The best quote about this game is this one from Michael Jordan himself: "Whew. They made me a little nervous."
I watched this game with several friends in Charlotte while the wife was lucky enough to get a ticket. The common thread among all 7 of us who watched the game together was that at the end we were all horrendously nervous. The second half of this basketball game was one of the finest displays of crisp basketball that I have ever seens, as well as one of the most hotly contested. As a basketball fan you had to enjoy watching two teams playing that way, with fewer than 10 turnovers each despite the pace that the game was played at, and of course there was the fact that after the first 10 minutes neither team every led by more than 6 points. That such a high level of basketball occurred on the NCAA Tournament stage- in a second round game, no less- made it all that much more enjoyable (or nervous, if you're a UNC or UW fan).
But as nervous as we all were I'm not sure we should have been. It is a statistic that will be frequently cited over the next few days as people try to reflect on what this version of UNC basketball has done. But it is still striking. The Heels are 8-1 in games decided by 3 points or less and 11-2 in games decided by 5 points or less. For all of the emphasis on how young and inexperienced this team is (and they are), they sure don't play like it. That is an absolutely ridiculous record. At some point all season I have expected that this team's penchant for playing with fire in close games will come back to hurt them; it's starting to look like that may not happen.
But two things especially impressed me about this win. The first was that despite this team's success in close games, they won this one with a slightly different blueprint. Yes, Harrison Barnes still hit a big shot (the 3 with 4 minutes left down 76-75), but he really wasn't the story down the stretch. This game was much more about Kendall Marshall and, of all people, Dexter Strickland. Strickland, whose jump shot is the subject of some- ahem- constructive feedback from all-knowing Carolina fans, hit the two biggest free throws of the season with the game on the line. However, he also played some of the best defense I've ever seen on half a meniscus, forcing Isaiah Thomas into such a bad game that he didn't even have the ball down 1 with the game on the line. To be able to find a new way to win a close game, and with a performance like that from a guy that has been solid but not spectacular all season, definitely bodes well as this team continues on in the NCAA Tournament.
The second thing that impresses about this victory is the way that Washington played. As many people pointed out, the Huskies were a red-hot team that presented some a difficult potential matchup for UNC. And then Washington went out and did everything that they needed to do in order to create that matchup. They shot 10-19 from 3. They neutralized UNC's usual dominance in the frontcourt (Zeller got 23 but Henson struggled from the field and UW actually outrebounded UNC by 3, 40-37). They played their style of basketball and hung with UNC in a game that reached 74 possessions. But despite all that, UNC still found a way to win. I think that says a lot about this team. They continue to prove that they can win all types of games, from 86-83 uptempo shootouts against a team that is making over 50% of their 3's to a 48-46 uglyfest over BC back in February. In the NCAA Tournament, often the talent level is so even that a team cannot count on imposing its own style of play, and thus you need to be able to adapt to how the game winds up going. UNC has done just that, and they proved it again in this game.
Now it's on to the Sweet 16. More on the matchup to come later in this week. For now, let's reflect on how UNC took the best punch from the Pac-10 champion and is still playing in the second weekend of the tournament. Don't think I would have believed that two months ago.
More thoughts on a glorious weekend of college basketball:
- The two fouls at the end of the Pitt-Butler game got a lot of press across the ESPN debate show tour today. Personally, I thought both calls were appropriate. While I don't believe the "a foul is a foul, no matter the time" business (even if it should be, human nature will never allow it), both of those fouls were pretty obvious. I'm all for letting the players decide it; in this case, I thought they did by committing the fouls.
- On the other hand, I thought the Texas call was dead wrong, and it definitely mattered. Yes, Texas could have put the game away earlier by not calling the timeout that got them in that inbounds situation. But that cannot excuse the official making a mistake, and it's clear that it was a mistake. If you don't believe me, check out the screenshot on Luke Winn's blog (about 1/4 of the way down). The picture clearly shows the official just starting the arm count as the timeout is being signaled. And I don't know if I buy that this call is a "judgment call." It is counting to five. Even under those circumstances it seems to me that the official should be able to know where he is in his counting to five. But I don't know, I've never been an official.
- I thought the two most impressive victories of the second round were Ohio State and VCU. George Mason is a solid team and the Buckeyes just absolutely dismantled them. As a UNC fan it reminded me of the '05 team, which absolutely destroyed two opponents in the first weekend and talked in the postgame presser about how it was a statement they wanted to make from the first tipoff of the tournament. Although I didn't watch the Bucks' press conference, it seemed like they were making a similar statement. VCU, on the other hand, dismantled a Purdue team that just a few weeks ago was being talked about as a potential number 1 seed. In doing so, they scored 94 points on a team that is ranked 12th nationally in defensive efficiency. Wow.
- I'm also still very high on Kentucky. The 'Cats fought through two difficult games and, somewhat like the Heels, proved that maybe their youth probably will not be a concern as they go down the stretch in this tournament. Young teams, the saying goes, do not do well in pressure moments in the Dance, but the Wildcats have now proven themselves in two such settings. If they weren't drawing the Buckeyes in the Sweet 16, I'd really like them to go to Houston. Even as it is, though, UK's tandem of Terrance Jones and Brandon Knight is easily the most talented such duo that Ohio State has played all season, and you never know how Ohio State will respond to a team that can match them athletically. Other than my homer UNC game, that's definitely the Sweet 16 matchup I'm most excited about.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Saturday, March 19, 2011
UNC 102 LIU 87
Well at least it wasn't a first round game against William & Mary in Carmichael in the NIT. That's about the best thing I can take from this game. Well, that and the Heels showed that Ol' Roy still knows how to hang 100 on somebody.
It is a little bit of a cliche but it is important to remember that whatever happens in the Dance this year at least UNC is back competing on the biggest stage in college basketball after the nightmare that was last season. While that may not help to ease the frustration of what seemed like 25 intercepted pitch-ahead passes, it should help to explain. As well as this team has played at times during the season I think we have all let ourselves believe that maybe they are something that they are not. This team may still make a run in the Tournament but even if they do so I would not expect them to do it without several frustrating moments. This is a young team that has never dealth with the nervousness and competition of the NCAA Tournament. At this level every single team is very good and has won something in order to get to this point. For that reason they're not going to back down like teams often do in the regular season. Tyler Zeller referenced this in the postgame press conference, saying "so it's one of those things that you get up by 10 or 15 in a regular season game, they might just go away. It's their last game and they're going to keep coming back and you've got to be aware of that." That's a good point and one that you probably don't find out without playing a game, which these Heels now have done.
Also I think there were several positives to take from this game. I thought at the beginning of both halves UNC came out focused and really took it to LIU, playing great defense, creating turnovers, and converting them at the other end. I thought when we were up 21 we just relaxed on defense and gave up several easy transition baskets. To me that lack of focus is a little bit frustrating but again it goes back to what I said above. Getting a young team to play defense when they're up 20 is almost impossible, even in the NCAA's. Also Kendally Marshall looked much more comfortable and looks like he has put the ACC Tournament behind him. John Henson and Tyler Zeller were playing an outmanned front line, so their gaudy numbers should be taken with a grain of salt, but they still did a great job of getting in good position and demanding the ball in good scoring position. Give them credit for that as they have not always done so this season. Also, except for the two LIU runs (one in each half) I actually think UNC's defense was probably better than the final score indicates. One of my biggest pet peeves is the analyst who judges a team defense only by looking at the final score. Both Kenny Smith and Charles Barkely did this after the game, criticizing UNC's defense for giving up 87 to the Blackbirds. However if you look at the box score LIU shot only 36% from the floor and as Ken Pomeroy tweeted after the game it was their 2nd lowest points per possession of the season. Was Carolina's defense lazy at times? Of course. But I think overall it was better than you think.
Now it is up to this team to move forward and take the appropriate amount of confidence from the positives and motivation from the things they can do better. Washington is a very good team as Doug Gottlieb will tell us and we will need to step up and play a little bit better. See you Sunday.
It is a little bit of a cliche but it is important to remember that whatever happens in the Dance this year at least UNC is back competing on the biggest stage in college basketball after the nightmare that was last season. While that may not help to ease the frustration of what seemed like 25 intercepted pitch-ahead passes, it should help to explain. As well as this team has played at times during the season I think we have all let ourselves believe that maybe they are something that they are not. This team may still make a run in the Tournament but even if they do so I would not expect them to do it without several frustrating moments. This is a young team that has never dealth with the nervousness and competition of the NCAA Tournament. At this level every single team is very good and has won something in order to get to this point. For that reason they're not going to back down like teams often do in the regular season. Tyler Zeller referenced this in the postgame press conference, saying "so it's one of those things that you get up by 10 or 15 in a regular season game, they might just go away. It's their last game and they're going to keep coming back and you've got to be aware of that." That's a good point and one that you probably don't find out without playing a game, which these Heels now have done.
Also I think there were several positives to take from this game. I thought at the beginning of both halves UNC came out focused and really took it to LIU, playing great defense, creating turnovers, and converting them at the other end. I thought when we were up 21 we just relaxed on defense and gave up several easy transition baskets. To me that lack of focus is a little bit frustrating but again it goes back to what I said above. Getting a young team to play defense when they're up 20 is almost impossible, even in the NCAA's. Also Kendally Marshall looked much more comfortable and looks like he has put the ACC Tournament behind him. John Henson and Tyler Zeller were playing an outmanned front line, so their gaudy numbers should be taken with a grain of salt, but they still did a great job of getting in good position and demanding the ball in good scoring position. Give them credit for that as they have not always done so this season. Also, except for the two LIU runs (one in each half) I actually think UNC's defense was probably better than the final score indicates. One of my biggest pet peeves is the analyst who judges a team defense only by looking at the final score. Both Kenny Smith and Charles Barkely did this after the game, criticizing UNC's defense for giving up 87 to the Blackbirds. However if you look at the box score LIU shot only 36% from the floor and as Ken Pomeroy tweeted after the game it was their 2nd lowest points per possession of the season. Was Carolina's defense lazy at times? Of course. But I think overall it was better than you think.
Now it is up to this team to move forward and take the appropriate amount of confidence from the positives and motivation from the things they can do better. Washington is a very good team as Doug Gottlieb will tell us and we will need to step up and play a little bit better. See you Sunday.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
NCAAT: East Region
The Top Four: Ohio State is CLEARLY the best team in the country, if you use things like statistics as a barometer. Their efficiency margin is the highest of any of the number 1 seeds and they have only two losses on the road against very good teams. The concerns about them (namely, only using a six-man rotation) are legitimate, but I'm not sure it's going to matter that much. These are young guys and there are tons of timeouts, especially in tournament play. UNC is very good and their defense and rebounding will keep them in absolutely any game, which is dangerous because in a close game you are always in danger of falling to El Falcon Negro. Syracuse has been inconsistent this season but their zone is always difficult to prepare for in the Tournament because it's not something most teams have much experience playing against. I absolutely love Kentucky and think that they're coming together at just the right time having won the SEC Tournament going away, and their talent is as good as anyone's.
Legitimate Sleeper: Washington. The Huskies are the chic pick of the tournament but they are for good reason. They're 15th in Pomeroy's rankings and many of their losses in the weak Pac-10 should probably be blamed at least somewhat on lack of focus during the long conference season. You would have to think that they can get themselves up for the Big Dance. My biggest concern for them would be that they are coming off an emotional conference tournament victory and now have been reading and listening to everyone loving up on them for a week. That's a strong recipe for an upset loss to a very talented Georgia team in the first round.
Deeper Sleeper: Clemson. Yeah, I know, the ACC sucks, blah blah blah. But Brad Brownell's Clemson team has been coming on strong in recent weeks despite very little national love. They played Duke down to the wire in Cameron, they nearly took out UNC at home, they pounded Virginia Tech twice, and they should have beat the Heels in the ACC Tournament. And while many used the OT game vs UNC as evidence that Carolina maybe isn't that good, anyone who did that most likely did not watch that game. UNC for the most part actually played pretty well, and Demontez Stitt and company consistently answered runs by the Heels in a road game environment in Greensboro. Add to that the 18-point blowout in the first round of UAB, and this is a team playing with a ton of confidence right now that could definitely make a run.
Oltz's picks: Sweet 16 of Ohio State, Kentucky, Xavier, and UNC. I just think Syracuse doesn't have the focus to get through 2 games in the opening weekend, and the Muskies are one of only two teams to make the Sweet 16 three years in a row (Michigan State). I then like Kentucky matching up with Ohio State because they are athletic enough to really make the Buckeyes work to guard them which could bring out the six-man-rotation-problem. I then have UNC over Kentucky in the regional final. Yeah, that's a homer pick, but again I like the matchup. Plus, the name of the blog is "I'm A Tar Heel Born." What did you expect?
Legitimate Sleeper: Washington. The Huskies are the chic pick of the tournament but they are for good reason. They're 15th in Pomeroy's rankings and many of their losses in the weak Pac-10 should probably be blamed at least somewhat on lack of focus during the long conference season. You would have to think that they can get themselves up for the Big Dance. My biggest concern for them would be that they are coming off an emotional conference tournament victory and now have been reading and listening to everyone loving up on them for a week. That's a strong recipe for an upset loss to a very talented Georgia team in the first round.
Deeper Sleeper: Clemson. Yeah, I know, the ACC sucks, blah blah blah. But Brad Brownell's Clemson team has been coming on strong in recent weeks despite very little national love. They played Duke down to the wire in Cameron, they nearly took out UNC at home, they pounded Virginia Tech twice, and they should have beat the Heels in the ACC Tournament. And while many used the OT game vs UNC as evidence that Carolina maybe isn't that good, anyone who did that most likely did not watch that game. UNC for the most part actually played pretty well, and Demontez Stitt and company consistently answered runs by the Heels in a road game environment in Greensboro. Add to that the 18-point blowout in the first round of UAB, and this is a team playing with a ton of confidence right now that could definitely make a run.
Oltz's picks: Sweet 16 of Ohio State, Kentucky, Xavier, and UNC. I just think Syracuse doesn't have the focus to get through 2 games in the opening weekend, and the Muskies are one of only two teams to make the Sweet 16 three years in a row (Michigan State). I then like Kentucky matching up with Ohio State because they are athletic enough to really make the Buckeyes work to guard them which could bring out the six-man-rotation-problem. I then have UNC over Kentucky in the regional final. Yeah, that's a homer pick, but again I like the matchup. Plus, the name of the blog is "I'm A Tar Heel Born." What did you expect?
NCAAT: West Region
The Top Four: Tuesday Duke became maybe the most intriguing team in the field as K discussed the possibility of Kyrie Irving coming back. The Blue Devils have been one of the best teams in the country on both ends of the floor (top 10 nationally in both offensive and defensive efficiency) and the consensus is that the number 1 overall pick can only make them better. However, it's not nearly that cut and dry- just ask the 1984 Tar Heels, which returned their freshman point guard Kenny Smith from injury before the Tournament only to flame out in the Sweet Sixteen despite having both Michael Jordan and Sam Perkins on that team. Anyways, no one knows how effective Irving will be but it is something to keep an eye on. San Diego State is a team I just don't know that much about; their record is incredible and they're very good on paper, but it's difficult to know how they will respond to playing consistently better competition than they get in the Mountain West. UConn is one of the hottest teams in the country but there has to be concern over their ability to come back mentally and physically from the 5-games-in-5-days marathon. Texas is 4th in Pomeroy's rankings and at times has looked like a national championship favorite, but Rick Barnes' lack of success in the tournament is difficult to ignore.
Legitimate Sleeper: Tennessee. The Vols have shown that on any given day they can play with anyone in the country, and now they should have had time to get their focus away from all the off-court issues. With Scotty Hobson and Tobias Harris on the wing and Brian Williams in the middle, this is a really talented team with a bunch of good wins (and terrible losses) on the resume. I also love Texas in this bracket as a Final Four sleeper.
Deeper Sleeper: Oakland. Oakland has size up front, which is both a rarity and a huge advantage as a mid-major. They also know how to beat good teams, having already taken out Tennessee this season. A first-round matchup with Texas threatens to derail my Longhorns Final Four pick if Classic Rick Barnes is on display.
Oltz's picks: Sweet 16 of Tennessee, Texas, UConn, San Diego State. Love the Vols to get up for the Duke game IF they can get by Michigan. Texas over UConn in the regional final. I don't love the Huskies but I just don't see the fatigue being an issue after the first weekend, and I like their matchups in that first weekend.
Legitimate Sleeper: Tennessee. The Vols have shown that on any given day they can play with anyone in the country, and now they should have had time to get their focus away from all the off-court issues. With Scotty Hobson and Tobias Harris on the wing and Brian Williams in the middle, this is a really talented team with a bunch of good wins (and terrible losses) on the resume. I also love Texas in this bracket as a Final Four sleeper.
Deeper Sleeper: Oakland. Oakland has size up front, which is both a rarity and a huge advantage as a mid-major. They also know how to beat good teams, having already taken out Tennessee this season. A first-round matchup with Texas threatens to derail my Longhorns Final Four pick if Classic Rick Barnes is on display.
Oltz's picks: Sweet 16 of Tennessee, Texas, UConn, San Diego State. Love the Vols to get up for the Duke game IF they can get by Michigan. Texas over UConn in the regional final. I don't love the Huskies but I just don't see the fatigue being an issue after the first weekend, and I like their matchups in that first weekend.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
NCAAT: Southwest Region
The Top Four: It's difficult not to be impressed with Kansas' talent. They go deeper at all positions with guys who can score and defend than anyone in the country. The Morris twins are a matchup nightmare because of their strength inside and range shooting the 3. Also I think the memory of the second-round upset from a season ago will result in sharp focus from game 1 this season around. As for the rest of the high seeds, Notre Dame has been very good offensively all season but their inexperience in the tournament (I know that they have a bunch of seniors, but they've never made a deep tournament run) makes me wonder if they're really poised for a deep run. Purdue has been great this season and was once a candidate for a 1 seed, but they've recently lost to Iowa and were blown out by Michigan State. Louisville has been one of the best overachieving stories of the season, and their pressure defense is a great equalizer that means they could pull off the upset over Kansas should they get that far.
Legitimate Sleeper: Georgetown. If Chris Wright returns and is effective, the Hoyas are as good as anyone in the region except for Kansas, having won 9 games in a row in the brutal Big East at one point this season. Without Wright, however, they have yet to win a game.
Deeper Sleeper: Richmond. The Spiders are synonymous with upsets in the history of college basketball, and this year they have two legitimate NBA prospects as well as the confidence of having just won a difficult Atlantic 10 tournament. Plus they get Vanderbilt in the first round; the 'Dores have gone out in the first round as a 4 and 5 seed in each of the past two seasons.
Oltz's picks: Sweet 16 is all chalk, with Kansas, Louisville, Purdue, and Notre Dame. I did take Richmond over Vandy in the first round but don't see them getting past the Cardinals. Kansas over Purdue in the regional final. Love the Jayhawks' talent to get back to the Final Four following last season's dissappointment.
Legitimate Sleeper: Georgetown. If Chris Wright returns and is effective, the Hoyas are as good as anyone in the region except for Kansas, having won 9 games in a row in the brutal Big East at one point this season. Without Wright, however, they have yet to win a game.
Deeper Sleeper: Richmond. The Spiders are synonymous with upsets in the history of college basketball, and this year they have two legitimate NBA prospects as well as the confidence of having just won a difficult Atlantic 10 tournament. Plus they get Vanderbilt in the first round; the 'Dores have gone out in the first round as a 4 and 5 seed in each of the past two seasons.
Oltz's picks: Sweet 16 is all chalk, with Kansas, Louisville, Purdue, and Notre Dame. I did take Richmond over Vandy in the first round but don't see them getting past the Cardinals. Kansas over Purdue in the regional final. Love the Jayhawks' talent to get back to the Final Four following last season's dissappointment.
NCAAT: Southeast Region
As the greatest four days in sports are set to begin tomorrow, yours truly is breaking down the 4 regions. First up is the Southeast Region.
The Top Four: Immediately after the bracket was released, all of the talking heads dubbed this as the easiest bracket. Now, a few days later, it's hard to deny that. Pittsburgh has been one of the most consistently good teams all season, but they've never generated much buzz and they've stumbled just a little bit down the stretch, including the loss to UConn in the Big East tournament. They're also, contrary to the image you get of Pitt basketball, the worst #1 seed defensively according to Pomeroy's efficiency rankings, by a large margin (20th nationally). Florida is another solid-but-not-spectacular team with several suspect losses and few marquee wins. BYU has the Jimmer but giant question marks about how they've played since losing Davies. And Wisconsin has beaten Ohio State but they are terrible defensively (63rd overall in Pomeroy's efficiency rankings) and they're ripe for an upset against 30-win Belmont in the 1st round.
Legitimate Sleeper: Michigan State. Tom Izzo's tournament success is plenty well-documented, and there's no denying that the Spartans are talented. They're also experienced, having gone to the Final Four each of the past two seasons. Add to that the wide-open half of the bracket they drew with Florida and BYU as the 2 and 3 seeds, and a run to the Elite 8 is pretty easy to imagine.
Deeper Sleeper: Utah State. The Aggies are a ridiculous 30-3 and boast the nation's #7 defense by adjusted efficiency numbers. They know how to win and you can bet they'll be motivated after getting just a 12 seed despite their gaudy record. Kansas State, their first round opponent, has been inconsistent all season and relies very heavily on one player, Jacob Pullen. I picked Utah State through to the Sweet 16 in my bracket.
Oltz's picks: Sweet 16 of Pittsburgh, Utah State, BYU (almost put Gonzaga through here, but held off), and Florida (just too much poor play from Sparty to pull the trigger). Pittsburgh over BYU in the regional final. I love the Panthers and think they have a great chance to take advantage of a weak bracket to get to their first Final Four under Jamie Dixon.
The Top Four: Immediately after the bracket was released, all of the talking heads dubbed this as the easiest bracket. Now, a few days later, it's hard to deny that. Pittsburgh has been one of the most consistently good teams all season, but they've never generated much buzz and they've stumbled just a little bit down the stretch, including the loss to UConn in the Big East tournament. They're also, contrary to the image you get of Pitt basketball, the worst #1 seed defensively according to Pomeroy's efficiency rankings, by a large margin (20th nationally). Florida is another solid-but-not-spectacular team with several suspect losses and few marquee wins. BYU has the Jimmer but giant question marks about how they've played since losing Davies. And Wisconsin has beaten Ohio State but they are terrible defensively (63rd overall in Pomeroy's efficiency rankings) and they're ripe for an upset against 30-win Belmont in the 1st round.
Legitimate Sleeper: Michigan State. Tom Izzo's tournament success is plenty well-documented, and there's no denying that the Spartans are talented. They're also experienced, having gone to the Final Four each of the past two seasons. Add to that the wide-open half of the bracket they drew with Florida and BYU as the 2 and 3 seeds, and a run to the Elite 8 is pretty easy to imagine.
Deeper Sleeper: Utah State. The Aggies are a ridiculous 30-3 and boast the nation's #7 defense by adjusted efficiency numbers. They know how to win and you can bet they'll be motivated after getting just a 12 seed despite their gaudy record. Kansas State, their first round opponent, has been inconsistent all season and relies very heavily on one player, Jacob Pullen. I picked Utah State through to the Sweet 16 in my bracket.
Oltz's picks: Sweet 16 of Pittsburgh, Utah State, BYU (almost put Gonzaga through here, but held off), and Florida (just too much poor play from Sparty to pull the trigger). Pittsburgh over BYU in the regional final. I love the Panthers and think they have a great chance to take advantage of a weak bracket to get to their first Final Four under Jamie Dixon.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Duke wins ACCT/First Thoughts on the NCAA's
Well today started out as a beautiful, 75 degree Sunday in the South, and ended with a similarly beautiful evening spent grilling and watching the ESPN Selection business.
Unfortunately, in the middle we had to watch that ACC Tournament final. That, clearly, sucked. However, as awful as it is to have to watch UNC lose by 17 to Duke, I would caution Tar Heel fans or bracketeers who try to read too much into that loss. This team is not built to win three games in three days. Kendall Marshall is the only true point guard, and he also happens to be the key to everything the Heels have been able to accomplish recently. Anyone who watched him in that game should recognize that he was simply not at 100% after playing two very difficult games back-to-back for the first time in his young career. Also, it probably didn't help matters that the only other somewhat legitimate option at the 1- as well as UNC's best perimeter defender- was saddled with 3 early "fouls" because of some personal vendetta that Karl Hess happened to have against him. More on that later.
I'm just not sure that this loss will linger all that long for this team. After all, this was still a young team that had managed to win 10 in a row including a very emotional victory over Duke for the ACC Regular Season Championship. This streak led the entire national media to jump all over them which no doubt went to the guys' head just a little bit. As I have said many times before, they read the same things we do, and you had to see a little bit of a letdown coming. If that letdown had to come, I'm glad it game in the tournament that doesn't matter rather than the one that does, which starts Thursday.
One final note: I HATE using officiating as an excuse, and I didn't think that overall the officiating went Duke's way or UNC's way (I did think it was equally bad on both sides). But the charges that were called on Dexter Strickland in the first half were- in my opinion- absolutely ludicrous, especially the second one. Strickland CHANGED DIRECTION to miss Singlers (except for his shoulder) then elevated and bashed over top of him, with only slight contact. If you make that call you are taking athleticism out of basketball, which is ridiculous. If you want to make that call then we should just do away with driving to the rack and play a freaking game of HORSE. Just saying. I'm still frustrated by that.
Now on to the NCAA Tournament. I will offer initial thoughts on the East Region only as it relates to the Heels and then expand with further thoughts later this week. Obviously, at first glance the bracket looks quite daunting. Tar Heel Fan has a nice graphic here showing the Pomeroy rankings for the teams in the East. Clearly the most striking is 7 seed Washington which is 15th in those rankings, just one spot behind UNC and three behind Syracuse. No doubt this has led many like Doug Gottlieb and even our own Hubert Davis to pick the Huskies over UNC. First, I will say that this is good as I think history proves that this team plays much better when no one believes in them than when they are able to shower in praise. After that, though, I will focus no more on the Huskies because there is the first round to contend with and we should worry about that game first (as should Washington, as Georgia has a ton of talent). Long Island is ranked 4th in tempo by Pomeroy which I think will be interesting and maybe a good thing as it may help to get the Heels' offense back on track. If they come out like they should following a poor showing at the ACCT, then Long Island will play right into their hands by attempting to run with them. Classically, teams that try to run with Ol' Roy do not have much success. Hopefully this is again the case and hopefully that will give them confidence as well on the offensive end which they can translate to further games.
As for the rest of the bracket, obviously you have to hate seeing Syracuse in there because of their length and that dadgum zone which will no doubt frustrate the Heels should they wind up playing Syracuse in the Sweet 16. However, I will add that Syracuse has been very inconsistent this season and is in fact probably overseeded as a 3. Ohio State is a great team but if we get to them then we are in the Elite 8 and the pressure is probably off so I'm okay with that.
In the end, I don't usually get too worked up over easy vs. hard brackets because my feeling is you're going to have to beat good teams to advance. That said there are some particularly challenging matchups for UNC in their bracket and so in that sense I'm not overly happy about it. Either way though it is probably reasonable to keep in mind that I like this bracket far more than last season's so let's get to the games and go from there. I do believe that the loss to Duke will motivate this team and that their small taste of the one-and-done format will help them come Friday night. Hopefully that will translate into a second weekend birth.
Unfortunately, in the middle we had to watch that ACC Tournament final. That, clearly, sucked. However, as awful as it is to have to watch UNC lose by 17 to Duke, I would caution Tar Heel fans or bracketeers who try to read too much into that loss. This team is not built to win three games in three days. Kendall Marshall is the only true point guard, and he also happens to be the key to everything the Heels have been able to accomplish recently. Anyone who watched him in that game should recognize that he was simply not at 100% after playing two very difficult games back-to-back for the first time in his young career. Also, it probably didn't help matters that the only other somewhat legitimate option at the 1- as well as UNC's best perimeter defender- was saddled with 3 early "fouls" because of some personal vendetta that Karl Hess happened to have against him. More on that later.
I'm just not sure that this loss will linger all that long for this team. After all, this was still a young team that had managed to win 10 in a row including a very emotional victory over Duke for the ACC Regular Season Championship. This streak led the entire national media to jump all over them which no doubt went to the guys' head just a little bit. As I have said many times before, they read the same things we do, and you had to see a little bit of a letdown coming. If that letdown had to come, I'm glad it game in the tournament that doesn't matter rather than the one that does, which starts Thursday.
One final note: I HATE using officiating as an excuse, and I didn't think that overall the officiating went Duke's way or UNC's way (I did think it was equally bad on both sides). But the charges that were called on Dexter Strickland in the first half were- in my opinion- absolutely ludicrous, especially the second one. Strickland CHANGED DIRECTION to miss Singlers (except for his shoulder) then elevated and bashed over top of him, with only slight contact. If you make that call you are taking athleticism out of basketball, which is ridiculous. If you want to make that call then we should just do away with driving to the rack and play a freaking game of HORSE. Just saying. I'm still frustrated by that.
Now on to the NCAA Tournament. I will offer initial thoughts on the East Region only as it relates to the Heels and then expand with further thoughts later this week. Obviously, at first glance the bracket looks quite daunting. Tar Heel Fan has a nice graphic here showing the Pomeroy rankings for the teams in the East. Clearly the most striking is 7 seed Washington which is 15th in those rankings, just one spot behind UNC and three behind Syracuse. No doubt this has led many like Doug Gottlieb and even our own Hubert Davis to pick the Huskies over UNC. First, I will say that this is good as I think history proves that this team plays much better when no one believes in them than when they are able to shower in praise. After that, though, I will focus no more on the Huskies because there is the first round to contend with and we should worry about that game first (as should Washington, as Georgia has a ton of talent). Long Island is ranked 4th in tempo by Pomeroy which I think will be interesting and maybe a good thing as it may help to get the Heels' offense back on track. If they come out like they should following a poor showing at the ACCT, then Long Island will play right into their hands by attempting to run with them. Classically, teams that try to run with Ol' Roy do not have much success. Hopefully this is again the case and hopefully that will give them confidence as well on the offensive end which they can translate to further games.
As for the rest of the bracket, obviously you have to hate seeing Syracuse in there because of their length and that dadgum zone which will no doubt frustrate the Heels should they wind up playing Syracuse in the Sweet 16. However, I will add that Syracuse has been very inconsistent this season and is in fact probably overseeded as a 3. Ohio State is a great team but if we get to them then we are in the Elite 8 and the pressure is probably off so I'm okay with that.
In the end, I don't usually get too worked up over easy vs. hard brackets because my feeling is you're going to have to beat good teams to advance. That said there are some particularly challenging matchups for UNC in their bracket and so in that sense I'm not overly happy about it. Either way though it is probably reasonable to keep in mind that I like this bracket far more than last season's so let's get to the games and go from there. I do believe that the loss to Duke will motivate this team and that their small taste of the one-and-done format will help them come Friday night. Hopefully that will translate into a second weekend birth.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)