Thoughts on North Carolina, Davidson and the NCAA Tournament Games in Raleigh

Davidson made the Raleigh Regional exciting with two inspired second-half comebacks over higher-seeded teams. Here are thoughts on all eight teams that I saw play this weekend in the NCAA Tournament.

North Carolina Tar Heels
Ty Lawson, who missed significant time during the regular season with an injured ankle, seems much more comfortable and confident, meaning the top overall seed is more of a threat than when the tournament began to make the Final Four. If it wasn't painfully obvious coming into the tournament, the two games in Raleigh should spell it out quite clearly - running against the Tar Heels is a bad, bad idea. North Carolina has great speed and outstanding depth and the only way to beat them is to play a methodical game in which you limit fast-break opportunities.

Georgetown Hoyas
When you have more height, depth and talent than your opposition and still squander a 16-point second-half advantage, it's hard not to blame the coach. Yes, Stephen Curry played magnificently, but that was the best John Thompson could do? It seemed like his only answer was to complain about the refs. Vernon Macklin, Chris Wright and Patrick Ewing were both under and poorly utilized throughout the game, especially the second half. Speaking of Wright, he sure would have looked good running the point for NC State this year. What might have been...

Gonzaga Bulldogs
The NCAA really punished Gonzaga for losing its conference tournament. How else can you explain the Bulldogs drawing a lower-ranked team which was tournament-tested and the owner of the nation's longest Division I winning streak in its home state? Gonzaga deserved better. But this is a team that will be a major factor next season. The Bulldogs lose only two players. A full season from Josh Heytvelt combined with the experience gained by freshmen Austin Daye and Steven Gray make this a dangerous team going forward. With Jeremy Pargo as its senior point guard, the Bulldogs should be a top 10 team next year.

Indiana Hoosiers
This team had no chance of making any noise in the tournament after what happened with coach Kelvin Sampson earlier in the year. It was hard to ignore the collection of talent Indiana had, but there was very little cohesion on the floor and when Eric Gordon couldn't buy a bucket, it meant its end came in the first round rather than the second. But one of the most interesting matchups occurred when the Hoosiers' 6-8, 295-pound (I think he gained a few pounds since this measurement was taken) DeAndre Thomas went up against the Razorbacks' 7'0, (generously listed) 245-pound Steven Hill. Both players thought they had a distinct advantage over the other. I just wish they had both played more so we could have seen this height/bulk matchup play out more.

Arkansas Razorbacks
Coach John Pelphrey looks like he's a relative of former NFL great Cris Collinsworth. He did a nice job in the SEC Tournament, leading the Razorbacks to upset wins over ranked teams in Vanderbilt and Tennessee. But Arkansas people I talked to at the tournament all complained about how the senior-laden team had an inconsistent season and none seemed bullish on the team making a return trip to the second round of the NCAA Tournament next season.

Davidson Wildcats
I'm glad I don't have to seed the NCAA Tournament, since that seems like a thankless task. But I am wondering how a team ranked in the top 25 in the final poll, one which had won 22 consecutive games and stood toe-to-toe with North Carolina, Duke and UCLA only got a 10th seed. Did the committee really think 36 teams in the nation were better than Davidson? Oh well, the Wildcats are moving on and that's really all that matters. While guards Stephen Curry and Jason Richards (deservedly) got all the attention, it's a mistake for anyone to dismiss the contribution Thomas Sander made, going against much bigger players. Sander stood toe-to-toe with people up to seven inches bigger than him and not only did he compete and hold his own, he did it with a heavily-bandaged thumb, one he injured early in the Gonzaga game.

Maryland-Baltimore County Retrievers
I don't want to say anything bad about this team, because I liked their coach and I don't want to rag on what might be CBG's alma mater or local school but this team had no business playing in the tournament. I know, I know, they won their conference and small schools are what makes the NCAA Tournament so great - yada, yada, yada. But nothing you can say will make me believe that the tournament is better because UMBC is there and Virginia Tech isn't, when the Hokies would beat the Retrievers by 25 points.

Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers
On the other hand, I was impressed by this team. They just had the misfortune of playing the best team in the country. The Mountaineers had no height yet they shot nearly 50 percent from the field in the first half against North Carolina. I really thought the newspaper coverage of this game was unfair. Mount St. Mary's didn't play bad at all. If they had drawn Vanderbilt, they might have made the second round. Chris Vann and Jeremy Goode and the rest of the Mountaineers played their hearts out.

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I look forward to next weekend's action in Charlotte, where the top four seeds all advanced. While I'll miss seeing Davidson, I eagerly anticipate watching Tennessee and Louisville live.