March 24, 2006
Tournament Musings: Sweet 16 Friday
I am still trying to catch my breath. The highlights keep rolling on ESPN, repeatedly showing the last few seconds of the final two games from Thursday.
Kenton Paulino deftly catching the pass from AJ Abrams with his left hand and in one motion stopping his rush up the court and jumping from about three feet beyond the arc. Swish! Game over. Texas advances.
Jordan Farmar steals the ball from over JP Batista's head in the back court and tosses it to Luc Richard Mbah a Moute for an easy two points. Derek Raivio rushes up the court with the ball, harassed by the UCLA defense. The ball is knocked from him and Mbah a Moute dives to the floor to cover it up forcing the tie-up. Arron Afflalo manages to hit one free throw after getting fouled on the inbounds pass, keeping hope for the Zags alive. Gonzaga has one last heave down court to Batista. Clunk! Game over. UCLA survives and Adam Morrison collapses to the floor in tears.
Within about the game space of about a minutes, two No. 2 seeds survive what were amazing games.
Not to take anything away from the earlier two contests, but the second two were games that rival the finishes of last season's Regional Finals. And there is no reason to suspect that they won't lead to great games on Saturday making us recall last year's games once again.
So, with Thursday's games done and Saturday's games set, the MRI takes a look at Friday's schedule and who should still be playing on Sunday afternoon.
Washington Region: George Mason (11) vs. Wichita State (7)
Unless you have been sleeping for the last week, you have heard all there is to know about both George Mason and Wichita State. You have watched how these two teams that many didn't give a chance have advanced to be on the verge of making history. Not that history hasn't already been made. The Colonial Athletic Association doesn't put teams into the Sweet 16. The Missouri Valley doesn't put two teams into the Sweet 16. But the basketball landscape is changing, and these are the pioneers of that change.
And the Pioneers of George Mason might have the best shot to make history of the two teams. Earlier this season, Tony Skinn nailed a three point shot to beat Wichita State. And now he has another chance. Skinn was suspended for the opening round game against Michigan State. His team fought to the win.
Skinn's game against North Carolina was forgettable, but not the result -- another win for the Patriots. And now, Skinn has the chance to relive the glory of the earlier game when he scored 23 points against the Shockers.
The battle inside between Jai Lewis of George Mason and Paul Miller and Kyle Wilson of Wichita State will be something to watch. Lewis may not have shot well against the athletic Tyler Hansbrough, but his 275 pounds sure disrupted the North Carolina big man. Miller and Wilson have dominated the inside in their games against Seton Hall and Tennessee. Last time around, they had trouble containing Lewis. They must be better prepared now.
And George Mason better be prepared for the shooting talent of Wichita State. Sean Ogirri took a while to get going against Tennessee, but he was key to the first victory over Seton Hall. PJ Couisnard took over in the Tennessee game with two late three point baskets to seal the win. Both will need to shoot better than last time around when they were 2-11 from three point range. Given the way things have gone so far in the tournament, that stat should definitely improve.
This one is almost too close to call, which should be obvious after the close result of the Bracket Buster game. Given the tougher road that George Mason has taken to this point and the game's location in D.C., I am going to lean towards the Patriots, but there is no reason that the game can't go the other way. Most of the country will dismiss this game because of the names in it, but it should provide some of the best action of the night.
MRI Predicts: George Mason Confidence factor: 59.89%
Washington Region: Connecticut (1) vs. Washington (5)
Connecticut, against everyone's predictions, has stumbled into the Sweet Sixteen. Not that anyone thought that Connecticut would be home by now. It was more that they thought they would easily blow through the competition until this point. That wasn't the truth as they struggled against the #16 Albany and then against Kentucky. Now they have a rolling Washington team that wasn't expected at all to be in this game.
The Huskies were discounted by everyone, with some going so far to believe that Utah State would be playing against Illinois in the second round. Brandon Roy and Washington survived though, living through repeated comebacks by Illinois and now they have to take down the East coast Huskies.
Roy has now scored almost 50 points in the first two contests which is good for Washington and bad for them also. Good because it means their best player is rolling into the game with Connecticut on a hot streak. Bad because it means that Washington isn't getting a contribution from anyone else to help spread the Connecticut defense out.
Yes, Justin Dentmon and Jamaal Williams have been contributing, but just not in the surprising way that you look for in the tournament. They haven't led the team in scoring. They haven't come from nowhere to become the next great name. They are in the shadows of Roy and that means that Connecticut should have one singular focus -- stopping him.
Connecticut's defense is the best in the league when they are concentrating. Hilton Armstrong was the easy choice for the Defensive Player of the Year in the Big East. He swats away anything that comes even close to him. In the Kentucky game, the blocks weren't coming, but if a scare doesn't get the defense focused for Washington, I don't know what will. And even if Armstrong is out, Josh Boone, Rudy Gay, and Denham Brown will be patrolling around the basket with one of the deepest big lines in the country.
The key in this game will be focus. There is no doubt that Connecticut can stop the scoring of Washington if they are into the game. And if Marcus Williams is playing as well as he has been lately, and Rashad Anderson can add his very timely threes, Connecticut should be unstoppable with all their weapons.
I just don't see Washington pulling another upset to get past the Huskies. Connecticut should roll into Sunday.
MRI Predicts: Connecticut Confidence factor: 67.74%
Minneapolis Region: Villanova (1) vs. Boston College (4)
Craig Smith and Jared Dudley are going to have a field day inside against the Wildcats. Seems like an obvious statement. Too bad it won't be true. Arizona thought it was going to have that field day and look what happened to them. The four guard line-up that the Philadelphia Wildcats had been dragging out to the court all season suddenly wasn't the story. Instead it was Will Sheridan and Dante Cunningham. The two big men in the eternally small line-up were contributing more than they had ever been needed before. And it paid off for Villanova. They are still playing.
Sheridan and Cunningham will need to give little bit more if Villanova is to keep playing until Sunday. Their guards will score. Their guards will defend Louis Hinnant and Tyrese Rice. They just need the big men to do their job inside. It is that simple. Villanova is too strong around the perimeter for that to be a factor. Boston College is going to need to get the ball into the post. And the amount that they are able to do that will determine if the Eagles will be soaring Sunday, or if they will only be soaring back to Massachusetts.
Randy Foye and Allan Ray will most likely go for about 50 points combined in this one. Their mid-range shooting will be called into action here. They won't be able to drive to the basket in this game. If West Virginia can live by shooting from deep, then Villanova will have to live by shooting from 15 feet. If Boston College can keep the Wildcats under 70, they may have a chance in this one. Otherwise, they are going home.
MRI Predicts: Villanova Confidence factor: 72.77%
Minnesapolis Region: Georgetown (7) vs. Florida (3)
If you like to watch the big men battle it out inside the paint, this game is for you. And this one should be simple for the Gators in terms of strategy. Wear out Roy Hibbert. The Georgetown big man is carrying around almost 300 pounds. And no one runs like the Gators.
Billy Donovan has always had fast teams, but not many have been this fast and this big. His bench is deep with big men that he can trot out against Hibbert. It won't be two men and done like Ohio State. It won't be outmatched inside like Northern Iowa. This is team that has the size to compete with Georgetown's version of the Great Wall of China.
The Gators will also need to get the contribution from Taurean Green, something that has been lacking during the first two rounds. The announcers from CBS made it clear. Green had been walking through the first two games in a daze. Flashes of brilliance, yes, but a daze for the better part of the tournament so far. They haven't exactly needed him so far. The fast big men like Joakim Noah have made sure to cover for the back court leader. However, with their hands full in this one, they are going to need Green's contribution on the shooting front. Only 14 points in the first two games combined for a player that almost averages 14 a game for the Gators won't be enough for Florida.
Of course, if Hibbert is forced to foul and foul early against Noah et al, Green might not be needed. The Florida front line can easily take it inside against Georgetown's Jeff Green and Brandon Bowman. Not that these Hoyas aren't great defenders. It is that they improve when the offense of the other team has to worry about the seven footer in the middle in addition to them.
So there is the plan for Florida, a team running right now like a freight train with no conductor and no dead man's switch. Keep running. Wear out Hibbert. The rest should take care of itself.
MRI Predicts: Florida Confidence factor: 79.14%
Posted by bmiraski at 1:00 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 23, 2006
Tournament Musings: Sweet 16 Thursday
8 games, two days, getting us to what last year was the most exciting two days of the season.
Not to take anything away from the championship game last year, or the Final Four, but it was all downhill after the Regional Finals.
So who is going to make it to the Regional Finals this year and try to live up to last year's buzzer beaters, comebacks and shockers?
Let's see what the MRI has to say about Thursday's games.
Atlanta Regional: Duke(1) vs. LSU(4)
The further that Duke goes in the tournament, the more dangerous they normally get. This year, that is a little scary. The Blue Devils certainly seemed to have some weaknesses late in the season. JJ Redick's shooting was going downhill earlier that usual. Shelden Williams seemed to not have any help inside despite the improving play of DeMarcus Nelson and Josh McRoberts. And then the ACC tournament hit and all that trouble went out the window. Their play improved, Redick shooting came back, Williams was the landlord of the paint once again. This has carried over into the NCAA tournament and they are winning their games by the second largest margin in the field. And yet, it still scares me to see this team, this team with so many acknowledged flaws, ready to make another run to the Final Four.
Add to my fears that they are playing a dangerous young team in LSU. The Tigers are showing everyone why I think they are ready to make a Final Four run next season. Their margin of victory hasn't been that impressive. They aren't blowing people away in the tournament. They are winning with good shooting and a great inside game led by Glen Davis.
Despite all that, I think that the experience of the Blue Devils will win out out in this game. Williams has grown enough over his four years to learn how to be tough inside without being in foul trouble all the time. McRoberts is turning into the good inside player that Coach Krzyzewski recruited. He should provide enough help to Williams whether they are sharing the court or he is subbing for him. This should be enough to take away the advantage that Davis has provided LSU inside. The X-factor will be the shooting of Greg Paulus and Redick, who have both done much better over the two games of the tournament. It must be a relief for Redick that he no longer has to carry the shooting load outside of the paint by himself.
Duke is turning into an actual team as opposed to two players with a supporting cast as they were for most of the season.
Count this one for the Devils, though it will probably be a lot closer than Duke's other games so far and most people expect.
MRI Predicts: Duke Confidence factor: 72.82%
Atlanta Regional: West Virginia (6) vs. Texas (2)
They played earlier this year. Texas played terribly for most of the game, turning the ball over too much, missing open shots, but they were still in it. And when you are close with the game on the line, it should be up to your best player to do something to take it over the top and LaMarcus Aldridge did just that. Aldridge made a shot with 3.9 seconds remaining and then scored a big block to save the game for the Longhorns.
And that was early in the season. Texas didn't look like the team they are now. This team doesn't give the ball up 24 times. This is not the team that Duke sent to the showers with a 31-point defeat. This is a team that has come into its own.
I keep talking about the importance of Brad Buckman. Remember, it was he who was missing for most of the game against Duke. Before he left the floor, the game was close. After he was gone, Texas had nothing. He only scores nine a game. He only gets about seven rebounds. He isn't flashy, but he is a complement to Aldridge on the floor. Buckman helps to clear the other team's big men out of the inside to give more room to Aldridge to work. Unlike most teams that have only one larger man to set screens up high, or in the post, Texas has two. They don't lose the lane when Buckman moves up to the top of the key to give the guards a little room. They still have Aldridge in the paint to receive a pass for the easy lay-in.
That said, Buckman is not the only key to this game, but he is a big part especially against the undersized West Virginia. Kenton Paulino will need to make his passes, Aldridge will need to make his shots, Daniel Gibson will need to add his almost 14 points a game.
Texas is built to beat a team like West Virginia. They have the big presence inside. If the Mountaineers can only get one chance at a longer shot, Texas will control the ball for long periods of time. Their guards are pesky enough to force West Virginia into turnovers.
The line from last game had Mike Gansey scoring 28 points. The rest of the team had only one man over 10. I have to believe a focus of the defensive effort for Texas is going to be stopping Gansey from doing it again. PJ Tucker will most likely be outside to try and stop the smaller forward. If Buckman and Aldridge can stay home, Gansey won't be driving past Tucker to get to the rim.
Texas has to force West Virginia to shoot long shots and not allow the offensive rebounds. Yes, a good number of the shots will fall in, but the secret will be keeping West Virginia from the long boards.
If Texas can do that, as they did last time, and not allow Gibson to turn the ball over nine times, this game should go the Longhorns' way much easier than the previous match.
MRI Predicts: Texas Confidence factor: 92.45%
Oakland Regional: Memphis (1) vs. Bradley (13)
When I told you a few weeks ago that Marcellus Sommerville's college career story was yet to be written, you probably didn't believe me. When I recommended that you might want to take a shot on Bradley in the first round against Kansas, I am guessing many of you left it out of your brackets.
When Bradley won their first two games of the NCAA tournament, I am guessing many of you were still shocked.
The truth is that Bradley has a very good basketball team, underrated, and under-seeded by the committee. This team proved over the last third of the season that they were just as good if not better than the most of the Missouri Valley conference. And now they have a chance to shock the country again if they can beat the Memphis Tigers.
According to the MRI numbers, the chance of Bradley winning back to back games against Kansas and Pittsburgh when they did, on a neutral floor, was something close to 1 in 15. The chances of them beating Kansas, Pittsburgh, and Memphis, in a row is less than 1 in 100. And yet, you still can't count them out.
They are bringing in Sommerville, who has averaged 19 points in the last two games. They have Patrick O'Bryant, who sure made a name for himself against Pittsburgh, averaging 18 points and 9 rebounds. It is not as if they were doing this against poor competition either. It is probably a given that these two can do well for the Braves. The real question will be what other member of the team steps up to shoot along with them.
In the game against Kansas, it was Daniel Ruffin and Will Franklin. Against Pittsburgh, it was Lawrence Wright. This team has the talent to compete. But can they stop the Tigers?
Memphis won't allow them to get away with turnovers. They will run over them too quickly if that happens. Memphis is too fast in the transition game for Bradley to keep up with them long in a running match.
While the Tigers may not be as tall inside as Bradley, Rodney Carney is also no slouch when it comes to scoring inside or out. There is a good chance Sommerville will get the task of guarding Carney and that could signal a quick foul problem for Bradley. Carney has too much speed for Sommerville to match up consistently with him and it could be that we see him driving past Sommerville every chance he gets. This means that O'Bryant will either have to come off his man to help, leaving open the easy pass and basket, or Sommerville is going to get caught trying to keep up and be forced to foul Carney or give the easy hoop.
While I can't totally discount the Braves, they are overwhelmed by the talent on Memphis and that should be enough to give the Tigers the edge. The speed of Memphis combined with the chance for Bradley to make too many mistakes now that the eyes of the nation are on them should be too much. There is no counting on foul trouble from all the Memphis big men as there was in the game against Pittsburgh. There won't be the turnovers to give the ball back to Bradley consistently as there was against Kansas. John Calipari won't let that happen.
Still, something in the back of my head still tells me that a story is coming here, despite what the numbers say. Don't be surprised if Memphis is the first No.1 seed to go down, and Bradley is the first No. 13 seed to play for a chance to go to the Final Four.
MRI Predicts: Memphis Confidence factor: 85.85%
Oakland Regional: Gonzaga (3) vs. UCLA (2)
If you aren't already exhausted from watching the Duke and LSU game, this one should be a treat, if only to see which way UCLA is able to shut down Gonzaga.
The Zags have been lucky so far. They survived Xavier, though I think it shocked them that they were pushed to the limit by that team. They survived Indiana, despite Morrison's dreadful shooting night and Vaden's 20 points. They won't be so lucky with UCLA.
I should apologize for telling people to overlook Indiana in the first round. I was unaware that Vaden would be playing. And wouldn't you know that it would be his three point shot with about three seconds to go that would do in the Aztecs for good. And I really thought that San Diego State would have what it took to take out Gonzaga in the second round for another season. Well, so much for that pick.
So, we will be putting our faith in the Bruins to do the task and it shouldn't be a surprise when they do.
I have consistently railed on the need to not stop Adam Morrison, because only he can stop himself, as he has a few times this year. His shooting wasn't on against Indiana and it may have something to do with a flu bug that he has caught and may not have shaken by the time the game begins tonight. The real secret to stopping the Zags is in making sure they have no second option.
There is no doubt in my mind that Jordan Farmar can stop Derek Raivio. That means that this battle, like most in the tournament will be won with the inside game. Can Luc Mbah a Moute, Ryan Hollins, and Alfred Aboya, stop JP Batista? The answer here is a resounding yes.
Xavier's bigger team held him to 18 points, and only eight rebounds. UCLA's big men are better.
Indiana let Batista get 20, and let Sean Mallon total 15 on them. They didn't have the help for Marco Killingsworth that UCLA does.
And yet despite their deficiencies, both Xavier and Indiana both just missed beating the Zags. UCLA, on paper, should have better luck against Batista, and given Morrison's health, potentially both of them.
Arron Afflalo has been semi-silent through the tournament so far. I would look for him to take advantage of Adam Morrison's less that spectacular defense in this game and start to come alive for the Bruins. He better do it now, as they will need him against Memphis in the Regional Finals.
MRI Predicts: UCLA Confidence factor: 72.82%
Posted by bmiraski at 12:00 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
March 15, 2006
Tournament Musings: Lines 5 through 8
Now that you have the inside track on the top lines in the bracket, what are you going to do on the tough match-ups, the games anywhere from the 5-12 to the 8-9. We all know there are some trends but what do the rules from the first part tell us about the other games?
Let's keep looking at that first round.
The five seeds are what we all know as legend. They always go down to the No. 12, usually once or more per tournament. So which No. 5 is in trouble this year? Well, it is not Pittsburgh, despite how down I was on the Panthers going into the Big East tournament. Their performance through the gauntlet in that mini-NCAA type tournament was definitely enough to let me know that they are ready. And not only ready, possibly poised for a long run into the tournament. I would imagine that Pittsburgh has what it takes to beat not only Kansas, thanks to the Jayhawks youth, but also the Memphis Tigers. All seven feet and 270 pounds of Aaron Gray are going to give teams coming into the middle plenty of trouble. Plus, between Gray and Carl Krauser, Pitt has the scoring ability to hang with anyone. The only issue for the Panthers is depth and while it won't kill them in the first round, later rounds are going to be an issue. Kansas could go down to Pitt and so might Pittsburgh, but UCLA will be much tougher.
While you are at it, you can move Washington through. Utah State was one of the MRI misses, and thanks to the rules, MRI misses are more than likely to lose in the first round. Very few get past that point at all, and even fewer are going to make any run to the Sweet 16. The only two teams to embarrass the MRI completely were Missouri a few years back and West Virginia last season. That pretty much guarantees that Utah State is a first round loss.
Nevada doesn't play an MRI miss - the MRI actually had Montana over Northern Arizona for the Big Sky title - but it does have Nick Fazekas and Montana doesn't. The big man in the middle for the Wolf Pack has great help along the perimeter and inside. Nevada is also a sleeper pick for the Sweet 16. Look for them to challenge Boston College with the same make-up as the Eagles. Don't be surprised if Nevada can duplicate the run it had under Trent Johnson.
So, that leaves everyone's Big East tournament Cinderella, Syracuse. Can I be serious? The Orange going down to one of the last teams in, Texas A&M? Yes. Syracuse's run in the tournament came with a lot of luck. They needed a few saves from Gerry McNamara and it could be that they have used up all of their magic to get to this point. Don't forget that they also played 4 games last week against very good competition. It is not like they are rested for the start of the tournament and the tiredness did show a bit at the end of their Big East run. So can Texas A&M end it all for the Orange? Yes. A&M had been playing better than most teams headed into their Big XII tournament. They humiliated Colorado and they gave Texas everything they had for the second time in two weeks to continue their life in tournament. There is no doubt that the Aggies can play with anyone. The real question will be if it carries over into the NCAA tournament and I think the answer is yes. I don't think the Orange are going to have what it takes to slow down Acie Law and the defense of the Aggies has been very good over the past few weeks. And all that will lead them to the first round upset.
At the 6-seed, we have two more automatic exits thanks to MRI misses. Indiana is going to try and send Mike Davis out a winner, much to the chagrin of the administration, but I don't think it will happen. Possibly without Robert Vaden, they are going to be without one of their top scoring threats and that is not something you want in the tournament. San Diego State has Marcus Slaughter inside to help shut down Marco Killingsworth and that should give the Aztecs enough of an edge on the defensive side of the ball to score with the Hoosiers. As long as nothing happens to Slaughter to cause him to miss too much of the game, they should pull the win. And don't think that San Diego State will stop there. Given their roster, they should prove a tough test for Gonzaga should the Zags get past the larger Xavier team.
The other 6-seed without hope is West Virginia. Yes, I would have said that last season also, but this year I mean it. I have said before that any team with a decent inside presence and some great guard defense has a great chance of stopping the Mountaineers. I think Southern Illinois has enough of that to stop the 3-point shots from raining down on them. Everyone loved Pittsnogle last season. This year, they will lament selecting him deep into the tournament bracket.
Michigan State should move through a little easier. While George Mason got a lot of love in the MRI this season, they will be without their second leading scorer who is suspended for the game.
And that leaves Oklahoma. The Sooners haven't been playing well lately, but Wisconsin-Milwaukee won't be making the run that they did either. Taj Gray and Kevin Bookout should be too much for the Panthers to deal with inside and that should keep Wisconsin-Milwaukee only playing one game this year.
So, if the six line was so easy, is the seven line the same way? Well part of it is. Both Cal and Marquette were teams that the MRI didn't pick. I think that Cal is definitely out in the first round. They have only one weapon and watching how easily UCLA took care of them, I can't be convinced that they will be going on to the weekend. Meanwhile, Marquette is a different story.
The Golden Eagles will be playing Alabama, another of the MRI's misses, much as the committee plans it each season. So, despite all of the critics I have faced, take Marquette. Steve Novak should be too much for Alabama, and considering that 'Bama has been playing even worse than Oklahoma over the last few weeks, it should be an easy win. They meet UCLA most likely in round two, so they better enjoy the 40 minutes they have against the Tide. They won't be getting past the Bruins.
The other two games should be of great interest as we will find out a lot about the top teams in the Missouri Valley. Wichita State is the only team from the Valley to get a high seed in the tournament and that has often been good news for that conference. And they are playing an MRI miss. What more could you want? The Shockers have a balanced scoring attack and don't need to rely on only a few players to get the production they need. I have Wichita State moving past Seton Hall, and then, no matter if Winthrop pulls the upset or not, the Shockers will keep playing all the way to the second weekend. Sweet sixteen has never been so good as when it comes to rub it into the face of all the naysayers of the Valley out there.
Northern Iowa did not get as lucky with its draw. Ben Jacobson and Grant Stout will have their hands full with the Georgetown Hoyas. Roy Hibbert is a monster inside for the Hoyas. He is listed at 7'2" and 283 pounds. That is a lot for a team that doesn't have a player over 6'10" to move around. And that player doesn't even start. Plus, the newest version of the Princeton offense with a little more style is not like anything in the Missouri Valley. The Hoyas should take this, but I would expect this game to be tightly contested. Either way, this winner is not getting past the Buckeyes in the second round, no matter how big they are.
And now for the fun lines, the 8-9 game. This is more often won by the No. 9 team and this year should be no different. The only No. 8 team I would count on is George Washington. It looks like Pops Mensah-Bonsu will be playing and that is not good for the Colonial conference champs, UNC-Wilmington. The Colonial Athletic Association was hoping to make a statement in the tournament this year. They were hoping to show that they had what it takes to warrant two bids each season. They certainly had the numbers during the regular season. But they don't have a Pops and that will keep their tournament to only 40 minutes.
Now the No. 9 seeds. I don't know about you, but Bucknell is too good to pass up. They won last year against a much better Kansas squad and no matter how good Arkansas had been playing of late to show the committee what I had been saying for two months, you have to go with the Bison. Bucknell earned a spot in the MRI top 25 before the season was done and that should be enough for me to pick them in this game. But also to remember is that this team took down Syracuse this season. They have their veteran line-up returning and they have the experience of winning the game. Arkansas... not so much.
If you want to talk about experience, there are no two better teams to talk about than Wisconsin and Arizona. Ever since the revival at Wisconsin about 10 years ago, the Badgers have been a staple of the tournament. And Arizona, they have been there for almost as long as Lute Olson has been coaching. The Wildcats had some trouble this year. Having one of the toughest schedules in the league, they definitely had their share of struggles. And off the court, they had plenty of distractions to keep them occupied also. I don't think this team has the focus this year for a deep run. Too much has happened to them this year.
Wisconsin may not be playing their best basketball either, but they always seem to find a way to turn it on in the tournament. The Badgers have the one of the best inside games and they should not have a problem out rebounding Arizona. They will need to control the tempo and keep it very slow. If the Wildcats run out on them, they will need one of the Illinois style comebacks from last year's tournament to get to the second round. I think they have the shooters to do it, but that is not how they like to play. I have the Badgers surprising a lot of people thanks to their superior match-up against not only Arizona, but Villanova (lack of big men), and Nevada (too much size over the Wolf Pack). Will Wisconsin make the great run? I think so, and it will be another banner year for the Big Ten if they do, facing Ohio State in the Regional Finals.
One last first round game: UAB against Kentucky. UAB knows how to play defense and that should be enough in this game to take out the Wildcats. Why? Because Kentucky can not hang onto the ball. No matter what line-up that Tubby Smith will put into the game, they just have trouble with keeping the ball with the shirts in blue. By now we all know Squeaky Johnson's name. He averages almost 3 steals a game. There isn't much more you can say about that. The Blazers need to concentrate on not only forcing the turnovers but keeping the ball away from the Randolph Morris. If UAB can accomplish that, much as they have all season, they will take out the inconsistent Kentucky team.
There is your first round with a little glimpse into what I did later in the brackets. If all holds true, the winner of the tournament will most likely come from the top 10 teams in the MRI. That means no Iowa, no UCLA (though I like them as a sleeper), no Ohio State, and most definitely no Gonzaga.
This is a very interesting tournament and one of the hardest ones that I have yet tried to pick my way through. Once the tournament begins, I will post a link to my brackets somewhere on a website so you can follow my progress and that of the MRI through the rounds. Enjoy the games and enjoy the dance.
Posted by bmiraski at 10:00 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 14, 2006
Tournament Musings: The Rules and the Top 4 lines
People think that just because I have a rating system, I always pick the games strictly according to the numbers.
Some of that is true, but a lot of that is not. The best brackets I have always have a bit of knowledge soaked into them to complement the numbers.
So what is that knowledge? I'll tell you. Let's look at the 2006 bracket and make some picks.
First things first. Place the No. 1 seed in every region into the second round. This isn't the year things are going to change, not with the 1-seeds that we have and the lack of strength in the 16-seeds. If this one fails you, you are free to send me your requests for your entry fee back in whatever pool you are in.
Now, we are getting to the first bit of knowledge. Each year, no matter what, there is always one region that goes crazy. Every rule you have ever heard for filling out your bracket fails in that region. It is as if the laws of physics don't apply anymore just for teams in that regional. Now that the "pod system" is in place, you could even have one set of teams at a first round location follow all the rules, while the other set just seems to be playing under a cloud. This year, I think this will be in the Minneapolis region. There are too many really good teams there for the region to hold true to form.
The next bit of knowledge is that you must have a strong big man to help carry your team through the games. The tournament is about stamina, and a team that is busy trying to travel and shoot and live up to media expectations is not going to survive long. That is why last year's West Virginia team is still such a shocker. They did most of their damage from behind the three point arc. Does that mean that a shooting team can't win a game or two? No, of course not. In fact, that is the other piece of the game that you have to have in place.
You can't just throw the ball inside to the big guy and hope that he will win you the ball game. You have to have the shooters who can get you the big three, or have the ability to receive the kick back from the centers and forwards and knock down the open jumper. Syracuse had Carmelo Anthony, and even more now, Gerry McNamara, UConn had Ben Gordon, and North Carolina had just about everyone else on their team other than Sean May.
Right now, you are probably thinking, "Great. Tell me something I didn't know." Well, if you knew it then why are you picking Boston College to go far? How about the same West Virginia team from last year, again in this year's tournament? The fact is, you have to look for balanced teams to fill the deep lines on your brackets. That is where the money is, not that we advocate gambling at all.
So, these are the criteria we are going to look at in the tournament games.
Got your pencils ready? Good.
We already talked about the No. 1 seeds. They aren't going to lose.
The No. 2 seeds need a little bit of analysis though. Not all of them. Just one. Tennessee.
Yes, I know ESPN is hyping up Bruce Pearl's team because Pearl is using the backlash over his team's placement as blackboard material. Uh, Bruce, last time I checked, the No. 2 seed didn't need blackboard material, at least to get out of the first round. Maybe later in the tournament, but not right away. Are you telling us you are scared? Well he should be, because he is facing Winthrop.
Here come the screams. "Winthrop? The 15-seed? We should be scared?" I know. They barely survived the conference tournament final against Coastal Carolina, a team they lost to twice this season. And they lost to Liberty during the regular season, a loss that they avenged by beating the Flames by 41 in the Big South Tournament. But against tournament teams, they performed a lot better. They beat Marquette on the road early in the season in a shocker. They barely lost to Alabama, the team that Marquette will be playing the first round. They were only 10 points away from the #1 seeded Memphis Tigers, and while I hate to bring up past tournament performance (Nantz and Packer, pay attention), Winthrop gave Gonzaga every thing they had last season in the first round before falling by 10.
The Eagles have the right amount of size inside, including 6'10" Craig Bradshaw to go up against Tennessee. The only question will be around speed. If the Vols can run the ball like they have in their meetings with Florida, the Eagles will tire quickly and be done. However, I still think that Winthrop has the right combination to pull off the upset in this one, especially since the Eagles may be seeded too low and the Vols too high. If this were a 4-13 game, I would say to pencil in the Eagles. The 2-15 match-up scares me, if only for the numbers next to the names. I don't think that the Vols have enough depth on the inside to go far in the tournament. They are going to have to rely on running and shooting and keeping Major Wingate and Andre Patterson out of foul trouble. One game could be easy to pull over on them. If you want to take the chance and your pool has any points based on seed of the winner, pick the upset. You won't be hurting for long if you are wrong.
Moving to the 3-14 match-ups, I am pretty confident that these will hold form also. In fact, three of these names will be coming up a lot as we move forward through the bracket -- Iowa, North Carolina, and Florida.
Yes, I know that Steve Alford hasn't exactly had Iowa ready to shock anyone in the tournament in the past, but then again, they have never been the three seed under him either. The Hawkeyes have the recipe for a big tournament run, just like most Big Ten teams and this year, and they have the depth to finally pull it off. They will not be the underdog after the first game either like their were the last time they won a game in the tournament. I would venture that of all the teams on the three line, Iowa matches up the best with both teams seeded above them, Texas and Duke.
North Carolina is young, but there are still players on that team that experienced the Championship season last year. Every team is going to have its bobble game in the tournament. This is the game that is way too close and scares every amateur bracket maker until the final buzzer. North Carolina will have theirs early and after that, they should be a scary team. Once they learned how to win at the beginning of the season, considering many of them didn't have many minutes or points at the college level, there was very little that stood in their way, including Duke.
We will get to Florida later, but South Alabama should not pull the shocker. That much I can be sure of.
The only question mark is Gonzaga. The Zags have enough questions around them to fill an entire article. The most interesting part about Gonzaga is that ever since they have become a favorite, they haven't made the Sweet Sixteen. The first two years of their current run in the tournament were all made from the bottom part of the bracket. As soon as the number were next to their name during the season, at some points putting them as high as #4 or 5 in the nation this season, expectations seemed to take away their chances. And this is probably their most dicey year yet with the high seed.
If you look at the previous years for Gonzaga, you can see the pattern even more.
The only benefit they have is that they have actually fallen in the MRI over the last three seasons, which if you look at the only good season they had since the MRI, they might make the Sweet Sixteen. But more than the numbers, the scary thing is their performance of late.
Anyone who watched any of the games in the West Coast Conference tournament saw Gonzaga consistently play down to the level of their opponents. It didn't matter how many points Adam Morrison scored. It didn't matter how big JP Batista and Derek Raivio came through. The fact was that the mighty Gonzaga was challenged every night. So what makes me so sure that Xavier won't challenge them, especially considering the run by the Musketeers in the Atlantic 10 tournament? The truth is I am not sure.
Sure, Xavier took a big drop over the last month of the season. They lost their leading scorer, Brian Thornton. They had their point guard and senior leader, Dedrick Finn, dismissed from the team for a violation of team rules. They were in disarray. Still, they managed to get it together for the Atlantic 10 tournament and win four games straight. This game is not going to be about stopping Adam Morrison. This game is going to be about stopping JP Batista. If Justin Doellman and the other big men for the Musketeers can do that, Morrison will be all alone on the floor and will be much easier to take care of.
So who am I picking? Despite all that, I have Gonzaga penciled in all the way to the Sweet Sixteen to meet UCLA. If they go out in the second round again this year, it wouldn't surprise me. If they lose in the first round to Xavier, it would surprise me a little, but not as much as it will everyone else.
Last for now will be the No. 4 seeds. These are usually the teams that can cause the most damage to a bracket, being the most likely to knock out the No. 1 seeds later on in the Sweet Sixteen. This year, LSU, Illinois, Boston College, and Kansas, and taking that yoke on their backs. If you look at the teams, you have the makings of what could be next year's Final Four participants in two squads, Kansas and LSU. Both are young, both have inside strength, and both are getting the experience they need this year to make the run next year. That doesn't mean that neither has a shot to get their this season, it just more likely to come with another year of playing under their belts. That said, LSU should get by Iona with no problem and Kansas should survive Bradley.
If there is any team that is more of an enigma, it could be the Braves, who can keep their nickname with an outstanding appeal to the NCAA. Bradley came from nowhere in the conference to put on a brilliant late season run and make it all the way to Conference Tournament finals. A month before the Missouri Valley Conference tournament, Bradley was an afterthought. Now, they are one of the final teams in and got what could be a favorable match-up. Remember that Bradley is a team with a lot of upperclassmen. They are big in the middle with Patrick O'Bryant and Marcellus Sommerville (see, I told you his story was yet to be told...). They have some shooters and an experienced guard who can distribute the ball in Daniel Ruffin.
The experience of the Braves is countered by the youth, but dangerous youth, of the Jayhawks. Brandon Rush, Mario Chalmers, Julian Wright, these are the names that we should be paying attention to next year (as for a couple, it may be their last in college). I think this game will come down to how well Chalmers has really matured as the leader on the offensive side of the ball. He will be controlling the action for Kansas. They made it through to capture the Big XII title and that was a great boost to their confidence. They have experience against a bigger inside team because of their play against Texas and Oklahoma. They should be ready for this game.
But again, they are young, and Bradley is hungry to show to that they were not incorrectly placed into the field. This may be yet another of those games, where if you get points for the seed that wins in an upset, you might want to take Bradley. They have what it takes to win in the tournament and Kansas or Bradley will have its hands full with Pittsburgh in the second round.
As for Illinois and Boston College, you can move them both through with no problem. Illinois should take care of an Air Force squad which received what I think was a gift from the committee. I could be wrong, but I doubt it. Boston College is facing a Pacific team that knows how to win in the tournament and that could be trouble, but I think the Eagles learned a lot about themselves playing in the ACC tournament. After the terrible start to their first season in conference there, they righted the ship and almost took their inaugural season championship in the tournament. Don't fret on the size of Christian Maraker. Boston College should contain him well with Craig Smith and Jared Dudley helping John Oates down low.
Did you get all that? A few potential upsets in the top four lines and some sleeper picks for you if you get bonus points. Stay tuned for lines five through eight where anything can and will happen.
Posted by bmiraski at 8:00 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 1, 2006
Couch Musings - March 1st, 2006
A few notes on the action last night and a look ahead at who can guarantee themselves a berth somewhere in the post-season with a win tonight.
- Well, so much for my sleeper team in the Ohio Valley conference. Tennessee State lost to Samford last night, and it should have been no surprise. That is why my reasoning mentioned that they had to get past this first game to have a shot at pulling the big upset. Why? Samford, after last night's win, beat the Tennessee State Tigers all three times they met this season. You would have thought that the Tigers were due, but no such luck.
- Give Dan Monson and the rest of the University of Minnesota, including the students, some credit for making the Barn a tough place to play over the last month. Last night, the Golden Gophers almost took out Big Ten contender Illinois before succumbing late. Amazingly, it seemed that Illinois was getting the "home court" advantage on some of the foul calls even though they were on the road. The loss extended the Minnesota losing streak against Illinois to 15 games. After an 0-6 start in the Big Ten, Minnesota started to turn the tables. The Gophers had won their last four home games, dating back to a victory over then ranked Indiana on January 29th. During that span, Minnesota also defeated Michigan State, Iowa, and Purdue, at home. Congrats to the fans of the University who definitely gave their seniors all the support they needed to end the season strong and put themselves in position for a possible NIT bid with a win or two in the Big Ten tournament.
- Some conference titles can be won tonight if the right circumstances occur:
- Kent State can win the MAC regular season title tonight if Akron loses at Buffalo. If the Zips get a win tonight, it will come down to the final game of the year for the two teams. Akron hosts the Golden Flashes Saturday in the last game of the regular season.
- A Texas win tonight means at least a share of the conference title. If Kansas loses along with a Longhorn win, Texas will win the outright Big XII title.
- A Tennessee loss to Kentucky tonight guarantees LSU the SEC conference title. The Tigers clinched at least a tie for the title by beating South Carolina last night.
- A San Diego State win tonight against Wyoming at home will clinch the Mountain West title for the Aztecs. If San Diego State loses, the final standings will be decided by how the current 2nd and 3rd place clubs do in their remaining games. Air Force has a single game remaining in the league at Colorado State on Saturday. A win in that game would clinch a tie with San Diego State should the Aztecs lose. BYU has two games remaining, both at home. Tonight the Cougars take on Colorado State and they close the season against New Mexico. BYU would need to win both their remaining games and hope for a San Diego State loss to have a shot at tying for the title.
- If all the underclassmen players stay at LSU for another season, they are my early pick to be playing in Atlanta, GA, in the Final Four in 2007. After watching them defeat South Carolina last night, I now have the visual proof that this team is for real. This is a very good team that should go far this year in the tournament and next year will be even better. Head coach John Brady has his work cut out for him though trying to convince "Little Shaq", Glen Davis to stay for his Junior season. I think that if the coaches can convince him and his family that another year of passing and shooting the college ranks would improve his NBA prospects, they may get at least one more season out of him. After next year though, it will be tough to keep the scouts away.
Posted by bmiraski at 12:00 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 28, 2006
Couch Musings - February 28th, 2006
Conference tournaments in three leagues kick off tonight, setting up the conference championship games with the first automatic bids into the NCAA tournament. Here are a couple of thoughts before these games.
- While they didn't win, you can't get down much on Oklahoma State's effort last night against Oklahoma. A close game for most of the contest, Oklahoma needed a late run and then some foul shot misses by Oklahoma State to even have a chance in this game. The normally excellent foul shooting of the Cowboys left them in the final minutes and that was all Oklahoma need to get their chance. A late foul call along the sideline with 0.6 seconds remaining gave Oklahoma two shots for the win and Terrell Everett hit them both. Since Sean Sutton has taken over for his father who is on leave, the Cowboys are 2-3. One of those wins though was a blowout against Texas. Games like last night and the Texas contest should give the Cowboys hope for a run deep into the Big XII tournament and perhaps at least a shot at some post-season play.
- Conversations with some friends over the weekend had me down on both West Virginia and Pittsburgh, despite their play in the Big East. While others were picking them as their outside chances to upset the top five or six teams in college basketball, I was on the opposite side. Last night's game between the two didn't have me doubting that feeling.
Pittsburgh has consistently gone away in big games over the last two months. Sure, it was the Big East season, but that is where you have to prove yourself as one of the top teams. Otherwise, come March, there may not be a chance to prove yourself. Last night, the Panthers were cold from the field and the tough defense they had against West Virginia in their first match was gone. If you look at this Panther team and move them a couple of points in the other direction from where they are now, you have Notre Dame, a team with very little chance of even making the Big East tournament (Two wins by the Irish to finish the season and they should be in but it still might take a tie breaker).
West Virginia has consistently underplayed their high RPI rating (#23 according to CollegeRPI.com) all season. Their marquis win outside of conference is Oklahoma and they already have losses on their record from Texas, Kentucky, and LSU, all teams they should be competing with in the tournament. They have beaten Villanova in their only meeting, which should look good on their resume. Otherwise, against their conference, their record should be a little suspect. They barely survived a Cincinnati team that has played well, but the Moutaineers won when the Bearcats did not have Armein Kirkland. They have just managed to squeak by Louisville and now Pittsburgh in their last two games and neither has been pretty. Outside of the Villanova victory, the best feat they can claim in conference is a sweep of Georgetown, a dangerous team, but not one that is ready to challenge for an NCAA title, let alone the Big East crown.
So where does that leave West Virginia come March? Let's wait and see, but some team will throw together a great perimeter defense to limit the Mountaineers and force them to try and come inside with the ball. Then, it will be up to Kevin Pittsnogle to try and live up to the hype he generated around himself in last year's tournament. We already saw them fail at this against Syracuse just a week ago. The Orange held West Virginia without a free throw attempt thanks to their hesitancy to go inside against the 2-3 zone defense. A combination of great guard defense and a big center in the middle should be able to take out West Virginia. Don't be surprised if the Mountaineers are gone early, perhaps by the second round.
- Two words for how much the loss of Matt Trannon hurts Michigan State until his jaw is healed enough for him to play: A lot. Every loss the Spartans take at this point in the season costs them a spot in the S-Curve used to seed teams in the tournament. Two losses and counting since his departure, things don't get easier with Wisconsin and Illinois on the schedule. Four losses in a row plus an unknown Big Ten tournament result could have the Spartans dropping at least 2 bracket lines from where they were just a week ago (Potential 3 or 4 seed with a chance to play in Auburn Hills).
- Dick Bennett is stepping down at Washington State come the end of the season. Despite his success with a tough pressure defense, I was never that impressed with the offense that Bennett ran and his team always seemed one small run by the opposition away from losing. While you can't complain much when your team is winning games, you can when they start to lose them and get embarrassed doing it. Other than two inexplicable wins against Washington, the offense for the Cougars this season has been, well, offensive. Three times this season, Bennett's Cougars have failed to top the 40 point mark and scored only 41 in a loss to Cal recently. If that wasn't bad enough, the Cougars actually had a game where they scored only 29 points last year. Bennett will likely be replaced on the bench by his son Tony, a current assistant coach. It is believed that Tony will run a game with a little more offensive power to it. There is still no word on whether he will sing "Rags to Riches" at his first press conference.
- Current MRI leaders in the conferences who tournaments begin today and sleeper to pull the upset:
- Big South - Leader: Winthrop, Sleeper team: Coastal Carolina (Swept Winthrop this season and winners of their last 10 games. Plus they have one of the cooler mascot logos)
- Horizon - Leader: Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Sleeper team: Butler (Need to win only two games for title. Split season series with UW-M)
- Ohio Valley - Leader: Murray State, Sleeper team: Tennessee State (Get through the first game against Samford and this team, who a few seasons ago was falling apart, will have some serious momentum. Winners of 5 of 6 going into tournament. Only loss in that time to Murray State)
- Tournament simulations were again run on the latest Tournament Projections. There is a definite advantage to being one of the top ranked teams at this point. Only one of the top 8 did not make it through the first 25 tournament runs to the Final Eight showdown that I do. Villanova was passed by Florida in that regard. In the final 50 simulations run with the top 8 teams from the first round, the big winner was MRI #2, Duke. The Blue Devils finished with 16 tournament wins and 10 second place finishes. Finishing close behind was the #1 MRI team, Texas. The Longhorns won 12 tournaments sims while also finishing second 10 times. Of the final eight, the lone team without a sim championship was Florida, the only team to pull an upset to get into the final bracket. Notes from the sim:
- Most Final Fours in the 25 sims by a non-Top 6 conference team: tie between Bradley and George Mason with two each in the Oakland Region.
- Most surprising team to make a Final Four: Oral Roberts, a #15 seed in the Washington D.C. Bracket with Duke, who needed a string of upsets to eventually come out of that bracket
- Regions with the most teams making the Final Four: Atlanta, GA and Oakland, CA. Both had half of teams score at least one Final Four berth.
- Most dominant team in their bracket: Duke reached 11 of the 25 sim final fours (a sign of what was to come in the final 50)
- Connecticut again lost 10 Finals match-ups out of the 50 Elite Eight sims. The Huskies did manage four victories this time, showing that they are moving ever closer to the top three teams in the MRI who again dominated the numbers.
Posted by bmiraski at 12:00 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
January 20, 2006
Couch Musings - January 20th, 2006
The couch has been getting a lot of work this week. Here are five thoughts for you from the last few days.
- Look out for North Carolina State. Despite the loss to Duke on Wednesday night, the Wolfpack is finally breaking through to the top of the ACC standings. If there wasn't a guy named Shelden Williams playing for Duke, North Carolina State would boast maybe the best big man in the ACC. Sophomore Cedric Simmons dominated the inside against the Blue Devils despite the presence of Williams and finished with a game high 28 points and 9 rebounds. He also threw up Williams-like numbers with seven blocks. Considering he got no help from fellow big man Ilian Evtimov, that is highly impressive. Oh, and as I mentioned, he is only a sophomore. Sitting at 3-2 in conference, the season could turn on how well the Wolfpack plays against Wake Forest on Saturday night. If Simmons shows up like he did against Duke, they may have nothing to worry about.
- Florida stepped out of conference and played Savannah State on Wednesday night. While I haven't checked the numbers, this could possibly the most lopsided game in the history of the MRI based on the predictions. How do I figure? Since I have begun tracking the performance of the MRI in predicting games, there have been 91 games beyond the point where the formula predicts 100% chance of winning the game. That point is established using a formula comparing the two team's MRIs and rests at a formula result of 14. The game between Florida and Savannah State registered a 19.5 from the formula which I am confident to say is probably the highest rating of those 91 games. The Gators won by 51 points, but don't expect to see those results skewing the MRI just yet. Savannah State has yet to win a ball game at the Division 1 level and Florida is yet to lose which leaves the rated margin of victory applied to this game for both squads is a big zero. Now that Florida has had its fun, they get back to business against a team that should give them a little tougher test, Tennessee, on Saturday. Savannah State continues to look for its first D-1 victory in the first of a two game set against Longwood on Saturday. Just in case you are wondering, Longwood has an 82% chance of winning this one. The best chance for Savannah State this season? A home game against The Citadel on February 22nd. The Tigers right now have a 25% chance of pulling that one off.
- People thought Dave Leitao was crazy for leaving DePaul and taking the job at Virginia. Maybe that thought will start to change if the Cavaliers continue to play like they did on Thursday night against North Carolina. Virginia dealt the Tar Heels their second straight conference loss and made them look very much like the young team that they are. The Cavs played very tough defense and to the best of their ability, kept North Carolina shooting from outside, which didn't work out too well for the team in Carolina blue. They ended up shooting 36% from the field, well below their average of 47%. Virginia is now 3-2 in the ACC and sitting in 4th place, somewhere no one thought they would be at the beginning of the season. If they keep up the tough defense, they can continue to prove the predictions wrong. Meanwhile, North Carolina better figure out how to fix what is wrong quickly. Everyone knew the season would be tough with the young team, but no one expected it to go downhill so quickly once the ACC season started. The Tar Heels travel to Florida State on Sunday night, a tough game against an upstart Seminoles team. Looks like the ACC will look a lot different after the weekend.
- No offense to those in the state of North Carolina who believe that they have the best rivalry in college sports, but the best basketball rivalry over the past 4 or five years has been in the city of Cincinnati with Xavier and the University of Cincinnati. Despite the departure of Bob Huggins, last night was no different. While Huggins watched from the stands, the game went back and forth. Xavier's lack of consistent free throw shooting hurt them near the end as they missed the front end of consecutive one and one foul shot opportunities. That was all it took to allow Jihad Muhammad to sink the tying three point basket at the end of regulation. In overtime, the Musketeers again had trouble with foul shooting but did just enough to hold on at the defensive end and beat the Bearcats. Cincinnati has now lost three in a row starting with a loss to Connecticut when they lost Armein Kirkland. In the new tough Big East, they can't afford to have that losing streak go on too much longer.
- This was a good week to be named Marcus Williams. First, Connecticut's Williams had a huge game against Syracuse to keep the Huskies near the top of the standings in the tough Big East. Now, Arizona's Williams stepped up big at the right time to help Arizona down Stanford late on Thursday. It took going to overtime, but Williams hit key baskets at the right time while scoring 22 points to help the Wildcats hold down the Cardinal who had erased an 11 point halftime deficit. Arizona narrowly avoided losing three straight games for the first time in over 440 games, the longest streak in the league. Had Stanford not botched their final possession with time running down in regulation, that streak would have been over. Instead, overtime went Arizona's way and gave them the victory. Arizona's defense allowed the other team to shoot for over 50% for the third straight game, a statistic that will not bode well for the Wildcats going forward.
- At least Gonzaga won last night, which is nothing new. What is new is that they had huge contributions from JP Batista and Derek Raivio to beat Loyola Marymount soundly. The Zags are starting to get the contributions from the other players to support the play of Adam Morrison. I am not ready to give them the Final Four like some ESPN announcers just yet, but this is a good sign for a team that I am skeptical of.
- I guess we saw last night which way the Kansas season is going to go. They shot terribly for long stretches of the game and the freshman problems are more evident than they are hidden. First, you have to make your free throws. Shooting only 60% from the line is not going to win you games and in this case, it probably cost them the game. Early in the contest against Missouri, they were leading by a slim margin. At the time, they were 2 for 8 from the free throw line. Now, imagine just hitting a few more of those free throws. All of a sudden, a four point lead is an eight point lead. That is a major difference in terms of perception for a Missouri team that needed that win just as much as Kansas did. Of course, the most obvious missed free throws were at the end of regulation when Christian Moody missed two shots when making just one would have secured the win for Kansas. Second, the late game ball management by Brandon Rush was atrocious. With time running down in overtime, Rush threw the ball away after driving to the hoop. This was not the only time that Rush mishandled the ball in the overtime and more than anything players need to know their roles late in games. He should know that he is a shooter and not a fancy play maker. He is not a ball handler and should not be dribbling more than required to get close to the basket. If anything you can blame that second point both on the players and the coaching staff. Coaching is paramount late in games, especially when your team's season may hang in the balance. This was a misstep by the Kansas coaches, one they may not have a chance to get back.
- Despite the poor play of Kansas both at the free throw line and late in the overtime, let's take nothing away from Missouri's Thomas Gardner and Jimmy McKinney. Both players made huge contributions for their team and helped to lead the comeback by the Tigers and even get them to overtime. Gardner finished with 40 points, a career high, and was the focus of the Tiger offense all evening. McKinney contributed when needed to take the heat away from Gardner and give the Kansas defense a second target to concentrate on. McKinney finished with 19 including 5 during a very key stretch in the second half. Missouri took this game away from Kansas and these two were the keys.
- Connecticut is beginning to scare me. They look good and proved it last night in the victory over Syracuse even if the final numbers don't show the domination they had in the game. 16 blocks are nothing to laugh at. 19 assists are nothing to laugh at, including 11 from Marcus Williams, playing in only his 5th game this season. This wasn't Savannah State that Connecticut was playing. This was Syracuse, winners of 12 straight games. What scares me the most is that this team looks a lot like Syracuse, just not Syracuse of 2005-6. They look like Syracuse of 200-2-3 who won the National Title. What do I mean? Look at the domination inside. Early in the season that year, I commented on how tough the Orange were going to be to beat because of the zone and the size they boasted inside. Now look at Connecticut with Hilton Armstrong leading the way and tell me that the Huskies don't have they same look. Look at the great court presence from the point and a strong forward. Back in Syracuse's season, it was Carmelo Anthony and Jerry McNamara. Now we have Rudy Gay and Marcus Williams. And just like Syracuse that season, Connecticut just can't seem to climb in the MRI and that is a scary sign. The only difference between their seasons? Connecticut is getting love in the polls and won't be a surprise if they take it all this season.
- If you are a coach trying to show young kids the importance of making free throws, or even how to make free throws, there were a number of exhibitions put on last night. The best game for them to watch would have been the Missouri-Oklahoma State game. The two teams combined to go 44 of 49 from the free throw line for an unbelievable 90%. This included Joey Graham making all 13 of his attempts and his twin brother Stephen only missing 1 of his 8 attempts. Linas Kleiza, a 66% free throw shooter, matched Joey G's feat by also hitting all 13 of his from the charity stripe. His performance almost willed Missouri to a win in this game but the Graham brothers and John Lucas were too much for the Tigers who didn't get double digit scoring from any other player.
- Tuesday night should have been called the night of the Second Option. Missouri didn't have one and went down. Providence also struggled to find one beyond Ryan Gomes and lost to a Villanova team missing their best player, Curtis Sumpter. In his place, the next best players all stepped up to fill the hole. Allen Ray scored 27 and Jason Fraser, who was averaging a little over 6 points in his previous 10 games, went off for 25 points and also grabbed 13 rebounds, 10 on the offensive end. The big games turned in by Ray and Fraser were key to the Wildcats victory, along with a tenacious pressure defense which pushed the Friars into 29 turnovers.
- Second options might also be called unsung players. One of those plays for Wake Forest. We hear a lot of about Chris Paul and the impact that the sophomore has had on the team. We hear a lot about the disappointment that Vytas Danelius was last year after a great sophomore year. But through all of that one man goes unseen and unsung, Justin Gray. Gray led the Demon Deacons in scoring last season at 17 points a game. While he was a first team all conference selection last year, he didn't get the press that everyone else in the ACC normally does. Maybe he was a little upset at this as, this year, he is back on top at 17.7 points per game. This was helped by his big performance against Maryland on Tuesday. Gray went off for 25 points including 6 of 9 from three point range. Despite Maryland shooting almost 50% from the field, Wake Forest easily cruised to victory by 15. It might have something to do with Maryland shooting only 1 for 14 from beyond the arc. Or it might have something to do with Maryland being terrible getting rebounds. Wake Forest was able to bring down 22 offensive rebounds and no one on Maryland's team had double digit numbers in that area. If Maryland doesn't do better at grabbing boards, they will be in trouble. In the last two games, both of which Maryland was embarrassed in, they have been outrebounded 100-64. Even in their lone conference win against Florida State, they were beat on the glass, 56-44. This was not the way that the Terps wanted to start in the ACC.
- Will the real West Virginia please stand up? If it wasn't bad enough getting their first loss in the Big East opener against Villanova in blow out style, imagine how they feel after last night. Playing Marshall in the battle for the Mountain State in Charleston, you would have thought that West Virginia would have easily handled the two win Herd. Instead, the Herd took down the Mountaineers for their second embarrassing defeat in two weeks and Marshall's third win of the season. Couple this with a close win against a St. John's team which wasn't expected to win very many conference games and you are looking at a team about to crumble to dust after a 10-0 start. West Virginia's next test comes against undefeated Boston College on Sunday.
- Texas A&M is apparently as good as their record says. They were able to hang with Kansas through the whole game. Now, Kansas is without Wayne Simien who most likely would have caused some trouble inside for the Aggies. That is not to say that A&M can't make the NCAA tournament out of the Big XII, or that they won't compete. From last night's game, it was clear they will be in every game and will challenge some teams on the bubble for the last few spots in March.
- There was an article in USA Today yesterday outlining the West Virginia Mountaineers. The last time that West Virginia was 10-0, they had a guy named Jerry West on their team. In case you didn't know, it is West's picture that makes up the NBA logo, so he might have been a little good. They could have used someone like West last night when they had their hat handed to them by Villanova. Apparently beating up on some mid-caliber teams before Big East play was good for one thing, getting wins. It didn't prepare them to take a big loss to the Wildcats. The MRI had Villanova as favored in that game, which should have told us something about the Mountaineers, as they were the lowest of the unbeaten teams in the MRI. The Wildcats did show that they were here to stay and could be making a run for the tournament themselves.
- Boston College is apparently more than just Craig Smith. With Smith in foul trouble all night against Connecticut, the Eagles still managed to build a ten point lead and hold on for a win on the road. They got a big boost from Jared Dudley who took over the game when Smith went to the bench and kept on leading when Smith came back onto the court. Boston College now takes over the title of lowest ranked undefeated team. They however proved they may have a little more staying power in that "0" next to their name.
- Alcorn State's win earned them their first Division 1 victory and officially got them on the board in the MRI. That leaves three teams without a Division 1 victory: Army, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, and Savannah State. The Tigers of Savannah State lost again last night to Norfolk State by 31. This puts them to a record of 0-18 and ensures that they will most likely remain in last place in the MRI for the rest of the season as their new MRI total is -120.33
- Apparently South Florida may be more than Terrence Leather and Bily Swift. The Bulls got a boost from freshman Collin Dennis last night to beat East Carolina by 1 on the road. Leather still led the team with 18 points but Dennis contributed with 15 points including 9 of 10 from the free throw line. He hit six in a row during the final moments to ensure the victory for the Bulls. If Dennis can continue to contribute like this, he may no longer be coming off the bench for Robert McCullum's team and we may hear more from the Bulls during the Conference USA season than we originally thought.
- Pittsburgh is now officially not looking so well. Not that a loss to Georgetown is much to be ashamed about but when you are expecting to contend for the Big East title, you are not supposed to lose to Bucknell at home and then follow it with a loss to the Hoyas. With giant killer Rutgers next on the schedule, especially on the road, coach Jamie Dixon has a lot of work to do with his squad or they might drop to 0-2 in the conference. Senior Chevon Troutman, who managed only 5 points in last night's loss is going to have to contribute more as the third scoring option for the Panthers to have any hope of winning on Saturday.
- I was shocked to see Alcorn State lose at home to Prairie View, which was the one loss of the night in the highlighted games. In a game where neither team was stellar on paper, the Braves were the better team going in and there is no reason for the loss. Delvin Thompson, the Braves' leading scorer did break double digits again, but he was overshadowed by Phillip Scott from Prairie View who bucketed 26 in the win. I guess Alcorn State will have to wait until it plays another bottom dweller in the conference for its first Division 1 victory. It shouldn't take too long in the SWAC.
- Two other things I did not count on last night: Wichita State losing to Manhattan at home, and UM-Kansas City beating IUPUI on the road. The Shockers were undefeated and the Jaspers had not been playing well, starting the year with a 3-4 record. Wichita State was cold from the floor, shooting at 35% when they normally are 10 points better. Manhattan able to better them by just a bit to get the edge. Wichita State is still 2-0 in the Missouri Valley conference. They will need to not have a repeat of last night if they hope to survive in a very tough year in the Valley. In the other game, it looks like Kansas City just wanted it more. They were led by Quinton Day with 21 points and had three other players score in double figures off the bench. They were almost 50% from three point land too while holding the Jaguars to only 33% shooting. IUPUI isn't the team they were a year ago, but they still have talent. It just didn't come to play on Monday.
- The combined first wins and first losses from last night bring the number of undefeated teams down to 6 and the number of D-1 winless teams to 4. I still have a chance to have my prediction to come true. If only Savannah State had played a little better last night...
- Reggie Love broke a bone in his foot and will be out anywhere from 3-6 weeks depending on how fast he heals. With Shavlik Randolph out suffering from Mono, Love was counted on to fill some of the holes on the inside. His solid play so far had earned him the start against Clemson this past Sunday. Will his injury hurt the Blue Devils? You bet. Can they still win? Yes. This does leave them even thinner inside though and any significant foul trouble by Sheldon Williams will start to make the Duke coaches sweat a little more. As I said earlier, Duke will be in trouble if they are ever in a game against a good big man and their shots aren't going in. This was obviously the case for the first half on Sunday until J.J. Redick got rolling. Now, with the reduced depth, this weakness will be even more apparent. You know Coach K is hoping Love heals quickly.
- I am going to start an All-Bad Hair team. During breaks in the Sugar Bowl, I flipped over to see what I could of the LSU-Utah game. Utah's leading scorer and rebounder, Andrew Bogut, has one of the most plastic looking hair styles I have ever seen. He must have used an entire bottle of something to get his hair into the lacquered helmet-like style that he showed on Monday night. To make it worse, the Aussie is obviously doing it on purpose and this was not a bad hair day. They showed the media picture of him during the game and, in that, he was sporting a long blonde cut. That's a far cry from the short black riot gear he had on Monday. Bogut is therefore my center on the A-BH team. I will also be adding Matt Gibson from Hawaii to this list. In their game against Fresno State last week, he had quite mess working on his head. With a guard and a center so far, I need three more players to round out this fine coiffed group. And with these two, I might be able to field a pretty nice starting five with the right additions. Nominations are always welcome.
- The MRI went 2-1 in the games to watch last night. The one loss was the Providence-Memphis game which had the lowest confidence factor of the three games. Memphis is in a downward spiral and I don't think they are going to find their way out. They just don't look confident on the floor anymore. A few times in the game, they made runs to get close to Providence, but then it seemed that the offense would fall apart and let the Friars run out to another big lead for them to overcome. Providence got a good win here. They needed to get their confidence back and continuously fighting off the Tigers was a nice way to do it.
- With the 2-1 record last night, the MRI was 9-6 for the week in games to watch. Overall, the MRI went 30-7 last night to bring the week's record to 186-31. With only one game being played tonight, there will not be any games to watch today. All teams have the weekend off before resuming play on Monday. With that loss of the weekend, there will be no MRI released this Monday. Look for it to return on January 3rd.
- As I said yesterday, when you watch Southern Illinois, you only need to know one thing: Darren Brooks. Brooks went for 16 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals, in the win over Illinois State last night, 61-49.
- At the beginning of the year, I did a preview of the four new teams that the MRI would be tracking throughout the season. Little did I expect that of the four teams, the one with the most Division 1 wins at this point in the year would be the one that was a community college last season. I didn't expect Utah Valley State to win more than one game this season. Last night, the Wolverines won their fourth game of the year over Montana State, 80-60. They have now won three in a row and only one loss has been by more than 16 points. Their next game is against Oral Roberts on December 28th. This will be one to watch if they can pull an upset on a team which had been playing very well this season until two recent losses out in Hawaii.
- Two more teams got their first Division 1 win of the year last night, Chicago State and Idaho. That leaves us with only 13 winless D1 teams. We also have 13 undefeated teams remaining. I am tempted to say that we will have all the teams win before all the teams lose, but that is asking a lot from Savannah State, currently in the basement of the MRI by a big margin. Still, I will say it. Someone will lose to Savannah State before the last team in Division 1 loses a game.
- Illinois-Chicago wasn't going to let themselves be embarrassed for the second game in a row. They beat Saginaw Valley 79-47 last night to end their losing streak against Non-Division 1 teams. They take on Detroit, the loser in Chicago State's first win, next Thursday night.
- If any piece of any game so far this season has made the money investment worth it for the cable sports package, it was the ending of the Charlotte-Indiana game. While the rest of the game was a sloppy mess with the most airballs I had ever seen in a college game, the final 4 seconds were well worth tuning into. With the game tied, Indiana had an inbounds pass on the side which went in right to a shooter. The shot was missed but Patrick Ewing came unblocked to tip the miss back into the basket to give Indiana the lead with 0.7 seconds remaining. After a Charlotte timeout, the inbounds pass by the 49ers went to half court, into the hands of Brendan Plavich. Plavich had struggled shooting the ball until that point took one dribble and heaved from the time line. The ball sailed through the air as the Indiana players celebrated, believing that the shot was called off. When the ball swished through the net, all celebration in the arena stopped. The referees did a great job of controlling the players and fans while they examined the replay. Clearly, the television showed that Plavich got the shot away with 0.1 seconds remaining on the clock, counting the 3 and giving Charlotte the win. All told, that was an amazing finish to what was a pretty horrible game.
- Without Wayne Simien, Kansas should still be able to win, as they showed last night against Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Unfortunately, the Panthers, while a very good mid-major team, are not up to the level of competition that Kansas will see when the Big XII season begins in a week. While Kansas should easily beat the teams in the middle and bottom half of the conference, without Simien, they will struggle against the top tier of teams in Oklahoma, Texas, and Oklahoma State. While they should beat the other competition, they will have one problem and that is finishing power. With Simien in the game, he gives Kansas a very strong inside presence which can allow them to put games away early. Case in point is the game against the Panthers last night. While Kansas led comfortably for most of the game thanks to early poor shooting by UW-Milwaukee, they were never able to seal the game away and ride into the comfortable win. The lead would get to 13 points, but then drop back to 5. Back to 13, back down to 7. Each time the lead swung in this manner, the Panther team got more confident. A Big XII opponent will not let the momentum swing go to waste and Kansas will need to be very careful on the road when the crowd will be come a factor, unlike last night in friendly Kemper Arena. Hopefully for the Jayhawks, the Freshmen backups will be able to gain enough confidence in the first two weeks of Simien's absence to make a difference when the time comes.
- Luckily for Illinois, Roger Powell was able to make a difference inside last night against Missouri. With James Augustine in perpetual foul trouble last night, Illinois was heavily relying on the play of its guards around the outside. Luther Head was definitely clutch, getting late baskets when the Illini needed it most. As I have said before, the Illini will not be able to count on Nick Smith as a great inside presence like Augustine has been for them over the first weeks of the season. With Augustine on the bench, Linas Kleiza was able to take advantage and increase his scoring, something that was key throughout the game for Missouri. When Kleiza got the ball in his hands, something good tended to happen for the Tigers, even if he wasn't the one scoring. Illinois will need to do something to address this deficiency sometime before they pay again. When you have a team as good as they are, and without any obvious flaws, they should have no problem fixing this one.
- Texas A&M Corpus Christi lost to Alabama last night, ending their Cinderella-like run through their season so far. They should still continue to be looked at as the favorite in most of their remaining games this year. In addition, they can take heart in the fact that they were very able to play with Alabama until late in the second half when the Tide pulled away. The Islanders have another chance to pull the shocker when they play Oklahoma State on January 3rd.
- Sorry, but I have to say it one more time. "WOW!" to the shot and ending of the Charlotte-Indiana game.
- The guy sitting next to me at the Iowa game last night sounded so much like Johnny Red Kerr, the Bulls announcer, that I had to keep looking at him to make sure it wasn't him. He and his son kept up a conversation the whole game. That would have been fine with me if it was about basketball the whole time, but it was about his son losing his glasses for the second time this year, and how his son somehow lost his bicycle. When he did talk about basketball, he sounded very on his game. Tip for the guy next time: Leave your son at home and sit behind Bobby Knight. He could have used you last night.
- I was thankful to be at the game last night. From my seat, it appeared that Jimmy Dykes and Fran Fraschilla were doing the game for ESPN2. I don't mind Dykes, but Fraschilla is not high on my list of guys I want to hear help call a game. He isn't bad in the studio, but for 40 minutes of basketball, he is enough to put you to sleep. At least it wasn't Mike Jarvis.
- If losing to Duke in Cameron by 33 and getting blown out in the second half and then being beaten by Depaul wasn't bad enough for Illinois-Chicago, last night they lost to UW-Parkside, 79-73. The loss drops the Flames to 3-6 overall. Why did they lose to this Division 2 team? You can blame it on Parkside Rangers' player Gareth Malkowski. Malkowski was good for 33 points including 8 three pointers, a record for the UIC Pavillion. In total, the Rangers shot 50% behind the arc, adding 3 more from Freshman Kyle Clark who finished with 13 points. Compare that to the Flames' terrible performance from three point land. They shot just 2-11, both made by Cedrick Banks. The Flames better hope to improve. They have already lost their sole conference game to the team they are hoping to edge out for the Horizon league title, Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Still, the conference is pretty even across the board this year. It is still possible anything could happen, especially in the tournament.
- The Youngstown State Penguins, also of the Horizon league, joined the ranks of the winning by beating Loyola-Chicago last night for their first D-1 win of the season. The victory leaves 16 teams without a Division 1 win this season. And while the Ramblers look to be the doormat of the Horizon this season, they are not one of those teams. They won their opener against Northern Illinois.
- The Delaware Blue Hens better be enjoying their trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico, by spending some time on the beaches because they are not having fun in the gym. With today's early morning loss to Middle Tennessee State, they were swept on the island in the San Juan Shootout with the other defeats coming against Auburn and Toledo. Yes, that is the Auburn team that lost to MRI favorite, Wofford. And that is the same Toledo team which was blown out by Duke and was 1-5 going into the game yesterday. And they didn't just lose to Toledo, they got blown out to the tune of 23 points. Delaware wasn't expected to do much this year in the Colonial conference, predicted to finish either 6th or 7th in the league. Still, you would have expected this team to come away with at least one win in the tournament.
- In other Colonial news, the Drexel Dragons lost to Seton Hall last night, 58-54. The Dragons didn't get the normal performance they expects from Senior Phil Goss who shot 3-12 from the field, 2-10 from three, in the loss to the Pirates. Drexel is still hurting without Sean Brooks in the lineup, and it was very evident on Saturday when they lost by 20 to Syracuse. Hurry back Mr. Brooks, Drexel's season depends on it.
- The MRI went 2 for 3 last night, missing the Depaul-Northwestern game. It only gave Depaul a 55% chance of winning going into the game, so this wasn't as big an upset as it seemed on the floor. This was one of only two games the MRI missed last night. As you could see from my recap of the game, it wasn't very exciting to watch. While Northwestern makes you want to root for them, when they play so slow and deliberate, it is hard to really get the motivation going. The challenge game of the night is Ohio State-Texas Tech. Bobby Knight will be looking to exact some hurt on the Buckeyes after they dissed him in the off-season for the head coaching job. Count on the Red Raiders fans helping them to victory.
- Best quote from Rick Majerus's press conference yesterday: "If they want me to go on the horse and throw the spear, I'll do it. The poor horse might not like it."
- Second best quote: "I have had seven bypasses...you know, one for every major food group (crowd laughing)...two from the barbeque division."
- Third best quote: "I want to congratulate Pete Carroll and Matt Leinart and the football team. If they ever need me to suit up and be a suburban, white Gilbert Brown...I can do that.
- Now you see why I will miss this guy calling college basketball games on ESPN. I hope his press conferences continue to be this much fun.
- I wrote yesterday's Games to Watch article before surfing over to ESPN to read anything. I picked 9 games to watch before Saturday. Andy Katz picked five, one of which was Monday night. His other four games were all on my list. Granted there are not a lot of games this week, but for us both to choose the Depaul-Northwestern game, well, that was a shocker.
- The MRI correctly predicted the winner in both of the Games to Watch last night. Calling Duke was not hard, but it got the "upset" win in the Boston University-Michigan game. Since there was no official betting line, I can't tell who was the favorite among the odds makers but I have a feeling that Michigan would have been favored by a little since they were playing at home. Michigan definitely isn't playing at the level they were at last season when they took the NIT. They may have to struggle to even make that tournament this year.
- Siena and Youngstown State, two teams in the bottom 30 of the MRI, played 4 Overtime periods last night in their game. That means that the players played 60 minutes of basketball. I guess someone will be sleeping in today. Siena won on a shot in the final seconds of the last overtime period, 79-78.
- Rick Majerus accepted the job at USC after rumors all week pointed in his direction. This is a big downer for me. Majerus was a highlight for me on the telecasts ever since he joined the ESPN team last season. Compared with Steve Lavin, Mike Jarvis, and Fran Fraschilla, Majerus was definitely the best of the bunch. His commentary during games was very insightful and you could see why he was such a great coach in his previous 20 years. Not one of these other coaches could break a team down better and explain it in a way that you could understand. Majerus would give strategy during the broadcasts and then watch as teams failed when they went against what he had said or succeed when their coach agreed. Majerus knows his game, and simply put, Majerus will be missed on microphone. At the same time, this is great for USC, a team which just needs a little bit of push to become one of the premier programs in not only the PAC-10, but also the country. This is no knock on interim coach Jim Saia. Majerus is just a better candidate at this point. In his previous 20 seasons as a head coach, his teams have gone to a post season tournament 19 times. There are very few coaches in the game these days who can claim that level of success for that long. The only negative with Majerus might be his health. He left Utah last season because of health problems and you can only hope that he has improved enough where taking over the job at USC won't cause him to have to leave prematurely once more. Good luck to Majerus next season when he officially takes over the job.
Posted by bmiraski at 12:30 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 17, 2006
Couch Musings - January 17, 2006
It is halftime of the Illinois-Indiana game and already I am starting to worry about my article from Monday. Why is it that nothing can actually go the way that I think it will? A couple of thoughts on last night's contests.
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January 12, 2005
Couch Musings - January 12th
I am seriously thinking that I will need to buy two more television sets at some point and place them all in my living room with their own cable boxes. Trying to flip between the Arkansas-Alabama, Missouri-Oklahoma State, and the end of the Villanova-Providence games, was quite a feat. At least when Louisville played like the Globetrotters against Southern Mississippi doing their best Washington Nationals impression, it left me free to watch the Ohio State-Wisconsin game in its entirety.
Musings for last night:
Posted by bmiraski at 11:23 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 6, 2005
Couch Musings - January 6th
Well, what did we learn last night from seeing 2 of the last 6 undefeated teams take their first loss?
Tonight is a triple header of games on ESPN2 including DePaul-Cincinnati, Memphis-Texas (featuring Dickie V), and Gonzaga-Santa Clara. I am most interested in the bookend games as Texas should easily handle Memphis. Look for some recaps of these games over the weekend, and let's hope that at some point I can finally get those other three games written up and into the log.
Posted by bmiraski at 11:38 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 4, 2005
Couch Musings - January 4th
On a night when I chose to pick all bottom MRI teams to feature for the Games to Watch, I had no idea that the system would pick so well in those games and so terrible in all the rest.
My thoughts from last night:
Enjoy the football game tonight.
Posted by bmiraski at 11:40 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 24, 2004
Couch Musings - December 24th
While seeing only half of the Providence-Memphis game yesterday, a few things caught my eye through the box scores.
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December 23, 2004
Couch Musings - December 23rd
Last night was the kind of evening when you are glad you have the ESPN Full Court cable television package. Without it, I only could have seen the Illinois-Missouri game, and you probably would have had a recap on it here. But through the wonders of modern television, I was able to attempt to watch 3 games at one time. Flipping between the UW-Milwaukee-Kansas game, the Illinois-Missouri game, and the second half of the UNC-Charlotte-Indiana game, meant that I couldn't cover one game in full but rather will just have to give my impressions on each.
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December 22, 2004
Couch Musings - December 22nd
A full recap of the Iowa-Texas Tech game will be coming shortly. Being there was definitely an experience and it was nice to finally see a game in person even if a real college stadium would have been a better arena to be in.
Posted by bmiraski at 1:17 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 16, 2004
Couch Musings - December 16th
Predictions for tonight's Ohio State-Texas Tech game and Friday's games are posted. I am not expecting the predicted winners or the percentage chance to change that much before tomorrow. I only posted Friday's a day early because traveling tonight may preclude me getting the data perfect for the games. Feel free to yell at me if I get them wrong.
Posted by bmiraski at 3:59 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 15, 2004
Couch Musings
A full recap and analysis of last night's game between UIC and Duke will be coming but until then a few notes from last night.
Predictions for tonight's Games to Watch are posted.
Posted by bmiraski at 3:53 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack