Ah-ha, so that's why UConn stumbled in the Tourney...

To say that UConn was sloppy in the Tournament would be quite the understatement. Even though Duke was the overall #1 seed, UConn was the favorite to win the tournament. I had them winning it all, as did who knows how many other's.

They were down by 15 points at around the midway point of the second half to sixteen seed Albany, before they came back to avoid being the first one seed to lose to a sixteen in the opening round.

It didn't get any easier in the second round when they faced off against Kentucky. UConn had the lead through the majority of the contest, but the Wildcats wouldn't go away. The Huskies made some clutch free throws down the stretch to outlast Kentucky. If the game had gone another five minutes, UConn may have had to pack their bags after just two games in the tournament.

The Sweet Sixteen game against Washington was one of the ugliest performances I've ever seen out of a UConn basketball team. They turned the ball over twenty plus times and that includes the final ten minutes of regulation, where they only turned it over once. Somehow, some way, UConn beat Washington, thanks to a Rashad Anderson three-pointer with just over a second left in regulation.

Their luck ran out against George Mason in the round of eight. But, even in that game, UConn had a chance to pull it out at the very end, thanks to the Patriots not converting on free throws.

The pre-tournament favorite to win it all could've lost any of those four games, but managed to advance to the Elite Eight, only to fall to George Mason.

UConn appeared to be distracted throughout the tournament. Only on a few brief occasions did they play UConn basketball. They forced things too much, turned the ball over with consistency, relied on the outside shot, didn't utilize their size down low, were inconsistent at the foul line, and lacked that fire and motivation that championship teams need to have.

Josh Boone, Hilton Armstrong, and Ed Nelson were not utilized down low enough. The guards rarely looked in their direction and when they did, it was at a point when UConn didn't feel a rhythm down low or were down by too many points to just settle for two. Rudy Gay was extremely inconsistent all tournament. He played horribly against Washington and had a solid game in a losing effort to George Mason. Rashad Anderson is like the microwave. When that guy gets to hitting threes, then he's unstoppable, but when he gets to missing threes, it can offset the offensive structure, gameplan, and allow an easy two at the other end. The only consistent shooter in the tournament for UConn was Denham Brown. Some may argue that Marcus Williams was.

Marcus Williams was an interesting player to watch in the tournament. In all four games, he turned the ball over more than anybody else on the team. He forced the touchdown pass way too often. He never allowed the offense to get in a rhythm, never allowed the team to play inside and outside, and forced things too much. On the other hand, after the team got down, he was the one to get them back in the ball game. When the pressure was on and the team was down in the second half, Williams finally woke up and played solid basketball. He was awful in the first half of the games, but was exceptional in the second half. It looked like he tried to be part of the old Harlem Globetrotters team in the first half, but finally settled down and played his kind of game in the second.

Somehow, UConn managed to win three games by playing so sloppily. I think they had, without a doubt, the most talented team in the tournament, but it takes more than talent to win championships. Just ask the Yankees. In recent days, sophomore standout Rudy Gay and junior point guard Marcus Williams have declared themselves eligible for the NBA Draft. I wonder how much this played into the mind of players like Gay and Williams in the tournament. Many times, it seemed that they wanted to hit the home run when only a single was available, especially Williams. They didn't look focused, didn't look to have the fire or motivation, and looking ahead to the next level and the money involved could very well have played a part.