Congratulations to Pa Beers for winning the Poop's Tournament Challenge group.
Beers finished in the 98th percentile, 52,831st nationally.
I wish I had copied his picks for my office pool, I could have called my entry "Bracket You Can Xerox."
We had 26 entrants which I thought was pretty good.
Focks finished 2nd and Diesel finished 3rd (but I'm not allowed to brag about that).
Evan finished 5th but he would have come in second if Memphis had won.
Evan reportedly cried for 20 minutes after hearing that Memphis lost, made even sadder because the game took place on his 7th birthday.
Evan has a bright future of picking games ahead of him.
Michael had a bright past in the Tournament Challenge but this year he finished 12th, in the 64 percentile.
Finally, Mrs. Poop deserves recognition for coming in 6th, especially after she threatened to never play again after I made fun of her for getting off to a slow start.
Pizza Parlor Derek took the title on the women's side, finishing in the 95th percentile, tied for 9665th nationally.
Mrs. Poop who obviously knows nothing about women allowed her allegiance to UConn to cloud her judgment and she finished last in our group.
The overall winner got 5 first round games wrong, and everything else right.
Thanks to all who played, let's do it again next year.
Showing posts with label march madness 2008. Show all posts
Showing posts with label march madness 2008. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Kansas Wins the National Title
Memphis totally choked this game away but it wasn't only because of poor free throw shooting. As a team Memphis shot 12-19 (63%) and Chris Douglas-Roberts and Derrick Rose made 9 of 13 from the line. Unfortunately for Memphis those 4 misses all came in the last minute and 15 seconds of regulation. And since CDR and Rose are actually pretty good free throw shooters, it's pretty clear that the pressure got to them.
But Memphis made several more undisciplined and downright foolish plays that cost them the game as well.
First of all the turnover with 1:50 which led to a Sherron Collins 3 that cut the lead to 4 from 7. That was when the game really changed, when Kansas's players believed they could win, and when Memphis's players believed they could lose.
The big mistake was not fouling as Kansas brought the ball up on that final possession. John Calipari says they were trying to foul but Collins got separation from Rose and when he finally fouled him the refs didn't call it.
Coach Cal is lying. You can clearly see Derrick Rose close enough to foul with about 6 seconds left, but he backs off and raises his hands to avoid the foul. Cal should have called a timeout after Rose made the second free throw to set his defense and repeat his strategy. He obviously knew Kansas had no timeouts left and he didn't want to give them the advantage of being able to draw up a play. He thought his guys would know what to do, they didn't.
In overtime Memphis took 3 3 pointers at various times when down 4 points. They would have been much better served by getting a layup, or something closer to the basket, even if it took up more time.
And the biggest mistake was CDR fouling Chalmers with 45 seconds left and Kansas leading by only 3. Play good defense and you have at least a chance to tie. Huge mistake by CDR.
But we have to give a lot of credit to Kansas. They played a great game, and they made all the plays they need to make to come back in the game.
Chalmers's shot will go down in the history books.
You think in his living room Bill Raftery shouted "onions?"
I think it was great that the officials reviewed that shot by Rose and got it correct. I know some people (Memphis players, coaches and alumni) may not like the retroactive reversal of the call but it was clearly a 2 and it would have been a lot worse had it been allowed to stand and that point gave Memphis the win.
Fittingly this game took place on the 20th anniversary of Kansas's last championship when Danny Manning led "Danny and the Miracles" over Mookie Blaylock, Stacey King and Oklahoma.
Jim Nantz's canned lines are so corny and contrived that someone should tell him to just react instead of ruining the spontaneity of the moment with something like "Rock Chalk Championship."
I think his best one was 2003 when he said "Syracuse is your National Champion."
I think Billy Packer was even making fun of him when he referred to the last overtime title game (1997, Arizona over Kentucky) as "The Simon Says Championship" game.
Does Jim Nantz really think these lines are good, smart and entertaining?
Billy Packer is good, smart and entertaining. I have no idea why so many people hate him. He's the only announcer willing to point out players' shortcomings. I can't even imagine how anyone could watch a basketball game done by Packer, and one done by Vitale and not think that Packer is by far superior.
Although Papa Poop and I had a good laugh when Packer said Kansas knows about overtime in title games because of the triple OT game in 1957.
A lot of people complained about the lack of exciting games during this tournament. Maybe I'm biased because I view every tournament as my child but I loved this year's Big Dance. I thought it was refreshing to see all four #1s for a change. I thought even though some games didn't go down to the wire, they were enjoyable because the quality of play was high. But I hope everyone viewed this championship game was one for the ages.
But Memphis made several more undisciplined and downright foolish plays that cost them the game as well.
First of all the turnover with 1:50 which led to a Sherron Collins 3 that cut the lead to 4 from 7. That was when the game really changed, when Kansas's players believed they could win, and when Memphis's players believed they could lose.
The big mistake was not fouling as Kansas brought the ball up on that final possession. John Calipari says they were trying to foul but Collins got separation from Rose and when he finally fouled him the refs didn't call it.
Coach Cal is lying. You can clearly see Derrick Rose close enough to foul with about 6 seconds left, but he backs off and raises his hands to avoid the foul. Cal should have called a timeout after Rose made the second free throw to set his defense and repeat his strategy. He obviously knew Kansas had no timeouts left and he didn't want to give them the advantage of being able to draw up a play. He thought his guys would know what to do, they didn't.
In overtime Memphis took 3 3 pointers at various times when down 4 points. They would have been much better served by getting a layup, or something closer to the basket, even if it took up more time.
And the biggest mistake was CDR fouling Chalmers with 45 seconds left and Kansas leading by only 3. Play good defense and you have at least a chance to tie. Huge mistake by CDR.
But we have to give a lot of credit to Kansas. They played a great game, and they made all the plays they need to make to come back in the game.
Chalmers's shot will go down in the history books.
You think in his living room Bill Raftery shouted "onions?"
I think it was great that the officials reviewed that shot by Rose and got it correct. I know some people (Memphis players, coaches and alumni) may not like the retroactive reversal of the call but it was clearly a 2 and it would have been a lot worse had it been allowed to stand and that point gave Memphis the win.
Fittingly this game took place on the 20th anniversary of Kansas's last championship when Danny Manning led "Danny and the Miracles" over Mookie Blaylock, Stacey King and Oklahoma.
Jim Nantz's canned lines are so corny and contrived that someone should tell him to just react instead of ruining the spontaneity of the moment with something like "Rock Chalk Championship."
I think his best one was 2003 when he said "Syracuse is your National Champion."
I think Billy Packer was even making fun of him when he referred to the last overtime title game (1997, Arizona over Kentucky) as "The Simon Says Championship" game.
Does Jim Nantz really think these lines are good, smart and entertaining?
Billy Packer is good, smart and entertaining. I have no idea why so many people hate him. He's the only announcer willing to point out players' shortcomings. I can't even imagine how anyone could watch a basketball game done by Packer, and one done by Vitale and not think that Packer is by far superior.
Although Papa Poop and I had a good laugh when Packer said Kansas knows about overtime in title games because of the triple OT game in 1957.
A lot of people complained about the lack of exciting games during this tournament. Maybe I'm biased because I view every tournament as my child but I loved this year's Big Dance. I thought it was refreshing to see all four #1s for a change. I thought even though some games didn't go down to the wire, they were enjoyable because the quality of play was high. But I hope everyone viewed this championship game was one for the ages.
Monday, April 07, 2008
Gummy Bears, Bouncing Here and There and Everywhere
Memphis guard Derrick Rose didn't meet with the media on Sunday because of a stomach ailment, presumably he had the shits and didn't want to start taking questions only to have to run off to the can.
But Chris Douglas-Roberts blamed the problem on Rose's diet:
"He eats Gummy Bears and Starburst for breakfast, and Twizzlers and Honey Buns for dinner. That's why his stomach hurts," Douglas-Roberts said. "We tell Derrick the whole year, 'Stop eating so many Gummy Bears and Sour Straws.' But he can't. Nobody eats Gummy Bears more than him."
Gummy Bears has to be the only candy that ever got spun off into a TV show right?
But Chris Douglas-Roberts blamed the problem on Rose's diet:
"He eats Gummy Bears and Starburst for breakfast, and Twizzlers and Honey Buns for dinner. That's why his stomach hurts," Douglas-Roberts said. "We tell Derrick the whole year, 'Stop eating so many Gummy Bears and Sour Straws.' But he can't. Nobody eats Gummy Bears more than him."
Gummy Bears has to be the only candy that ever got spun off into a TV show right?
Saturday, April 05, 2008
Kansas Kills North Carolina
For the first 15 minutes of this game, in building a 40-12 lead, Kansas played perfect basketball, the best I've ever seen any team play. Seriously.
And they did it by out North Carolinaing North Carolina. They ran, they spread the floor, they shot it well, they forced turnovers. For 8 and a half minutes they held UNC to 2 points. That's just unbelievable.
Honestly, I can't even believe how well they played during that stretch.
But almost as quickly has they built the lead, they almost blew it.
Over a 14 minute stretch UNC went on a 38-14 run to cut the lead to 4. And in doing so they did everything that Kansas did to them during the first part of the game.
But then Kansas regained their mojo, they started hustling after loose balls again, and they started making shots.
I don't buy into the old adage that they expended too much energy on the comeback. I just think to put together a run like that you need a lot of luck, and eventually luck evens out.
Kansas has so many good players that none of them got All Big 12 honors, but they have so many good players that any of them can kill you at any time.
I'm disappointed that neither of these games were close but both of the teams that won (the underdogs according to me) are both awesome and I'm looking forward to seeing them play each other on Monday Night.
And they did it by out North Carolinaing North Carolina. They ran, they spread the floor, they shot it well, they forced turnovers. For 8 and a half minutes they held UNC to 2 points. That's just unbelievable.
Honestly, I can't even believe how well they played during that stretch.
But almost as quickly has they built the lead, they almost blew it.
Over a 14 minute stretch UNC went on a 38-14 run to cut the lead to 4. And in doing so they did everything that Kansas did to them during the first part of the game.
But then Kansas regained their mojo, they started hustling after loose balls again, and they started making shots.
I don't buy into the old adage that they expended too much energy on the comeback. I just think to put together a run like that you need a lot of luck, and eventually luck evens out.
Kansas has so many good players that none of them got All Big 12 honors, but they have so many good players that any of them can kill you at any time.
I'm disappointed that neither of these games were close but both of the teams that won (the underdogs according to me) are both awesome and I'm looking forward to seeing them play each other on Monday Night.
Memphis Mauls UCLA
Does Memphis's free throw shooting hurt them now?
They really are an awesome team.
Do you realize how good Chris Douglas-Roberts and Derrick Rose are? Against almost anyone else in the country Darren Collison is a defensive stopper. Against them he was abused. Westbrook could do ok on one of them, but when Collison was on the other he got destroyed.
Collison also let it carry over to his offense and as I predicted at the beginning of the tournament when I picked UCLA, I think Collison killed them in the halfcourt offense. Every time Billy Packer said (rightfully) that they weren't getting the ball to Kevin Love, it was because Collison was dribbling and dribbling and dribbling.
But it wasn't all his fault, they just couldn't make a shot. Several times in the second half UCLA had open shots to cut the lead to 4 or 5 and start to put some pressure on Memphis but the shots went in and out.
They held Memphis without a point for 4 minutes (from 9 left to 5 left) in the second half but managed only 3 points themselves over that span.
Joey Dorsey is such an interesting player. He had 15 rebounds and 0 points and during the game on the sidelines Coach Cal ripped him a new asshole. He's such a big tough guy who sometimes outwardly displays arrogance but you get the feeling he doesn't always believe in himself and sometimes he needs a kick in the ass to get himself motivated.
Memphis is a really good team with a lot of great players and they are really playing great right now. They can definitely win the national championship, and if they do they would be very deserving.
They really are an awesome team.
Do you realize how good Chris Douglas-Roberts and Derrick Rose are? Against almost anyone else in the country Darren Collison is a defensive stopper. Against them he was abused. Westbrook could do ok on one of them, but when Collison was on the other he got destroyed.
Collison also let it carry over to his offense and as I predicted at the beginning of the tournament when I picked UCLA, I think Collison killed them in the halfcourt offense. Every time Billy Packer said (rightfully) that they weren't getting the ball to Kevin Love, it was because Collison was dribbling and dribbling and dribbling.
But it wasn't all his fault, they just couldn't make a shot. Several times in the second half UCLA had open shots to cut the lead to 4 or 5 and start to put some pressure on Memphis but the shots went in and out.
They held Memphis without a point for 4 minutes (from 9 left to 5 left) in the second half but managed only 3 points themselves over that span.
Joey Dorsey is such an interesting player. He had 15 rebounds and 0 points and during the game on the sidelines Coach Cal ripped him a new asshole. He's such a big tough guy who sometimes outwardly displays arrogance but you get the feeling he doesn't always believe in himself and sometimes he needs a kick in the ass to get himself motivated.
Memphis is a really good team with a lot of great players and they are really playing great right now. They can definitely win the national championship, and if they do they would be very deserving.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Ladies and Gentlemen, Your Final Four
So the Stephen Curry show is finally over. But I have to admit I really enjoyed it while it lasted. Maybe not as much as Gus Johnson (did he say "I touched him?" after Curry went near the press table for a loose ball), but I loved watching the kid play.
I do think Kansas won this game by keeping the ball out of Curry's hands. At a certain point it was clear that he got frustrated and was just jacking it up every time he touched it. He missed 7 straight shots before hitting the 3 that cut the lead to 59-57. In that span Kansas went on a 12-3 run.
But I have to give Davidson a lot of credit, they never got rattled when Kansas turned them over, or outmuscled them for a rebound, and they never really tried to answer Kansas's baskets by jacking up quick shots.
Every time I saw the name Max Paulhus Gosselin, I thought of Mark-Paul Gosselaar.
Because of George Mason people won't talk about Davidson's run years from now, but I'll remember it, and we'll remember Stephen Curry even if he never becomes anything in the NBA.
I think we can all see that the two things that people used to pick against Memphis were way overblown. And we can all remember that I said it before the tournament. Free throw shooting and playing Texas in Houston, no big deal. The free throw shooting is once again a product of who is shooting them. When Rose and CDR are the ones going to the line, Memphis is an average team from the line.
And the homecourt thing is way overdone. Playing in the same state, is seen as a huge advantage? Please, maybe in your arena, but just because you have a lot of fans in the stands, that doesn't mean anything.
Did anyone else like have the court elevated and the benches below it? I kind of liked it. It was decidely old school like clips I see of Pete Maravich.
Derrick Rose is awesome and he's going to make some NBA team very happy next season. Add him to the list of guys coming out this year who I think will be better pros than Michael Beasley.
Before the tournament started I said if ever there was a year when all four number one seeds would make the Final Four, this is the year.
It really seemed to me going in that UNC and UCLA were locks (even though UNC had two tough teams in its region) and the way the field shook out for Kansas, they beat a 16, a 12, 10 and an 8. Memphis looked the shakiest of the #1s but in these two games they dominated in the first half with their superior talent.
I still think UCLA will beat UNC next Monday, but I wouldn't be surprised at any outcome.
I do think Kansas won this game by keeping the ball out of Curry's hands. At a certain point it was clear that he got frustrated and was just jacking it up every time he touched it. He missed 7 straight shots before hitting the 3 that cut the lead to 59-57. In that span Kansas went on a 12-3 run.
But I have to give Davidson a lot of credit, they never got rattled when Kansas turned them over, or outmuscled them for a rebound, and they never really tried to answer Kansas's baskets by jacking up quick shots.
Every time I saw the name Max Paulhus Gosselin, I thought of Mark-Paul Gosselaar.
Because of George Mason people won't talk about Davidson's run years from now, but I'll remember it, and we'll remember Stephen Curry even if he never becomes anything in the NBA.
I think we can all see that the two things that people used to pick against Memphis were way overblown. And we can all remember that I said it before the tournament. Free throw shooting and playing Texas in Houston, no big deal. The free throw shooting is once again a product of who is shooting them. When Rose and CDR are the ones going to the line, Memphis is an average team from the line.
And the homecourt thing is way overdone. Playing in the same state, is seen as a huge advantage? Please, maybe in your arena, but just because you have a lot of fans in the stands, that doesn't mean anything.
Did anyone else like have the court elevated and the benches below it? I kind of liked it. It was decidely old school like clips I see of Pete Maravich.
Derrick Rose is awesome and he's going to make some NBA team very happy next season. Add him to the list of guys coming out this year who I think will be better pros than Michael Beasley.
Before the tournament started I said if ever there was a year when all four number one seeds would make the Final Four, this is the year.
It really seemed to me going in that UNC and UCLA were locks (even though UNC had two tough teams in its region) and the way the field shook out for Kansas, they beat a 16, a 12, 10 and an 8. Memphis looked the shakiest of the #1s but in these two games they dominated in the first half with their superior talent.
I still think UCLA will beat UNC next Monday, but I wouldn't be surprised at any outcome.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Half the FInal Four is Set
UCLA finally blew someone out. I hope that makes everyone happy. But it doesn't change anything for me. I still think they have so many good players who can kill you on both ends of the floor.
Kevin Love keeps getting better everytime I see him. He knows exactly when to shoot, when to drive, when to dish. He's still a little slow on defense but no one is perfect.
Josh Shipp needs to start playing better.
For the last time this season that we get to hear Raftery he was in rare form.
Verne set him up beautifully by saying "Kevin Love is being guarded by Jason Love. The floor is yours." But Raf played it coy saying "I'll save that until later." Then like a little kid who couldn't wait he said "love is in the air."
On the other hand, we can now see why Dick Enberg only did half the games last week. He was utterly confused at several points about the time and score (saying the scoreboard was hard to read). But he also had trouble reading his stat sheet because he said not once, but twice, than Hansbrough had 9 assists, before later amending that by saying he had accidentally read Lawson's stat line. I like Dick Enberg but if you screw up the little things it doesn't matter how smooth you are.
Louisville gave North Carolina the best game so far, but it is quite possible this team is unbeatable. Although, once again I did see a glimmer of hope in there, just failure to execute. Louisville made their run cut it to 1, then UNC got a couple baskets. Louisville tried too hard to get those points back, rushing a 3, and rushing a pass. And when you rush against UNC not only do you fail to score, you make it easier for them score. So every mistake against them is a 4 point swing.
I'm sick of the Tyler Hansbrough hype already, every announcer has to say something more than the previous guy. So this time it wasn't just that Hansbrough never takes a play off, it's that he never takes a day off. On his off day he shot 500 (or was it 5000?) jump shots. But I must say, it did pay off. This was as good as I've ever seen him play. He was actually making plays (flying around for dunks, hitting 15 footers) instead of just running into people and getting fouled like he normally does.
I'm assuming Kansas will beat Davidson, and when they do they will play an epic game against North Carolina.
Kevin Love keeps getting better everytime I see him. He knows exactly when to shoot, when to drive, when to dish. He's still a little slow on defense but no one is perfect.
Josh Shipp needs to start playing better.
For the last time this season that we get to hear Raftery he was in rare form.
Verne set him up beautifully by saying "Kevin Love is being guarded by Jason Love. The floor is yours." But Raf played it coy saying "I'll save that until later." Then like a little kid who couldn't wait he said "love is in the air."
On the other hand, we can now see why Dick Enberg only did half the games last week. He was utterly confused at several points about the time and score (saying the scoreboard was hard to read). But he also had trouble reading his stat sheet because he said not once, but twice, than Hansbrough had 9 assists, before later amending that by saying he had accidentally read Lawson's stat line. I like Dick Enberg but if you screw up the little things it doesn't matter how smooth you are.
Louisville gave North Carolina the best game so far, but it is quite possible this team is unbeatable. Although, once again I did see a glimmer of hope in there, just failure to execute. Louisville made their run cut it to 1, then UNC got a couple baskets. Louisville tried too hard to get those points back, rushing a 3, and rushing a pass. And when you rush against UNC not only do you fail to score, you make it easier for them score. So every mistake against them is a 4 point swing.
I'm sick of the Tyler Hansbrough hype already, every announcer has to say something more than the previous guy. So this time it wasn't just that Hansbrough never takes a play off, it's that he never takes a day off. On his off day he shot 500 (or was it 5000?) jump shots. But I must say, it did pay off. This was as good as I've ever seen him play. He was actually making plays (flying around for dunks, hitting 15 footers) instead of just running into people and getting fouled like he normally does.
I'm assuming Kansas will beat Davidson, and when they do they will play an epic game against North Carolina.
NCAA Tournament: Friday Facts
Stephen Curry is pretty good. Not just pretty good, freakin awesome. No matter what they do they can't seem to keep him from getting 30 points. I think he's hit 90% of his open looks from 3 in this tournament. I am so impressed with this guy and if he keeps growing I think he could be a NBA player, sort of in the Dell Curry mold.
I should have stuck with my initial read on Wisconsin. Too big and slow to hang with a team with superior athleticism.
And I changed my mind on Stanford too even though I was right all along. With the Lopez brothers they were good enough to be inferior teams but once they got up against a team with fast guards who can shoot and push the ball, they really have no answer. I also think they should have just left both Lopezes in the whole game and every time thrown the ball into one of them, have him shoot it and have the other one try to rebound the miss. That's the best strategy for them.
Was LeBron James wearing canary yellow diamond earrings?
LeBron was in town to play the Pistons so he decided to watch "the kid" play. Davidson fans were already outfitted in "Witness" t-shirts.
Hey Memphis haters, does free throw shooting matter when you have a 30-point halftime lead? Memphis showed why they are so good. They had more talent at every position than Michigan State. I still think they might lose to Texas, but they are a damn good team.
Kansas looked really awesome too. Davidson's run ends against them. Curry may get his points, but there is no way they can keep up with Kansas's speed, and Kansas has a huge size and strength advantage.
Unfortunately Davidson won by so much that we didn't get vintage Gus Johnson, though he did give us one "ha HA!"
I think Nantz and Packer are their worst team, yet somehow they're the lead team.
North Carolina and Louisville play in the men's and women's tournaments today. Do you think the CBS announcers will even know, and mention this?
I should have stuck with my initial read on Wisconsin. Too big and slow to hang with a team with superior athleticism.
And I changed my mind on Stanford too even though I was right all along. With the Lopez brothers they were good enough to be inferior teams but once they got up against a team with fast guards who can shoot and push the ball, they really have no answer. I also think they should have just left both Lopezes in the whole game and every time thrown the ball into one of them, have him shoot it and have the other one try to rebound the miss. That's the best strategy for them.
Was LeBron James wearing canary yellow diamond earrings?
LeBron was in town to play the Pistons so he decided to watch "the kid" play. Davidson fans were already outfitted in "Witness" t-shirts.
Hey Memphis haters, does free throw shooting matter when you have a 30-point halftime lead? Memphis showed why they are so good. They had more talent at every position than Michigan State. I still think they might lose to Texas, but they are a damn good team.
Kansas looked really awesome too. Davidson's run ends against them. Curry may get his points, but there is no way they can keep up with Kansas's speed, and Kansas has a huge size and strength advantage.
Unfortunately Davidson won by so much that we didn't get vintage Gus Johnson, though he did give us one "ha HA!"
I think Nantz and Packer are their worst team, yet somehow they're the lead team.
North Carolina and Louisville play in the men's and women's tournaments today. Do you think the CBS announcers will even know, and mention this?
Friday, March 28, 2008
Thursday Night Thoughts
North Carolina is fuckin awesome. But I think Washington State demonstrated the blueprint to beat them (if its possible), they just couldn't execute it for 40 minutes. You need to slow them down to the point where they can't get out on the break, and instead they are rushing shots and passes in an effort to speed the tempo. In order to play that style and beat them though, you need to make a high percentage of your shots and never turn it over.
This Washington State team was a good group that played heady basketball, they were just overmatched by North Carolina.
West Virginia is such a fun team to watch. Larry Brown would love them, they play the right way. This game was one of the most fun of the tournament because both teams were shooting well, passing the ball (all those backcuts by West Virginia), playing a team game. The second half was excellent.
Raftery gave us not one but two "Onions!" in this one.
Did anyone hear Verne Lundquist say "two musketeers have fouled out, one more and you have a novel?" That was one of the worst jokes ever.
Louisville was very impressive. Tennessee's defense and pace forced them into a ton of turnovers but they shot well and played good defense and never really let Tennessee get going. Tennessee doesn't really have any good halfcourt offensive players other than Lofton (who needs help getting his shot), and he did nothing until the second half, when it might have been too late.
I don't think Louisville can stick with Carolina though, unless they hit a ton of 3s. They need Edgar Sosa to play a lot better.
I still refuse to worry about UCLA even though they are in closer games than they should be. I continue to be impressed by Love who can always find a way to score.
Dick Enberg said Tennessee forward Wayne Chism is nicknamed "Weezy" because of his asthma. While he does have asthma, I tend to think the nickname is derived from Lil Wayne, who is called Weezy. Either way, if I were friends with him I'd call him Shirley (I know the spelling is different), to honor a great American, and so he could reply "don't call me Shirley."
Enjoy the best of Bill Raftery from Thursday's action:
This Washington State team was a good group that played heady basketball, they were just overmatched by North Carolina.
West Virginia is such a fun team to watch. Larry Brown would love them, they play the right way. This game was one of the most fun of the tournament because both teams were shooting well, passing the ball (all those backcuts by West Virginia), playing a team game. The second half was excellent.
Raftery gave us not one but two "Onions!" in this one.
Did anyone hear Verne Lundquist say "two musketeers have fouled out, one more and you have a novel?" That was one of the worst jokes ever.
Louisville was very impressive. Tennessee's defense and pace forced them into a ton of turnovers but they shot well and played good defense and never really let Tennessee get going. Tennessee doesn't really have any good halfcourt offensive players other than Lofton (who needs help getting his shot), and he did nothing until the second half, when it might have been too late.
I don't think Louisville can stick with Carolina though, unless they hit a ton of 3s. They need Edgar Sosa to play a lot better.
I still refuse to worry about UCLA even though they are in closer games than they should be. I continue to be impressed by Love who can always find a way to score.
Dick Enberg said Tennessee forward Wayne Chism is nicknamed "Weezy" because of his asthma. While he does have asthma, I tend to think the nickname is derived from Lil Wayne, who is called Weezy. Either way, if I were friends with him I'd call him Shirley (I know the spelling is different), to honor a great American, and so he could reply "don't call me Shirley."
Enjoy the best of Bill Raftery from Thursday's action:
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Sweet Sixteen Predictions
West Virginia over Xavier:
Xavier plays incredible defense but I think West Virginia has enough good shooters and enough good ball handlers and enough experienced players to not get rattled when Xavier turns up the heat, as Georgia and Purde did.
North Carolina over Washington State:
North Carolina could score half as many points as they did against Arkansas and still win this game. Tony Bennett has only one chance in this game, slow it down to a painful pace and hope the Tar Heels try too hard to get up and down, causing turnovers.
UCLA over Western Kentucky:
I think this might be another close game but UCLA has proven they have the horses (and perhaps the referees) to keep winning close games.
Louisville over Tennessee:
I'm actually changing my mind on this one because I think Chris Lofton has disappeared. They need him to have a huge game and hit his outside shots, but he's shooting only 4 of 16 so far in the tournament.
Wisconsin over Davidson:
I think Bo Ryan has schemed to shut down Stephen Curry. And I think Wisconsin has too much size up front.
Stanford over Texas:
I'm changing my mind on this one too. After I saw how Brook Lopez dominated Marquette down the stretch, and how totally clutch he was, I have to change my mind about Stanford. I still think they lack the athletic wing players to run with teams like Memphis and North Carolina, but when you have two good big guys like this who are both capable of scoring on anyone, you can be very dangerous.
Kansas over Villanova:
I expect Kansas to overwhelm them in the biggest blowout of this round.
Memphis over Michigan State:
This is the game that could be the upset special. I think Tom Izzo is going to turn this one into an ugly affair and just try to stay close. If Memphis doesn't shoot free throws better I could see Izzo employing a hack-a-Dorsey plan late in the game. He is not above such indelicate tactics. But I still think Memphis will win because they have better players.
Xavier plays incredible defense but I think West Virginia has enough good shooters and enough good ball handlers and enough experienced players to not get rattled when Xavier turns up the heat, as Georgia and Purde did.
North Carolina over Washington State:
North Carolina could score half as many points as they did against Arkansas and still win this game. Tony Bennett has only one chance in this game, slow it down to a painful pace and hope the Tar Heels try too hard to get up and down, causing turnovers.
UCLA over Western Kentucky:
I think this might be another close game but UCLA has proven they have the horses (and perhaps the referees) to keep winning close games.
Louisville over Tennessee:
I'm actually changing my mind on this one because I think Chris Lofton has disappeared. They need him to have a huge game and hit his outside shots, but he's shooting only 4 of 16 so far in the tournament.
Wisconsin over Davidson:
I think Bo Ryan has schemed to shut down Stephen Curry. And I think Wisconsin has too much size up front.
Stanford over Texas:
I'm changing my mind on this one too. After I saw how Brook Lopez dominated Marquette down the stretch, and how totally clutch he was, I have to change my mind about Stanford. I still think they lack the athletic wing players to run with teams like Memphis and North Carolina, but when you have two good big guys like this who are both capable of scoring on anyone, you can be very dangerous.
Kansas over Villanova:
I expect Kansas to overwhelm them in the biggest blowout of this round.
Memphis over Michigan State:
This is the game that could be the upset special. I think Tom Izzo is going to turn this one into an ugly affair and just try to stay close. If Memphis doesn't shoot free throws better I could see Izzo employing a hack-a-Dorsey plan late in the game. He is not above such indelicate tactics. But I still think Memphis will win because they have better players.
More Trivia
Which 5 teams that made this year's men's NCAA Tournament field are nicknamed Wildcats?
Which 2 1st round matchups featured schools that have won the NCAA basketball title before?
Which 2 1st round matchups featured schools that have won the NCAA basketball title before?
Duke Pussies
When I traced the demise of the Duke program to their recruitment of exclusively white pussies, the one guy I exempted from that was Gerald Henderson. I was wrong. There is nothing more pussyish than cheap-shotting someone in the back in an effort to get him to retaliate and pick up a technical foul. I'm glad the refs didn't T up, I think it was Thoroughman, for thumping this little bitch.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Women's Tournament Thoughts
If you enjoy the men's tournament as much as I do, you should also follow the women's game, because many of the same elements we love about March Madness are still prevalent with the ladies.
The difference between the top teams and the bottom teams is wider in the women's game which is why it was surprising when #16 Coppin State gave Maryland such a good game in the first round. But ten years ago #16 Harvard knocked off Stanford in the first round.
Georgia Tech played Iowa State and Georgia played Iowa in the first round. I think the Committee was trying to start some unique interstate rivalry. They split the games.
Georgia almost had the sweep but Iowa State started bombing 3s, making 5 out of 6 during one 6 minute stretch of the second half.
Speaking of 3, the Marist Redd Foxxes trailed DePaul 55-44. They won 76-57, thanks to 5 out of 7 threes down the stretch and DePaul did not score for the last 8:30 of the game.
I am very surprised they named their teams after Redd Foxx. I had no idea he went there. Ya big dummy!
There are a lot of familiar names in this tournament. Meg Bulger on West Virginia is the younger sister of Rams quarterback Marc Bulger. Brittany Ray on Rutgers is the younger sister of Allan Ray who used to play for Villanova. Rashanda McCants on North Carolina is the younger sister of Rashad McCants of the Timberwolves. Their parents were very creative with names. Candice Wiggins who stars for Stanford is the daughter of former San Diego Padre Alan Wiggins. Candice scored 44 points in Stanford's win over Texas-El Paso. Wiggins is one of the best players in the country and could be the second pick in the WNBA Draft after Candace Parker.
And I spent way too long researching this but it seems that Jodi Bolerjack of Wyoming is not related to CBS announcer Craig Bolerjack. Jodi's father is named Paul, Craig is named Craig and his brother is named Steve.
I'm not going to get into which players I thought were pretty because its trite and sexist and really has nothing to do with why I watch women's basketball. Plus, the players never look as good in their pictures on the internet as they do in their ponytails and uniforms. But I will say the best looking player I saw all weekend originally went to Syracuse but transferred because the program was in disarray. Too bad she didn't stick around for the Quentin Hillsman era.
Also, there will never be a women's basketball player as hot as Brittany Jackson, who looks much better in other pictures.
Unfortunately Syracuse disappointed in its first round game against Hartford. SU was trailing most of the game but came back to take a 49-48 lead but then Hillsman lost his mind and got a technical with 3 minutes to go. I don't think what he did was so bad, the refs should have let it go, but they didn't and instead of leading by 1, SU was trailing by 1. But SU battled back again to take a 53-51 lead when the Jim Boeheim offense took over. SU killed 30 seconds off the clock then drove the lane and lost the ball leading to a Hartford fast break. And to make it worse Chandrea Jones fouled the shooter giving Hartford a 3-point play. But once again SU came back as Tasha Harris's corner jumper gave SU a 1-point lead with 22 seconds to go. But then Marylynne Schaefer hit a difficult 3 to give Hartford the win.
Crazy ending to the Florida State - Oklahoma State game. Florida State was leading the whole time, lost their lead but scored at the end of regulation to force OT. Then in OT they got down 5 (the biggest deficit of the game for either team) but bombed 2 3s to tie it. Oklahoma State had the ball and one last chance, and Florida State committed a horrible, terrible, no good, very bad foul with less than a second left. There was so little time left that had OSU made the pass, they never would have had time to get a shot off. And the referees spent several minutes reviewing the tape to make sure the foul occurred before the red light went off. It did and the foul had to be called, it was obvious. Tough way to end the game though.
Perhaps the most exciting game of the first weekend was Old Dominion over Virginia. ODU had a sizeable lead for most of the game Virginia started a comeback but with 23 seconds left they were still down 1 so they had to start fouling. Down 3, Virginia decided to go for the quick 2. And this is the play-by-play of what happened next:
0:13 Lyndra Littles missed Two Point Jumper.
0:13 Lyndra Littles Offensive Rebound.
0:10 Lyndra Littles missed Two Point Layup.
0:10 Lyndra Littles Offensive Rebound.
0:06 Lyndra Littles missed Two Point Jumper.
0:06 Sharnee Zoll Offensive Rebound.
0:05 Lyndra Littles missed Two Point Layup.
0:05 Aisha Mohammed Offensive Rebound.
0:02 Aisha Mohammed made Two Point Layup.
0:02 Foul on Shahida Williams 78-77
0:01 Aisha Mohammed made Free Throw.
Four missed shots, four offensive rebounds, a put back...and a foul. The funny thing is, the strategy to go for the quick 2 failed because by the time they got it, they didn't have any time left, but they got fouled.
ODU rebounded to win the game in overtime on a 25 footer 3-pointer by Jazz Walters with 6 seconds left.
The game was played on Old Dominion's home court even though Virginia was a 4 seed, and ODU was a 5. It was one of several games played on the home court of the lower seed. #12 New Mexico hosted #5 West Virginia and almost pulled off the upset. In the men's tournament people go nuts when a team has to play in the home state of another team, imagine if it were the home court. But the women's game needs to do this to ensure good attendance.
There are 5 Big East teams in the Sweet 16, of 8 that made it. UConn, Rutgers, Notre Dame, Louisville and Pittsburgh.
All 5 of those teams beat Big 12 teams in the second round.
Louisville will play North Carolina on Saturday, the same day Louisville will play North Carolina in the men's bracket if both teams win on Thursday.
I orginally wrote off Rutgers but I think they have improved on offense this year with the emergence of Epiphany Prince. Piff scored 10 or Rutgers's first 12 points of the second half. She hit 3 of 5 three pointers including 2 in a row in 30 seconds.
I do think we are headed for a UConn-Tennessee epic final game.
I know there's a lot here but I've been working on this post four 5 days.
The difference between the top teams and the bottom teams is wider in the women's game which is why it was surprising when #16 Coppin State gave Maryland such a good game in the first round. But ten years ago #16 Harvard knocked off Stanford in the first round.
Georgia Tech played Iowa State and Georgia played Iowa in the first round. I think the Committee was trying to start some unique interstate rivalry. They split the games.
Georgia almost had the sweep but Iowa State started bombing 3s, making 5 out of 6 during one 6 minute stretch of the second half.
Speaking of 3, the Marist Redd Foxxes trailed DePaul 55-44. They won 76-57, thanks to 5 out of 7 threes down the stretch and DePaul did not score for the last 8:30 of the game.
I am very surprised they named their teams after Redd Foxx. I had no idea he went there. Ya big dummy!
There are a lot of familiar names in this tournament. Meg Bulger on West Virginia is the younger sister of Rams quarterback Marc Bulger. Brittany Ray on Rutgers is the younger sister of Allan Ray who used to play for Villanova. Rashanda McCants on North Carolina is the younger sister of Rashad McCants of the Timberwolves. Their parents were very creative with names. Candice Wiggins who stars for Stanford is the daughter of former San Diego Padre Alan Wiggins. Candice scored 44 points in Stanford's win over Texas-El Paso. Wiggins is one of the best players in the country and could be the second pick in the WNBA Draft after Candace Parker.
And I spent way too long researching this but it seems that Jodi Bolerjack of Wyoming is not related to CBS announcer Craig Bolerjack. Jodi's father is named Paul, Craig is named Craig and his brother is named Steve.
I'm not going to get into which players I thought were pretty because its trite and sexist and really has nothing to do with why I watch women's basketball. Plus, the players never look as good in their pictures on the internet as they do in their ponytails and uniforms. But I will say the best looking player I saw all weekend originally went to Syracuse but transferred because the program was in disarray. Too bad she didn't stick around for the Quentin Hillsman era.
Also, there will never be a women's basketball player as hot as Brittany Jackson, who looks much better in other pictures.
Unfortunately Syracuse disappointed in its first round game against Hartford. SU was trailing most of the game but came back to take a 49-48 lead but then Hillsman lost his mind and got a technical with 3 minutes to go. I don't think what he did was so bad, the refs should have let it go, but they didn't and instead of leading by 1, SU was trailing by 1. But SU battled back again to take a 53-51 lead when the Jim Boeheim offense took over. SU killed 30 seconds off the clock then drove the lane and lost the ball leading to a Hartford fast break. And to make it worse Chandrea Jones fouled the shooter giving Hartford a 3-point play. But once again SU came back as Tasha Harris's corner jumper gave SU a 1-point lead with 22 seconds to go. But then Marylynne Schaefer hit a difficult 3 to give Hartford the win.
Crazy ending to the Florida State - Oklahoma State game. Florida State was leading the whole time, lost their lead but scored at the end of regulation to force OT. Then in OT they got down 5 (the biggest deficit of the game for either team) but bombed 2 3s to tie it. Oklahoma State had the ball and one last chance, and Florida State committed a horrible, terrible, no good, very bad foul with less than a second left. There was so little time left that had OSU made the pass, they never would have had time to get a shot off. And the referees spent several minutes reviewing the tape to make sure the foul occurred before the red light went off. It did and the foul had to be called, it was obvious. Tough way to end the game though.
Perhaps the most exciting game of the first weekend was Old Dominion over Virginia. ODU had a sizeable lead for most of the game Virginia started a comeback but with 23 seconds left they were still down 1 so they had to start fouling. Down 3, Virginia decided to go for the quick 2. And this is the play-by-play of what happened next:
0:13 Lyndra Littles missed Two Point Jumper.
0:13 Lyndra Littles Offensive Rebound.
0:10 Lyndra Littles missed Two Point Layup.
0:10 Lyndra Littles Offensive Rebound.
0:06 Lyndra Littles missed Two Point Jumper.
0:06 Sharnee Zoll Offensive Rebound.
0:05 Lyndra Littles missed Two Point Layup.
0:05 Aisha Mohammed Offensive Rebound.
0:02 Aisha Mohammed made Two Point Layup.
0:02 Foul on Shahida Williams 78-77
0:01 Aisha Mohammed made Free Throw.
Four missed shots, four offensive rebounds, a put back...and a foul. The funny thing is, the strategy to go for the quick 2 failed because by the time they got it, they didn't have any time left, but they got fouled.
ODU rebounded to win the game in overtime on a 25 footer 3-pointer by Jazz Walters with 6 seconds left.
The game was played on Old Dominion's home court even though Virginia was a 4 seed, and ODU was a 5. It was one of several games played on the home court of the lower seed. #12 New Mexico hosted #5 West Virginia and almost pulled off the upset. In the men's tournament people go nuts when a team has to play in the home state of another team, imagine if it were the home court. But the women's game needs to do this to ensure good attendance.
There are 5 Big East teams in the Sweet 16, of 8 that made it. UConn, Rutgers, Notre Dame, Louisville and Pittsburgh.
All 5 of those teams beat Big 12 teams in the second round.
Louisville will play North Carolina on Saturday, the same day Louisville will play North Carolina in the men's bracket if both teams win on Thursday.
I orginally wrote off Rutgers but I think they have improved on offense this year with the emergence of Epiphany Prince. Piff scored 10 or Rutgers's first 12 points of the second half. She hit 3 of 5 three pointers including 2 in a row in 30 seconds.
I do think we are headed for a UConn-Tennessee epic final game.
I know there's a lot here but I've been working on this post four 5 days.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
The Ups and Downs of Coaching
Some of the best pictures of coaches during the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
John Calipari yells "make a free throw, pleeeeeeeeeese."
Ben Howland wants to know why his team never gets any calls.
Matt Painter should really focus on the game and stop trying to brag to the cheerleaders.
Bruce Pearl getting limber in case he has to join the dance team at a women's tournament game.
This is what Tom Izzo looks like when he's happy. You wouldn't like him when he's angry.
Trent Johnson thinks, "oh shit, what did I just do?"
Doug Oliver thinks, "oh shit, what did Trent Johnson just do?"
Fran McCaffrey explaining for the 1000th time that Siena is a small school in Albany. An excellent school really, I'm surprised you've never heard of us.
John Pelphrey wishes Steven Hill would have gotten a haircut. Not that it would have helped against North Carolina, but it just looks really bad.
Sorry, I can't hear you, I've got this championship ring clogging my ears.
Bo Ryan wishes they would play Soulja Boy during timeouts.
We're Duke goddammit!
John Calipari yells "make a free throw, pleeeeeeeeeese."
Ben Howland wants to know why his team never gets any calls.
Matt Painter should really focus on the game and stop trying to brag to the cheerleaders.
Bruce Pearl getting limber in case he has to join the dance team at a women's tournament game.
This is what Tom Izzo looks like when he's happy. You wouldn't like him when he's angry.
Trent Johnson thinks, "oh shit, what did I just do?"
Doug Oliver thinks, "oh shit, what did Trent Johnson just do?"
Fran McCaffrey explaining for the 1000th time that Siena is a small school in Albany. An excellent school really, I'm surprised you've never heard of us.
John Pelphrey wishes Steven Hill would have gotten a haircut. Not that it would have helped against North Carolina, but it just looks really bad.
Sorry, I can't hear you, I've got this championship ring clogging my ears.
Bo Ryan wishes they would play Soulja Boy during timeouts.
We're Duke goddammit!
Monday, March 24, 2008
Tournament Challenge Update
Thanks to everyone who participated in our Tournament Challenge group.
We had 26 entries though some people entered several sheets. I have no problem with that, I did it myself, but you can't brag if your wife or dog or baby wins.
That said Beers is winning using the picks he entered in his own name. After nailing Western Kentucky and Siena, he also had the onions to pick WKU over what he thought would be UConn. That paid off. Let's see how his next gamble (Louisville over Tennessee and North Carolina) works out.
Michael who normally dominates this event, and led after the first round, had trouble with the Big East. He picked 6 Big East teams to make the Sweet 16, but Pitt, Marquette, UConn, Notre Dame and Georgetown all lost. And he left out 2 of the 3 teams (Villanova and West Virginia) that actually did.
Mrs. Poop is very upset with her poor performance thus far and vows not to fill out a bracket next year if I keep making fun of her.
As for all of the 3 million or so entries on espn.com, 4,621 have Davidson, Villanova and Western Kentucky in the Sweet 16, but only 2 of those people have all 13 of the other 16 teams also.
We had 26 entries though some people entered several sheets. I have no problem with that, I did it myself, but you can't brag if your wife or dog or baby wins.
That said Beers is winning using the picks he entered in his own name. After nailing Western Kentucky and Siena, he also had the onions to pick WKU over what he thought would be UConn. That paid off. Let's see how his next gamble (Louisville over Tennessee and North Carolina) works out.
Michael who normally dominates this event, and led after the first round, had trouble with the Big East. He picked 6 Big East teams to make the Sweet 16, but Pitt, Marquette, UConn, Notre Dame and Georgetown all lost. And he left out 2 of the 3 teams (Villanova and West Virginia) that actually did.
Mrs. Poop is very upset with her poor performance thus far and vows not to fill out a bracket next year if I keep making fun of her.
As for all of the 3 million or so entries on espn.com, 4,621 have Davidson, Villanova and Western Kentucky in the Sweet 16, but only 2 of those people have all 13 of the other 16 teams also.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Tournament Talk: Sweet Sixteen is Set
Poor Siena, their Cinderella run ended and they were never really in the game. Siena shot only 36% against Vanderbilt compared to 57% against Vanderbilt. At least I found out Siena has a guy, Ryan Rossiter, from Staten Island. But he went to Farrell so he's probably gay.
And his brother, Stephen Rossiter, plays for Davidson. The parents went to Tampa with Ryan because they saw Davidson's conference tournament.
[Correction: Apparently the Rossiters drove to Raleigh after the first game and were there to see Davidson knock off Georgetown.]
The brothers combined for zero points on Sunday, but at least Stephen is playing on.
I listened to this game on the radio and the announcer called Edwin Ubilies, Kevin at least twice (because it's pronounced similarly to Youkilis).
Tennessee committed way too many fouls down the stretch. Mike Green and AJ Graves were dribbling right into them but for 6 minutes and 20 seconds until the last tip-in, they got 8 points, all from the line. Normally if you hold your opponent without a field goal for 6 minutes down the stretch you're going to win. Instead Butler tied the game and forced overtime.
If you don't believe anything I say about the NCAA Tournament, believe this, the team that wins the close games is the team that has the guy they can go when they need a basket, and he will deliver. You saw it with Brook Lopez for Stanford, you saw it with Love and Collison for UCLA and you saw it with Ramar and Chism for Tennessee.
And you saw it with Stephen Curry for Davidson. This guy is incredible. He has 100 points in 3 NCAA Tournament games. I made fun of him in the first half saying he was averaging 21 points per game in the tournament (he had 2 at the time), but he went off in the second half. He scored 25 of the last 41 points for Davidson.
This game and the Tennessee game were ending at the same time so we couldn't see both and CBS kept bouncing us back and forth. I've always wondered why they don't stagger the starts more so that all the games could end at different times. Are they worried if a game is a blowout people will turn away so they want three games to end at once to increase the likelihood of one good finish?
And while those two games were going San Diego was making a run at Western Kentucky. It was the 7th time (Villanova-Siena was the 6th) that a 12 and 13 seed played in the second round. The 12 seed was won 6 of those matchups. But 12 seeds are 0-13 against 1 seeds.
Poor San Diego, their athletic department chose to send their band with the women's team because they were playing in California. They hired Western Kentucky's band to play for them when they played against UConn. But they needed to find some new friends when they ended up facing Western Kentucky, so Siena's band stuck around to do the honors. The dance team told them to play what they knew and they'd improvise.
This is the first year that 3 double digit seeds are in the Sweet 16 since 2002.
UNC is absolutely killing people. They are so fast and so good and so scary right now that I'm regretting picking UCLA. But I think playing UCLA may frustrate them even more because UCLA will bump, hound and slow them out of their game.
And I can't say I'm discouraged by UCLA's bad game against Texas A&M. Any win is a good win, and a win in which your best players show their stones by hitting several key late baskets has to be viewed as a positive.
There has been a major problem with the logos on the courts being too slippery. I've seen a lot of players slip and fall on them. They need to fix that for next week. After Tyler Hansbrough fell Roy Williams freaked out and exhorted Jim Nantz to mention it on the telecast.
Billy Packer spouted the trite line about not wanting to see someone get hurt, but I think a greater concern is that someone could slip at a key part of the game. Say a guy is dribbling up court down by 1, and he slips and loses the ball and his team loses the game. That would call into question the entire tournament.
I am willing to recant one thing I said so far. It is quite possible that Memphis's free throw shooting will cost them a game. Even I didn't expect them to shoot 46%. And that was actually bolstered by a couple 1 for 2s by CDR and Rose.
Another thing I was wrong about, Ian Eagle called him Chris Douglas-Roberts the whole weekend.
It's starting to look a lot like UNC, UCLA, Kansas and Memphis or Texas in the Final 4.
And his brother, Stephen Rossiter, plays for Davidson. The parents went to Tampa with Ryan because they saw Davidson's conference tournament.
[Correction: Apparently the Rossiters drove to Raleigh after the first game and were there to see Davidson knock off Georgetown.]
The brothers combined for zero points on Sunday, but at least Stephen is playing on.
I listened to this game on the radio and the announcer called Edwin Ubilies, Kevin at least twice (because it's pronounced similarly to Youkilis).
Tennessee committed way too many fouls down the stretch. Mike Green and AJ Graves were dribbling right into them but for 6 minutes and 20 seconds until the last tip-in, they got 8 points, all from the line. Normally if you hold your opponent without a field goal for 6 minutes down the stretch you're going to win. Instead Butler tied the game and forced overtime.
If you don't believe anything I say about the NCAA Tournament, believe this, the team that wins the close games is the team that has the guy they can go when they need a basket, and he will deliver. You saw it with Brook Lopez for Stanford, you saw it with Love and Collison for UCLA and you saw it with Ramar and Chism for Tennessee.
And you saw it with Stephen Curry for Davidson. This guy is incredible. He has 100 points in 3 NCAA Tournament games. I made fun of him in the first half saying he was averaging 21 points per game in the tournament (he had 2 at the time), but he went off in the second half. He scored 25 of the last 41 points for Davidson.
This game and the Tennessee game were ending at the same time so we couldn't see both and CBS kept bouncing us back and forth. I've always wondered why they don't stagger the starts more so that all the games could end at different times. Are they worried if a game is a blowout people will turn away so they want three games to end at once to increase the likelihood of one good finish?
And while those two games were going San Diego was making a run at Western Kentucky. It was the 7th time (Villanova-Siena was the 6th) that a 12 and 13 seed played in the second round. The 12 seed was won 6 of those matchups. But 12 seeds are 0-13 against 1 seeds.
Poor San Diego, their athletic department chose to send their band with the women's team because they were playing in California. They hired Western Kentucky's band to play for them when they played against UConn. But they needed to find some new friends when they ended up facing Western Kentucky, so Siena's band stuck around to do the honors. The dance team told them to play what they knew and they'd improvise.
This is the first year that 3 double digit seeds are in the Sweet 16 since 2002.
UNC is absolutely killing people. They are so fast and so good and so scary right now that I'm regretting picking UCLA. But I think playing UCLA may frustrate them even more because UCLA will bump, hound and slow them out of their game.
And I can't say I'm discouraged by UCLA's bad game against Texas A&M. Any win is a good win, and a win in which your best players show their stones by hitting several key late baskets has to be viewed as a positive.
There has been a major problem with the logos on the courts being too slippery. I've seen a lot of players slip and fall on them. They need to fix that for next week. After Tyler Hansbrough fell Roy Williams freaked out and exhorted Jim Nantz to mention it on the telecast.
Billy Packer spouted the trite line about not wanting to see someone get hurt, but I think a greater concern is that someone could slip at a key part of the game. Say a guy is dribbling up court down by 1, and he slips and loses the ball and his team loses the game. That would call into question the entire tournament.
I am willing to recant one thing I said so far. It is quite possible that Memphis's free throw shooting will cost them a game. Even I didn't expect them to shoot 46%. And that was actually bolstered by a couple 1 for 2s by CDR and Rose.
Another thing I was wrong about, Ian Eagle called him Chris Douglas-Roberts the whole weekend.
It's starting to look a lot like UNC, UCLA, Kansas and Memphis or Texas in the Final 4.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Tournament Talk: Second Round Saturday
Duke needs to stop recruiting so many white pussies. They all completely turtled up when the game was on the line. I'm including DeMarcus Nelson as an honorary white pussy for his putrid performance in these two games.
Gerald Henderson is the only guy on Duke with a little toughness.
It's not a coincidence that Duke started hitting 3s once the game was no longer in doubt.
Duke came out in the first half with the right strategy, they were running and pressing and not settling for 3-pointers. But in the second half when West Virginia started to make a run, Duke just kept chucking up 3s. They missed 15 in a row at one point.
This was another game were every little bit of contact was called. A lot of it did go Duke's way, but not enough to say the refs were doing it on purpose.
I really like Joe Alexander but he was the least effective player on the floor for West Virginia. Their whole team was running and jumping and passing and driving and Alexander was a black hole. Every time he got the ball he wanted to shoot it. He loosened up at the end but he was definitely trying too hard and hurting his team through the first 25 or 30 minutes of the game.
Xavier plays some tough defense. They got down early in both their games but it seemed like they just flipped a switch and started playing the stifling defense.
That was the Kansas State team I had seen all year and thought we would see against USC. Sure Wisconsin was on fire but I think Walker and Beasley do a little too much individual play. They probably will both be gone next season.
The refs really had short tempers in the Stanford-Marquette game. Yes, Trent Johnson was all the way on the court but I didn't think he deserved an ejection.
Doug Oliver who replaced Johnson made a huge mistake by resting both Lopez brothers before the under 8 minute timeout. He wanted them both fresh for the stretch run but Stanford had just taken the lead and he let Marquette get it right back.
I told you Robin Lopez was improving offensively. Brook will probably come out and Robin could score 20 points per game next season.
Brook was absolutely awesome down the stretch, every time they needed a basket he gave them one.
And what about Jerel McNeal for Marquette? He refused to miss also.
Pittsburgh - Michigan State set offensive basketball back about 20 years. A lot of driving and running into people. Levance Fields was good as he usually is but he didn't get much help. Michigan State pulled away at the end thanks to a couple clutch baskets from Drew Neitzell.
Bob Knight loses his champion.
And UCLA, barely survived. But they showed what I like about them. They play ferocious defense and they can score when they need to. About 4 possessions in a row when they absolutely had to have a basket they got 2 fallaways from Love and 2 driving layups from Collison.
Gerald Henderson is the only guy on Duke with a little toughness.
It's not a coincidence that Duke started hitting 3s once the game was no longer in doubt.
Duke came out in the first half with the right strategy, they were running and pressing and not settling for 3-pointers. But in the second half when West Virginia started to make a run, Duke just kept chucking up 3s. They missed 15 in a row at one point.
This was another game were every little bit of contact was called. A lot of it did go Duke's way, but not enough to say the refs were doing it on purpose.
I really like Joe Alexander but he was the least effective player on the floor for West Virginia. Their whole team was running and jumping and passing and driving and Alexander was a black hole. Every time he got the ball he wanted to shoot it. He loosened up at the end but he was definitely trying too hard and hurting his team through the first 25 or 30 minutes of the game.
Xavier plays some tough defense. They got down early in both their games but it seemed like they just flipped a switch and started playing the stifling defense.
That was the Kansas State team I had seen all year and thought we would see against USC. Sure Wisconsin was on fire but I think Walker and Beasley do a little too much individual play. They probably will both be gone next season.
The refs really had short tempers in the Stanford-Marquette game. Yes, Trent Johnson was all the way on the court but I didn't think he deserved an ejection.
Doug Oliver who replaced Johnson made a huge mistake by resting both Lopez brothers before the under 8 minute timeout. He wanted them both fresh for the stretch run but Stanford had just taken the lead and he let Marquette get it right back.
I told you Robin Lopez was improving offensively. Brook will probably come out and Robin could score 20 points per game next season.
Brook was absolutely awesome down the stretch, every time they needed a basket he gave them one.
And what about Jerel McNeal for Marquette? He refused to miss also.
Pittsburgh - Michigan State set offensive basketball back about 20 years. A lot of driving and running into people. Levance Fields was good as he usually is but he didn't get much help. Michigan State pulled away at the end thanks to a couple clutch baskets from Drew Neitzell.
Bob Knight loses his champion.
And UCLA, barely survived. But they showed what I like about them. They play ferocious defense and they can score when they need to. About 4 possessions in a row when they absolutely had to have a basket they got 2 fallaways from Love and 2 driving layups from Collison.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Tournament Thoughts: First Friday
Stephen Curry can fill it up. His name is pronounced Stef-in, not Stef-on or Steev-in. As soon as I explained this to Mrs. Poop, Jim Nantz said "his name is Stef-in." Billy Packer still called him Stef-on.
Speaking of names, don't you think Mr. and Mrs. Pomare should have named their son Gino or Geno. How does a lady about to have a baby not realize the possible mispronuncation of Gyno?
Has anyone noticed problems with CBS's score updates on the bottom. A couple times yesterday they credited a basket to the wrong team.
North Carolina so completely overmatched Mount St. Mary's that I'm surprised they only won by 39.
Billy Packer had a great line "they put their pants on one leg at a time. The only problem is, their pants are a little bigger."
At least I got Villanova right as my upset special. They were getting killed in the first half but finally did settle down and handle that Clemson pressure.
Of all the crews that could be at a region where 2 12s and 2 13s win, Tim Brando and Mike Gminski would be the last one I'd pick.
They kept talking about how this never happened before but it's because sites used to have all 8 teams from the same region, meaning you'd have either a 1, or a 2 and a 3, playing in the same place.
Nonetheless, that's a first round site we'll remember for a long time.
Two 13 seeds have never made the second round before, and perhaps they could both get to the Sweet 16.
UCLA has it made even more than they did before. And usually teams that win titles have some roadblocks cleared for them.
Speaking of names, don't you think Mr. and Mrs. Pomare should have named their son Gino or Geno. How does a lady about to have a baby not realize the possible mispronuncation of Gyno?
Has anyone noticed problems with CBS's score updates on the bottom. A couple times yesterday they credited a basket to the wrong team.
North Carolina so completely overmatched Mount St. Mary's that I'm surprised they only won by 39.
Billy Packer had a great line "they put their pants on one leg at a time. The only problem is, their pants are a little bigger."
At least I got Villanova right as my upset special. They were getting killed in the first half but finally did settle down and handle that Clemson pressure.
Of all the crews that could be at a region where 2 12s and 2 13s win, Tim Brando and Mike Gminski would be the last one I'd pick.
They kept talking about how this never happened before but it's because sites used to have all 8 teams from the same region, meaning you'd have either a 1, or a 2 and a 3, playing in the same place.
Nonetheless, that's a first round site we'll remember for a long time.
Two 13 seeds have never made the second round before, and perhaps they could both get to the Sweet 16.
UCLA has it made even more than they did before. And usually teams that win titles have some roadblocks cleared for them.
I'm a Douche
I forgot to delete last night's games from my DVR so it was too full to record this afternoon's early games, causing me to miss the Western Kentucky - Drake thriller.
Thankfully I woke up in time to rectify the problem and see San Diego shock UConn.
Thankfully I woke up in time to rectify the problem and see San Diego shock UConn.
Tournament Thoughts: Opening Day
The first day is always exciting even though by normal standards we didn't see that many great games.
We started out with Michigan State - Temple but the game wasn't competitive so they switched to Georgia - Xavier.
Georgia got out to a big early lead but blew it in the second half. I don't attribute this to fatigue. If they weren't fatigued playing two games in one day, or playing a game the day after they played two games in one day, then why were they fatigued after three days of rest? Xavier just turned up their defensive intensity and Georgia got stagnant on offense.
I also saw something you seldom see in a basketball game. After fouls on both ends between Billy Humphrey and I think Stanley Burrell, the ref pulled them aside, put his arms around them and basically told them to cut that shit out.
Kent State had 10 points in the first half, and 17 turnovers. 10 points tied a record for fewest in a half (shot-clock era) in the NCAA Tournament.
Kentucky - Marquette was a good game but Kentucky couldn't get over the hump. If a team is going to earn a come from behind victory they need to come all the way back and take the lead. UK had some chances but Marquette fought them off every time, on a few occassions nailing shots at the end of the shot clock to do it.
Joe Crawford was the best player I saw all day. He was unconscious, hitting everything from every angle and outscoring his teammates 35 to 31.
Washington State - Winthrop first half: 29-29
Washington State - Winthrop second half: 42-11
I was furious that CBS went with Duke - Belmont in my area instead of USC - Kansas State but as it turned out they made the right decision.
Belmont played an offense only the 1990s Houston Oilers could love, it would have to be described as run and shoot. Belmont shot 23 3s and made 8 of them.
Gerald Henderson most certainly did not commit public douchebaggery in this game. His coast-to-coast drive and layup saved Duke from perhaps the most embarrassing loss in NCAA history, at least since Richmond beat Syracuse in 1991.
What the fuck went wrong on Belmont's inbounds under their own basket down 1 with 4 seconds to go? It's a crime that they didn't get a shot to win the game.
Does this poor performance make Duke more or less likely to get knocked off in the next round? I say less likely because they'll probably shoot better from the outside.
As for the game I was looking forward to, USC absolutely sucked. It might have been the worst game they played all year.
I think O.J. Mayo did well, distributing, driving and making some key shots, but a few of his shots didn't fall, and that was the difference between coming all the way back, and not quite getting over the hump.
This game was marred by fouls, 45 in all. The officials called it way too closely and put both teams' best frontcourt players in jeopardy early. The fouls on Taj Gibson were actually a bigger factor than the ones called on Beasley. Kansas State got 6 3-point plays, which means USC either wasn't fouling hard enough, or wasn't fouling at all.
Michael Beasley played really well and showed that he has outside shooting and penetration in his game.
I still love Mayo, I think his team let him down.
Bill Walker had 17 points in the first half. Don't you think the announcers should have mentioned that he urinated into a towel on the court during a game earlier this season. The casual fan who is just tuning in for the Tournament hasn't heard that story, and don't you think they would find it interesting?
I was really disappointed in Arizona, like Kentucky and USC, they kept charging but couldn't take the lead. Their problem though was defense. Every time they scored they allowed West Virginia open shots.
Chase Budinger had a good game but he's like the anti-Hansbrough, it never looks like he is trying. If Budinger and Jerryd Bayless come back next season this team could be awesome. And even though I don't expect either of them to be a top 10 pick, I think they at least one of them will come out.
I was impressed with UCLA, they completely dominated, though anything else would have been a major disappointment. Mississippi Valley State scored the fewest points of any team in the Tournament (shot-clock era). And that's why I love UCLA, defense.
Let's hope for a few more exciting games on Friday.
We started out with Michigan State - Temple but the game wasn't competitive so they switched to Georgia - Xavier.
Georgia got out to a big early lead but blew it in the second half. I don't attribute this to fatigue. If they weren't fatigued playing two games in one day, or playing a game the day after they played two games in one day, then why were they fatigued after three days of rest? Xavier just turned up their defensive intensity and Georgia got stagnant on offense.
I also saw something you seldom see in a basketball game. After fouls on both ends between Billy Humphrey and I think Stanley Burrell, the ref pulled them aside, put his arms around them and basically told them to cut that shit out.
Kent State had 10 points in the first half, and 17 turnovers. 10 points tied a record for fewest in a half (shot-clock era) in the NCAA Tournament.
Kentucky - Marquette was a good game but Kentucky couldn't get over the hump. If a team is going to earn a come from behind victory they need to come all the way back and take the lead. UK had some chances but Marquette fought them off every time, on a few occassions nailing shots at the end of the shot clock to do it.
Joe Crawford was the best player I saw all day. He was unconscious, hitting everything from every angle and outscoring his teammates 35 to 31.
Washington State - Winthrop first half: 29-29
Washington State - Winthrop second half: 42-11
I was furious that CBS went with Duke - Belmont in my area instead of USC - Kansas State but as it turned out they made the right decision.
Belmont played an offense only the 1990s Houston Oilers could love, it would have to be described as run and shoot. Belmont shot 23 3s and made 8 of them.
Gerald Henderson most certainly did not commit public douchebaggery in this game. His coast-to-coast drive and layup saved Duke from perhaps the most embarrassing loss in NCAA history, at least since Richmond beat Syracuse in 1991.
What the fuck went wrong on Belmont's inbounds under their own basket down 1 with 4 seconds to go? It's a crime that they didn't get a shot to win the game.
Does this poor performance make Duke more or less likely to get knocked off in the next round? I say less likely because they'll probably shoot better from the outside.
As for the game I was looking forward to, USC absolutely sucked. It might have been the worst game they played all year.
I think O.J. Mayo did well, distributing, driving and making some key shots, but a few of his shots didn't fall, and that was the difference between coming all the way back, and not quite getting over the hump.
This game was marred by fouls, 45 in all. The officials called it way too closely and put both teams' best frontcourt players in jeopardy early. The fouls on Taj Gibson were actually a bigger factor than the ones called on Beasley. Kansas State got 6 3-point plays, which means USC either wasn't fouling hard enough, or wasn't fouling at all.
Michael Beasley played really well and showed that he has outside shooting and penetration in his game.
I still love Mayo, I think his team let him down.
Bill Walker had 17 points in the first half. Don't you think the announcers should have mentioned that he urinated into a towel on the court during a game earlier this season. The casual fan who is just tuning in for the Tournament hasn't heard that story, and don't you think they would find it interesting?
I was really disappointed in Arizona, like Kentucky and USC, they kept charging but couldn't take the lead. Their problem though was defense. Every time they scored they allowed West Virginia open shots.
Chase Budinger had a good game but he's like the anti-Hansbrough, it never looks like he is trying. If Budinger and Jerryd Bayless come back next season this team could be awesome. And even though I don't expect either of them to be a top 10 pick, I think they at least one of them will come out.
I was impressed with UCLA, they completely dominated, though anything else would have been a major disappointment. Mississippi Valley State scored the fewest points of any team in the Tournament (shot-clock era). And that's why I love UCLA, defense.
Let's hope for a few more exciting games on Friday.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)