The NCAA Tournament Narrowed to 16
As usual, with the initial noisy fun out of the way, the tournament gets down to serious business next Thursday through Sunday. What are the thoughts among the national chattering class this morning? Read on:
"At 4:42 p.m. EST, I looked up at the screen and realized that three separate games -- Tennessee-Butler, Georgetown-Davidson and Western Kentucky-San Diego -- had simultaneously reached two-point margins late in the second half. The Hilltoppers eventually pulled way from the Toreros, but the other two went right down to the wire at the exact same time. With CBS switching between the two more quickly than I possibly could with my own remote (eventually they stopped bothering with the cutaways and Greg Gumbel intros and just kept flipping the switch), I got to see every dramatic moment of both."
Yeah, bully for CBS. And, it was annoying. At least, it would have been, had I not purchased the tournament pass option. That what I could control when and how long to switch to the compelling games. Ah, sweet freedom. If you have never taken this option before, strongly consider it for next year if you care about watching the tournament.
"SI.com: What'd you think about Tennessee almost going down?
SD: I picked Tennessee to go to the Final Four, but Tennessee has a very serious problem at the point guard position. If they don't correct it, the Vols are going to get blown out by Louisville, which sends pressure then sits back in the zone. It's very hard to play against if your offense isn't running. Vols coach Bruce Pearl benched Ramar Smith for the second straight game, and that's something I'd be curious about. He's not a classic point guard, but he's still the one they have. They played J.P. Prince in the position and he darn near lost the game, committing seven turnovers, and at the end of regulation he picked up his dribble and took a step. I think that's why Lofton didn't have a good game -- he's not the kind of guy who can create his own shot, he still needs a point guard. Butler chipped away at the lead and hung in there. Tennessee is very fortunate to be in the Sweet 16. You saw what Louisville did to Oklahoma. Tennessee has some work to do.
Yes, yes they do. Particularly with having no point guard, apparently, at the moment. The reason that game went to overtime yesterday? Because Bruce Pearl handed the keys to non-point guard JP Price and watched him do everything he could to throw the game away in regulation. That was as bad a two minute sequence as I have seen outside of rec leagues at the Y from the point guard position in awhile, the last two minutes of the Butler/Tennessee game, when Tennessee was on offense. Yuck. As good as Louisville is playing, I am having a tough time figuring out how Tennessee wins that one.
Mike Freeman at sportsline.com goes from some low-hanging fruit. And he could not be more wrong:
"Following what was a pedantic and predictable non-tremor inducing regional, I leave you with this thought: Memphis is the most flawed No. 1 seed in the tournament. They might be the most flawed top seed in many years. That thud you just heard was Memphis demonstrating the fine art of stonemasonry while shooting its free throws. That's right, Coach C. You should be worried about your team's flaws after this game. Memphis, the construction guild called, they want their concrete back.
The bottom line from Memphis' near death experience is the Bulldogs demonstrated what I have been saying about Memphis since the NCAA tournament began -- Memphis is ripe to be had. They may yet win everything because of sheer firepower. In some cases, they're the U.S. Army and opponents are Grenada. They have enough game, guns and elevation to inflict damage to both backboards and frontcourts. But Memphis is nothing more than streetballers. They're AND 1. They're rock stars, the Britney Spears of college basketball. The Tigers will sell out arenas and sell a lot of records but it remains to be seen if they can win a Grammy. There is no display of team ball like UCLA or North Carolina or even Texas. They couldn't care less about making free throws. All John Calipari does is roll the basketball onto the floor and his players shoot 3s and dunk and brick their free throws. Yet make them adjust and run an actual offense and they can't do it. The Tigers have accumulated a gaudy record because of the sheer force of the athleticism of their players. Calipari has assembled a group of superhuman trapeze artists. But not a true basketball team.
Sigh. Good lord. Over-reach on snap judgments much? Again, good lord. Here is what we know in Memphis, trust, anyone locally has been saying the same thing all year. They can't shoot free throws. Why? No fuckin' idea. It's not for lack of trying. They practice all the time, these free throws, in, ah, practice. They get to practice in meaningless games in C-USA. They practice in tough non-conference games. They practice until the word loses all meaning and Allen Iverson's practice speech starts to make sense. And none of that matters. They simply suck at free throws.
Fine. That's a given. And a deep flaw. But for that to open up Freeman to the rest of that screed is absolute bullshit. Derrick Rose is a remarkably talented player, as is Chris Douglas-Roberts. The best part of their game is NOT three-point shooting, but rather getting to the basket and making mid-range jumpers. The Tigers DO run an offense, and what is considered to be a rather iteresting one at that, a dribble-drive based offense that highlights their strengths. On top of that, Mississippi State is one of the best defensive teams in the country, second in the nation in field goal defense. Memphis beat them by going to the basket in the second half, and making gutsy shots in the face of that tough defense, NOT by gunning three-pointers.
Insane. Look, asshead, they can't shoot free throws. They can't. They can't. It will cost them at some point, and soon. But that massive flaw should NOT be the reason to make sweeping and absolutely incorrect generalizations about what is still a very talented basketball team. Fuck. Now I am kinda pissed to start the day.
As for the rest of my thoughts, March edition (NTYC):
---Stephen Curry is crazy good, and the kind of player that you love to watch at tournament time. And not just a shooter, but showed toughness in getting to the basket and making very difficult almost circus-like shots against Georgetown that I did not know he had in the repetoire.
---North Carolina, Kansas, and Louisville were clearly the most impressive teams from the first four days of the tournament. Luckily for Memphis, UCLA, Texas, and Stanford, they are on the other side of the bracket, and will be avoided until the final game. The potential North Carolina/Kansas Final 4 game looks like the "true" national title game, should it come to pass.
---Georgetown's collapse, even taking into account Curry and Davidson's general excellence, was eye-opening. 17-point second half leads should not melt away that easily.
My Final Four projection off of what just happened this past weekend: North Carolina vs. Kansas and Texas vs. UCLA. North Carolina vs. UCLA in the final and North Carolina to win. That is what one of my brackets looked like to start the festivities, so nothing too surprising there, at least from my perspective.