Sully's court

Can I take back a couple of things?: Blake Griffin, he got 35 points and 21 rebounds Saturday for Oklahoma, should have been on my first team All-America. Holy Cross, the Crusaders looked like a Patriot League contender after beating St. Joe's and anything but in losing to Brown and Northeastern.

Verrry interesting: I know BC lost at Saint Louis but after watching them beat Loyola and St. John's I think the Eagles have some very interesting players besides Tyrese Rice, their best player. Players like Corey Raji and Rakim Sanders aren't in the cookie-cutter mold such as power forward or shooting guard but they give teams trouble. I sat with two college hoop cronies at Conte Forum enjoying two preseason NIT games but very few others bothered to show up.

Speaking of crowds: The Puerto Rico tournament (a great win by Xavier over Memphis last night) just doesn't draw any fans. IThey had to be fewer than 200 people in the building. How do the promoters make money? This year was not an exception.

Speaking of Memphis: I don't want to get too down too early on Coach Cal's big recruit Tyreke Evans but..... I know Derrick Rose and Tyreke Evans is no Derrick Rose.

Tough break: St. John's probably can't recover from the season-ending injury to leading scorer Anthony Mason Jr. That might mean the end of coach Norm Roberts.

What the bracket buster has wrought: Boise State has to travel to Albany, N.Y. for a Monday nght game to return a bracket buster game with Siena. Then they lost 82-52. Right back on the plane Boise. How does that work? Albany to LaGuardia to Denver to Boise?

Interesting scheduling 1: The ever fascinating Virginia Military Institute first four games were Kentucky, Virginia, Maryland Bible College, Stevenson. Who's next? Lexington (Virginia) High School?
Interesting schedule 2: Michigan State played in Fort Wayne, Ind. against IPFW (Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne). The Spartans won in front of over 6,740 fans at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, the same old arena the Fort Wayne Pistons (now Detroit) played in the early days of the NBA. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo played the road game as a favor to IPFW coach Dane Fife, who is a friend of his and whom he recruited when Fife was a high school star who selected Indiana. "I really enjoyed that kid and his family, and he thought it was really important to his program," Izzo told the Detroit Free Press. "There are some good guys in the profession and he's one of them. I guess if I can help -- by hopefully by going down there and beating them -- but to help them get a lot of people at the game, that's why we did it."

Surprising results, shocking margins:
George Mason 89, Brown 52: Bruins aren't that bad and proved it by beating Holy Cross in Worcester.
Hampton 50, Geoge Mason 44: I guess Hampton's a contender in the MEAC.
Texas Tech 167, East Central 115: Michael Crabtree scored six touchdowns. East Central is a Division 2 school in Ada, Oklahoma. Texas Tech scored 98 in its next game, beating Eastern Kentucky. East Central followed things up with a 136-69 loss to Texas San Antonio. I guess Texas El Paso can't wait for them to come to town.

Five on the rise:
North Carolina: The Tar Heels have survived without Tyler Hansbrough and he's back for the Maui tournament this week.
California: The Bears haven't played anyone but they are 4-0 for new coach Mike Montgomery, who, of course, used to coach arch-rival Stanford.
Clemson: The Tigers are 6-0 but we've been here before haven't we?. Let's see where the traditionally front-running Tigers are in March.
Oklahoma State: Former UMass coach Travis Ford has won his first five games including a rout of a pretty-good Tulsa team.
Savannah State: Is 4-0. Why is this amazing? Savannah was 0-28 in 2004-05.

Five falling:
Arizona: Lost at home to UAB and what a way to lose. A tie game, a loose ball, a UAB player comes out of the pack with the length of the court to go with only seconds left. Arizona's Jamel Horne deliberately fouled him with :00.8 left. Temporary insanity is the only explanation.
Georgia: The Bulldogs lost to Loyola of Chicago 74-53. Loyola opened its season with a loss to Division 2 Rockhurst. UGa followed up with one-point win over Eastern Michigan and an eight-point win over Presbyterian. I guess they're not going to the SEC Tournament final this season.
Kentucky: The Wildcats just couldn't compete with North Carolina.
Oregon: The Ducks lost to Oakland, the school from Michigan not the city in California.
UCLA: No excuse for losing to Michigan even if Wolverines coach John Bellein continues to prove how good he is.

This week's George Mason (best mid-major): Mercer. The Bears lost to Georgia Tech but looked great for 30 minutes and then blew an 18-point lead and lost in overtime. They already won on the road against Alabama and Auburn. James Lawrence is one confidence, fearless guard. Daniel Emerson, a transfer from Western Kentucky, is also fearless and as good as rebounder for his size (listed at generous 6-8) as you'll see. They won't be intimidated in the NCAAs.

This week's Final Four: North Carolina, Purdue, Pittsburgh, Louisville

This week's national champion: North Carolina