Half the field for St. Louis is set.
In the first matchup, the upset-ridden West regional final, Louisville surged late to stun Florida by four. Full credit to the Cardinals, particularly Russ Smith (who made several big shots down the stretch in place of Peyton Siva, who had fouled out) and Chane Behanan (who had a big second half after being quiet in the first 20 minutes). But the Gators earn demerits for their lack of offensive execution in the second half and lack of poise down the stretch. Florida was red-hot from deep in the first half against the Louisville zone, but didn't adjust well when the Cardinals switched to man-to-man. And they took some bad, early shots down the stretch.
Showing posts with label 2012 NCAA Tournament. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2012 NCAA Tournament. Show all posts
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Friday, March 23, 2012
Half of the Elite Eight Set
Aside from the first game, which saw Syracuse squeak by Wisconsin when the Badgers couldn't get a good shot off on their final possession, Thursday's action was pretty boring: Louisville's Gorgui Dieng controlled the interior with seven blocked shots as the Cardinals stymied Michigan State; Ohio State lost its concentration and a 12-point halftime lead, but regrouped to beat Cincy by 15; and freshman Bradley Beal led Florida past Marquette in a high-intensity yet sloppy game that was pretty similar to Marquette's second-round win over Murray State.
The Syracuse-Wisconsin game was a gem, though.
The Syracuse-Wisconsin game was a gem, though.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Sweet 16 preview
By no means is this a complete preview; it's more of a collection of semi-connected thoughts about the Sweet 16 games, which get started Thursday night. Take a look after the jump.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Round Two, Day Two
The marathon portion of the college basketball season is over. Since Thursday, it's been nothing but wall-to-wall hoops, 12 straight hours of basketball a day for four days. (And all this coming on the heels of Championship Week, an even more grueling endurance test!) Yeah, I know; I'm sad, too.
Sixteen teams remain. A bit later in the week, I'll put up a Sweet 16 preview post breaking down the upcoming action. For now, though, let's take a quick look at Sunday's games.
Sixteen teams remain. A bit later in the week, I'll put up a Sweet 16 preview post breaking down the upcoming action. For now, though, let's take a quick look at Sunday's games.
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Round Two, Day One
Blogging after watching all this ball is starting to wear me out.
After Friday's excitement, Saturday was relatively tame. There were no upsets among the eight games on the slate. But there still some pretty good games.
After Friday's excitement, Saturday was relatively tame. There were no upsets among the eight games on the slate. But there still some pretty good games.
Day Two Thoughts
My reactions to day two of the second round, a.k.a. day two of the first round, a.k.a. the most historic day in NCAA tournament history.
Four times, and only four times, prior to Friday had a #15 seed beaten a #2 seed in the first round. On Friday, it happened twice. Lehigh-Duke got top billing on Sportscenter even though it happened after Norfolk State-Missouri, so we'll start there after the jump.
Four times, and only four times, prior to Friday had a #15 seed beaten a #2 seed in the first round. On Friday, it happened twice. Lehigh-Duke got top billing on Sportscenter even though it happened after Norfolk State-Missouri, so we'll start there after the jump.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Day One Thoughts
Long day. Caught all the action, and at least a minute or two of every game. Let's go region-by-region, starting with the big story/non-story of the day: the Historical 16/1 Upset That Kinda Sorta Almost Was.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Midwest Preview
[SOUTH] [WEST] [EAST]
The field of 64 was finally set Wednesday night with the last of the play-in games in Dayton. UVM comfortably beat Lamar for the right to play sacrificial lamb to North Carolina on Friday (Go Cats Go!), but the big story was South Florida, which absolutely demolished California in the night game. A lot of people didn't think the Bulls belonged in the field despite a 12-6 Big East record, and some of those same people were probably grumbling that the Pac-12 got just one at-large bid. So such a convincing win was pretty surprising.
Frankly, of all the #1/#2 pairings in the tournament, I thought North Carolina and Kansas got the biggest break from the committee. Their paths to the Elite 8 look pretty clear to me.
The field of 64 was finally set Wednesday night with the last of the play-in games in Dayton. UVM comfortably beat Lamar for the right to play sacrificial lamb to North Carolina on Friday (Go Cats Go!), but the big story was South Florida, which absolutely demolished California in the night game. A lot of people didn't think the Bulls belonged in the field despite a 12-6 Big East record, and some of those same people were probably grumbling that the Pac-12 got just one at-large bid. So such a convincing win was pretty surprising.
Frankly, of all the #1/#2 pairings in the tournament, I thought North Carolina and Kansas got the biggest break from the committee. Their paths to the Elite 8 look pretty clear to me.
East Preview
[SOUTH] [WEST] [MIDWEST]
When the brackets were announced, Syracuse, the top seed in the East, was my national champion (and had been since December. Truth be told, though, I was a bit worried about the potential Sweet 16 matchup with Vanderbilt, a team that I had been high on at the start of the year and that came on strong to upset Kentucky in the SEC final. So when the news came down that Fab Melo, the vastly improved sophomore center who anchors Syracuse's vaunted 2-3 zone, it was enough to make me re-consider my pick. There are a bunch of teams that could win the region -- I've gone back and forth quite a bit on this one. Let's get to it.
When the brackets were announced, Syracuse, the top seed in the East, was my national champion (and had been since December. Truth be told, though, I was a bit worried about the potential Sweet 16 matchup with Vanderbilt, a team that I had been high on at the start of the year and that came on strong to upset Kentucky in the SEC final. So when the news came down that Fab Melo, the vastly improved sophomore center who anchors Syracuse's vaunted 2-3 zone, it was enough to make me re-consider my pick. There are a bunch of teams that could win the region -- I've gone back and forth quite a bit on this one. Let's get to it.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
West Preview
[SOUTH] [EAST] [MIDWEST]
I never know if the Committee does stuff like this on purpose, but the West region this year is absolutely loaded with teams that are dominated by excellent perimeter play. (Iona's shocking loss to BYU in the play-in game Tuesday night robbed the region of more guard talent in NBA prospect Scott Machado and Arizona transfer Lamont "Momo" Jones.) I love good guard play, and my two "adopted" teams this year, Missouri and Long Beach State, are in the region, so it's safe to say I'll be tuning in to almost every game. Let's get on with the preview.
I never know if the Committee does stuff like this on purpose, but the West region this year is absolutely loaded with teams that are dominated by excellent perimeter play. (Iona's shocking loss to BYU in the play-in game Tuesday night robbed the region of more guard talent in NBA prospect Scott Machado and Arizona transfer Lamont "Momo" Jones.) I love good guard play, and my two "adopted" teams this year, Missouri and Long Beach State, are in the region, so it's safe to say I'll be tuning in to almost every game. Let's get on with the preview.
South Preview
[WEST] [EAST] [MIDWEST]
First of all, what a start to March Madness! In case you missed it, you missed two of the most improbable comebacks in tournament history.
In the early game, Mississippi Valley State led Western Kentucky by 16 points with 4:52 remaining in what was a poorly-played and, up to that point, dull game. It took less than two and a half minutes for the Hilltoppers to erase all but one point of that deficit. They tied it up a minute later, and ended up winning by one. WKU won despite committing 27 turnovers, in large part due to a 53-30 edge on the glass. (MVSU's complete collapse when faced with pressure defense in the final minutes helped, too).
That was just the opening act, however. In the late game, Iona looked like it was poised to run BYU right out of the gym, scoring 49 points in the first 13:48 and taking a 25-point lead. Incredibly, the Gaels managed just 17 points over the final 26 minutes, and the Cougars won going away.
Let's hope we haven't peaked. These were exciting games, but each of the four teams in action played some bad basketball. There's room for improvement.
On to my preview of the South region!
First of all, what a start to March Madness! In case you missed it, you missed two of the most improbable comebacks in tournament history.
In the early game, Mississippi Valley State led Western Kentucky by 16 points with 4:52 remaining in what was a poorly-played and, up to that point, dull game. It took less than two and a half minutes for the Hilltoppers to erase all but one point of that deficit. They tied it up a minute later, and ended up winning by one. WKU won despite committing 27 turnovers, in large part due to a 53-30 edge on the glass. (MVSU's complete collapse when faced with pressure defense in the final minutes helped, too).
That was just the opening act, however. In the late game, Iona looked like it was poised to run BYU right out of the gym, scoring 49 points in the first 13:48 and taking a 25-point lead. Incredibly, the Gaels managed just 17 points over the final 26 minutes, and the Cougars won going away.
Let's hope we haven't peaked. These were exciting games, but each of the four teams in action played some bad basketball. There's room for improvement.
On to my preview of the South region!
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