Dino Gaudio has been miserable.
The second-year Wake Forest coach still can't get over how the Demon Deacons were totally run out of the gym in their 84-69 first-round loss to Cleveland State.
The Demon Deacons committed 18 turnovers, shot 5-of-13 on 3s and allowed 84 points, a total the Vikings had not reached since mid-February.
"It was really, really frustrating," Gaudio said. "I have no idea why we didn't play well."
It didn't help that Jeff Teague scored only 10 points. Teague already was coming off a disappointing performance after scoring only 11 points in an ACC tournament quarterfinal loss to Maryland.
"Jeff Teague told L.D. Williams [before the NCAA tournament] that 'I'm back, I'm going to carry us,'" Gaudio said.
After the Cleveland State loss, Gaudio said he went into the postgame locker room in Miami and told the team he wasn't going to let one game taint the season. Wake Forest had been ranked No. 1 after beating North Carolina at home in early January. The Deacons also had beaten Duke at home and won at BYU.
"I told the team, 'I know you're disappointed, we're all disappointed,'" Gaudio said.
He said that when the team went to Atlanta for the ACC tournament, he made sure it was "all business" and didn't let the players explore the area. He changed the approach for Miami, allowing the players to walk around outside, enjoy the weather and watch other games. But it didn't matter.
"I wish I had the answer," Gaudio said of Wake's demise. "It's been a miserable three days."
Gaudio met individually with sophomores Teague and James Johnson, as well as freshman Al-Farouq Aminu, about whether they will declare for the NBA draft. He also talked to their families. Johnson and Aminu are projected as first-round picks, but Teague may have to scrap at this point to be among the first-round selections.
All three players were in class Monday. That doesn't mean they'll be back at Wake Forest next season. But Gaudio is at least hopeful he could get one or two, possibly all three, to return. Gaudio said he has promised all three he would investigate their cases and provide as much information as possible. The deadline to enter the draft is April 30, but they would have until mid-June to withdraw if they were to submit their names.
Bottom line? "I won't know who is on the team until June," Gaudio said.
• I was a beat writer in New Mexico and Fresno, Calif., for a year, and I always found NIT crowds to be some of the best of the season. Traditionally, those who attend don't always get to games regularly, so there is a renewed energy in the building. The atmospheres at Creighton and Saint Mary's on Monday night certainly didn't disappoint.
Kentucky won at Creighton in the final 10 seconds on Jodie Meeks' drive to the bucket. That's a quality road win for UK, regardless of when the game was played. Creighton has one of the best, most passionate and most loyal fan bases in the country. A boisterous crowd of 16,984 fans packed Qwest Center in what was billed as one of the biggest games ever to take place in Omaha. The last time Kentucky played at Creighton was in 1940.
Under the NCAA leadership of vice president Greg Shaheen, the NIT is sticking true to seeding. Under the old New York-dominated leadership of the NIT, this game would have been played on a blacktop in Lexington to avoid Kentucky's potentially losing or even playing at Creighton.
• For those of you hungry for college hoops between NCAA tournament rounds, the NIT continues to deliver juicy matchups. Here's the lineup for the next couple of days:
Tuesday
Baylor at Auburn (ESPN, 7 ET)
Penn State at Florida (ESPN, 9 ET)
Wednesday
Kentucky at Notre Dame (ESPN2, 7 ET)
Saint Mary's at San Diego State (ESPN2, 9 ET)
• If Florida beats Penn State and Kentucky wins at Notre Dame, the NIT would have a Kentucky-Florida semifinal in New York. How perfect would that be for Madison Square Garden and ratings? In fact, any combination of those four teams among the final four would provide compelling matchups. The other side of the bracket wouldn't have the cache with the Saint Mary's-San Diego State winner taking on the Auburn-Baylor winner, but if the Gaels can beat the Aztecs on Wednesday, Patty Mills will play on the MSG and national stage.
• Mills' energy and enthusiasm in the must-see TV game against Stephen Curry and Davidson was great to watch. So far, in two brief seasons, Mills has been a pleasure to deal with from a media standpoint. Whenever he leaves for the NBA, the local fans, media and community will love dealing with Mills. He's polite and engaging and never seems to mind requests for interviews.
• It's too bad Mills and the Gaels didn't make the NCAA tournament. He could have had a run of a few games. The Mills-Diamon Simpson outside-inside combo would have been an extremely dangerous matchup problem for some team.
• Arizona would have to pay more than $2 million to lure any of the high-profile coaches such as Mark Few (Gonzaga) or Sean Miller (Xavier), or even the out-of-reach names such as Rick Pitino (Louisville), Tom Izzo (Michigan State) or John Calipari (Memphis). The Wildcats also would have to change the way they travel with chartered trips, something that teams in the Pac-10 don't normally do. This would be needed to ensure that the facilities are upgraded with more than just a new court to practice on without oodles of amenities. There's nothing wrong with going down a peg in the coaching search, but the Wildcats will be facing an Indiana-like start-up next season, and this program has missed out on two recruiting classes. So whoever gets the gig better get at least seven to eight seasons to turn it around. Interim coach Russ Pennell isn't a candidate. But he does want to be a head coach, as long as it's the right situation for his family. Pennell, who was on Tuesday's ESPNU college basketball podcast 
, said quality of life will be a driving factor in any choice he makes.
• The Mobile (Ala.) Press-Register reported that VCU coach Anthony Grant is the front-runner for the Alabama vacancy and that VCU granted permission for the Tide to talk to Grant. Bama would be a better gig than Georgia. That seems to be the purveying sentiment among coaches in the region. If Grant is to move, this would seem the most logical choice because he is familiar with the SEC from his time at Florida. John Pelphrey's move to Arkansas didn't seem to faze Florida head coach Billy Donovan, so tossing in another loyal former assistant into the mix wouldn't be an issue. The Gators' model then would be at three of the 12 SEC schools.
• A perfect domino if it were to come to this would be for Virginia to go after Notre Dame's Mike Brey, a Beltway-connected coach who is of high character, and then for Siena's Fran McCaffery to go back to Notre Dame, where he was once an assistant to Digger Phelps. If Virginia were to call Brey, I would be surprised if he wouldn't go for the right offer.
• The CBI has a decent final four, with Stanford going to Oregon State on Wednesday night and UTEP playing at Richmond. The Cardinal lost two regular-season games to the Beavers before beating them in the first round of the Pac-10 tournament.
CBI organizer Rick Giles had to tweak the championship-round format with a travel nightmare looming for the two title teams. Last year's inaugural event had a 1-1-1 setup, but because of travel logistics, the championship round will have to be a 1-2 setup this time. The lower-seeded team likely will host the first game, while the higher-seeded team would host the second game -- and third, if necessary.
Andy Katz
