Parity Rules in NCAA Hoops

It wasn't all that surprising if you've been paying attention. Parity exists in college basketball. There are a lot of very good teams, but few elite ones.

Even the elite ones are beatable. You know, Florida, Ohio State and the UCLA.

There were nine overtime games on Thursday, including a pair that went beyond regulation in a wild first day down here in Tampa at the ACC tournament.

Ben Howland's Bruins went down. So did Lute Olson's struggling Arizona team. Alabama, once-considered to be a Final Four contender, missed yet another opportunity in a loss to Kentucky. The two hottest teams in the ACC, Maryland and Georgia Tech, will try to regroup after all four lower seeds ended up advancing in the ACC tourney.

Maligned Wildcats coach Tubby Smith got a crucial win and he isn't the only coach fighting for his job. Tommy Amaker's Michigan team got a much-needed victory over Minnesota in the first round of the Big Ten tourney. Wyoming and Colorado State, both with jobs on the line, pulled off upsets in the Mountain West.

Wyoming beat an Air Force that has gone from a lock three weeks ago to a team that will likely be packing its bags for the NIT after four straight losses.

A lot can happen in a short period of time.

Game of the day

West Virginia fought back from a 17-point deficit and appeared to have the victory — until Louisville freshman Edgar Sosa drove the court for a layup at the buzzer that forced overtime.

The Cardinals, who had lost nine straight games in Madison Square Garden, ended up with an 82-71 double-overtime victory over John Beilein's Mountaineers.

Sosa's layup could end up costing Beilein & Co. an NCAA berth.

Upset special

Miami's win over Maryland was impressive, but the Terps were an NIT team a month ago. That's why it's a no-brainer to give it to Ben Braun's California Golden Bears, who knocked probable No. 1 seed UCLA out of the Pac-10 tourney in the quarterfinals.

Senior Ayinde Ubaka went for a career-high 29 and dominated overtime with eight points and freshman forward Ryan Anderson added 18.

Ben Howland's team might have lost out on a No. 1 seed, but it'll depend on the success of teams like Florida, North Carolina, Kansas and Ohio State. If all win their conference tourneys, the Bruins could wind up somewhere outside of California as a No. 2 seed.

Cal is 16-16 and has played nearly the entire season without two of its top big men, DeVon Hardin and Jordan Wilkes.

LeBron's boys

LeBron James was in the crowd once again to watch former high school teammates Romeo Travis and Dru Joyce.

Travis and Joyce have led Akron to 16 wins in the last 18 games, including an 82-53 rout over Central Michigan in the Mid-American quarterfinals.

Akron, which hasn't played in the NCAA tournament since 1986, will take on Kent State in the semis.

Door's open for red-hot Xavier

The Atlantic-10 is officially a one-bid league after UMass got knocked out in the quarterfinals by St. Louis in overtime.

Billikens guard Tommie Liddell had 24 points and knocked off the Minutemen, who had an outside shot of getting an at-large bid if they reached the title game.

Now this tournament clearly belongs to red-hot Xavier, which has won nine straight after a rout over an undermanned Dayton team.

The Musketeers will face overachieving Rhode Island, who got past Fordham in the quarters on Jimmy Baron's layup with 11.1 seconds left. St. Louis will face George Washington in the other semifinals.

Go-to guys

Al Thornton, Florida State: The Seminoles senior forward scored 25 points, none bigger than a free throw with 1.5 seconds left that gave the Seminoles a 67-66 win over Clemson and might have punched FSU's ticket into the NCAA tournament.

Ayinde Ubaka, California: The senior guard scored eight of his career-high 29 points in overtime as the Golden Bears knocked UCLA out of the Pac-10 tourney in the quarterfinals.

Harvey Hale, Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons guard scored 21 of his 22 points after regulation in a thrilling double-overtime win against Georgia Tech.

Tommie Liddell, St. Louis: Scored 24 points and also had a key steal with 10 seconds left in the upset over UMass.

Morris Almond, Rice: The senior, who is third in D-I in scoring, put up a 30-spot in an upset over Central Florida. He also knocked down a 3-pointer with 2.8 seconds left that won the game.

Coaching scuttlebutt

Brad Holland was fired after 13 years at San Diego. The Toreros were 200-176 in his tenure and 18-14 this past season. ... Continuing to hear Old Dominion's Blaine Taylor for the Colorado job. ... Syracuse assistant Mike Hopkins, Vermont head coach Mike Lonergan, Eastern Kentucky head coach Jeff Neubauer, Albany head man Will Brown and St. John's assistant Fred Quartlebaum have all been mentioned already for the opening at St. Bonaventure. ... Look for former Virginia coach Pete Gillen to try and get back in the college ranks. How about if South Florida opens? If Tubby Smith is out at Kentucky, names that are certain to surface are Florida's Billy Donovan, Texas A&M's Billy Gillispie and Marquette's Tom Crean. ... Look for former Tennessee coach Buzz Peterson to leave Coastal Carolina. ... Nick Fazekas barely extended his streak of scoring in double-figures to 59 games with a 10-point performance in a rout over Idaho. ... Fresno State's Quinton Hosley can cross the Denver Nuggets off his list if he ever makes the NBA. Hosley was ejected after elbowing Coby Karl, the son of Nuggets coach George Karl, in the head. The younger Karl sank five key free throws in Boise State's 78-73 win in the WAC quarterfinals.

Random news and notes

Georgetown led 26-2 against Villanova, but Jay Wright's Wildcats fought back and Scottie Reynolds missed a 3-pointer with 41 seconds left that could have cut the deficit to 3. ... Now we know why Dan Monson resigned at Minnesota earlier in the season. The Gophers are bad. They lost more games (22) than any team in school history and also scored just 40 points in a loss to Michigan, the lowest point total in the history of the Big Ten tourney. ... Baylor's win over Missouri was the program's first Big 12 tournament victory since 2001. ... No chance that the committee keeps out a Tom Izzo team that has now won 22 games. The Spartans are a lock for their 10th straight NCAA appearance. ... Could Glen "Big Baby" Davis and the LSU Tigers run the table in the SEC tournament? It's certainly not out of the question. LSU beat Tennessee on Thursday, face Ole Miss today and then would have to get past Florida in the semis.

Quotes of the day

"I don't even care. If we don't play better than we're playing right now, anyone in the field of 64 teams will beat us." — UCLA coach Ben Howland after the loss to Cal

"Let that be a national statement for those stupid stickers they put on the court. He's probably done for the year. Let that be a statement that if you put those stickers on the floor, you put kids at risk." — Nevada coach Mark Fox after watching starting guard Kyle Shiloh slip on a logo sign.

What I'm watching today

1. Florida State got past Clemson, but the Seminoles sure could use a win over North Carolina to secure a berth in the NCAA tournament. This one will be interesting to see how Tyler Hansbrough plays in his mask.

2. How about Bobby Knight vs. Bob Huggins with potentially a NCAA tournament berth on the line. Texas Tech faces Kansas State in the Big 12 quarterfinals and the loser is likely NIT-bound.

3. Round 3 of the battle between Indiana and Illinois, but this one has far more implications for the Illini than for Kelvin Sampson's club — which has already locked up a spot in the Big Dance.

4. Michigan State and Wisconsin split a pair of games. This one comes on a neutral court with plenty on the line.

5. Holy Cross and Bucknell will battle for the Patriot League crown and an automatic NCAA berth. Ralph Willard's Crusaders are the favorites, especially because the game is being played on their home court.