The Dagger - NCAAB

The highlights -- and lowlights -- from everyone's favorite (and maybe the world's only) annual one-hour show. In no particular order: 

1. High-Five Gate. What happens when two awkward men get together, on TV, stop being polite, start getting real and attempt to slap each others' hands in an elaborate way? The following clip. That's what happens. It's quite possibly the greatest single televised moment in the history of everything:

Whoops.

2. Meet the new boss. More polite than the old boss. Clark Kellogg is not exactly a new face. He's been on CBS for years, and his studio show work has been a constant presence for college basketball fans for longer than some can probably remember. Still, this is his first year occupying Billy Packer's vaunted old spot, and Sunday provided we, the television audience, with our first glimpse of how Kellogg will rule from his lofty announcing perch.

The answer? Quietly. Kellogg is steady and measured. His post-selection analysis was well-reasoned and unremarkable. Billy Packer would have said at least three things nobody agreed with. Kellogg's style makes him preferable, and simultaneously far less interesting.

3. Fargo is hyped on North Dakota State. North Dakota State has an enrollment of 13,000 (which is not nearly as small as I would have assumed, for whatever that's worth). It appeared that all 13,000 of them -- plus plenty of fans that don't have to pay state tuition to be there -- were in North Dakota State's gym and on CBS' cameras. Impressive showing, Bison fans. Next up: a first-round matchup with No. 3 seed Kansas.

4. West Virginia has a very special greeting for the fans at home. As West Virginia's tournament seeding -- a No. 6 seed and a matchup with No. 11-seeded Dayton -- was announced, the Mountaineers didn't cheer or clap or jump up and down. They leaned back in their chairs, put their legs in the sky, and started kicking to and fro. Sports rituals are by their very nature inexplicable, but this one took the cake.

5. Those Nike folks are good at this marketing thing. Chris Paul is the star of lots of good Nike commercials, and his latest certainly isn't the best of them. Jordan Brand's "There Are No Cinderellas" ad has yet to be topped. But Jordan's new series comes dangerously close. It shows a priest blessing all of Manhattan College's campus, and then explains why by cutting to footage of Paul beating Manhattan in 2004. It is awesome.

6. Yes, we know we are a No. 1 seed. You can leave us alone now. Even when you know your team is going to be in the tournament, you're still supposed to cheer. It's just decorum. Alas, Pittsburgh has no time for your foolish games, or for childish notions, like "happiness". When they were revealed as a No. 1 seed, they appeared to be watching an episode of "CSI". Boredom and apathy were the most prevalent emotions.

7. Fear the mighty, ye Boilermakers. It'd be a stretch to say Purdue looked intimidated by the revelation that they'll be playing Northern Iowa in the first round of the tournament. But there's no question Purdue respects its opponent. At least, that's how it looked on their live feed, as their cheers of celebration went quiet rather quickly. It was if they realized being in the tournament is nice, but oh yeah, we actually have to play some tough teams now. Reality, when it sets in, comes quickly.

8. Seth Davis likes VCU. Did Seth Davis tell you he likes VCU? Because he really likes VCU. It didn't seem like Davis was trying to hammer home the point, just that he sort of kept coming back around to it, but there's no question he got it across. Davis picked No. 11 seed VCU to beat No. 6 UCLA ... and then said so again, a few seconds later, and then again, just a minute down the line. There's an entirely serious chance that Davis moved the Vegas line on that game a point or two in VCU's direction.

9. Western Kentucky has a huge showing, but there is one notable absence. Much like North Dakota State, Western Kentucky had themselves a big ol' tourney party on Sunday, complete with screaming fans, a packed arena and a stage on the floor for the players. It was a great showing. But who goes missing? Who is nowhere to be found? That's right: Big Red, WKU's tremendous and inexplicable mascot. Where have you gone, Big Red? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.

10. Bob Knight can't hear you. Please speak directly into the microphone. OK, this wasn't part of CBS' program, but Bob Knight always makes for entertaining TV, and he was in fine form on ESPN following the Selection Show. It was classic Bob Knight: intelligent basketball commentary interlaced with weird technical issues, with a few strange tangents on the side. He followed up a discussion of the merits of sundry bubble teams with a discourse on what he termed "prejudicial thinking," and something about the women's selection committee vs. the men's. Then his microphone went out, and he heard someone in his ear.

Like I said: It was classic Knight.

More Selection Sunday coverage from The Dagger: 'Snubbed' bubble teams | Five seeding mistakes | St. Mary's can complain

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26 Comments

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  1. _
    1. Posted by _ Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:33 pm EDT

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    Without Billy Packer, I think I may actually enjoy the tournament. Good riddance and never come back.
  2. g
    2. Posted by g Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:12 pm EDT

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    What, nothing about Jay Bilas and Digger Phelps belittling Dick Vitale? That was by far the most entertaining thing in ESPN's coverage.
  3. NatsCapsSkins
    3. Posted by NatsCapsSkins Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:57 pm EDT

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    For the ones that don't know VCU is a great team. I have watched VCU all year, live games and on TV. Maynor and Rodriguez are a good pair of guards. Sanders and Kirill aren't big men but Sanders does have a 90 inch wing span. The Rams can beat UCLA and if they do there is a good chance they can run with Nova too. GO RAMS
  4. joyce
    4. Posted by joyce Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:41 pm EDT

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    Unleash the Fury,
    I couldn't agree with you more about VCU! I think that they will be the cinderellas of this Tournament.
  5. Nathaniel
    5. Posted by Nathaniel Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:36 pm EDT

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    North Dakota State has a loyal fanbase. Being in Minneapolis will only make it easier for them to all make the game. As big of a deal as Kansas and Michigan State are, the Bison will have just as formidable of a showing from their fans.
  6. Chris L
    6. Posted by Chris L Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:16 pm EDT

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    I think Pitt was mentioned beforehand and did all of their celebrating the first time around.
  7. Driven Daddy
    7. Posted by Driven Daddy Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:53 pm EDT

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    You said "Billy Packer would have said at least three things nobody agreed with. Kellogg's style makes him preferable..."
    Yep, true, absolutely, and Amen!!! Can you tell I couldn't agree more?
    Sounds like I'm not the only one who is glad to be rid of Packer. Remember a few years ago when he criticized the tournament selection committee unreasonably and harshly for letting in 4 Missouri Valley Conference teams - and then two of them rubbed his face all over it by making it to the Sweet Sixteen!!!
    My favorites are Bill Raftery, Jay Bilas, and Len Elmore. Clark is cool too, but I haven't heard him announce an NCAA tournament game yet.
    I'm a tournament junkie - anybody else remember these classic lines?
    From Bilas during a Cincinnati-Kentucky all-out war a few years ago: "The meek may inherit the earth, but they're not getting a single rebound in this game." It was so apt, those two teams were going after it with every ounce of all they had.
    From Len Elmore (probably more than once): "Somebody better get a tissue and wipe the egg off the defenders face after that dunk".
    These guys are each unique in their own way, colorful, and a joy to listen to. They add so much to every game they call.
  8. Driven Daddy
    8. Posted by Driven Daddy Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:53 pm EDT

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    Great article, I wish you would have mentioned one more thing - will somebody please teach Mike Slive how to listen to and then answer a question?
    Greg Anthony asked him a couple of great, probing questions, including one directly about lack of mid-major teams and the unfairness of the difficulty they have in scheduling the big boys so they can improve their 'body of work'. Swing and a miss! Slives answer made it seem like he didn't hear the question, or was reading from a script - or worse yet, that he realizes there's injustice there and he doesn't want to address it!
  9. Joe P
    9. Posted by Joe P Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:42 pm EDT

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    #9: I thought the same thing as I watched that. I wish they were in a situation where they could've pressed for a straight answer on that question instead of following up with a softball. His response about the "body of work" was a complete sham.
  10. JonnyCashwise
    10. Posted by JonnyCashwise Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:40 pm EDT

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    could someone please make a note of the story of how ndsu got to the tourney this year. It was but for one reason only. Tim Miles! Kudos to tim for having the forsight and the ability to communicate with his players at the time to red shirt the current seniors on this years ndsu squad. ndsu and former coach tim miles have set the standard for what it will take for teams looking to transition to d1 and be a success. Go Bison and what a joy it has been watching you this year
  11. TheTruth
    11. Posted by TheTruth Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:27 pm EDT

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    Yep, Slive didn't want to answer the question, so he just launched into the same "whole body of work" crap he'd already spewed earlier. I caught Bob Knight on ESPN and I'm not sure how anyone could characterize his ramblings as "intelligent". It seemed to boil down to the #1 seeds being likely to win their games and lower seeded times more likely to lose. The rest of the ESPN studio looked as dumbfounded as I was that it took him 5 minutes to say this.
  12. SEAN
    12. Posted by SEAN Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:50 pm EDT

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    I like Clark a lot--congratulations to him! Put him ahead of Jim Nantz! Nantz gets to be the face guy often enough. And I like how Greg Anthony disagrees with Seth Davis. Whoever is doing staffing at CBS needs to get a raise. Bill Raftery is really entertaining during a game, but as an analyst not so much.
    My favorite play-by-play guy right now is Gus Johnson. Tell me his schedule so that I can see all the games he announces!
  13. Dick Lipschitz
    13. Posted by Dick Lipschitz Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:42 pm EDT

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    I dropped hot loads all over Bob Knight. That's why he retired.
  14. J C
    14. Posted by J C Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:30 pm EDT

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    Billy P gone ..now if Dicky V was gone NCAAB games could be watched with out turning down the sound and muting Dicky V
  15. WHAT IF
    15. Posted by WHAT IF Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:18 pm EDT

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    When are the confrance champions auto bids going to to be done away with, plus the teams that win the regular season have nothing to play for in these tournies. this would eliminate these stinko games at the start of the tournement.
  16. PurdueMatt
    16. Posted by PurdueMatt Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:11 pm EDT

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    "It was if they realized being in the tournament is nice, but oh yeah, we actually have to play some tough teams now."
    huh?
  17. PurdueMatt
    17. Posted by PurdueMatt Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:11 pm EDT

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    "It was if they realized being in the tournament is nice, but oh yeah, we actually have to play some tough teams now."
    Purdue just won the conference tournament for the #2 RPI conference.
  18. grady s
    18. Posted by grady s Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:20 pm EDT

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    Hey, Doofus Boy...you seemed to have missed grammar class. Periods and commas always go INSIDE closing quotes. Turn in your press card.
  19. drunk_and_disorderly_too
    19. Posted by drunk_and_disorderly_too Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:48 pm EDT

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    Dick Vitale sucks! He's as bad as John Madden is in football and yet ESPN and the networks keep both of these boring idiots employed. Incredible!
  20. delta8wd
    20. Posted by delta8wd Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:40 pm EDT

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    Dick Vitale can go with Billy Packer, his voice is like nails on a blackboard....what does he do??
  21. Crank
    21. Posted by Crank Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:31 pm EDT

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    We in Fargo do love our Bison! Any sport. I'm just sitting back enjoying things like NDSU mentioned on national TV, in the national press and on the international Yahoo! How cool is it that our North Dakota State is playing in a playoff game in their first year of eligibility, against the Kansas Jayhawks? Aside from the snow, cold and the impending flood, this is a great place to be!
  22. David
    22. Posted by David Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:21 pm EDT

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    I'll agree with everybody who's hating on Packer. I hope he's been locked away in a Siberian mine where trolls like that guy belong. May they mail his muppet of a friend Jim Nantz along soon, too. I like Kellogg.
    Hey, VCU is going to make some noise again. They're not going to blink at a big name like UCLA coming up against them. Not a all.
  23. Dub
    23. Posted by Dub Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:31 pm EDT

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    VCU will not get past the first round. They have succeeded in the past because they weren't known. They now are well known and will struggle to keep up with UCLA.
  24. Chris C
    24. Posted by Chris C Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:20 pm EDT

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    Vital is an absolute idiot. ncaa hoops would be a lot more fun to watch. im tired of north carolina, duke, vitale, etc....
    I used to love college hoops, but espn and vitale killed it. nba is fun to watch and now im hooked.
    go wildcats.....
  25. Ellen
    25. Posted by Ellen Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:53 pm EDT

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    Go NDSU Bison. Scare the pants off that Kansas team and take the glass slipper all the way to the ball.

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