Talk about two anticlimactic Elite Eight games after two of the most exciting games yesterday that I've ever seen in my life.
While it was almost a chore to watch, it was still a surprise to see Tom Izzo's Michigan State Spartans upset Rick Pitino's #1-seed Louisville Cardinals. After the Cards laid the smack down on Arizona in their last game, it looked like they had hit their stride and put those two shaky games against Morehead State and Siena behind them. Truth be told, the Cardinals looked utterly inept against the Spartans, and the same team from the first two rounds showed up against better competition. If anything, the Cardinals might be able to blame Arizona: the Wildcats played so poorly and were so easily out-matched that the Cardinals probably had a bloated ego and thought all their games would be that easy. They came out strong and built an early lead, but the Spartans clawed their back behind Goran Suton, the Bosnian Bombardier, and his 17 points in the first half. At the end of the opening stanza, the Spartans actually led 30-27. However, the second-half was a different story: the Spartans' defense smothered the Cardinals and they kept them at arm's-length the rest of the way, taking it 64-52. The Cardinals should be ashamed of themselves for packing it in like they did: they were down 10 points with 10 minutes to play, and after that they didn't even look they wanted to be out there. No heart, no effort, and no W. Terrence Williams, the leading-scorer for the Cardinals, only had 5 points on 1-7 FG, and their #2 leading-scorer, Samardo Samuels, scored a goose-egg on 0-7 FG. The #1-overall-seed in the NCAA tournament will watch the Final Four from home. Meanwhile, the Spartans will head to Detroit. To this day, no player whose stayed for four years under Tom Izzo HASN'T made the Final four. That's amazing.
In the other game, the North Carolina Tar Heels went up 7-0 early over the Oklahoma Sooners and never looked back. They were up 32-23 at the half, built their lead up to 20 at one point in the second half, and the closest the Sooners got was within 9 points. In the end, UNC took it 72-60.
The game that was supposed to feature last year's Naismith Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough versus this year's Naismith Blake Griffin was a dud. Blake Griffin had lots of the rebounds in the first half but couldn't score, and Hansbrough suffered from early foul trouble and scored a grand total of 4 points in the first half. Griffin took over the second half and finished with 23 points and 16 rebounds, but the rest of his team looked terrible. The Sooners never had a deep bench, and it was exposed today. Plus, the Sooners finished the game shooting 2-19 from 3-point range, starting off 0-15 until a few minutes left in the second half. Meanwhile, the Tar Heels were balanced as always: Danny Green scored 14 of his 18 in the first half, and then Ty Lawson scored 15 of his 19 in the second half. Deon Thompson added 10 and Wayne Ellington had 9. It wasn't very interesting to watch, unless you were like me and had UNC picked in their brackets and loved to see them win it easily.
So the Final Four is set after two #1-seeds fall. On Saturday, Michigan State will face UConn and Villanova will take on UNC. The Big East is still impressive with two of their teams in their Final Four, even though their regular-season and tournament champion Louisville Cardinals won't be joining them. Villanova takes the cake for most exciting game of the tournament, but I don't think they can match up with UNC. This is the third time in 6 years that UNC head coach Roy Williams has made it to the Final Four, and the Tar Heels have won their NCAA-tournament-record 100th game. Hansbrough, as much as I think he's a tool, has unfinished business and wants to win the title, and I think that from here on out he can match up against any teams' big man and Ty Lawson is easily the most-talented guard remaining. I love Scottie Reynolds, but Ty Lawson plays the point better than Reynolds and will get his team moving better than Reynolds will.
In the other game, Michigan State will play the Final Four a mere 90 miles away from their campus in East Lansing against UConn. There is some precedent here: when UConn won both of their national championships they came out of the Western region in the bracket, as they have done this year. Michigan State fulfilled the Izzo-Promise as I mentioned earlier, and they will indubitably have the most fans in attendance for any of their games in Detroit. Suton will face Thabeet down low and Kalin Lucas will face AJ Price at the point, and Calhoun will square off against Izzo. I like UConn in this game, but if I've learned anything, it's that casting aside Michigan State bites me in the ass. That being said, the Huskies chomp the Spartans, and will face the Tar Heels in the final.
From there, it will be anybody's game.
- Beck
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Cats and Dogs (Beck)
I've ended my hiatus, and in the meantime we had a couple blow-outs yesterday and two barnburners today. Let's get dirty.
Recapping Thursday, #3-seeds laid down the hammer: Villanova trounced Duke 77-54 and Missouri bushwhacked Memphis 102-91. Both #1-seeds won: UConn's was easy over Purdue, but Pittsburgh survived Xavier 60-55.
On Friday, Louisville took a dump on Arizona's chest, winning 103-64; Oklahoma dispatched of Syracuse 84-71 with little effort; and the Tar Heels slapped the taste out of Gonzaga's mouth, taking it 98-77. The closest game of the day was #3-seed Kansas versus #2-seed Michigan State, but the Spartans played tight defense late and made their free-throws, winning it 67-62.
And my, oh my, what we saw today. #3-seed Missouri Tigers -- after a surprise upset over Memphis, whom many had going to the Final Four in their brackets, if not winning the title -- squared off against the #1-seed UConn Huskies in the desert of Glendale, Arizona. Missouri hung tough throughout, down 6 points at the half, but having led at points in the half. They were only down three with under two minutes to play, but the Huskies were led by 6'1" freshman Kemba Walker's circus shot and then A.J. Price's clutch shot at the end to extend the lead, one that the Tigers couldn't overcome. Walker was the king of the day, scoring 23 points in 25 minutes off the bench, and Jim Calhoun is in the Final Four for the third time is in career. The last two times the Huskies went to the Final Four, they won national championships.
But the thrilling game of the day was definitely the one in Boston, Massachusetts, pitting #3-seed Villanova against #1-seed Pittsburgh, a re-match of two Big East powerhouses. The Wildcats played the Panthers earlier in the season, a game in which DeJuan Blair only played 23 minutes with foul trouble and Villanova won by 10 points. This game would be much closer, although it didn't start out like that: Villanova was up big at the beginning, but the Panthers scratched and clawed their way back and were up 2 at the break. The game was played like anticipated: very physical. The Cats racked up 24 fouls: three players with four (Reggie Redding, Shane Clark, and Dante Cunningham) and three players with three (Scottie Reynolds, Corey Fisher, and Dwayne Anderson). Guard Brad Wanamaker for Pitt was the only player to foul out. That being said, this game was tight throughout, and the two stars for Pitt showed: DeJuan Blair had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Sam Young had 28 points and 7 rebounds. That being said, the Panthers didn't get too much help from their other star -- Levance Fields, 10 points on 2-9 FG -- or any of their role players. Villanova was led in scoring by Dwayne Anderson with 17, but the star of the day was my man Scottie Reynolds and his 15 points. I told you to watch him, because what did he do with the game tied at 76 and 5.5 seconds left to play? He took the ball coast-to-coast, drove into the lane, arguably drew a foul, and made a clutch lay-up with 0.5 seconds left to play. The Cats took it home and made the Final Four for the first time since 1985, when they went on to upset Patrick Ewing and the Georgetown Hoyas for a national championship as a #8-seed.
The fact is, Pittsburgh won close games in the three rounds before this against lesser teams than Villanova. On the other hand, Villanova had trouble in the first round against American and then cruised to huge wins over UCLA and Duke. Pitt won games ugly, but you had to know it was going to catch up to them at some point. You wear your own team down with such highly-contested games because your star players have to play huge minutes and must be on top of their games throughout. This far into the tournament, your team's fatigue will show and all that luck in the previous three games will run out. That all caught up with Pittsburgh, and they are the first #1-seed to fall in the 2009 Tournament.
I have to talk my shit again as I reiterate my pick of Villanova over Pittsburgh to go into the Final Four. Call me Nostradamus.
And tomorrow, we've got the Battle of the Paisans, pairing Tom Izzo and #2-seed Michigan State against Rick Pitino and his #1-seed Louisville Cardinals. Look for Louisville to take this one and keep the Spartans from reaching Detroit. In the other game, as I also predicted, Tyler Hansbrough and UNC will take on Blake Griffin and Oklahoma. Ty Lawson is definitely back, and while his injury is probably turf-toe and will take months to fully heal, he'll play on it and have the same amount of success that he's had in the last two rounds against LSU and Gonzaga. The Tar Heels will take it, as long as Sooners' head coach Capel doesn't send a thug into the game with the sole purpose of stepping on Lawson's toe.
This will set up match-ups between Louisville-UConn and UNC-Villanova in Detroit. It's amazing how good the Big East is this year, already sending two teams to the Final Four and probably three after tomorrow, but I still have my money on UNC bringing home the championship, which, in my mind, nullifies anything the Big East may have accomplished so far.
Hook 'em, Tar Heels.
- Beck
Recapping Thursday, #3-seeds laid down the hammer: Villanova trounced Duke 77-54 and Missouri bushwhacked Memphis 102-91. Both #1-seeds won: UConn's was easy over Purdue, but Pittsburgh survived Xavier 60-55.
On Friday, Louisville took a dump on Arizona's chest, winning 103-64; Oklahoma dispatched of Syracuse 84-71 with little effort; and the Tar Heels slapped the taste out of Gonzaga's mouth, taking it 98-77. The closest game of the day was #3-seed Kansas versus #2-seed Michigan State, but the Spartans played tight defense late and made their free-throws, winning it 67-62.
And my, oh my, what we saw today. #3-seed Missouri Tigers -- after a surprise upset over Memphis, whom many had going to the Final Four in their brackets, if not winning the title -- squared off against the #1-seed UConn Huskies in the desert of Glendale, Arizona. Missouri hung tough throughout, down 6 points at the half, but having led at points in the half. They were only down three with under two minutes to play, but the Huskies were led by 6'1" freshman Kemba Walker's circus shot and then A.J. Price's clutch shot at the end to extend the lead, one that the Tigers couldn't overcome. Walker was the king of the day, scoring 23 points in 25 minutes off the bench, and Jim Calhoun is in the Final Four for the third time is in career. The last two times the Huskies went to the Final Four, they won national championships.
But the thrilling game of the day was definitely the one in Boston, Massachusetts, pitting #3-seed Villanova against #1-seed Pittsburgh, a re-match of two Big East powerhouses. The Wildcats played the Panthers earlier in the season, a game in which DeJuan Blair only played 23 minutes with foul trouble and Villanova won by 10 points. This game would be much closer, although it didn't start out like that: Villanova was up big at the beginning, but the Panthers scratched and clawed their way back and were up 2 at the break. The game was played like anticipated: very physical. The Cats racked up 24 fouls: three players with four (Reggie Redding, Shane Clark, and Dante Cunningham) and three players with three (Scottie Reynolds, Corey Fisher, and Dwayne Anderson). Guard Brad Wanamaker for Pitt was the only player to foul out. That being said, this game was tight throughout, and the two stars for Pitt showed: DeJuan Blair had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Sam Young had 28 points and 7 rebounds. That being said, the Panthers didn't get too much help from their other star -- Levance Fields, 10 points on 2-9 FG -- or any of their role players. Villanova was led in scoring by Dwayne Anderson with 17, but the star of the day was my man Scottie Reynolds and his 15 points. I told you to watch him, because what did he do with the game tied at 76 and 5.5 seconds left to play? He took the ball coast-to-coast, drove into the lane, arguably drew a foul, and made a clutch lay-up with 0.5 seconds left to play. The Cats took it home and made the Final Four for the first time since 1985, when they went on to upset Patrick Ewing and the Georgetown Hoyas for a national championship as a #8-seed.
The fact is, Pittsburgh won close games in the three rounds before this against lesser teams than Villanova. On the other hand, Villanova had trouble in the first round against American and then cruised to huge wins over UCLA and Duke. Pitt won games ugly, but you had to know it was going to catch up to them at some point. You wear your own team down with such highly-contested games because your star players have to play huge minutes and must be on top of their games throughout. This far into the tournament, your team's fatigue will show and all that luck in the previous three games will run out. That all caught up with Pittsburgh, and they are the first #1-seed to fall in the 2009 Tournament.
I have to talk my shit again as I reiterate my pick of Villanova over Pittsburgh to go into the Final Four. Call me Nostradamus.
And tomorrow, we've got the Battle of the Paisans, pairing Tom Izzo and #2-seed Michigan State against Rick Pitino and his #1-seed Louisville Cardinals. Look for Louisville to take this one and keep the Spartans from reaching Detroit. In the other game, as I also predicted, Tyler Hansbrough and UNC will take on Blake Griffin and Oklahoma. Ty Lawson is definitely back, and while his injury is probably turf-toe and will take months to fully heal, he'll play on it and have the same amount of success that he's had in the last two rounds against LSU and Gonzaga. The Tar Heels will take it, as long as Sooners' head coach Capel doesn't send a thug into the game with the sole purpose of stepping on Lawson's toe.
This will set up match-ups between Louisville-UConn and UNC-Villanova in Detroit. It's amazing how good the Big East is this year, already sending two teams to the Final Four and probably three after tomorrow, but I still have my money on UNC bringing home the championship, which, in my mind, nullifies anything the Big East may have accomplished so far.
Hook 'em, Tar Heels.
- Beck
Thursday, March 26, 2009
The King vs The Big O (Chandler)
So with the rest of the nation turning into college basketball fans, (after OSU lost, I lost interest) I have turned my attention back to real basketball the NBA. Myself being an unapologetic LBJ fanatic I have been paying keen attention to the King's MVP tour.
As you undoubtedly know I think LeBron is this years MVP and its not even close. After watching last nights game against the Nets (the score does not even begin to tell the game. It was not close at all the whole game. The Cavs were obviously not even trying until the 4th quarter where they turned it on for about 5 min and put them away.), the announcers were comparing the King to Oscar Robertson and his amazing '62 season where he avged a trip dub for a season and debated whether or not James could do so as well in his career.
So the '62 season was an amazing year of basketball in the NBA, it contained Oscar's triple double season avg, and Wilt Chamberlain avged 54 pts a game and even scored 100 pts in a game. In a year of such gaudy stats I began to wonder why players are still not doing this. Seems to me that athletes are becoming bigger and badder than ever and thus stats should only increase not decrease.
Well the answer is fairly simple folks, the pace of the game has significantly decreased over time as the emphasis on defense winning championships has taken hold. The Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors, and the New York Knicks would be like the '85 bears of basketball in 1962. I also find it funny that the 3 worst defenses in the NBA do not have a "D" in any of their names, coincidence? I think not.
Ok so lets break it down and get to the point shall we. In '62, the average team took 107.7 shots per game. By comparison, this year the average team takes 80.2 FGA/G. Crunching the numbers after a long day at the office makes the NBA pace factor for 1962 was 125.5 possessions/48 minutes. This season it is currently 91.7 possessions/48 minutes. The 2009 Cavs are averaging a mere 89.2 poss/48. This equates to a much faster paced game of yester year than today giving them more opportunities to produce the ridiculous stats.
So lets say that Lebron was able to switch paces with Oscar from 2009 season to the 1962 season and play in the uptempo game. By multiplying Oscar's numbers from the '62 season by .715 you get a more down to earth avg of 22.0 PPG, 8.9 RPG, & 8.1 APG, which is still VERY solid. By contrast the King's stats in the mega paced NBA, multiplying his stats by a factor of 1.4 you get the staggering 40.1 PPG, 10.3 RPG, & 10.0 APG! As you can see the extra 35 possessions a game make a big difference.
Now for Jared's sake I also took the liberty of multiplying D.Wades stats by the same factor. In doing so my calculator produced this result: Season Ending Injury. Sorry Jared, even in the break neck speed, D.Wade can't win the MVP this year.
So what does this all mean you ask? It means that LBJ is actually avging a triple double this season and Dwade is a bitch. LBJ4MVP!!!!
-Chandler Bomb
Reference:
http://www.basketball-reference.com
As you undoubtedly know I think LeBron is this years MVP and its not even close. After watching last nights game against the Nets (the score does not even begin to tell the game. It was not close at all the whole game. The Cavs were obviously not even trying until the 4th quarter where they turned it on for about 5 min and put them away.), the announcers were comparing the King to Oscar Robertson and his amazing '62 season where he avged a trip dub for a season and debated whether or not James could do so as well in his career.
So the '62 season was an amazing year of basketball in the NBA, it contained Oscar's triple double season avg, and Wilt Chamberlain avged 54 pts a game and even scored 100 pts in a game. In a year of such gaudy stats I began to wonder why players are still not doing this. Seems to me that athletes are becoming bigger and badder than ever and thus stats should only increase not decrease.
Well the answer is fairly simple folks, the pace of the game has significantly decreased over time as the emphasis on defense winning championships has taken hold. The Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors, and the New York Knicks would be like the '85 bears of basketball in 1962. I also find it funny that the 3 worst defenses in the NBA do not have a "D" in any of their names, coincidence? I think not.
Ok so lets break it down and get to the point shall we. In '62, the average team took 107.7 shots per game. By comparison, this year the average team takes 80.2 FGA/G. Crunching the numbers after a long day at the office makes the NBA pace factor for 1962 was 125.5 possessions/48 minutes. This season it is currently 91.7 possessions/48 minutes. The 2009 Cavs are averaging a mere 89.2 poss/48. This equates to a much faster paced game of yester year than today giving them more opportunities to produce the ridiculous stats.
So lets say that Lebron was able to switch paces with Oscar from 2009 season to the 1962 season and play in the uptempo game. By multiplying Oscar's numbers from the '62 season by .715 you get a more down to earth avg of 22.0 PPG, 8.9 RPG, & 8.1 APG, which is still VERY solid. By contrast the King's stats in the mega paced NBA, multiplying his stats by a factor of 1.4 you get the staggering 40.1 PPG, 10.3 RPG, & 10.0 APG! As you can see the extra 35 possessions a game make a big difference.
Now for Jared's sake I also took the liberty of multiplying D.Wades stats by the same factor. In doing so my calculator produced this result: Season Ending Injury. Sorry Jared, even in the break neck speed, D.Wade can't win the MVP this year.
So what does this all mean you ask? It means that LBJ is actually avging a triple double this season and Dwade is a bitch. LBJ4MVP!!!!
-Chandler Bomb
Reference:
http://www.basketball-reference.com
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Instant Tourney Reaction, Day 4 (Beck)
As the first weekend of March Madness closes and the Sweet Sixteen locks, I find myself burnt out from the close finishes and the abysmal performance of my bracket. Still, Sunday's round of games provided plenty of excitement, but I lack the energy to do it justice.
#3-seed Syracuse downed #6-seed Arizona State, #4-seed Xavier ran away with it against #12-seed Wisconsin, #3-seed Kansas was never threatened by #11-seed Dayton, and #12-seed Arizona silenced all critics with a solid victory over #13-seed Cleveland State. Those games had their moments, but they weren't really on the same level as the final four games were.
#1-seed Pittsburgh barely escaped another opponent, this time it was #8-seed Oklahoma State. The Panthers easily appear to be the most vulnerable #1-seed in the tournament, having barely eeked out a win against East Tennessee State and today trailing late into the game against the Cowboys. Panthers fans will, of course, point to the fact that they win games ugly but at least they win those games. Pittsburgh, just like its leading-man, DeJaun Blair, likes to play physical and grind it out, which is typically a good tactic in the tournament, but when they face Villanova -- or even Duke -- in the next round (assuming they dispatch of the "I'm-not-a-mid-major" Xavier), it probably won't be enough.
#2-seed Michigan State survived a tight game against #10-seed USC, 74-69. No team went up big at any point in the game, and the Spartans slugged it out. Michigan State, and the Big 10 for that matter, play a lot like Pittsburgh, with a philosophy centered around low-scoring, defensive games. USC exceeded expectations after beating #7-seed Boston College in the first round and pushing Michigan State to the limit, and the Trojans should be proud. The difference in the game was that forward Taj Gibson, who shot a perfect 10-10 FG against the Eagles, fouled out with lots of time left against the Spartans and only 3 points to his name.
#3-seed Missouri outlasted #6-seed Marquette and Jerel McNeal's career-high 30 points, as the Tigers squandered a 46-35 lead at the half but ended the game up 83-79. In the final seconds, game tied 79-79, J.T. Tiller drew a foul but was injured on the play, and freshman Kevin English had to take his place at the free-throw line. The kid hit two clutch free throws, and the game was essentially sealed. While Marquette head coach Buzz Williams was inconsolable after several no-calls leading up to that point, he was equally angry with the call that sent English into the game. Golden Eagle fans were similarly livid, but the fact is that English shoots 65% from the line and Tiller shoots 76% from the line. Either way, the kid hit the shots, and Missouri went up. With 5.5 seconds left, the in-bounder for Marquette stepped over the line and the ball went back to Mizzou, who hit two more free throws and sealed the game.
Lastly, #1-seed Louisville barely passed #9-seed Siena in Dayton, winning 79-72. The Cardinals were actually down 63-59 with 7:45 to play, but they kept Siena at bay, hit some big shots, and brought it home. The Cardinals seem to be the second-most vulnerable #1-seed, having had trouble in the first round (granted it was only the first half that they played poorly) and then trouble again in this round. The thing is, though, that when Louisville is on its game, it's unstoppable, as showcased by its Big East regular-season championship and tournament title. Louisville had been cold for long stretches in both games and heated up at just the right time, but if they hope to make it to the national championship game, they won't be able to stay cold for so long.
When I look at the line-up of the Sweet Sixteen, I'm depressed that the only real Cinderella story is #12-seed Arizona, who plays in a major conference yet had a marginal season, which resulted in the low seed. All the 1-3 seeds advanced, and the only #4-seeds to fall were Washington and Wake Forest. That being said, three of the Sweet Sixteen don't play in major conferences -- Gonzaga, Xavier, and Memphis -- but are head and shoulders above the competition in their conferences and had sustained success in the NCAA Tournament for years. It's boring that we're not celebrating an underdog Cleveland State or Dayton Flyers in the Sweet 16, or even a NDSU or Portland State win in the first round. I'm sure the Tournament officials like to see everything go according to plan -- and by that I mean higher seeds winning every game -- but I'm sure they also enjoy the increased coverage they would receive should one of the double-digit seeds make it this far. Think George Mason from a couple years ago.
The silver lining is that the best teams have moved on, which makes for dream match-ups from here on out. Kansas-Michigan State? Never see that happen outside of the tournament. Villanova-Duke? Syracuse-Oklahoma? None of these would happen unless the teams played in an early-season tournament, but those occur before we even really know how good the teams will be. Now, at the end of the season, we know these teams are special, they're on top of their game, and they're playing to survive.
The only thing that angers me is that people who took no chances on their brackets and didn't pick any big upsets are the ones that succeeded most, but, as I said yesterday, c'est la vie.
I'm taking a break now, but I'll be back for some predictions and more analysis later this week.
- Beck
#3-seed Syracuse downed #6-seed Arizona State, #4-seed Xavier ran away with it against #12-seed Wisconsin, #3-seed Kansas was never threatened by #11-seed Dayton, and #12-seed Arizona silenced all critics with a solid victory over #13-seed Cleveland State. Those games had their moments, but they weren't really on the same level as the final four games were.
#1-seed Pittsburgh barely escaped another opponent, this time it was #8-seed Oklahoma State. The Panthers easily appear to be the most vulnerable #1-seed in the tournament, having barely eeked out a win against East Tennessee State and today trailing late into the game against the Cowboys. Panthers fans will, of course, point to the fact that they win games ugly but at least they win those games. Pittsburgh, just like its leading-man, DeJaun Blair, likes to play physical and grind it out, which is typically a good tactic in the tournament, but when they face Villanova -- or even Duke -- in the next round (assuming they dispatch of the "I'm-not-a-mid-major" Xavier), it probably won't be enough.
#2-seed Michigan State survived a tight game against #10-seed USC, 74-69. No team went up big at any point in the game, and the Spartans slugged it out. Michigan State, and the Big 10 for that matter, play a lot like Pittsburgh, with a philosophy centered around low-scoring, defensive games. USC exceeded expectations after beating #7-seed Boston College in the first round and pushing Michigan State to the limit, and the Trojans should be proud. The difference in the game was that forward Taj Gibson, who shot a perfect 10-10 FG against the Eagles, fouled out with lots of time left against the Spartans and only 3 points to his name.
#3-seed Missouri outlasted #6-seed Marquette and Jerel McNeal's career-high 30 points, as the Tigers squandered a 46-35 lead at the half but ended the game up 83-79. In the final seconds, game tied 79-79, J.T. Tiller drew a foul but was injured on the play, and freshman Kevin English had to take his place at the free-throw line. The kid hit two clutch free throws, and the game was essentially sealed. While Marquette head coach Buzz Williams was inconsolable after several no-calls leading up to that point, he was equally angry with the call that sent English into the game. Golden Eagle fans were similarly livid, but the fact is that English shoots 65% from the line and Tiller shoots 76% from the line. Either way, the kid hit the shots, and Missouri went up. With 5.5 seconds left, the in-bounder for Marquette stepped over the line and the ball went back to Mizzou, who hit two more free throws and sealed the game.
Lastly, #1-seed Louisville barely passed #9-seed Siena in Dayton, winning 79-72. The Cardinals were actually down 63-59 with 7:45 to play, but they kept Siena at bay, hit some big shots, and brought it home. The Cardinals seem to be the second-most vulnerable #1-seed, having had trouble in the first round (granted it was only the first half that they played poorly) and then trouble again in this round. The thing is, though, that when Louisville is on its game, it's unstoppable, as showcased by its Big East regular-season championship and tournament title. Louisville had been cold for long stretches in both games and heated up at just the right time, but if they hope to make it to the national championship game, they won't be able to stay cold for so long.
When I look at the line-up of the Sweet Sixteen, I'm depressed that the only real Cinderella story is #12-seed Arizona, who plays in a major conference yet had a marginal season, which resulted in the low seed. All the 1-3 seeds advanced, and the only #4-seeds to fall were Washington and Wake Forest. That being said, three of the Sweet Sixteen don't play in major conferences -- Gonzaga, Xavier, and Memphis -- but are head and shoulders above the competition in their conferences and had sustained success in the NCAA Tournament for years. It's boring that we're not celebrating an underdog Cleveland State or Dayton Flyers in the Sweet 16, or even a NDSU or Portland State win in the first round. I'm sure the Tournament officials like to see everything go according to plan -- and by that I mean higher seeds winning every game -- but I'm sure they also enjoy the increased coverage they would receive should one of the double-digit seeds make it this far. Think George Mason from a couple years ago.
The silver lining is that the best teams have moved on, which makes for dream match-ups from here on out. Kansas-Michigan State? Never see that happen outside of the tournament. Villanova-Duke? Syracuse-Oklahoma? None of these would happen unless the teams played in an early-season tournament, but those occur before we even really know how good the teams will be. Now, at the end of the season, we know these teams are special, they're on top of their game, and they're playing to survive.
The only thing that angers me is that people who took no chances on their brackets and didn't pick any big upsets are the ones that succeeded most, but, as I said yesterday, c'est la vie.
I'm taking a break now, but I'll be back for some predictions and more analysis later this week.
- Beck
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Instant Tourney Reaction, Day 3 (Beck)
Day 3 worked in two equal and opposite phases: the first three games were all blow-outs, and the final five provided enough heart-stopping -- and in my case, heart-breaking -- moments that more than a dozen times I thought I was suffering from cardiac arrest.
The first game of the day, pitting #3-seed Villanova against #6-seed UCLA, went precisely according to my prediction: Nova rolled to an 89-69 victory and advanced into the Sweet Sixteen. The Cats were up 13 at half-time, but didn't get complacent and kept their foot on the gas, and the Bruins' throats, for the second half. Villanova played up and down, inside and outside, and 6 players scored in double-figures. Dante Cunningham was the crux of the offense, dropping in 18 and snagging 10 boards, while first-round hero Dwayne Anderson helped with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Guard Scottie Reynolds didn't have the break-out game I had anticipated, finishing with a mediocre 11 points, but give all the credit for that performance to the outstanding D played by UCLA's Darren Collison on him. This is the fourth time in five years that Villanova has made it to the Round of 16, and this is the first time in 4 years that UCLA hasn't made it to the Final Four. No matter what, Villanova looks like a tough team to beat at this point.
In the next game, #2-seed Memphis jumped all over #10-seed Maryland from the get-go and ended the first half up 20 points, 53-33. Roburt Sallie, the hero of the first round for the Tigers, remained hot from three-point range, hitting 3-4, but only finished with 13 points, 22 less than he did against Northridge. Picking up that scoring slack was freshman-sensation Tyreke Evans, who led Memphis with 19 points. Maryland just couldn't get anything started, and despite Grievis Vasquez's 18 points, and the fact that Maryland actually won the second-half 37-36, the Terrapins couldn't overcome the deficit and fell 89-70.
Lastly, there isn't much to say about #1-seed UConn's trouncing of #9-seed Texas A&M other than the final score: 92-66. Ouch.
After those three games, someone high up at the Tournament offices thought they needed some closer games to satisfy the audiences, and the next five were all tight match-ups. #5-seed Purdue knocked off #4-seed Washington in the final seconds, taking it 76-74. Purdue was playing great defense against the Huskies in the first half, but in the second half Huskies' point guard Isaiah Thomas and his game-high 24 points almost tied it up. Too bad the Boilermakers had their block-machina JaJuan Johnson waiting for him in the lane, and he blocked two huge shots to preserve Purdue's lead. I had Huskies West beating Huskies East in the next round, which doesn't look like a good pick anyway now that UConn is just tearing people apart, but scratch off one of my Elite Eight teams.
Then, #1-seed UNC had to survive #8-seed LSU in the second half, mostly on the back of point guard Ty Lawson's inspired play. Lawson, who missed the Tar Heels' first-round game against Radford, started this game, but went out early in the first-half when it looked like he reaggravated his toe injury. The Tar Heels were up 38-29 at half-time, but the Bayou Bengals stormed back, actually taking a 44-41 lead with 16 minutes left in the second-half. They stayed within a few points for the next ten minutes, and then Lawson took over. He scored 21 of his 23 points in the second half, proving that when he's on his game he's dangerous, and the Tar Heels are unbeatable. Wayne Ellington poured in 23 more points for UNC, and Tyler Hansbrough had 15. UNC ran out the rest of the game and finished it with a W, 84-70.
And then, #2-seed Oklahoma survived their own scare against #10-seed Michigan, who had a penchant for knocking off better teams all season. The Sooners battled the first half and had a one-point lead, and Player-of-the-Year-candidate Blake Griffin was knocked down and Michigan drew blood. Despite foul trouble with their leading-scorer Manny Harris, the Wolverines were only down three with six minutes to play, but Griffin was just too much and the Sooners won it 73-63. Griffin ended with 33 points and 17 rebounds, a typical stat-line for him all season. Oklahoma will be tough, and I look forward to them facing UNC in the Elite Eight, pitting Griffin against Hansbrough down low.
In the last two games of the night, #4-seed Gonzaga scored with 0.9 seconds left to go up on #12-seed Western Kentucky, and #7-seed Texas had a chance to tie #2-seed Duke in the final minutes but blew their opportunity. The Zags and the Hilltoppers was a close game throughout, with WKU actually up 37-35 at the half. In the final minutes, with WKU down by four, Steffphon Pettigrew gathered a loose-ball stolen from Gonzaga and put it down for a score, then added a tip with 7.2 seconds left to tie the game. However, the Hilltoppers lost back-up point guard Demetri Gordon in the chaos after the shot, and Gordon took the ball the length of the court for the game-winning lay-up. Big play from the freshman, and Gonzaga will face UNC in the next round.
Duke ended up winning the game, but there were moments where Texas looked liked they were really ready to break it open and take the lead. Duke had several players in foul trouble, and two foul out -- including starter Kyle Singler -- but Jon Scheyer played great D on Longhorns marks-man AJ Abrams, holding him to only 17 points and shooting 2-6 from 3. Abrams made 8 3's in the first round against Minnesota. Still, the Longhorns benefited from Varez Ward's 16 points off the bench, a player who only averaged 3.8 ppg on the season. The Longhorns had it tied at 67-67 in the closing minutes, and then had a chance at a rebound only down 69-72 with 11.5 seconds remaining, but Duke fell on it and the Blue Devils advanced to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in three years.
My bracket died a little today, as I went a respectable 6/8 on my picks, but like I said before, I picked Washington to upset UConn in the next round, and that's impossible now that Washington is heading back to Seattle losers. It didn't help any that that game was such a nail-biter, and I tore the stuffing out of my stress-ball before the conclusion. I wished I had any left at the end of the Duke game, as I had picked Texas to upset the Dukies in that one. It's always infuriating whenever you pick an upset like that and your team gets this close, but then it doesn't happen.
C'est la vie.
Close games today, and we'll be looking for equally close games tomorrow. As usual, this batch of games went just like the first day as all the higher seeds won their games, but tomorrow will resemble the chaos of Friday, I'm sure. Day 4 pits #13-seed Cleveland State against #12-seed Arizona, and #11-seed Dayton against #3-seed Kansas. Cleveland State beat up on Wake Forest, but I think Arizona has been counted out too much all season to sleep on them, and I like that Arizona's leading-scorers are tall and long, something that Cleveland State does not have. The Vikings are quick, but I like the Wildcats in that match-up (not that I had it picked before the tournament). In the other game, I think Dayton could surprise some people, and after having called NDSU's upset over Kansas, I'll stay on that band-wagon and wish ill will on the Jayhawks as the Flyers roll.
Other than that, Pittsburgh should roll of Oklahoma State and Louisville over Siena, and Missouri-Marquette could be a interesting game to watch, but I've got the Tigers in that one. Arizona State proved its worth against Temple, but Johnny Flynn and the Syracuse Orange will move on to face Oklahoma in the Sweet Sixteen next weekend. Plus, Xavier will knock off the over-achieving Wisconsin Badgers, but it will be too late for my bracket as I had Florida State make it to the Sweet Sixteen.
March Madness is one crazy roller-coaster, and I'm not getting off yet (that's what she said).
Over and out . . . for now.
- Beck
The first game of the day, pitting #3-seed Villanova against #6-seed UCLA, went precisely according to my prediction: Nova rolled to an 89-69 victory and advanced into the Sweet Sixteen. The Cats were up 13 at half-time, but didn't get complacent and kept their foot on the gas, and the Bruins' throats, for the second half. Villanova played up and down, inside and outside, and 6 players scored in double-figures. Dante Cunningham was the crux of the offense, dropping in 18 and snagging 10 boards, while first-round hero Dwayne Anderson helped with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Guard Scottie Reynolds didn't have the break-out game I had anticipated, finishing with a mediocre 11 points, but give all the credit for that performance to the outstanding D played by UCLA's Darren Collison on him. This is the fourth time in five years that Villanova has made it to the Round of 16, and this is the first time in 4 years that UCLA hasn't made it to the Final Four. No matter what, Villanova looks like a tough team to beat at this point.
In the next game, #2-seed Memphis jumped all over #10-seed Maryland from the get-go and ended the first half up 20 points, 53-33. Roburt Sallie, the hero of the first round for the Tigers, remained hot from three-point range, hitting 3-4, but only finished with 13 points, 22 less than he did against Northridge. Picking up that scoring slack was freshman-sensation Tyreke Evans, who led Memphis with 19 points. Maryland just couldn't get anything started, and despite Grievis Vasquez's 18 points, and the fact that Maryland actually won the second-half 37-36, the Terrapins couldn't overcome the deficit and fell 89-70.
Lastly, there isn't much to say about #1-seed UConn's trouncing of #9-seed Texas A&M other than the final score: 92-66. Ouch.
After those three games, someone high up at the Tournament offices thought they needed some closer games to satisfy the audiences, and the next five were all tight match-ups. #5-seed Purdue knocked off #4-seed Washington in the final seconds, taking it 76-74. Purdue was playing great defense against the Huskies in the first half, but in the second half Huskies' point guard Isaiah Thomas and his game-high 24 points almost tied it up. Too bad the Boilermakers had their block-machina JaJuan Johnson waiting for him in the lane, and he blocked two huge shots to preserve Purdue's lead. I had Huskies West beating Huskies East in the next round, which doesn't look like a good pick anyway now that UConn is just tearing people apart, but scratch off one of my Elite Eight teams.
Then, #1-seed UNC had to survive #8-seed LSU in the second half, mostly on the back of point guard Ty Lawson's inspired play. Lawson, who missed the Tar Heels' first-round game against Radford, started this game, but went out early in the first-half when it looked like he reaggravated his toe injury. The Tar Heels were up 38-29 at half-time, but the Bayou Bengals stormed back, actually taking a 44-41 lead with 16 minutes left in the second-half. They stayed within a few points for the next ten minutes, and then Lawson took over. He scored 21 of his 23 points in the second half, proving that when he's on his game he's dangerous, and the Tar Heels are unbeatable. Wayne Ellington poured in 23 more points for UNC, and Tyler Hansbrough had 15. UNC ran out the rest of the game and finished it with a W, 84-70.
And then, #2-seed Oklahoma survived their own scare against #10-seed Michigan, who had a penchant for knocking off better teams all season. The Sooners battled the first half and had a one-point lead, and Player-of-the-Year-candidate Blake Griffin was knocked down and Michigan drew blood. Despite foul trouble with their leading-scorer Manny Harris, the Wolverines were only down three with six minutes to play, but Griffin was just too much and the Sooners won it 73-63. Griffin ended with 33 points and 17 rebounds, a typical stat-line for him all season. Oklahoma will be tough, and I look forward to them facing UNC in the Elite Eight, pitting Griffin against Hansbrough down low.
In the last two games of the night, #4-seed Gonzaga scored with 0.9 seconds left to go up on #12-seed Western Kentucky, and #7-seed Texas had a chance to tie #2-seed Duke in the final minutes but blew their opportunity. The Zags and the Hilltoppers was a close game throughout, with WKU actually up 37-35 at the half. In the final minutes, with WKU down by four, Steffphon Pettigrew gathered a loose-ball stolen from Gonzaga and put it down for a score, then added a tip with 7.2 seconds left to tie the game. However, the Hilltoppers lost back-up point guard Demetri Gordon in the chaos after the shot, and Gordon took the ball the length of the court for the game-winning lay-up. Big play from the freshman, and Gonzaga will face UNC in the next round.
Duke ended up winning the game, but there were moments where Texas looked liked they were really ready to break it open and take the lead. Duke had several players in foul trouble, and two foul out -- including starter Kyle Singler -- but Jon Scheyer played great D on Longhorns marks-man AJ Abrams, holding him to only 17 points and shooting 2-6 from 3. Abrams made 8 3's in the first round against Minnesota. Still, the Longhorns benefited from Varez Ward's 16 points off the bench, a player who only averaged 3.8 ppg on the season. The Longhorns had it tied at 67-67 in the closing minutes, and then had a chance at a rebound only down 69-72 with 11.5 seconds remaining, but Duke fell on it and the Blue Devils advanced to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in three years.
My bracket died a little today, as I went a respectable 6/8 on my picks, but like I said before, I picked Washington to upset UConn in the next round, and that's impossible now that Washington is heading back to Seattle losers. It didn't help any that that game was such a nail-biter, and I tore the stuffing out of my stress-ball before the conclusion. I wished I had any left at the end of the Duke game, as I had picked Texas to upset the Dukies in that one. It's always infuriating whenever you pick an upset like that and your team gets this close, but then it doesn't happen.
C'est la vie.
Close games today, and we'll be looking for equally close games tomorrow. As usual, this batch of games went just like the first day as all the higher seeds won their games, but tomorrow will resemble the chaos of Friday, I'm sure. Day 4 pits #13-seed Cleveland State against #12-seed Arizona, and #11-seed Dayton against #3-seed Kansas. Cleveland State beat up on Wake Forest, but I think Arizona has been counted out too much all season to sleep on them, and I like that Arizona's leading-scorers are tall and long, something that Cleveland State does not have. The Vikings are quick, but I like the Wildcats in that match-up (not that I had it picked before the tournament). In the other game, I think Dayton could surprise some people, and after having called NDSU's upset over Kansas, I'll stay on that band-wagon and wish ill will on the Jayhawks as the Flyers roll.
Other than that, Pittsburgh should roll of Oklahoma State and Louisville over Siena, and Missouri-Marquette could be a interesting game to watch, but I've got the Tigers in that one. Arizona State proved its worth against Temple, but Johnny Flynn and the Syracuse Orange will move on to face Oklahoma in the Sweet Sixteen next weekend. Plus, Xavier will knock off the over-achieving Wisconsin Badgers, but it will be too late for my bracket as I had Florida State make it to the Sweet Sixteen.
March Madness is one crazy roller-coaster, and I'm not getting off yet (that's what she said).
Over and out . . . for now.
- Beck
Instant Tourney Reaction, Day 2 (Beck)
Naturally, today is the day that the upsets abound. Yesterday went essentially according to plan, but today was full of close games (two in overtime) and shocking upheavals. Plus, my bracket suffered heavily.
First, #6-seed Marquette willed themselves to a win over #11-seed Utah State by hitting clutch free throws in the final seconds of the game. Dionte Christmas scored 29 for the #11-seed Temple Owls, but they couldn't hold on for a win against #6-seed Arizona State, who had Jeff Pendergraph and Derek Glasser (who shot 4-5 from 3) both score 22 points. Lastly, my big call of #14-seed North Dakota State over #3-seed Kansas almost came to fruition, with Ben Woodside dropping in 37 points for the Bison, but the Jayhawks were just too much and they won by 10. All of these upsets I thought were locks crashed and burned.
And, on top of that, #11-seed Dayton Flyers took care of #6-seed West Virginia, ruining my Sweet Sixteen. I picked two 11-seeds to beat 6-seeds, but sadly I chose incorrectly. Dayton led big the whole game behind Chris Wright, who scored 27 points and had 10 rebounds. #12-seed Wisconsin dispensed of #5-seed Florida State in the first overtime, despite Toney Douglas's 26 points and 6 rebounds. And finally, the most shocking of all, #13-seed Cleveland State took down #4-seed Wake Forest in a rout. The Vikings led by double-digits most of the game, and finished it winning 84-69. Strike out three of my Sweet-Sixteen teams.
However, #9-seed Siena won over #8-seed Ohio State, though they needed two overtimes to pull out the win. For the second year in a row, Siena has moved on to the second round of the tournament. #10-seed USC took down #7-seed Boston College behind a perfect shooting effort (10-10 FG) from Trojan forward Taj Gibson, 20 points from Dwight Lewis and another 18 points from freshman-sensation Demar DeRozan. Thankfully, I at least called those upsets.
Another trend that ran through Day 2 were #1-seeds struggling against the #16-seeds: Pittsburgh beat East Tennessee State by 10 points, but they were only up 3 points at half-time and, with 4:27 left to play in the second half, Courtney Pigram hit a 3 for ETSU to bring them within two points of the Panthers, 57-59. Pittsburgh dug in and finished the game out, taking it 72-62, but UConn and UNC rolled by at least forty points over their two opponents. Likewise, #1-seed Louisville was only up two points, 35-33, over Morehead State at the half, though they won the second-half 39-21 and won the game 74-54. What's up, guys?
So, the upsets finally checked in to the tournament, and after a perfect 16/16 on picks on Day 1, I went a pitiful 9/16 on Day 2. I'll admit NDSU was a little stupid, but every year some sub-12-seed wins a game, I just didn't know it was going to be Cleveland State, and I doubt anyone else outside of the Northeast Ohio area knew the Vikings would win either.
Oh, and the Tennessee Volunteers should be ashamed of themselves. Whenever they lose games, it's always like this: they look lackadaisical, they take bad shots, they can't dribble, and they generally don't look like they care that much. Granted they only lost to Oklahoma State 77-75 in the final seconds, but if they would've had their heads on straight they could've won handily. Too bad the Cowboys will be beat by Pittsburgh, who rebounds from their pitiful loss and take their anger out on the kids from Stillwater.
My biggest gripe is that I should've followed my own advice and known that the Pac-10 is not a bad league, as 5 out of 6 of their teams (USC, UCLA, Washington, Arizona State, and Arizona) moved on to the second round, with California's loss to Maryland the only exception. Just like during bowl season, people count out the Pac-10 and then they shine bright in the post-season. Oh well.
Looking forward to Day 3, Memphis regains its stride against Maryland; Villanova does the same against UCLA; Gonzaga beats up on Western Kentucky; the 1-seeds (UConn and UNC) continue to roll; and my big upset of this round will be the #7-seed Texas Longhorns over the #2-seed Duke Blue Devils. Duke has choked in every tournament for the last few years, and this team will do the same. AJ Abrams is a one-man wrecking-crew, and he's ready to drop 40 on Coach K's boys for the win. Lastly, Washington better roll over Purdue.
25/32 ain't bad, but the best I can be is 13/16 for the Sweet Sixteen. That's not great.
Despite the set-back and the bracket-busting, throw up your glass to another round of games tomorrow!
- Beck
First, #6-seed Marquette willed themselves to a win over #11-seed Utah State by hitting clutch free throws in the final seconds of the game. Dionte Christmas scored 29 for the #11-seed Temple Owls, but they couldn't hold on for a win against #6-seed Arizona State, who had Jeff Pendergraph and Derek Glasser (who shot 4-5 from 3) both score 22 points. Lastly, my big call of #14-seed North Dakota State over #3-seed Kansas almost came to fruition, with Ben Woodside dropping in 37 points for the Bison, but the Jayhawks were just too much and they won by 10. All of these upsets I thought were locks crashed and burned.
And, on top of that, #11-seed Dayton Flyers took care of #6-seed West Virginia, ruining my Sweet Sixteen. I picked two 11-seeds to beat 6-seeds, but sadly I chose incorrectly. Dayton led big the whole game behind Chris Wright, who scored 27 points and had 10 rebounds. #12-seed Wisconsin dispensed of #5-seed Florida State in the first overtime, despite Toney Douglas's 26 points and 6 rebounds. And finally, the most shocking of all, #13-seed Cleveland State took down #4-seed Wake Forest in a rout. The Vikings led by double-digits most of the game, and finished it winning 84-69. Strike out three of my Sweet-Sixteen teams.
However, #9-seed Siena won over #8-seed Ohio State, though they needed two overtimes to pull out the win. For the second year in a row, Siena has moved on to the second round of the tournament. #10-seed USC took down #7-seed Boston College behind a perfect shooting effort (10-10 FG) from Trojan forward Taj Gibson, 20 points from Dwight Lewis and another 18 points from freshman-sensation Demar DeRozan. Thankfully, I at least called those upsets.
Another trend that ran through Day 2 were #1-seeds struggling against the #16-seeds: Pittsburgh beat East Tennessee State by 10 points, but they were only up 3 points at half-time and, with 4:27 left to play in the second half, Courtney Pigram hit a 3 for ETSU to bring them within two points of the Panthers, 57-59. Pittsburgh dug in and finished the game out, taking it 72-62, but UConn and UNC rolled by at least forty points over their two opponents. Likewise, #1-seed Louisville was only up two points, 35-33, over Morehead State at the half, though they won the second-half 39-21 and won the game 74-54. What's up, guys?
So, the upsets finally checked in to the tournament, and after a perfect 16/16 on picks on Day 1, I went a pitiful 9/16 on Day 2. I'll admit NDSU was a little stupid, but every year some sub-12-seed wins a game, I just didn't know it was going to be Cleveland State, and I doubt anyone else outside of the Northeast Ohio area knew the Vikings would win either.
Oh, and the Tennessee Volunteers should be ashamed of themselves. Whenever they lose games, it's always like this: they look lackadaisical, they take bad shots, they can't dribble, and they generally don't look like they care that much. Granted they only lost to Oklahoma State 77-75 in the final seconds, but if they would've had their heads on straight they could've won handily. Too bad the Cowboys will be beat by Pittsburgh, who rebounds from their pitiful loss and take their anger out on the kids from Stillwater.
My biggest gripe is that I should've followed my own advice and known that the Pac-10 is not a bad league, as 5 out of 6 of their teams (USC, UCLA, Washington, Arizona State, and Arizona) moved on to the second round, with California's loss to Maryland the only exception. Just like during bowl season, people count out the Pac-10 and then they shine bright in the post-season. Oh well.
Looking forward to Day 3, Memphis regains its stride against Maryland; Villanova does the same against UCLA; Gonzaga beats up on Western Kentucky; the 1-seeds (UConn and UNC) continue to roll; and my big upset of this round will be the #7-seed Texas Longhorns over the #2-seed Duke Blue Devils. Duke has choked in every tournament for the last few years, and this team will do the same. AJ Abrams is a one-man wrecking-crew, and he's ready to drop 40 on Coach K's boys for the win. Lastly, Washington better roll over Purdue.
25/32 ain't bad, but the best I can be is 13/16 for the Sweet Sixteen. That's not great.
Despite the set-back and the bracket-busting, throw up your glass to another round of games tomorrow!
- Beck
Friday, March 20, 2009
Instant Tourney Reaction (Beck)
A familiar theme ran through the first round of action in March Madness: double-digit seeds led by double-digits against power-house teams only to see those leads vanish. #2-seed Memphis had tons of trouble with #15-seed California State-Northridge, but led by Roburt Sallie and his 35 points the Tigers extended their 26-game win streak, the longest in the nation. Nevermind that they trailed for most of both halves. The Matadors lost control, and they had to check their bags for a return-trip to SoCal, where Northridge's head coach will have to deal with his son legal's troubles.
Likewise, #14-seed American, led by the diminutive Garrison Carr and Derrick Mercer, had a 14-point lead over #3-seed Villanova in the second half. What's worse than that, Villanova was playing in Philadelphia, essentially a home-game for the Cats. Thankfully for my bracket, since I have Villanova going to the Final Four, Dante Cunningham, Corey Fisher, and Co., ran out the rest of the game and took down the Eagles.
Lastly, #13-seed Akron fought valiantly against #4-seed Gonzaga, holding a lead for a large portion of the game, but once the 2nd-half hit the 10-minute mark the Zips didn't have any more zip and the Bulldogs took care of them easily.
It's not difficult to see why these things happen: the higher-seeds are better teams with deeper benches, and the lower-seed teams are used to playing worse competition with primarily their starters alone. Come tournament time, those benches make a difference, and sooner or later the bigger, badder teams refuse to lose and they kick it up a notch.
The only big upset involved #12-seed Western Kentucky over #5 Illinois, a prediction I made in the last post. However, it's not really fair because the Hilltoppers made a great run into the Sweet Sixteen last year and returned most of the same team, giving a mid-major something not typically afforded to them: tournament experience. The Illini were missing their starting point guard, and they've been extremely inconsistent all year. Plus, the Hilltoppers had a 17-point lead at one point over the Illini, but only won the game by 4 points. Clearly, this was a mid-major who didn't have a long bench and wore down over the course of the game, but had a big enough lead and could hold it long enough to eek out the win. Their experience in the tournament before helped them win this game, and that's a lesson that other mid-majors could learn in the future.
Other than that, just a couple #10-seeds (Maryland and Michigan) over #7-seeds (California and Clemson, respectively). Big whoop.
And while #11-seed VCU made things very interesting for #6-seed UCLA, the Bruins continued to roll. A lot of people picked VCU in the upset because they returned the center-piece from their win over Duke two years ago, the dynamic and clutch Eric Maynor. That being said, 2007 is 2007, and 2009 is 2009. If we were going with what VCU was like in 2007, then we should compare UCLA to their 2007 Final Four team. And like I tried to tell people all year, the Pac-10 is not nearly as bad as everyone made it out to be. UCLA is still a great tournament team because they play solid defense and have a great point guard in Darren Collison who can work long possessions that result in points. While I think they're good, I don't think they can perform with Villanova in Round 2, who will rebound from the pitiful performance against American. Every time Villanova has a bad game, or Scottie Reynolds, they return stronger the next. We'll find out on Saturday.
In the rest of the bracket, the Tar Heels didn't have a problem without Ty Lawson, and UConn didn't have a problem without Jim Calhoun. The Washington Huskies rolled, as did the Boilermakers. LSU played tight against Butler, which means they'll get slaughtered by UNC. Texas A&M torched BYU, but UConn will have their number.
So far, my bracket is perfect, but I'm knocking on wood.
Tomorrow, remember to look for #11-seed Utah State over #6-seed Marquette; #12-seed Arizona over #5-seed Utah; #11-seed Temple over #6-seed Arizona State; and my pick of the tournament, #14-seed North Dakota State led by Ben Woodside over #3-seed Kansas. Even if it doesn't happen, I don't care, because like I said before, West Virginia will beat the game's winner and go into the Round of 16.
You heard it here first, y'all.
- Beck
Likewise, #14-seed American, led by the diminutive Garrison Carr and Derrick Mercer, had a 14-point lead over #3-seed Villanova in the second half. What's worse than that, Villanova was playing in Philadelphia, essentially a home-game for the Cats. Thankfully for my bracket, since I have Villanova going to the Final Four, Dante Cunningham, Corey Fisher, and Co., ran out the rest of the game and took down the Eagles.
Lastly, #13-seed Akron fought valiantly against #4-seed Gonzaga, holding a lead for a large portion of the game, but once the 2nd-half hit the 10-minute mark the Zips didn't have any more zip and the Bulldogs took care of them easily.
It's not difficult to see why these things happen: the higher-seeds are better teams with deeper benches, and the lower-seed teams are used to playing worse competition with primarily their starters alone. Come tournament time, those benches make a difference, and sooner or later the bigger, badder teams refuse to lose and they kick it up a notch.
The only big upset involved #12-seed Western Kentucky over #5 Illinois, a prediction I made in the last post. However, it's not really fair because the Hilltoppers made a great run into the Sweet Sixteen last year and returned most of the same team, giving a mid-major something not typically afforded to them: tournament experience. The Illini were missing their starting point guard, and they've been extremely inconsistent all year. Plus, the Hilltoppers had a 17-point lead at one point over the Illini, but only won the game by 4 points. Clearly, this was a mid-major who didn't have a long bench and wore down over the course of the game, but had a big enough lead and could hold it long enough to eek out the win. Their experience in the tournament before helped them win this game, and that's a lesson that other mid-majors could learn in the future.
Other than that, just a couple #10-seeds (Maryland and Michigan) over #7-seeds (California and Clemson, respectively). Big whoop.
And while #11-seed VCU made things very interesting for #6-seed UCLA, the Bruins continued to roll. A lot of people picked VCU in the upset because they returned the center-piece from their win over Duke two years ago, the dynamic and clutch Eric Maynor. That being said, 2007 is 2007, and 2009 is 2009. If we were going with what VCU was like in 2007, then we should compare UCLA to their 2007 Final Four team. And like I tried to tell people all year, the Pac-10 is not nearly as bad as everyone made it out to be. UCLA is still a great tournament team because they play solid defense and have a great point guard in Darren Collison who can work long possessions that result in points. While I think they're good, I don't think they can perform with Villanova in Round 2, who will rebound from the pitiful performance against American. Every time Villanova has a bad game, or Scottie Reynolds, they return stronger the next. We'll find out on Saturday.
In the rest of the bracket, the Tar Heels didn't have a problem without Ty Lawson, and UConn didn't have a problem without Jim Calhoun. The Washington Huskies rolled, as did the Boilermakers. LSU played tight against Butler, which means they'll get slaughtered by UNC. Texas A&M torched BYU, but UConn will have their number.
So far, my bracket is perfect, but I'm knocking on wood.
Tomorrow, remember to look for #11-seed Utah State over #6-seed Marquette; #12-seed Arizona over #5-seed Utah; #11-seed Temple over #6-seed Arizona State; and my pick of the tournament, #14-seed North Dakota State led by Ben Woodside over #3-seed Kansas. Even if it doesn't happen, I don't care, because like I said before, West Virginia will beat the game's winner and go into the Round of 16.
You heard it here first, y'all.
- Beck
Thursday, March 19, 2009
March Madness and . . . Michael Vick? (Beck)
Alright, so it’s that blessed time of the year again, when casual fans enter into office pools and the stupidest person, typically a female, when it comes to sports ends up with the best bracket because they liked the teams’ names/mascots/colors. That’s right, it’s finally March Madness! The past few weeks, so slow with sports news after the Super Bowl that ESPN picked up A-Rod and steroids yet once the calendar turned to March there’s been little word on the A-Roid front thanks to the World Baseball Classic and, now, college basketball.
Still, I’m next to positive that Chandler and I will be posting frequently over the next couple weekends and almost all of our posts will assuredly have to do with March Madness, so in that spirit I’ll start mine off with that topic and then segue into something that is developing and equally intriguing.
Too bad Teague and Wake Forest will mop the floor with them in the 2nd round.
#11 Utah State will take care of the injury-plagued #6 Marquette Golden Eagles, who will not be able to overcome the loss of point guard Dominic James. Toney Douglas will strap #5 Florida State, the most under-rated team in the ACC all year, on his back into the Sweet Sixteen. In the same region, the combination of Scottie Reynolds, Dante Cunningham, and Corey Fisher will lead Villanova to upset wins over Duke and Pittsburgh to the Final Four. Lastly, in the South Region, #12 Western Kentucky proves they are a good team against another injury-riddled team, #5 Illinois, then lose to #4 Gonzaga, who knock the stuffing out of #13 Akron. #11 Temple, who took the A-10 tourney by storm led by Dionte Christmas, knocks off #6 Arizona State and James Harden – a Pac-10 team not worth the hype – and Michigan shows they really can beat good teams as they knock off Clemson. Oklahoma cruises to the Elite Eight against UNC, pitting Blake Griffin against Tyler Hansbrough, but UNC rolls all the way to the ‘ship.
You bet your butt-cheeks, mister. You heard that right. North Dakota State, in their first year of eligibility for the NCAA Tournament, took over the Summit League on their way to a 26-6 record. Kansas lost too many players after last-year’s championship, returning only Sherron Collins as a key contributor from the 2008 Champs, and they won’t be able to corral the Bisons’ leading-scorer, 5’11” guard Ben Woodside, who averaged 22.8 ppg, 6.3 assists per game, and shot 42.7% from 3-point range.
The guy is a stud and the next incarnation of Stephen Curry, though I hate how much every college basketball analyst is looking for the next Curry in this year’s tournament. If Davidson could’ve taken care of its business during the regular-season and their tournament, Curry would still be this year’s Curry and Davidson wouldn’t be playing in the NIT. Either way, NDSU comes out of the gate firing, they play with abandon, and Woodside lights it up. Remember, the pressure is on Kansas because they are SUPPOSED to win this game, and NDSU can play like they have nothing to lose. And if there’s one thing I ever learned, you NEVER trust someone who has nothing to lose. And even if Kansas does what they’re supposed to do, I’ve got Da’Sean Butler and West Virginia tearing them apart.
The UFL is slotted to start their inaugural season in the fall of this year, before two other football leagues in the works have a chance to open for America: the new United States Football League and the All-American Football League. The UFL will play games on Thursday and Friday nights to avoid scheduling the same time as the NFL and the NCAA, but still clashing with high-school football on Fridays. While I would never be footballed out, having football on five nights out of the week might be too much for other people, and I’m sure they’ll cut out this UFL nonsense before they cut out their beloved Browns or Buckeyes. Either way, the UFL has already done a decent job at establishing itself.
Four teams are slotted for the 2009 season: one in Las Vegas, one in Orlando, one in New York, and one in San Francisco. Las Vegas will be a great venue for a professional team, as the Las Vegas Outlaws of the defunct XFL were the most profitable franchise of that disastrous league. Orlando is a tough call, as three NFL teams already occupy the Sunshine State – Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jacksonville Jaguars – as well as the beloved college football Gators, Seminoles, and Hurricanes. Still, Florida is a football-crazy state, and Orlando could succeed. New York might be the worst decision in the way of creating a fan base with two NFL teams in the metropolis, but unlike the Giants and Jets who play in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the UFL wants their NY franchise to play in the city-proper, occupying Citi Field in Queens, where the New York Mets will begin playing starting this spring. Lastly, the franchise in San Francisco might have a greater following if the York family can’t score a deal with the San Francisco city council to build the 49ers a new stadium and the team bolts for Los Angeles. Or, the UFL team could be better than the 49ers, but it’s going to be hard for anyone to top the theatrics of 49ers head coach Mike Singletary.
However, when one checks the UFL web-site (http://www.ufl-football.com), one learns that the Las Vegas team will share time in LA in the “premiere season,” while NY will be in Hartford for a few, and the SF team might journey inland to Sacramento. Hey, it’s a young league, maybe they need a break. Plus, the league is looking to expand to Salt Lake City and bank on Utah’s recent success in the BCS as the impetus of expanded football interest in the state, as well as Monterrey, Mexico, becoming the first professional league to have a team stationed in the land of tacos and drug-wars.
The UFL is working on fan-interaction, which is why these four franchises have yet to be named. The league allows fans in each location to nominate names for the teams. So if you got something, say something.
Even better than all that, the UFL has managed to lure washed-up NFL head-coaches to their league: New Orleans Saints under-achiever Jim Haslett will lead in Orlando; former-offensive coordinator Ted Cottrell will lead in New York; former-Giants choke-artist and bad-attitude Jim Fassel will coach in Vegas; and the rant-machine himself, “they are who we thought they were” Dennis Green will have the pleasure of ranting some more in San Francisco. Coincidence that they placed this volatile head coach in the same city as another volatile head coach? Looks like the UFL is just looking to grab headlines. Think Singletary’s bat-shit crazy? Just wait for Denny Green’s press conference.
- Beck
Still, I’m next to positive that Chandler and I will be posting frequently over the next couple weekends and almost all of our posts will assuredly have to do with March Madness, so in that spirit I’ll start mine off with that topic and then segue into something that is developing and equally intriguing.
Too bad Teague and Wake Forest will mop the floor with them in the 2nd round.
#11 Utah State will take care of the injury-plagued #6 Marquette Golden Eagles, who will not be able to overcome the loss of point guard Dominic James. Toney Douglas will strap #5 Florida State, the most under-rated team in the ACC all year, on his back into the Sweet Sixteen. In the same region, the combination of Scottie Reynolds, Dante Cunningham, and Corey Fisher will lead Villanova to upset wins over Duke and Pittsburgh to the Final Four. Lastly, in the South Region, #12 Western Kentucky proves they are a good team against another injury-riddled team, #5 Illinois, then lose to #4 Gonzaga, who knock the stuffing out of #13 Akron. #11 Temple, who took the A-10 tourney by storm led by Dionte Christmas, knocks off #6 Arizona State and James Harden – a Pac-10 team not worth the hype – and Michigan shows they really can beat good teams as they knock off Clemson. Oklahoma cruises to the Elite Eight against UNC, pitting Blake Griffin against Tyler Hansbrough, but UNC rolls all the way to the ‘ship.
You bet your butt-cheeks, mister. You heard that right. North Dakota State, in their first year of eligibility for the NCAA Tournament, took over the Summit League on their way to a 26-6 record. Kansas lost too many players after last-year’s championship, returning only Sherron Collins as a key contributor from the 2008 Champs, and they won’t be able to corral the Bisons’ leading-scorer, 5’11” guard Ben Woodside, who averaged 22.8 ppg, 6.3 assists per game, and shot 42.7% from 3-point range.
The guy is a stud and the next incarnation of Stephen Curry, though I hate how much every college basketball analyst is looking for the next Curry in this year’s tournament. If Davidson could’ve taken care of its business during the regular-season and their tournament, Curry would still be this year’s Curry and Davidson wouldn’t be playing in the NIT. Either way, NDSU comes out of the gate firing, they play with abandon, and Woodside lights it up. Remember, the pressure is on Kansas because they are SUPPOSED to win this game, and NDSU can play like they have nothing to lose. And if there’s one thing I ever learned, you NEVER trust someone who has nothing to lose. And even if Kansas does what they’re supposed to do, I’ve got Da’Sean Butler and West Virginia tearing them apart.
Monday, March 16, 2009
If you wanna Crown their asses, than Crown 'em! (Chandler)
A "Flash of Brilliance" as it was so cleverly titled, writes my point for me. That is what Dwayne Wade has been. Lebron James has been doing it all season, not since the all-star break. Analyst have been saying since early on in the season that the MVP was LBJ, Kobe Bryant (the league's reigning MVP) has said publicly that this year's MVP was none other than the King LBJ himself.
It would be unfair to divulge into Beck's post rebutting every point as I would have the unfair advantage or going second and seeing what the opposition has in store. However that is exactly what I am going to do.
OK, so Dwade has all the right stats to light up the stat sheet. However that is exactly what LBJ has been doing the past three seasons. Last season he avged 30, 8 boards and 7 ast a game bringing his team into the 4th seed in the East, he got fourth place behind Kobe, CP3 (who was a second half wonder), and KG all of who had lesser stats then him overall. 05-06 season he avg 32 pts for the scoring title, 7 and 7 and got second behind Nash's second underserving MVP award.
-Morale of the Story?
STATS dont win you the MVP award!
What does in the MVP is stats and WINNING! Over the past 20 years, I got bored and stopped looking past that, Every MVP winner's team was at minimum the 3rd seed in their conference, majority of the time at best in their conference and most of the time best record in the league. The Cavs are fitting that bill right now. 5th seed in the East is nothing to brag about, and not worthy of an MVP candidate. It wasn't even until he tried to launch himself in the MVP race that he was even mentioned, honestly he has had a few big games and all of a sudden he is supposed to the league MVP? Sorry it takes more than a few games for me to crown someone.
The MVP should be leading their team to greatness not mediocrity, sorry heat fans but your not there yet. But their is hope as your team is young, and looks promising to the future, but its a price you pay for selling your soul to the devil for a championship.
Anyways I grow tired of this debate, LBJ4MVP!
-On to something that is pissing me off, what is it with teams falling over themselves to help out the patriots? Who did they blow to get Peppers for a second rounder? I'm sorry are you telling me no one else *Cough!* Browns *COUGH* could offer Derek Anderson and a draft pick for Peppers? Honestly it makes so much sense it hurts, DA has a strong arm, and is young, everything Jake Delhomme isn't.
Also I would like to debunk this whole Cutler myth surrounding the browns and Brady Quinn, let me first off say NO WAY to Cutler, we already have one cry baby on our team, with no room for another. Also Brady Quinn has a chin, and Jay doesn't, which in my mind makes him a better qb in my book. Much like having hair makes you a better qb in my book unlike that LOSER Trent Fucking Dilfer. He sucked. When our teams going to learn...
-The Chandler Force
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