It looks like Derrick Rose may be in some trouble again.  Fresh off the heels of his recent SAT controversy, a new photo has surfaced depicting Derrick Rose making a gang sign.  Here it is:

This doesn’t reflect too well on the kid, but on the other hand, he’s just a kid and he was just messing around.  He has never been in any real trouble except for recent media-created drama (unsubstantiated SAT scandal and now this nonsense).  Here was Rose’s reaction:

“This photo of me was taken at a party I attended in Memphis while I was in school there, and was meant as a joke … a bad one, I now admit. I want to emphatically state, now and forever, that Derrick Rose is anti-gang, anti-drug, and anti-violence. I am not, nor have I ever been, affiliated with any gang and I can’t speak loudly enough against gang violence, and the things that gangs represent.

“In posing for this picture, I am guilty of being young, naive and of using extremely poor judgment. I sincerely apologize to all my fans for my mistake.

Yeah we forgive you.  I don’t get the big deal anyways.  Its not like NQTC readers haven’t seen you flash this symbol before.

Albeit it looks more like he’s retarded than that he is flashing a gang sign, but Devin Harris seems to be cool with it.

• The bullpen is the key to this Cubs team.  Regardless of hitting, when the ‘pen is working, the team is winning.  Same goes for the other way around, and boy did they blow a gem by Randy Wells last night. [Sun-Times]
• Oh and Zambrano is missing team flights now. [Tribune]
• And did I mention Milton Bradley left the game with an injury last night? [Bleacher Nation]
• Oh and Sox fans, if you want to complain about the lack of coverage over here, let me refer you to the Tribune’s baseball blog “Hardball”, which is supposedly dedicated to Cubs, Sox and Chicago baseball.  Last 10 entries?  White Sox-related. [Wrigleyville23]
• No misconduct on Memphis’s part?  Sounds like Rose is exonerated.  [Tribune]
• The best breakdown of the upcoming Redick-Morrison matchup in the Finals that I have seen. [Hardwood Paroxysm]

In case you won’t be satisfied with two good games in the evening, there are two more to give you your fix at night.  I really love both of these match-ups.  While I could have never imagined being excited for Memphis and Missouri, the more I look at it, the better it looks.  Then we have Duke and Villanova, who could score a million points.  Let’s get to the previews and bad predictions.

(3) Missouri vs. (2) Memphis, 7:07 ET-

I really didn’t think Mizzou would make it here.  I saw something last week that said you’re better off not watching any games a team plays than you are watching one or two, because you acquire opinions of those teams that are skewed by those couple of games.  This is definitely the case with me and Missouri.  I watched them play once and they lost to Illinois by double digits.

Memphis is also a team I wasn’t high on coming into the dance.  I saw them play once and they looked pretty good against Gonzaga, but come on, Conference USA?  But man, they bludgeoned Maryland in the second round.

Missouri’s pressure is going to cause problems for Memphis and their point guard, Tyreke Evans.  Evans has a 1.1/1 assist to turnover ratio and Missouri forces as many turnovers as just about anyone in the country.  Missouri also has the athleticism to keep up with Memphis and as we saw against Cal State Northridge, a flustered Memphis team is very vulnerable, especially if the threes aren’t falling.  DeMarre Carroll will have to carry the load again for Mizzou to move on.

For Memphis, previously mentioned point guard Tyreke Evans will be oh-so important.  The freshman will be pestered all game long and while he has improved, he hasn’t been steady this year.  Senior Antonio Anderson will need to help out and alleviate some of the pressure on Evans.  Plus, Evans needs be free to score, as he averages over 16 per game.  Then again, you never know when a guy like Roburt Sallie is going to break out and score 30 more points than he averages.  Memphis also has the advantage of great players in Robert Dozier and Shawn Taggert in the frontcourt.

Ultimately, I like Memphis in this game because Missouri lost to Illinois, remember? Seriously though, Memphis is too athletic to be bogged down by this pressure of Missouri.  Therefore, Tigers…uhhh, the Memphis ones, 80-70.

(3) Villanova vs. (2) Duke, 9:57 ET-

Oh man, what a great game this looks like! Of course, that means it will likely be the most boring and disappointing of the entire slate, but I can’t help getting my hopes up for this one as the best game tonight.  I feel like these two teams are so similar and am really hoping for a game right down to the wire with the most heartbreaking loss since Old Yeller for the Dukies.

The Blue Devils sport the fantastic trio of Gerald Henderson, Jon Scheyer, and Kyle Singler.  Scheyer has been great in the postseason and Henderson is the best player this team has in my opinion.  The game could come down to Singler, who averages over 16 points per game, but literally disappears in some games.  It doesn’t happen a ton, but if it happens tonight, Duke doesn’t have a chance.  Conversely, if someone like Elliot Williams or Nolan Smith can step up and provide 15 points or so, I really like Duke’s chances. Duke is a different team since Williams replaced Paulus, but I don’t know if they’re better.  Watch for more of those epic travels from Elliot on the wings too.

Villanova has its own weaponry to bring to the table.  We’ll start with the trio of guards in Scottie Reynolds, Corey Fisher, and Corey Stokes.  These kids can fill it up, which makes it even more dangerous that each of them can get to the lane because once one of them penetrates, the others find ways to get open.  With these three, the game is rarely out of reach when they’re down and always in danger of getting out of hand when they’re ahead.  Much like Duke, Nova’s guards and shooters are paired with a great scorer/rebounder in Dante Cunningham.  Duke throws a lot of mediocre centers out there and Cunningham could really take advantage on the inside and be the difference for the Wildcats.

What does it all mean?  Who knows.  My heart says Villanova and my brain says “hell yeah heart, screw Duke,” but I really don’t like them. Duke struggled with Texas, but Villanova struggled with American.  They seem so equal on paper and I don’t know what separates them, except I think Duke has the best player on the floor and that’s Henderson.  I’ll say Gerald makes the difference and Duke wins.  Sorry to the family of the kitten that will die when it happens.  79-78.

• The Bulls made a fourth quarter run to only lose by 28 to the Magic.  I really hope they make the playoffs so we can see more of this.  [ESPN]
• Blackhawks beat the Hurricanes in a shootout at the United Center last night.  [Yahoo Sports]
• Conference USA plays some of the worst basketball in the country.  Ever.  A Memphis player won the Sixth Man of the Year Award and he missed six games with injury and averaged about four points and two rebounds in the games he did play.  Way to go son.  [Deadspin]
• Henry Blanco was huge for Venezuela as they beat the U.S. to win the group.  You know the format is questionable when the U.S. picks up its first loss, to a team it already beat, and somehow they don’t get a chance to play them again to win the group.  [ESPN]
• Stormin’ Norman makes the case for Ben Gordon.  I did a quick control+F to see if the word “defense” came up in the post.  [Pippen Ain't Easy]
• Stars and not-so-muches from Spring Training so far.  Rajai Davis is on pace for a sick year in triples! [More Hardball]
• Here’s some insight to the White Sox spring training.  [Tribune]
• Ha! Just kidding, we don’t care!  Get over it.  Here’s a sweet video about Reed Johnson, aka White Slice. [NESW Sports]
• Zoner looks at the Trevor Ariza foul from the other night and comes to exactly the right conclusion.  Just because someone goes flying through the air, it does not make it a flagrant foul.  [Zoner Sports]