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The title of this blog are the immortal words of actor Slim Pickens in the classic comedy, "Blazing Saddles" but it is certainly applicable to what's going on in the world of college basketball.

After what I've seen so far in the conference tournaments, the NCAA Tourney wil either be one of the most exciting ever or anticlimatic.

For starters what Notre Dame has done is nothing short of incredible. You don't lose an All-American, change the entire philosophy of offense, sublimate every player's ego and contend for the Big East title. But that's where the Irish are. ND is scoring less and winning more. Luke Harangody, the consumate team player, has seen his scoring average cut in half but could care a whit.  You can just see the opposition get more and more frustrated with each possession that is not up-tempo. It's not "whoo-whoo" basketball at all. Whoo-whoo is what players yell on a fast break when they want the ball. What Mike Brey basically did was to bet his entire hand with a pair of deuces and has now won six straight deals.Tthe senior class has now won more games than any basketball class in school history. That's quite a statement for Harangody, Tory Jackson,  Jon Peoples and Tim Andree.

Fans of Indiana may be completely out of patience with Tom Crean. IU finished a terrible season on Thursday losing to Northwestern by 15 in the Big 10 Tourney. The Hoosiers gave up a 20-5 run for the Cats which sealed the deal in Indianapolis. IU finished the season losing 12 of 13. The ruble left by Kelvin Sampson continues to smell. Crean is a hard worker and indefatigable recruiter but numbers (or lack of them) is the key.

Arizona was knocked out of the Pac 10 tourney by UCLA on Thursday. That means the Cats streak of NCAA Tourney appearances ends at 25. The Bruins won by six after losing in Tucson last week after blowing a double-digit lead in the second half.

It is generally recognized that there are six tradional superpowers in college hoops. UCLA, Indiana, North Carolina, Kansas, Duke and Kentucky. On Thursday, the Jayhawks iced TExas Tech in the Big 12 Tourney to join the Wildcats and Tarheels as programs with 2,000 wins. Kentucky, Kansas and Duke figure to be top seeds in the NCAA's but Carolina (which lost to Georgia Tech on Thursday) will be lucky to get an NCAA bid. The Heels won it all last season. A rather precipitous drop to say the least.

Two former Irish assistants are either in or really close to a bid. Fran McCaffery and his Siena Saints won their conference tourney while Jim Baron and Rhode Island arethis close to earning a bid. The Rams still have work to do but some think URI is already in.

Believe me, there is no group of college basketball fans are rabid as those who live and die with Syracuse. There is a pretty good knowledge of the game and sometimes there is even a revelation of objectivity but for the most part if you cut them they bleed orange and only orange. On Thursday when SU lost to Georgetown, there was no wailing or gnashing of teeth. They were more concerned about the status of center Arinze Onuwaku who hurt his knee against the Hoyas.

With the tourneys heading to the semifinal round, this could be one wild and crazy weekend.