Everybody is talking up the NCAA Tournament

More media updates on Marquette hoops' fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance:

- The Seattle Times' Percy Allen notes love for the Huskies in this first round matchup though there is plenty of the same for MU.
- The Seattle Post Intelligencer on how MU succeeds despite shortcomings.
- The Anonymous Eagle brings us insight from a die-hard Washington Huskies fan
- Buzz Williams plays the underdog card despite being the higher seeded team.

“Anytime you play on the West Coast against a Pac-10 team,” Williams said as his team prepared for Thursday’s game in San Jose, “you’re definitely the underdog.”

- A preview of the game from the Seattle Times
- The AP says the Huskies will use size to go after smaller Warriors -- and an update on Isaiah Thomas' injured hand.
- The Kitsap Sun stays on the bigs v. smalls theme
- The Indianapolis Star blogs about MU's pod in San Jose
Not well-versed in Jesuit basketball history? Here's a primer.
- Blogger So Dear previews the East Region
- KU Sports Blogger sees MU as the most likely upset victim
- Fox Sports comes up with this team capsule on MU - here's the key weakness they cite:

WEAKNESSES: Marquette keeps every game close. The Golden Eagles don't put teams away, and have a tendency to get sloppy on offense when they have a lead. Marquette doesn't have much size on the interior -- Hayward, at 6-feet-5, is far from a true center, even if his hops and wingspan help him play bigger than that -- and when Maurice Acker and David Cubillan are in the game the Golden Eagles are very short on the perimeter as well. Free throws late in games have been a particular problem, so if the team is still shooting one-and-ones in the final minutes, no lead is safe.

We have a theme -- Lazar Hayward and Quincy Pondexeter played together on a USA National team last summer. The former teammates are featured in this syndicated article from McClatchy, this from the Journal Sentinel and this one from The Seattle Times. Team USA coach Frank Haith had this to say about Q and 'Zar

"They both are stars on their team, but going into this event they both accepted the role of we're going to do whatever we need to do to help us win," Haith said Tuesday in a telephone interview. "And they both fell into that. That shows you a little bit about those two kids' character.

"They worked well together. Lazar was kind of a combo player. He played the 3-4. Quincy was more of a perimeter player. He played the 2-3. You saw their character come out on the basketball court. They were very committed. They did the little things."

Buffalo's Lazar Haywars is ready to shine --be sure to watch the video at this link....Lazar Hayward, Sr. talks up his son.