What was learned from College Hoops weekend

North Carolina passed the acid test in beating Duke in Durham 76-68. What was especially impressive was the Tar Heels defense, which has caused coach Roy Williams hair to go from gray to white this season. All year he has pleaded with his team to quit playing like the Phoenix Suns and get in a defensive stance and guard somebody, they did in holding Duke to 32.9 percent shooting. They are certainly capable of winning six straight once the bids come out.

Duke is 4-3 in last seven games and is looking like a team that has peaked. This is becoming disturbing trend in Durham, as Coach K's squads play hard and seem to overachieve and peter out late in the year. Without knowing brackets, I'll have Dukies exit in Sweet 16. One weird aspect of UNC/Duke was the number of bad shots both teams took. Sure the defense was good, both were out of character, throwing up shots that had about as much chance as Ralph Nadar for prez.

Stanford was flatter than the reviews for "Fools Gold" movie against USC, losing by 13. For the first time all season, was really impressed with O.J. Mayo. He would be a fool to turn pro, because his game is not NBA ready. As current coach Arizona coach Kevin O'Neil said about the NBA lifestyle, "Everyone thinks its exciting and glamorous, but there are no team meals and it is lonely existence for players, especially the younger ones."

If Kansas played all season like they have the last three games, forget Memphis, the Jayhawks would be unbeaten. When this teams brings the 40-minute intensity, Final Four is the minimum. Of course having Bill Self as coach is not a positive come tournament time based on his resume.

In watching Texas A&M, I've been under the impression new coach Mark Turgeon has screwed up, because of the number of inside players the Aggies have, yet they don't score enough in the paint. I'll retract part of that thought, as it was apparent these guys just don't know what to do and lack moves that should have, like Joseph Jones being more effective. In retrospect, it seems like they have not worked hard enough to get better. I do wonder where Turgeon was in the process however.

Drake is the most fun team in the country to watch. They are unflappable and execute so well on offense and defense, they are remarkable. They'll probably end up five or six seed and will be in Sweet 16. They space the floor so well and play smart, they can beat superior athletes with basketball IQ. When on offense, if they don't have quick three available, they'll run shot clock down to five or less and score. Teams having to guard for 30 seconds and have no payoff, will not do so for very long. Their defense is also underrated, using matchup zone. While they are not tall on the perimeter, each defender has longer arms, meaning they tip away more balls in passing lanes then you might believe.

Watched Kent State and Akron and every capper I saw had Zips. In the last couple of weeks, Kent State has won at St. Mary's and Akron, meaning this is a very good basketball team not getting props. Two players to watch for Golden Flashes are junior guard Al Fisher and F Haminn Quaintance.

It's a shame when officials have a direct impact on any game, but the stripes gave UCLA a dose of home cooking in come from behind wins against Stanford and Cal. Granted, the Bruins had feverish rally's in both games and made the most important shots to pull off wins, yet the two calls, one in each game, undoubtedly put Ben Howland's squad in position to win. UCLA is hard enough to beat already without additional help.

Any discussion about what is the best conference is closed. The Pac-10's 9th place team is Cal, who split with USC, won at Washington, at Washington State, at Arizona State and should have won at Westwood. They have two players that will be drafted in the NBA in DeVon Hardin and Ryan Anderson, meaning they are load on any night.