Beltway Basketball Bonanza- Busted Brackets and Crumbling Cookies...

On the Monday after the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament there's always a haze... what just happened? Are we still in? How badly did the upsets burn my bracket?

Fifteen Fury-- Not one but two #15 seeds stole the tournament's heart Friday night... as Missouri and Duke (two of my "folds") went down. While the Blue Devils had been consistently uneven all winter (losing at home to Miami... winning at UNC), one has to be a little more disappointed in the Tigers' tumble. They won the Big 12 going away--I thought they had a shot at a #1-- but were rated the lowest of the #2's because of a soft schedule. I guess we now know why. Major props to the Patriot League and MEAC-- two one-bid leagues that are often cannon fodder the first days of the tournament-- for pushing Richmond '91 further into the background.

Sunday Night Hoops? What used to be a nice exclamation point to the weekend has been changed with Turner's addition to the menu. Instead of squeezing eight games into seven hours on Sunday-- they space them out. Which means we get three games spaced out until 6 (and if it's a rout-- watch out)... and then a flurry of late games on Sunday like a 9:40 Cincy-Florida State. How can I complain about my bracket when I still have to watch hoops? Can we compromise? Give us six games in seven hours and then two prime timers... 7 and 9:30. Please?

Alma Mater Update-- as an alum of a school that's dropped more than a few of these early games-- the Orange gave me plenty to be concerned about before weaseling by UNC-Asheville. They say in order to capture a National Title you have to win one game you obviously don't deserve-- and I think SU has found their "wow- we so escaped a major bullet here" game. Many point to the referees handing the Orange the game... and while this may have merits I would love to have these people listen to my SU buddy "Arkansas Charlie"-- for he believes there's this cabal created to hose the Orange out of every call. Time to move on. Thankfully it's to the regional in Boston.

Georgetown's year ended one step shy of the Sweet Sixteen... as a ten point first half lead turned into a loss to 11th seeded North Carolina State (who were once 7-3 in the ACC with a 20 point lead at Duke). After being picked to finish in the bottom half of the Big East, there's no shame in finishing 24-9 after losing to a Wolfpack team just hitting its stride-- but a rough way for seniors Jason Clark (3-11 FG and a last-second miss) and Henry Sims (fouling out with 4 points). And before you jump on the "Can JTIII win here longterm?" ... just remember other coaches have had longer runs of upsets (Lute Olson) and underachieving in the Big Dance before enjoying great success.

Maryland Womens' Window-- the Terrapins tangle with Louisville in a made for TV bracket: Jeff Walz used to be a Terp assistant and his Cardinals bounced Kristi Tolliver and Marissa Coleman in the Elite Eight three years ago. Adding to the sluggishness of Saturday's win there may be cause for concern. IF Alicia DeVaughn and Tianna Hawkins can stay out of foul trouble... and IF Maryland can manage its possessions effectively... we'll see a trip to Raleigh and the Sweet Sixteen.


Now to more important matters-- the 2012 Girl Scout Cookie Rankings. I have my usual supplier whose daughters are still okay with me signing the sheet "Bauer" with the address "CTU-Ballston". This year's field has been truncated to eight-- and thus no "first round".

8-- Savannah Smiles-- Or Dave frowns. This new addition is a crescent shaped lemon wedge cookie with lemon chips and dusted in powdered sugar. Goes great with tea. I'm sure my grandmother has 5 boxes. Even with Che Che rooting em on... feels like one of those schools from the Big South that plays well for a half-- and then loses by 20.

7-- Thank U Berry Much-- Or no thank you. Cranberries and white fudge chunks? Not to mention the bad pun and worse spelling. Feels like a mismatched roster of juco transfers who couldn't cut it at in other cookies' programs. You know there's an NCAA violation waiting to happen... and while this odd conglomeration gets you to the dance, it almost guarantees you an early exit.

6-- Dulce De Leche-- This Latin caramel cookie used to have a caramel topping. Sign me up! Sadly, it was removed because of the high amount of trans fat. Sign me off! Sounds like an eligibility issue-- and unlike the Orange, Dulce doesn't have the depth. But it does offer a great zone defense.

5-- Trefoils-- Naismith would be proud. A traditional shortbread cookie made in the shape of the Girl Scout emblem. Break out the peach baskets. Feels like Gene Hackman should be coaching them with Dennis Hopper in the wings. Fundamentally sound cookie but plays the entire game well below the rim. Hey, Loyola of Chicago once won a title in the 60's too.

4-- Do-Si-Dos-- Peanut Butter Paranoia? Crunchy oatmeal cookie with peanut butter filling. Power in the post. I'm looking for Michael Graham to come out and punch the other cookies in the mouth. A decent cookie... but prone to foul trouble (especially with those ACC refs).

3-- Samoas-- tough call for the top three. The motion offense of cookies is vanilla but coated with caramel, sprinkled with toasted coconut and laced with chocolate stripes. So much style and substance and subtext and pretext-- the perfect halfcourt treat. But can it run and keep up with the others? Having put each of these through the "test"-- it's a challenge to knock down 5+ Samoas in a sitting. Not impossible, but still a challenge.

2-- Thin Mints-- we're talking UNLV 1990. Nobody runs like the this thin, mint-flavored chocolate wafer dipped in chocolate coating. Often goes on scoring/wolfing down runs of 10-15 without any effort. But can TM play the halfcourt game? If slowed down to a manageable pace I see problems rebounding the flavor... over-aggressiveness resulting in easy crumbs instead of steals... and the propensity to force a shot when it isn't wise. I dare you to try to eat one and not a second for 15 minutes.

1-- Tagalongs-- it's all about matchups. Crispy vanilla cookie layered with peanut butter and covered with a chocolate coating-- this team can play halfcourt yet run to some degree. One can play inside out (scooping the peanut butter out with your teeth) or just attack the rim. In the fridge or room temperature this option provides more than one shining moment.

Beltway Basketball Bonanza-- Mourning Mornings...

It was going to happen sooner or later. We're used to late night tipoffs... especially with Pac Ten and west coast games... but a regular morning basketball window? For the second straight week a ranked team has an 11am tipoff. I'm the first to admit I keep a consistently uneven schedule-- but 11am? On a Saturday? Isn't that when youth leagues hold games and NBC shows really bad live-action programming like "Hang Time"? Once again I'm thinking about the students. My dorm's dining hall didn't open for Saturday and Sunday brunch until 11. I've got to get to the arena at 10:30? On an empty stomach? When the omelet bar is calling? Decidedly not awesome. In other developments, I just ordered my 2012 Girl Scout Cookies-- and have learned they've trimmed their options from 11 to 8. Smart move to get rid of "Shout Outs", "Thanks Alot" and both lemon cookies... although they've added "Savannah Smiles". Dave frowns.


Georgetown coach John Thompson III told me before the Marquette game that the Big East is a very unforgiving league-- and the Hoyas have learned just how rough things can get. In consecutive games Georgetown was tormented by turnovers (a season high 17 against Cincinnati, 10 in the first half against West Virginia) and lost winnable games. Henry Sims had a pair of rough outings (a combined 7 of 19 shooting) as well. But help is on the way-- in the form of a four game stretch against schools currently 5-12 in league play: St. John's, DePaul, Rutgers and Pitt.

Alma Mater Update-- still the #1 team in the nation. Syracuse is doing it with depth so far this winter-- six players average between 8 and 14 points a game and the Orange run ten deep. Four of their five Big East wins have come by double digits (although DePaul and Providence are hardly world-beaters this winter) and the team's win at Villanova was not as close as the score indicated. Today they play Providence for the second time this month-- Exhibit B why I'm okay with SU going to the ACC. Home and home with the Friars and no Georgetown game in DC? At least Sign of the Whale will have a good crowd-- although they've yet to put my suggested "44 Wing Salute" on the menu.

Maryland is 1-1 in the ACC with Georgia Tech coming to Comcast Sunday. One major bright spot in the Terps' 70-64 win over Wake Forest: the play of Ashton Pankey (9 points and 9 rebounds). One area for concern: 34 minutes played by Terrell Stoglin... and no assists for the second straight game. Russian center Alex Len had his roughest outing of the season (1-3, 5 points in 28 minutes)... and the schedule tightens up with 5 of the next 8 away from College Park.

Cruising the Commonwealth-- Virginia led Duke in the second half at Cameron before the Blue Devils went on a 21-12 run... a tough 61-58 loss that will have the Cavaliers stewing over a seven day break. Virginia Tech's 0-2 ACC start doesn't have panic buttons being pressed... but Wake Forest is one year removed from 1-15 in the league. Bring on the Bubblicious.

George Mason came up short at Drexel 60-53 Thursday night-- the lowest point performance for the Patriots this season. The offense appeared to hit the proverbial wall-getting outscored 10-2 in the last 3 and a half minutes of the game. Credit the Dragons with doing a decent job defendign Ryan Pearson-- the senior was held to 1 of 9 shooting in the loss... continuing a CAA trend: Pearson is shooting 11-of-34 in conference play...and has had either three or four personal fouls in every league game. And unfortunately Vertrail Vaughns looked like Denise Huxtable's Gordon Gartrelle shirt (1-7 FG, no rebounds or assists in 27 minutes) against Drexel.

George Washington scheduled more than a few ranked teams during the non-conference season... Cal, Syracuse and ... Harvard? Yes, the Tommy Amaker led Crimson are #25 this week... although only in the coach's rankings. GW is coming off a 69-61 win against Rhode Island (13th in the Atlantic Ten)... and the Rams are the only other A-10 team with a losing non-conference record. So the first winter for Mike Lonergan at the Smith Center may get worse before it gets better-- especially with just one player (Tony Taylor) scoring in double figures.

Maryland Womens Update-- a nail-biter at North Carolina followed by a tough loss at Miami. The #5 Terps finished regulation with a 7-1 run to send their game at Chapel Hill into overtime... and the 78-72 victory sent them to South Beach unbeaten in league play. Unfortunately they committed 19 turnovers and were outrebounded by the Hurricanes by eight. Now they try to bounce back from a 75-63 loss Monday night against Virginia (14-4, 2-2 in the ACC)... a team on the precipice of the rankings.

American tries to right the ship against a Holy Cross team that's won two straight.

Howard has a five game losing streak entering today's contest against North Carolina A&T.

Beltway Basketball Bonanza-- the cookie crumbles after a weekend washout...

Sunday's monsoon in DC was symbolic of the type of weekend the college basketball teams had (with GW the exception)...: from the Maryland Womens' team's loss to Georgia Tech in the ACC Quarterfinals to American's thriller with Lafayette... local teams had their heads handed to them-- with underwhelming and sometimes maddening results. Not the way you want to go into March. Much like learning your mom bought 5 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies--only to find out they're the experimental flavor "Thank You Berry Much". More on my cookie bracket later... :

Maryland (18-12, 7-9) ended its regular season with a 74-60 thud against Virginia. Lack of intensity hurt the Terps early-- and the inability to contain Sammy Zeglinski (6-7 from three point range, 25 points) helped ruin senior day. Now the Terps tangle with tenth place North Carolina State-- a school that dropped four of its last five games. Maryland won the regular season matchup 87-80 on February 20th. Jordan Williams and Terrell Stoglin need to carry this team like they did that night (combining for 51 points) if the Terps are to advance to the quarterfinals-- where Duke awaits. Maybe Saturday wasn't senior day after all.

Cruising the Commonwealth-- Somewhere there must be a magnet inside Virginia Tech (19-10, 9-7) that magically finds the bubble each year... from every imaginable direction. The Hokies shot just 31% in a 69-60 battle for the bye against Clemson... Jeff Allen having a nightmare of a game: 1 for 5 with 8 turnovers against the Tigers. As the sixth seed the Hokies will face Georgia Tech (VT won 102-77 in Blacksburg February 13th)... needing wins against the Yellowjackets and then against Florida State in the quarterfinals to feel better about their NCAA hopes. Virginia (16-14, 7-9) finished the regular season with a flourish-- the triumph over Maryland was the Cavaliers' fourth win in five games with the last two coming by double digits. As the 8th seed they face Miami (the ACC's most unpredictable team) with the winner playing North Carolina in the quarterfinals.

Georgetown (21-9, 10-8) heads to New York City with a point guard in doubt and a team in a tailspin... averaging 23.6 points per half since Chris Wright went on the shelf the first time they played Cincinnati. The senior simply got hurt at the wrong time-- if he misses DePaul or South Florida-- the Hoyas probably eke out a win--but not so against the rapidly improving Bearcats (5-1 down the stretch) or streaking Syracuse (5-0 finish). Can the 8th seeded Hoyas turn things around in time to tangle with the UConn-DePaul winner? Legally I have to have the Blue Demons as an option although they finished 1-17 in league play.

Alma Mater Update-- I've been reminded that last year Georgetown advanced to the Big East Finals as an 8th seed... and I also remember burning my styrofoam bracket cup after the Orange lost to the Hoyas in that one. Thanks for the memories. This year Syracuse (25-6, 12-6) enters MSG as the #4 seed... meaning they'll meet the survivor of the St. John's-Seton Hall-Rutgers trio in the quarterfinals. They're also the hottest team in the conference which never bodes well... and the false sense of security from a 107-59 thumping of DePaul is never good. A game with the Red Storm would bring back memories of the 1986 finals-- the Johnnies won the title but Pearl Washington won the hearts of the MSG fans. Thanks for the memories.

George Mason (26-6) after cruising through the final month of the regular season fell in the CAA Semifinals to Virginia Commonwealth 79-63 Sunday... a 21-3 first half run by the Rams was the difference-- VCU using the three-pointer to provide the cushion (11-25 from outside the arc). GMU drops to 0-5 against the Rams in the CAA Tournament--ouch-- but still should be in the NCAA Tournament as an at-large team. Problem is, where? I could see them slipping from a 6 to an 8 or 9. The Patriots were interviewed last week about being disrespected despite having the nation's longest winning streak at 15. That won't be the interview topic this week, rest assured.

George Washington (17-13, 10-6)-- thanks, Colonials, for being the only area team not to fall this past weekend. Instead, coach Karl Hobbs' crew wins for the fifth time in six games-- Saturday's 60-58 defeat of Dayton delivered GW its first double digit conference win season since 2007. Tony Taylor's 17 points was punctuated by two late free throws to provide the final cushion. With the 5th seed they face St. Joseph's in the first round of the Atlantic Ten Tournament-- GW took the regular season meeting 78-71 January 8th behind 20 points from Taylor and five players in double figures. A win sets up a quarterfinal clash with Duquesne.

American (22-9) dropped a heartbreaking 73-71 double overtime duel to Lafayette (eight days after defeating the Leopards in double-OT) after Jim Mower canned a three pointer with under a second remaining. The Eagles shot 39 percent from the field and 19 percent from three point range; Vlad Moldeveanu scored 25 points while Stephen Lumpkins added 19 points and 11 rebounds. AU now awaits its postseason destination: maybe the NIT or CBI?


Girl Scout Cookie Rankings-- every March the magic comes together: you know full well about the Shamrock Shakes and the NCAA Tournament... Girl Scout Cookies complete the best trio since the rock group Cream. As always, there are those who have personal feelings about which cookie is best-- and even if your opinion is wrong I accept it because somebody has to buy those flavors that suck.

1--Tagalongs...I know, the Thin Mint contingent will be up in arms. But Tagalongs provide versatility only peanut butter immersed in chocolate can. Can be consumed in both uptempo and half-court settings. Thin Mints are great-- but a one trick pony (although that's quite a trick).

2--Thin Mints... the standard-bearer that you can run through a whole sleeve of in one sitting. Nobody fastbreaks like the TM's... although if you're playing slow-down, their weakness can be exploited (nobody liked the adoption of the shot clock more than Thin Mints in 1985).

3--Samoas... although they're called Caramel dee-Lites in some areas... which is just stupid. The motion offense of cookies-- with all the coconut, caramel and chocolate blending in a series of passes and screens... they're tough to keep track of on each tasting possession. Can they run with the Thin Mints? Not exactly, but Samoas rebound better.

4--Do Si Dos... the redundancy department of redundancy. If you like peanut butter, this is for you. It has that power in the post that only massive amounts of peanut butter can provide-- plays the ultimate physical game with your stomach. If you don't like peanut butter-- this might not be the cookie for you.

5--Trefoils... the traditional shortbread cookie is the original and has its moments-- but has trouble keeping up with the newer cookies over a 40-minute game. Fundamentally sound-- but plays completely under the rim.

While any of the "Fab Five" can contend in any given year-- the next six are lucky to get one victory each March from me-- if that.

6--Dulce de Leche... not to be confused with the Haagen Dasz Ice cream flavor I once wrote a song about (to the tune of "Besame Mucho")... its not a bad cookie but the caramel chips give you just enough to wish they were bigger.

7--Lemonades... okay, they're lemon cookies. Not getting it.

8--Lemon Chalet Cremes... why do you have two lemon flavored cookies? You do know you're cutting the lemon-loving market in two.

9--Shout Outs!... Anytime an exclamation point is in the title of anything, beware.

10--Thanks-a-Lot... a cookie so not awesome they actually pre-thank you for buying them.

11--Thank U Berry Much...despite the fact you're making it okay for young girls to spell the word "you" "U"-- berries in a cookie? No, thank you.