They were underseeded, but they really weren't that badly underseeded given their resume. The reality is that they just played down to the level of their talent a lot this season. I mean, they had some really bad losses, like to Utah, getting blown out by Stanford, and going 0-2 vs. Colorado. They should have definitely been a 7-9 seed though. With that said, I like their chances against Louisville. I've been really critical of Louisville and I'll continue to be until they face a legitimate test in the tournament. They really haven't had a legitimate test so far, and realistically, they won't face a team that can really exploit them unless they make the Elite 8 and play either MSU or Duke. They're still very beatable for Oregon though. Like I've been saying all thread, they can play very erratic, because their backcourt plays loose and out of control, constantly gambling on defense (Smith) and going for home-run plays and jacking up lots of bad shots on offense (Siva/Smith). Now, sometimes the stars align and they get those steals, make the threes, and wind up looking very impressive, but that style of play is not sustainable in a six game tournament. Someone's going to catch them on a night where they're not making those bad shots, where they're being too careless with the dribble, and where the defensive gambles turn into easy shots for the opponent.
Indiana not choking like that other #1 seed. As an aside, I was in Chicago last week on business and staying in a hotel where a bunch of folks from the Big 10 tourney were also residing. I asked an Indiana fan what the deal was with the color change from bright red. He informed me that IU's original colors were Crimson and Cream and they were returning to it. I had no idea those were the original colors.
FGCU is crazy. you think any of these players get drafted in the NBA? When Valpo made that big run, Drew was drafted. I have Florida winning it all in my pool and it's the only way I will win, but I got to say I am a little scared for the Gators next round.
Man, Illinois just got jobbed! Down two, under a minute, a Miami player swats the ball out of bounds, but somehow Miami gets possession. Apparently you can't review that play in college basketball, but the replays showed that Kadji (Miami) clearly knocked it out of bounds. It wasn't even that hard of a call to make just watching it live on tv. I really doubt it, but crazier picks have been made.
I thought Miami got a lot of lucky calls but they played well enough to win. Would have liked to see that out of bounds go Illinois' way. It would have been the right call and a closer game.
Yeah, at the end of the day, Illinois sort of shot themselves in the foot as well by jacking up all of those contested threes. I just checked the numbers, and they shot 7-27 from downtown. It's pretty hard to get a win when you miss 20 threes.
Some interesting non-tournament developments lately - - Minnesota fires Tubby Smith. I'm not sure why. They had a good start to the season and then disappointed in the Big 10, but first of all, they started that well because Tubby was able to bring in the talent he did, and secondly, the Big 10 was hell. They got in the tournament and rolled over UCLA. Does Minnesota really think they can do better? Tubby was the best thing that has happened to their non-existent program in a long time. - Shaka Smart turned down UCLA in favor of a $1.5 mill a year deal through 2023 with VCU. I'm not sure I'd do the same thing myself, but I can see why he did. UCLA's not the same job it once was, and the job security of VCU versus UCLA isn't even comparable. I'm just wondering if he's holding out for something bigger. It should be interesting to see what happens when Boeheim retires. Will there be a bidding war between Stevens and Smart, or will either of them stick to their guns? And is Mark Few still unattainable? I haven't heard his name rumored for UCLA yet. He seems like a lifer at Gonzaga though. - Sheldon McClellan will transfer from Texas. Not sure if it's really a good move on his part. Texas has been struggling, but I'm not sure that he'll find a high major D-I program of that caliber that will give him the offensive freedom that Texas gave him this last season. - Marshawn Powell and Amath M'Baye both declared for the draft. They're both likely to go undrafted, but M'Baye might be a sleeper late-2nd round pick just because of his dual citizenship. He could be a euro-stash pick.
It's very frustrating watching this Hoosiers team struggle so badly against the zone. Didn't Crean coach at Marquette, where they played Syracuse twice a year? I mean, c'mon, this team is so unprepared that you have to put a large share of the blame on Crean.
I've thought Crean looks like Tom Arnold for awhile now. So I googled it to see if anyone agreed with me and I found this: They act very similar too.
Fuck this shit. Theyre calling a foul on the ducks every time down the floor. Thats not an exaggeration either. Every fucking time down the floor. Same biased bullshit as the nba. Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
"Pain runnnin deeper than the ocean" ... want to comment on the Duke/Michigan St. game, but got to take a few to calm down...
So Kentucky will officially return Willie Cauley-Stein, Kyle Wiljter, and Alex Poythress, while losing Archie Goodwin and Ryan Harrow. I understand that this year's team was a disaster, but a large part of the problem came from the backcourt with Harrow and Goodwin. Watching the Harrison twins in the McDonald's All-American game, I've got to think they'll have that problem solved next season. And with six freakin' McDonald's All-American coming in, they'll have depth next year as well. I'll have to look at who all stays and goes around the NCAA, but do ya'll think this makes Kentucky the 2014 favorite? PG - Andrew Harrison SG - Aaron Harrison/James Young SF - Alex Poythress/Kyle Wiltjer PF - Julius Randle/Marcus Lee C - Willie Cauley-Stein/Dakari Johnson They don't have depth at backup pg, but that's the only weakness I see in that rotation. That's a ridiculously stacked roster... 11 former McDonald's All-Americans.
