PITTSBURGH PANTHERS

1. No one recruits NY like Pitt. Pitt coaches regularly take trips to New York and hand out the majority of their scholarships to the best players they can find. On this year's team, five players are from the NYC area, including starters Levance Fields, Ronald Ramon and Keith Benjamin. No wonder Pitt plays so well at Madison Square Garden. Their record there since 2001 is 20-8. Isiah, eat your heart out.

2. Always a bridesmaid. Yeah, that's Pitt for sure. Pitt has appeared in several Big East championship games and has won only once. Things don't get much better when the NCAA tourney starts. If there's been any consistency in this program the last seven years, it's been Pitt's tendency to get to the dance and not advance past the first week. The latest disappointment/kick in the balls: former Pitt coach Ben Howland and UCLA sent the Panthers packing in the Sweet 16 on route to a Final Four appearance.

3. The beast of the Big East is a freshman and wears a Pitt jersey. Dejuan Blair, who played his high school ball in a gym just off campus, was third in the league in rebounding and fifth in steals. Blair took home Rookie of the Year honors in the conference as a 6'7" center. Feel free to refer to him as "The Grizzly Blair." — Pat Sehn

ORAL ROBERTS GOLDEN EAGLES

1. Three In A Row. It's the third consecutive tournament appearance for the Golden Eagles, and their seed seems to grow each year. Two years ago, they were a No. 16 seed, and one major national basketball analyst predicted them to beat No. 1 seed Memphis. (Didn't happen.) In 1973, the team reached the Elite Eight before losing to Kansas in overtime. Kansas is now coached by Bill Self, who started his coaching career at ORU, back before he wore a toupee.

2. Parting The Red Defense. The Golden Eagles were led in scoring by Robert Jarvis (not the guy who invented the artificial heart), but it was led to the tournament by Biblically named Moses Ehambe, who was the Summit League Tourney MVP. He was also his Arlington, Texas high school prom king.

3. Bears Repeating. I mention this in their tournament preview every year, because it absolutely must be mentioned any time the Golden Eagles are mentioned anywhere for anything. The school was indeed founded (and humbly named) by Oral Roberts, who is most famous, of course, for telling his parishioners in 1986 that if they did not raise $8 million by March of that year, God would "call him home. (Sadly, we didn't get to find out if Roberts really had such a conversation with the Almighty; they hit the number.) Roberts has claimed to have personally raised the dead and, last year, said that a vision of a "cloud over New York" has told him Christ is coming soon. (After he dies, Roberts has told followers that he plans to return and rule the world with Christ.)" — Will Leitch

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2. Parting The Red Defense. The Golden Eagles were led in scoring by Robert Jarvis (not the guy who invented the artificial heart), but it was led to the tournament by Biblically named Moses Ehambe, who was the Summit League Tourney MVP. He was also his Arlington, Texas high school prom king.

3. Bears Repeating. I mention this in their tournament preview every year, because it absolutely must be mentioned any time the Golden Eagles are mentioned anywhere for anything. The school was indeed founded (and humbly named) by Oral Roberts, who is most famous, of course, for telling his parishioners in 1986 that if they did not raise $8 million by March of that year, God would "call him home. (Sadly, we didn't get to find out if Roberts really had such a conversation with the Almighty; they hit the number.) Roberts has claimed to have personally raised the dead and, last year, said that a vision of a "cloud over New York" has told him Christ is coming soon. (After he dies, Roberts has told followers that he plans to return and rule the world with Christ.)" — Will Leitch

WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS

1. Worst to, well, second. Without question, Washington State was the single most surprising team in a BCS conference this year. Coming off a last-place finish last season, and with Tony Bennett taking over as a first-time head coach from his father, Dick Bennett, the media picked Washington State as an overwhelming favorite to repeat that last place finish. However, the added maturity of an additional year, and the good health of a couple of key players (Derrick Low and Daven Harmeling), made an enormous difference to a team that had only had one senior last year. In fact, Tony Bennett has gotten off to such a flying start this season, with a 13-5 record in the Pac-10, that he could lose his next 85 straight conference games and still have a higher winning percentage in conference than his father's predecessor, the shockingly inept Paul Graham.

2. A motley crew. The Cougars' 13-year absence from the NCAA tournament, and the tremendous success of Gonzaga and, more recently, U Dub, certainly hasn't helped their recruiting in the state of Washington any. In fact, Washington State does not have a single scholarship player from the state of Washington. They do, however, have players from eight different states, and three foreign countries. Included amongst these are a long-haired Hawaiian point guard (Derrick Low) with a traditional tattoo covering the entire length of his right leg, a 6'10" Texan (Robbie Cowgill) who needs to eat 7000 calories a day to maintain himself at a svelte 210 pounds and a 6'10", 270 pound beast from Australia (Aron Baynes) that has come out of seemingly nowhere to have a huge impact in WSU's last two Pac Ten wins.

3. Like father, like son. Without question, the backbone of Washington State's success this season has been the defensive system developed by Dick Bennett. Throughout his career Bennett built a reputation as a defensive innovator. In fact, in a 1998 SI poll of Division-I coaches, Bennett placed third when they were asked, "If you could go to only one coaching clinic, whose would it be?" They certainly wouldn't be there to learn the offense that his Wisconsin team scored 41 points with against Michigan State in the 2000 Final Four. The Bennett Defensive philosophy is sometimes referred to as a pack-line defense. Alternatively, UCLA swingman Josh Shipp refers to it as "kind of weak." The basic idea is to pressure the ball and force it in the middle, while all other defenders stay within 17 feet of the basket; at practice they tape a line on the floor three feet inside the 3-point line. If the defensive system is working effectively, you will see no penetration to the baseline, quick traps by the other big man anytime the ball goes inside, a lot of forced, heavily contested jump shots and frustrated looks on the opponents' faces. If it's not working effectively, you'll see Wazzu lose, as they simply don't have enough firepower to succeed otherwise. — Ted Murray

ORAL ROBERTS GOLDEN EAGLES

1. So, Then, Why The Hell Are You At Oral Roberts? The Golden Eagles, in the tournament for the second year in a row, are defined by their star player, Caleb Green. He's a 6-8 forward who has won the Mid-Continent player of the year award three years in a row, which I guarantee will never happen again in any major conference. He's actually from Tulsa and, in high school, won the Jim Thorpe Award for the best athlete in the state of Oklahoma. He's best friends with fellow ORU star, guard Ken Tutt; together, the duo has won 83 games in their four years on campus.

2. They Beat My Official Tournament Favorite ... On The Road. I'm terrible at predicting anything, but right now, no team in the country, save for maybe Ohio State, looks better than Kansas. Well, these bad mofos from Oral Roberts won at Allen Fieldhouse earlier this year, 78-71, way back in November. (This was after they had lost to Loyola Marymount.) Oral Roberts was the first job for current Kansas coach Bill "Toupee" Self.

3. Bears Repeating. I mentioned this in their tournament preview last year, but it absolutely must be mentioned any time the Golden Eagles are mentioned anywhere for anything. "The school was indeed founded (and humbly named) by Oral Roberts, who is most famous, of course, for telling his parishioners in 1986 that if they did not raise $8 million by March of that year, God would "call him home." (Sadly, we didn't get to find out if Roberts really had such a conversation with the Almighty; they hit the number.) Roberts has claimed to have personally raised the dead and, last year, said that a vision of a "cloud over New York" has told him Christ is coming soon. (After he dies, Roberts has told followers that he plans to return and rule the world with Christ.)" — Will Leitch

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(That's all of 'em for today, folks. Whew.)

2. They Beat My Official Tournament Favorite ... On The Road. I'm terrible at predicting anything, but right now, no team in the country, save for maybe Ohio State, looks better than Kansas. Well, these bad mofos from Oral Roberts won at Allen Fieldhouse earlier this year, 78-71, way back in November. (This was after they had lost to Loyola Marymount.) Oral Roberts was the first job for current Kansas coach Bill "Toupee" Self.

3. Bears Repeating. I mentioned this in their tournament preview last year, but it absolutely must be mentioned any time the Golden Eagles are mentioned anywhere for anything. "The school was indeed founded (and humbly named) by Oral Roberts, who is most famous, of course, for telling his parishioners in 1986 that if they did not raise $8 million by March of that year, God would "call him home." (Sadly, we didn't get to find out if Roberts really had such a conversation with the Almighty; they hit the number.) Roberts has claimed to have personally raised the dead and, last year, said that a vision of a "cloud over New York" has told him Christ is coming soon. (After he dies, Roberts has told followers that he plans to return and rule the world with Christ.)" — Will Leitch

The Golden Eagles beat Kansas in Lawrence last night, and in a convincing fashion. Predictably, this has led to even more frustration from the Jayhawks faithful about Self, who has struggled transferring his outstanding recruiting classes into NCAA Tournament success, a similar problem to the one he had at Illinois, where he was nevertheless revered. Kansas has its own problems right now — by the way, don't tell us about the SI jinx; Kansas was on a regional cover, as were Connecticut, Wisconsin and UCLA — but we, as always, must focus on Oral Roberts.

As we've mentioned before, it's difficult not to be bewildered by a Division I basketball team at a school run by a man who once claimed God would kill him if he didn't raise $8 million. (He raised the money and survived. WHEW!) This was in the heyday of televangelists, in 1987, around the time of Jerry Falwell's Jimmy Swaggert's trembling lower lip and Jim Bakker climbing Mt. Hahn. God's intense interest in the matters of Oral and his parishioners, frankly, would make us rather nervous to play for the Golden Eagles; if they don't make the tournament this year, we're scared of what Jehovah is capable of.

Oral Roberts Shocks No. 3 KU [Kansas City Star]
They Must Draw 6,000 Fans, Or God Will Call Them Home [Deadspin]

MEMPHIS

1. It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp. Memphis really, really wants to make it to the Final Four. It has been 21 years since the Tigers went that deep in the tourney. In that year, Prince won an Oscar for the Purple Rain soundtrack. This year, Memphis' own Three 6 Mafia wins an Oscar for original song in the movie "Hustle and Flow." Prince is a funky, R & B artist. Three 6 Mafia is a funky, gangtsa rap artist. Oh, my God — the Memphis Tigers are going to the Final Four again!

2. Pull-Up Patsies. Memphis has only one senior who contributes greatly on this team. The Tigers have five freshmen who clock significant time on the court. Freshmen make mistakes. Freshmen need experience playing against high-caliber teams to iron out those baby cheeks. Memphis plays in Conference USA. Repeat: Conference USA. Oh my God, the Memphis Tigers are going to lose in the second round!

3. Reality TV, March Madness Style. Memphis is loaded with talent — and unselfish talent at that. The current Tigers have a 10-1 road record. They are 6-3 versus top 50 RPI teams and 11-3 versus the top 100 RPI. This team starts three players who will play in the NBA in the next year or two (Rodney Carney, Darius Washington and Shawn Williams). They've got the coach. They've got the players. They've got a high seed (presumptively). Now, all they have to do is something they haven't done in a long time — win in the tourney. — John Harris

ORAL ROBERTS

1. Bill Self Was There Back When He Had Real Hair. Kansas' toupeed head coach started his coaching career at Oral Roberts in the mid '90s, a mere 10 years ago. He turned the team around, raising their record from 6-21 in 1995 to 21-6 in 1997, after which he went to Tulsa, Illinois and finally Kansas. Self actually once appeared on a one of Oral Roberts' television programs with the televangelist, something that was not required of him in Champaign or Lawrence.

2. The Famous "Club Dread" Joke. OK, so maybe you didn't actually see "Club Dread," but nevertheless, the university was the source of yet another joke about its name in the film. Witness:

Penelope: I go to Oral Roberts.
Juan Castillo: Oral Roberts? Is that like Anal Johnson? Because I have done that a few times. Or was it Dirty Sanchez? Yes. It was that.

This is not particularly amusing, but still earns points for containing the phrase "Dirty Sanchez."

3. Yeah, About The Televangelist Thing. Yes, the school was indeed founded (and humbly named) by Oral Roberts, who is most famous, of course, for telling his parishioners in 1986 that if they did not raise $8 million by March of that year, God would "call him home." (Sadly, we didn't get to find out if Roberts really had such a conversation with the Almighty; they hit the number.) Roberts has claimed to have personally raised the dead and, last year, said that a vision of a "cloud over New York" has told him Christ is coming soon. (After he dies, Roberts has told followers that he plans to return and rule the world with Christ.) March Madness, indeed. — Will Leitch

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NCAA Tournament First Round Schedule [Deadspin]
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2. The Famous "Club Dread" Joke. OK, so maybe you didn't actually see "Club Dread," but nevertheless, the university was the source of yet another joke about its name in the film. Witness:

Penelope: I go to Oral Roberts.
Juan Castillo: Oral Roberts? Is that like Anal Johnson? Because I have done that a few times. Or was it Dirty Sanchez? Yes. It was that.

This is not particularly amusing, but still earns points for containing the phrase "Dirty Sanchez."

3. Yeah, About The Televangelist Thing. Yes, the school was indeed founded (and humbly named) by Oral Roberts, who is most famous, of course, for telling his parishioners in 1986 that if they did not raise $8 million by March of that year, God would "call him home." (Sadly, we didn't get to find out if Roberts really had such a conversation with the Almighty; they hit the number.) Roberts has claimed to have personally raised the dead and, last year, said that a vision of a "cloud over New York" has told him Christ is coming soon. (After he dies, Roberts has told followers that he plans to return and rule the world with Christ.) March Madness, indeed. — Will Leitch

Keep an eye on all the Championship Week shenanigans and bookmark the page above to see if we have any openings, if you want to be a part. We're kind of amazed how quickly these have been filling up.

And if you don't know what we're up to here, get the rundown here. And if you don't think we're rooting our can off tonight for Oral Roberts, jeez, you just don't know us very well.

Deadspin Tourney Sign Up Sheet [Deadspin]

Oklahoma ended up winning, but Oral Roberts, off to a slower-than-expected 5-6 start, is still the favorite to win the Mid-Continent conference and make its first NCAA tournament. It would be the biggest event ever for the Golden Eagles to make the tournament; before now, the school's claim to fame was once having a pre-toupee Bill Self as coach and NBA journeyman Haywoode Workman.

But if Oral Roberts does win the Mid-Continent tournament this year and make the NCAAs, it will be important to remember what really got them there. Oral Roberts is, of course, more than a university; it's also the namesake of televangelist Oral Roberts. In case you have forgotten, Roberts is the very same man who, in 1987, told his faith that if they did not raise $8 million by March, God would "call him home." (They hit the number.) Roberts has claimed to have personally raised the dead and said last year that a vision of a "cloud over New York" has told him Christ is coming soon. (After he dies, Roberts has told followers that he plans to return and rule the world with Christ.)

So, yeah ... go Golden Eagles!

Oral Roberts Men's Basketball [ORU.com]
Oral Roberts [Wikipedia]