Connect with your Facebook Account

• Contact

Basketball Articles

4

Random thoughts on Thursday’s action

Posted by Trips Right on March 20th, 2008 under Basketball

East

WSU vs. Winthrop. Washington State performs Chinese Water torture on its opponent. They play even for much of the game and use six or seven 4 to nothing runs until you look up and your down by 20. How? They’ll take better shots than their opponent the entire game allowing the percentages to take over. Nice 30 point vs. Winthrop.

George Mason vs. Notre Dame. Look I know the Patriots won the CAA conference tourney so they made the tourney. The fact of the matter is George Mason didn’t belong. Scoring 50 against a porous Irish defense is ludicrous. Virginia Commonwealth belonged in the tourney and would have had a much better showing. The Irish benefited playing a team that didn’t belong.

Midwest

Kansas vs. Portland State. Yawn. Kansas could have rolled out fat and balding Adonis Jordan and Rex Walters and won this ball game.

Kent State vs. UNLV. Shame on Kent State for hitting snooze until halftime. Ten first half points, are you f’ing serious. They should be banned from post season play until all of those players have graduated. They dropped 48 on a good Rebel defense in the second half, but too little too late.

Wisconsin vs. Fullerton. Like most teams, the Titans wore down against the Badgers. Having to guard 30 out of the 40 minutes in any given game will do that to you. The Badgers make it damn near impossible for opponents to play from behind.

Kansas State vs. USC. Look, I had the Trojans going to the elite 8, and had this game pegged as a virtual layup for Tim Floyd and crew. I called the box and 1 or diamond and 1 on Beasley, but the Wildcats had a terrific plan, using screens on the box defensive players to free up players other than Beasley. This guaranteed that help would be late arriving. I thought Floyd took to long to adjust and play more conventional. And hell, KSU showed up. Who knew?

South

Michigan State vs. Temple. The Spartans simply locked down Dionte Christmas holding him to 1-12 shooting. That’s your ballgame.

Marquette vs. Kentucky. Give it up to Billy Gillespie, his team had every right to just show up and take a whoopin’ and no one would have made a stink about it. Give him Patrick Patterson and they would have handled a very talented Marquette club. The Wildcats have nothing to be ashamed of.

Pittsburgh vs. Oral Roberts. Scott Sutton probably didn’t count on Levance Fields going off to the tune of 8-15 for 23 points. And they weren’t of the break away layup or wide open 3 ball variety. Most of them were midrange pull ups that were contested. If he does that, Pitt becomes a very tough out as it gives them 3 legitimate scorers along with Blair and Young, not to mention sharp shooting Ramon.

Stanford vs. Cornell. Robin Lopez was the player of the game in this battle of the pocket protectors. His 7-9 outing along with 49 bench points were just too much for Cornell to overcome. You could tell that Stanford’s size really bothered Cornell because this wasn’t the same team that gave Duke a scare in Cameron.

West

UCLA vs. The Fighting Jerry Rices. Why wasn’t MVSU in the play in game? 29 points in a tourney game is embarrassing.

Xavier vs. Georgia. One of the best games of the day. Georgia controlled the game but seemed to wear down at the end, especially point guard Sundiatta Gaines. Xavier shot 33 free throws to Georgia’s 5 which is a bit curious. For those that claim the FT discrepancy is based on style of play, keep in mind the teams shot an equal amount of 3 point shots, and were dead even rebounding the basketball. Kudos to Xavier, and Duke for confirming my suspicions that the West is by far the weakest region.

Duke vs. Belmont. In the game of the day, the Devils survived a 1 point deficit with just 20 seconds to play getting a coast to coast layup from Gerald Henderson for the game winner. Gerald Henderson? Where was Greg Paulus and Demarcus Nelson? They were probably scared considering they were a combined 4-16. That bolds well for when they play a team with talent. A team like the Mountaineers.

Texas A&M vs. BYU. In the battle of the cults, the Aggies prevailed on the hot shooting of Josh Carter. Perhaps Deandre Jordan should go on a mission to Malaysia instead of the NBA considering a walk-on named Muhlbach got twice as much PT. The key to this game was the Cougar’s inability to break down the Aggies off the dribble. BYU spent the majority of the game, throwing the ball aimlessly around the perimeter.

West Virginia vs. Arizona. This is what happens when teams don’t belong in the tourney. See Baylor. If I was Dayton I’d be pretty pissed. Joe Alexander of the ‘Neers is playing at a high level and I doubt the Devils will have an answer for him come Saturday.

Purdue vs. Baylor. The difference is that Purdue guarded for a half. Baylor failed to guard anyone for the entire game. Again, teams that don’t belong in the tourney have a habit of letting pedestrian Big 10 teams shoot 50% from the field. A 52 point outburst by the Bears after the game was decided by half was all that kept this thing respectable.

All and all, a yawner of an opening round. Hopefully we’ll see some upsets tomorrow. Oh, and Billy Walker is a whiney bitch.

Article Tags:

More from this Barker


Share This

  • StumbleUpon

4 Responses

  1. Scipio Tex said:

    March 20th, 2008 at 9:43 pm

    Thanks Trips. My bracket is in steaming ruins with the USC loss.

    I was quite impressed with KSU’s level of play. Floyd didn’t produce anything like the inspired defensive game plan I anticipated he would. KSU just devastated USC on the boards. 40-27 overall, 18-9 offensive. Ron Anderson gave them a beautiful 21 minutes off of the bench. Beasley only played 29 minutes.

    Big 12 goes 3-1. The only loss because Baylor was a disgrace. I’m more of a disgrace as I picked them to upset Purdue. Why do I always have to get cute with this shit?

    Pitt blew me away with their level of play. ORU is not a bunch of chumps.

    There’s something vaguely Utah circa Majerus era about WSU in how they play. You’re watching them going “Hmm, I don’t see it.” Then you notice all of their shot attempts are from ten feet from the basket or less….

  2. Geoff K said:

    March 21st, 2008 at 5:11 am

    Amazingly, in all 3 of my brackets I have KSU going to the elite 8. People say that the tourney is for guard play but I disagree. The tourney is for superstars, and Beasley is a superstar. If any one of the KSU roleplayers is hot they are going to be a bitch to handle.

  3. doog said:

    March 21st, 2008 at 7:27 am

    KSU showed up, plain and simple. You could see their energy on the court. Seemed like they fought for every rebound and every loose ball.
    USC was just flat. It wouldn’t matter how many tactical changes Floyd made, or when. His team wanted no part of KSU.

    This is why Maddness is so difficult to predict. Who could’ve predicted that one team wouldn’t give two shits about a game?

  4. NateHeupel said:

    March 21st, 2008 at 7:47 am

    Right now, I’m 16 for 16 in my first round picks. I watched KSU and USC both play OU, and I knew right away who was going to get the best of that matchup.

    Don’t be shocked if Duke suddenly pulls their head out and starts playing like they want to be here.

Leave a Reply

Follow Us

Related Articles

Hot Forum Topics

Activity

  • Luke wrote a new blog post: BYU postgame   25 minutes ago

    http://nbcsportsmedia1.msnbc.com/j/apmegasports/201003202121769017659-pf.widec.jpg

    What a glorious, glorious day of basketball at the Ford Center Saturday.

    First, Ali Ali Farokhmanesh and all the other Panthers with cool names took down Kansas as Sherron Collins made his best effort to shed that “clutch” label on the last game of his collegiate career. Then of course, Kansas State waved goodbye to Jimmer

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • Art Vandelay commented on the blog post Best Opening Round I Can Remember   1 hour, 1 minute ago

    Ali Farokhmanesh hitting the biggest shot of the season is the definition of March Madness.

    Ali Boma Ye!!!

  • skymonkeyhorn commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Wake Forest: Post Mortem   2 hours, 22 minutes ago

    It is just amazing to me that most posters think that Jordan has improved so much in the last half of the season.
    The one thing I will say is that Jordan has just started to show his ability with a basketball. The reason that he did not show his talents is up to all the

  • Ag_in_TX wrote a new blog post: Purdue Pre-game   2 hours, 28 minutes ago

    Offense

    Both teams are unselfish and preach sharing the ball. A&M is a balanced scoring team. Sloan showed in the first round against Utah State, for example, that he can defer when his teammates have things going. Purdue once again will have to rely on JaJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore to produce, and hope

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • Hiphopopotamus commented on the blog post We Have Our Answer   2 hours, 45 minutes ago

    And yes, it appears JoPo wrote pretty much the same thing. It’s hard to believe with all the national talking heads, fans, and everyone in between saying otherwise, but I think it’s the only conclusion to draw for anyone that really watched this team.

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • Hiphopopotamus commented on the blog post We Have Our Answer   2 hours, 45 minutes ago

    And yes, it appears JoPo wrote pretty much the same thing. It’s hard to believe with all the national talking heads, fans, and everyone in between saying otherwise, but I think it’s the only conclusion to draw for anyone that really watched this team.

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • Hiphopopotamus wrote a new blog post: We Have Our Answer   2 hours, 47 minutes ago

    Normally, after a big win or a crushing defeat, I don’t know what to think, say, or feel, because I can’t. And that what makes this one different; it’s just as painful, but I saw it coming. Instead of getting blindsided by the oncoming traffic, I was able to brace myself for the

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • whiskey commented on the blog post The week in news- Pariahs, Malcontents and Power Hour   3 hours, 5 minutes ago

    I’m with you the off season is already old. I’m ready for the season to start. NDS I am completely fascinated by the Tech vs. Lech business. I can’t believe they ran off the guy that put them on the map and subsequently ended up with an arguable upgrade in Tubs.

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • whiskey commented on the blog post Spring Preview: Tech Offense   3 hours, 10 minutes ago

    Ded 9-12 wins is pretty optomistic. I like it. I’m really looking forward to seeing what Tubs can do with them this year especially on D. I’m surprised you think the QB battle between Sticks and Nick will be close. Interesting, I figured Sticks was a runaway. I hope Corndog

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • dedfischer wrote a new blog post: Spring Preview: Tech Offense   3 hours, 53 minutes ago

    Got a little time this morning and I’m rearing to talk some football.  Here’s what the depth chart looks like headed into spring and a few thoughts:

    Offense

    QB  Sr. Taylor Potts/Sr. Steven Sheffield – We’ve all annointed Sheffield as the starter, and I think that’s the case if we continue to run 99% of our snaps

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • Black Scholes commented on the blog post Texas Hoops vs. Wake Forest: Post Mortem   6 hours, 48 minutes ago

    lawdog – on the topic of regression, this crew can’t compare with the senior seasons Thomas and Atchley put up. Something ain’t right in this scenario. Mason topped out his sophomore year and Pittman last year.

    Wangmene is ‘Manos de Piedra’ redux, so that was really never going to work out.

  • Kevin Berger wrote a new blog post: Top Ten Reasons Why Cal Can Beat Duke   8 hours, 48 minutes ago

    This would probably go a bit better if you read it in your Bobby Knight voice and it had two decades worth of goodwill built up from its gratuitous appearance on a popular late night television show. But oh well.

    1) Interior Worries. As in the Bears shouldn’t have any defensively

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • Kevin Berger wrote a new blog post: Round 2 Saturday Recaps   9 hours, 45 minutes ago

    We talked about the upset of the decade in this post, but I watched some other great basketball today I’d like to comment on.

    For me, the theme of the day was well-played basketball. I’m not only talking about what Northern Iowa did, I’m talking about the other seven games being really well

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • Sailor Ripley commented on the blog post Madness Magic: Northern Iowa Upsets Kansas   9 hours, 58 minutes ago

    Just a phenomenal game.

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • Sailor Ripley commented on the blog post Recapping The South   10 hours, 9 minutes ago

    Udoh was a fargging beast in that game. Very athletic player.

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • Sailor Ripley commented on the blog post Because We’re Dedicated To Doing Stupid Things – Tiny Gallon Reportedly Took Payout   10 hours, 33 minutes ago

    Jesus. I think I see four horseman on the horizon.

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • Kevin Berger wrote a new blog post: Madness Magic: Northern Iowa Upsets Kansas   10 hours, 37 minutes ago

    Today reminded me why I love this tournament so much. A good friend of mine mentioned to me that college basketball is the great equalizer of all athletic endeavors. At least of the sports we care about. He’s right.

    For instance, you can have a 40 inch vertical, be Iverson quick,

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • Nate Heupel commented on the blog post Because We’re Dedicated To Doing Stupid Things – Tiny Gallon Reportedly Took Payout   10 hours, 41 minutes ago

    Patrick,

    Unless you’re completely retarded, you know precisely what I meant. The closest any Big 12 team has gotten to winning the infamous Fuller Cup is the 2007 Texas squad. I can’t remember a team being that horribly undisciplined as a whole aside from the insane OU teams of the 80’s. That’s not

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • Nate Heupel commented on the blog post Because We’re Dedicated To Doing Stupid Things – Tiny Gallon Reportedly Took Payout   10 hours, 41 minutes ago

    Patrick,

    Unless you’re completely retarded, you know precisely what I meant. The closest any Big 12 team has gotten to winning the infamous Fulmer Cup is the 2007 Texas squad. I can’t remember a team being that horribly undisciplined as a whole aside from the insane OU teams of the 80’s. That’s not

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • Sailor Ripley wrote a new blog post: This Is Sparta!   10 hours, 53 minutes ago

    Please make yourself welcome and Adam will be by shortly to keep you up to date on all Michigan State Spartan happenings.

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • Nickel Rover commented on the blog post Barnes worst team   10 hours, 58 minutes ago

    I suppose anyone could be your “favorite Longhorn basketball player” but Ford did more than just about anyone…although Durant is clearly better. Ford’s supporting cast was better than Durant’s in his sophomore year. Durant’s had more talent (Augustin, James, Abrams) but Ford’s was more developed (Boddicker, Ivey, Mouton, Thomas) and had worked with him for

  • Nickel Rover commented on the blog post Bradley or Hamilton?   11 hours, 4 minutes ago

    Crazy Joe, your thoughts intrigue me and I would like to subscribe to your newsletter.

  • Nickel Rover commented on the blog post Bradley or Hamilton?   11 hours, 7 minutes ago

    This notion of Hamilton as being a disaster area on defense is all a bit much. He rebounds extremely well which, if it wasn’t obvious, is extremely important in this game since it secures possession of the basketball. Winning in basketball is achieved through the scoring of baskets and it’s necessary to possess the basketball

  • Ojnab Bob commented on the blog post Best Opening Round I Can Remember   11 hours, 17 minutes ago

    I posted earlier about how Collins’ effort just crippled Kansas today, but what amazed me the most was his complete inability to stay in front of his man on defense. UNI got a LOT of good looks out of penetration/pass after one of UNI’s modestly gifted athletes blew right by Sherron. The best

  • Scipio Tex wrote a new blog post: Best Opening Round I Can Remember   12 hours, 29 minutes ago

    At least it’s shaping up that way if Sunday delivers.

    As disappointed as I was in last year’s opening weekend of March Madness, this one is exceeding all expectations. Putting aside the fact that my bracket now resembles Kabul after the Taliban rolled through in ‘96 – a map of ordered failure –

  • J commented on the blog post Bid Dance: Day Three   12 hours, 56 minutes ago

    Thanks for the kind words, Trips.

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • J commented on the blog post Bid Dance: Day Three   12 hours, 57 minutes ago

    You know who’s bitter and angry as fuck? This guy —> ME.

    I can only hope our returning players (whoever that may be) remember this and realize they need to play motivated EVERY FUCKING GAME and put forward 40 MINUTES of effort each game.

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • Raoul Duke commented on the blog post Rumor Alert–TMG   13 hours, 28 minutes ago

    Kid seems like a fantastic collegiate player. I haven’t seen any NBA info. Is he a legit prospect?

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • Raoul Duke commented on the blog post Bid Dance: Day Three   13 hours, 35 minutes ago

    Tough day for Sherron on O and D.

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • GoHornsGo90 commented on the blog post Bradley or Hamilton?   14 hours, 19 minutes ago

    To leave or stay?