The Washington Wizards selected John Wall with the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft Thursday as they quickly began rebuilding their backcourt. The SEC player of the year is the first Kentucky player ever chosen first overall. "It's a big honor," Wall told ESPN after his selection. Read more...

UCLA men's basketball coaching legend John Wooden is dead at age 99. Reports are that Wooden had not eaten in a couple of days. Wooden was dubbed "The Wizard of Westwood" for winning 10 NCAA championships, including a record seven in a row from 1967-1973. And under Wooden, UCLA won 88 straight games from 1971-1974 and 38 consecutive NCAA tournament games from 1964-1974. Both are records.

From Rivals at Yahoo ---- It has been a foregone conclusion for weeks that Gatorade national player of the year Brandon Knight would don a Kentucky cap when he announced his college choice on the first day of the spring signing period. The timing of highly touted junior Michael Gilchrist's commitment, however, is a far bigger surprise.

By persuading both Rivals.com's top-ranked recruits in the class of 2010 and 2011 to pledge to Kentucky in nationally televised announcements on the very same day, Wildcats coach John Calipari has pulled off a basketball and PR masterstroke.

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From USA Today.

The image of the late North Carolina State coach Jim Valvano frantically scrambling for someone to hug after his sixth-seeded men's basketball team upset Houston to win the NCAA championship in 1983 is one of the greatest moments in tournament history. In 1985, Villanova played in a classic. As a No. 8 seed, the Wildcats knocked off a Patrick Ewing-led Georgetown team to win the tournament.

Twenty-five years later, Butler is on the brink of giving America a story for the ages. The Indianapolis-based university will play in the NCAA championship game today and will try to knock off basketball royalty — the Duke Blue Devils — at Lucas Oil Stadium. "We're on a big stage now playing against the best teams in the country," Butler reserve Zach Hahn says. "That's something we've always wanted our whole lives. I think we're prepared for it." Butler is the smallest school to reach the men's final in 40 years, yet it looms large here with the backing of the city's fans. Lucas Oil Stadium is 6 miles from Butler's north-side campus.

Read more on USA Today.

Happy Easter from Your Daily Slice!

Country roads, take me home. Or better yet, Indianapolis. It’s almost heaven, West Virginia. Da’Sean Butler and the Mountaineers are off to the Final Four for the first time since 1959. “It’s something we’ve been preaching,” Butler said. “Not even just two more. Ever since we won our first game. Five more, four more, three more. It doesn’t mean anything unless you win the whole thing.”

Read the rest on MSNBC.com

ESPN wrote...

Kansas, Kentucky, Duke and Syracuse earned top billing and the No. 1 seeds for the NCAA tournament Sunday, with the Jayhawks named the top seed overall for the 2010 version of March Madness. With all the conference tournaments complete, the NCAA selection committee rolled out its 65-team bracket, setting it up for millions of fans to start making their picks for what is annually America's largest, three-week office pool. Play starts Tuesday with an opening-round game, and the tournament goes into full swing Thursday.

Read the rest of this story on ESPN.com

From USA Today...

Oklahoma gave top-ranked UConn a scare as they streak toward the history books. And Huskies coach Geno Auriemma wants to see more of it. Tiffany Hayes scored 20 points, Maya Moore added 18 points and 10 rebounds as UConn trailed after halftime for only the second time this season before pulling away to beat No. 12 Oklahoma 76-60 Monday night and extend its unbeaten streak to 65 straight games.

Read entire article on USA Today.

The University of South Florida men's basketball team continued to roll, winning its fourth straight game with a huge, 72-64 win over No. 7 Georgetown on the road Wednesday night at the Verizon Center. The win marked USF's second in a row over a ranked opponent after disposing of No. 17 Pittsburgh Sunday.

Read entire article at WTSP.com

Obama, attending the Georgetown-Duke game as a fan, provided commentary in the second half of Saturday’s match up. Obama told Verne Lundquist and Clark Kellogg, that he wanted to 'put in his bid to become a color analyst after he leaves office.' Obama: 'After retirement I am coming after your job Clark. I am just letting you know, you need to plan accordingly because I am going to do some play-by-play.'