FINAL FOUR SET

The Final Four is set for this weekend in Indianapolis.  Three number ones seeds and a number 7 are still dancing after this weekends Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games.  The teams are Kentucky, Wisconsin, Duke and Michigan State. 

In the first game South Region champ Duke will play the East Region champ Michigan State, the number 7 seed.  Duke has had a relatively easy path to the Final Four.  They had a scare from Utah and Gonzaga hung with them but they were able to come out on top.  Duke is averaging just over 70 points per game in the tournament.

It's been a tougher road for the Michigan State Spartan's who have had battle after battle but have found ways to win  They have beaten the 2 3 and 4 seed to get to Indianapolis.  They have averaged 67 points a game but put 76 on a very good Louisville team to ensure a date with Duke.

On the other side of the bracket the top seed Wisconsin Badgers knocked off #2 Arizona to win the West Region.  They will face Kentucky, the top seed from the Midwest region who defeated Notre Dame to punch their ticket to the Final Four.

Wisconsin had four tough games but came out on top.  They scored 80 points per game on their way to the West Region Championship.  Now they have the unwanted task of playing maybe the best college basketball team ever in 38-0 Kentucky. The Wildcats got a scare from Notre Dame but kept their poise and with two last second free throws they are on their way to Indianapolis.  Kentucky has averaged 72 points a game in this tournament. 

So the stage is set for the 2015 Final Four in Indianapolis.  Many questions will be answered but the most important one is who will be cutting down the nets next Monday night?



ARIZONA OUTSTED BY WISCONSIN

The Arizona Wildcats were beaten by the Wisconsin Badgers in the Elite Eight 85-78.  The game was a rematch of last season's Elite Eight and the game was just as exciting as it was the last time the two teams met. 

Brandon Ashley missed last years game with an injury, but got into foul trouble early and had to hit the bench earlier than expected.  Wisconsin started the game off on a 10-2 to run to take the early lead but Arizona wasn't going to be put away that easy.  They shock off an early shooting slump and played great defense to take a 33-30 lead into the locker room.

The second half started like the first with Wisconsin coming out strong and taking the lead.  Arizona tried to come back but 10 second half three pointers by the Badgers never allowed the Wildcats to really get back into the game. 

Brandon Ashley and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson led the Wildcats with 17 points each and senior point guard T.J. McConnell chipped in with 14 in his final game.

Frank Kaminsky led all scorers with 29 points and Sam Dekker came off the bench to have 27 points.  With the win Wisconsin moves on to Indianapolis and The Final Four. 

If they want to get to the championship game they need to get through the undefeated beast called Kentucky.

PAC 12 TOURNAMENT PREVIEW

Today at noon the PAC 12 men's basketball tournament tips off in Las Vegas.  The PAC 12 has about four teams that look to go "dancing" in March Madness, but before they do they better be prepared to fight for the right to call themselves champs of the PAC 12.  Here's a quick look at the tournament.

The Favorite: Arizona
The Wildcats honestly should have no problem this week in looking to win their first PAC 12 Tournament title since 2002.  They won the regular season by a huge margin and have been completely dominating ever since they lost to Arizona St. last month.

The Challenger: Utah
Utah has been great all year and showed much improvement the second time they play Arizona.  They lost their last game of the regular season to Oregon, but that might actually help them.  The last four conference champs lost their regular season finale.

The Upset:  Colorado
The Buffalo's are the tenth seed and potentially play #2 Oregon in the second round. Oregon overachieved during the regular season and only got the second seed after a Utah loss in the regular season finale.  Colorado is playing great basketball right now but their luck will run out against Utah when it reaches the semifinals.

The Predictions:

Round 1
California beats Washington State
Arizona Sate beats Southern California
Colorado beats Oregon State
Stanford beats Washington

Round 2
Arizona beats California
Arizona State beats UCLA
Colorado beats Oregon
Utah beats Stanford

Semi finals
Arizona beats Arizona State
Utah beats Colorado

Final
Arizona beats Utah

DARNELL DOCKETT LEAVES ARIZONA FOR DIVISION RIVAL

Former Cardinals defensive lineman Darnell Dockett has agree to terms with the San Francisco 49ers. The deal is for two years and will pay Dockett $7.5 million.

Docket was cut by the Cardinals when they could not come to an agreement on a contract extension.  He is coming off an ACL injury that caused him to miss all of last season.  

Many people are upset that he went to a division rival, but I feel he did that on purpose. He wants to be able to come back to Arizona and prove to them that he can still play.

Dockett played a major role in the turnaround here in Arizona and for that I say "Darnell go get paid!"  I had the privilege to meet him once and found out he is a very respectable man.  

The fans here in Arizona will miss Darnell Dockett and wish him the best of luck. Except for twice a year of coarse!

Physical Suns lose in Miami

Yesterday the Phoenix Suns were in Miami to face the Heat.  The Suns jumped out to the lead after one quarter, 24-23.  But again it was that dreaded second quarter that did the team in.  Miami led 62-48 at half time.  They tried to keep pace by outscoring the Heat in the third but Miami opened it up in the fourth and came with the 115-98 victory.

Eric Bledsoe and P.J. Tucker led the Suns with 20 points each.  Tyler Johnson of Miami led all scorers with 26 points off the bench.  Former Sun, who was traded away at the deadline, Goran Dragic had 21 points against his former team.

Although the Suns weren't really in the game much it was very exciting to watch.  Midway through the third quarter Dragic was out front on a fast break when Markief Morris decided he was not going to let his former teammate score.  He took him down and was given a flagrant foul 2 and ejected from the game.

About four minutes later Dwayne Wade missed a layup and  Hassan Whiteside was there to jam home the rebound over center Alex Len. After a brief altercation both players were ejected.

The Suns now travel to Orlando to face the Magic.  They are now 31-30 on the season and continue to lose pace on a playoff berth.

SPURS COOL DOWN SUNS

The Phoenix Suns were unable to continue their short win streak last night when they hosted the San Antonio Spurs.  The Spurs dominated the game throughout winning 101-74.

The Spurs had 24 points after one quarter and they never as the Suns and just 24 first half points.  That is the fewest points in franchise history for the Phoenix Suns. 

Kawhi Leonard led all scores with 22 points.  The Suns were led by Marcus Morris off the bench with 19.  The Suns only had two other scorers in double digits.  The Suns missed a golden opportunity to keep pace with the Oklahoma City Thunder for the eight and final spot in the Western Conference Playoffs.

The Suns play was very disappointing on the court and may have even took it off the court as well.  Starter Markief Morris publicly blasted Suns fans, saying they do not provide them a home court advantage.  He may be right, but let's be honest you don't call out your fans when you just scored a measly 10 points and your team just had the worst half of it's history.