NCAA play starts in earnest with Clemson. Really?

The remaining 64 teams of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship start play the next two days and it tips off today with Clemson playing West Virginia at 11:15 a.m. CT in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Clemson? Really?

That’s the same team, which played in the second game of Tuesday’s "First Four" match-ups (the new first-round of the tournament).

Who is the schedule maker? The Mountaineer from WVU. Think about this.

The Tigers beat UAB Tuesday night in the "First Four" and then went about the normal post-game chores of interviews, showering and packing. They were still on the dais dealing with media inquiries near midnight.

Reports said that the 982-mile trip from Dayton to St. Petersburg got them to their team hotel at roughly 4 a.m. Wednesday morning (they had a delay leaving, too).

And, the reward was opening the second-round with the earliest game available.

That is a head scratcher. The last game of the second round pits Indiana State and Syracuse on Friday night at 8:57 p.m. Clemson could have received an extra 33 hours and 32 minutes to travel, rest and prepare if it had been placed in the final game of round two instead of the first one.

The Tigers were likely one of the last teams added to the field. But, to penalize them in this fashion is hard to digest.

Maybe, a 64-team field is better. Everybody would play over a two-day period to get things started and each school would have a minimum of four days to get ready for their openers.

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Cyclones head to unique hoops environment

There were likely a few Cyclone women’s basketball players sitting on the edge of their seats Monday night. Team-by-team, 60 schools were unveiled as part of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship bracket before ISU got its confirmation.

Head Coach Bill Fennelly admitted excitement during the process, but never worry.

"Deep down there was no (doubt)," Fennelly said. "(And), it never gets old seeing Iowa State’s name come up."

The Cyclones will play in Cameron Indoor Stadium at Duke.

"We’re going to a place where basketball is special," he said. "It’s a unique environment and will be fun for the kids. (Duke) is a place that they’ll tell their grandkids about (in the future)."

Beyond pride for his team, Fennelly was equally impressed by the selection of three state teams to the field.

"I think it’s amazing (bids for Iowa State, UNI and Iowa) and it’s happened two years in a row," Fennelly said. "It’s not just three teams but it’s three teams representing three conferences."

Fennelly said that the trio of bids to state schools speaks a lot about the universities and their commitment to his sport, the players and the coaches.

"It’s a real cool thing," Fennelly concluded. "This is the ultimate reward for a lot of people who have worked very hard."

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League elite on same path to Final Four

For the 12th time overall and fifth year in a row, Bill Fennelly has guided his Cyclone women’s basketball team to the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship.

As the #7 seed in the Philadelphia Region, Iowa State faces Marist in Durham, N.C. Saturday at 10 a.m. CT.

The Red Foxes have won 26 games in a row and they defend hard. Marist led the nation in scoring defense (48 ppg) and its foes made less than one-third of their shots. Fennelly and his staff will be working tirelessly to devise ways to create shots for Kelsey Bolte and her teammates.

Along with trying to advance, the Cyclones and six of their league peers will be carrying the banner of the Big 12 in the NCAA Tournament.

Baylor and Texas A&M – the top two seeds in the Dallas Region – could play each other with a Final Four berth on the line. It would be the fourth meeting of the season for those schools. A similar situation exists in another region where Stanford and UCLA are lined for a potential fourth encounter.

That is tough for a league when two of its nationally elite clubs are on the same path to the Final Four. Earlier in my career, I worked with a team at Wisconsin that played Michigan State four times one season but the last game was in the Final Four.

“Geographic principles and procedures (governed these decisions),” ESPN’s Kara Lawson said of the possible fourth game match-ups. “The committee is following their guidelines.”

I hope they re-consider the guidelines and the chair of the women’s basketball committee said they would study it at the Final Four.

Seven bids for the Big 12 is legitimate and impressive. Beyond the Bears and Aggies, the other five seeds are in the middle-of-the-pack (seeds between 6-9). Although the possible collision for the league’s top two teams doesn’t seem right, that discussion will wait for another day.

Right now, it’s win and advance. Go Cyclones!

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Thoughts on the tournament, but no bracket help

The brackets for the 2011 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship are done.

Arguing about No. 1 seeds, bodies of work and sleeper picks has begun. That’s an every season exercise.

What’s different this year is the creation of the "First Four". That is the "mini-tournament" where eight schools play games (beginning Tuesday) to advance to the real bracket.

What I like about the "First Four" is that – since games start tomorrow – it limits the hours of mindless analysis that will be telecast into our homes this week. There are only so many times I want to hear Digger Phelps scream "(insert team) is on a mission and/or (insert player) can get it done."

Another new item is the TV partnership between CBS and Turner. Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith spent Sunday afternoon breaking down the games on the CBS set. Their entertainment value with the NBA is terrific, but I’m more accustomed to hearing Bilas, Vitale, Gottlieb and company on college hoops.

Something to consider about the Tuesday games is the lack of preparation time. The teams in the "First Four" learned of their destinations Sunday, will travel to Dayton today and face an unfamiliar opponent with minimum preparation.

Initially, that seemed like a big deal. That was before UConn blitzed through five games in five days to win the Big East Championship. The difference, of course, is that the Huskies faced teams they were familiar with because of league affiliation.

That theory fails, too. UConn had played DePaul, Georgetown, Pitt and Syracuse (the foes it defeated in the tourney) once each in conference play before defeating Louisville (they did play the Cardinals twice) in the title game.

Let the games begin. It cuts down on the endless predictions and UConn proved that preparation might be overrated.

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Seen and heard at the Big 12 Championship

Some random observations from Kansas City…

— Seeing Pat Knight in suit / tie was a head scratcher. After seeing his father buck traditional attire with his sweaters and son follow with golf shirts, the dark suit and red tie was out of character. It was like he dressed for a job interview.

— The Kansas City Star’s Blair Kerkhoff is one of the best reporters on Big 12 sports. Here is his balanced assessment of the Cyclone program. Click here.

— When Colorado and K-State played, the game could’ve been on black-and-white TV. The color and pageantry of college sports is second to none … except when the Buffs’ black road uniforms are matched with the Wildcats’ gray.  K-State official color is royal purple. But it’s an accent color on their uniforms.

— Kansas fans are opinionated. As the Jayhawks aggressive trio of the Morris twins and Thomas Robinson proceeded to foul out three Oklahoma State frontline players, the KU fans behind me started belly aching about the officiating. At the time, KU had three team fouls and CU nine. Enough said.

— Wearing cardinal & gold around town all week generated a handful of unsolicited comments from fans of other schools, The message was "we always cheer for ISU when we don’t play you. Your fans are the kindest and classiest."

— One Thursday game was UT vs. OU. "Red River Rivalry", right? That must be football only. Quietest crowd of the week.

— It must have helped Alec Burks to come back home. The Buffalo sophomore is from Grandview, Mo. (16 miles away from the Sprint Center). His stat line after games against ISU and KSU read:  53 points, 21 rebounds and 11 assists. Tourney MVP so far.

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Wishing we had Jake one year more

Jake Anderson averaged double figure points all four years of his college career. Does that surprise you a bit?

All year, coaches appreciated and fans applauded his toughness and determination. At  6-foot-2, he led a Big 12 team in rebounding. Every night out, he got the toughest defensive match-up and it was normally a small forward.

Jordan Hamilton of Texas, then Mike Singletary of Tech, then Khris Middleton of A&M. Mix in a few possessions shadowing Jacob Pullen. And, of course, he also got minutes defending power forwards – a half-foot or more taller – on occasion.

We so often marveled about his defensive tenacity. It was easy to overlook his scoring.

But the former MAC Freshman-of-the-Year at Northern Illinois left Cyclone fans with a lasting memory Wednesday.

Anderson and fellow senior Diante Garrett carried their mates to the finish line in the Big 12 Championship opening round before getting nipped at the tape by Colorado.

Anderson tallied a career-high 33 points (he had 32 as a sophomore against Chicago State). Yesterday, he hit on a collection of lunging lay-ups, three pointers and short jumpers.

But, it’s most appropriate to salute Anderson’s overall game as he departs. Rather than point to his defense, marvel at his rebounding or tout the offensive output in his last college game, let’s salute the total player.

In four seasons of college ball, Anderson led his club in scoring twice (freshman and sophomore), in rebounding twice (sophomore and senior) and in assists twice (freshman and junior). Find another player who can make that claim.

Thanks, Jake. We won’t forget your contributions. We’ll just wish we had you one more season.

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Buffs and Cyclones: another high-scoring affair?

When Iowa State and Colorado meet in the first round of the Big 12 Men’s Basketball Championship today, it will be the third encounter of the year between the Cyclones and Buffaloes.

The schools split the prior meetings – each team winning on its home floor – so the neutral site of the Sprint Center will be the tie-breaker.

History normally gives some clues, but I’m not certain which meeting from earlier this season you would favor as the trendsetter.

Colorado ran away from the Cyclones in Boulder and scorched the nets from the field (50%) and beyond the arc (47%). CU had a +13 rebound margin. Cyclone big man Calvin Godfrey missed that game.

The rematch in Hilton Coliseum was much different. With Godfrey dominating the action in the lane (he hit 10-11 shots and scored a career-best 23 points), Iowa State posted a 95-90 victory. The Cyclones had a +8 margin on the boards, a major change from their rebounding deficit at Colorado.

One of the intriguing things about the Cyclones and Buffaloes this season is how much they have re-invented their styles under first-year coaches. Both teams like to score and that’s a change from recent seasons.

Fred Hoiberg’s club is fourth in the league in scoring (up six slots from a year ago) and Tad Boyle’s team is third in Big 12 points per game (up three spots from 2010).

In the last meeting, 185 points were scored. You might look for more of the same this time around and, hopefully, Godfrey can establish himself on both ends of the court once again.

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Beating Huskers for third time is Cyclones’ task

Most coaches would suggest that defeating a team three times in a row is a big challenge. Of the eight match-ups in the first rounds of the Big 12 Women’s and Men’s Basketball Championships, five of the pairings will be third-time meetings.

In just two – Iowa State vs. Nebraska and Kansas vs. Colorado in the women’s tourney – of the match-ups did one team sweep the season series. The Cyclones and Jayhawks both went 2-0 against their first-round foe.

So, Bill Fennelly and his staff have been working this week on devising a strategy to beat the Huskers for the third straight time. Nebraska and Iowa State played twice within a 15-day period earlier this season.

Kelsey Bolte, like she has all season, was a constant for Iowa State. She averaged 24 ppg against Nebraska. The surprise contributor was Anna Prins, who registered a "double-double" in the first meeting (18 points, career-best 11 rebounds) and then scored a career-high 23 points in the second game.

In four halves of action between ISU and NU, the Cyclones’ key was shooting. They hit 32 percent in the first half of the first game and trailed by five a halftime. In the other three halves, Iowa State made 58 percent from the field to gain traction.

The question today is whether the Cyclones can end their conference rivalry with Nebraska on a three-game series winning streak? Tip-off is at 1:30 p.m. in Kansas City.

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Without fanfare, Reader aims to join select group

Tucked away on the second floor of the Lied Recreation Center is Iowa State’s wrestling room. It’s where Jon Reader practices his trade.

The Cyclone wrestler, one of his sport’s outstanding performers, toiled all winter without much fanfare. Last weekend, the nation’s top-ranked 174 pounder demolished his competition to claim the Big 12 championship. It his first.

"It just means so much to win in front of these fans," Reader told Big12sports.com on its live webcast. "There isn’t a better program to wrestle for than Iowa State."

His dominating performance (he outscored two foes by a 29-9 margin) earned him the league’s Outstanding Wrestler Award and upped his season record to 34-0 entering the NCAA Championship. Reader is the 15th Cyclone to earn conference OW honors.

Next up for Reader is the NCAA Championship in Philadelphia. He will enter that meet as the top seed and with the same mindset he’s employed all season.

"I just want wrestle hard seven minutes at a time," Reader said. "All season long, I’ve taken it one match at a time."

 

Reader’s 34 wins this season, include three pins, 11 technical falls and 11 major decisions. Nearly 3/4 of his matches have been for bonus points.

In the last 40-plus years, only eight different Cyclones have registered undefeated, untied national championship seasons. The list includes Jake Varner, Nate Gallick, Cael Sanderson, Tim Krieger, Mike Land, Chris Taylor, Dan Gable and Ben Peterson.
 

For his final preparations, Reader will retreat to his workroom on the second floor at Lied. Without glamour, he’ll prepare for the biggest tournament of his life.

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Fennelly closing in on 12th NCAA Tournament bid

Iowa State has qualified for the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament in 11 of Bill Fennelly’s 15 years as head coach. In nearly 3/4 of the years, his Cyclones made the "Big Dance".

Texas – with a dozen appearances during that timeframe – is the only Big 12 school with more invites than the Cyclones.

"For me, it (trying to qualify for the NCAA Tournament field) is the most important thing we do," Fennelly said recently. "The selection Monday – March 14th – is written on my practice card every day."

That is Fennelly’s way of making certain his focus never varies from the goal.

"We understand the process and what we are trying to do," Fennelly said. "Our job (the next two weeks) is to go win games and play well."

One thing that Fennelly thinks might be a bit different this season is that his team can still get better.

"We’ve had teams (in the past) that couldn’t get much better," he said. "You just wanted to maintain and stay healthy. There’s another level for this team and I think that’s exciting this late in the season."

Reader feedback is welcome at 2minutetimeout@iastate.edu. You can also follow me on Twitter at: twitter.com/SteveMalchow