It’s fun to watch, even if Team USA did lose today. I was honestly excited when Varitek hit that grand slam.
Kentucky plays Ole Miss this afternoon in a game that they should win. If they don’t, I’ll be shocked, surprised, disappointed and probably ready to call for someone’s head.
…and the bubble shrinks!
GW goes down to Temple, guaranteeing that the A-10 will get a second slot that they wouldn’t have otherwise. Syracuse pulls the upset over UConn in OT, which makes them an absolute lock as far as I’m concerned - even with the ugly DePaul loss, they beat UConn on a neutral court and they have a lot more to back it up (WVU, Cinci x2, a bunch of decent RPI 51-100 wins, ridiculously high strength of schedule) than most of the other bubble teams. That’s two spots that are taken today that appeared open two days ago - and bad news for teams like Air Force, Florida State, Texas A&M, Seton Hall, and more.
(I have to admit I’m not too disappointed with the UConn loss - with the way McNamara has played the last two days, I think he deserves another shot in the big one. He had 13 assists today, could have easily had 15-20 if his team didn’t stop making shots in the second half, and hit another HUGE shot at the end of regulation.)
P.S. Rudy Gay needs some advice on his shot selection, seriously. UConn probably wins that game in regulation if he doesn’t send up any number of stupid quick 3s.
I’m noticing that UConn has a real problem closing out close games. I think that lack of a true point guard is going to give them trouble in the tourney. I said they’d have trouble against a guard laden team before but I was picturing it being on the defensive end, now it seems that on the offensive end it’s an issue as well. If I’m Illinois and I play UConn in the Elite 8, I’m pressing and trapping UConn the entire game.
UConn’s big problem on offense today was in the shot selection, IMO. Up until the point a few minutes into the second half when they were down by 14, they were taking almost exclusively quick jump shots… as a team that has its strength inside. I don’t know if it was the zone, or what. After that, Williams started penetrating and passing (basically, being that ‘true point guard’) and they were extremely efficient coming back to take the lead late. There was a big difference in passing and ball movement between the two halves.
The biggest problem in this game was Josh Boone, IMO. Syracuse is a little bit undersized to start with, and more so once Roberts fouled out with 5 to play in regulation. Hilton Armstrong put up his normal 14 and 10, but Boone was practically invisible - and once Armstrong fouled out in the OT, they were back to taking stupid jump shots. Denham Brown was the only reason it was even that close in OT. For all Anderson made the big 3 near the end of regulation, he took more than his share of stupid shots… and Gay was even worse. This is a guy who is supposed to be athletically dominating inside, and 7 of his 12 shots today were threes. Williams would pass it to Gay or Anderson on the wing to get a play started… and they’d take a 3 with a guy in their face. Made no sense.
I’m also not sure what it means when Marcus Williams is taking the shot for the win at the end of regulation, and for the tie in OT. He’s the best ball handler by far, but not even close to the best shooter - the end of OT was the perfect example, where he split the double team with a nifty dribble and then missed a wide open 15-footer for the tie. On the one hand, it’s hard to complain about the shot selection in either case, since they were both open… but on the other, he has to know that he’s got the shooters there and needs to get them the ball.
It also goes almost for granted that Syracuse wanted this game a LOT more. I just hope that when the second round of the tournament comes around, UConn remembers to play like they want it.
I don’t disagree with any of that, but my comments about the “true point” isn’t exclusively about one player penetrating and passing. I feel like it’s more of a concept and system. Williams is capable of playing that role, but by not doing it full time it sometimes leaves the offense rudderless. I think that can be contagious and that’s why you see so many bad shots.
A team with good guard play doesn’t force shots like that, even if it’s not the guards making the bad shots. The leadership of a quality point will guide an offense beyond his first pass and he won’t allow Gay to be a chucker or Boone to disappear.
UConn is clearly the most athletic team in the country. More often than not this is enough. They are incredibly talented, and this will win games against good teams. But they don’t exhibit good decision making and strong team play, which I think will cost them if they meet a great team in the tournament.
You’re right too… in terms of the system, though, Calhoun’s teams have never really worked that way, also. It’s as much that Rashad Anderson is no Ben Gordon, and Denham Brown is no Richard Hamilton - Calhoun has ALWAYS had at least one wing like that, back through Ray Allen and even the great Tate George. And Rudy Gay ain’t it, either.
While I was at the gym doing my best Gerry McNamara impression, it looks like Florida State got knocked off in the ACC first round by Wake Forest. Bye-bye Seminoles, how little we knew thee. With the bubble shrinking, that ACC exit ain’t gonna look good with the rest of their profile.