The premiere matchup this weekend is clearly Kentucky facing Louisville. Pitino vs. Calipari, vying for bragging rights and in-state basketball dominance. It is Michigan/Ohio St., Yankees/Red Sox, and Duke/UNC all rolled into one. And Pitino has done a masterful job putting all of the pressure on Kentucky. Of course, he's right, all of the pressure is on Kentucky. They are far and away the best team in college basketball, with what will likely be the top 2 picks in the draft next year.
Kentucky has steamrolled everyone.
There may have been a few moments during the tournament where a game appeared close, but that was short-lived. The Wildcats scored 102 points against Indiana in the Sweet 16, one of only two teams to knock them off this year.
102 points!
This wasn't the first round against the Savannah State Tigers or a team that went on a nice run to win their conference tournament even though they had a 12-28 record for the season. This was a top-15 Indiana basketball team in the Sweet 16. Credit Indiana, they actually played a great game. But Kentucky is just too good. For anyone that saw the first half of the Baylor game, there really isn't a lot of room for debate as to who the best team, and heavy favorite to win it all, is.
Louisville has also been fairly impressive. New Mexico posed a pretty tough challenge, but Louisville outlasted them in the Round of 32. Michigan State was the favorite to come out of the bracket, but the Cardinals smothered them defensively. The Spartans struggled against the press, but ultimately, it was their inability to score that kept them from making it a game. They scored a measly 44 points in a game that the Spartans just couldn't make any kind of run at winning. As great of a defensive game as Louisville played against the one seed, perhaps their most impressive win was over a hot Florida team. Louisville was able to stifle the Gator offense enough, and even though they were largely outplayed and trailing for most of the game, they were able to control the game down the stretch and come out with the victory. Pretty impressive that Pitino moved to 10-0 in Sweet 16 games and 7-0 against his former protege, Billy Donovan.
I'd love to go out on a limb and take Louisville to win this game. I am certainly hoping for an entertaining game, and I do believe that Louisville's defense will be able to slow Kentucky a bit. It will also be interesting to see what Pitino comes up with, knowing he is clearly overmatched from a talent perspective. The problem with taking Louisville is that even if Louisville can contain the Wildcat offense, Kentucky's defense is even better than their offense is. In a one-game situation, anything can happen although Louisville needs to be pretty close to perfect to come out on top. But I believe Kentucky is ready for the pressure, and on a mission to win the title.
Prediction: Kentucky 74, Louisville 58
[Editor's note: John Trifone (@JohnnyT0122) is the author of this post. For his prediction for the other Final Four matchup, click here.]
Showing posts with label March Madness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label March Madness. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Final Four Prediction: Kansas Jayhawks vs. Ohio State Buckeyes (Trifone)
It seems that my predictive powers have waned as the tournament has gone on, and I'm left with just one Final Four team in my bracket; and realistically, how many people don't have Kentucky? Still, I'm undeterred and moving forward, confident as ever in my ability to pick the winners in the Final Four, as well as the eventual Champion.
Ohio State versus Kansas seems to be the forgotten matchup due to the enormous in-state rivalry between Kentucky and Louisville, but this promises to be an excellent matchup. Thomas Robinson squaring off against Jared Sullinger should be a great battle and offers a lot of star power to the game. Both players will be lottery picks should they decide to enter the draft, so both are likely looking at their final opportunity to win the National Championship.
Ohio State has looked good so far this tournament. Gonzaga in the Round of 32 has actually been their closest matchup, as the game was tied with under 3 minutes to go. The next two games against Cincinnati and Syracuse respectively, were decent games, but Ohio St. was playing with the lead for the majority of both games. Cincinnati didn't prove to be much of a challenge as Ohio St. pretty much cruised to the Elite Eight. Syracuse was a bit tougher, but Sullinger only played for six minutes in the first half, and 'Cuse could only manage a tie game after 20 minutes of play. The Buckeyes then stormed out of the gates and took a double-digit lead early on in the second half. Syracuse kept fighting back, but Ohio St. did not relinquish the lead.
Kansas, on the other hand, has been challenged in every game thus far. Detroit gave them more of a game than the 15-point margin would indicate, but for a 2-vs.-15 matchup, was not as big of a blowout as might have been expected. But I suppose with only 50 percent of the 2 seeds getting out of the first round this year, Kansas did pretty well. The next three games were different stories. Purdue led Kansas just about wire-to-wire. Robbie Hummel was brilliant, and Kansas was really fortunate to come away with the win. Purdue was the better team for 38 minutes, but the Jayhawks found a way to squeak by. North Carolina St. was another great game, though it was a bit more back and forth. Kansas had a bit less of a challenge than the Purdue game, but still only won by three, holding off a pretty furious push by the Wolfpack. Finally, the North Carolina game was another tight one. The lead changed hands several times. Bill Self made a nice defensive switch in the second half that Carolina struggled with, and in the final few minutes, Kansas was able to pull away. It may have been a different story if Kendall Marshall had played, but the Jayhawks once again did just enough to get the W.
The obvious pick here is Ohio St. They appear to be playing very well, with more convincing victories thus far, and the Buckeyes have a more talented squad. Call it a feeling, but I'm going to take Kansas to win though. Maybe it's partly rooting for Thomas Robinson and his heartfelt story, but I believe Kansas will rise to the occasion. I've felt that Ohio St. has been a bit overrated all year, although I must admit they've been playing great basketball of late. Still, Kansas has battled, and have come through when they needed to, and I believe they have one more game in them.
Prediction: Kansas 74, Ohio St. 72
[Editor's note: John Trifone (@JohnnyT0122) is the author of this post. For his prediction for the other Final Four matchup, click here.]
Ohio State versus Kansas seems to be the forgotten matchup due to the enormous in-state rivalry between Kentucky and Louisville, but this promises to be an excellent matchup. Thomas Robinson squaring off against Jared Sullinger should be a great battle and offers a lot of star power to the game. Both players will be lottery picks should they decide to enter the draft, so both are likely looking at their final opportunity to win the National Championship.
Ohio State has looked good so far this tournament. Gonzaga in the Round of 32 has actually been their closest matchup, as the game was tied with under 3 minutes to go. The next two games against Cincinnati and Syracuse respectively, were decent games, but Ohio St. was playing with the lead for the majority of both games. Cincinnati didn't prove to be much of a challenge as Ohio St. pretty much cruised to the Elite Eight. Syracuse was a bit tougher, but Sullinger only played for six minutes in the first half, and 'Cuse could only manage a tie game after 20 minutes of play. The Buckeyes then stormed out of the gates and took a double-digit lead early on in the second half. Syracuse kept fighting back, but Ohio St. did not relinquish the lead.
Kansas, on the other hand, has been challenged in every game thus far. Detroit gave them more of a game than the 15-point margin would indicate, but for a 2-vs.-15 matchup, was not as big of a blowout as might have been expected. But I suppose with only 50 percent of the 2 seeds getting out of the first round this year, Kansas did pretty well. The next three games were different stories. Purdue led Kansas just about wire-to-wire. Robbie Hummel was brilliant, and Kansas was really fortunate to come away with the win. Purdue was the better team for 38 minutes, but the Jayhawks found a way to squeak by. North Carolina St. was another great game, though it was a bit more back and forth. Kansas had a bit less of a challenge than the Purdue game, but still only won by three, holding off a pretty furious push by the Wolfpack. Finally, the North Carolina game was another tight one. The lead changed hands several times. Bill Self made a nice defensive switch in the second half that Carolina struggled with, and in the final few minutes, Kansas was able to pull away. It may have been a different story if Kendall Marshall had played, but the Jayhawks once again did just enough to get the W.
The obvious pick here is Ohio St. They appear to be playing very well, with more convincing victories thus far, and the Buckeyes have a more talented squad. Call it a feeling, but I'm going to take Kansas to win though. Maybe it's partly rooting for Thomas Robinson and his heartfelt story, but I believe Kansas will rise to the occasion. I've felt that Ohio St. has been a bit overrated all year, although I must admit they've been playing great basketball of late. Still, Kansas has battled, and have come through when they needed to, and I believe they have one more game in them.
Prediction: Kansas 74, Ohio St. 72
[Editor's note: John Trifone (@JohnnyT0122) is the author of this post. For his prediction for the other Final Four matchup, click here.]
Monday, March 19, 2012
Trifone: First-Week Recap of NCAA Tournament
Although there haven't really been a lot of true buzzer-beaters that we are accustomed to seeing this time of year, this has been one of the most exciting first weekends of the tournament in recent memory. There have been a lot of double-digit seeds advancing, or at least contending for a full 40 minutes. Often times, a 15-seed comes out of the gates on an 8-2 run, only to get trounced by 25 points, and be out of the game by halftime. Not this year.
Thursday was chalk city, with the only real upset being VCU in the 12/5 matchup with Wichita St. Tough to call that too big of an upset, though, as Shaka Smart led the Rams to the Final Four last year. I was disappointed to see them get knocked out in the second round by Indiana, after leading the majority of the game.
Friday brought some history to the March Madness tournament, as for the first time ever, two number 15 seeds advanced to the round of 32. Up until this year, only four 15 seeds have ever knocked off a number two, and two more happened on Friday. First it was Norfolk St., upsetting the mighty Missouri. I have to say, this one shocked me. After following Mizzou for a lot of the year, they had all the talent in the world to make a deep run, and contend for the title. It was reminiscent of 2001 when a Marcus Fizer-led Iowa St. team that had similar aspirations got bounced in the first round by Hampton. As I had Missouri in my Final Four, I was not pleased with the outcome, although I couldn't help but feel torn, rooting against such a massive underdog.
The second major upset was less of a surprise to me. I felt Duke was largely overrated all year, and in fact picked Xavier to knock them off in the second round in my bracket. Still, the way in which it happened was quite surprising. Lehigh pretty much led from start to finish, and Duke never really got back into it. Every time Duke started to make a run, Lehigh had an answer, and down the stretch, losing the lead was never really in jeopardy for the Mountain Hawks. Lehigh came out strong against Xavier, but eventually blew the lead and were unable to become the first ever 15 seed to advance to the sweet 16.
Florida St. gave me a good scare, but were able to fend off the Bonnies and advance. Other notable first round upsets were Ohio over Michigan and South Florida over Temple, as 13 and 12 seeds respectively. Ohio moved on to the Sweet 16, after a strong second-half effort against the Bulls.
Saturday was mostly chalk again, but had some highly entertaining games with some tight finishes. Louisville won by three over New Mexico, Marquette used a late surge to defeat Murray St., who led most of the game, and Ohio St. had it's hands full with Gonzaga. After a close first half, the Buckeyes pulled ahead by double digits, but with under four minutes to go, the Zags managed to tie the game. Still, the higher seeds ended up coming out on top, returning to the normalcy we witnessed on Thursday.
Sunday saw a one seed taken to the the brink, as Saint Louis gave Michigan St. all it could handle. This one didn't really have the feel of an upset because Michigan St. led the whole way. But they just couldn't seem to pull away, and it was a two-point game with about three minutes to go. Michigan St. held on, though, for a four-point win. They play a tough Louisville team next.
Billy Donovan has thus far, been coach of the tournament in my mind. In what should have been a tough matchup against Virginia in the 10/7 game on Friday, the Gators destroyed the Cavaliers by 26 points. In the second round, they played in what can only be accurately described as a shoot around session against the same Norfolk team that knocked out one of the best teams in the country two days before. Donovan must have watched that game and come up with a game plan that Florida executed perfectly. They absolutely crushed Norfolk St. 84-50, in a game that wasn't as close as the score indicates.
North Carolina St. was another double-digit seed to make the final 16, upsetting Georgetown in a game that was pretty close throughout.
Purdue ALMOST pulled off another big upset, leading the game just about wire to wire. Kansas took a one-point lead with under three minutes to go, and Purdue hit two consecutive buckets to go back up three. With under a minute, Kansas made some great defensive plays and took the lead for good, winning a thriller by three. Purdue had a decent look to tie it when they inbounded it cross court with 2.5 seconds to go, but it bricked out as the buzzer sounded.
The final game of the night was a war of attrition between Cincinnati and Florida St. This was a true bracket buster for me since I had Florida St. going to the Final Four, whereas most others have Ohio St. No team led by more than five points until the final minute, but Cincinnati came out on top, making the state of Ohio an incredible 8-0 in the tournament this year.
Overall, some great action so far. Hopefully we'll see some true buzzer-beaters and some more good games next week as well.
[Editor's note: John Trifone (@JohnnyT0122), the author of this post, is currently tied for first place in our 98-entry March Madness group. In other words, feel free to follow him on Twitter and mock and heckle him.]
Thursday was chalk city, with the only real upset being VCU in the 12/5 matchup with Wichita St. Tough to call that too big of an upset, though, as Shaka Smart led the Rams to the Final Four last year. I was disappointed to see them get knocked out in the second round by Indiana, after leading the majority of the game.
Friday brought some history to the March Madness tournament, as for the first time ever, two number 15 seeds advanced to the round of 32. Up until this year, only four 15 seeds have ever knocked off a number two, and two more happened on Friday. First it was Norfolk St., upsetting the mighty Missouri. I have to say, this one shocked me. After following Mizzou for a lot of the year, they had all the talent in the world to make a deep run, and contend for the title. It was reminiscent of 2001 when a Marcus Fizer-led Iowa St. team that had similar aspirations got bounced in the first round by Hampton. As I had Missouri in my Final Four, I was not pleased with the outcome, although I couldn't help but feel torn, rooting against such a massive underdog.
The second major upset was less of a surprise to me. I felt Duke was largely overrated all year, and in fact picked Xavier to knock them off in the second round in my bracket. Still, the way in which it happened was quite surprising. Lehigh pretty much led from start to finish, and Duke never really got back into it. Every time Duke started to make a run, Lehigh had an answer, and down the stretch, losing the lead was never really in jeopardy for the Mountain Hawks. Lehigh came out strong against Xavier, but eventually blew the lead and were unable to become the first ever 15 seed to advance to the sweet 16.
Florida St. gave me a good scare, but were able to fend off the Bonnies and advance. Other notable first round upsets were Ohio over Michigan and South Florida over Temple, as 13 and 12 seeds respectively. Ohio moved on to the Sweet 16, after a strong second-half effort against the Bulls.
Saturday was mostly chalk again, but had some highly entertaining games with some tight finishes. Louisville won by three over New Mexico, Marquette used a late surge to defeat Murray St., who led most of the game, and Ohio St. had it's hands full with Gonzaga. After a close first half, the Buckeyes pulled ahead by double digits, but with under four minutes to go, the Zags managed to tie the game. Still, the higher seeds ended up coming out on top, returning to the normalcy we witnessed on Thursday.
Sunday saw a one seed taken to the the brink, as Saint Louis gave Michigan St. all it could handle. This one didn't really have the feel of an upset because Michigan St. led the whole way. But they just couldn't seem to pull away, and it was a two-point game with about three minutes to go. Michigan St. held on, though, for a four-point win. They play a tough Louisville team next.
Billy Donovan has thus far, been coach of the tournament in my mind. In what should have been a tough matchup against Virginia in the 10/7 game on Friday, the Gators destroyed the Cavaliers by 26 points. In the second round, they played in what can only be accurately described as a shoot around session against the same Norfolk team that knocked out one of the best teams in the country two days before. Donovan must have watched that game and come up with a game plan that Florida executed perfectly. They absolutely crushed Norfolk St. 84-50, in a game that wasn't as close as the score indicates.
North Carolina St. was another double-digit seed to make the final 16, upsetting Georgetown in a game that was pretty close throughout.
Purdue ALMOST pulled off another big upset, leading the game just about wire to wire. Kansas took a one-point lead with under three minutes to go, and Purdue hit two consecutive buckets to go back up three. With under a minute, Kansas made some great defensive plays and took the lead for good, winning a thriller by three. Purdue had a decent look to tie it when they inbounded it cross court with 2.5 seconds to go, but it bricked out as the buzzer sounded.
The final game of the night was a war of attrition between Cincinnati and Florida St. This was a true bracket buster for me since I had Florida St. going to the Final Four, whereas most others have Ohio St. No team led by more than five points until the final minute, but Cincinnati came out on top, making the state of Ohio an incredible 8-0 in the tournament this year.
Overall, some great action so far. Hopefully we'll see some true buzzer-beaters and some more good games next week as well.
[Editor's note: John Trifone (@JohnnyT0122), the author of this post, is currently tied for first place in our 98-entry March Madness group. In other words, feel free to follow him on Twitter and mock and heckle him.]
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Fab Melo out for the NCAA Tournanment
Syracuse just announced some potentially bracket-altering news.
The team will be without center Fab Melo for the entire tournament due to an eligibility issue, per Nicole Auerbach of USA Today.
Melo, who averaged 7.8 points per game, is the team's leading rebounder (5.8 per game) and is tied for 10th in the nation in blocked shots (3.1 per game).
As Auerbach points out, the team's biggest weakness just got weaker. Syracuse ranks 129th in Division I in rebounding and now will be without their leading rebounder.
The No. 1 seed in the East, Syracuse opens up the tournament against N.C. Asheville on Thursday.
The team will be without center Fab Melo for the entire tournament due to an eligibility issue, per Nicole Auerbach of USA Today.
Melo, who averaged 7.8 points per game, is the team's leading rebounder (5.8 per game) and is tied for 10th in the nation in blocked shots (3.1 per game).
As Auerbach points out, the team's biggest weakness just got weaker. Syracuse ranks 129th in Division I in rebounding and now will be without their leading rebounder.
The No. 1 seed in the East, Syracuse opens up the tournament against N.C. Asheville on Thursday.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)