NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 game thread
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StuckOnYouk said:
That was a huge coaching fuck up, as was not fouling Kentucky immediately on the last possession. Give yourself a chance to win the game. Who knows? Kentucky misses the front end and now you have any shot to win. Worst case, you get the ball with 30 seconds left down by 2. Either way, it's a lot better than getting the ball down by 2 with 6 seconds left. That whole final minute was on the coaching staff of ND, IMO, which sucks considering it was a masterful performance for the first 39 minutes.
SemperFidelisSox said:
It's gonna suck when ESPN proclaims this team The Greatest Basketball Team Of All Time when this team probably isn't even one of the 5 best teams of the past 10 years.
No way...I give ND credit, but there is no way the Badgers lose by 8. Not to mention Duke. UK might go down as one of the great teams of all time, but ND is by far the best team they have beaten this year and I would take Wisconsin against them 7/10 in the tourney.Deathofthebambino said:
As for UK, I hope the NBA goes back to drafting high schoolers just to watch Calipari crumble. Of course he is paying his players equal salary in some form of another.
shawnrbu said:
I don't know about that. They are pretty fucking good.
The UCONN women's team this year, on the other hand. Holy shit, they are fucking insane. They are "only" 35-1, but they have outscored their opponents this year by an average of 42 points per game (which will be an NCAA record). They won by 51 today against Texas, and it wasn't that close. Their only loss was in the second game of the year at Stanford was ranked #6 at the time. I think ND is ranked #2 right now, and UCONN beat them by 18 already. When UCONN played South Carolina, SC was ranked #1 in the country, they were undefeated at like 20-0 and the Huskies beat them by 25. They've only had like 4 games all season where they didn't beat their opponent by at least 20, and other than the loss, I think the next closest game was a 14 point win. Just an absolute juggernaut. I was watching them today and thinking to myself that there is no doubt that they could beat a few men's teams.
Kliq said:
Who said Wisconsin doesn't have a chance against Kentucky? I just said that I think Kentucky beats them by 8, and I'm sure Vegas will be somewhere in that neighborhood. If you're so confident, tell me why you think Wisconsin can beat them? What matchups favor Wiscy? Don't tell me about how they played a good game today. We all know that. I know what their record is, and I know how good they are, but who have they played that can do what Kentucky can do? How does Dekker get free for open shots against that defense? How does Kaminsky do inside against Towns and Lyles? Come on, break it down for us, I'm all ears.
Where were the open shots Dekker hit? He had a hand in his face all game. UK just beat ND by 2, no way do do they beat Wisconsin by more than a three by one of the Harrison's with 5 seconds left. Again, Wisconsin is better than ND plain and simple. Kaminsky can hit 3s and is money from the free throw line.Deathofthebambino said:
Not to mention Arizona is better than ND.
BigSoxFan said:
Kaminsky is the best player in the country right now and it isn't even close. I honestly don't know how good defensively Kentucky is. During the regular season, the only two teams they beat with really solid interior play where LSU and Texas, and LSU nearly beat them. WCS is currently the most overrated player in all of SoSH.
Cellar-Door said:
He's a 6'9'' wing, which alone stands out. His handle also looked impressive for someone that size, and is a skill that I would think Brad Stevens could take creative advantage of. I also like his ability to drive, his leadership, and how he's upped his game during the tournament.
johnmd20 said:
The last 90 seconds were just hideous and not Notre Dame basketball at all. Two Paul Pierce-esque isolation plays for Grant and then a triple covered corner heave at the gun.
Grant and Connaughton, who are also excellent foul shooters, left points on the line, as did Zach Auguste, who was otherwise tremendous.
Wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for Grant. He should have been the ACC player of the year.johnmd20 said:
Well, they ARE possibly the only other team with two bigs that are legit 1st round picks.LuckyBen said:
dude, the transitive property doesn't really apply for sports, especially basketball. As DOTB has pointed out eloquently on multiple occassions, the matchups are worse for KY v. ND than they are v. UW.LuckyBen said:
or WCS, as he was injured.jon abbey said:
Young and Randle were obviously great players, but more on the offensive side. It's night and day defensively with the addition of Lyles and WCS.
And offensively they are almost as good, and you could say better cohesively as Randle had a skillset, as good as it was, that didn't mesh 100% with that team. Plus Towns is a more dominant force and more difficult to stop, than Randle.
UConn was a seven seed last year right? Why not MSU.LuckyBen said:
That said IF Duke gets past Gonzaga then I love their chances against both MSU and Louisville.
Also don't know why Bray didn't offense-defense like Cal did with Towns. When someone is scoring that easily, ot screws up the entire defense, not just that match-up.
LuckyBen said:
You're a fucking idiot. I've spent two weeks posting in here that Notre Dame would play Kentucky close. The result has nothing to do with it. Once again, you've provided no actual content. Basketball, more than any other, is a game of matchups. Go back and read the threads here dating back to the beginning of the tournament. I've been saying all along that ND was going to be a huge matchup problem for Kentucky, even after they struggled against Northeastern, and while people were claiming they wouldn't get by Wichita State/Kansas. I'm tired of repeating myself to someone that doesn't get it. Kentucky's game against Notre Dame means absolutely NOTHING when it comes to Kentucky against Wisconsin. What Wisconsin has done means absolutely nothing against Kentucky. You just don't seem to understand this. The tournament is pretty much the complete opposite of "what have you done for me lately?" It's all about individual matchups in each game.
Wisconsin is a great team. I picked them to win my brackets, and I despise Kentucky, but based on matchups alone, they can't do what Notre Dame just did against Kentucky. It's not ball movement that beats Kentucky. It's penetration. You can't beat a defense with ball movement when their three guys at the top of the defense don't ever have to drop down and help their bigs. They just stick to the outside shooters like glue and let the bigs handle the inside. It's a massive, massive advantage. Who is going to drive the lane, and dish off/kick out for Wisconsin?
And you can't just have one guy doing the penetrating, or they will double him and force the pass. Notre Dame is the only team that I can see that has two guys in Grant and Jackson that are talented enough with the dribble to penetrate and dish against Kentucky. Believe me, nobody wants to see Kentucky go down more than I do. I just don't know HOW Wisconsin does it. Can they win? Sure, any given day and all that. I'd like you to explain to me HOW they are going to do it. Here's a hint: Just telling me that Kaminsky is really good isn't it.
LuckyBen,
Here is what I wrote immediately following the Cincinatti/Kentucky game:
Posted 21 March 2015 - 05:18 PM
Cincinatti had 22 offensive rebounds in this game (Kentucky, with all that length, only had 12). The problem is Cincy, like PC last night, couldn't convert them into points, shooting only 31% from the field. They only had 5 assists in the game, so they also weren't looking for that extra pass that leads to clean looks against shot blockers.
That's the road map to beat Kentucky. Take it right at the shot blockers, and then look to dish it off to the open man underneath, or kick it out to an open shooter. And then follow up the miss by crashing the vacated boards because the Kentucky defenders are still recovering from the shot block attempt. You just have to make your shots when you get them, and Cincinatti couldn't do that. I have a feeling someone is going to come really close, if not beat Kentucky. The opportunity is there.
And here is what I was writing about Notre Dame DURING their game with Butler. Note, this is two rounds ago, before they had even played Wichita State or beaten Butler:
Posted 22 March 2015 - 12:03 AM
I think you have to be rooting for the Irish here if you want to see someone have a shot at knocking off Kentucky. The Irish have the kind of guards in Grant and Jackson that can penetrate and dish, and the bigs to finish against the Wildcats. Butler would literally get blown out of the building. Every single one of Jones' shots would get thrown into the 40th row by Stein and Towns.
These posts were made over a week ago, and there are plenty of others. Feel free to go back and look. I knew ND would give Kentucky fits long before it happened, because I know a little something about the teams and the game of basketball. You've proven pretty adept at regurgitating a box score, but haven't really provided any sort of reasoning as to what matchups you think favor Wisconsin against Kentucky, what kind of game plan they'll use, how they will stop Kentucky on offense, or anything else. But keep on believing that whatever happened in the last game will magically carry over to the next game. Because after all, ND struggled against Northeastern, they almost beat Kentucky, thus, Wisconsin will beat Kentucky. That's analysis baby.
Here is what I wrote immediately following the Cincinatti/Kentucky game:
Posted 21 March 2015 - 05:18 PM
Cincinatti had 22 offensive rebounds in this game (Kentucky, with all that length, only had 12). The problem is Cincy, like PC last night, couldn't convert them into points, shooting only 31% from the field. They only had 5 assists in the game, so they also weren't looking for that extra pass that leads to clean looks against shot blockers.
That's the road map to beat Kentucky. Take it right at the shot blockers, and then look to dish it off to the open man underneath, or kick it out to an open shooter. And then follow up the miss by crashing the vacated boards because the Kentucky defenders are still recovering from the shot block attempt. You just have to make your shots when you get them, and Cincinatti couldn't do that. I have a feeling someone is going to come really close, if not beat Kentucky. The opportunity is there.
And here is what I was writing about Notre Dame DURING their game with Butler. Note, this is two rounds ago, before they had even played Wichita State or beaten Butler:
Posted 22 March 2015 - 12:03 AM
I think you have to be rooting for the Irish here if you want to see someone have a shot at knocking off Kentucky. The Irish have the kind of guards in Grant and Jackson that can penetrate and dish, and the bigs to finish against the Wildcats. Butler would literally get blown out of the building. Every single one of Jones' shots would get thrown into the 40th row by Stein and Towns.
These posts were made over a week ago, and there are plenty of others. Feel free to go back and look. I knew ND would give Kentucky fits long before it happened, because I know a little something about the teams and the game of basketball. You've proven pretty adept at regurgitating a box score, but haven't really provided any sort of reasoning as to what matchups you think favor Wisconsin against Kentucky, what kind of game plan they'll use, how they will stop Kentucky on offense, or anything else. But keep on believing that whatever happened in the last game will magically carry over to the next game. Because after all, ND struggled against Northeastern, they almost beat Kentucky, thus, Wisconsin will beat Kentucky. That's analysis baby.
I'll explain how Wisconsin keeps it close. The frontcourt of Wisconsin is extremely versatile. Kaminsky, Dekker, and Hayes can all play very well inside and outside. If they are to keep this close, Gasser and Koenig need to play pick and roll with Kaminsky and Dekker in order to get WCS/Towns/Johnson on the move. Gasser are Koenig are good 3-pt shooters so we'll see how Cal handles them. Do they go over the top of the screen and risk Kaminsky or Dekker rolling to the basket or do they go under and leave Gasser/Koenig open for a 3? Also, whoever of FK and SD that isn't involved in the P/R will have an easier time of posting up while the bigs of UK can't set their feet and get you off the block. Hayes can be used as a chess piece of sorts as he'll have a slower Lyles on him and can take him off the dribble or run him off some screens.Deathofthebambino said:
They'll have to knock down shots at a similar clip as yesterday. Dekker is playing right now like a 1st team AA. With him and Kaminsky playing like they did against Arizona, they have a fighting chance. But, others will have to step up and knock down shots when they get the chance and they won't have many chances. FK and SD took 31 of the 45 FGA yesterday so even though chances will be slim players like Hayes, Gasser, Koenig need to be extremely focused and ready to go.
Defensively, they need to build walls and not let the Harrisons and Ulies abuse them like Arizona did yesterday. You have to make UK beat you over the top with the 3-point shot. If I were Bo Ryan, I'd play a packed in 2-3 zone.
Nice to see teams actively trying to score. Fun game with both teams shooting early in the shot clock.
As an aside, I'll win $150 if Michigan State wins this game, so come on Spartans.
As an aside, I'll win $150 if Michigan State wins this game, so come on Spartans.
I've got Gonzaga winning it all in my bracket. A Notre Dame win last night would have given me a shot at winning a 300+ person pool.wibi said:
I think you hit on pretty much everything here. Well done sir.Deathofthebambino said:
Kaminsky in particular has his hands full against NBA size/length/athleticism. Unlike ND this shouldn't be a very competitive game.
