When Mike Anderson had his season wrap-up news conference Monday, he made it clear how he felt about the Arkansas Razorbacks' 16-16 season.
"The standards of Arkansas are tremendously high and I understand that," he said. "So to me, a 16-16 season, I'm not satisfied with that. You have to look back and there are some things you've got to get better at.
"You evaluate your program, evaluate myself, evaluate our staff, evaluate our players."
That's a lot of evaluating, but it does show Anderson is looking to make improvements.
He also said he was a coach who wants to be in the Big Dance, not watch it on TV, and he said plans were in progress for the team to play some exhibition games in Spain in August.
That could be huge, not just the 10 extra practices, but when a team travels together for a period of time, you find out real quick about chemistry.
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It has been written here several times the past few months that SEC basketball is down, and that claim remains with one exception.
The SEC women are still good.
Mississippi State, South Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky all made the Sweet 16.
Most likely, for any of them to win the championship they would have to beat Connecticut, which more or less has a stranglehold on the women's championship trophy.
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UALR's victory over Purdue, combined with Middle Tennessee's over Michigan State, made NCAA Tournament history.
It was the first time that two teams who played for a conference tournament championship (Big Ten) didn't win a game.
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UALR's 30-5 record and dramatic come-from-behind victory over Purdue has gotten Coach Chris Beard some much deserved credit, and naturally his name is being mentioned in conjunction with a few of the job openings.
That is a compliment to him and UALR.
The feeling here is Beard is not desperate to leave. He likes Little Rock, and he likes UALR.
He can take his time and wait on the right job, and that might not happen this year.
The job he did during the last four minutes and the two overtimes in the victory over the Boilermakers was exceptional, and people who know basketball noticed him.
The Trojans didn't make shots against Iowa State like they did against Purdue, and when UALR tried to go on a run Iowa State didn't back down.
One thing is certain: UALR needs to find a way to pay him more or he might be tempted to make a tiny step up.
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The Sweet 16 isn't about coaching as much as it is about players.
All of these Sweet 16 teams have excellent coaches, although six of the 16 are making their deepest foray into the tournament.
If you were betting on who would win based on experience you would easily go with Duke. Mike Krzyzewski has 14 appearances in the Elite Eight, 7 in the Final Four and he has won the championship 5 times.
Duke, which tied for fifth in the Atlantic Coast Conference, had by far had the easiest route to the Sweet 16, beating No. 13 and No. 12 seeds.
At this point, it is about who has the best players who are mentally tough.
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All of Arkansas sports, particularly Oaklawn Park, lost a great fan this week when Bob Coleman went to heaven.
Coleman, a tireless volunteer and a guy who seemed to always smile, was sent off at Pulaski Heights Methodist Church to a standing room-only crowd as both the sanctuary and chapel were packed.
The Coleman family name has been synonymous with sports in Arkansas for decades and Bob was no exception, whether it was cooking food at events or volunteering as a scorekeeper.
Bob delighted in passing out his free "Bob's Burners" tip sheet at Oaklawn.
He will be missed by all who knew him.
Sports on 03/23/2016