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. 

Know Your Bracket Busters 6

Eric Maynor first made a name for himself when he single-handedly knocked out the Duke Blue Devils in the first round of the 2007 NCAA tournament. Since then, coach K’s bete noir has gotten even better, averaging 22 points, six assists and almost two steals per game this season for Virginia Commonwealth University, the Colonial Athletic Association champion. Arguably the best point guard in the country, Maynor is one of those rare talents that can simply take over a game at any given moment, and will undoubtedly be a first-round pick in the upcoming NBA draft, along with UCLA's Darren Collison, his opponent in the first round of the NCAA tournament. 

Maynor is dangerous, folks, and as good as the game.