Eleven Teams I'd Rather Face than Vermont
If we all talk about it then it won't happen, right?
When Syracuse takes the court Friday night, it will be the 104th time a 1-seed has played a 16-seed. The 1-seed has never lost that match-up.
Going into 1991, no 2-seed had ever lost in the first round. Then the Richmond Spiders knocked off the Orange. Happily, I don't remember that event.
Someday, it will happen. A 1-seed will lose in the first round. Could it be the Orange?
It's preposterous, of course. Syracuse is really, really good. They won the toughest conference in the country. They've got a hall of fame coach. They've got a future NBA starter, maybe two depending on if Kris Joseph has made your head explode yet. They play great defense. They're ridiculously balanced on offense.
Finally, and most importantly, they're playing in Buffalo. Normally, the underdog gets the crowd behind them if they keep the game close. But in Buffalo Syracuse fans should dominate. Come on Buffalo! Be loud!
There is the injury to dear old Uncle Aku. That is a serious problem, and the second biggest reason I'm worried about this game.
The biggest reason is the opponent. Vermont. March 18, 2005. Sorrentine. Coppenrath. THAT game I do remember, though I didn't watch it. I was sitting in a back hallway of the Albany Pepsi Center (now the Times Union Center), monitoring the computers for the XMIevents.com webcast of the ECAC men's hockey semifinals. Cornell was playing against...yup...Vermont. They kept announcing the score over the loudspeaker, and the Vermont fans would cheer. It was the only thing they could cheer about, with their team ultimately losing 3-0. Even though it might have affected the bandwidth over which we were streaming live video, I pulled up ESPN.com's text play-by-play. When the game went into overtime, I was sure SU was going to pull it out. Didn't happen. The Catamounts outscored the Orange 9-6. Going in, I was so certain SU was going to win that game, and I was going to have several more chances to watch Hak, my all-time favorite Orangeman. Instead, he finished his college career while I was sitting alone in the bowels of the Pepsi Center, refreshing the web page in disbelief.
So what about the 2010 Catamounts? Coppenrath is gone. Sorrentine is gone. Their coach, Tom Brennan, is working for ESPN. How good could they be? Well, Lunardi had them as a 15-seed, not a 16. Plus, they've got a really nice player in Marqus Blakely, a senior, who is the kind of guy that could give us all nightmares for the rest of our lives. He averages 17 points, 9 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks. The only thing he doesn't do is shoot the three. Okay, so the zone should take care of him, right? But what if it doesn't?
Blakely shot 297 free throws this season, or 8.7 per game. For comparison, KJ got to the line 107 times this season, the most on the Orange at 3.3 times per game. What if Blakely gets Ricky in foul trouble? What if DaShonte Riley has to play major minutes? What if HE gets in foul trouble?
Vermont isn't a great 3-point shooting team, but anyone can get hot. Their best shooter is another senior named Maurice Joseph. Born in Montreal, Joseph played two seasons at Michigan State before transferring to Vermont. He also happens to be KJ's older brother. Perfect. What if KJ has a psychological block? What if Maurice goes off playing against his little bro?
Okay, I'm sorry. I'm driving you, me, and the people who occasionally post spam ads on this blog crazy. Still, I'd rather face another team. Like who? Like these chumps and chumpettes...
1. Ark-Pine Bluff: Started the season 0-11.
2. East Tennessee State: They play a zone. How cute!
3. Lehigh: The Patriot League champs...pleeease...
4. Winthrop: Knocked off Notre Dame in the first round in 2007. This year, they couldn't hold Clemson to less than 100 points.
5. Robert Morris: Coaches philosophy - "To be honest with you, I have no idea what we do sometimes on offense. My whole thing is defend."
6. UC-Santa Barbara: Saint Barbara is a women's college basketball fan.
7. Morgan State: Literally, no inside game.
8. North Texas: You know what's weird? The team's mascot is the Mean Green, and "Mean" Joe Greene is an alumus!
9. Oakland: A rematch against a team we beat by 32? Yes please!
10. Sam Houston St: They love to run, which would play right into SU's Onuaku-less hands.
11. Texas: What? I'm serious! Bring 'em on!
When Syracuse takes the court Friday night, it will be the 104th time a 1-seed has played a 16-seed. The 1-seed has never lost that match-up.
Going into 1991, no 2-seed had ever lost in the first round. Then the Richmond Spiders knocked off the Orange. Happily, I don't remember that event.
Someday, it will happen. A 1-seed will lose in the first round. Could it be the Orange?
It's preposterous, of course. Syracuse is really, really good. They won the toughest conference in the country. They've got a hall of fame coach. They've got a future NBA starter, maybe two depending on if Kris Joseph has made your head explode yet. They play great defense. They're ridiculously balanced on offense.
Finally, and most importantly, they're playing in Buffalo. Normally, the underdog gets the crowd behind them if they keep the game close. But in Buffalo Syracuse fans should dominate. Come on Buffalo! Be loud!
There is the injury to dear old Uncle Aku. That is a serious problem, and the second biggest reason I'm worried about this game.
The biggest reason is the opponent. Vermont. March 18, 2005. Sorrentine. Coppenrath. THAT game I do remember, though I didn't watch it. I was sitting in a back hallway of the Albany Pepsi Center (now the Times Union Center), monitoring the computers for the XMIevents.com webcast of the ECAC men's hockey semifinals. Cornell was playing against...yup...Vermont. They kept announcing the score over the loudspeaker, and the Vermont fans would cheer. It was the only thing they could cheer about, with their team ultimately losing 3-0. Even though it might have affected the bandwidth over which we were streaming live video, I pulled up ESPN.com's text play-by-play. When the game went into overtime, I was sure SU was going to pull it out. Didn't happen. The Catamounts outscored the Orange 9-6. Going in, I was so certain SU was going to win that game, and I was going to have several more chances to watch Hak, my all-time favorite Orangeman. Instead, he finished his college career while I was sitting alone in the bowels of the Pepsi Center, refreshing the web page in disbelief.
So what about the 2010 Catamounts? Coppenrath is gone. Sorrentine is gone. Their coach, Tom Brennan, is working for ESPN. How good could they be? Well, Lunardi had them as a 15-seed, not a 16. Plus, they've got a really nice player in Marqus Blakely, a senior, who is the kind of guy that could give us all nightmares for the rest of our lives. He averages 17 points, 9 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks. The only thing he doesn't do is shoot the three. Okay, so the zone should take care of him, right? But what if it doesn't?
Blakely shot 297 free throws this season, or 8.7 per game. For comparison, KJ got to the line 107 times this season, the most on the Orange at 3.3 times per game. What if Blakely gets Ricky in foul trouble? What if DaShonte Riley has to play major minutes? What if HE gets in foul trouble?
Vermont isn't a great 3-point shooting team, but anyone can get hot. Their best shooter is another senior named Maurice Joseph. Born in Montreal, Joseph played two seasons at Michigan State before transferring to Vermont. He also happens to be KJ's older brother. Perfect. What if KJ has a psychological block? What if Maurice goes off playing against his little bro?
Okay, I'm sorry. I'm driving you, me, and the people who occasionally post spam ads on this blog crazy. Still, I'd rather face another team. Like who? Like these chumps and chumpettes...
1. Ark-Pine Bluff: Started the season 0-11.
2. East Tennessee State: They play a zone. How cute!
3. Lehigh: The Patriot League champs...pleeease...
4. Winthrop: Knocked off Notre Dame in the first round in 2007. This year, they couldn't hold Clemson to less than 100 points.
5. Robert Morris: Coaches philosophy - "To be honest with you, I have no idea what we do sometimes on offense. My whole thing is defend."
6. UC-Santa Barbara: Saint Barbara is a women's college basketball fan.
7. Morgan State: Literally, no inside game.
8. North Texas: You know what's weird? The team's mascot is the Mean Green, and "Mean" Joe Greene is an alumus!
9. Oakland: A rematch against a team we beat by 32? Yes please!
10. Sam Houston St: They love to run, which would play right into SU's Onuaku-less hands.
11. Texas: What? I'm serious! Bring 'em on!
posted by Prof. A at 8:52 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home