As SU’s NCAA bracket goes through its annual crash and burn phase (see Arizona losing to Xavier), I did want to comment on Michigan’s late season run which ended last night in its loss to Oregon. It was a choppy game and Michigan’s offense was definitely not in synch – in large part to Oregon’s defense. But despite everything, their best player had an open look to win it at the buzzer but his shot fell short and that’s that.
But for SU, I will remember these last 2 weeks for a long time as well as the whole season. This was not a great team and there were many games in the first 2/3 of the season that were borderline unwatchable. You have to give credit to John Beilein for righting the ship and getting his players to all be on the same page and play selflessly down the stretch. The Big Ten Tournament was great – 4 games in 4 days and SU still believes that teams that win their conference tournaments pay the price down the road with fatigue in the NCAAs. I really enjoyed watching these games and will miss Derrick Walton, Jr. He has a shot to play in the NBA but he will never be in a situation like he had in college. The more I watch the college game, it just highlights how selfish the pro game is and how for most teams (not all), one player’s success comes at the expense of a teammate. That sense of pulling for each other, not worrying about who gets what points as long as we win – well, outside of Golden State and San Antonio, not sure I see that anywhere else. SU says that’s why the one and done players ought to stay in school a little longer to at least, maybe, experience a real sense of team. Anyway, while I am very disappointed – “SAD!” – this was a great stretch run.
Did anyone catch the end of the West Virginia – Gonzaga game? I have seen 6th grade boys rec basketball teams execute better than Coach Bob Huggins’ Mountaineers. Down 3 with about 35 seconds left, one player and I mean one player dribbles the ball, shoots a terrible 3, gets the ball back on an offensive rebound, throws up another terrible 3, gets the ball back again on an offensive rebound, and then dribbles down the clock to shoot again, can’t get it off, tries to pass and the clock expires. First of all, they didn’t need to shoot a 3, second, you do have teammates, and third, why doesn’t West Virginia ever recruit guys who can actually shoot?
Kansas is peaking now. They will roll over Oregon who isn’t that good. Gonzaga has escaped its last 2 games but all you have to do is advance. No style points here.
Sports Update Intergalactic 
Yeah… the end of the West Virginia game should have had a plan in the final 35 seconds. That was definitely a bad coaching job. However that should not outweigh all the good which came from some terrific defense both sides played.
Gonzaga’s big man I feel will play even a bigger role in the next game. He is just too big and powerful to be stopped… and he can pass as well. Let’s see how their coach sets things up.
Kansas does look like they are peaking at the right time. I’m curious how Nortgh Carolina will do tonight. The game of the night will be UCLA vs Kentucky…. but all of them like last night are great to watch. Still the best pure sports entertainment going throughout the year.
The end of game performance by West Va. was miserable, but they are not alone. My 18-year-old varsity playing son is consistently amazed at how unaware some teams are of the time and score, with the main issue being, down 3 with 30 seconds left is not a time to put up a rushed 3 – more often than not you get an easy 2. On the flip side, with 2 fouls to give, I don’t know why Gonzaga didn’t foul once they crossed mid court. If West Virginia had hit a 3 there, Mark Few would have been second guessed as well.
On a separate note, speaking of Few…rightfully so, he has gotten a lot of grief for not taking a team to the Final Four, and with his half of the bracket wrecked, he HAS to win tomorrow. But for the most part, I look at him as a coach who gets good players who has dominated a mediocre league, and thus is not a powerhouse that has underachieved that much. But how about Sean Miller? Arizona gets top 10 recruiting classes every year and he has had really good success in an excellent league, and has never been to the Final Four. To blow an 8 point led with under 4 minutes left last night against a team you are clearly better than is a big time choke, and to me, he’s now become a major underachiever and if I was a Wildcat fan, I’d be pretty ticked off.
Good points, Mark. Oregon also had 2 fouls to give in the last 10 seconds and there is no way Walton should have gotten an open look there. They could have fouled twice and Michigan would have never taken that shot. I think coaches don’t trust their players to end up fouling someone in the act of shooting. Agree about Miller at Arizona. I thought this might be their year in a more open field but that was a bad loss last night. On the other hand, the one and done scenario makes it hard for coaches to really mold a team in the way they might want to if players stayed longer. We’ll see how Kentucky looks tonight per Andy’s point.
I actually got my games mixed up, I thought Oregon should have fouled, not Gonzaga…but the point is the same. And yes, I think that coaches are afraid of fouling in the act of shooting sometimes, but it still can be done effectively.
I’m still alive in the pool I am in due to picking Gonzaga to win it all and Kansas to get bounced early. Based on last night’s results, I don’t like my chances anymore. However, this is sports so you always have a chance until the buzzer sounds.
The WVU/Zaga game was really sloppy. I was shocked at the end despite the good O rebounding by WVU they dribbled the time away at the end. You would think someone would be yelling 5 seconds or something to let them know they better get a shot up soon.
Both my boys (who were up too late) could not believe the end of the West Virginia game. My 8 year old described a play that would have worked (he also just wrote our baseball lineup for Saturday so I am not surprised). Sorry to hear about your Wolverines, but hey, at least you can take the Coach K route and celebrate a Big 10 (11, 12, 37) championship (seriously… the Pac 10 has adjusted to being the Pac 12… come on).
This has been one of the more unpredictable tournaments I can remember. Great for everyone. I still have two teams left even though I completely missed it on FSU and ‘Nova.
Great journalism on SI story regarding Joakim Noah: “The off-the-court chaos for Knicks first-year coach Jeff Hornacek continued on Saturday when the league suspended center Joakim Noah for 20 seasons for using a banned substance.”
Might as well be 20 seasons.