NCAA hoops

[abkeenan]

1 hour ago, vernon said:

 

Looking forward to USC and Gonzaga tonight as I thought we were just bad but it turns out SoCal is pretty danged good.  Might give 'em a tussle.

I'll tell you what. Having not seen USC til now due to them being out in the PAC12 and just not much coverage of them on TV here in the Midwest......they are a dangerous squad. They play way bigger and more athletic than their seed for sure. Oregon was a good team and USC took it to them pretty good. I'd imagine that the game tonight will be a real barn-burner as both teams flat out get up the court in a HURRY. Don't know if I've EVER seen a team do it quicker or better than this years ZAG's. Should be a good one if USC repeats it's last performance against the Ducks.

[vernon]

22 hours ago, abkeenan said:

I'll tell you what. Having not seen USC til now due to them being out in the PAC12 and just not much coverage of them on TV here in the Midwest......they are a dangerous squad. They play way bigger and more athletic than their seed for sure. Oregon was a good team and USC took it to them pretty good. I'd imagine that the game tonight will be a real barn-burner as both teams flat out get up the court in a HURRY. Don't know if I've EVER seen a team do it quicker or better than this years ZAG's. Should be a good one if USC repeats it's last performance against the Ducks.

Well scratch those prognostications!  That's what's so crazy about this tournament almost every year.  A team can look like the '84 Celtics for three or four games and then turn into the Bad News Bears in the blink of an eye.

Either that or Gonzaga is just that good and they're making a pretty strong case for just that.

Good golly, watching last night a guy would think that USC didn't win a game all year!

I don't know that it can be done but I'm pulling for whoever is playing Gonzaga from here on out though cause Timme is about as an obnoxious "look at me" showboat as I've seen lately and Suggs throws more arm bars than Ronda Rousey and ain't NEVER called for it.

Baylor anyone?

[Smithvillesteve]

I think Baylor is the only team that has a chance to beat the Zags. Those 3 guards are going to have to shoot well and hit a high percentage of 3's. Baylor is probably more athletic and will D up! I agree with you Vernon that Timme is kind of a "look at me" guy but i admire the fact that he didnt play much early in his career, stuck it out, and now is a major factor in their success. Especially in this day and age of transferring if I dont get enough playing time. This transfer portal thing is becoming a joke!! I heard Braun, of MU, mom was on twitter all the time bitching about his playing time! To you hog fans: I know Baylor covered the spread but you have to be proud how your hogs played. They got after it for 40 minutes! I do like Mark Few. He likes to fish!!!!

[Quillback]

I lived in Washington when Gonzaga started their rise from obscurity and have always rooted for them since.  However I agree on the Timme showboating, the guy needs to stop.

Just finished watching the UCLA/MI game (recorded it), great game, MI had some shots at the end, but they could not connect.  I'm sure the Zags were very happy to see MI go down.  

[willyfish]

I agree on Timme. His little act on throwing his arms up after a basket is silly. I guess he can enjoy it while it lasts because he will get eaten alive in the NBA, if he is lucky enough to make a team. I was surprised how bad Michigan played against UCLA. They had favorable matchups all over the court and Wagner was off big time. Houston has a shot at Baylor. They play D and hit the boards. It was a pretty forgettable weekend of hoops for me.

[Champ188]

On 3/30/2021 at 8:30 AM, vernon said:

I was amazed that Arkansas still had a great chance to win this game despite playing so poorly.  When they weren't kicking it into the third row they scored with efficiency until the fatal stretch toward the end when they quit driving it and like Alabama the night before shot themselves out of it by firing up guarded three's and rushed mid range stuff.

No team can go eleven minutes or whatever it was without scoring against a team like Baylor and have a positive outcome much less to be fighting back from an eighteen point deficit.

Nonetheless, it was pretty impressive how they kept getting back in it and man do they ever hit the boards.  To give up that kinda size and muscle and yet actually out rebound Baylor by five says a lot about their effort and determination.

And by the way, did anybody see the announcement on the rule change regarding offensive fouls at the beginning of the postseason?  Never in the history of the game have they interpreted what constitutes a charge the way they have the last month.

I mean the defender ain't square, ain't set and it flat don't matter cause it's going the other way almost every time a guy falls down.  The one that fouled the Notae kid out is a prime example in my opinion.  They're encouraging flopping when it was supposed to have been a point of emphasis just a year ago.

Of course traveling, palming and three seconds have all been relegated to the peach basket days as well.  

And yes I am a bitter and crabby old man that is sick of kids walking on my lawn!!!!

Looking forward to USC and Gonzaga tonight as I thought we were just bad but it turns out SoCal is pretty danged good.  Might give 'em a tussle.

Vern, I'm with ya for sure on the traveling, palming and 3-second calls. All nonexistent these days.  

[Quillback]

Yeah the charging calls have certainly changed.  Arkansas is very good at taking advantage of the change too.  They played a game in the SEC season, can't remember exactly who it was, but I think it was Alabama where there were something like 17 total charging calls in the first half, and most of them were in AR's favor.  It didn't work as well against Baylor, they did get that big moose Vital in foul trouble and eventually fouled out.

That last Notae foul I thought was on him, the guy kamikazeed into what looked to be at least 3 Baylor players.  

[abkeenan]

23 hours ago, vernon said:

Well scratch those prognostications!  That's what's so crazy about this tournament almost every year.  A team can look like the '84 Celtics for three or four games and then turn into the Bad News Bears in the blink of an eye.

Either that or Gonzaga is just that good and they're making a pretty strong case for just that.

Good golly, watching last night a guy would think that USC didn't win a game all year!

I don't know that it can be done but I'm pulling for whoever is playing Gonzaga from here on out though cause Timme is about as an obnoxious "look at me" showboat as I've seen lately and Suggs throws more arm bars than Ronda Rousey and ain't NEVER called for it.

Baylor anyone?

USC fell flat and like you said that's also probably because of the Zag's just being THAT good. I don't see any team beating them.

Consistency is the name of the game in just about any sport to be truly successful. Heck, same could be said for life.

[Dutch]

19 minutes ago, abkeenan said:

USC fell flat and like you said that's also probably because of the Zag's just being THAT good. I don't see any team beating them.

Consistency is the name of the game in just about any sport to be truly successful. Heck, same could be said for life.

I have been watching them and Baylor all season.  They have been the more consistent from tip off to final buzzer than any other teams that I have watched.  Baylor is good but I think Gonzaga is better.  Time will tell.

[willyfish]

I'm going to guess Zags will be 5.5 over Baylor and 9 over Houston in the final. A lot of that will be how these teams look on Saturday of course.