NCAA Tournament Weekend Recap: Best Storylines, Teams, and Players

Well the first weekend of the 2009 NCAA tournament is in the books, and it was a weekend with some serious drama, but for the most part the favorites advanced and there will be no cinderella's dancing in the Sweet 16 this year.

Here's a look at the weekend action in each region.

MIDWEST

Arizona Proves It Belongs

Normally I'm not big on proving you belong once you are in the tournament, that should be done during the regular season, but Arizona was a team that was hotly debated on Selection Sunday.

They had a good resume and they did belong, but there were many that didn't feel like they did. I'd say most would change their tune now. The Wildcats blitzed Utah in the first round, followed by upstart Cleveland State in the second round, to advance to the sweet 16 in impressive fashion.

Kansas Quietly Defending their Title

So Kansas is just going about their business, winning their first and second round games fairly easily, including a nice blowout of Dayton in round two. Kansas lost seven players off last year's National Championship team, but here they are again in the Sweet 16 looking to defend their title. Still they really haven't been a focal point in the tournament...yet.

Louisville Marches On...Barely.

The Cards were up by just two points at halftime over Morehead State in the first round before going on to win. Then they had a double-digit lead on Siena, only to give up the lead entirely late in the second half, finally coming back and win by seven. At times, the Cardinals look dominant, pressing, forcing turnovers and scoring quick baskets, and other times they were turning the ball over and playing sloppy.

A tough test awaits the Cards with one of the toughest No. 12 seeds in tournament history in Arizona.

Best Team So Far: Arizona, wins over Utah by 13 and Cleveland State by 14.

Best Player So Far: Nic Wise, Arizona, Guard- 29 points vs. Utah, 21 points vs. Cleveland State

WEST

UConn Rolling

If there was any question whether UConn deserved that last No. 1 seed, that debate was put to rest with two dominating performances by the Huskies. They beat Chatanooga in the first round by 56 points, then followed that up by beating Texas A&M in the second round by 26 points. Even without Jerome Dyson, the Huskies are rolling right now, and might be the most impressive team in the tournament so far.

Memphis Proving They are Title Contender

Going into the tournament, many wondered if Memphis was on the same level as North Carolina, Louisville, Pittsburgh, and UConn as title contenders. Well Memphis had a bit of a scare in the first round against Cal State Northridge, but they responded very well with a dominant performance against Maryland. Memphis jumped on Maryland from the start and the outcome was never in doubt after that. If Memphis shoots the ball from the outside as well as they did against Maryland, they are very tough to beat.

Purdue Continues Hot Play

Coming off a run through the Big Ten tournament to win the Big Ten title, Purdue continues their hot play by taking out Pac-10 champion Washington to advance to the Sweet 16. The Boilermakers are playing awfully good right now, and will give UConn a very good test in the next round.

Best Team So Far: UConn, wins over Chattanooga by 56, and Texas A&M by 26.

Best Player So Far: AJ Price, UConn, Guard- 20 points against Chattanoga, 27 points against Texas A&M

SOUTH

Ty Lawson to the Rescue

The decision by Roy Williams to sit Ty Lawson in the first round payed off with an easy win and some rest for Lawson. But it's a good thing Lawson was ready to play against LSU because he was the difference in the game. LSU made a big push in the second half, taking the lead and putting the Tar Heels backs against the wall..enter Ty Lawson. A 21 point second half performance led the Heels as they pulled away from LSU to win by 14. With Lawson playing like that, they are the best team in the country.

Can Zags get past Sweet 16 for First Time since 1999?

Considering how far Gonzaga has come as a program in the last ten years, they haven't reached the Elite Eight since their Cinderella run in 1999. This might be the Zags best overall team, unfortunately North Carolina is standing in the way. The Zags rolled in round one, but were pushed to the limit by a game Western Kentucky team in round two, with Demitri Goodson hitting a game winning shot with seconds left in the game. They might need more of those heroics to get by the Tar Heels.

The 'Cuse Showing They Have Plenty Left in the Tank

After Syracuse amazing run in the Big East tournament, I wondered how they would respond this weekend, and would there be any signs of fatigue by their second round game. Well they have looked pretty impressive so far, winning both games by double-digits, including a good win over Arizona State in the second round.

Now who do they get in the Sweet 16? Blake Griffin and Oklahoma, this could be one of the best games in the entire tournament.

Best Team So Far: North Carolina, wins over Radford by 43, and LSU by 14.

Best Player So Far: Blake Griffin, Oklahoma, Forward- 28 points and 13 rebounds against Morgan State, and 33 points and 17 rebounds against Michigan.

EAST

Pittsburgh Survives Tough Weekend

Pittsburgh sure is thankful that weekend is over. An unexpected battle with East Tennessee State in round one almost made the Panthers the first No. 1 seed to ever lose to a No. 16 seed, and after they pulled that one out, they were taken to the wire against Oklahoma State.

Look for Pittsburgh to respond well from those two close wins, and really bring their A game against Xavier in the Sweet 16.

Villanova Making Some Serious Noise

Watch out Pittsburgh and Duke, Villanova is letting people know they are for real. After a solid win over American in round one, Villanova came out and just destroyed UCLA in a complete rout. In what was probably the best performance from a team in the tournament yet, the Wildcats beat the Bruins by 20 points putting on a clinic in every facet of the game. Watch out Duke, Nova is rolling.

UCLA Final Four Comes to an End

UCLA's streak of three straight years in the Final Four came to end with a 20 point loss to Villanova. The Bruins lost to Florida in the national title game three years ago, then lost to Florida again in the Final Four a year later, then were outed by Memphis last year in the Final Four.

Duke Makes Only 3rd Sweet 16 in Last Five Years

In what used to be a birthright of sorts, Duke had only made two Sweet 16's since 2005, and if Coach K hadn't made the Sweet 16 this year, it would have been the first time he hadn't made it in a three year stretch since 1983-1985. Fortunately the Blue Devils squeaked past Texas in round two, and now face a hot Villanova team in the next round, which should be a really great game.

Best Team So Far: Villanova, wins over American by 13, and UCLA by 20.

Best Player So Far: Gerald Henderson, Duke, Guard- 13 points and 6 rebounds against Binghamton, 24 points and 6 rebounds against Texas.