HOOPS FROM THE SHARK TANK

I have very little to do until tonight's Pitt-UCLA showdown, previewed by our fine newspaper, so I'm going to write a little bit before the Kansas-Southern Illinois game.

First and foremost, HP Pavilion, a.k.a. the Shark Tank, is not that big. In fact, it's smaller than HSBC Arena where we were last week. Nothing compares to the Palace at Auburn Hills last year, but this year Pitt is actually in the Sweet 16. No more of this one and done stuff.

Second, I am maybe three steps off the floor here. Brandon Rush's "Unforgivable" by Sean John caught my nose while he stood for the national anthem. OK, that's a lie. But he was close. Jay Bilas, Ric Bucher and Jay Mariotti are in the house for tonight's game. I heard Mark Schlabach was also here. Kansas turns some heads around the media, I guess.

Third, Tubby Smith left Kentucky today for Minnesota. Of all the places Smith could go, he headed for Minnesota. Go figure. Anyway, read the story -- there are some pretty marquee names, as I'd expect, listed as potential replacements at Kentucky: Billy Donovan, Jay Wright, Rick Barnes, Tom Izzo, Tom Crean, Billy Gillespie, John Calipari, Mark Few and even Mike Brey are included.

OK, let's get some quick hitters.

Kansas is just too talented for Southern Illinois. I see Southern Illinois making this a tough out for the Jayhawks, but Kansas has the horses to overcome the pressure. The Salukis don't score as easily and, as we saw with Wisconsin, if you can't score, you will be knocked out.

KANSAS 65, SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 57

Pitt is due to win a big game on a big stage. And what stage is bigger than this one? Sweet 16, Dixon-Howland, Shark Tank...Anyway, the guards are real tough, obviously, for UCLA, but I think analysts around the nation forget Pitt's guards are tough, too. Gray and Kendall will combine with Young to be too tough for the inside guys on UCLA. Throw in Mike Cook playing well and I see Pitt getting easier hoops than people might think.

PITT 72, UCLA 62

Yeah, I said it. Check tomorrow's Pitt News for the Pitt-UCLA game story. Enjoy the games while I enjoy San Jose, California.