Thursday's NCAA Tournament preview and picks

(9) Butler vs. (8) LSU in Greensboro, N.C. (LSU by 3)
The Tigers were one of the nation's best-kept secrets with new coach Trent Johnson but were seeded low because the SEC got no respect this year. Tasmin Mitchell is one of the better scoring guards in the country and the Tigers will have enough to get past the young Bulldogs. LSU 67, Butler 61

(15) CS Northridge vs. (2) Memphis in Kansas City, Mo. (Mem by 19 1/2)
This could get ugly because the Matadors have overcome so much adversity just to make it to this point and the early start along with Memphis' press could take them out early. Look for a big game from Tyreke Evans. Memphis 86, CSUN 61

(9) Texas A&M vs. (8) Brigham Young in Philadelphia (BYU by 2)
Didn't these teams play last year? The answer is yes, and the NCAA shouldn't have matched them up again in the first round. But the Aggies are scrappy and balanced while the Cougars depends on NBA prospect Lee Cummard and a trio of outside shooters. BYU's experience edge the Aggies. BYU 61, Texas A&M 58.

(12) Northern Iowa vs. (5) Purdue in Portland (Pur by 8)
Don't sleep on the Panthers, who used an 11-game winning streak to win the Missouri Valley Conference regular season and tournament. The Boilers will have to grind in this one but the Panthers are going to pull off the upset. Northern Iowa 63, Purdue 60.

(16) Radford vs. (1) North Carolina in Greensboro, N.C. (N.C. by 26 1/2)
The Highlanders can score, so that will make this game entertaining for a while. And while the Tarheels will likely be without Ty Lawson, they should have plenty enough to win a fun game to watch. UNC 103, Radford 84.

(10) Maryland vs. (7) California in Kansas City, Mo. (Cal by 1)
The most competitive game of the day will be a battle of perimeter teams with very little in the paint. The question is who wins the battle between Jerome Randle and Greivis Vasquez. The Bears have more balance and if Vasquez misfires, then the Terps could be in trouble. Cal 70, Maryland 67.

(16) Chattanooga vs. (1) Connecticut in Philadelphia (Conn by 20 1/2)
UConn coach Jim Calhoun said the 16-1 upset is coming and it is indeed approaching. But the Huskies are going to be a mean bunch after losing a 4-13 matchup to San Diego last season. There is no way it happens again. UConn 78, Chattanooga 61.

(13) Mississippi State vs. (4) Washington in Portland (Wash by 5)
Mississippi State is seeded way too low for an SEC Tournament champion but the Huskies are way too physical for the athletic Bulldogs, who don't have a lot of size. Over-under on Jarvis Varnado blocked shots is 4 1/2. He will be impressive but the Huskies will win. UW 70, Miss. State 63.

(10) Minnesota vs. (7) Texas in Greensboro, N.C. (Tex by 4)
The Longhorns could be in for a long tournament run because they have major talent and a veteran scorer in A.J. Abrams. Minnesota is basically led by Lawrence Westbrook and is used to winning ugly Big 10 games. This is a bad matchup for the Gophers. Texas 77, Minnesota 66.

(10) Michigan vs. (7) Clemson in Kansas City, Mo. (Clem by 5 1/2)
The Tigers are a dangerous team because they have so many athletes and play an exhausting full-court press and also have rugged Trevor Booker in the paint. Michigan is back in the tourney after a long absence and its stay will be short. Clemson 71, Michigan 58.

(14) American vs. (3) Villanova in Philadelphia (Villa by 17)
Villanova is a strong team and it also gets to play at home for the first two rounds. That's too much for the Eagles to overcome, although Seattle native Garrison Carr will be a fun player to watch. Villanova 67, American 53.

(13) Akron vs. (4) Gonzaga in Portland (Gonz by 12 1/2)
The Zips were precariously close to losing to 12-seeded Toledo in the first round of the MAC Tournament and probably are a little over their heads. Gonzaga is a motivated team and doesn't want to go out early -- again. Gonzaga 63, Akron 54.

(15) Binghamton vs. (2) Duke in Greensboro, N.C. (Duke by 21 1/2)
Duke will be motivated for this game because the Blue Devils don't want any hints of vulnerability so early in the tournament. A player looking to make a national name for himself will be Binghamton's D.J. Rivera, who led the America East in scoring. Duke 78, Binghamton 62.

(15) Morgan State vs. (2) Oklahoma in Kansas City, Mo. (Okla by 16 1/2)
Todd Bozeman's Bears won't be intimidated because of a challenge schedule that took them all the way to Seattle to play Washington. The Sooners haven't made major noise in the tournament in years and Blake Griffin will want to go out a winner. OU 86, Morgan State 69.

(11) Virginia Commonwealth vs. (6) UCLA in Philadelphia (UCLA by 7)
Don't fall for the trendy pick of VCU. UCLA is a much better team than it showed late in the season and its style is difficult to face for first-timers. The Eric Maynor-Darren Collison matchup will draw droves of NBA scouts. UCLA 69, VCU 63.

(12) Western Kentucky vs. (5) Illinois in Portland (Ill. by 4 1/2)
How many times can you say Orlando Mendez-Valdez fast? He will become a familiar name if the Hilltoppers make another tournament run and the Illini is quite vulnerable without key guard Chester Frazier. WKU 65, Illinois 64.

NCAA Tournament quick thoughts

(4) Washington vs. (13) Mississippi State (in Portland) -- This is a ridiculous first-round draw for the Huskies. Didn't Mississippi State , led by Jarvis Varnado (right) just win the SEC Tournament, and the Bulldogs are a 13 seed while Siena is a nine seed? Washington gets to play in Portland but will not have an easy time advancing to the second round.

(6) UCLA vs. (11) Virginia Commonwealth (in Philadelphia) -- UCLA got no favors from the committee, going to Philly to play a VCU team that is capable of beating many major conference
teams. This will be an NBA showcase for UCLA's Darren Collison and VCU's Eric Maynor (right), both of whom could be taken in the first 20 picks. And if UCLA wins, it gets Villanova in Philadelphia.

(6) Arizona State vs. (11) Temple (in Miami) -- Not a bad game for the Sun Devils, who will give Temple problems with their versatility. Dionte Christmas (right) is one of the better players no one outside of the East has ever heard of, and his matchup with James Harden will be fun to watch.

(7) California vs. (10) Maryland (in Kansas City) -- The Bears were lucky to get a seventh seed given they dropped their last two games and three of their past four. They get a enigmatic Maryland squad that could make a Sweet 16 run or lose by 10 points in the first round. Regardless, it's a difficult game for a Cal team that has little in the paint to bang with the Terps. Greivis Vasquez (right) leads Maryland in points, rebounds and assists.

(7) Boston College vs. (10) USC (in Minneapolis)-- The Trojans are probably the No. 1 team a higher seed does not want to play because they are a talented club that is just finding it's groove. USC has to find somebody to stop Tyrese Rice (right) and the Eagles are a rugged team that's proven.

(5) Utah vs. (12) Arizona (in Miami) -- It's amazing the Wildcats even got into the tournament but then they got a pretty darn favorable game with the Utes, who lost at home to Cal in December. Utah features skilled big man Luke Nevill (right). The Wildcats looked lethargic in their first-round Pac-10 Tournament matchup against Arizona State, but if Jordan Hill and Chase Budinger play to their potential -- consistently -- they could be dangerous. But we have been saying that all season.

Tournament wrapup

(DeMar DeRozan, Taj Gibson and Daniel Hackett address the media after cinching an NCAA Tournament berth with a 66-63 win over Arizona State. DeRozan was named the tournament MVP)

USC put together three sparkling days of basketball to seize an NCAA Tournament berth and now some bubble team, likely in the Big East, Big Ten or SEC, just lost its bid and will be NIT-bound. Tim Floyd is an outstanding coach and his defensive strategy on James Harden was impressive. If you recall, Harden, the Pac-10's player of the year, scored four points at Galen Center in a loss to USC. On Saturday he had 10 points on 3-for-9 shooting. If Jeff Pendergraph, who led ASU with 18 points, is the Devils' leading scorer, they generally are beatable. Harden sets the pace for that team and he tried two big shots down the stretch.

The first was blocked by Taj Gibson, who did not have a strong game (7 points, 5 rebounds, 37 minutes) but came up with the defensive play of the game. Harden, with the Sun Devils trailing by two, tried for the decisive 3-pointer but missed it. Marcus Simmons made the smart play to flip the ball off Harden out of bounds, giving USC the possession and eventually the win.

Here is ASU reaction:

Coach Herb Sendek

"They came out and sort of hit us between the eyes to start the second half. They went on that flurry and then we regained our footing. We didn't do a very good job of executing our press in that instance and it led to some easy baskets for them and certainly turned the momentum of the basketball game, and what was a lead for us quickly evaporated.

"Taj Gibson is an outstanding defender. He's one of the best defenders in the Pac-10 and we are well aware of his excellence in that area."

ON JAMES HARDEN

"James' presence on the court creates opportunities on the court for other guys to score. If they put a defender like (Daniel) Hackett who doesn't have any help responsibilities, other guys are the benefactors. In James' case, you can't simply say that's it's five isolated games of one-on-one and sometimes he doesn't get the credit he deserves because all the attention he draws that allows other people to eat."

JAMES HARDEN

"USC has a real exciting defense. They have a lot of great defenders on their team and their defense is tough; they play man and they guard their man. They're such a unique defense. Hackett is a great defender and a great basketball player. His primary goal is to contain me and that's all he has to worry about. He's just a great defender and the team has great defenders as well so they did a pretty good job today."

JEFF PENDERGRAPH

"One of the things we talked about before the game was that Taj is great at protecting the basket. If you get by the guy that's guarding you, you can guarantee he's going to be there waiting for you. I guess we forgot about that and just jumped right into him thinking we were going to draw fouls, but he's a smarter defender than that and just kept blocking shots."

Celebration in Troy

USC's Dwight Lewis cuts down the net after the 66-63 win over ASU at Staples Center.



The Trojans put together one of the most impressive conference tournament runs in recent memory, beating Cal, UCLA and Arizona State on consecutive days to become the fifth Pac-10 team that will make the tournament along with the aformentioned three and Washington.

USC turned up the defensive intensity in the second half, holding the Sun Devil to 24 points and neutralizing the effectiveness of forward Jeff Pendergraph. Tournament MVP DeMar Derozan likely cinched his top 10 pick status with another strong game while James Harden finished with just 10 points.




Taj Gibson motions to the crowd after cutting down the nets.

Final: USC 66, Arizona State 63 -- Trojans headed to Big Dance

Dwight Lewis cans one free throw and Derek Glasser misses desperation 3-pointer at buzzer and USC has burst the bubble of some team and is headed to the NCAA Tournament.

USC 65, Arizona State 63, 2.4 seconds left

Taj Gibson has not been much of a factor today but the USC all-time blocks leader delivered a big one against James Harden and was fouled. Harden misses a 3-pointer and Marcus Simmons makes the biggest play of the season by knocking the ball off of Harden out of bounds.

USC 64, Arizona State 63, 25 seconds left

Daniel Hackett drains both free throws and suddenly the Staples Center is in a frenzy