March Madness

Washington Post staff writer Adam Kilgore was online Friday, March 16 at 11 a.m. to talk about Thursday's first-round NCAA Tournament action and preview Friday's games.

A transcript of the chat follows.

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Adam Kilgore: You're looking ... LIVE! at the bowels of Nationwide Arena in Columbus, where the NCAA has packed us media mongrels. Sorry for the slight delay, but we'll still pound out a full hour of questions. Hopefully the responses won't be as dull as the games yesterday, save the VCU win and The Great Eric Maynor.

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Pittsburgh: Did we see the real VCU last night in their defeat of Duke? Does Pitt have a lot more to be afraid of than VCU's seeding would suggest? Or is VCU likely to fold in the face of a tougher team like Pitt?

Adam Kilgore: VCU is realer than Real Deal Holyfield, my friend. I think they're going to beat Pitt, and I've got the bracket to prove it. Pitt seems to be sinking now, and Aaron Gray doesn't look like he's 100 percent with the ankle yet. If he is, he'll be a bear down low. But I like VCU, especially because Anthony Grant's press is difficult to prepare for on short preparation.

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Falls Church, Va.: So much for upsets from Day 1 huh. No. 9 seed wins don't really count as upsets, so the only true upset was VCU over Duke. Do you foresee more upsets today than yesterday?

Adam Kilgore: Probably, but we'll have to wait and see. I've got Georgia Tech in a mild upset. We have three always dangerous 5-12 games, with Arkansas and Long Beach State looking particularly frisky. A lot of people like Albany to beat Virginia; I don't, but it could happen if Jamar Wilson gets loose for about 25. Holy Cross is always a tough tourney team, too. Also, Reggie Theus and New Mexico State have a shot if Durant & Co. succumb to freshman nerves. Don't think that'll happen, though.

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Vienna, Va.: Fight on from Northern Va. -- Can the Trojans avoid being the five seed to go down to a 12 seed? And if they do, any chance they can run with Kevin Durant and the Horns? (If USC does play Texas, shouldn't Reggie Bush, LenDale White and Vince Young take the court?)

Adam Kilgore: That would be a cool matchup, probably bitter for Trojans fans. The USC-Arkansas game is interesting. I thought both teams were going to be pretty dangerous during the season, but both stumbled down the stretch. The 'Backs recovered in the SEC tournament, but I don't think they belong here; the SEC was weak and they went 7-9. Anyway, I'd say USC is the better team -- can't wait to see Nick Young's hair this year. But they don't have the horses to get by Team Durant.

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D.C.: GWU showed that they were a fluke, as they were demolished by over 30 points yesterday. Do you honestly think GWU can get better and attract better players if they are stuck playing in a small gym, in a small market, little TV exposure, crackdown on basketball farm schools, and with an admin that is refusing to put any money into the program? GWU though, has the second-highest tuition in the country.

Adam Kilgore: All good points. It's going to be difficult for them to ascend past where they are now, but where they are now isn't really so bad: a perennial power in a top 10 conference that, every season, has a shot to make the tournament. The karma factor bit them yesterday; serves them right for admitting students with fake diplomas.

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Columbia, Md.: Is Louisville that dangerous, or was Stanford just that undeserving of their bid?

Adam Kilgore: Maybe both. I felt like a complete doofus yesterday when Louisville thumped the Cardinal, because I was dumb enough to pick Stanford. 18 wins should not get you in the tournament in a year when 104 teams won 20 games; I should be publicly flogged for picking them. Louisville is becoming one the hottest teams, but I don't the Cardinals getting by A&M and The Great Acie Law. Any other 3 seed, and it would be trouble.

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Rockville, Md.: Must be nice to escape Blacksburg finally.

Adam Kilgore: Tell you what -- Blacksburg isn't so bad. It's quiet and odd for a young professional like me, just because it's either families or college kids, so I'm a little stuck in the middle. But people are nice, the college factor gets some good restaurants and decent places to go. I was pleasantly surprised. Plus, it's cheap.

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Duke-ODU: I saw the post-game, and I was wondering if you had word on Coach K -- what was that red welt on the side of his face?

Adam Kilgore: Have not seen the red welt. Maybe Gerald Henderson punched him in the face.

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Georgetown: Which team(s) impressed you most yesterday?

Adam Kilgore: VCU, but I think a lot of people expected that. What a game. You'd have to go with Louisville and Vanderbilt, just because they absolutely clobbered their opponents. They were both borderline frauds, but still very impressive. I've got Vandy going through. Thought Georgetown handled its business as well.

Re: upsets. Forget to mention the most chic pick of the day -- Winthrop over Notre Dame. It's become so trendy there's no way it can happen, but I've got it in mine.

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Anonymous: What is the best game to watch today?

Adam Kilgore: Good question. I'm interested in the Tech and UVA games, just because I cover them, obviously. The game of the day for me otherwise would be Texas and New Mexico State. First tourney games for Durant and Theus, the Aggies have a shot to keep it close. Lots of compelling stuff there.

Re Georgia Tech -- I don't have them in a mild upset; don't know why I wrote that. I love UNLV and think the Runnin' Rebels are going to trounce GTech.

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Doofus Alert: Join the club. I had Duke going to the Sweet 16. What happened to those guys - was this the year they were truly overrated?

Adam Kilgore: If you paid close attention, I don't think they were overrated that much. I think a lot of people had a pretty good bead on the fact that the Blue Devils had a down year. One problem is they should have been able to hitch their wagon to Josh McRoberts, but he acted like a petulant brat who played like the college game is beneath him while getting beat on defense. Also, Paulus turned the ball over too much and Scheyer is a year away from being the The Guy. Too young, no true go-to guy.

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Buffalo, N.Y.: How did you know to pick VCU? And why are you being called ATM?

Adam Kilgore: Picked VCU because I was so impressed with guards, coach and style of play. That press is something not a lot of teams see in the regular season and it's a special preparation, which is always dangerous in the tourney.

I'm being called ATM because I took a few trips to one in a certain Tampa establishment. Use your imagination from there. Plus, Prisbell thinks he's clever that 'ATM' sounds like 'Adam'.

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Vandy: Does Vanderbilt stand a chance against Washington State?

Adam Kilgore: Hell, yes. Did you see the game yesterday? I like Vandy, think Byars could be one of the stars of the tourney this year. They can shoot and defend. I actually picked Vandy to win two in the bracket.

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D.C.: Would you date a Duke fan?

Adam Kilgore: Sure, just as long as she didn't go there. Those Cameron Cutie shirts some of the co-eds wear -- let's just say they didn't win those in any sort of contest.

But no, I'm not really a Duke hater. My twin brother went there. Some of their fans are obnoxious and have an undeserved sense of entitlement, but the whole Duke mystique is good for college basketball. Wouldn't be the same without Duke around.

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My beloved Terps: UMD vs. Butler

Who you got?

Can and will Butler score more than they did against ODU?

Adam Kilgore: Maryland. Like what happened against Davidson, the front court should be able to wear down the Bulldogs on the glass. Full disclosure: I actually had ODU beating Davidson in this game, so perhaps I'm not the best person to ask. I was surprised Butler played so well. I love Graves and Green, but I thought they peaked months ago. Should be a tough game for the Terps -- watch how Butler guards -- but they should pull out a grinder.

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Hyattsville, Md.: Other than VCU, this tournament has been all chalk. Where are the dogs?

Adam Kilgore: Hopefully they show up today. Pretty dull first day, no? If not for the Great Eric Maynor, it would barely feel like March. If the United State really wants to find Osama bin Laden, just give The Great Eric Maynor a flashlight, an M-16, about $10,000 in cash and wait one week. Job done. Dude is McGuyver in high tops.

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New Orleans: Fellows,

Thanks for the Chat (encore from earlier this week). Was VCU that tough or Duke not as great as usual? The VCU/Duke guard battle was awesome!!!! Any surprise upsets coming today? Who do you like: Texas or New Mexico State? I hope for a good competitive game which gets Texas tough for the next round.

Keep up the great work.

Adam Kilgore: Both, but VCU is a great team. If Eric Maynor landed on the "Lost" island, he would have them off in 48 hours -- only 24 more hours than it would take Jack Bauer.

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Anonymous: Can you give me an idea of what the Terps/all of the winning teams of yesterday are doing today?

Adam Kilgore: One practice, open to fans and media, at the game site, and and then a little more involved practice at a different site going through preparation and getting a little bit of a sweat going. They'll also take the podium and talk with us jokers to fill up tomorrow's birdcage liner.

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Floriduh: Hey, they don't have casinos with ATM's in Tampa. All they have is steakhouses and...oh.

Adam Kilgore: Easy there.

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Arlington, Va.: With the exception of a couple of close late games, can you remember an NCAA tournament that got off to such an uneventful start?

Adam Kilgore: Nope. Good thing Eric Maynor was there. Did you know Eric Maynor once won a one-on-one basketball game against Canada? The whole country.

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Oakton, Va.: Adam,

let me start off by saying as a Vandy fan, I was surprised with the way our team played yesterday. The least time they looked like that was the first Florida game of the season in Gainesville.

My comment is on the schedule. In previous teams, all the teams in a region played at the same time. Now you have some playing Thursday-Saturday and others in the same region playing Friday-Sunday. Why is that?

Adam Kilgore: The pod system. Used to be all the bracket would be shipped to the region; now you have pods playing out of region. For example, VCU is in the West bracket, but it played its first round games in Buffalo. And the sites are staggered. Hopefully that answered your question.

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Koach This: I Love VCU! Just wanted to pass that along.

Adam Kilgore: Good post. After the game last night, Eric Maynor met Chuck Norris in a bar. Chuck couldn't keep up with him when they started shooting straight whiskey, then Norris challenged him to a kick boxing match. Guess who won? Maynor. And then Maynor saves a cat from a burning oak tree this morning. True story.

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Columbia, Conn.: The most famous 1.8 second play in NCAA tournament history was Scott Burrell of UCONN throwing the ball the entire length of the court (which Duke could not do last night) to Tate George who in one fluid movement made a game ending jump shot to beat Clemson. Christian Laettner had nothing to with that play. However, in the next game Duke beat UCONN on Laettner's shot.

Adam Kilgore: Okay then. Thanks for that.

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Reston, Va.: What's your read on Arizona? Any hope for a long tourney?

Adam Kilgore: One win and see ya. They've got the talent, but they're matched up against the eventual national champion in the second round, which is Florida. Lot of great players on the court for that one. Will be a lot of fun to watch Chase Buddinger try to operate against Florida's front court. He's got the poise to get something done, but not enough, I think.

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Leesburg, Va.: I've asked this in another forum and it didn't get answered, so I'm hoping you'll answer my question.

When do all these student-athletes in the NCAA and NIT go to class during the month of March?

"March Madness" lasts far longer than the one week spring break usually lasts. The games don't just take place at night or on the weekends, but during weekday afternoons when classes are held. The tournaments require travel to distant cities, so it's not like the afternoon/evening games are against a local rival and everyone goes back to the dorm afterwards.

Somewhere along the line, somebody has to be missing classes to be in the tournament. How does the NCAA reconcile this with their academic requirements for scholarships and continuing progress towards a degree?

Adam Kilgore: A lot of class is missed this month, and throughout the season. The teams bring tutors with them and try to get some work done, but a lot of it has to be done during the week, either passed in early, late, or, I'm sure in some cases, not at all. A lot of players do take summer school for this reason, so their course load during the year isn't as heavy. They still have study halls on the road at sites, but, as Eli Saslow wrote in a great story last year, those aren't always taken so seriously.

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Jayhawker: Hi. I'm wondering what my chances are for seeing some/any/more than 2 minutes of the KU game tonight?

Adam Kilgore: Couldn't really tell ya. I'm guessing you won't see much unless you've got the package.

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20003: CNN is reporting that the global warming crisis is over. Eric Maynor has solved it - flew to Antarctica with a huge block of ice and a 200-foot swizzle stick - problem solved.

Adam Kilgore: Hadn't heard that. Thanks very much.

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Arlington, Va.: Every year people talk about how the Big 10 doesn't compare to the power conferences, and every year they show up in the tournament and take care of business. What's the deal?

Adam Kilgore: Fair point. But I think Purdue is going to get absolutely drilled today by Arizona, and UNLV has got a great shot to knock off Wisconsin in the second round. The Big Ten was atrocious this year after OSU and Wisconsin. Everyone just beat everyone else at home and passed around bogus wins.

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Anonymous: I was 14 of 16 yesterday, and I think the rest of the nation did just as well.

How did you come out from yesterday. Not really any upsets and kinda boring. Are you seeing any upsets today. There's got to be a buzzer beater or something before the weekend games.

Adam Kilgore: I didn't come out so well, because most of my upset picks were from yesterday. Had Oral Roberts, Stanford, (why, why!!!???), Davidson and Old Dominion. I also had VCU. I missed Xavier as well, so I only got 11, which surely is not going to earn me any units in the pool I'm in. However, while the first day is the most fun for the pools, it's also the most inconsequential if the point system is done right (it should be 1 points, 2 points, 4, 8, 16, 32). The key is not losing many Sweet 16 teams in the first round.

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Nashville, Tenn.: Where's Carig to answer for his egregious disrespect of Vandy? What a brutal matchup for the 'Dores! GW sure took away the three, didn't they.

Adam Kilgore: Ha! Certainly this is not the only bit of flak Carig will catch this week for that one. Nice pick, big fella. I'm sure a Wolf Pack win over Creighton today will assuage his deep, deep hurt.

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Fairfax, Va.: WE DID IT!!!! VCU beat Duke and you haters at The Washington Post who consider UVa and Virginia Tech to be "local" teams that you have to report on might have to start watching us now. Maybe it was just a fluke and we'll get beat over the weekend...but for these two days I'm going to be a total jerk about it.

Adam Kilgore: There are 27 teams in Maryland, D.C. and Virginia. We can't cover them all. Virginia Tech and Virginia are the largest and most prominent teams, so we cover them. It's not disrespect, only what logic dictates.

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Adam Kilgore: Okay, everyone. Gotta head to the court and watch Virginia-Albany. Thanks as always for all the great questions. Last week I missed a question my own mother wrote in, so don't be too offended if we missed yours. By the way, Mom, didn't see you this week on the chat. What gives?

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