Day 1 Reactions-

Rick Pitino is just THAT good- Do not doubt Pitino in the tournament, he will prove you wrong. And perhaps, he'll unpredictably take his team to the Final Four.

The analysts tagged this as a potential upset and a wire-to-wire game. Stanford never led in the game. Louisville led by up to 33 points.

Analysts critcize Pitino's pressure defense until the NCAA Tournament begins. Pitino is then referred to as an ingenuis defensive mastermind. Analysts fail to acknowledge that pressured, team defense is impossible to achieve overnight. Give Pitino the regular season, he'll make you pay when it counts.


The Duke Loss - As a life-long Duke fan, this was dissapointing. But, it wasn't as upsetting as last year's senior-laden team giving into LSU's physical defense.

This Duke team has only had this year to mature. The team relied heavily on Sheldon Williams and J.J. Redick last year. The duo put up impressive stats religiously to put the Devils over the top in close games.

Josh McCroberts, Greg Paulus and DeMarcus Nelson were not asked for much offensively until this year. At year's end, they have all made extensive strides - particularly Paulus. Paulus's turnovers are inexplicable at times. But his shot is lethal and his distribution has never been so good.

Remember, this team started two freshmen, two sophomores and one junior in its final game. Next year should be nice.

Reflection on my predictions: Michigan State and Kentucky pulled off the 8-9 victories.

I underestimated UNLV's athleticism and ability to match up with Georgia Tech. I thought Georgia Tech would either win this game and win several rounds, or lose in the first round. The Ramblin Wreck' chose the latter.