Monday, March 22, 2010

The Madness: 1st Weekend Wrap, Sweet 16 Preview

Greetings all... 2 parts to today... brief wrap of the Saturday/Sunday action and a quick preview of what's to come on Thursday/Friday....

First to the weekend that was..
  • Gotta lead with Kansas... I'm still shocked by that loss... All the credit to Northern Iowa for stepping up huge... but I think it's universally known that Bill Self didn't use the ridiculous athletic advantage that they have... Tough loss for Sherron Collins and company, but a huge story going forward as Northern Iowa has an exceedingly winnable sweet 16 game too... oh yeah, and half the universe had Kansas winning the title... including me... whoops
  • St. Mary's absolutely decimated Villanova inside... I'm STILL waiting on a double-team against Omar Samhan (32 points on 13-16 FG)... but Nova still would've won this game if Scottie Reynolds (and really Corey Fisher too) had a pulse... Reynolds shot 2-11... Fisher 3-13.... That'll do it... Good night Philly...
  • Butler/Murray State... The better team won... Not a whole lot to discuss here, Butler just made plays down the stretch, and have shown the ability to win the tight ones...
  • Blowouts: Tennessee over Ohio....ho-hum dominance over a paltry MAC team that got hot for 40 minutes against G-Town but was overmatched... Kentucky over Wake... I think we all knew that Kentucky would likely beat up on them... but by 30? Dino Gaudio should be ashamed lol... Washington over New Mexico... not surprised by Washington winning... but surprised by the ease in which they did it... New Mexico has talent... but wow... Syracuse over the Zags... Domination from midway through the 1st half on... Even with Onuaku out and Jackson in severe foul trouble... Rautins and Johnson were unreal... Cornell over Wisconsin... Shocker of the tourney for me... For a team to score 87 points on Wisconsin the way Cornell did was something to behold... their offensive efficiency was absolutely staggering... Duke over Cal... Better team won... The positive for Duke is that they didn't shoot the ball well from distance and still cruised... that had been a criticism of theirs....
  • Kansas State ruined my #2 upset special (BYU to the Elite 8) by holding Jimmer in check (sigh) and being more physical from the jump... Jacob Pullen put a huge question mark next to Jimmer's draft stock in the process too....
  • In what I guarantee was the least discussed game of the weekend... Baylor beat Old Dominion by 8... Basically, no one outside of Big 12 country knows and/or recognizes that Baylor is ridiculously talented, and very good.... I had them in my elite 8 and I stand by it... and Ekpe Udoh will be the closest thing Omar Samhan as seen to competition on the box...
  • Shot of the weekend? Michigan State's Corey Lucious... for the win against Maryland... Thing is, if that game went 2 trips longer, Maryland wins... they had all the momentum and Michigan State couldn't get a stop to save their lives... but Lucious covered up for all that with one dagger triple...
  • There were 3 more very good games on Sunday... West Virginia hanging on for dear life against the Missouri press (winning by 9)... Xavier outlasting Pitt despite repeatedly letting Pitt hang around late when the game should've been over (and salvaging some respect for the A-10 in the process)... and Purdue getting a gutsy effort from Chris Kramer and company to beat A&M in overtime despite a talent disadvantage... I really, really like Chris Kramer....
  • The game I watched the closest? Georgia Tech's implosion against Ohio State... Full disclosure, there are only 2 teams in the country I'd root for against Georgia Tech... Michigan and Duke... so I'd consider myself to be somewhat of a supporter of that program.... Okay, that's out of the way... I thought Paul Hewitt got manhandled yesterday... GT was clearly the more talented team (yes, I know Evan Turner was on the other side), and between their inability to run an offensive set, their blatant refusal to pound the ball inside to their "twin towers" until about the 4:00 mark of the second half, and the way their guards run around/turn the ball over as if they haven't been coached.... I can't even discuss it rationally... But when Evan Turner plays a "meh" game (9 TO's, 8-19 FG) and you still can't beat them with a significant talent edge at basically every other spot on the floor..it's an indictment... and oh yeah, I didn't mention repeatedly giving Jon Diebler open three point attempts throughout the entire 2nd half... wow... I'm done...

That took longer than I thought... To the quick-hitting Sweet 16 previews...
  • Butler/Syracuse - Interesting game IMO because Syracuse has a severe talent edge... but Butler knows how to grind, and they may be able to get Cuse to extend their zone to uncomfortable depths if they make shots from distance... I like Syracuse in the game, but don't underestimate how big of a loss Onuaku is if he can't go... Rick Jackson is very good, but the only other big that could play is the 7-foot freshman, and there is a clear drop-off there...
  • Washington/WV - The seeding wouldn't tell you this, but this is the most even game on the board for Thursday... Washington was even a vegas favorite against #3 seed N. Mexico... There is talent on both sides and veteran go-to-guys (Butler and Pondexter)... WV has the talent edge, but I really, really don't trust Bob Huggins in the tournament once we get to the point where they don't have the talent edge.. I'll pick WV, but if Washington shoots how they did against New Mexico, they'll win
  • Xavier/K-State - Xavier is a nice story... they are the East Coast Gonzaga in some ways... Conference is better than you think (though the A-10 gets more love because Temple used to be good, etc. and it was once thought to be an almost-major league)... and year-in-year-out the Musketeers are relevant come tourney time... K-State has talent everywhere, but once again (see above), I don't trust Frank Martin at all... and in fact, I like Xavier despite their youth...
  • Cornell/Kentucky - This should be fun... Cornell's offensive execution against Wisconsin was picturesque... they knocked down every open look, and ran their sets to perfection... but the Wisconsin athletes aren't near what Kentucky's are... That said, I give Cornell a real shot... Kentucky is combustible because of their youth and the hot-head (Cousins) inside... I'll pick Kentucky because I don't see Cornell shooting the way they did on Saturday...
  • Tennessee/Ohio State - I had the Vols going down in Round 1 (and they almost did), so I didn't foresee this matchup... they do have multiple athletes to throw at Evan Turner, and this should be a down-to-the-wire contest... but the better coach (Thad Matta) and the best player reside in Columbus... Ohio State is the pick
  • St. Mary's/Baylor - One thing that I haven't heard said yet... This game is being played in Houston... aka that's a huge homecourt edge for Baylor... Also, Ekpe Udoh (the Michigan transfer, aka the Ryan Mallett of basketball) is a legit defensive force who could frustrate Samhan with length and athleticism that he hasn't had to face so far... St. Mary's will execute, but I like Baylor to control the glass and win the game
  • Northern Iowa/Mich State - Raise your hand if you had this penciled in.... laughter... Should be a highly entertaining matchup... and honestly, Northern Iowa is probably the favorite here with Michigan State likely losing their best player (Lucas) for the rest of the tourney... But there's something about Tom Izzo teams in March... couple that in with a little Bill Simmons' Ewing Theory potential, and an undervalued big 10 (3 teams left).... I like Sparty
  • Purdue/Duke - Duke is the better team... let's get that out of the way... Purdue is a veteran unit who is scrappy, and has a go-to low-post scorer in Johnson... they could give Duke issues if shots aren't falling for the Blue Devils... that being said, without Robbie Hummel I think Duke is significantly better, and will be able to handle them on the defensive end... Duke by 10
And now the part where I rant.... why on EARTH are the Thursday/Friday games packed into the evening time? Once we reach the 2nd weekend, I shouldn't have to watch multiple games at once via computer or being forced to a sports bar... They should be their own entity... Drives me insane... Rant over... We'll see you on Thursday... It's madness....

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