Greetings from Houston!  I thought I would check in with a few thoughts from last night's game before I head over to Reliant Stadium to do some more interviews.

* I asked the Bears if they were motivated by all of the talking St. Mary's did leading up to the game (led by Omar Samhan).  To a man, they all said no.  I'm not sure I totally believe that, but I think it does say a lot about this team and their focus.  They didn't take the bait this week.  They did not get into a "talking" war with their opponent.  Instead, they let their play do the talking.

* I had a friend text me during the game last night and say that the BU game looked like a 1 vs 16 matchup in the dance ... not a a Sweet 16 matchup.  I'm not sure anyone thought that last night's game would play out like it did.  The fact that the Bears manhandled St. Mary's was just amazing.  They played like a team that is Final 4 bound.

* I'm still not sold on using football stadiums as basketball gyms.  It just doesn't work for me.  The atmosphere just isn't the same.  The fans are too far away.  It doesn't feel like an arena at all.  That said, I understand why the NCAA hosts games in domes and football stadiums.  They can sell a ton of tickets and make a ton of money. 

* I had a chance to talk to Jim Nantz (one of my heroes in this business) for about a minute.  He couldn't have been nicer and had nice things to say about Baylor. 

* Non-basketball thought: if you are ever in downtown Houston and need a late night meal, check out Frank's Pizza.  They're open till 3 am and they make some great pizza pie!

That's all for now ... I'll check in again tomorrow.