Bracket Breakdown: Midwest

Peyton Siva of Louisville

Over the next three days we are going to do our best to break down the brackets from all angles. There may never have been a tougher field from top to bottom and it is completely open as to who the national champion will be. That should make for a fun three weeks full of upsets, great matchups and buzzer beaters. Without further ado, let's break it down.

The Midwest bracket is excruciatingly tough and contains the overall number one seed. The committee did number one seed Louisville no favors by including Duke, Michigan State and two tough teams in Oklahoma State and St. Louis. However, the third round matchups that Louisville and Duke could have are intriguing. Whoever comes out of the Midwest will have survived a difficult path and could be the favorite to win the national title.

Midwest Region winner: Louisville Cardinals
Louisville is the best team in the nation and they are playing great basketball right now. They have won 10 games in a row since losing the five overtime thriller to Notre Dame. The Cards won the Big East tournament and are definitely battle tested. However, are they ready for some of the battles they will have on their path to Atlanta? In the third round they could have a rematch against a tough Missouri team who they defeated by 23 at the beginning of the season. Mizzou has definitely improved since then and will be a tough matchup. In the Sweet 16 the Cards will have to go through either Oklahoma State or St. Louis and that won't be easy and then in the Elite 8 they will most likely face Duke or Michigan State. Talk about difficult. That said, Louisville is healthy and playing great and should prove to be the class of the Midwest Region.

Marcus Smart of Oklahoma State

Upset Pick: Middle Tennessee over Memphis
Picking Middle Tennessee over Memphis means that the Blue Raiders would have to first beat St. Mary's which is no easy task, but MTU is tough. They compiled a 28-5 record, yet failed to win the Sun Belt conference tournament. However, the committee let them in and now they will play a tough opening round game against another mid-major. My pick is that they beat the Gaels and then take down a Memphis team who is a little down this season.

Potentially Intriguing Matchup: Creighton vs. Duke (Third Round)
If Creighton defeats Cincinnati and Duke handles Albany like they should then the Blue Jays will meet the Blue Devils in the third round. Duke is a national title contender, but Creighton is a tough team led by Doug McDermott. However, he will have his hands full with Mason Plumlee and that will be a great one-on-one matchup to watch. Creighton is a solid team who might just knock off the Dukies earlier than the country expects.

Player to Watch: Marcus Smart, guard, Oklahoma State
Smart tore up the Big 12 in his freshman season, averaging 15.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. A physical specimen, Smart has the all-around game to take the Cowboys to the Sweet 16. The Pokes will need him to be at his best because they are matched up with Pac-12 tournament champion Oregon in the second round and then they will most likely have to play the Atlantic-10 champion St. Louis in the third round.

Bottom Line: The Midwest Region is extremely tough, but Louisville will live up to the overall number one seed and advance to the Final Four. 

DeAndre Jordan Dunks All Over Brandon Knight

We don't normally do this at The World of Wadley, but there's no way to ignore DeAndre Jordan's dunk last night in the Los Angeles Clippers' win over the Detroit Pistons. Near the end of the first half Jordan streaked down the middle of the lane and caught an alley-oop from Chris Paul. What happened after that was an annihilation of Brandon Knight. For whatever reason, Knight jumped and attempted to block the pass, but Jordan would have none of it. With thunderous power Jordan slammed the ball home, sending Knight crashing to the floor and sending the arena into a frenzy.

Check out the little kids at the 13 second mark. The young fella on the right doesn't even know what to do with himself, but neither do the grown men on the Clips bench. Vinny Del Negro is trying his hardest to calm down Blake Griffin, but it's no use. Jordan's dunk turned every one into a little kid, if only for a moment. It blew up social media sites and it's going to be shown for quite some time.

For Knight, it's the second time he has become the victim of a ferocious move by an opponent. Less than a month ago he was all over Sportscenter after Kyrie Irving broke his ankles multiple times in the Rising Stars game and now his Wikipedia page has been edited to inform visitors that last night he died at the hands of Jordan. One thing is for sure: Brandon Knight won't be getting in the way of Lob City ever again.

Take Your Pick: NCAA Player of the Year

As we head into the final Saturday of the college basketball regular season there are more question marks than certainties. No team has separated themselves as a dominant force and upsets are a weekly happening. However, six individuals have separated themselves from the rest of the nation and are near the top of the Player of the Year race. Still, there is plenty of uncertainty as all six make a good case. Doug McDermott and Kelly Olynyk have dominated the mid-majors with their inside-out games. Otto Porter has done the same, but against stiffer Big East competition. Mason Plumlee averages a double-double for a Duke team that looks like a championship contender and Victor Oladipo has done it all for Indiana. Also in the Big Ten, Trey Burke has been the best point guard in America all season long. So who wins? Here's a case for all six...then you decide.

Doug McDermott -- Forward -- Creighton Blue Jays
McDermott showed up big in arguably the biggest game of the year for the Jays last Saturday against Wichita State. The junior shot 15-18 from the field and finished with 41 points. On top of that, he grabbed six rebounds and three assists. Throughout the game McDermott showed what makes him special, breaking down defenders with a plethora of moves both inside and out. He bullied opponents in the post on one possession and then hit step back threes in their face the next. He's averaging 23.4 points and 7.6 rebounds per game for Creighton and if you are not convinced yet then consider this: against Wisconsin McDermott dropped 30 points and grabbed eight rebounds and against Cal he scored 34 points while grabbing nine boards. He can compete with the big boys so don't hold the Missouri Valley Conference schedule against him.

Kelly Olynyk -- Forward -- Gonzaga Bulldogs
The Zags have reached the top of the mountain, at least on regular season terms, with the school's first number one ranking in history. Olynyk has been the driving force behind Gonzaga's stellar season and currently averages 17.7 points and seven rebounds per game. He also averages almost two assists per game and 1.2 blocks per game. The big man is able to step out and hit a jumper and he shoots 67 percent from the field. Olynyk posted 16 and eight against Illinois and 14 and seven against Butler. On New Year's Eve he went for 21 and nine against Oklahoma State. Much like McDermott, he comes from a small conference, but he has produced against elite competition. Couple that with the fact that he is one of the main reasons that the Zags are 21-2 and you have a legitimate PoY candidate.

Otto Porter -- Forward -- Georgetown Hoyas
The Hoyas were playing some of the best ball in the country before a slip up at Villanova and much of the team success can be credited to Porter. He has flown under the radar for much of the season, but no longer. It's hard to go unnoticed with numbers like Porter's: 16.6 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.0 blocks per game. The sophomore burst onto the national scene with an incredible put-the-team-on-his-back performance against Syracuse back on February 23rd. Porter played a full 40 minutes, scoring 33 points while grabbing eight rebounds and tallying five steals. Porter leads his team in nearly every major statistical category and he has shot a remarkable 44 percent from three point land (40-90). He will determine how far the Hoyas go in March and it may just be Atlanta.

Mason Plumlee -- Center -- Duke Blue Devils
Plumlee came into the season with big expectations and he has lived up to them. Going into the final game of the regular season he averages 17.0 points, 10.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.9 blocks per game. He made sure the Dukies stayed near the top of the polls when Ryan Kelly went out with an injury and he has raised his numbers in every category since last season. Plumlee has posted 16 double-doubles this season and has saved some of his best games for opponents from the nation's best conference, the Big Ten. Against Minnesota he went for 20 and 17 and against Ohio State he had 21 and 17. He is arguably the best big man in the country and he has the numbers and big game performances to prove it.

Victor Oladipo -- Guard -- Indiana Hoosiers
Indiana came into the season and the number one team and Cody Zeller was the face of the franchise. Zeller has been great just like we expected, but Oladipo has been even better. A dominant force on both ends of the court, Oladipo has caused fits for Big Ten opponents this season. While his season averages of 13.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.3 steals may not look like they stack up to the other players on this list, consider that he plays on a very balanced team and also look at his big-game performances. In two games against Michigan State this season he went for a combined 40 points, 16 rebounds, 11 steals and four blocks. When the Hoosiers went into #10 Ohio State he tallied 26 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals. His defense directly translates into his offense and he is one of the best wing players in college basketball this season.

Trey Burke -- Guard -- Michigan Wolverines
It's appropriate that the Big Ten would have multiple players on this list since it is the toughest conference in the nation. It's odd that Burke is the only point guard on the list though, considering that the NBA is such a point guard-dominated league. Unquestionably, Burke is the top floor general in college basketball and, with a showdown against Indiana looming, he averages 19.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 1.6 steals per game. He has improved on his decision making and is much more under control this season. Should he decide to leave for the draft he will be a lottery pick, but he may take the Wolverines all the way before that. He's that good. In his last five games he's averaging 24 points, 3.4 rebounds and 6.8 assists. He's playing some of his best ball of the season right now and that's scary for whoever stands in his way.

All six players have a solid chance of winning NCAA Player of the Year. They all play on successful teams, average big numbers and have played well against other top competition. It's likely that we could see multiple players from this list playing in the Final Four and that would be a treat. For my pick it's hard to go against Otto Porter. He does the most for his team and is the complete package. There is not one thing that he doesn't do well and he has shouldered the load for a very dangerous Georgetown team. Vote on the poll to voice your opinion and comment below with your thoughts!

It's Time to Recognize LeBron as the Undisputed King

With great talent comes great criticism. That's the life of LeBron James in a nutshell. The greatest player on the planet is also the most scrutinized man on earth. When he's not throwing down thunderous dunks, making an obscene percentage of shots he puts up or chasing down guards who think they have wide open layups he's answering questions about why he isn't in the Dunk Contest, deflecting questions about whether or not he's better than MJ and Kobe and still trying to erase the memory of The Decision.

It's unbelievable that a man who averages 27.1 points, 8.3 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game may not be getting his due, but that's also the life of LeBron James. He is the MVP of the 2012-13 season and it's not even close. There is no race because James is that much better than everyone else. He is shooting a career high from the field at 56 percent and his three-point field goal percentage is a personal best at 41 percent. His rebounding totals have never been higher and his turnover numbers have never been lower. He has continued to improve his game and his Miami Heat sit atop the Eastern Conference at 43-14.

LeBron has more than his fair share of critics and haters -- this blog has ripped him on several occasions. It's okay to dislike LeBron. He doesn't have to be everyone's favorite player and he certainly has done things that could turn people off to him. However, it's time to respect James as the best player in the league. He has worked to mend his reputation and his play is so unbelievable that fans are cheating themselves if they choose to be angry at him and not enjoy the show he puts out on a nightly basis.

LeBron's journey with the fans is an odd one and a unique one. He was the man in Cleveland; the chosen son that was supposed to bring the city a title that they were starved of. Try as he might, he couldn't do it alone. James and the Cavs came close in 2007, but that was the only time he would reach the Finals during his time in Cleveland. Despite no title, times were great in Cleveland. LeBron and the Cavs had fun playing the game, going through extensive pregame handshakes and dances and Bron patented his famed powder toss which became a fan favorite.

James was engaging with the media, fans, teammates and opposing players. There was something about LeBron that separated him from Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant. Obviously James was and is intensely competitive, but he never let that take away from who he was. At the end of the day he was a fun-loving kid from Akron who wanted to have a ball doing the thing he loved. We were just fortunate enough to go along for the ride.

Things changed immediately though once The Decision was made. James went on national television to announce he was heading to South Beach and he instantly became the NBA's most hated player. Interesting that of all people, we chose to hate on LeBron -- a player who had never had off-the-court trouble and had been so fun to watch in Cleveland. When James failed miserably in the Finals against the Mavericks it was as if the whole world took a deep sigh of relief that the King still didn't have his ring.

Until his championship last season James has been defined by his losses, which is true for many superstars that chase that elusive first trophy. Now, with those demons put to rest, he is playing the best ball of his life and just completed one of the best months in the history of the game. Still, he draws criticism and scrutiny for every tweet, every pregame dunk and every comment made to the media. Let's stop this now.

Great players like James come around once in a generation. There hasn't been anybody this great since Jordan and there won't be anybody this great for quite some time. Nobody can dominate a game the way James can and even on his "off nights" he is a triple-double threat. He is getting back to the fun-loving kid we knew in Cleveland and, as a result, has mended his reputation. Why hate on him now? Fans can only dislike him due to personal bias or because they hold a grudge.

LeBron is in the prime of his career and what he is doing is unlike anything we have seen. It's time to give him his due, respect his game and enjoy the show. He won't be around forever and we won't see a man dominate the game like this for a while. James, like anybody, has made mistakes, but they are minor ones at that and he has taken the necessary steps to repair his image. Now it's up to fans to recognize greatness when it's right in front of him. There's only one King. Time to give him the respect he deserves.

Excitement Brewing in Toronto

Bautista's wrist injury proved detrimental to the Jays' 2012 season

Toronto has had quite the excitement in both basketball and baseball these past few weeks. The Raptors made some noise when they successfully added Rudy Gay to the roster and the Blue Jays did everything they could to acquire a dominant lineup and pitching rotation throughout the offseason. With Jose Bautista missing the second half of the season with a wrist injury last year, the Blue Jays ended with an unimpressive record of 73-89. However, before Bautista went down, the Jays were second in runs scored which clearly showed their ability to produce despite having a record of 44-45 with Bautista in the lineup. But now, as Spring Training is in full swing and the season is looming, Joey Bats is back and the Blue Jays just might make a run into October.

There is no doubt that the expectations are high in Toronto, but as other professional teams have proven, maybe high expectations only lead to laughable disappointments. Two teams immediately come to mind when talking about not performing as well as people believed they could and that would be the Philadelphia Eagles and the Miami Marlins. The Eagles, whom Vince Young referred to as a "Dream Team" in the summer of 2011, finished with an 8-8 record. Not exactly a record that could give someone bragging rights much less respect after such a bold, and somewhat stupid, comment. I can respect that Vince Young set the bar high, but that put a target on the chest of the Eagles as soon as those words were made public. The Eagles had the talent to possibly be a dominant team, but they fell short.

The Marlins on the other hand, did not run their mouths. Well, never mind, Ozzie Guillen was their manager, so of course he ran his mouth at some point. However, going off the lineup the Marlins had on paper, there simply was no reason the Marlins should not have been playing playoff baseball. They had great additions with Guillen as the new skipper, All-Star shortstop Jose Reyes joining Hanley Ramirez in the infield, and Mark Buerhle joining the starting rotation. Not to mention Giancarlo Stanton was a rising star. The Marlins had it in them, but suddenly became dysfunctional and embarrassing. They finished their season at the bottom of the NL East with a shameful record of 69-93.

Jose Reyes' signing should provide fireworks in Toronto

So this brings up the Blue Jays who now look to be a serious threat to the stacked AL East. The Orioles, Yankees, Red Sox, and Tampa Bay Rays all have recent playoff experience and Toronto just may steal the show. With the addition of R.A. Dickey, Mark Buerhle, and Josh Johnson to aid the rotation, the Blue Jays have a chance to be pretty nasty night in and night out. Their lineup got even tougher with Jose Bautista's full health coinciding with the signing of Jose Reyes and Melky Cabrera. The Jays are faced with what will presumably be the toughest division in the MLB but they have the talent and veteran leadership to possibly bring the city of Toronto a World Series trophy. For now though, it's only a possibility. Only time will tell just how serious of a contender this Blue Jays team can be. Because as we've seen before, having multiple stars isn't always guaranteed to work out.

Irving Belongs in Elite Group of Point Guards

Kyrie Irving has one of the more difficult jobs in the NBA. Being the face of a franchise is a burdened bestowed on few men in the league, but being the face of the franchise for the Cleveland Cavaliers comes with extra burdens and pressures. Irving happened to come along just one year after Cleveland's favorite son, LeBron James, took his talents to South Beach. With the poor aftertaste of rejection still fresh for all Cavs fans, Irving has done more than enough to help Cleveland move on. Now in his second season, and first full NBA season, the 20-year-old has stepped up his game and has become one of the top point guards in the league.

Cleveland is currently 17-37, which is good for last place in the Central Division, and it is certainly nothing to brag about. However, with Irving they have their centerpiece and due to good drafts, have pieces around him that could develop. Through the first 54 games Irving is averaging 23.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game. He has raised his points per game by five from last season and is also averaging more assists and steals while shooting a higher percentage from the field and from long range.

Irving owned All-Star weekend in Houston, winning the three-point contest, putting on a show at the Rising Stars Game and then held his own in the All-Star Game. Consider it his coming out party to the world because now the world knows that Kyrie Irving is the real deal. He has finally stepped out and is no longer a mystery. His college career, if you could call it that, was gone in the blink of an eye. He played just 10 games at Duke, but it was obvious that he was something special. Despite the foot injury that sidelined him for much of the season, Cleveland drafted him number one in 2011 and now he has been given the task of leading the Cavs back to the top of the Central Division.

He is the perfect man for the job due to the fact that he has such a complete game. He is and incredible ball-handler (just ask Brandon Knight) and can get to the rim at will. However, sag off of him to defend the drive and he will rise up and shoot the jumper. He shoots 42 percent from three and is a solid free throw shooter. If defenses try and stop Irving from scoring then they allow him to pass the ball, which he is equally good at. He rebounds well for a point guard and averages just shy of two steals per game.

Irving's numbers rank right up there with some of the best point guards in the league as well. He averages more points than any other point guard and is sixth overall in the NBA. He averages more rebounds than Chris Paul or Deron Williams and averages more steals than Williams and Rajon Rondo.

The crazy thing about it all though is that Irving is in just his second season and he is not even 21 years old yet. He's made great strides from his rookie season and as the Cavs continue to rebuild, Irving will improve. That's scary news for the rest of the league because he has already proven he can just about beat any team by himself on a good night. On Wednesday night he dropped 20 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter to defeat the New Orleans Hornets and its something we may need to get used to. Kyrie Irving himself is somebody we better get used to as well because he has proven that he is the future of the point guard position.

Catcher, Goaltender, and Keeper: Toughest Positions to Play?

As athletes continue to get bigger, faster, and stronger, each sport has also picked up the speed. Reaction time and agility are two essentials for athletes and it is clear to me that catchers in baseball and softball along with goaltenders (or keepers) in hockey and soccer are the players that must have more quickness and agility than any other player on the field or court. In today's world, it seems as if these positions rarely receive the recognition they deserve. Take a no-hitter or perfect game for instance, the catcher calls the pitches, picks the location, and is responsible for nearly every move the pitcher makes other than the actual pitch. Half the battle is knowing what pitch to throw and where to put it when facing a minimum of 27 hitters. Yet the catcher rarely receives any sort of credit for the history-making feat. With this in mind, here is a closer look into just how tough playing these positions is and which of these positions is the toughest to play.

Yadier Molina of the St. Louis Cardinals

Catcher: For the majority of my baseball career I played catcher and was able to catch quite a few good pitchers. Being in the mindset of a catcher also made me appreciate pitchers even when I was hitting. You start to figure out different pitch calls and spots that the opposing catcher may be calling. It truly is an art and something that takes alot of work and attention to detail.

With that being said, the fastest pitcher I ever faced in high school was clocked at 91 mph. When seeing a 90 mph fastball, the pitch generally hits the glove in .21 seconds. It takes about .1 seconds to blink, so if you blink while that pitch is coming you might as well give up and move out of the way. Let's go over this now: you have .21 seconds till that ball hits your glove if you're a catcher. What if that fastball is low and away and in the dirt? You have .21 seconds to slide over, drop to your knees, get your glove in between your legs, and hunch your shoulders forward. That's four things you have to do in .21 seconds before you can even think about stopping the actual pitch from hitting the backstop.

That is where foot work comes in. Catchers have to be quick and on their toes because if you're sitting back on your heels while you're in a squat you're a sitting duck. Not to mention the flexibility that goes into a catcher's hip-flexors that enables them to slide over in that .21 seconds. Guys like Yadier Molina make catching look so easy, but given these numbers it can really make any fan appreciate how hard he has worked to be, what I believe, the best catcher in the MLB.

Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils

Goaltender (Hockey): Hockey is a sport that I have never played and have only recently gotten into watching. After noticing the speed that is behind a puck off a player's stick, I have quite an appreciation for a goaltender's reaction time.

With a goal that is only four feet tall and six feet wide, one might think being a goaltender is not as hard as people think simply because of these three sports we are referring to, hockey goaltenders have the smallest amount of space to defend. A hockey puck and baseball differ in diameter by merely fractions of an inch (a puck is 3" and a baseball is 2.9"), so the argument is already somewhat similar. Throw in the fact that most hockey shots are clocked between 90 mph and 100 mph and the goaltenders have alot in common with catchers.

The key factor in this debate, however, is where the puck or ball is coming from. In baseball, it's just the catcher and the hitter with only a hitter in between on one side of the plate. In hockey, bodies are flying and the shot is coming from the ground. A pitch in baseball is coming from 60.6 feet away and the reaction time is .21 seconds as I discussed earlier. Now imagine that a hockey puck traveling at the exact same speed is coming from the same distance of, generously, 60 feet. The reaction time from when the puck leaves the stick to when it reaches the goal line is up from .21 seconds to about 1.17 seconds. Believe it or not, that is a huge difference in time. Yet when you throw in that you probably have three or four bodies between you and the player ripping the shot, your vision is nothing short of limited. Yes you have more time, but picking up on that puck is going to be a crazy task. And, much like baseball, the flexibility needed to make the jaw-dropping saves is something to behold. Being on skates and trying to move as quickly as required is an art of it's own.

Tim Howard of Team USA

Keeper (Soccer): Being a collegiate-level goalie (or keeper, whatever suits you), I have had the privelage and blessing to play with, and face, numerous talented players. I have seen some of the craziest shots that, to the credit of whoever took the shot, are virtually unstoppable. Just like baseball and hockey, as you grow older the speed and placement of shots continues to improve.

 A soccer goal stands 8 feet tall and 24 feet wide which is quite a large amount of space compared to soccer or hockey. There isn't a specific reaction time that can be referred to due to the fact that a shot in soccer could come for numerous spots on the field with different spin on the ball and at different angles. Alot goes into defending a shot and perhaps the toughest situation, other than a penalty kick of course, is a free kick from just outside the box. If the ball is placed in the middle at the top of the box, most goalies would place five defenders in the wall. Those five cover, say, the right side of your goal and it is your responsibility to cover, or at least position yourself, on the left side of your goal. The shot is coming from about twenty yards out and could reach a maximum of about 60 mph.

So once again, you have 60 feet of space in front of you but a considerably slower pace behind the ball. Factor in that you have 24 feet of total width to cover in that small window of time, not to mention that you have to read the shot as it comes over the wall, and you have alot of work to do in very little time. Being a goalie is tough, but in a different sense than being a catcher or goaltender in hockey.

These three sports are the three biggest sports in the world and they have presented us with phenomenal athletes from multiple countries. These sports will never fail to be appreciated but today I wanted to shed light on what I believe are the toughest positions to play in these three sports. While I grew up playing baseball and soccer, after reading thinking about being a goaltender in hockey I believe that it would have to be the toughest of the three. The game is the fastest-paced of the three and your focus as a goaltender is at a higher demand than a catcher or goalie. It's a tough call to make, but ultimately I believe that hockey presents the hardest job.

The ACC is Experiencing a Hurricane

The craziness of this NCAA basketball season continues with upsets every weekend. Joe Lunardi's bracketology changes daily and at this point in the season there are no clean-cut number one seeds. No team is safe! In the midst of this irregular yet exciting season stands the question that is quickly being asked nation-wide: What has gotten in to the Miami Hurricanes?

It seems darn near impossible for a 19-12 team with a mediocre 9-7 conference record to suddenly turn it around in just one season? The Hurricanes were a middle of the road bottom dweller in the ACC before Jim Larranaga took the reins in 2011. Larranaga, who led George Mason on that magical run to the Final Four back in 2006, has wasted no time in bringing the Hurricanes into the national spotlight. In just two years he has the nation speechless as his squad boasts a 13-0 conference record with an overall record of 22-3. His team has embarrassed, not just beat, perennial powerhouses Duke and North Carolina by 20+ points and have a 3-1 record against ranked teams.

How? How could a university that has ALWAYS been a football school suddenly have a better basketball program than they do a football program? The Canes have only made the Sweet 16 once in all the years of the NCAA tournament. They have only appeared in the tournament a total of six times. Six. Such a small number for a member of a Power Six conference. This all explains why no one would ever even think to give Miami basketball a second thought. Why would you when their football program has racked up five national championships?

Yet here we are, with March breathing down our necks and Miami sitting pretty at number two in the nation. What Miami has that is going to help this season continue in the right direction is depth and heart. Watching this team play is, in a word, fun. The players know their roles, they embrace the spotlight, and play for each other. The Hurricanes have very balanced scoring with three players (Shane Larkin, Kenny Kadji, and Durand Scott) averaging thirteen points while Reggie Johnson and Trey McKinney Jones each pitch in nine a game. This team has at least eight players averaging five points or more. Indiana can't say that, Duke can't say that, and Michigan State can't say that. That's quite an impressive stat and one that is going to help the Hurricanes in a bad way in March. With foul trouble and injury always being a possibility teams need players who can come off the bench and produce. Miami certainly has that.

Miami has also been very disciplined this year under a very down-to-earth coach. Their offense is fluid and they pass up good looks for great looks. Their big men can step out and hit threes and they spread defenses well. Miami has what it takes to break any team down. And the thing about this Miami team that makes it even worse for opposing teams is they can do this all while smiling in your face. Take the North Carolina game for instance, by the end of the game the Hurricanes were laughing at the Tar Heels. From off the backboard alley-oops to flashy dribble moves, Miami enjoyed every minute of embarrassing the Tar Heels.

This team is definitely one to keep an eye on. The Hurricanes are to a point now where this season could almost be considered a failure if they don't make the Sweet 16 at least. In reality, with the way they are playing, they could be dancing all the way to the Final Four. The Canes are in the midst of what should be a fairly easy stretch of conference play but have been the victors in some serious nail-biters. You can say that they are playing down to their competition, but with all the upsets this season has seen, outlasting a disrespected team is a tribute to the heart of this team. The grand finale of the conference season will be the ultimate test to see just how real this Miami team is: a trip to the dreaded Cameron Indoor. It has been a fun season to watch and the Hurricanes have provided more than enough excitement, but anything can happen after Selection Sunday.

KU-Mizzou Rivalry Missing from College Hoops

Missouri defeated Kansas in the final Big 12 matchup in Columbia...

College basketball's Rivalry Week has come and gone and it just seems like there was something missing. Sure, Indiana and Illinois played a thriller of a game and the Illini upset the Hoosiers at the buzzer. Yes, Duke brought out the best in a struggling North Carolina and the young Tar Heels nearly knocked off the Dukies in Cameron Indoor. Of course, Syracuse and Connecticut gave us another great Big East game, but still, something wasn't right. Maybe it's the fact that two of the biggest rivals won't be playing this season for the first time since 1907.

Kansas and Missouri have had one of the fiercest rivalries since the time Dr. James Naismith first got the idea to hang up the peach baskets and play the game of basketball. Naismith himself was KU's coach when the teams first met over 100 years ago when Missouri jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the series. After the newest installments of the Border War in 2012 Kansas leads the all-time series record 172-95, but the last two games were arguably the best in the rivalry and the teams each won a game.

The absence of the rivalry this season is the new stone-cold reality of college sports hitting us in the face. There is no more Kansas-Missouri. There is no more Oklahoma-Nebraska. Soon there will be no more Syracuse-UConn or Maryland-Duke. Those rivalries no longer exist, and for what? For money. That's it.

The conference realignment seems to be a fad these days. One team moved and everyone else followed suit, but does it really need to happen? The landscape of college sports is changing, but is it for the better? During a college basketball season like the one we are in the midst of now, a Kansas and Missouri game would be the icing on the cake. There have been an excess of great games and surprise upsets and both teams are having solid seasons.

...but KU answered with a huge comeback victory later in March

Kansas, minus an unusual three-game skid a few weeks ago, has looked like a Final Four team. Missouri, despite injuries and controversy surrounding coach Frank Haith, have been in the Top 25 all year and have the potential to play deep into March. There's no doubt that it would be a great game this season, but the only way it happens is if it's in the NCAA Tournament.

There are plenty of rivalries that have ended due to conference realignment and it's sad. Whether you are a fan of the teams or not, it's bad for college sports. Kansas and Missouri need each other, but more importantly, the game of college basketball need them to play each other. Unfortunately, no one has figured this out yet and so instead, fans are supposed to get excited about a bland matchup such as Missouri-Ole Miss or Kansas-TCU.

No matter how long Missouri and Kansas remain absent from each others' schedules, fans of both teams will still consider the other their greatest rival. It's something that was built over the span of 100+ years and it will take much longer to tear it down. The same can be said for several other rivalries that have seen the same fate. The sad part about it all though, is that the schools, conferences and the NCAA have taken the first step to tearing down the very thing that make the collegiate sports special.

Yet that's the power of money and the power of greed. In the end, the dollar trumps all and it's taken away some of the best things sports had to offer.