BY CHARLES COSTELLO

As always, the NCAA Tournament produced some memorable moments over the past four days, as 48 teams were bounced from the Dance, with 16 schools still dreaming of a national title.

The Sweet 16 gets started Thursday, and by Sunday night we’ll know the Final Four. But first, let’s take a look back at the first two rounds of the tournament:

Biggest Winners: Though they didn’t make it past the second round, the Sienna Saints played 80 minutes of quality basketball this weekend. After beating Ohio State in a double-overtime thriller Friday night, the Saints lost to No. 1 seed Louisville by just seven on Sunday. Sienna even had a four-point lead with 7:45 to play in the game. The little-school-that-could out of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference had their shining moment. Along the same lines, how about those bracket-buster Flyers? An upset over No. 6 West Virginia propelled 11th ranked Dayton to the second round where they lost to Kansas. Nonetheless, Dayton proved worthy of the at-large bid they received. Of course, credit also has to be given to the Arizona Cardinals, a No. 12 seed who knocked off Utah and Cleveland State. Sure, it was doubtful they would have beaten Wake Forest if the Deamon Deacons advanced past Cleveland State like they should have, but nonetheless, seeing a 12-seed advance to the Sweet 16 when many, including myself, thought they’d be one and done is a nice story. The rest of the field was quite predictable, but I should note that I’m happy to see Xavier advance, though their wins came against Portland State (No. 13) and Wisconsin (No. 12).

Biggest Losers: West Virginia tops my list, though Wake Forest, Illinois, and Florida State have nothing to smile about. I thought West Virginia was an Elite 8 team. With 23 wins, 10 coming in the ultra-tough Big East, the Mountaineers should have taken care of Dayton. Instead, Dayton came with more heart, effort, and desire. I’ll take that combination any day. Wake Forest was a four-seed but the Wildcats proved that they belong in this tournament. Illinois and Florida State were very beatable five-seeds. And they got beat.

Atlantic 10 Watch: I covered Dayton and Xavier already, but let me add that both schools, receiving at-large bids, represented the A-10 very well. These were the two best teams in the conference from start to finish this year, and their performances as at-large teams should help the reputation of the league. Meanwhile Temple’s first round loss to Arizona State was expected. Temple, seeded eleventh and winners of the Atlantic 10 tournament, deserves credit for their postseason run in Atlantic City. All bets were off once they hit Miami.

Looking Ahead: We’re still headed for a UConn-Memphis showdown in the West and Pittsburgh-Villanova battling it out in the East Region. Save for the championship game, these could be the two best matchups of the tournament. Meanwhile, North Carolina should beat Gonzaga in the South, but Syracuse or Oklahoma could end the Tar Heels run two days later. And finally, Louisville should get by Arizona and they’re more talented than either Michigan State or Kansas. But hey, that’s why they call it March Madness.

For the record, seven of my Elite 8 teams are still alive and my Final Four is in tact. My one bracket regret, and I knew this as soon as I posted my column last Thursday, I should have taken Villanova over Pittsburgh. No offense to the Panthers, they dominated UConn twice this year. But how great would a Villanova-UConn final be?

I’ll be back Thursday with my Sweet 16 predictions.

Xavier head coach Sean Miller is a big supporter of the job Dereck Whittenburg is doing at Fordham, saying after yesterday's game at Rose Hill that the Rams' head coach is building a winning program in the Bronx. Miller also praised freshman point guard Jio Fontan and his teammates. (Photo taken by Keith Krebs, courtesy of Joe DiBari)

BY CHARLES COSTELLO

Fordham fans have been waiting 14 seasons now for their team to become an Atlantic 10 contender, one that consistently wins year in and year out. As a result of the Rams’ struggles over the years to make it to the top of the conference, a wave of criticism, second guessing, and general impatience has emerged from the team’s fans.

For those starving for a winner at Rose Hill, Xavier head coach Sean Miller provided some perspective yesterday when talking about Fordham in his post game comments after the 16th-ranked Muskateers defeated the Rams, 86-60, in a hard-fought battle in the Bronx.

“I think they (Fordham) have a lot of good young players that are skilled,” Miller said. ”They pass the ball, dribble the ball, and they have the ability to shoot from a number of different spots. They’re that scary team, especially on their home floor, that in a given night - they made 10 three’s tonight - against maybe some other teams that don’t have some answers like we do, that could have been enough to win the game. It seems like they’re really executing their offense better and better as the year goes on. I’m sure with a young team they’ll keep getting better on defense.”

Miller was particularly impressed with freshman point guard Jio Fontan, a player who is quickly making a name for himself at the college level.

“Fordham, to me, is very difficult to guard with Jio Fontan at the point,” Miller said. ”He’s an incredible point guard, a freshman who I believe is as talented as any guard that’s playing college basketball as a freshman. He means a lot to their team. I watched him play a lot in AAU in high school. He’s an excellent player. Fordham’s future is very bright with him in the program.”

And Miller, unprovoked and totally on his own accord, saved his biggest praise for Fordham head coach Dereck Whittenburg.

“Dereck Whittenburg is doing a really good job,” Miller said. ”From day one he’s lost six seniors. I don’t think anyone in the county has lost more seniors or more quality minutes than he did. This is his second turn with it now. These younger players will get older and have more success as they do.”