Wow. Wow wow wow wow wow. What a game.
That could be a sufficient review but I'll give you a little more. We were from roughly two inches away from witnessing the greatest sports moment of our lives. After Butler continued to fight back and not let the game get away from them they found themselves down two with the ball off a rebound with 3.6 seconds left. Gordon Heyward grabbed the board, shot down the right sideline (and received a sick pick along the way, leveling Kyle Singler), and a millisecond before the clock expired launched a shot from a little over half-court. The ball ricocheted off the backboard, off the front rim, and then it hit the floor. That was the most exciting few seconds I can remember, and if it went through it would have been the most memorable sports moment I have ever seen.
Let's back up though for a second. How did Butler find themselves with the ball down only two points? Controversy, that's how. Butler was down five with two minutes left. They had not hit a field goal in seven minutes. Duke had the ball. It appeared all but over. But once again we underestimated the Bulldogs. They got a stop and managed to cut the lead to one. Now they have the ball with ten seconds left. Coach Stevens calls a timeout and they run an isolation play for Heyward. It looked like he was trying to draw and dish but he could not find an open man so he did a little step back J over Duke's seven footer Zoubek. In and out. Zoubek recovers and grabs the board and Butler smartly immediately fouls. Zoubek steps to the line and nails the first. Duke up two. Then, in a moment I still cannot get over, Zoubek intentionally misses the second free throw. He was hoping the ball would bounce around a little, a skirmish would ensue and the time would expire off the clock. But lets think about this. There was almost four seconds left on the clock - that is a ton of time in this situation. Second, and most important, Duke was ONLY UP TWO POINTS. If they were up three and said "lets gamble with the intentional miss and worst case is they tie it up and we go to overtime". If Butler hits that shot, if it's two more inches to the left, Duke LOSES THE GAME. I still cannot get over this decision by Coach K who is going to go down as one of the top two or three coaches of all time. This decision alone should bump him down the list a few spots. The move there is to hit the shot, take the point, enjoy your three point lead, put a defender on the inbound pass and make them pull a Christian Laettner on you (think that played in at all?).
Anyway, I really wish that came back to bite Duke, it would have been great. But as we have it Duke is our national champ so congrats to them. Huge shout out to Butler too, that was the most impressive tournament performance I have ever seen. They never got scared. They never backed down. Against teams like Syracuse and Kansas State they were the aggressor and dictated tempo and forced the big dogs to play their style of basketball.
Another shout out to Coach K - hate to do it but think about it. Thirty years coaching, eleven final fours, four championships. He is 11-1 in Elite 8 games. Nice work, Coach.
That wraps up the 2010 March Madness blog. I am glad I was able to document the greatest tournament I can ever remember. See you next year.
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Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Final Four Review
Another day of March (April), another day of Madness. A lot of times when you get to the final weekend of any sports season, the hype outweighs the actual games. Saturday's NCAA semifinals was not like that. There were major story lines heading in: Can the kids from Butler keep this Cinderella streak going? Can Tom Izzo keep his undermanned team chugging along? Would Duke's finesse or West Virginia's brute win out? Which of these looks nothing like the other: Coach K, Bob Huggins, Tom Izzo, Brad Stevens? So how did it play out? Let's get it.
First game featured #5 Michigan State vs #5 Butler, yet somehow this was billed as David vs. Goliath. Two teams with very similar styles, both play defense and rebound really well. As expected, the game was a tough, grind it out thriller. As not expected, Butler pulled off yet another victory over a school most thought they had no business being in the gym with. The Bulldogs' free throw shooting was really sketch down the stretch, I thought it was going to do them in but they managed to hold off the Spartans and advance to the National Championship game. That is right, Butler will be playing for all of the marbles. Interesting nugget here: Butler has held every opponent to under 60 points in the tournament. Impressive. Think about it.
Game two was the main event. CBS was so happy to have Duke on in prime time. How do I know this? Between Duke being given the biggest cakewalk of a bracket draw I can ever remember (Kansas was the #1 overall seed but had Ohio St and Georgetown in their bracket. Duke was the #3 overall seed and got Villanova and Baylor. Please.) and the refs handing them every possible call to date, especially in the Baylor game, you did not need to be a genius to see what was going on here. CBS and the NCAA needed Duke's brand name in the Final Four or else they would be hurting. Like I have said before, everyone loves a Cinderella story until they have to play in the next game.
Anyway, so here we are, 9pm on a Saturday night with #1 Duke vs. #2 West Virginia. The contrast between the two programs, the two coaches, the two schools is why I love sports. Coach K runs a tight, clean ship, appears to really care about his players graduating and going on to be "men" more than anything else. Huggins has the rep of not graduating his kids and doing anything possible to win basketball games. More on this later. The big X's and O's question in this one was how would Duke match up against WVU's vaunted 1-3-1 zone that has wreaked havoc on every opponent in their path in the tourney, especially Kentucky the week before who just could not solve it. Know what Duke did? They offensive rebounded like nothing I have ever seen, then kicked out to wide open jump shooters and just drilled three after three after three. Every possession was like Groundhog Day. WVU would play great defense, force Duke into a bad shot, and then let Duke beat them on the boards for a board-kick-three-swish. WVU still hung around though, they did their own thang on the offensive end to stay alive. There were a handful of moments in the 2nd half where all the Mountaineers needed was one stop and everything would have changed. They would usually force a miss, but then (guess what?), the Devils would get the board and capitalize. In the end, Duke was too much and won a game where WVU just said "Uncle" at the end.
With about four minutes left and WVU hanging on by a thread, their best player and team leader suffered a horrible knee injury. He was on the floor writhing in pain. Somehow, this produced one of the most heartfelt moments of the tourney. Coach Huggins, ya know the one who is a thug and doesn't care about his players, was down on all fours draped over his player like two soldiers in a battlefield. I am not a sappy guy, but it was a really touching moment. It turns out Da'Sean Butler tore his ACL. Any NBA dreams of his will have to be put on hold. Tough break for what seems like a great kid. I hope he gets better stat.
Overall, solid day of hoops. It is just so weird to think that Butler will play in the championship game though. Duke-Butler, review coming soon.
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First game featured #5 Michigan State vs #5 Butler, yet somehow this was billed as David vs. Goliath. Two teams with very similar styles, both play defense and rebound really well. As expected, the game was a tough, grind it out thriller. As not expected, Butler pulled off yet another victory over a school most thought they had no business being in the gym with. The Bulldogs' free throw shooting was really sketch down the stretch, I thought it was going to do them in but they managed to hold off the Spartans and advance to the National Championship game. That is right, Butler will be playing for all of the marbles. Interesting nugget here: Butler has held every opponent to under 60 points in the tournament. Impressive. Think about it.
Game two was the main event. CBS was so happy to have Duke on in prime time. How do I know this? Between Duke being given the biggest cakewalk of a bracket draw I can ever remember (Kansas was the #1 overall seed but had Ohio St and Georgetown in their bracket. Duke was the #3 overall seed and got Villanova and Baylor. Please.) and the refs handing them every possible call to date, especially in the Baylor game, you did not need to be a genius to see what was going on here. CBS and the NCAA needed Duke's brand name in the Final Four or else they would be hurting. Like I have said before, everyone loves a Cinderella story until they have to play in the next game.
Anyway, so here we are, 9pm on a Saturday night with #1 Duke vs. #2 West Virginia. The contrast between the two programs, the two coaches, the two schools is why I love sports. Coach K runs a tight, clean ship, appears to really care about his players graduating and going on to be "men" more than anything else. Huggins has the rep of not graduating his kids and doing anything possible to win basketball games. More on this later. The big X's and O's question in this one was how would Duke match up against WVU's vaunted 1-3-1 zone that has wreaked havoc on every opponent in their path in the tourney, especially Kentucky the week before who just could not solve it. Know what Duke did? They offensive rebounded like nothing I have ever seen, then kicked out to wide open jump shooters and just drilled three after three after three. Every possession was like Groundhog Day. WVU would play great defense, force Duke into a bad shot, and then let Duke beat them on the boards for a board-kick-three-swish. WVU still hung around though, they did their own thang on the offensive end to stay alive. There were a handful of moments in the 2nd half where all the Mountaineers needed was one stop and everything would have changed. They would usually force a miss, but then (guess what?), the Devils would get the board and capitalize. In the end, Duke was too much and won a game where WVU just said "Uncle" at the end.
With about four minutes left and WVU hanging on by a thread, their best player and team leader suffered a horrible knee injury. He was on the floor writhing in pain. Somehow, this produced one of the most heartfelt moments of the tourney. Coach Huggins, ya know the one who is a thug and doesn't care about his players, was down on all fours draped over his player like two soldiers in a battlefield. I am not a sappy guy, but it was a really touching moment. It turns out Da'Sean Butler tore his ACL. Any NBA dreams of his will have to be put on hold. Tough break for what seems like a great kid. I hope he gets better stat.
Overall, solid day of hoops. It is just so weird to think that Butler will play in the championship game though. Duke-Butler, review coming soon.
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Friday, April 2, 2010
Final Four Preview
Can the madness possibly continue? After the first two weekends we were all fortunate enough to witness, tomorrow's Final Four certainly has some high standards to live up to. Based on the matchups, I think it is possible. Most of the talking heads seem to think this Final Four lacks cache since there is only one #1 seed and only Duke and Michigan State pass the "brand name" test. I wholeheartedly disagree. From a straight up basketball perspective, I could not possibly be more excited for these matchups. Let's get it:
The early game, approximately 6:30 pm tipoff, is your #5 Michigan State Spartans out of the Midwest bracket going against the #5 Butler Bulldogs representing the West Bracket. For some reason, Butler is getting the whole underdog, "Hoosiers" label while MSU is getting the mighty Big 10 power label that is going to bully the smaller school. This is where the "brand name" thing comes into play. Yes, MSU has Tom Izzo, probably the best coach in the country. Yes, MSU seems to get to the final weekend of the tourney every other year or so. However, this is not your typical top five overall MSU team. First, their best player, Kalin Lucas is injured. They have no "go-to" stud player. This is just a bunch of hard working, rebound and play defense types who play their butts off for Lupe Izzo's husband. Conversely, Butler was ranked in the top 20 nationally all year long. Yet, because they are Butler, they automatically get the "sleeper" label. This is a legitimate basketball team that deserves to be playing this weekend. Not only did they beat Syracuse and Kansas State within 48 hours, but they totally dictated tempo in those games and looked like the better team. It wasn't like they staged massive comebacks or hit buzzer beaters or had some kind of luck come into play. This is a legit team, a dangerous team, and is actually FAVORED in this game against the "mighty" Spartans. With all that said, I like the Spartans to win a gritty, close game just like they have won all four of their games this tournament. Butler fans all over rejoice as I look to continue to be as wrong as possible on every prediction that I make. Spartans 76, Bulldogs 71 (as CBS rejoices).
The nightcap is CBS's money shot as they get their beloved #1 Duke Blue Devils in prime time going against #2 West Virginia. While WVU does not necessarily have brand name value, they have Coach Bob Huggins who is known nationally, for better or for worse. They also are coming off a Big East Tournament championship where they played on a Saturday night on ESPN at the Garden as well as taking down #1 seed and national darling Kentucky last week. So by now any casual fan knows that West Virginia means business. What makes this game so interesting to me is the contrasting styles. It's like a WNBA team (Duke) going against a team from the California Penal League (WVU). Duke likes to chill on the perimeter and let their guards drain threes. WVU, Kentucky game notwithstanding, can't shoot the rock from beyond the rock and likes to take it to the tin, get fouled, get put-backs, etc. Another interesting key to the game is how Duke responds to WVU's 1-3-1 zone. What I love about WVU is their team composition. They play five guys who all look the same and can all do the same thing (except for Da'Sean Butler who can shoot and score at will). They all seem to be 6'7" who are long and athletic and are hyperactive on defense. When Huggins plays these guys in the 1-3-1, they wreak absolute havoc on defense. Here's the interesting part - Baylor played a similar, havoc-wreaking zone all tournament that absolutely smothered teams until Coach K, on one day's prep, was able to cut that zone apart like he'd been practicing against it all year. So - will WVU's zone and ruggedness be able to bully the fragile Blue Devils? Or will Coach K's genius and the hot shooting of Scheyer and Singler make Duke able to sidestep Huggins' thug passion? Tough, tough call. This one has 'classic' written all over it. Gimme the bruisers. West Virginia 94, Duke 93 in double overtime. That's right.
That would give us a WVU/MSU finale on Monday night. If I had to call that one right now I'd take the Mountaineers again in a matchup I'd love to see. But I will give an in-depth anaylsis on Monday afternoon after the finals are set for sure. Stay tuned.
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The early game, approximately 6:30 pm tipoff, is your #5 Michigan State Spartans out of the Midwest bracket going against the #5 Butler Bulldogs representing the West Bracket. For some reason, Butler is getting the whole underdog, "Hoosiers" label while MSU is getting the mighty Big 10 power label that is going to bully the smaller school. This is where the "brand name" thing comes into play. Yes, MSU has Tom Izzo, probably the best coach in the country. Yes, MSU seems to get to the final weekend of the tourney every other year or so. However, this is not your typical top five overall MSU team. First, their best player, Kalin Lucas is injured. They have no "go-to" stud player. This is just a bunch of hard working, rebound and play defense types who play their butts off for Lupe Izzo's husband. Conversely, Butler was ranked in the top 20 nationally all year long. Yet, because they are Butler, they automatically get the "sleeper" label. This is a legitimate basketball team that deserves to be playing this weekend. Not only did they beat Syracuse and Kansas State within 48 hours, but they totally dictated tempo in those games and looked like the better team. It wasn't like they staged massive comebacks or hit buzzer beaters or had some kind of luck come into play. This is a legit team, a dangerous team, and is actually FAVORED in this game against the "mighty" Spartans. With all that said, I like the Spartans to win a gritty, close game just like they have won all four of their games this tournament. Butler fans all over rejoice as I look to continue to be as wrong as possible on every prediction that I make. Spartans 76, Bulldogs 71 (as CBS rejoices).
The nightcap is CBS's money shot as they get their beloved #1 Duke Blue Devils in prime time going against #2 West Virginia. While WVU does not necessarily have brand name value, they have Coach Bob Huggins who is known nationally, for better or for worse. They also are coming off a Big East Tournament championship where they played on a Saturday night on ESPN at the Garden as well as taking down #1 seed and national darling Kentucky last week. So by now any casual fan knows that West Virginia means business. What makes this game so interesting to me is the contrasting styles. It's like a WNBA team (Duke) going against a team from the California Penal League (WVU). Duke likes to chill on the perimeter and let their guards drain threes. WVU, Kentucky game notwithstanding, can't shoot the rock from beyond the rock and likes to take it to the tin, get fouled, get put-backs, etc. Another interesting key to the game is how Duke responds to WVU's 1-3-1 zone. What I love about WVU is their team composition. They play five guys who all look the same and can all do the same thing (except for Da'Sean Butler who can shoot and score at will). They all seem to be 6'7" who are long and athletic and are hyperactive on defense. When Huggins plays these guys in the 1-3-1, they wreak absolute havoc on defense. Here's the interesting part - Baylor played a similar, havoc-wreaking zone all tournament that absolutely smothered teams until Coach K, on one day's prep, was able to cut that zone apart like he'd been practicing against it all year. So - will WVU's zone and ruggedness be able to bully the fragile Blue Devils? Or will Coach K's genius and the hot shooting of Scheyer and Singler make Duke able to sidestep Huggins' thug passion? Tough, tough call. This one has 'classic' written all over it. Gimme the bruisers. West Virginia 94, Duke 93 in double overtime. That's right.
That would give us a WVU/MSU finale on Monday night. If I had to call that one right now I'd take the Mountaineers again in a matchup I'd love to see. But I will give an in-depth anaylsis on Monday afternoon after the finals are set for sure. Stay tuned.
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