Syracuse vs. Georgetown Big East Quarterfinal

2:09
I'm trying to dismiss the second loss in a week because I know this team is really good but Georgetown and Louisville have exposed some major weaknesses. I'll get into them more as a tournament preview, but SU will still be a 1-seed, they still have really good players, but some issues that didn't exist a week ago are bugging me now.

*****

1:59
SU hasn't gotten one steal with this pressure but it has resulted in so many points for Georgetown this game is now officially out of reach. And every fuckin time Georgetown turns it over the refs bail them out with a foul call.

*****

1:55
Rautins just makes a bad pass and a worse gamble on defense. 79-72, this game is very close to over.

****

1:50
Jim Boeheim is a fuckin asshole. Scoop just cut it to two, he kept the press on, Georgetown broke it easily, getting an easy basket, a chance at a 3-point play and the 4th foul on your only big man. Down two with 4 minutes left why take that risk? Coach of the year my ass. He still is the worst coach I've ever seen.

*****

1:47
The refereeing has just gone too shit. Johnson hit in the face, no call. A Georgetown player falls on his own and they call a foul. Georgetown is missing tons of free throws though. SU within 4.

*****

1:45
Fuck, he is being helped off. Fuck! Shit! We can't win anything with 6 players.

*****

1:43
Oh shit, Onuaku is on the floor writhing in pain. Not good.

*****

1:39
This full-court press never works for the Orange. They give up way too many easy baskets in it. Georgetown cannot miss right now. There's no way to catch up when your opponent is hitting every shot.

*****

1:38
Georgetown is hitting everything, and SU isn't even getting shots off. It's getting taken away everytime. Down 9 with 6 minutes to go, not good.

*****

1:33
Georgetown opening up a 5-point lead thanks to a 13-0 run. Georgetown is scoring every time they have the ball, and easily too. This game is getting away from the Orange very fast. 68-61.

*****

1:30
Rautins just jacked 2 3s and made another bad pass, now Scoop jacked one. Terrible offense right now. Georgetown by 3, SU fading in the second half again.

*****

1:27
Another 3 for Georgetown, SU is starting to rush on offense, Georgetown within 1.

*****

1:21
Pat Riley is at the game. He was at Baylor-Texas over the weekend. He's like an old grizzled baseball scout at this point. Subsisting off press box hot dogs and lugging his radar gun everywhere.

*****

1:19
Rautins is really playing well, the layup, a great pass to Jackson and a 3. But everything he does, Georgetown is answering right now. After starting 1 for 9 from downtown Georgetown hit 4 of the last 7.

*****

1:12
Andy Rautins just drove the lane for a layup. I'm not sure who was more confused to see Rautins that close to the basket, Georgetown's defense or Rautins.

*****

1:07
The second hald starting off the same way the first half did, 5 points from Wes and more bad turnovers.
The zone is not bothering Georgetown at all, 45-44, SU.

*****

12:47
Halftime. SU leads 40-37 but they need to stop making so many damn turnovers, 11 in the first half. 12 for Wes Johnson, 10 for Scoop.

*****

12:43
I think that was the highest-arcing pass in the history of basketball, but it worked.

*****

12:35
When Georgetown is getting the ball insided they are getting good shots, especially off passes from Monroe. But they are still shooting 3s, 2 of 10 from downtown. But that includes the last one to cut the lead to 34-30.
Jackson and Onuaku and 1 for 4 from the field. How does that happen? They never shoot more than 5 feet away.
10 turnovers, yikes!

*****

12:29
Scoop Jardine is so much better than Brandon Triche, but Boeheim can't start him because they'd lose the electric Scoop and K-Jo bench duo.
Johnson just broke up a layup with a foul on a fast break, so Georgetown gets two shots, trailing 26-21.

*****

12:24
Georgetown just fell asleep after a made basket and Kris Joseph ran past the whole team for an awesome layup. JT III called an instant timeout and scolded his team. Joseph (Big East 6th man of the year) is instant energy off the bench, he's already hit a 3 also, 21-19, Syracuse.

*****

12:17
Looks like Georgetown figured out the zone. They are being patient, passing it around, shooting from the outside and grabbing offensive rebounds. 8-0 run, Georgetown leads 14-11.

*****

12:14
6 minutes, 6 turnovers, 4 of 5 from the field. They have to button up this passing. Most of them have been easy passes too.

*****

12:10
Chase just came in from school, already got his first "Go Syracuse!"

The Big East Player of the Year already has 8 points. I was actually surprised he got it instead of someone who scores more. I think he was 16th in scoring during conference play. But he's playing like it right now as SU leads 11-6 despite three bad passes.

*****

12:07
So Wes Johnson was the Big East Player of the Year, someone should tell Dave Pasch. He's already mentioned it five times, not even bothering to call him Johnson, just saying "Big East Player of the Year..." on his first basket.

*****

12:03
Dave Pasch, Doris Burke and Fran Fraschilla. Why do we get the B-team? I need Raf in case someone hits a big shot late in the game.

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12:01
ESPN is playing the cheesy Big East Tournament rap, it's game time!
Keep hitting refresh and I'll keep going throughout the game.
Feel free to join in via the comments section.

*****

11:57
Syracuse plays Georgetown for the third time this season. The first two losses were so embarrassing for Georgetown fans that VW unfriended me on Facebook due to the humiliation and shame.

I don't really care what happens in this game, because Syracuse is locked in to the number 1 seed in the Houston/South region with opening round games in Buffalo.
Yes, you like to win but I don't want the team to play three tough games in three days.
I care so little about winning this tournament I allowed Diesel to be without the Syracuse collar he's worn all season in favor of a seasonal one.



I did think it was a little bit of a sign that I saw a cab with the Syracuse ad on top, New York's College Team.

Syracuse vs. Oklahoma

Oklahoma 84 Syracuse 71
The game wasn't even that close, a complete embarrassment for Syracuse.
The reason Syracuse lost this game is because they had a horrible shooting night and played no defense. I don't blame Flynn's injury, the rout was already underway. I don't even blame Boeheim but it's so frustrating to see a team get killed because the opponent is just tearing up the 2-3 zone, and this coach who is supposedly so great, will never ever ever ever ever try something else. What if he had gone to man at the beginning of the second half? Would they have lost by 30? If so, big deal. Oklahoma was tearing up the zone, it wasn't working, but the great Boeheim stuck with it.

The sad part about this is I really like this team. They just weren't good enough to beat top teams, they lost to UConn, Pitt and Louisville, but they were getting better and had no seniors among their key guys. But Flynn is definitely leaving and Paul Harris will probably leave too because Boeheim hates him and rides him so hard. That's one of the worst parts about college basketball today from a fan's perspective, you don't get to enjoy the good players because they leave too soon.

:30 left
Oklahoma had 14 offensive rebounds, 8 by Griffin.

1:29 left
Great game by Flynn. He's a near perfect point guard, but don't believe that guard play wins in the tournament. Good big men will beat good little guys every time.

2:07 left
I would have chosen Spaghetti Jimmy too. How cute is that?

2:07 left
They made a brief run but now they're not even trying. They are letting Oklahoma get every rebound and loose ball. I won't say they don't have heart because they've shown they do. But they definitely quit on this one.

4:47 left
That chick behind Griffin's parents has big tits. I wonder if Griffin is banging her.

7:53 left
I love Jonny Flynn but why does he keep trying to dunk? I remember at least three times this year he missed like that.

10:19 left
23 point deficit, 10 minutes to go. That's what they call insurmountable. Oklahoma has made 9 of 16 3s.

15:43 left
Too bad Louisville is demolishing Arizona or they'd switch games and we wouldn't have to suffer anymore.

15:43 left
Devendorf gets layups block far too often.
Oklahoma is shooting 86% on their last 14 attempts. I guess that 2-3 zone isn't confusing them.

16:56 left
Oklahoma is socring every single time they have the ball. Any other coach might try changing up the defense but Boeheim is in the Hall of Fame. he must know what he's doing.

18:10 left
Great halftime speech and adjustments from the Hall of Fame Coach Jim Boeheim.

18:21 left
After Flynn cut it to one at 18-17, Oklahoma went on a 28-9 run.

20:00 left
SU is going to need to play its best second half of the season to win this game. And they might have to do it without Jonny Flynn who busted his ass when he got run over by Blake Griffin. Discretion is the better part of valor Jonny.

Halftime
About as bad a first half as you could possibly imagine for Syracuse. They played good defense for a while then Oklahoma picked apart the zone. And the shooting was just awful. 0 for 10 from 3, they will not win like that.
Unless they somehow get hot I have very little hope for a comeback.

:53 left
We do not need Jonny Flynn trying to take charges on Blake Griffin.

1:59 left
What a save by Andy ruatins. If he's not hitting shots he needs to find other ways to contribute.

2:40 left
Jonny Flynn and Rick Jackson are the only guys playing well and trying to do anything. Arinze Onuaku is playing terribly. He keeps turning the ball over, he refuses to take it up strong. What happened to that guy?

3:26 left
Syracuse is 0 for 8 from 3-point land. They have no chance to win if that keeps up.

5:13 left
Oklahoma just got about 5 shots on that possession. SU cannot allow that, though I think a foul should have been called when Flynn ran into that guy.

5:54 left
Is anyone else experiencing problems with the signal? My picture keeps shaking and there's like static at the top of the screen.

6:55 left
Jonny Flynn starting to percolate. Great play by him. He recognized the mismatch, drove it twice then got some room for his jump shot. Three straight baskets by him. Beautiful, heady leadership from Flynn. Btw, I was so furious at Sports Illustrated for their regional cover gimmick because I got the one with Levance Fields. Thankfully someone at work gets it but never reads it so I stole one with Flynn on the cover.

9:50 left
You cannot save the ball under your opponents' basket. Terrible play.

10:15 left
Syracuse picked a bad team to into a teamwide shooting slump. They couldn't make any progress with Griffin on the bench because they missed everything.

11:57 left
Rarely do you see a guy wear a long sleeve shirt under his jersey. Wouldn't you think he gets a little sweaty?

14:37 left
Nightmare start for the Orange. Most possessions they aren't even getting a shot off. And when they do they miss it. This team cannot afford to get far behind.

15:37 left
Jackson and Onuaku can't catch. They've dropped passes, rebounds everything. If they don't start playing better on offense, Syracuse is going to get killed. They need to make Griffin play some defense, wear him down at worst and get him in foul trouble at best.

16:54 left
Two awful possessions, one by each team. A lazy Devendorf gets blocked from behind, then Blake Griffin knocks his own guy over.

17:15 left
Great pass and strong dunk. First basket, we can sit down and stop clapping now.

19:00 left
One minute, 2 possessions, 2 turnovers, 1 3-pointer allowed.

19:36 left
"Here's a look at Jim Boeheim." Not even 30 seconds and we get our first stupid face.

It's Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg calling this game. I hope to hear Clark say "the Orange need to squeeze the Orange." Or maybe he can say Andy Rautins has a "game like a baby's bottom -- soft but explosive."

In the tournament they say good guard play usually wins out. Syracuse has a definite advantage in that category. Willie Warren is good but Jonny Flynn is better. And with Devendorf playing in control, he gives Syracuse a dimension Oklahoma does not have.
But the problem for Syracuse will be Blake Griffin. SU has to adjust the zone a little bit to match up with him. They can't wait for him to catch the ball in close position before defending him. They also have to be very conscious of him or he will get 10 offensive rebounds. SU consistently allows opponents 20 offensive rebounds, if that happens tonight, they will lose.

Don't forget to get involved by posting your thoughts on the game in the comments section.

Syracuse vs. Arizona State

Syracuse 78 Arizona State 67
Huge win for the Orange. They played great. I was most impressed with how they handled it when Arizona State cut the lead to four. They were patient and got two straight good shots. And Devendorf nailed two daggers to put the game away.
Let's go Orange, let's see what happens against Blake Griffin.

1:00 2nd half
The defense is forcing them to waste too much time. 12 point lead with 1 minute to go, that has to be more than 99% to win from here. Make the free throws and move on.

2:14 2nd half
Now this all comes down to free throw shooting. And SU is the worst free throw shooting team in the 64 team field. It's skewed because Jackson and Onuaku are so bad and shoot a lot of free throws. But the same was true of Memphis last year but Rose and CDR were both 70% shooters who cost them the national title with missed free throws.

2:17 2nd half
This is really the first time Syracuse has ever played a Pac-10 team in the tournament? Really? That's very surprising.

2:48 2nd half
Why is Jackson handling the ball? That's a great strategy to foul him. They can't rest both him and Onuaku at the same time. And he hit them both! Jackson has been huge in this game.

3:21 2nd half
Tough call because Boateng was still moving and so far under the basket but I think it was a charge.

3:39 2nd half
I recently read somewhere that if u have a lead of one point per minute remaining you have an 85% chance of winning. Up 11 with less than 4, those odds have to be like 95%. But if any team can lose this game, or at least make it close, it's this team.

4:00 2nd half
Devendorf is on fire!

4:50 2nd half
See that's what they need to do. Take your time but don't kill the whole clock, work until you get a good shot.

5:20 2nd half
I don't like the kill-the-clock offense but SU just played two possessions a little too fast. And both times it was bad decisions by Flynn. He gave it to Jackson too far from the basket. Onuaku's foul trouble won't be a huge deal because he can't play the last 2 minutes with a lead anyway because he shoots so bad on free throws.

6:15 2nd half
Huge 3 by Rautins!

6:30 2nd half
The lead is 4, let's see what Boeheim draws up now that SU desperately needs a basket.

6:30 2nd half
The lead is down to 7 and we're about 2 minutes away from Boeheim shutting down the SU offense. SU is still playing good defense and forcing them into long possessions, but they're hitting everything.

10:19 2nd half
The foul trouble caught up to ASU first with Jeff Pendergraph fouling out. He was open every time against the zone. But this game is being tightly called so Onuaku and Jackson could be next.

14:02 2nd half
This is why I love Jonny Flynn. Things might have started to go astray, he drove and got fouled, then stole theball and got fouled. And both times he made the free throws. That's leadership.

16:47 2nd half
Uh oh, foul trouble for Jackson and Onuaku. Jackson especially has been the difference for SU so far. Without him on the floor SU could be in trouble. And there he goes getting 2 more points. Never thought I'd say he'd be a crucial player.

19:00 2nd half
I know Boeheim isn't a big fan of halftime adjustments, but telling the guys to start turning the ball over more really doesn't make any sense.

Halftime
Great 1st half. They gave up a little at the end by allowing two open 3s and taking a couple ill-advised shots of their own. But so far so good. Boeheim needs to emphasize closing out on the shooters and playing offense from the inside out. They have no answer for Onuaku and Jackson inside. Get the ball into them and let them kick it out to Rautins and Devendorf for 3.

1:11 1st half
I guess I should have warned Flynn about Kuksiks.

2:39 1st half
Devendorf and Rautins are on fire. The defense is swarming. They're getting out on the fast break. This first half is a like a dream so far. Let's pray they can keep it up.

4:10 1st half
They just showed ASU has taken 14 3s and only 5 2s. As long as SU challenges those shots I think that ratio favors the Orange.

5:55 1st half
You don't want Rautins jacking a 25-footer on a fast break but if he's on fire, it's a high percentage shot. Add that with the guards continuing to get the ball down low, Arizona State doesn't know whom to guard.

7:06 1st half
James Harden is closer to 40 years old than 20.

8:10 1st half
SU already has more 3s made in this game than in the first round game against Stephen F. Austin. I love Rautins as a zone-killer. Shooters are streaky so I was hopeful his bad first game will translate into a great second game.

9:28 1st half
Glad to see Kristof is over his diarrhea.

10:51 1st half
The worst part about the zone is that you allow so many offensive rebounds. And the best time to take a 3 is off an offensive rebound. ASU missed both but Devendorf didn't even challenge the second one.


12:59 left 1st half
Beautiful drive and layup by Flynn. SU needs to get out and fast break against this team.

15:21 1st half
Great start by the Orange. they have a huge size advantage in this game and they are getting the ball in down low to Onuaku and Jackson who have six points combined so far.
Arizona State wants to play slow and get the zone to move. They got a couple baskets but so far SU is plaing pretty good defense.

March Madness - Friday Thoughts

A great finish to a great two days of action. We'll still hear a lot of complaints because these games were too late for a lot of people to stay up, but what a finish. And two more days of games before its over for the weekend.

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Looks like we saved the best for last in the first round. There's the biggest upset of the first round, Cleveland State over Wake Forest. And also not one but two overtime games.

Siena's Ronald Moore showing some onions (!) to send the game into the second overtime. And Ronald Moore with moore onions (garden variety), hitting another huge 3. Siena wins in the first round for the second straight year, and Jems is going nuts.

And Wisconsin's Trevon Hughes hitting a circus shot to win it for Wisconsin. Despite a great game by Toney Douglas Wisconsin rallied for the win. The third 12 to beat a 5 this year. The first time in 25 years of 64 team fields that has ever happened.

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Anyone else noticing how empty the arenas have been for these early rounds? Is it the economy? I never remember arenas being so empty all the time. I'll be curious if we see a lot of empty seats next weekend too.

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Right now Pizza Parlor Derek is chanting "I want Morehead!" And yes, that's his joke not mine.

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Ready to start the night session, the end of the first round is already here.

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I told you an 11 always beats a 6 and a 12 always beats a 5. It's like the sun coming up in the East. And speaking of the East, the Big East falls to 5-1 with only Louisville left, so we can safely make that 6-1 in the opening round.

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Pittsburgh wins by 10, but they didn't play a smart game. Nor did ETSU for that matter. Too many threes, and a lot of missed free throws as well.

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Derek Glasser's free throws help Arizona State lock up a win over Temple. A Jew brings down the Temple.
Next up for Arizona State the Syracuse Orange.
Let's see if Syracuse can stop James Harden. He had a terrible game, I don't expect a repeat of that performance.

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OK, I said I didn't like those Christmas puns, but if Dionte Christmas experiences the premature ejaculation do you think his girlfriend says "Christmas came early?"

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Everyone says a 16 is going to beat a 1 eventually. I'm not convinced but Pitt is letting ETSU hang in here. I still expect them to win by 20.

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I am so happy Jim Nantz is not doing this Temple game. Imagine how many gay puns he would have done with Dionte Christmas.

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Marquette holds on for a 1-point victory. Too bad Utah State's 3-point shooters fouled out, they got a good look but missed it.

There's almost always an 11 over a 6. Now it's either Dayton over West Virginia or Temple over Arizona State. Or maybe there just won't be many 1st round upsets this year.

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Incredible bank shot 3 by Utah State to cut the lead to 2.

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We're finally get some great finishes, awesome crossover by Eaton to give Oklahoma State the win.

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North Dakota State is playing a good game but two things need to happen for an upset of that magnitude to occur. The underdog has to be hot, and the favorite has to be playing badly and turning it over. Kansas is playing well enough to hold them off. Especially Sherron Collins.

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Let me set the scene for you. I am at Billy's house and Diesel and Trey are going nuts. They will not stop jumping all over each other. So there is a lot of barking, and a lot of howling. And every 15 minutes an alarm goes off. Billy is currently having an opthamological issue and needs to put in eye drops every 15 minutes.

We've got two laptops plus the big screen TV, so if we could ever get the dogs to lie down we'd be in March Madness heaven.

I think the dogs will calm down enough to let me post some thoughts on today's games.

March Madness - Thursday Thoughts

Note: I'll update this throughout the day with thoughts, newest on top.

A pretty tame day, and I'm sure a lot of people will complain about the lack of exciting games and upsets. This was a mild start, as the one upset (Western Kentucky over Illinois) was fairly obvious to a lot of people.
Here's hoping for a better day tomorrow starting with a Syracuse win.

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So UCLA holds off VCU in what has to be the game of the day. A lot of people were looking for the upset here but UCLA did enough to win.

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Blake Griffin does a pretty good tuck and roll. How the hell did he allow himself to be lifted off the ground like that.

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When underdogs pull of huge upsets they got nuts from 3-point range. That's what American did in the first half. But Villanova turned it on and outscored them 49-26.

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Similar thrust from Gonzaga, 31-6 run to bury Akron and turn a double-digit deficit into a double-digit lead.

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Texas's AJ Abrams went off. Over a span of 5 minutes in the second half Texas went on a 15-5 run, all 15 points were Abrams' 3s, on 5 attempts.

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Big win for Michigan. Remember when they used to be an elite basketball program? Clutch 3-point play by Manny Harris ended Clemson's comeback bid.

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There's a guy on Akron Humpty Hitchens, so named because he loved the "Humpty Dance" by Digital Underground. They played the song and Tim Brando said "reminds me of my wedding night." I hope he was kidding.

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I have no idea why so many people were picking Mississippi State over Washington. When they made the pick they said Mississippi State was a hot team because they won the SEC. Now the announcers just said they were worn out from their run in the SEC Tournament. They'll say the same thing about Syracuse when they lose.

Washington is a really good team though. I actually have them beating Connecticut. A 1 seed usually loses and I love the other 3 with their matchups.

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UNC and UConn looked great. I guess they don't need Calhoun and Lawson as much as everyone said.

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I lost my first upset pick. Northern Iowa kept getting to within 6 but Purdue kept fighting them off. Still not impressed with the Big 10.

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If Hasheem Thabeet were a baseball player, a switch-hitter, when they brought in a lefty to face him, Tim McCarver would say they are "turning Thabeet around."

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Everyone's upset special is starting - Northern Iowa vs. Purdue.

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Jim Calhoun is sick and in the hospital. He will not coach today and who knows about future UConn games. He's had cancer so many times, who knows what's wrong.

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Good slate of opening games:
LSU 75 Butler 71 - LSU jumped out to an early lead and Butler came back but could never get over the hump. I love this kid Matt Howard, and he has 2 years left.

Memphis 81 Cal-State Northridge 70 - Much closer than the final score indicates. They really put a scare in Memphis, but Memphis turned it on when they got really scared. This has to raise questions about them as a final 4 team though.

Texas A&M 79 BYU 66 - ATM got up early and never let go.

60 games, left, 13 more today, and so far I got all three right.

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Ok, we can all relax now, Memphis finally took this game over with superior size adn speed. And they started hitting shots. There will be no monumental upset.

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62-59 Northridge, 8:33 to go. When it was 55-55 I was going to write that Memphis would still win by 10. Then Northridge scored 6 in a row. This can happen. Memphis is not playing defense on the dribbler and they are chucking up too many threes. If they don't change their gameplan they could destroy every office pool in the country.

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March Madness on Demand is awesome. For years I've been frustrated when CBS sticks with a game just because they decided to show it first. I have no rooting interest in LSU-Butler, even though it's close I'd much rather watch Memphis-Cal State Northridge.
If Northridge pulls it off it would be the 2nd biggest first round upset in history. When Arizona, South Carolina and Iowa State lost as #2s they weren't real contenders. Memphis is, and Syracuse was back in 1991, that was bigger because it was the first time.

Syracuse - Villanova Live Blog

Villanova 82 Syracuse 63

2:00 - Chase just took a nasty dump. Fitting.

1:56 - This game will be the legacy of this team. When they absolutely positively had to get it done, they couldn't. Not against Georgetown, not against Pitt, and not here against Villanova.

1:54 - This game has turned into a laugher. SU is chucking up 3s (Scoop made 2) and Villanova is breaking the press and getting easy layups.

1:46 - SU has 6 points in the last 8 minutes. Onuaku fouled out and Bilas and Raftery aren't even calling the game anymore. This is an embarrassing loss.

1:43 - Wow, they're playing man and Nova is in the Jim Boeheim no points offense. But Flynn chucked a 3. SU is not passing the ball. Oh my, a horrible move by Greene. He didn't get a shot or a pass, he just drove the lane and gave the ball up. They are playing so awful right now. Chase is crying for the first time all game. 63-47, 5 minutes to go.

1:41 - Villanova has scored 42 points in about 16 minutes. Any normal coach would change defensive strategies. Not Boeheim. He'd rather lose than try something new.

1:40 - Starting with that run at the end of the first half, Villanova is on a 42-19 run. Domination.

1:39 - Reynolds hits another one, that was because SU is pressing. They keep trying to get every Nova 3 back by jacking one up quickly on the other end. It's not working. A poorly coached, undisciplined young team is pissing away their season right now. 61-47.

1:37 - Scottie Reynolds just hit a fall away 3. This game is over. Raftery says they have to switch to man. Will never happen. Boeheim would rather lose by 50 then switch defenses. 58-47.

1:36 - Villanova is 6 of 7 in the 2nd half from 3 and Onuaku is on the bench with 4 fouls. Might be time to go to man to man.

1:35 - Greene airballs a 3 but gets another chance and nails it. Nova finally missed a 3, but Onuaku swung an elbow and dusted a guy picking up a foul.

1:34 - Another NBA range 3. 52-42, Nova, the season is sliding away.

1:31 - SU is just jacking up the first shot they find and Villanova is killing them on the break. 48-42, Villanova.

1:25 - Nova hits an NBA 3. They are 4 for 4 from downtown in the second half. Lucky shooting or bad defense?

1:22 - Kristof airballs a 3. They are not taking advantage of Onauku's size advantage. Villanova is killing the zone for offensive rebounds and 3-pointers. But Flynn makes a nice move to tie the game at 41.

1:15 - Villanova is figuring out how to break the zone. They are driving, dishing, ballfaking and nailing 3s. 37-35, SU.

1:12 - Now Harris picks one off the deck for a layup and SU retakes a 5 point lead.

1:11 - Another hustle basket by Kristof, but Anderson hits another 3, tie game at 32.

1:09 - Kristof grabs a rebound amongst 3 Wildcats to give SU back the lead. 30-29.

12:51 - Doug Gottlieb correctly points out that this typifies Syracuse, 18 good minutes, then getting greedy and getting lazy. Tom Brennan "accidentally" calls Villanova Vermont. Way to rub it in asshole.

12:49 - Dwayne Anderson hits a last second 3 to cut the lead to 28-27 at the half. 8 straight points allowed puts the Orange in a 20 minute fight for their life. I'll be back in about 15 minutes.

12:48 - Flynn makes another bad pass, leading to a fast break for Nova. 28-24.

12:46 - Raf on Paul Harris: "He is incredibly endowed." Bilas chuckled. I laughed out loud.

12:44 - SU is playing too fast, Flynn is turning the ball over. Nova is playing too slow, not swinging the ball to make the zone get out of position.

12:41 - We just heard something we weren't supposed to but I couldn't quite make it out. They were showing Otto and I think Raf was making fun of the Providence Friar.

12:40 - Buffalo Wild Wings commercial where the boss comes in and everyone hides. I love the guy hiding in the claw machine. And the guy behind the framed jersy. Hilarious!

12:38 - Raf said they were concerned about McDonough early in the season because he was a little sluggish. Bilas says "we were concerned you were gonna get better." A good laugh was had by all.

12:37 - Monster dunk by Kristof waved off because he traveled first.

12:36 - Onuaku just knocked the ball out off a Villanova player, but pointed the wrong way when asking for the call.

12:34 - Greene goes glass right after Bilas pointed out that SU didn't build a big enough lead while Nova was struggling. Nova just grabbed 2 offensive rebounds and hit a free throw. Beautiful cut by Flynn, great pass by Greene. SU is going to the rim, 26-18, 5 minutes left.

12:27 - SU is falling in love with the 3. And as Bilas pointed out, the better their offense, the better they play on defense and the converse is true as well. 20-13 with 8 minutes left.

12:23 - Flynn just broke Scottie Reynolds's ankles but lost the ball. Reynolds had a break and Scoop clobbered him.

12:22 - Unconscious! Greene hits his third straight 3. 18-7 lead, 13-2 run.

12:17 - Evidently Onuaku is playing this game with hands he borrowed from Etan Thomas. Greene nails a 3, he found the correct line, and then another. Jay Wright takes a TO and SU leads 15-7.

12:11 - Paul Harris nails another 3, as Raf calls for him to throw it inside to Onuaku. First TV timeout, SU leads, 8-5.

12:09 - Paul Harris nails a 3. 3-2, 4 minutes into this one.

12:07 - Two minutes and no points. McDonough sarcastically calls it good defense. And one of these teams will be complaining when they don't get in. You don't lose 12 games by accident.

12:05 - Syracuse wins the tip and Villanova comes out in mantaman. Kristof bricks a 3.

12:02 - ESPN starts the game with a lame rap proclaiming the Big East Tournament as better than reality TV.

12:01 - Live from the Poop House, SU versus Villanova in a must win game. Join me as I try to avoid barking dogs and crying babies to bring you the latest action in this crucial game.