I (heart) Brackets
It's looking like a curious opening round experience for me, alas. I think I'll be watching the Thursday and Friday afternoon games - including the Orange - in my office online. Then I'll be working at the bookstore Thursday and Friday night. Thursday night I'll get home at 10:30 and do the whole TiVo thing from CBS's coverage, which worked great last year. Friday night is a different story. The Twilight DVD is released at midnight so I won't get home until 1:30am. Luckily, Saturday and Sunday are free, if you don't count the 10 page paper I have to write on canals, steamboats, and railroads in the early 19th century.
Oh, and I'm sure you're waiting for more on the UConn game. In honor of the resonance that incredible night continues to have, I'm doing something very special. I don't know when it will be ready. Maybe I'll do it after Syracuse is eliminated as a way to buoy everyone's spirits. Stay tuned...
Anyway, I should be reading about the Erie Canal right now, so to cheat a little with my post, here are some emails I traded yesterday with several of my wisest SU buddies...
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From: Moore
Subject: Thoughts?
You know what.
----------------------
From: Me
----------------------
From: Chris
Did you all see the AP story that called the Six Overtime Game one of the sport's best games ever?
From graf three:
"The headlines on Selection Sunday belonged to the Big East, the league that gave us Patrick Ewing and John Thompson, one of the game's biggest upsets (Villanova over Georgetown in 1985) and one of its greatest games (Syracuse over UConn in six overtimes just last week)."
Wow.
My roommate, who roots for the UW, is pissed about 'Cuse's three seed. He's so angry he's convinced himself ASU will beat us in the tourney, and would beat us anywhere, anytime. Haha.
I think we'll be OK. All this Elite Eight talk freaks me out a little bit, but I'll be picking 'Cuse to win the national championship. I always do. I always, always lose my brackets.
----------------------
From: Me
To: Chris
I've got the 6-OT replay on my TiVo. I'm going to burn it to a DVD then when I come visit Seattle we're going to have an evening where we watch the 6-OT game then the "Finally Orange" DVD back to back.
----------------------
From: The Legendary J.G.
I wasn't going to respond to Moore's plea for entertainment to get him through the lull which is law... But Arras's comments inspired me to respond.
----------------------
From: Moore
Good work, boys.
I think foul trouble will be our ultimate downfall, perhaps earlier than people are expecting right now.
I got to see a lot of the second half against UConn, and then OTs 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. They debated on PTI on Friday whether or not that was the greatest game in college basketball history. The consensus was that it probably wasn't, but that it was on the short list. I have to agree with that. Great game, but the stakes just weren't high enough. And I thought that once it got to the OTs, it was a fairly sloppy game. And I got to the point also, in the 6th OT, when three guys from each team had fouled out and we were playing with walkons that a win or a loss in a situation like that means nothing.
The extent of this team's run will be correlative with Andy Rautins's performance. For me, he's the X factor.
----------------------
From: The Legendary J.G.
My brother has anointed Rautins, a wannabe " Euro-Trash douchebag!" The uni-brow, the hair, the earring.... Just terrible. You're right though, when he's on, we are tough to beat!
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From: Chris
My pet theory: Rautins is more effective as a starter than as a sixth man.
I crunched some stats mid-year this year and the trend stretched back to the 2007/2008 season. Somebody should update his starts/bench splits, and e-mail them to Jimmy. Jackson is great. I might be his biggest fan. But Rautins needs his love, and there's no way we should bench Devo.
Against Kingsley? OK, probably smart leading with Jackson. Against ASU? Maybe not so much.
Go team
----------------------
From: Chaves
P.S. Alabama St. over Morehead St. I'm going with the popular pick and against Vegas (who had Morehead St by 3.5 today).
Oh, and I'm sure you're waiting for more on the UConn game. In honor of the resonance that incredible night continues to have, I'm doing something very special. I don't know when it will be ready. Maybe I'll do it after Syracuse is eliminated as a way to buoy everyone's spirits. Stay tuned...
Anyway, I should be reading about the Erie Canal right now, so to cheat a little with my post, here are some emails I traded yesterday with several of my wisest SU buddies...
----------------------
From: Moore
Subject: Thoughts?
You know what.
----------------------
From: Me
Even Boeheim admitted on The Herd today he thought we were getting a "4". Crazy.
I made it to the Seton Hall and West Virginia game, but came up a half a block short of being in the building for the UConn game. Still...2nd best SU game I've ever watched. People in Syracuse are still going nuts. The local radio guy railed against conference tournaments a week ago, started his show today by admitting he was wrong. "If Boeheim and the players can care so much about the tournament, then I think I have to accept that."
As for the fatigue factor, I'm glad we're playing on Friday. I think the confidence and momentum we built between the Marquette win and the tournament run equal out the fatigue factor. I think we're healthier than we were in the middle of the Gauntlet. I think we lost to Texas A&M in 06 because Gerry was injured. I think we lost to Vermont in 05 because Coppenrath, Sorrentine, and that other guy had the games of their lives. And, OK, we were a little bit tired. Stephen F. Austin, congrats, but you are no 05 Vermont. I am not afraid of Temple, but I'm a little afraid of James Harden, Herb Sendek, and Arizona St.
I've felt all season that SU was a sweet 16 team at best, if the bracket worked out. I never thought we'd get a 3-seed, and I only hoped that we would come alive like we did the last week. Elite 8 is possible now, especially if OK's recent slide carries into the tournament. UNC comes out of our region.
Jonny goes pro.
I made it to the Seton Hall and West Virginia game, but came up a half a block short of being in the building for the UConn game. Still...2nd best SU game I've ever watched. People in Syracuse are still going nuts. The local radio guy railed against conference tournaments a week ago, started his show today by admitting he was wrong. "If Boeheim and the players can care so much about the tournament, then I think I have to accept that."
As for the fatigue factor, I'm glad we're playing on Friday. I think the confidence and momentum we built between the Marquette win and the tournament run equal out the fatigue factor. I think we're healthier than we were in the middle of the Gauntlet. I think we lost to Texas A&M in 06 because Gerry was injured. I think we lost to Vermont in 05 because Coppenrath, Sorrentine, and that other guy had the games of their lives. And, OK, we were a little bit tired. Stephen F. Austin, congrats, but you are no 05 Vermont. I am not afraid of Temple, but I'm a little afraid of James Harden, Herb Sendek, and Arizona St.
I've felt all season that SU was a sweet 16 team at best, if the bracket worked out. I never thought we'd get a 3-seed, and I only hoped that we would come alive like we did the last week. Elite 8 is possible now, especially if OK's recent slide carries into the tournament. UNC comes out of our region.
Jonny goes pro.
----------------------
From: Chris
Did you all see the AP story that called the Six Overtime Game one of the sport's best games ever?
From graf three:
"The headlines on Selection Sunday belonged to the Big East, the league that gave us Patrick Ewing and John Thompson, one of the game's biggest upsets (Villanova over Georgetown in 1985) and one of its greatest games (Syracuse over UConn in six overtimes just last week)."
Wow.
My roommate, who roots for the UW, is pissed about 'Cuse's three seed. He's so angry he's convinced himself ASU will beat us in the tourney, and would beat us anywhere, anytime. Haha.
I think we'll be OK. All this Elite Eight talk freaks me out a little bit, but I'll be picking 'Cuse to win the national championship. I always do. I always, always lose my brackets.
----------------------
From: Me
To: Chris
I've got the 6-OT replay on my TiVo. I'm going to burn it to a DVD then when I come visit Seattle we're going to have an evening where we watch the 6-OT game then the "Finally Orange" DVD back to back.
----------------------
From: The Legendary J.G.
I wasn't going to respond to Moore's plea for entertainment to get him through the lull which is law... But Arras's comments inspired me to respond.
Syracuse always plays well in early season tournaments and the BET. They tend to be lazy and let teams hang around in the dance including 03 when they spotted OKie State a 20 pt lead! I think they will push through SFA with relative ease, although their big man Kingsley (sp?) is going to have a career day... Mark it down... Something like 20 pts 14 boards. I agree that Harden from ASU, is going to be a huge thorn in our side in game 2. He has the potential to really hurt us, as Devo, and Jonny, will pretty much let him spot up and light us up from the outside...
While I am incredibly excited that we played so well in the BET, I agree it probably ushered Jonny right into the draft. What's unfortunate is that from everything I have read, next years team with Wes Johnson, that versatile 4 we don't have this year would be dynamite with Jonny running the point. Not only is the BE a very winnable conference next year, I think the NC would be a realistic expectation. That in addition to the fact that I heard Devo had worn out his welcome, and won't be returning really upsets me. He has played unbelievably well late in the season, as is probably the best pure scorer we have had since Melo. I know we still have a tournament to play this season, but talent wise, there probably would never have been a SU squad like the one we would have next year, with everyone back. Scoop at the point just doesn't scare anyone, and we all know how much a great pg makes everything easier. Jonny would be one of the biggest superstars in the game, and all that publicity is fun to be around. Brandon Triche could have learned for a year before taking over...
I say sweet 16, with Oklahoma being a little bit too much... I would love to see us play North Carolina! Jonny vs. Lawson would be huge!
----------------------
From: Moore
Good work, boys.
I think foul trouble will be our ultimate downfall, perhaps earlier than people are expecting right now.
I got to see a lot of the second half against UConn, and then OTs 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. They debated on PTI on Friday whether or not that was the greatest game in college basketball history. The consensus was that it probably wasn't, but that it was on the short list. I have to agree with that. Great game, but the stakes just weren't high enough. And I thought that once it got to the OTs, it was a fairly sloppy game. And I got to the point also, in the 6th OT, when three guys from each team had fouled out and we were playing with walkons that a win or a loss in a situation like that means nothing.
The extent of this team's run will be correlative with Andy Rautins's performance. For me, he's the X factor.
----------------------
From: The Legendary J.G.
My brother has anointed Rautins, a wannabe " Euro-Trash douchebag!" The uni-brow, the hair, the earring.... Just terrible. You're right though, when he's on, we are tough to beat!
----------------------
From: Chris
My pet theory: Rautins is more effective as a starter than as a sixth man.
I crunched some stats mid-year this year and the trend stretched back to the 2007/2008 season. Somebody should update his starts/bench splits, and e-mail them to Jimmy. Jackson is great. I might be his biggest fan. But Rautins needs his love, and there's no way we should bench Devo.
Against Kingsley? OK, probably smart leading with Jackson. Against ASU? Maybe not so much.
Go team
----------------------
From: Chaves
Isn’t Lawson semi injured, and not close to being on top of his game? I mean, FSU??? And OU is a one man team, plus we own the big 12. I think if a few cards fall, the final 4 isnt an insane thought. All big east final 4? Isnt it anyone’s title at that point? Pitt was exposed against WVU, and we know we can beat Uconn, if they can take down Louisville. And we can obviously play with L for at least ½ a game, plus we were dead tired. Lets dream big here guys.
My sidenote would be that if EDev played for any other team in CBB, I would hate him more than anyone in sports. At least until TO rips Buffalo as a dump of a town and quits on us after week 9 when we are 2-7.
P.S. Alabama St. over Morehead St. I'm going with the popular pick and against Vegas (who had Morehead St by 3.5 today).
posted by Prof. A at 9:53 AM
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