Monday, March 25, 2013

Tournament Thoughts- Second Round Sunday

Aaron Craft, ONIONS!!!!



I don't like the guy, I don't think he's a very good player, mostly just a bruiser. I was celebrating because Iowa State went on a 19-6 run in five minutes late in the second half to take the lead, and they did so because of Craft. He missed 3 free throws (two on the front end of a one-and-one), committed a turnover and a stupid foul. But he made up for it by nailing the game-winning 3-pointer with no time left.

So the last three times Ohio State played in Dayton in the tournament they lost twice and then narrowly escaped. Remind me again about that home court advantage that comes with playing somewhere in your home state.

Ohio State is the luckiest team. This is the second straight year they have the road to the Final Four paved for them. Last year Syracse lose Fab Melo, greatly weakening them for Ohio State, now Gonzaga and New Mexico have been eliminated so it's Arizona and then some other Cinderella in the Elite 8.

I knew I remembered Korie Luscious from somewhere. He started at Michigan State but got kicked off the team so he transferred to Iowa State.

The officials did get the call wrong, the one that was ruled a charge, but should have been a block on Craft. The announcers blew it too, saying he wasn't in the restricted area because his foot was off the ground above the line. That is not the rule. That restricted area line extends all the way to the ceiling, unlike the rest of the boundaries on the basketball court. I don't blame the refs there, very tough call, but it did make a huge difference in this game.

It is always nice to hear the band play "Hang On Sloopy" though.

Now it's Oladipo with the onions though it was actually a bad shot. Indiana didn't need the risk of a 3 there, should have shot the best 2 and hoped to take a 3-point lead with ten seconds left. But he nailed it and clinched the game.

Some effort by Khalif Wyatt. He's a damn good college player. He made 12 of 24 shots, the rest of his team went 9 for 38, yikes.

Now we have to watch the replay of Keith Smart's buzzer beat 100 times between now and next week's game.

Speaking of things that have been beaten into the ground, this Kansas-North Carolina matchup and Roy Williams stuff. I wish they could replay the soundbite of Roy saying "I couldn't give a shit about North Carolina right now."

Bill Self must have given one hell of a halftime speech. Kansas outscored UNC 33-10 to start the second half, and they did it on defense, especially Withey. UNC couldn't make a shot and they never got back in it.

Florida, meanwhile just pounded Minnesota from the beginning and barely ever let them back in the game. I'm sure they are hoping to see Florida Gulf Coast in the next round.

But don't sleep on FGCU. They are a good team. And coached by a guy with a lot of confidence, a lot of money, and probably a big dick.



I love everything that FGCU is doing. They play fast but not too fast. They had a lot of fast breaks and they were under control, not blowing the layups in haste. And they shoot 3s, but almost always in rhythm. Enfield didn't feel the need to pull the plug when they got a big lead because he trusted his team to make the right decisions with the ball.

They really are a great team. A balanced group of guys who play together. They are a lot of fun to watch. They pulled off two major upsets and neither of them was even close. Gonna be a tough game against Florida but I wouldn't count them out. They don't play like a Cinderella. They are not playing a slowdown game, they are not chucking 3s, they're just playing better than their more touted opponents.



I really don't like Marshall Henderson. I hate guys who shoot all the time. I hate guys who overdo the celebration, seemingly trying to get all the attention from themselves. But I could overlook that were it not for other parts of his life. Henderson was arrested for trying to buy pot with $800 of counterfeit money. While on probation he tested positive for alcohol, pot and cocaine. TO me that shows a guy who takes no responsibility and has never been forced to faced the consequences of his actions. He sure can shoot though.



I don't mean to be insensitive to Ramon Galloway's father, but isn't it a waste to give a blind guy a ticket?

Great drive to the basket by Garland. Don't bleed the clock too far, take it to the hole hard and make the shot. Great game, one of the best of the tournament so far.

You will never convince me that playing the extra game is an advantage, simply because mathematically it's harder to win an extra game. But the first year they did it VCU went to the Final Four from the playin game. Now LaSalle is a 13 in the Sweet 16 and could easily get to the Elite 8 by beating Wichita State.

Lots of neon shoes on the court foe Illinois and Miami.

Yes Trey Larkin is Barry's son. No, Tyler Griffey is not Ken's son.



A horrible blown call marred this game however. The ball was clearly out off Kadji's hand which should have given Illinois another chance. Not sure I'd be in favor of replay review for every call like that in the last two minutes of a game, but if it means the wrong team advances, maybe we should consider it.

Impressive game by Duke. They didn't get their best performances from their best players but they played great defense hectoring a good Creighton team into a poor shooting night (2-19 from 3), and they got just enough from the second tier players to cruise to an easy victory.

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