A look at NCAA basketball and the Blues

The Blues

The Blues responded nicely last Thursday with a 2-1 overtime win to follow up an ugly performance in Columbus. They finished up the home-and-home with Nashville on Saturday by losing 1-0 in overtime. It was a great job by Chris Mason to reel in one point, but St. Louis can't afford to leave points out there at this stage, especially at home. Even though the Blues got a point in that game, they still fell a point further behind Nashville since the Predators picked up a pair of points with the win. Tuesday's game against Phoenix was crucial since the Blues' next eight games include four road games in addition to home meetings with the Sharks, Stars, and Red Wings(twice) who are three of the strongest/hottest teams in the league. Points will not be easy to come by over that stretch, so they needed two against the Coyotes. The fact that it came in regulation was a huge boost, as was the gift goal that David Perron collected on a center-ice chip-in. I'd feel bad about that, but the Blues have been killed by fluky goals all year. It's about time went our way.

One other point on the Blues is even if they fail to make the playoffs again this year, they should have a very strong team next year that will start with defense. Erik Johnson will return, as long as he stays out of golf carts. Alex Pietrangelo will likely be ready to be a full-timer in the NHL. Then, they'll also have Barrett Jackman, Carlo Colaiacovo who has been a steal coming over with Alex Steen for Lee Stempniak, Roman Polak, and Eric Brewer. That's a pretty solid blue line and it would allow Brewer to be a fourth or fifth defenseman, which is all he's shown himself to be since the Blues acquired him for Chris Pronger. These guys, plus another year of Chris Mason (who's locked up through next year) playing like he has lately, and all of the young forwards that continue to develop could be a really strong team. They could be a lot like Chicago has been this season and perhaps challenge for the fourth seed. St. Louis also should have a little more room under the cap if Keith Tkachuk doesn't return. A lot of people see him being traded to Boston at or near the deadline. They could always bring him back like the Blues did after the last time they dealt him, but it may be time for the Blues to move on. Marian Hossa will likely be a free agent again. I doubt the Blues could sign him, but we can always hope.

NCAA Basketball

Usually this is the time of year when the NCAA starts to separate a bit and the number one seeds begin to emerge. However, the top teams in the country keep losing every time they seem to gain some steam. UConn got dropped at home by Pittsburgh, Oklahoma lost twice in three days after Blake Griffin (Who I think is the NCAA player of the year) got knocked out by a concussion, and North Carolina blew a 16-point lead at Maryland. This has allowed the Pitt Panthers to make their way back to number one for the second time this year (Pittsburgh promptly lost to Providence after I had written this). The second tier of teams can't make up their mind either. Duke, who has been terrible lately, defended their home court by knocking off Wake Forest on Sunday. Kansas, who was one of the clubs to beat Oklahoma recently, nearly blew that win after the Sooners upped their pressure. This was also how Mizzou managed to beat the Jayhawks after trailing by 14 at the half. Speaking of the Tigers, they just keep ascending by taking care of their business. They pounded Colorado on the road on Saturday after slaying Nebraska the week before as their follow ups to the KU win. The Tigers are one of the hottest teams in the country right now. They could play themselves into a one or two seed in the next week.

After the Tigers blew out Kansas State on Wednesday, they locked up at least a three-seed in the Big 12 Tournament. With games remaining against both Kansas and Oklahoma (at home on Senior Night), the Tigers control their own destiny as far as a regular season conference title and the improving their seed in both the conference and NCAA tourneys. The club also finishes up at Texas A&M which won't be a picnic. If the Tigers were to go 0-3 down the stretch and only win one game in the conference tournament, they would still likely get a four seed in the Big Dance. Being seeded fourth in what is probably a worst-case scenario is pretty nice with two and a half weeks to go until Selection Sunday.

My other local team, the St. Louis University Billikens was coming off of a huge win to upset a ranked Dayton team (ranked 25th in one poll is still ranked!) at home. That win gave SLU six wins in their last seven. On Wednesday night, they blew a huge opportunity as they visited St. Bonnaventure, who was a 4-9 team in conference play heading into the game. They didn't just lose, they got blown out, losing by 17 to a team that is now just 14-13 overall on the season. This SLU team is incredibly frustrating to cheer for because as a very strong defensive team, they can always hold their own on the at end of the floor. If they shoot well, they could beat teams like North Carolina, Connecticut, or Pittsburgh. If they shoot poorly, they would be lucky to lose to those elite teams by 30. They only shot 36.2 percent from the field on Wednesday and a pathetic 56.7 percent from the charity stripe. St. Bonnaventure shot 75 percent from the free throw line. If SLU even managed that percentage, they knock it down to an 11-point loss and if they up their field goal percentage to just a decent 45 percent, that would make up for nearly the rest of the difference, assuming one of the other four or five made field goals is a three. Coach Rick Majerus has a system. He just needs more consistent shooters to put into that system because when the team isn't making shots, it usually makes for an ugly night.