Predaction: Wisconsin and Ohio State
Whew! What a game! Those who didn't have a dog in this fight were treated to a beautiful display of basketball in Boston. Even Wisconsin fans must have loved all but the ending. For Syracuse, it was a spectacular display of diverse offensive skills - their best game offensively in a long time, maybe even all year. Wisconsin's defense is as good as it gets, but they could not keep first Triche then Josh Pace-Redux then Dion out of the lane.
Oooooh, what a game from CJ! Those lefty floaters were PURE tonight, as Gus Johnson might have said if he were calling the game. It was a game Gus was born to call. Every basket deserved the emphasis he would have given it. Sadly, Gus is not with CBS. No matter. Verne and Bill, CBS's best tournament team, were up to the task. I can't wait to come across that game on ESPN Classic some day. Wow.
The seniors, too, got into the act. Scoop's two threes were massive. As big as his cojones. He nailed two late free throws as well. As the 50/50 free throw shooter says, "I'll make 'em when I need to."
To be sure, KJ almost ended his career with a spectacular choke, but when Wisconsin needed two points to banish Kris from college basketball forever, they couldn't get them. KJ played great defense all night. The whole team did. Wisconsin passes the ball amazingly, and tonight they worked it in and kicked it out with the precision of David Beckham. 14 of 27 from three? Sure, some of the shots were open, but they were earned open looks. The Orange made them earn those looks. Others, like most of Jordan Taylor's five made threes, were absurd. Were any of those 14 makes anything but a swish? Talk about pure...
Bo Ryan's game plan was only as good as Wisconsin could shoot, and tonight they shot like Butch and Sundance. In fact, the Badgers were over matched. They could not keep up with SU's offensive athleticism. On the other end, Ryan's strategy featured one glaring head-scratcher. It reminded me... there was one NBA video game that I ever got heavily into - one of the NBA Lives from the late 90s. In the coaching strategy menu, you could check a box for "crash the boards." If you checked it, most of your guys would look for the offensive rebound rather than immediately sprint to get back on defense. Tonight Bo Ryan emphatically did NOT check that box. The Badgers were committed to their half court defense, and that proved to be a crucial mistake. They tied Syracuse in rebounding for the game at 23, a category they had to win. Syracuse got a nice effort from Baye Moussa Keita (which, literally translated, means "he who steps up") and a massive effort from CJ. Those two grabbed two and three offensive rebounds, and five and seven total rebounds, respectively.
Now Ohio State awaits. The Buckeyes also have a fantastic point guard, although sophomore Aaron Craft can be a bit more turnover prone then the record setting (assists-to-turnover ratio) Taylor. They also have Jared Sullinger, who will test Christmas and Keita. The bigs have to stay out of foul trouble. The zone in general must frustrate the passing lanes and deny Sullinger the ball as much as possible. If Ohio State is settling for jumpers, as Wisconsin did tonight, the Orange have a chance. Now we will see how much the Orange truly miss Fab Melo.
When Syracuse drew Ohio State in their region, I was pleased. I thought the Buckeyes, with that glaring number seven in the loss column, were pretenders, coasting on the hype they had coming into the season. I don't think Sullinger is an all-timer - Kansas's Thomas Robinson is a better version of his type of player - although he has been an offensive beast at times in this tournament. Once Melo went out, though, I changed my mind. But you have to beat the best to be the best, they say. The NCAA tournament doesn't quite work that way, but no road to the Final Four is easy.
The Buckeyes have the edge. They are coming to the battle with a loaded gun that is firing well. Syracuse is playing excellent basketball too, so it will be close. When the bracket was released I said I would be disappointed if Syracuse didn't make the Final Four. After Melo was ruled out, I said the Elite Eight would be a successful run. I think this has been a successful run. It included at least one game we will remember forever. Sadly, as I am really starting to love the eclectic mix of talent on the '11-'12 SU basketball team, it will end on Saturday.
Prediction: Ohio State 70, Syracuse 66
Oooooh, what a game from CJ! Those lefty floaters were PURE tonight, as Gus Johnson might have said if he were calling the game. It was a game Gus was born to call. Every basket deserved the emphasis he would have given it. Sadly, Gus is not with CBS. No matter. Verne and Bill, CBS's best tournament team, were up to the task. I can't wait to come across that game on ESPN Classic some day. Wow.
The seniors, too, got into the act. Scoop's two threes were massive. As big as his cojones. He nailed two late free throws as well. As the 50/50 free throw shooter says, "I'll make 'em when I need to."
To be sure, KJ almost ended his career with a spectacular choke, but when Wisconsin needed two points to banish Kris from college basketball forever, they couldn't get them. KJ played great defense all night. The whole team did. Wisconsin passes the ball amazingly, and tonight they worked it in and kicked it out with the precision of David Beckham. 14 of 27 from three? Sure, some of the shots were open, but they were earned open looks. The Orange made them earn those looks. Others, like most of Jordan Taylor's five made threes, were absurd. Were any of those 14 makes anything but a swish? Talk about pure...
Bo Ryan's game plan was only as good as Wisconsin could shoot, and tonight they shot like Butch and Sundance. In fact, the Badgers were over matched. They could not keep up with SU's offensive athleticism. On the other end, Ryan's strategy featured one glaring head-scratcher. It reminded me... there was one NBA video game that I ever got heavily into - one of the NBA Lives from the late 90s. In the coaching strategy menu, you could check a box for "crash the boards." If you checked it, most of your guys would look for the offensive rebound rather than immediately sprint to get back on defense. Tonight Bo Ryan emphatically did NOT check that box. The Badgers were committed to their half court defense, and that proved to be a crucial mistake. They tied Syracuse in rebounding for the game at 23, a category they had to win. Syracuse got a nice effort from Baye Moussa Keita (which, literally translated, means "he who steps up") and a massive effort from CJ. Those two grabbed two and three offensive rebounds, and five and seven total rebounds, respectively.
Now Ohio State awaits. The Buckeyes also have a fantastic point guard, although sophomore Aaron Craft can be a bit more turnover prone then the record setting (assists-to-turnover ratio) Taylor. They also have Jared Sullinger, who will test Christmas and Keita. The bigs have to stay out of foul trouble. The zone in general must frustrate the passing lanes and deny Sullinger the ball as much as possible. If Ohio State is settling for jumpers, as Wisconsin did tonight, the Orange have a chance. Now we will see how much the Orange truly miss Fab Melo.
When Syracuse drew Ohio State in their region, I was pleased. I thought the Buckeyes, with that glaring number seven in the loss column, were pretenders, coasting on the hype they had coming into the season. I don't think Sullinger is an all-timer - Kansas's Thomas Robinson is a better version of his type of player - although he has been an offensive beast at times in this tournament. Once Melo went out, though, I changed my mind. But you have to beat the best to be the best, they say. The NCAA tournament doesn't quite work that way, but no road to the Final Four is easy.
The Buckeyes have the edge. They are coming to the battle with a loaded gun that is firing well. Syracuse is playing excellent basketball too, so it will be close. When the bracket was released I said I would be disappointed if Syracuse didn't make the Final Four. After Melo was ruled out, I said the Elite Eight would be a successful run. I think this has been a successful run. It included at least one game we will remember forever. Sadly, as I am really starting to love the eclectic mix of talent on the '11-'12 SU basketball team, it will end on Saturday.
Prediction: Ohio State 70, Syracuse 66
posted by Prof. A at 11:55 PM
1 Comments:
Really good post. I did, however, throw up a little bit when I read that Verne and Raftery were "CBS's best tournament team." I suppose that's technically true though.
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