback jams.

Though Georgetown came all the way back and even took the lead, Vanderbilt never went away. The fiesty sixth seeds kept making enough outside shots to exchange leads with the stronger Hoyas. SEC Player of the Year Derrick Byars led them with 17 including three-of-seven from downtown. He also finished with a game high five assists. Dan Cage (17 points) and Shan Foster (16 pts) combined for five treys.

It was the supporting cast which kept the Hoyas afloat down the stretch after Hibbert fouled out with 5:43 left. Freshman DaJuan Summers (15 points) made three deep three’s in the second half and New York native Jessie Sapp (6 pts, 5 rebs and 3 dimes) hit two big shots in the final five minutes. When Sapp hit a driving layup with 2:03 remaining, it put the Hoyas ahead 62-60. Ross Neltner split a pair of free throws which cut it to one. Jonathan Wallace (8 pts, two 3’s) responded with a jumper to put the Hoyas back up three with over a minute to go.
But Vandy got four straight free throws from Byars and Cage to suddenly surge ahead 65-64 with just 17.9 ticks remaining. After Georgetown used their final timeout, Sapp got the ball to Green on the right post and he made the difficult shot for points 14 and 15 on an efficient 7-of-11 shooting- breaking the backs of the upset minded Commodores.

Afterwards, there were some questions as to whether Green had traveled by picking up his pivot foot. From our vantage point, it was awfully hard to tell during live action. And while CBS studio analyst Clark Kellogg believed it should’ve been called, veteran color man Billy Packer disagreed near the conclusion of the top seeded Tar Heels’ come from behind 10 point win over USC.

A lot of class was shown by Vandy coach Kevin Stallings didn’t make a big deal over it:

“I’m certainly not going to take away from the dignity of this game. I haven’t seen the replay. Don’t care to. He made a great shot.”

The coach got it. This wasn’t clearcut and if he goes ballistic over it, he would’ve taken away from the dramatic pressure shot Green made to win the game. The degree of difficulty was pretty tough and showed why the 6-9 forward is so versatile. He can beat you inside and outside. The best part is he seems to save his best for last as evidenced by a strong finish which included a huge three-point play to lead the Hoyas past the Eagles last Saturday.

Green on his late game dramatics:

“No. There were a lot of guys in there. I probably got pushed. They didn’t call it. The play was good, and that’s all I can say…Well the play was to try to look for the backdoor. Then after that, just try to get something toward the basket. When I went into my move, I kind of fumbled it a little, hurried up, tried to find it, pick it up. Just tried to get it up off the glass and it went in. That was a good play, a fumble play, a bumble play I had to make. I got lucky, and it went in.“

On picking up his game:

“With Roy [Hibbert] absent I had to step up. He is a big target down there. I had to take his place, get those rebounds he was able to get and do other things. But as a group I think we all had to step up.”

Great stuff from a clutch player.

In the second Regional Eastern semi at Continental Airlines Arena, North Carolina overcame a double digit deficit to the fifth seeded Trojans before reeling them in with a frenetic 18-0 second half run to post a 74-64 win. Trailing 59-49, Heels’ freshman Brandan Wright (game high 21 along with nine rebounds) keyed the run with a couple of putbacks as North Carolina controlled the offensive glass (19-7) with USC 21 year-old freshman Taj Gibson (16 pts, 12 boards and 4 blocks) in foul trouble.

Gibson’s absence spelled the end for Tim Floyd’s Trojans, who wore down and started forcing shots. They also got lulled into Roy Williams’ frenetic pace where the coach utilized his superior depth and speed to come all the way back. In fact, his bench outscored their tired opponents 22-0, making up the difference.

It sets up a highly anticipated North Carolina-Georgetown match-up 25 years later after that infamous 1982 NCAA Title classic in which a kid by the name of Michael Jordan hit an 18 footer to win the championship for Dean Smith in defeating coach John Thompson and Patrick Ewing. The game also featured James Worthy, Sam Perkins and Eric “Sleepy” Floyd.

This time, the winner marches onto the Final Four in Atlanta. It takes place on Sunday. Don’t miss it!

In the other two regional semis, defending champ and top seed Florida defeated No.5 seeded Butler 65-57 and third seeded Oregon held on to beat seventh seeded UNLV 74-70 to advance to a Midwest Regional Final.

The Gators, who are trying to become the first repeat winner since Duke (’91, ‘92) were led by big man Al Horford (16 and 9) and guard Taurean Green (game high 17 including five trifectas). Four of their starters including Joakim Noah (13 and 9) and versatile forward Corey Brewer (11 pts, 5 boards and 2 assists) finished in double digits to overcome a fiesty Bulldog squad who stayed right with them until the final couple of minutes. They held sharpshooter A.J. Graves to 11 points including just 1-of-6 from beyond the arc.

A real positive in this one was that Billy Donovan’s Gators made their free throws to put away Butler. They finished 23-for-28 from the charity stripe. In fact, the trio of Noah (9-11 FT), Horford (8-10 FT) and Brewer (4-4 FT) combined to go an efficient 21-for-25. That’s how it’s done!

In the second Midwest regional semi, Oregon held off UNLV to win by four. They pulled away after a close first half (led 37-33). They were able to build as much as an 18 point lead thanks to star freshman Tajuan Porter. The 5-6 guard lit up the Runnin’ Rebels for a game high 33 points (9-for-17 FG) including a ridiculous 8-of-12 from three-point range. UNLV did mount a late rally thanks to the play of coach Lon Kruger’s son Kevin, who finished with 15. The fifth-year eligible Arizona State graduate transfer also added four rebounds and four assists in a losing effort. Michael Umeh chipped in with 15 including three treys. But star Wendell White was held to just nine on 4-of-11 shooting.

Amazingly, the third seeded Ducks are the lowest seed left in a top heavy Elite 8 which features a tournament record seven 1 and 2 seeds. It’s the first time in NCAA history that all four top seeds have advanced this far. Here are the weekend’s match-ups:

Saturday

Midwest Regional Final- (1) Ohio State (33-3) vs (2) Memphis (33-3), 4:40 ET/1:40 PT

West Regional Final- (1) Kansas (33-4) vs (2) UCLA (29-5), 7:05 ET/4:05 PT

Sunday

Midwest Regional Final- (1) Florida (31-5) vs (3) Oregon (28-7), 2:40 ET/11:40 PT

East Regional Final- (1) North Carolina (30-6) vs (2) Georgetown (28-6), 5:05 ET/2:05 PT

Truly some heavyweight match-ups which CBS and college hoops fans everywhere should love. May the best come out on top and reach Atlanta!

This is courtesy of YouTube from the classic comedy flick “Back To School.”