Satruday, March 24
NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament - Regional Finals
West Region - (4) Louisville Cardinals vs (7) Florida Gators
I don't know what to say about this one. The Florida Gators have consistently failed to rise to the occasion when facing a better ranked or seeded opponent. Thursday's game against third seeded Marquette was the first time my gut told me Florida was going to break through but my brain told me to look at their track record. I picked Marquette. I was wrong.
I have no idea who is going to win this game. Both teams have talent. Both teams look really good when they are good. Both teams can be inconsistent at the most inconvenient times. Both teams have risen to the test during March Madness. And the coaches of both teams, legendary Rick Pitino of Louisville and his protege Billy Donovan of Florida.
I think Louisville wins if they can penetrate Florida's defense can bottle up Florida guard Erving Walker (12 PPG, 5 APG). Florida wins if they can neutralize Louisville guard Peyton Siva (9 PPG, 6 APG, 2 StlPG) and keep the ball out of Kyle Kuric's (13 PPG, 4 RPG) hands inside the wing areas.
I would call this game a "push" were it not for the importance of the outcome. Therefore, I'm going to defer to the chalk.
Advantage: Louisville
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| Pitino (left) and Donovan (right): teacher and pupil 1 |
East Region - (1) Syracuse Orange vs (2) Ohio State Buckeyes
Four words: Game of the Week. This is the first of two #1 seed vs #2 seed matchups in the Elite Eight round. Syracuse has persevered in spite of losing Big East Defensive Players of the Year, Fab Melo (8 PPG, 6 RPG, 3 BlkPG), due to a university imposed academic-related suspension. In spite of some close calls, the consistent, clutch leadership of senior point guard Scoop Jardine (9 PPG, 5 APG) has helped pull the Orange through to this point.
Ohio State appeared to be on track to a #1 seed, if not the #1 seed in the entire tournament. However, late regular season hiccups derailed those prospects. Today is the day for senior guard Will Buford (15 PPG, 5 RPG), sophomore forward Jared Sullinger (18 PPG, 9 RPG) and the Buckeyes to prove that, in fact, they are among college basketball's elite.
The keys to victory are very simple in my opinion. This is about what Ohio State can or cannot do. Syracuse wins if they can neutralize Sullinger, a tough task without Melo anchoring the zone, and keep Buford from getting hot. The Orange have gotten by on talent differences thus far. But Ohio State is in the same class and Syracuse and I think that the consequences of Melo's absence will become evident tonight.
Advantage: Ohio State
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| Can OSU Coach Thad Motta break through to the Final Four and cut down the nets this year? 2 |
Sunday, March 25
NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament - Regional Finals
South Region - (1) Kentucky Wildcats vs (3) Baylor Bears
This has been a very exciting 12 months for Baylor University athletics. Between Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin, III, also known as "RG3", in football and the rise to the ranks of the elite in basketball, anchored by "PJ3", Perry Jones, III (14 PPG, 7 RPG), the Bears have had plenty to cheer about.
It ends today. Not to sounds like a broken record, but Kentucky looks invincible. The only hope to take the Wildcats out in the Big Dance vanished with the suspension of Syracuse's Fab Melo. Kentucky wins to day if it makes either few, as many, or slightly more minor mistakes than Baylor. Yes, I am suggesting that Kentucky is so much more talented that they can makes a few more mistakes than Baylor and win.
Baylor wins if they can get hot with their outside shooting, AND draw Kentucky's Anthony Davis (14 PPG, 10 APG, 5 BlkPG) into early foul trouble, AND force Kentucky into making critical turnovers...MAYBE Baylor will be withing striking distance in the final minutes. Ponder this: Indiana is the only school to beat Kentucky during the regular season. Indiana, in last night's regional semifinal, was the first team to put up 90 points against Kentucky all year. Indiana wasn't even close, losing by 12.
Advantage: Kentucky
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| Good luck, Baylor. 3 |
Midwest Region - (1) North Carolina Tar Heels vs (2) Kansas Jayhawks
Injuries can be the downfall of any great team. The Jayhawks had a legitimate claim at a #1 seed, but it went to Carolina instead. Since the left (non shooting) wrist injury to Tar Heels 6'4" point guard Kendall Marshall (8 PPG, 10 APG) and the narrow escape against 13th seeded Ohio University in last night's regional semifinal, the claim for superiority (at least on paper) has shifted to the Jayhawks.
Simply put, 6'0" freshman Stilman White (2 Pts., 6 Asst. vs Ohio) is an adequate plug-in for an "easy win" opponent like Ohio (in spite of Ohio's last second heave hitting the iron before the Tar Heels pulled ahead for good in overtime). He is no match for Kansas senior Tyshawn Taylor (17 PPG, 5 APG).
Kansas wins if Marshall does not play. Even if Marshall does play, I question how effective he can be with a surgically repaired left wrist, just a week after the break of that wrist. North Carolina wins if Marshall plays, is adequate in his execution, and senior forward Tyler Zeller (17 PPG, 9 RPG, 2 BlkPG) of UNC can body up and limit the post play of Naismith Award finalist Thomas Robinson (18 PPG, 12 RPG) of Kansas.
Advantage: Kansas
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| 6'0", 160 lbs. Stilman White (1 PPG, 1 APG), left and 6'4", 195 lbs. Kendall Marshall, right. Yep...it's over Tar Heels fans! 4 |
Next week: The Final Four from New Orleans, Louisiana!
Don't forget to vote in the fan polls!
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1) Image spliced from www.usatoday.com and http://topics.floridatoday.com.
2) Image from www.annarbor.com
3) Image from www.usatoday.com
4) Image spliced from http://rivals.yahoo.com and http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com
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