I mean, the President only got 11 out of 16 right on the first day, so I guess I don't feel too bad, getting only 10. But he didn't lose any second-round winners, whereas the day's biggest upset was of a team (Illinois) that I had picked into the Elite Eight.
Yikes.
Well, at least that's out of the way. Now I can enjoy the games without worrying about whether I need to get them right or not. I am cooked on day one.
Just two of the tournament's seven Big East teams played on day one. UConn looked terrifying and Villanova looked shaky. (Though anybody who watched that American team play should understand why those who call for the elimination of the mid-major auto-bids are dead wrong. That's what this tournament is all about -- a team like that playing good, solid, fun-to-watch basketball and putting themselves in position to really, truly, accurately believe that they have a chance to win an NCAA tournament game. The upsets and near-upsets in games like that are what this tournament is built on -- why it's the event it is every year. A tournament without the Americans and Cal State-Northridges wouldn't be as cool.)
My picks for today (or, "Teams You Should Run Right Out and Bet Against Now While You Still Have the Chance"):
Syracuse over Stephen F. Austin (though you know which way this blog is rooting)
Oklahoma State over Tennessee (coin flip)
Kansas over North Dakota State (but you have to think about it, right? It's Kansas.)
Utah State over Marquette (UPSET SPECIAL!!!)
Arizona State over Temple (Even though the Pac-10 didn't show much on day one)
Pitt over East Tennessee State (Has ETSU ever seen anyone like DaJuan Blair?)
West Virginia over Dayton (if the game were in Dayton, maybe. But it's in Minnesota)
Missouri over Cornell (to Andy Bernard's chagrin)
Utah over Arizona (too much Keith Van Horn? Oh wait...)
Louisville over Morehead State (MSU will always have this past Tuesday)
USC over Boston College (again with the Pac-10. Why???)
Xavier over Portland State (Xavier is another Elite Eight team -- can't lose two)
Siena over Ohio State (...)
Wake Forest over Cleveland State (though everybody likes the upset here...)
Michigan State over Robert Morris (MSU could get every rebound in the game)
Florida State over Wisconsin (ACC vs. Big Ten? Should be no contest. Should be.)
Syracuse game tips at 12:15. Bedtime looks like at least 12 hours later. Getcha popcorn ready, as a bizarre man once said.
Showing posts with label basketball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label basketball. Show all posts
Friday, March 20, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Baylor 74, Georgetown 72 -- Requiem for a Lost Season
Honestly, you couldn't have scripted a more fitting end to this season. Blow a 10-point halftime lead, on the road, against a team full of seniors who stayed more focused and motivated throughout the game than you did. Fall asleep on defense over and over again and let that kid keep getting free on the baseline for those alley-oop dunks.
I hate watching my team in the NIT, because you never feel good about rooting for it. ("We're Number 66!!") But now at least that's all resolved. From what I saw, it certainly looks as if Greg Monroe could use more seasoning, so hopefully he stays away from that NBA draft and comes back to try and make up for what happened this year.
We could go over it and over it, but we already have, for the past few months. And besides, this is the best day of the year -- whether the Hoyas decided to join it or not.
The NCAA Tournament begins in earnest this afternoon. I'm in Florida, doing some spring training coverage, but the heavy early odds favor me blowing off this Phillies-Marlins game and finding a sports bar with about 110 TVs and parking there for the afternoon. Or going back down to Delray Beach and crashing on my in-laws' couch to watch one game on the TV and others on the laptop.
Briefly, my Final Four is Michigan State, Duke, Connecticut and Oklahoma, with Michigan State beating Duke for the title. I never win these things, and my performance (as detailed below) in this year's Conference Tournament Pool speaks to the success I expect to have in the big bracket as well. So while I have no reason to think you'd be using my picks as any kind of advice anyway, I can confidently advise you to stay away, and use them only to poke fun at me after the fact.
My winners today:
LSU over Butler
Memphis over Cal State-Northridge
BYU over Texas A&M
Purdue over Northern Iowa
North Carolina over Radford, easily, even with Ty Lawson tied behind their backs.
Cal over Maryland
UConn over Chattanooga
Washington over Mississippi State
Minnesota over Texas (Sure, drinking the Big Ten Kool-Aid. Why fight it?)
Clemson over Michigan (Too much Kool-Aid is bad for you)
Villanova over American
Akron over Gonzaga (UPSET SPECIAL -- GO ZIPS!!!)
Duke over Binghamton
Oklahoma over Morgan State
UCLA over VCU (though I see the President picked the upset here...)
Illinois over Western Kentucky
Let's tip off!!!!
I hate watching my team in the NIT, because you never feel good about rooting for it. ("We're Number 66!!") But now at least that's all resolved. From what I saw, it certainly looks as if Greg Monroe could use more seasoning, so hopefully he stays away from that NBA draft and comes back to try and make up for what happened this year.
We could go over it and over it, but we already have, for the past few months. And besides, this is the best day of the year -- whether the Hoyas decided to join it or not.
The NCAA Tournament begins in earnest this afternoon. I'm in Florida, doing some spring training coverage, but the heavy early odds favor me blowing off this Phillies-Marlins game and finding a sports bar with about 110 TVs and parking there for the afternoon. Or going back down to Delray Beach and crashing on my in-laws' couch to watch one game on the TV and others on the laptop.
Briefly, my Final Four is Michigan State, Duke, Connecticut and Oklahoma, with Michigan State beating Duke for the title. I never win these things, and my performance (as detailed below) in this year's Conference Tournament Pool speaks to the success I expect to have in the big bracket as well. So while I have no reason to think you'd be using my picks as any kind of advice anyway, I can confidently advise you to stay away, and use them only to poke fun at me after the fact.
My winners today:
LSU over Butler
Memphis over Cal State-Northridge
BYU over Texas A&M
Purdue over Northern Iowa
North Carolina over Radford, easily, even with Ty Lawson tied behind their backs.
Cal over Maryland
UConn over Chattanooga
Washington over Mississippi State
Minnesota over Texas (Sure, drinking the Big Ten Kool-Aid. Why fight it?)
Clemson over Michigan (Too much Kool-Aid is bad for you)
Villanova over American
Akron over Gonzaga (UPSET SPECIAL -- GO ZIPS!!!)
Duke over Binghamton
Oklahoma over Morgan State
UCLA over VCU (though I see the President picked the upset here...)
Illinois over Western Kentucky
Let's tip off!!!!
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Pitt 90, Marquette 75 (Regularly Scheduled Programming)
Wow. I mean, it was 67-65 at one point. But when you get EVERY SINGLE REBOUND FOR 10 MINUTES, you tend to pull away.
This result, combined with Louisville's thrashing of Seton Hall, means a lot of things:
-If Louisville wins at West Virginia on Saturday AND UConn loses at Pitt on Saturday, Louisville is the regular-season conference champion and No. 1 seed in the Big East tournament.
(-In that scenario, UConn (currently the No. 1 team in the country), would finish THIRD in the Big East, since they'd have lost two games and therefore the tiebreaker to Pitt.)
-If Louisville loses at West Virginia on Saturday and UConn loses at Pitt, I think Pitt is the No. 1 seed, but they'd all three be tied, and truly, I'm not sure what that means. More research is needed.
-If UConn wins at Pitt, they are the No. 1 seed and regular-season champ, no questions asked.
-Pitt is guaranteed a two-round bye, and along with UConn and Louisville won't have to play until the Thursday quarterfinals at the Garden.
-Marquette and Villanova are tied for fourth, and Nova holds the tiebreaker edge on Marquette. Which means, if Villanova beats Providence at home Thursday night OR Marquette loses at home to Syracuse on Saturday, then Nova gets the No. 4 seed and the two-round bye, and Marquette would finish fifth and have to play on Wednesday.
-Also tonight, DePaul lost to fall to 0-17. One game left to avoid the historic bagel. Guess where it is? That's right. At Georgetown.
Of COURSE I'm worried! How could you not be?
This result, combined with Louisville's thrashing of Seton Hall, means a lot of things:
-If Louisville wins at West Virginia on Saturday AND UConn loses at Pitt on Saturday, Louisville is the regular-season conference champion and No. 1 seed in the Big East tournament.
(-In that scenario, UConn (currently the No. 1 team in the country), would finish THIRD in the Big East, since they'd have lost two games and therefore the tiebreaker to Pitt.)
-If Louisville loses at West Virginia on Saturday and UConn loses at Pitt, I think Pitt is the No. 1 seed, but they'd all three be tied, and truly, I'm not sure what that means. More research is needed.
-If UConn wins at Pitt, they are the No. 1 seed and regular-season champ, no questions asked.
-Pitt is guaranteed a two-round bye, and along with UConn and Louisville won't have to play until the Thursday quarterfinals at the Garden.
-Marquette and Villanova are tied for fourth, and Nova holds the tiebreaker edge on Marquette. Which means, if Villanova beats Providence at home Thursday night OR Marquette loses at home to Syracuse on Saturday, then Nova gets the No. 4 seed and the two-round bye, and Marquette would finish fifth and have to play on Wednesday.
-Also tonight, DePaul lost to fall to 0-17. One game left to avoid the historic bagel. Guess where it is? That's right. At Georgetown.
Of COURSE I'm worried! How could you not be?
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
St. John's 59, Georgetown 56 (OT)
Not much more to say on this one. Another second-half collapse against another team that should have been easily beaten.
Everywhere, I see that Georgetown's strength of schedule is #1 in the country -- toughest schedule of any team in Division I.
But I ask you.
What does that matter -- what do good-to-great wins over UConn, Syracuse, Memphis and Villanova mean -- if you lose at so many of that schedule's soft spots? If you lose to Seton Hall, St. John's and twice to Cincinnati?
It means NIT. That's what it means.
Everywhere, I see that Georgetown's strength of schedule is #1 in the country -- toughest schedule of any team in Division I.
But I ask you.
What does that matter -- what do good-to-great wins over UConn, Syracuse, Memphis and Villanova mean -- if you lose at so many of that schedule's soft spots? If you lose to Seton Hall, St. John's and twice to Cincinnati?
It means NIT. That's what it means.
Conference Tournaments Begin! -- Ohio Valley, Big South, Horizon tip-offs tonight
Starting tonight, we here at RCR will expand our horizons a little bit (no pun intended). Conference tournament season is one of our favorite things about college hoops season -- all these schools playing for their league's one bid, a sub-.500 team getting hot and making the Big Dance...we love this stuff. And tonight, the first three conference tournaments of the year kick off -- the Big South, the Ohio Valley and the Horizon League.
My brothers, some friends and I are picking all 31 of this year's conference tournaments. Seriously, we've filled out actual brackets for the Ohio Valley, Big South and Horizon League tournaments and I have brackets ready to go for the three tournaments that start tomorrow night too. It's all for fun -- stakes are incredibly low if any -- but it kicks off 13 days' worth of March Madness leading up to Selection Sunday and the big show. For a college hoops junkie, it's just the thing.
So soon you will start to see periodic updates on upsets in the Atlantic Sun tournament or the Patriot League or something like that. You will see a standings page appear on the left here, with names you probably don't know. You will see (hopefully) links to the brackets for all 31 conference tournaments. Don't be alarmed. We're still a Big East blog, and we'll still be the place to come next week for in-depth Big East tournament insanity. It's just that, this time of year...well, it's March. And the Madness knows no limits.
My brothers, some friends and I are picking all 31 of this year's conference tournaments. Seriously, we've filled out actual brackets for the Ohio Valley, Big South and Horizon League tournaments and I have brackets ready to go for the three tournaments that start tomorrow night too. It's all for fun -- stakes are incredibly low if any -- but it kicks off 13 days' worth of March Madness leading up to Selection Sunday and the big show. For a college hoops junkie, it's just the thing.
So soon you will start to see periodic updates on upsets in the Atlantic Sun tournament or the Patriot League or something like that. You will see a standings page appear on the left here, with names you probably don't know. You will see (hopefully) links to the brackets for all 31 conference tournaments. Don't be alarmed. We're still a Big East blog, and we'll still be the place to come next week for in-depth Big East tournament insanity. It's just that, this time of year...well, it's March. And the Madness knows no limits.
Villanova 77, Notre Dame 60
Remember when Notre Dame couldn't lose at home?
Seriously, good back-on-track win for Villanova, which can now smell that No. 4 seed in the Big East tournament. Remember, if Marquette loses to Pitt on Wednesday, Villanova will hold the tiebreaker over Marquette. Which means (if Marquette loses to Pitt on Wednesday), all Villanova has to do now to secure a top-four seed and a two-day bye at the Garden is beat Providence in their regular-season finale Thursday. And if if they don't do that, they can still get the four-seed if Marquette loses to Pitt on Wednesday and also loses to Syracuse this weekend.
All of which has to make Villanova's loss to Georgetown on Saturday even more brutal, because if they'd just won that game, all they'd have to do is beat Providence to lock in that top-four spot.
But c'est la vie. Smart money still says they get it.
And remember, even if Marquette beats Pitt, Villanova can still get into the top four ahead of Pitt, since they beat the Panthers head-to-head and Pitt could easily lose its regular-season finale against UConn. So things are kind of coming up Villanova here at the end -- assuming this win tonight means they're back on track and will take care of Providence on Thursday.
Tonight's Big East schedule is more or less flotsam, with a Georgetown-St. John's game that looks like a preview of the 12-13 game in next Tuesday's first round at the very same venue. Cincinnati could use a win at South Florida if it still harbors any hope of escaping the Tuesday games. And Syracuse hosts Rutgers, which is 1-15 in the conference and horrible.
Seriously, good back-on-track win for Villanova, which can now smell that No. 4 seed in the Big East tournament. Remember, if Marquette loses to Pitt on Wednesday, Villanova will hold the tiebreaker over Marquette. Which means (if Marquette loses to Pitt on Wednesday), all Villanova has to do now to secure a top-four seed and a two-day bye at the Garden is beat Providence in their regular-season finale Thursday. And if if they don't do that, they can still get the four-seed if Marquette loses to Pitt on Wednesday and also loses to Syracuse this weekend.
All of which has to make Villanova's loss to Georgetown on Saturday even more brutal, because if they'd just won that game, all they'd have to do is beat Providence to lock in that top-four spot.
But c'est la vie. Smart money still says they get it.
And remember, even if Marquette beats Pitt, Villanova can still get into the top four ahead of Pitt, since they beat the Panthers head-to-head and Pitt could easily lose its regular-season finale against UConn. So things are kind of coming up Villanova here at the end -- assuming this win tonight means they're back on track and will take care of Providence on Thursday.
Tonight's Big East schedule is more or less flotsam, with a Georgetown-St. John's game that looks like a preview of the 12-13 game in next Tuesday's first round at the very same venue. Cincinnati could use a win at South Florida if it still harbors any hope of escaping the Tuesday games. And Syracuse hosts Rutgers, which is 1-15 in the conference and horrible.
Monday, March 2, 2009
MSG Look-Ahead
Eight days until the greatest of the conference tournaments kicks off at Madison Square Garden, and some things are starting to take shape.
-UConn and Louisville have secured spots in the top four, meaning they get two days' worth of byes and won't have to play until Thursday's quarterfinals.
-Louisville can still get the No. 1 seed, somewhat realistically. The Cardinals have to win out (at home against Seton Hall and at West Virginia) and hope UConn loses its regular-season finale at Pitt on Saturday.
-Villanova can still catch Marquette and/or Pitt and get one of those top four spots, but they made life difficult with a silly loss to Georgetown on Saturday. Remember, they have the head-to-head tiebreaker on Pitt, if they end up tied with them.
-Providence has basically secured a "second-four" spot, meaning they'll get a bye to Wednesday's second round. This is an accomplishment of which Keno Davis should feel proud.
As of now, if the season ended today, this is the way the first three days of the Big East Tournament would lay out:
TUESDAY
(9) Cincinnati vs. (16) DePaul, noon
(12 Georgetown vs. (13) St. John's, 2 pm
(10) Notre Dame vs. (15) Rutgers, 7 pm
(11) Seton Hall vs. (13) South Florida, 9 pm
WEDNESDAY
(8) West Virginia vs. Cincinnati/DePaul winner, noon
(5) Villanova vs. Georgetown/St. John's winner, 2 pm
(7) Syracuse vs. Notre Dame/Rutgers winner, 7 pm
(6) Providence vs. Seton Hall/South Florida winner, 9 pm
THURSDAY
(1) Connecticut vs. West Virginia/Cincinnati/DePaul, noon
(4) Marquette vs. Villanova/Georgetown/St. John's, 2 pm
(2) Louisville vs. Syracuse/Notre Dame/Rutgers, 7 pm
(3) Pitt vs. Providence/Seton Hall/South Florida, 9 pm
That could mean rematches of recent upsets (Providence/Pitt, Georgetown/Villanova right away. It could also mean that Louisville has major motivation to get that No. 1 seed, since right now the No. 1's draw looks more favorable than the No. 2's. Of course, by Thursday, whoever the top teams are playing will be playing for the third day in a row, so it's possible all four of them will just roll into the semis no matter who they play. We'll see. This format hasn't been tried before. Which is why it's so awesome.
-UConn and Louisville have secured spots in the top four, meaning they get two days' worth of byes and won't have to play until Thursday's quarterfinals.
-Louisville can still get the No. 1 seed, somewhat realistically. The Cardinals have to win out (at home against Seton Hall and at West Virginia) and hope UConn loses its regular-season finale at Pitt on Saturday.
-Villanova can still catch Marquette and/or Pitt and get one of those top four spots, but they made life difficult with a silly loss to Georgetown on Saturday. Remember, they have the head-to-head tiebreaker on Pitt, if they end up tied with them.
-Providence has basically secured a "second-four" spot, meaning they'll get a bye to Wednesday's second round. This is an accomplishment of which Keno Davis should feel proud.
As of now, if the season ended today, this is the way the first three days of the Big East Tournament would lay out:
TUESDAY
(9) Cincinnati vs. (16) DePaul, noon
(12 Georgetown vs. (13) St. John's, 2 pm
(10) Notre Dame vs. (15) Rutgers, 7 pm
(11) Seton Hall vs. (13) South Florida, 9 pm
WEDNESDAY
(8) West Virginia vs. Cincinnati/DePaul winner, noon
(5) Villanova vs. Georgetown/St. John's winner, 2 pm
(7) Syracuse vs. Notre Dame/Rutgers winner, 7 pm
(6) Providence vs. Seton Hall/South Florida winner, 9 pm
THURSDAY
(1) Connecticut vs. West Virginia/Cincinnati/DePaul, noon
(4) Marquette vs. Villanova/Georgetown/St. John's, 2 pm
(2) Louisville vs. Syracuse/Notre Dame/Rutgers, 7 pm
(3) Pitt vs. Providence/Seton Hall/South Florida, 9 pm
That could mean rematches of recent upsets (Providence/Pitt, Georgetown/Villanova right away. It could also mean that Louisville has major motivation to get that No. 1 seed, since right now the No. 1's draw looks more favorable than the No. 2's. Of course, by Thursday, whoever the top teams are playing will be playing for the third day in a row, so it's possible all four of them will just roll into the semis no matter who they play. We'll see. This format hasn't been tried before. Which is why it's so awesome.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Sunday Look-Ahead
Four games of some import on the Big East sked today. Rankings-wise, the biggest appears to be No. 10 Marquette at No. 6 Louisville. And as far as quality basketball goes, this should be the best game. But Marquette has to still be reeling from the loss of Dominic James, while Louisville still has hopes of overtaking UConn for the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament.
By the way, I know Villanova's inexplicable loss yesterday clinched a top-four spot for UConn in the Big East tournament, but it did the same for Louisville too, right? The Cardinals have 13 wins, the most Nova can win is 13, and Louisville beat them head-to-head? Now, I guess if Louisville and Nova were to end up with the same record as Pitt and Marquette, the tiebreaker gets thrown into a byzantine formula that only these people seem to truly understand. But it suffices to say that, if they get a win today, the Cardinals get the first two days off at the Garden next week.
Elsewhere, West Virginia needs to be careful in Tampa and Providence CANNOT afford a slip-up on the road in Piscataway. I repeat: CANNOT. The NCAA tournament committee annually looks for reasons to keep Providence out. This week's victory over No. 1 Pitt will make that tougher, but a loss today to pitiful Rutgers would make it a lot easier. Friars MUST take care of business here to have a chance.
And then there's Cincinnati at Syracuse, which is a huge game for seeding. These teams are in a three-way tie with West Virginia for seventh place, which means at this point two of them would get next Tuesday off and one would have to play. West Virginia is in the worst position, having lost to each of the other two teams. But today's winner will earn the tiebreaker over the loser, putting them in the best position to earn a first-round bye.
Overall, it's a bigger game for Cincinnati, since Syracuse is probably getting into the NCAA tournament no matter what happens the rest of the way while the Bearcats have a case still to make. Enjoy it, folks, and Happy March. The Ohio Valley Conference tournament starts in just two days...
By the way, I know Villanova's inexplicable loss yesterday clinched a top-four spot for UConn in the Big East tournament, but it did the same for Louisville too, right? The Cardinals have 13 wins, the most Nova can win is 13, and Louisville beat them head-to-head? Now, I guess if Louisville and Nova were to end up with the same record as Pitt and Marquette, the tiebreaker gets thrown into a byzantine formula that only these people seem to truly understand. But it suffices to say that, if they get a win today, the Cardinals get the first two days off at the Garden next week.
Elsewhere, West Virginia needs to be careful in Tampa and Providence CANNOT afford a slip-up on the road in Piscataway. I repeat: CANNOT. The NCAA tournament committee annually looks for reasons to keep Providence out. This week's victory over No. 1 Pitt will make that tougher, but a loss today to pitiful Rutgers would make it a lot easier. Friars MUST take care of business here to have a chance.
And then there's Cincinnati at Syracuse, which is a huge game for seeding. These teams are in a three-way tie with West Virginia for seventh place, which means at this point two of them would get next Tuesday off and one would have to play. West Virginia is in the worst position, having lost to each of the other two teams. But today's winner will earn the tiebreaker over the loser, putting them in the best position to earn a first-round bye.
Overall, it's a bigger game for Cincinnati, since Syracuse is probably getting into the NCAA tournament no matter what happens the rest of the way while the Bearcats have a case still to make. Enjoy it, folks, and Happy March. The Ohio Valley Conference tournament starts in just two days...
Saturday, February 28, 2009
A Seven-Bid League?
Remember when nine bids looked certain and people wondered if the league might be able to get 10? Well, ESPN's latest Bracketology has the Big East with seven bids -- Cincinnati and Providence both on the "First Four Out" list and Notre Dame and Georgetown justifiably not mentioned at all.
I'm thinking Cincinnati can get in with a win at Syracuse tomorrow and Providence can get in with a win at Villanova on Thursday, but the latter is going to be tough, because Nova is still motivated to grab one of those top four seeds in the conference tournament.
That's why my hopes for a Hoya upset this afternoon are minimal. I foresee something like the Louisville game from earlier this week -- a game in which Georgetown was totally outclassed by a far superior opponent and never had a chance. But I guess you never know. Right? RIGHT?????
Elsewhere on today's schedule, UConn must take care of business at home against Notre Dame. (If they do, they secure one of those top four seeds and a two-day bye at the Garden.) Pitt must take care of business at Seton Hall (so as not to fall too far from its short-lived No. 1 ranking). And St. John's must take care of its business at DePaul. The Blue Demons put a scare into Villanova the other night, may be playing well (for them) right now, and NOBODY wants to be the first Big East team to lose to DePaul this year. Not so close to the end...
I'm thinking Cincinnati can get in with a win at Syracuse tomorrow and Providence can get in with a win at Villanova on Thursday, but the latter is going to be tough, because Nova is still motivated to grab one of those top four seeds in the conference tournament.
That's why my hopes for a Hoya upset this afternoon are minimal. I foresee something like the Louisville game from earlier this week -- a game in which Georgetown was totally outclassed by a far superior opponent and never had a chance. But I guess you never know. Right? RIGHT?????
Elsewhere on today's schedule, UConn must take care of business at home against Notre Dame. (If they do, they secure one of those top four seeds and a two-day bye at the Garden.) Pitt must take care of business at Seton Hall (so as not to fall too far from its short-lived No. 1 ranking). And St. John's must take care of its business at DePaul. The Blue Demons put a scare into Villanova the other night, may be playing well (for them) right now, and NOBODY wants to be the first Big East team to lose to DePaul this year. Not so close to the end...
Friday, February 27, 2009
Catching Up
As mentioned in earlier posts, it's been a tough week to keep up with the blog because I've spent it in Florida, covering spring training baseball. (Hearkening back to the days when I had a real job.)
But I have been watching what's been going on in the conference, and I'm here with some of the conclusions I've drawn from this week:
1. Marquette is toast without Dominic James. NO way they can absorb this loss the way UConn can (and sort of has) absorbed Jerome Dyson's. UConn is considerably deeper than Marquette is, with massive talent at every position and coming off the bench. All of Marquette's success this year depended on the brilliance of the "big four" -- James, McNeal, Matthews and Heyward. They don't have enough to cover what they lose with James out. Their perimeter game is their life, and it's irretrievably weakened. Which is too bad. I liked that team a lot.
2. Jim Calhoun is a jerk and a bully, but so are a lot of college coaches (football and basketball), and that doesn't mean he should have to give back any of his money if he doesn't want to. Would we all like wealthy people to show a little sensitivity in these times -- to at least act as if they care that people other than themselves and their neighbors are suffering? Sure. Would we like professionals to treat other professionals as professionals in professional settings -- i.e., not telling a fellow adult to "shut up" when asked a question in a news conference? Of course. But Calhoun, as great a coach as he is, has never been known as an especially effervescent human being. You wish the greats would all be good guys, but when you cover sports, you learn quickly that it's just not that way.
3. Villanova is in a really good spot to be the sleeper pick to win the Big East tournament and score a very nice seed in the Big Dance. Sure, they got scared by DePaul the other night, but they did win the game, and they're still moving in on Marquette and Pitt as they try to crack that top four and get the double-by at the Garden. With James and Dyson out, and Pitt having looked bad in a loss to Providence, red-hot Nova has every reason to think it can be conference champ with a good week in NYC.
4. I believe that DePaul will be 0-17 on the morning of March 7 but will fend off historic ignominy by defeating Georgetown in the final game of its regular season. I believe this with all of my heart, and it's a belief based on nothing but the way I feel this Hoya season is going. Call me a pessimist if you like, but what have we seen from the Hoyas to make me anything else?
But I have been watching what's been going on in the conference, and I'm here with some of the conclusions I've drawn from this week:
1. Marquette is toast without Dominic James. NO way they can absorb this loss the way UConn can (and sort of has) absorbed Jerome Dyson's. UConn is considerably deeper than Marquette is, with massive talent at every position and coming off the bench. All of Marquette's success this year depended on the brilliance of the "big four" -- James, McNeal, Matthews and Heyward. They don't have enough to cover what they lose with James out. Their perimeter game is their life, and it's irretrievably weakened. Which is too bad. I liked that team a lot.
2. Jim Calhoun is a jerk and a bully, but so are a lot of college coaches (football and basketball), and that doesn't mean he should have to give back any of his money if he doesn't want to. Would we all like wealthy people to show a little sensitivity in these times -- to at least act as if they care that people other than themselves and their neighbors are suffering? Sure. Would we like professionals to treat other professionals as professionals in professional settings -- i.e., not telling a fellow adult to "shut up" when asked a question in a news conference? Of course. But Calhoun, as great a coach as he is, has never been known as an especially effervescent human being. You wish the greats would all be good guys, but when you cover sports, you learn quickly that it's just not that way.
3. Villanova is in a really good spot to be the sleeper pick to win the Big East tournament and score a very nice seed in the Big Dance. Sure, they got scared by DePaul the other night, but they did win the game, and they're still moving in on Marquette and Pitt as they try to crack that top four and get the double-by at the Garden. With James and Dyson out, and Pitt having looked bad in a loss to Providence, red-hot Nova has every reason to think it can be conference champ with a good week in NYC.
4. I believe that DePaul will be 0-17 on the morning of March 7 but will fend off historic ignominy by defeating Georgetown in the final game of its regular season. I believe this with all of my heart, and it's a belief based on nothing but the way I feel this Hoya season is going. Call me a pessimist if you like, but what have we seen from the Hoyas to make me anything else?
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Providence 81, Pitt 73 (Tuesday night)
Yeah, getting to this real late, for reasons outlined in my baseball blog (if you're into that sort of thing). But what kind of year is RCR having with predictions? Just when we say we're through with Providence, they go out and knock off the No. 1 team in the country.
Now you have to think the Friars have a shot at the Dance, right? Assuming they beat Rutgers and lose at Villanova, they're 18-12 overall and 10-8 in the conference going into the Big East tournament (where they're now quite likely to have a bye into the second round). Win one game in the Big East tournament, and you're 19-13, and the committee has to take a look at wins over Pitt and Syracuse.
Will it be enough? I say probably not. The committee has a history of screwing Providence, and the out-of-conference schedule was weak. But they'll be in the discussion. And if they get hot and win TWO Big East tournament games and make the semifinals? Jeez.
I say, if the Friars can upset Villanova next week in Philly, they get in. I just don't think they can do that.
Pitt now becomes the team that has to worry about getting passed by Villanova for that critical No. 4 seed in the conference tournament. If they lose one of their remaining three games (at Seton Hall/Marquette/UConn) and Villanova wins out, Villanova catches them. And Villanova has the tiebreaker, as a result of their 67-57 win on Jan. 28.
See? This Big East season did turn out to be exciting. It's just that Georgetown wasn't a part of it.
Watching UConn-Marquette now. Will be back, as you know.
Now you have to think the Friars have a shot at the Dance, right? Assuming they beat Rutgers and lose at Villanova, they're 18-12 overall and 10-8 in the conference going into the Big East tournament (where they're now quite likely to have a bye into the second round). Win one game in the Big East tournament, and you're 19-13, and the committee has to take a look at wins over Pitt and Syracuse.
Will it be enough? I say probably not. The committee has a history of screwing Providence, and the out-of-conference schedule was weak. But they'll be in the discussion. And if they get hot and win TWO Big East tournament games and make the semifinals? Jeez.
I say, if the Friars can upset Villanova next week in Philly, they get in. I just don't think they can do that.
Pitt now becomes the team that has to worry about getting passed by Villanova for that critical No. 4 seed in the conference tournament. If they lose one of their remaining three games (at Seton Hall/Marquette/UConn) and Villanova wins out, Villanova catches them. And Villanova has the tiebreaker, as a result of their 67-57 win on Jan. 28.
See? This Big East season did turn out to be exciting. It's just that Georgetown wasn't a part of it.
Watching UConn-Marquette now. Will be back, as you know.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Happy Birthday, Robert Churchwell
Yes, today is a special day at Robert Churchwell's Revenge. For it is the 37th birthday of... Robert Churchwell, the former Georgetown University basketball player for whom this blog is named.
This blog is so named because its author attended Georgetown concurrently with Mr. Churchwell, a very good college basketball player who played with such bigger stars as Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutombo and Othella Harrington and...well, just didn't win enough games to make those particular four seasons the greatest four in the program's history.
But this blog's author is grateful anyway to Robert Churchwell for the good times he had at the games he attended as a student. "Lamont Morgan's Revenge" just missed the cut, and "Joey Brown's Revenge"...well, Joey's name just isn't distinctive enough.
So, what's Robert Churchwell up to now, on the 37th anniversary of his birth? Well, he appears to be the basketball coach at Harrison High School in Atlanta, where the boys' basketball team is apparently called the Hoyas.
Coach Churchwell even has his own blog, which is chock full of useful and helpful information for the young men he's molding down there in Atlanta.
So, good on you, Robert Churchwell, and Happy Birthday. Thanks for the memories.
This blog is so named because its author attended Georgetown concurrently with Mr. Churchwell, a very good college basketball player who played with such bigger stars as Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutombo and Othella Harrington and...well, just didn't win enough games to make those particular four seasons the greatest four in the program's history.
But this blog's author is grateful anyway to Robert Churchwell for the good times he had at the games he attended as a student. "Lamont Morgan's Revenge" just missed the cut, and "Joey Brown's Revenge"...well, Joey's name just isn't distinctive enough.
So, what's Robert Churchwell up to now, on the 37th anniversary of his birth? Well, he appears to be the basketball coach at Harrison High School in Atlanta, where the boys' basketball team is apparently called the Hoyas.
Coach Churchwell even has his own blog, which is chock full of useful and helpful information for the young men he's molding down there in Atlanta.
So, good on you, Robert Churchwell, and Happy Birthday. Thanks for the memories.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Georgetown 65, South Florida 40
Not entirely sure what to make of it, but the Hoyas certainly needed it. A laugher. A rout. Whatever you want to call it, it's something Georgetown hasn't had in far too long. They knew they were bigger and stronger up front than the outmanned Bulls were, and they exploited that fact, working the ball inside and making sure Greg Monroe was the game's dominant factor.
South Florida's coach believed his team had an off night, and that may be so. But when Georgetown is playing well, running its disciplined offense and unrelenting defense, teams generally do have off nights.
So what's it to be here, fellas? Is it possible that, with eight minutes left in regulation at Syracuse, a light went on and this team started playing with passion and fire and intensity again? Is it possible that they'll actually be a difficult team for Marquette to play on Saturday, for Louisville to play on Monday, and for Villanova to play a week from Saturday?
That would make things fun -- even interesting. Regular readers of this site know we're not about to get our hopes up, but that doesn't mean we won't watch. Marquette is a team that the Hoya team of early January would have beaten. They are loaded on the perimeter, soft inside, and if you can keep them on the perimeter, they've shown that they won't hit all of their jump shots.
Pomeroy has the Hoyas beating Marquette 73-69, a 67 percent certainty of a Georgetown victory. Of course, Pomeroy had the Hoyas 7-1 over their last eight games, and instead they are 2-6. (Just missed on that one, Kenny....)
One more thing. Nikita Mescheriakov is 0-for his last seven three-point attempts since taking over Jessie Sapp's spot in the starting lineup. Now, I understand that Sapp is in the doghouse, and that it apparently has something to do with something he said and shouldn't have said to our beloved coach in the locker room recently. Given that, and the fact that Sapp went about eight weeks without hitting a field goal earlier this year, I can completely see not starting him. But John -- if Mescheriakov can't hit threes...isn't that kind of like playing with four guys?
Just a thought.
Oh. Elsewhere. Right.
We're so over Providence. Yeah, you're reading that right. Up by one at the half, lost by 18. See ya, Friars.
And West Virginia takes care of business against Notre Dame, which puts the Hoyas in a three-way tie for 10th place (hey, we take what we can get), which is intriguing until you remember what the schedule looks like over the next 10 days.
But you never know, Wright? I mean, right? No wait. Maybe I do mean Wright.
Come on, Hoyas. Prove me wrong again. The good way this time.
South Florida's coach believed his team had an off night, and that may be so. But when Georgetown is playing well, running its disciplined offense and unrelenting defense, teams generally do have off nights.
So what's it to be here, fellas? Is it possible that, with eight minutes left in regulation at Syracuse, a light went on and this team started playing with passion and fire and intensity again? Is it possible that they'll actually be a difficult team for Marquette to play on Saturday, for Louisville to play on Monday, and for Villanova to play a week from Saturday?
That would make things fun -- even interesting. Regular readers of this site know we're not about to get our hopes up, but that doesn't mean we won't watch. Marquette is a team that the Hoya team of early January would have beaten. They are loaded on the perimeter, soft inside, and if you can keep them on the perimeter, they've shown that they won't hit all of their jump shots.
Pomeroy has the Hoyas beating Marquette 73-69, a 67 percent certainty of a Georgetown victory. Of course, Pomeroy had the Hoyas 7-1 over their last eight games, and instead they are 2-6. (Just missed on that one, Kenny....)
One more thing. Nikita Mescheriakov is 0-for his last seven three-point attempts since taking over Jessie Sapp's spot in the starting lineup. Now, I understand that Sapp is in the doghouse, and that it apparently has something to do with something he said and shouldn't have said to our beloved coach in the locker room recently. Given that, and the fact that Sapp went about eight weeks without hitting a field goal earlier this year, I can completely see not starting him. But John -- if Mescheriakov can't hit threes...isn't that kind of like playing with four guys?
Just a thought.
Oh. Elsewhere. Right.
We're so over Providence. Yeah, you're reading that right. Up by one at the half, lost by 18. See ya, Friars.
And West Virginia takes care of business against Notre Dame, which puts the Hoyas in a three-way tie for 10th place (hey, we take what we can get), which is intriguing until you remember what the schedule looks like over the next 10 days.
But you never know, Wright? I mean, right? No wait. Maybe I do mean Wright.
Come on, Hoyas. Prove me wrong again. The good way this time.
Wednesday Night Preview -- Hoyas need a win in Tampa
I see Georgetown a 6.5-point favorite on the road and I wince. We're talking about a team that's one exactly one game (against Rutgers!) in the past five weeks. How can they be favored to beat anybody, anywhere?
But the fact is that they must. At 13-10 overall, 4-8 in the conference, an NCAA Tournament appearance is a pipe dream. But a loss tonight would put any kind of postseason tournament appearance in jeopardy.
How? Well, the next three games after this are Marquette/Louisville/at Villanova. Not one of those looks like a game Georgetown can win, which means a loss tonight has them staring at 13-14 overall, 4-12 in conference at the end of the month. They'd have to finish the regular-season schedule by beating St. John's and DePaul and win a first-round Big East tournament game just to get to 16-15.
Yes, it is possible that they could miss the NIT.
So yeah. Tonight matters. It matters that they play the way they did in the final eight minutes of regulation at Syracuse on Saturday. It matters that they do whatever they can do to make sure Greg Monroe exploits South Florida's weakness on the inside. It matters that they defend Dominique Jones for all 40 minutes, in transition, on the perimeter and between him and the basket, because he's the guy who could take over the game and go all Stephen Curry on them if they get lazy.
There are places where people are writing that Georgetown, given its overall strength of schedule and wins against Memphis and UConn, can still make the Big Dance if it finishes hot. I do not believe this, personally, but if it were true it would require at least two wins in that Marquette/Louisville/at Nova gauntlet. But even that won't matter much if they can't, tonight in Tampa, win a game that they and everybody else who thinks they should be in any postseason tournament should win.
Elsewhere, Notre Dame-West Virginia looks bigger for Notre Dame, but it's not a nothing game for the Mountaineers either. They're still trying to get into that top eight and get a first-day bye in the Big East tournament. Right now they're ninth.
And what an opportunity for Providence. Syracuse remains the Friars' biggest win, but if they can pull the upset tonight in Louisville they'll likely solidify their spot in that aforementioned top eight and go a long way toward locking down an NCAA tournament berth of their own. Not saying it'll happen, but Louisville's slipped a little bit lately, is dealing with some roster/lineup issues and could be vulnerable if -- IF -- they play a poor game and Providence plays a great one.
But the fact is that they must. At 13-10 overall, 4-8 in the conference, an NCAA Tournament appearance is a pipe dream. But a loss tonight would put any kind of postseason tournament appearance in jeopardy.
How? Well, the next three games after this are Marquette/Louisville/at Villanova. Not one of those looks like a game Georgetown can win, which means a loss tonight has them staring at 13-14 overall, 4-12 in conference at the end of the month. They'd have to finish the regular-season schedule by beating St. John's and DePaul and win a first-round Big East tournament game just to get to 16-15.
Yes, it is possible that they could miss the NIT.
So yeah. Tonight matters. It matters that they play the way they did in the final eight minutes of regulation at Syracuse on Saturday. It matters that they do whatever they can do to make sure Greg Monroe exploits South Florida's weakness on the inside. It matters that they defend Dominique Jones for all 40 minutes, in transition, on the perimeter and between him and the basket, because he's the guy who could take over the game and go all Stephen Curry on them if they get lazy.
There are places where people are writing that Georgetown, given its overall strength of schedule and wins against Memphis and UConn, can still make the Big Dance if it finishes hot. I do not believe this, personally, but if it were true it would require at least two wins in that Marquette/Louisville/at Nova gauntlet. But even that won't matter much if they can't, tonight in Tampa, win a game that they and everybody else who thinks they should be in any postseason tournament should win.
Elsewhere, Notre Dame-West Virginia looks bigger for Notre Dame, but it's not a nothing game for the Mountaineers either. They're still trying to get into that top eight and get a first-day bye in the Big East tournament. Right now they're ninth.
And what an opportunity for Providence. Syracuse remains the Friars' biggest win, but if they can pull the upset tonight in Louisville they'll likely solidify their spot in that aforementioned top eight and go a long way toward locking down an NCAA tournament berth of their own. Not saying it'll happen, but Louisville's slipped a little bit lately, is dealing with some roster/lineup issues and could be vulnerable if -- IF -- they play a poor game and Providence plays a great one.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Pitt 76, UConn 68
Yeah, this is late, but it's been a busy couple of days for reasons that have nothing to do with hoops. Trying to find a job and all that stuff, you know...
Anyway, my primary conclusion from Monday night's big game was one I've drawn before: Pitt is for real. I mean, as a Final Four and a national title contender. That UConn team was on fire. And yes, they're without Jerome Dyson. And yes, that had an obvious effect. But Pitt went in with a clear plan for stopping (or at least hassling) Hasheen Thabeet, which nobody had done in weeks, and it worked.
It worked because DeJaun Blair is an animal -- not tall enough but certainly tough, strong and mean enough to play Thabeet and make his night miserable. His clear mission throughout the first half was to be in between Thabeet and the basket -- not even necessarily to do anything while there, but just be in between the player and the hoop. And it worked.
Thabeet is a thug, as we've discussed here before, and a bully. And most teams don't have anybody who can or will stand up to him. Pitt is an obvious exception, and once they got into Thabeet's head and disrupted his game, they were in good shape. UConn had to move the ball outside, and without Dyson they didn't have enough scoring to put the game away. Kemba Walker is a great player, and will be better, but basically the Huskies had been running their offense through Thabeet (for good reason) for so long, they didn't know what to do when they couldn't anymore.
Let's make one thing clear, though. In spite of all of that, this was no Pitt rout. UConn went into the final minutes looking as if they'd pull the thing out in spite of the rough start. The Huskies remain one of the best, if not the best team in the nation, and should be considered a favorite come March even without Dyson.
All last night showed us is that that's true about the Pitt Panthers too.
Anyway, my primary conclusion from Monday night's big game was one I've drawn before: Pitt is for real. I mean, as a Final Four and a national title contender. That UConn team was on fire. And yes, they're without Jerome Dyson. And yes, that had an obvious effect. But Pitt went in with a clear plan for stopping (or at least hassling) Hasheen Thabeet, which nobody had done in weeks, and it worked.
It worked because DeJaun Blair is an animal -- not tall enough but certainly tough, strong and mean enough to play Thabeet and make his night miserable. His clear mission throughout the first half was to be in between Thabeet and the basket -- not even necessarily to do anything while there, but just be in between the player and the hoop. And it worked.
Thabeet is a thug, as we've discussed here before, and a bully. And most teams don't have anybody who can or will stand up to him. Pitt is an obvious exception, and once they got into Thabeet's head and disrupted his game, they were in good shape. UConn had to move the ball outside, and without Dyson they didn't have enough scoring to put the game away. Kemba Walker is a great player, and will be better, but basically the Huskies had been running their offense through Thabeet (for good reason) for so long, they didn't know what to do when they couldn't anymore.
Let's make one thing clear, though. In spite of all of that, this was no Pitt rout. UConn went into the final minutes looking as if they'd pull the thing out in spite of the rough start. The Huskies remain one of the best, if not the best team in the nation, and should be considered a favorite come March even without Dyson.
All last night showed us is that that's true about the Pitt Panthers too.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Saturday Preview -- The Syracuse Game
Did I ever tell you how I feel about Syracuse?
The Syracuse game, every year, reminds me why it's a bad idea to root for teams. I've given up all of my childhood sports-fan allegiances (largely because I became a professional sportswriter and sort of had to), but I remain a depressingly devoted fan of my alma mater's men's basketball team, and once or twice (or sometimes three times) a year the Syracuse game reminds me why I enjoy sports so much more when I can just watch games and not care who wins.
The past two years, Georgetown was the clearly superior team -- a No. 2 seed in the NCAAs each year, a Final Four team in one of them -- and went up to Syracuse and got smoked. It was depressing. It was demoralizing. It was a given.
Never has it felt more like a given than it does today. Since Georgetown beat the tangerine-colored pests in D.C. on Feb. 14, the Hoyas are 1-6, the only win coming against Rutgers. Since that day, Syracuse is 2-5, but their wins (Notre Dame and West Virginia) are more impressive. The Orange have had injuries (Rautins, Onauaku) to blame for many of their struggles, thought Jonny Flynn's crappy shooting of late hasn't helped much either.
The reasons I'm not very hopeful of an upset here are (1) Georgetown's youth, and the good chance they struggle with the insane Carrier Dome atmosphere, (2) the fact that the Hoyas haven't run their offense smoothly or effectively for more than four minutes at a time since Jan. 14 and (3) Syracuse's need to win the game.
The last point may be the most important. At 18-7 overall, 6-6 in conference, Syracuse is in good shape to make the NCAAs -- as long as they don't fall apart completely in the final month. Of the six games left on their schedule, two are pushovers (at St. John's and home against Rutgers), three are tough (at Marquette and home against Villanova and Cincinnati) and one is this rivalry game today (noon, ESPN). If they win this game today, they're pretty much guaranteed at least 21 overall wins and no worse than a 9-9 Big East record. That, in this season, is a guaranteed ticket to the Dance.
Syracuse also right now holds a shaky grip on eighth place in the conference. (They're tied with West Virginia, but beat the Mountaineers head-to-head.) This is significant, remember, because the top eight get a bye to the second round of the Big East tournament next month while teams 9-through-16 have to show up and play Tuesday. Syracuse, West Virginia, Cincinnati, Providence and Seton Hall are all basically battling for the final three spots in that top eight right now.
The Hoyas are obviously in much worse shape. At 13-9 overall, 4-7 Big East, they need a 5-2 finish just to get to .500 entering the conference tournament. With Marquette, Louisville and a trip to Villanova still on the schedule after today, that would be a tough trick even if they were playing well. And they're really, really not.
But see, here's the problem. If the Hoyas win today, then you can start to hope. You can look and say, "Well, Marquette's not playing well now, and Louisville just got smoked by Notre Dame...maybe we can pick off one of those and..."
Trouble. This is how you set yourself up for disappointment.
So yeah, I'll watch today. And I'll hope. And I'll care. And I'll desperately want them to win, and if they do I'll consider it a Happy Valentine's Day. But man, I wish I could find a way to just...not...care...about the freaking Syracuse game.
The Syracuse game, every year, reminds me why it's a bad idea to root for teams. I've given up all of my childhood sports-fan allegiances (largely because I became a professional sportswriter and sort of had to), but I remain a depressingly devoted fan of my alma mater's men's basketball team, and once or twice (or sometimes three times) a year the Syracuse game reminds me why I enjoy sports so much more when I can just watch games and not care who wins.
The past two years, Georgetown was the clearly superior team -- a No. 2 seed in the NCAAs each year, a Final Four team in one of them -- and went up to Syracuse and got smoked. It was depressing. It was demoralizing. It was a given.
Never has it felt more like a given than it does today. Since Georgetown beat the tangerine-colored pests in D.C. on Feb. 14, the Hoyas are 1-6, the only win coming against Rutgers. Since that day, Syracuse is 2-5, but their wins (Notre Dame and West Virginia) are more impressive. The Orange have had injuries (Rautins, Onauaku) to blame for many of their struggles, thought Jonny Flynn's crappy shooting of late hasn't helped much either.
The reasons I'm not very hopeful of an upset here are (1) Georgetown's youth, and the good chance they struggle with the insane Carrier Dome atmosphere, (2) the fact that the Hoyas haven't run their offense smoothly or effectively for more than four minutes at a time since Jan. 14 and (3) Syracuse's need to win the game.
The last point may be the most important. At 18-7 overall, 6-6 in conference, Syracuse is in good shape to make the NCAAs -- as long as they don't fall apart completely in the final month. Of the six games left on their schedule, two are pushovers (at St. John's and home against Rutgers), three are tough (at Marquette and home against Villanova and Cincinnati) and one is this rivalry game today (noon, ESPN). If they win this game today, they're pretty much guaranteed at least 21 overall wins and no worse than a 9-9 Big East record. That, in this season, is a guaranteed ticket to the Dance.
Syracuse also right now holds a shaky grip on eighth place in the conference. (They're tied with West Virginia, but beat the Mountaineers head-to-head.) This is significant, remember, because the top eight get a bye to the second round of the Big East tournament next month while teams 9-through-16 have to show up and play Tuesday. Syracuse, West Virginia, Cincinnati, Providence and Seton Hall are all basically battling for the final three spots in that top eight right now.
The Hoyas are obviously in much worse shape. At 13-9 overall, 4-7 Big East, they need a 5-2 finish just to get to .500 entering the conference tournament. With Marquette, Louisville and a trip to Villanova still on the schedule after today, that would be a tough trick even if they were playing well. And they're really, really not.
But see, here's the problem. If the Hoyas win today, then you can start to hope. You can look and say, "Well, Marquette's not playing well now, and Louisville just got smoked by Notre Dame...maybe we can pick off one of those and..."
Trouble. This is how you set yourself up for disappointment.
So yeah, I'll watch today. And I'll hope. And I'll care. And I'll desperately want them to win, and if they do I'll consider it a Happy Valentine's Day. But man, I wish I could find a way to just...not...care...about the freaking Syracuse game.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
UConn 63, Syracuse 49
Yeah, nothing cheers a guy up like watching the Cuse get manhandled. Not that it'll make me feel any better Saturday afternoon, while I watch the Hoyas get manhandled BY the Cuse, but for one night it was fun.
After the game, Jim Calhoun called Hasheen Thabeet "the most dominant force in America right now." I assume he meant "in college basketball in America," thus exempting forces such as LeBron James, Barack Obama and American Idol, and I therefore agree with him. When Thabeet is as motivated as he apparently is right now, there's just not another team in the country with anybody who can play him.
Some bad news for the red-hot Huskies today, though, as Jerome Dyson is evidently out for the season with a torn knee ligament. My first reaction is to say they'll just slot the hyper-athletic Kemba Walker in there and not miss a beat, but Walker's been such a vital jolt of energy off the bench, you wonder if that translates into a starting role.
With Walker, A.J. Price, the terrifying Jeff Adrien and so many other talented players around Thabeet, I have to imagine UConn will still be fine, and a candidate for the national title. But they were starting to look as if they might run away and hide from everybody, and now you have to wonder how such a major injury will affect them.
Tonight's only conference game is Louisville at Notre Dame. The Irish have lost seven in a row and are grasping furiously for a ripcord. Can't imagine they find it tonight against T-Will and the Cards.
Back tomorrow with a recap of Louisville, if it's interesting enough, and maybe a preview of Saturday's Syracuse-Georgetown matchup, if I feel masochistic enough.
After the game, Jim Calhoun called Hasheen Thabeet "the most dominant force in America right now." I assume he meant "in college basketball in America," thus exempting forces such as LeBron James, Barack Obama and American Idol, and I therefore agree with him. When Thabeet is as motivated as he apparently is right now, there's just not another team in the country with anybody who can play him.
Some bad news for the red-hot Huskies today, though, as Jerome Dyson is evidently out for the season with a torn knee ligament. My first reaction is to say they'll just slot the hyper-athletic Kemba Walker in there and not miss a beat, but Walker's been such a vital jolt of energy off the bench, you wonder if that translates into a starting role.
With Walker, A.J. Price, the terrifying Jeff Adrien and so many other talented players around Thabeet, I have to imagine UConn will still be fine, and a candidate for the national title. But they were starting to look as if they might run away and hide from everybody, and now you have to wonder how such a major injury will affect them.
Tonight's only conference game is Louisville at Notre Dame. The Irish have lost seven in a row and are grasping furiously for a ripcord. Can't imagine they find it tonight against T-Will and the Cards.
Back tomorrow with a recap of Louisville, if it's interesting enough, and maybe a preview of Saturday's Syracuse-Georgetown matchup, if I feel masochistic enough.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Villanova 102, Marquette 84
Halfway through the first half, each of these teams was on pace to challenge 120 points. It was a bomb-for-bomb shootout. Marquette came out raining threes (made seven of their first nine from behind the arc), and if you were Villanova and you'd been watching them all year, you had reason to think "Uh-oh -- this is going to be rough."
Instead, Nova matched them from the perimeter and beat them up inside. It's tough to imagine an offense anywhere in the country that's working better right now than the Wildcats' offense, and now here they are a game behind Marquette for that crucial No. 4 spot in the conference standings.
Nova's remaining schedule isn't a pushover (at West Virginia/Rutgers/at Syracuse/at DePaul/Georgetown/at Notre Dame/Providence), but given the way they're playing they'll have a chance to win all seven of those games and should reasonably expect to go no worse than 4-3.
Marquette's remaining schedule is a cheese grater, (St. John's/Seton Hall/at Georgetown/UConn/at Louisville/at Pitt/Syracuse), and the Eagles (now losers of two in a row) will have to work hard to go 4-3.
The team that claims that No. 4 spot won't have to play until Thursday, the third day of the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden. The team that finishes fifth will have to play on Wednesday, the second day. Big difference there. To win the conference title, the Wednesday teams will have to win four games in four days -- something that's only been done twice.
Right now, you have to like Dante Cunningham, Scotty Reynolds and the Villanova Wildcats as the team that will join Pitt, UConn and Louisville in double-bye heaven.
Elsewhere:
-Providence gets a win it had to have at South Florida. Do the Friars, currently in sixth place and 2.5 games behind Marquette, have any chance at all of sneaking into that top four? Probably not. Even if Marquette goes 3-4 the rest of the way, Providence would have to go 6-0 to pass them -- and they'll have to pass them in order to finish ahead of them, because they lost to them. And with trips to Louisville and Villanova and a home game against Pitt still on the schedule, it's hard to see how the Friars have enough gas to get into that group. But with two more games left against Rutgers, they look like a pretty good bet to finish in the top eight and watch the Tuesday games from the Garden sidelines.
-Seton Hall whipped DePaul, which ties them with West Virginia for ninth place, just one game behind the seventh-place tie between Syracuse and Cincinnati. The Hall is heating up, and making a play for one of those top-eight spots and a first-round bye. Can they do it? Going to to be tough. The Hall has seven games left: UConn/at Marquette/at St. John's/South Florida/Pitt/at Louisville/at Cincinnati. First glance, that looks like 2-5, which would be a 7-11 record -- likely not good enough for a first-division finish. But hey, the Pirates have won five in a row since their 0-6 conference start. They play that frenzied style that makes teams hate to play against them. IF they could swing a big, big upset -- say knocking off either Marquette, UConn or Pitt and then winning at Cincinnati to wrap it up, that would get them to 9-9 and give them not only a shot at the Tuesday bye but...dare we say it...a spot on the fringes of the NCAA tournament bubble?
-A note on DePaul, which is now 0-12 in the conference. You can probably bet your car, your house and what's left of your 401(k) on them being 0-15, since their next three games are at Louisville/at Pitt/Villanova. Their next shot at a conference win is a home game against St. John's on Feb. 28, then they finish at West Virginia/at Georgetown. It looks like their best chances to avoid the 0-18 finish will be that St. John's game and then the regular-season finale against the free-falling (sniff) Hoyas. However, not even an 0-18 finish will keep the Blue Demons away from the Garden. All 16 teams in the conference go to the conference tournament this year, and that means DePaul will hit the second week in March with a chance -- albeit a nearly invisible one -- to make it to the Dance.
-As of now, the Tuesday matchups at the Garden would be:
(9) West Virginia vs. (16) DePaul
(10) Seton Hall vs. (15) Rutgers (Jersey!!!!)
(11) Georgetown vs. (14) South Florida
(12) Notre Dame) vs. (13) St. John's
with Villanova, Providence, Syracuse and Cincinnati waiting to play the Tuesday winners on Wednesday. Interesting -- Providence, sitting there as a relatively weak No. 6 seed, would get the winner of that 11/14 game between Georgetown and South Florida. And while yes, I know the Friars just whipped South Florida last night and the Hoyas haven't beaten anybody but Rutgers in a month, that game would be no sure thing -- the 11/14 winner would have to think it had a decent shot to make the quarterfinals.
Of course, the chances of the standings being the same on March 10 as they are now are nil, so there's no point in breaking this down any further.
-Tonight, Syracuse travels to UConn for the Duke-North Carolina undercard game. Would be a huge win for Syracuse -- maybe even lock in their NCAA tournament spot. But Connecticut is the best team in the country right now, and they've been an 11-0 buzzsaw since losing their conference opener to the (sniff) once-mighty Hoyas.
-Also tonight, Cincinnati hosts St. John's. Bearcats need to win these easy ones if they want to give themselves a chance to sneak into the Dance with an upset of Pitt or Louisville.
Instead, Nova matched them from the perimeter and beat them up inside. It's tough to imagine an offense anywhere in the country that's working better right now than the Wildcats' offense, and now here they are a game behind Marquette for that crucial No. 4 spot in the conference standings.
Nova's remaining schedule isn't a pushover (at West Virginia/Rutgers/at Syracuse/at DePaul/Georgetown/at Notre Dame/Providence), but given the way they're playing they'll have a chance to win all seven of those games and should reasonably expect to go no worse than 4-3.
Marquette's remaining schedule is a cheese grater, (St. John's/Seton Hall/at Georgetown/UConn/at Louisville/at Pitt/Syracuse), and the Eagles (now losers of two in a row) will have to work hard to go 4-3.
The team that claims that No. 4 spot won't have to play until Thursday, the third day of the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden. The team that finishes fifth will have to play on Wednesday, the second day. Big difference there. To win the conference title, the Wednesday teams will have to win four games in four days -- something that's only been done twice.
Right now, you have to like Dante Cunningham, Scotty Reynolds and the Villanova Wildcats as the team that will join Pitt, UConn and Louisville in double-bye heaven.
Elsewhere:
-Providence gets a win it had to have at South Florida. Do the Friars, currently in sixth place and 2.5 games behind Marquette, have any chance at all of sneaking into that top four? Probably not. Even if Marquette goes 3-4 the rest of the way, Providence would have to go 6-0 to pass them -- and they'll have to pass them in order to finish ahead of them, because they lost to them. And with trips to Louisville and Villanova and a home game against Pitt still on the schedule, it's hard to see how the Friars have enough gas to get into that group. But with two more games left against Rutgers, they look like a pretty good bet to finish in the top eight and watch the Tuesday games from the Garden sidelines.
-Seton Hall whipped DePaul, which ties them with West Virginia for ninth place, just one game behind the seventh-place tie between Syracuse and Cincinnati. The Hall is heating up, and making a play for one of those top-eight spots and a first-round bye. Can they do it? Going to to be tough. The Hall has seven games left: UConn/at Marquette/at St. John's/South Florida/Pitt/at Louisville/at Cincinnati. First glance, that looks like 2-5, which would be a 7-11 record -- likely not good enough for a first-division finish. But hey, the Pirates have won five in a row since their 0-6 conference start. They play that frenzied style that makes teams hate to play against them. IF they could swing a big, big upset -- say knocking off either Marquette, UConn or Pitt and then winning at Cincinnati to wrap it up, that would get them to 9-9 and give them not only a shot at the Tuesday bye but...dare we say it...a spot on the fringes of the NCAA tournament bubble?
-A note on DePaul, which is now 0-12 in the conference. You can probably bet your car, your house and what's left of your 401(k) on them being 0-15, since their next three games are at Louisville/at Pitt/Villanova. Their next shot at a conference win is a home game against St. John's on Feb. 28, then they finish at West Virginia/at Georgetown. It looks like their best chances to avoid the 0-18 finish will be that St. John's game and then the regular-season finale against the free-falling (sniff) Hoyas. However, not even an 0-18 finish will keep the Blue Demons away from the Garden. All 16 teams in the conference go to the conference tournament this year, and that means DePaul will hit the second week in March with a chance -- albeit a nearly invisible one -- to make it to the Dance.
-As of now, the Tuesday matchups at the Garden would be:
(9) West Virginia vs. (16) DePaul
(10) Seton Hall vs. (15) Rutgers (Jersey!!!!)
(11) Georgetown vs. (14) South Florida
(12) Notre Dame) vs. (13) St. John's
with Villanova, Providence, Syracuse and Cincinnati waiting to play the Tuesday winners on Wednesday. Interesting -- Providence, sitting there as a relatively weak No. 6 seed, would get the winner of that 11/14 game between Georgetown and South Florida. And while yes, I know the Friars just whipped South Florida last night and the Hoyas haven't beaten anybody but Rutgers in a month, that game would be no sure thing -- the 11/14 winner would have to think it had a decent shot to make the quarterfinals.
Of course, the chances of the standings being the same on March 10 as they are now are nil, so there's no point in breaking this down any further.
-Tonight, Syracuse travels to UConn for the Duke-North Carolina undercard game. Would be a huge win for Syracuse -- maybe even lock in their NCAA tournament spot. But Connecticut is the best team in the country right now, and they've been an 11-0 buzzsaw since losing their conference opener to the (sniff) once-mighty Hoyas.
-Also tonight, Cincinnati hosts St. John's. Bearcats need to win these easy ones if they want to give themselves a chance to sneak into the Dance with an upset of Pitt or Louisville.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
ESPN's Bracketology -- Conference down to 7 bids
Remember those halcyon days of early January, when it looked like any one of nine teams could win the conference, everybody figured on nine NCAA tournament bids and wondered if somebody like a Providence or a Cincinnati could sneak in and make it 10?
Yeah. Hasn't worked out that way.
Right now, it looks like there are four teams capable of winning the conference title -- maybe five, if Villanova stays hot. And in the latest Joe Lunardi Bracketology breakdown on ESPN.com, the Big East is a seven-bid league, one bid behind the ACC, which has eight teams in the projected NCAA tournament field:
*Connecticut and Pitt have #1 seeds.
*Louisville has a #2 seed.
*Marquette has a #3 seed.
*Villanova has a #4 seed.
*Syracuse has a #7 seed (even though their only decent wins are Memphis and West Virginia, they benefit from their relatively easy conference schedule and their embarrassingly easy out-of-conference schedule, but we're not bitter or anything...)
*West Virginia has a #8 seed.
And that's it, folks. Lunardi lists Cincinnati and (sniff) Georgetown on his "First Four Out" list, which means either or both could find their way into the field with strong finishes. And he lists Providence on his "Next Four Out" list, which means the Friars could get in with a monster finish (they probably have to go 2-1 in their games against Louisville, Pitt and Villanova while winning all the rest of their games, something like that).
Notre Dame is nowhere to be found.
Conclusions? Could be that the mid-pack conference teams (Georgetown, Notre Dame...) weren't as good as we thought they were. Could be that some perceived back-of-the-pack teams (Cincinnati, Providence, Seton Hall...) were a lot better than we thought they were. Regardless, there's a lot more definition in the Big East standings than we expected there to be on Feb. 10. We'll see if the next four weeks can do anything to flip it upside down.
Yeah. Hasn't worked out that way.
Right now, it looks like there are four teams capable of winning the conference title -- maybe five, if Villanova stays hot. And in the latest Joe Lunardi Bracketology breakdown on ESPN.com, the Big East is a seven-bid league, one bid behind the ACC, which has eight teams in the projected NCAA tournament field:
*Connecticut and Pitt have #1 seeds.
*Louisville has a #2 seed.
*Marquette has a #3 seed.
*Villanova has a #4 seed.
*Syracuse has a #7 seed (even though their only decent wins are Memphis and West Virginia, they benefit from their relatively easy conference schedule and their embarrassingly easy out-of-conference schedule, but we're not bitter or anything...)
*West Virginia has a #8 seed.
And that's it, folks. Lunardi lists Cincinnati and (sniff) Georgetown on his "First Four Out" list, which means either or both could find their way into the field with strong finishes. And he lists Providence on his "Next Four Out" list, which means the Friars could get in with a monster finish (they probably have to go 2-1 in their games against Louisville, Pitt and Villanova while winning all the rest of their games, something like that).
Notre Dame is nowhere to be found.
Conclusions? Could be that the mid-pack conference teams (Georgetown, Notre Dame...) weren't as good as we thought they were. Could be that some perceived back-of-the-pack teams (Cincinnati, Providence, Seton Hall...) were a lot better than we thought they were. Regardless, there's a lot more definition in the Big East standings than we expected there to be on Feb. 10. We'll see if the next four weeks can do anything to flip it upside down.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
South Florida 57, Marquette 56? Seriously??
Incredible play by Dominique Jones to win it. Horrendous loss for Marquette. No way can you hang in the Best-Team-In-The-Conference conversation with Connecticut if you're going to go down to Tampa and lose to South Florida. UConn, in case nobody else has noticed, is a rabid steamroller right now. You think Jeff Adrien would tolerate a loss to South Florida at this point in the season?
Look, Marquette's having a great year, and surely you're allowed one bad loss. But who could have seen this coming? With 11:48 left, Jerel McNeal hit a three to tie it at 40-40, and I thought (actually said to my wife, who could care less), "Okay, here they go. This is what they did to Providence. They'll rain threes the rest of the way and win by 15."
But they didn't! They missed all their threes! They attempted seven threes the rest of the way and missed every single one of them. And as a result, they lost. Cracked Sidewalks has a brief, angry breakdown that keeps it as simple as it is -- Marquette lost this one because they couldn't hit their shots, even from the free throw line.
Good for Jones and South Florida, because everybody should get to win a big game every now and then. But for Marquette...yucko.
Saturday slate, as indicated in an earlier post, features the first of two big Villanova-Syracuse games as its highlight. I enjoyed chewing my way through the preview on Villanova by the Numbers.
We'll check in sometime Saturday, our mood of course dependent on the Hoyas' ability to get revenge against Cincinnati.
Look, Marquette's having a great year, and surely you're allowed one bad loss. But who could have seen this coming? With 11:48 left, Jerel McNeal hit a three to tie it at 40-40, and I thought (actually said to my wife, who could care less), "Okay, here they go. This is what they did to Providence. They'll rain threes the rest of the way and win by 15."
But they didn't! They missed all their threes! They attempted seven threes the rest of the way and missed every single one of them. And as a result, they lost. Cracked Sidewalks has a brief, angry breakdown that keeps it as simple as it is -- Marquette lost this one because they couldn't hit their shots, even from the free throw line.
Good for Jones and South Florida, because everybody should get to win a big game every now and then. But for Marquette...yucko.
Saturday slate, as indicated in an earlier post, features the first of two big Villanova-Syracuse games as its highlight. I enjoyed chewing my way through the preview on Villanova by the Numbers.
We'll check in sometime Saturday, our mood of course dependent on the Hoyas' ability to get revenge against Cincinnati.
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