TOURNAMENT ACTION

         CATCH RALPH “THE GODFATHER” COOPER WEEKDAYS 5-7 PM WEEKDAYS ON KCOH 1430 AM

 

            VS.










TOURNAMENT ACTION

Written by: The Crier/SR Crew
Date posted: 3/23/2011

WATCHING THE THE SECOND AND THIRD ROUNDS!

The new television format for the NCAA Tournament, with four broadcast networks for full game exposure on every game, had the potential to be a disaster on the ears. But by design, it actually gave people a better chance to avoid listening to the announcers and thereby enhance the viewing experience. Here’s how us pros handled it: two TV sets and two computers in one room, for four games at a time during peak telecast time for Second Round action on Thursday and Friday (formerly called First Round action until they invented the “First Four”).

 

Since it is impossible to listen and comprehend audio from four different telecasts being viewed simultaneously, you have no choice but to turn off the sound completely! This was a thing of beauty! All this action, supported by silence! If you needed verbal clarification on something, you simply unmuted the mute button for a few moments to hear it, then muted it again to go on your merry viewing way. For two entire First Round days, you didn’t have to hear a single announcer say anything ridiculous!

Then, the Third Round hit, and suddenly there were stretches where only one NCAA Tournament game was taking place. If you weakened, and turned on the sound, suddenly there was Clark Kellogg, talking and talking and talking and talking and talking and talking over the live game action taking place on the floor, including key late-game baskets. "I don’t think this player should have done what he did, he should have done that instead."

What a goon this guy is. As bad as Billy Packer eventually became. Just shut up. Please! Shut up and let everyone watch the game. It’s bad enough that Jim Nantz is your play-by-play guy. Off with the sound!

And who was that guy hogging the television screen and interrupting the end of the Texas-Oakland game On Friday (3/18) during the most critical part – the last minute where the point spread of nine was in doubt? Oh, the President of the United States. Hey, way to go there, guy. Way to make a stressful point-spread situation more difficult to deal with.


BEATING THE SPREAD!

 

In the first 52 NIT, CBI, and CIT games, the underdogs were 21-31 ATS. All of these games were played on home courts. I’ve always thought home courts were worth more than the 4.5 points generally conceded, and that high-profile, nationally televised games on neutral floors are “secretly” refereed to stay closer than generally expected (“Stay tuned to the sets, folks, you might see something truly amazing and incredible!”). But hey, what do I know?

After the first weekend of NCAA play, all on neutral floors, underdogs were 27-25 ATS. While watching it, it seemed like the NCAA Tournament was more underdog-heavy than that, with Kansas and North Carolina barely trying and losing ATS vs. Boston U. and Long Island, and so many of the little one-point underdogs winning.

By the way, when you look at the final scores of some of the games that had a line of 1, you realize something that the Crier often mentions here that the size of the pointspread is not indicative of how close the game will be: Gonzaga +1 beat St. John’s by 15; BYU +1 beat Gonzaga by 22; Cincinnati -1 beat Missouri by 15; Florida State +1 beat Texas A&M by 7; Marquette +1 beat Xavier by 11 (and it was never really that close); and Michigan -1 beat Tennessee by 30.

BYU -8 vs. Wofford was a push. Or, was it a win for the Woffordites at +8.5? Or a win for the BYUs who laid -8 and bought a half-point, or who found an outlet that offered BYU at -7.5 for a couple of hours? A situation like that is one of the great mysteries of “recorded” history and one of the reasons we de-value pointspread “records” to begin with. But it sure is amusing to hear a neutral arena erupt in cheers on a last-second “meaningless” 3-pointer such as Wofford’s against BYU. Guess we know what their line was!

THE SWEET SIXTEEN

THURSDAY, MARCH 24

SOUTHEAST REGION at New Orleans, LA

Seed - Team - Rating (ATS Record) 

2 Florida 85 (16-13)
3 BYU 88 (15-16)
4 Wisc 87 (17-12)
8 Butler 80 (17-13) 


Superdome – New Orleans, LA

(2) FLORIDA vs. (3) BRIGHAM YOUNG

The Gators murdered happy-to-be-here UCSB (Cal Santa Barbara for the college-basketball-challenged) and then went head-and-head with defensively-proficient UCLA until they out-matured the Bruins in the final minutes. Meanwhile, with Brandon Davies bearing witness from the bench, Jimmer and friends cruised past Wofford and then sent a message to 2011-12 conference playmates Gonzaga.

The Coogs may boast higher power numbers in some circles, but compare quality wins/bad losses with the Gator resume, and try not to laugh. Beloved SuperDome site favors Gators, who are less-reliant on sheer long-range sharpshooting than are the Fredettes, who may turn out to be less than enchanted with the shooting backgrounds in wild and wicked New Orleans.

The Bruins hung tough with Florida with their board work, but that’s not Cougars’ long suit, by any stretch. Gator G Kenny Boynton’s ankle a concern (check status), though Erving Walker stepped up smartly. Florida’s shone time-and-again while negotiating their consistently-testing schedule. Gators rise to the occasion with jack-of-all-trades Chandler Parsons, and remind this game opponent of the true order of things, at a cheap number . . . as Jimmer heads to the NBA, only to cry, “Dude, where’s my screens?” FLORIDA, 78-69

(4) WISCONSIN vs. (8) BUTLER


It's a small relief for the Badgers that they aren’t facing top-seed Pittsburgh at this juncture – since they’re now in against “The Little Engine That Does” and what’s more, holds up much better under “Big Dance” pressures. Wisky beat Kansas State because they were able to force the Wildcats to play in waltz time and Jacob Pullen couldn’t pull it off, all by himself.

Butler will be more than happy to do the foxtrot with Bo Ryan’s troops on a neutral. The normal inclination is to look to fade an NCAA aspirant off a significant upset win, but Butler’s been on this path before, though without Gordon Hayward, acknowledge this team isn’t as good.

But the watertight style and disinclination to make stupid mistakes serve the Bulldogs well, and they remain the personification of grace under pressure and positive synergy as they climb the wall of disbelief. Thus, they should outperform expectations here, as it’s unlikely Wisky will be able to capitalize on mistakes. This figures to go to the wire. WISCONSIN, 61-60

THURSDAY, MARCH 24



WEST REGION at Anaheim, CA

Seed - Team - Rating (ATS Record)

1 Duke 91 (19-14)
2 San Diego State 89 (22-11)
3 Connecticut 86 (21-10)
5 Arizona 84 (17-14) 


Honda Center - Anaheim, CA


(1) DUKE vs. (5) ARIZONA


The Devils figuratively donned their blue dresses and high heels as they found themselves having serious issues with Michigan’s zone variations, but survived another mediocre three-point-shot session – as well as their sustained re-initiation of Kylie Irving into their scheme of things, off his lengthy injury-enforced absence. This should be better for them, even though the Dukies have now been whisked away from comfortable Charlotte.

Arizona’s blessed to be here, slipping through against yet another edition of the long-running Rick Barnes Big Dance soap opera, “Why Can’t We Close The Deal?” Derrick Williams and the “Go to USC? Guess not!” bunch headed by Momo Jones are developing, and represent the sort of combination which can provide Duke a challenge, at least deep into the second half.

This appears to be a substantial number to lay when 2,000+ miles from home, up against an outfit exceeding expectations, but at least Coach K has gotten his narrow tourney escape out of the way, in his week-to-week quest for a repeat. Nolan Smith should find relatively-smooth sailing against this defense, and we’d be shocked by a Duke loss, though nine’s a hill to climb. DUKE, 78-69

(2) SAN DIEGO STATE vs. (3) CONNECTICUT


UConn (and Carolina, both) have each broken through the historical handicap of coming into a season unranked and winding up in the Top 25 after missing out on the Big Dance the previous year. More amazingly, UConn put together seven straight wins within a ten-day span!

Like Arizona, the Huskies’ best years have come with minimal early expectations. SDS did not earn high eye-test marks against a shorthanded Temple, with frequent sloppy ballhandling and erratic shooting, but they escaped, and now find themselves in a most-friendly venue. The Aztecs have lost only to BYU (twice), but their list of quality wins is hardly overwhelming.

UConn’s championship years transpired when coming out of the West, and if the Aztecs continue to play with the same kind of controlled passivity they displayed against Temple, they can take the short bus ride home. An eighteen-point second half isn’t going to get it done. Would expect a freshened Kemba Walker to be able to function at full throttle against a less-than-hardnosed SDS defense, as UConn manages to fish Big East’s bacon out of the fire by eliminating yet another out-of-conference outfit (a specialty of theirs this season), in this spot. CONNECTICUT, 73-66

FRIDAY, MARCH 25



EAST REGIONAL at Newark, NJ

Seed - Team - Rating (ATS Record)


1 Ohio State 94 (16-14)
2 North Carolina 87 (15-15)
4 Kentucky 87 (12-14) 
11 Marquette 84 (19-11) 


Prudential Center – Newark, NJ


(1) OHIO STATE vs. (4) KENTUCKY


Not that this won’t be a test for the Buckeyes, who were blessed, catching George Mason shorthanded, while the ‘Cats were hard at work disposing of long-time Calipari antagonist Bob Huggins.

Now, when discussing other than Jared Sullinger, UK is blessed with better size, but trifecta king Jon Diebler should enjoy the excellent shooting backgrounds at the Pru, and yeah, Cal has it made . . . in his own mind, he can’t lose, for as he says, he’d rather have talent than experience, but the lack of experience inherent in a steady diet of hotshot one-and-dones tends to come a cropper when up against a seasoned bunch, which doesn’t take a clear-cut back seat in the talent department.

Yes, it was different times and different places, but the Buckeyes have never lost to UK in the Dance, and aren’t about to start now, with Sullinger patrolling the paint and frustrating Brandon Knight and Terrence Jones. Now, one-way action on a side in this tournament can be a flashing yellow, and the Buckeyes were backed with gusto at this week’s open, but it appears to be Cal’s time to go flush out some more flashy kids. OHIO STATE, 76-68

(2) NORTH CAROLINA vs. (11) MARQUETTE


The tourists were shocked when ‘Heels came a short number against Washington, and couldn’t wait to bet ‘em up – but they were fortunate to escape with their lives, without a cover. Don’t be dumbfounded when the Golden Eagles make the ‘Heels look really bad, for the longest time.

The key, Buzz, is to press the living hell out of Carolina PG Kendall Marshall, who was barely inconvenienced taking the ball down the court against the Huskies. Dedicated Marquette talent pestering Marshall at every step should make the kid crack like an egg tossed from the Empire State observation deck. If Harrison Barnes and the remainder of Roy Williams’ crew can make up for this, more power to ‘em, but Marquette has been making a living scaring the daylights out of virtually all comers all season (including Syracuse and their eighteen tasty turnovers, last time out) . . . and if anyone wants to recount the story of the ’77 championship, featuring Al McGuire’s Warriors taking out the hifalutin’ ‘Heels at the wire, we’ll be happy to set a spell and listen in.

If Roy Williams thinks he was physically ill last Sunday (and he was . . . ), wait until he has to endure this torture chamber. Marquette came close to beating Duke, Wisky, Vandy, and Gonzaga, and now . . . MARQUETTE, 69-68

FRIDAY, MARCH 25


SOUTHWEST REGION at San Antonio, TX


Seed - Team - Rating (ATS Record) 


1 Kansas 92 (17-12) 
10 Florida State 82 (16-10)
11 Virginia Commonwealth 79 (16-20) 
12 Richmond 81 (20-11) 


Alamodome – San Antonio, TX


(1) KANSAS vs. (12) RICHMOND


No disrespect to the Spiders, who’ve done everything we’ve asked them to do, but Kansas has maintained a steady beat, measured each foe – then blown them away with second-half flourishes, and Bill Self’s beautifully-balanced crew can be expected to do that here, as well.

Richmond was an ideal candidate to take out Vandy – and did, with their precise, Swiss-watch, minimize-mistakes style. But they were fortunate to catch Morehead State for their passage to Texas, and are likely to be swallowed up in similar style to earlier Jayhawk victims so long as Marcus and Markieff Morris and friends maintain their present enviable levels of poise.

Justin Harper and Kevin Anderson are playahs, and Richmond’s stellar tourney history of being the only side to ever win games as a 12-13-14 and 15 seed remains, but Kansas will look to drive this into safe territory in the late going, which means surpassing the prevailing number. Bill Self won his previous championship in San Antonio in ’05, and his resourceful squad is more than capable of taking this step. All they need to is banish the no-show clunker demons for one more night – then on to the next one. KANSAS, 78-65

(10) FLORIDA STATE vs. (11) VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH


Even the biggest Ram fan on earth must admit that VCU has caught one of the most lucky paths a capable #11 seed has ever encountered. After catching the USC Trojans with their shaky guard play in the First Four game, they met up with the crippled Hoyas of Georgetown and put them out of their misery – then hooked a Purdue outfit minus key defensive stalwart Kelsey Barlow and proceed to smash and grab another upset win.

The top of the Colonial Conference had a super year, and VCU’s looked great doing their thing. But Joey Rodriguez, Brandon Rozzell, Bernard James, and friends must now face the best defense in the country, which enjoys that luxury while seeking to blend previously-injured top stud Chris Singleton back into their offensive flow.

This is an extraordinarily tricky read, since the Sems must be favored on a season-long body-of-work basis, and they switch and press like no one else still on the grand tour, but heady, jumping-jack VCU will be ready for those skip-passes, and on the nights FSU’s shooting eyes aren’t right, it’s up for grabs. But VCU is finally facing a team that’s healthy, and with a good mindset. FLORIDA STATE, 64-63

ODDS AND ENDS:

1. A week ago, it was pointed out here of the less than fully challenging out-of-conference schedule assembled for Virginia Tech. Now allow me to suggest to Seth Greenberg that he can seriously upgrade his schedule without incurring a whole lot of extra costs for his team. V-Tech does not play George Mason, Virginia Commonwealth, Old Dominion, or Richmond. Tech could schedule any or all of them without ever crossing a state line.

2. It is a no-brainer to think that referees ought to use replay technology to set the clock right when the game is in the final minutes; I have no problem with that. However, what that positive change does is to create more “time-outs” in the final minutes where nothing is happening on the floor and the coaches are huddled with their teams. It drags out the game and one of the things college basketball needs to do is to avoid dragging out the final couple of minutes of their games.

3. Charles Barkley took heat when he said that he thought the Big East was over-rated and should never have gotten eleven teams in the tournament. His explanation was that other than Kemba Walker, there are not any “great players” in the Big East and he thinks that a good NCAA Tournament team needs a great player. The results have proven Sir Charles correct to an extent; only two Big East teams remain and one of them is the one with Kemba Walker on it. I do not know that I agree with Sir Charles completely, but I do think that the Selection Committee overdid the invitations for the Big East this year.




THE CRIER

HMW