Open thread, Sweet Sixteen: offseason, Mark Fox, and brutal basketball

Between last night’s bananas thriller between Purdue and Tennessee and the... effort... that was Texas Tech vs Michigan (or Oregon/ Virginia), we have some thrillers tonight:

• the NCAA-rules challenged LSU & Michigan State
• The fast-paced Auburn/ North Carolina game
• The genteel southern rhythms of Virginia Tech vs Duke
• The swagger that will be Houston/ Kentucky

Sure, there are no 10 or lower seeds, but this is going to be some good basketball, basketball we can all learn from.

While we wait, Shamorie Ponds is going pro. What other changes do you expect to see from St. John’s this offseason?

Also: California fired Wyking Jones and is hiring former Georgia and Nevada coach Mark Fox. Weird nondescript pick but ok.

On Texas Tech’s style of basketball:

Chris Beard is a perverse man. The Texas Tech coach’s idea of a perfect basketball game does not involve the quick-hitting offense, transition athleticism, and side-to-side ball movement that so often makes this such a beautiful sport. No, to Beard, basketball should be a game defined by pain and suffering.

Tonight’s games

LSU vs. Michigan State

When: 7:09 pm

Watch: CBS | March Madness Live

Announcers: Jim Nantz / Bill Raftery / Grant Hill // Tracy Wolfson

Auburn vs. North Carolina

When: 7:29 pm

Watch: TBS | March Madness Live

Announcers: Ian Eagle / Jim Spanarkel // Jamie Erdahl

Virginia Tech vs. Duke

When: 9:39 pm

Watch: CBS | March Madness Live

Announcers: Jim Nantz / Bill Raftery / Grant Hill // Tracy Wolfson

Houston vs. Kentucky

When: 9:57 pm

Watch: TBS | March Madness Live

Announcers: Ian Eagle / Jim Spanarkel // Jamie Erdahl