13 Apr 1 - The B(ig)East Went Down To Georgia

Volume XVII, No. 22 - 13 Apr 1

The B(ig)East Went Down To Georgia

While the emotional headline was the horrific injury to Louisviille's gKevin Ware -- (he broke his leg in two places when he landed wrong, right in front of the Cardinal bench) -- the rational headline was the BIG EAST's placing two teams into the Final Four (including one forced elimination when two of its teams faced each other). Meanwhile, having been touted as the best league in conference play, having had one of its greatest seasons, and after leading the way with four Sweet 16 teams (each aided by a home-crowd Pod, mind you), the BIG 10 was lucky to send even one team to Atlanta.

Having lost out to Louisville on the coveted Indianapolis Regional when it failed to win its conference tournament, [E1]Indiana had to face [E4]Syracuse in Washington, DC, instead. The vaunted Orange 2-3 zone is always tougher on unfamiliar foes -- IU/'Cuse hadn't faced one another since the 1987 NCAA Final -- and the Hoosiers didn't know how to attack it; they got down 11-29 in the first half and never got closer than 6 in a 50-61 defeat. (Playing in Indy probably wouldn't have made the difference.)

    
In the West, [W2]Ohio State came back from being down 11 in the first half against [W6]Arizona and escaped with a 73-70 win thanks to gLaQuinton Ross' game-winning three-pointer. Meanwhile, [W9]Wichita State quickly put an end to upstart [W13b]La Salle's surprise run with a comfortable 72-58 win. Being a solid favorite in the Regional Final, OhioSt didn't play with any urgency to start; WichSt's defensive gameplan dared pAaron Craft to beat it with jumpers as the 'Shockers turned the Buckeyes back into the One-Man Team (bDeshaun Thomas[23p5r]) it is at its worst. WichSt led 56-36(11) before OhioSt turned it on and closed to within 3, and the 'Shockers just barely hung on for the win, 70-66.

    
More easy offense, especially from gSeth Curry(29p;6/9 3s) helped [M2]Duke open up a working margin against [M3]Michigan State and hold on with solid free-throw shooting for the 71-61 win.

    
In the South (in the best juggernaut matchup of the tournament), [S1]Kansas was overachieving on offense, maintaining a 10-point margin over [S4]Michigan for most of the game as gBen McLemore(20p) finally found his touch. The Wolverines hung around behind a monster game from cMitch McGary(25p14r;12/14ft), and pTrey Burke(23p10a) found a way, taking advantage of the Jayhawks' collapse in the final endplay segment -- tying the game with a beyond-NBA-range three-pointer as Mich came all the way back to win 87-85(OT). [S3]Florida (which ended Cinderella [S15]Florida Gulf Coast's run, 62-50) had no answers in the final for [S4]Michigan's balanced attack -- play zone and pBurke killed them with penetration; play zone and the shooters (this time, gNik Stauskas[22p;6/6 3s]) killed them with jumpers.

The knock on [E2]Miami(Florida) was that no one on the team had even been to the NCAAs before so how would it handle things. [E3]Marquette's physical play surprised the Hurricanes at the start and they played tight throughout as Marq won 71-61. Familiarity didn't help much in the final -- the Golden Eagles attacked the center of 'Cuse's 2-3 zone pretty well with fDavante Gardner, but they couldn't hit the side of a barn (23% shooting, including 3-for-24 on threes) as the Orange had a very comfortable 55-49 win.

    
In front of an enthusiastic Indianapolis crowd, [M1]Louisville pulled out to a huge lead against [M12]Oregon -- 66-48(9) -- before the Ducks made it respectable, @77-69. gRuss Smith(31p;12/14ft) lived up to his "Russ-tacular" nickname. In the final against [M2]Duke, although the injury to gWare galvanized the Cardinal players to "send Kevin home" (to Atlanta, where he lives), the quickness of Louisville's backcourt of gRuss Smith(23p0a) and gPeyton Siva(16p) driving the lane at will was too much for Duke to overcome, anyway. The Blue Devils did well to hang close -- tied at 42-42(18) -- before a 13-2 run for a 55-44(11) lead put the game out of reach in the @85-63 win.

Guaranteed a spot in the Elite 8 when WichSt met LaSal, the Mid-Majors garnered a spot in the Final Four, thanks to WSU's upset of OhioSt. The 1BCs' run ended at the Sweet 16 when FLGC couldn't get past Fla. Again, it's the BIG EAST (and not the BIG 10) which is sending two teams to Atlanta.

    
In the NIT, [e3]Iowa won at [e1]Virginia (75-@64); [w2]Maryland won at [w1]Alabama (58-@57); and [s3]BYU won big at [s1]Southern Mississippi (79-@62, thanks to 25p from tTyler Haws) while [w2]Baylor handled [w4]Providence (@79-68, behind 26p from fCory Jeffereson). The WEST COAST came through as the MMs were already guaranteed a finalist; but no 1BCs got past the Round of 16.

    
In the CBI, Santa Clara won at Wright State (81-@69, as gKevin Foster had 33p) and host George Mason won vs Western Michigan (@62-52). With the BCS teams already shut out, the WEST COAST scored again for the MMs while the 1BCs claimed one finalist.

    
In the CIT, Evansville won at Canisius (84-@83, as tColt Ryan had 39p6r) but was routed at East Carolina (@81-58); Weber State beat Oral Roberts (@83-74, as bDavion Berry had 27p10a) and then won at Northern Iowa (59-@56), giving the 1BCs a finalist.

A rematch of their conference tournament final would make a powerful final statement for the Mega-BIG EAST as we know it. Michigan has the right makeup to deal with the Syracuse zone, though, and it won't fear the fast tempo against the Cardinals, either. In hopes of a definitive Player of the Year performance, (I'll take Mich over Lville).

    
Baylor's pPierre Jackson is the best player left in the NIT; but Iowa/Maryland are better teams and even BYU is playing well enough to beat the other three. (I'll go with the star and look for the Bears to win it.) Santa Clara only gets to host the first game and will have to win one of two on the road at George Mason to win CBI, but it says here that it will). Weber State has earned a home game in the CIT final against East Carolina -- (the host Wildcats should find a way).

-- Ron

Key games this week:

NCAA

Friday:

FINAL FOUR @ Atlanta,GA /GADOME/

• (12N-4Pet): {Open Team Practices} - FREE
  
• (5Pet): {College All-Star Game} - FREE
  

Saturday:

FINAL FOUR @ Atlanta,GA /GADOME/

• (6:09Pet): [M1]Louisville v [W9]Wichita St
  
• (8:49Pet): [E4]Syracuse v [S4]Michigan
  

Sunday:

DIVISION-II,III NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS @ Atlanta,GA /PHILIPS/

• (12:30Pet): {Division-III National Championship} - FREE
  
• (4Pet): {Division-II National Championship) - FREE
  

Monday week:

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP @ Atlanta,GA /GADOME/

• (9:19Pet): {[M1]Louisville/[W9]WichitaSt} v {[E4]Syracuse/[S4]Michigan}
  

NIT

Tuesday:

Semis @ New York NY /MSG/

• [w2]Maryland v [e3]Iowa
  
• [m2]Baylor v [s3]BYU
  

Thursday:

Final @ New York NY /MSG/

• {[w2]Maryland/[e3]Iowa} v {[m2]Baylor/[s3]BYU}
  

CBI (COLLEGE BASKETBALL INVITATIONAL)

Finals (Best of 3) on-campus

Monday:

• @ [mB1]Santa Clara v [sB2]Geo Mason
  

Wednesday:

• @ [sB2]Geo Mason v [mB1]Santa Clara
  

(Friday, if necessary):

• @ [sB2]Geo Mason v [mB1]Santa Clara
  

CIT (COLLEGEINSIDER.COM TOURNAMENT)

Final on-campus

Tuesday:

• @ Weber St v E Carolina