Maynor's Miss

A tough way to go out. I really thought he nailed it, and VCU was headed into the second round. Three more inches. Three lousy inches. Still, even though his 17-footer grazed off the front rim, Eric Maynor was the best player on the floor last night. He finished with 21 points, seven assists, six rebounds, a steal and only two turnovers in 39 minutes. Sure, he only shot about 33 percent from the field, but he was able to get to line, hitting 10 of 13 from the charity stripe. He also kept Darren Collison off balance all night and, once Collison picked up his fourth foul with just under 10 minutes left, I thought Maynor would take over. But freshman guard Jrue Holiday, the second best player on the court, scored six straight points for the Bruins, extending their lead to 11, which was just too much of a deficit for VCU to overcome.

Maynor and the Rams made one final push, though, and, with 11 seconds left, Maynor had a chance to win the game. He got through the Bruins's press. Pulled up. Collison stuck him. Maynor missed, then quietly buried his head in teammate Larry Sanders's chest, before finally walking off the court.

It was almost too painful to watch. 

Even the Losers

Pittsburgh, North Carolina, Michigan State and UCLA, four teams I like to go deep in the upcoming NCAA tournament, all lost in their respective conference tournaments. Is this a harbinger of things to come? I doubt it. Pitt has a history of playing well in Big East tournament only to miss out on all the March Madness fun, so maybe their early exit Thursday night actually bodes well for them this year.  UNC's loss to Florida State this afternoon shouldn't kill their chances at a No. 1 seed. MSU's dismantling, on the other hand,  should put to rest the Spartans's hopes of being a top seed. UCLA might also get knocked down a seed or two, but I'm still bullish about their chances to reach the Sweet 16. Maybe even the Elite Eight.

Right now, though, I'm sure these four teams are smarting over their early exits and hoping that they draw a favorable bracket. In recognition of this, here's a little song from Tom Petty to help them make through Sunday night, when the selection committee determines their respective fates.