Temple will play for AAC pride tonight against a very good Belmont team. Belmont is actually the favorite in this game, -2.5 after opening -3.5
NCAA Tournament Thread
- Thread starter KhalidShockedTheWorld
- Start date
That was not a good first half by Temple. Belmont reminds me of Gonzaga around 20 years ago, a team of non-athletes that are well coached, fundamentally sound, cohesive and playing as a unit. Temple gave up a number of layups in that first half and it looks like they are confused on defense. They have to wake up and use their length and athleticism to disrupt the pick and rolls and back door layups. Otherwise they will be going down.
Temple has gone done to Belmont by 11 points. Very disappointing game by Temple. AAC pride was not upheld. Belmont looked like the better team.
Great game in Hartford today as Murray State’s Ja Morant (17 points, 16 assists, 11 boards) triple doubled Marquette and led MSU to an easy win. This is a kid who really knows how to play. He definitely should be leaving college after the season is over. His only issue is he occasionally will force entry passes into tight spots that become live ball TOs, but he has a phenomenal handle and extraordinary one on one ability. Looks like he can score or get a shot whenever he wants, but he doesn’t have a scorer’s mentality. He seems to be obsessed with assists. In this game they did find him on a backdoor play cutting to the hole and he two hand dunked, viciously, on one of the Marquette big’s heads. Great player and will be interested to see how he does against Florida State.
I see Nova just snuck by St. Mary's (who beat Gonzaga for the WCC title) last night @ the XL. Hopefully the AAC does better than the Big Least did so far. If Nova doesn't pull out the 4 point win, the Big Least teams would've all been out after their 1st games. Uconn can use the money and a payback for all the NCAA credits we brought these AAC slackers with the Final 4/NC run. But I'm sure Cronin & Co. will do their obligatory NCAA fold, UCF will be out in game 2 (Duke) if they even get by VCU. So it's all up to you Kelvin Sampson.
Last edited:
I watched the Wofford-Seton Hall game last night which was interesting. Wofford has a group of guards that can really shoot the 3 and a very good big inside who they established early. But they are not very athletic. Wofford bolted out to a 16 point lead and then SHU started to press them. It became clear that Wofford was having issues with the press. SHU eventually retook the lead behind the hot shooting of their guard Miles Powell who appears to be their best player. But then the Hall wilted down the stretch. I think they aren’t deep and the pressing wore them out to the point they had no legs. Credit Wofford for their toughness and stamina.
Wofford is very good but due to their athletic limitations I don’t think they will go that far. A deeper athletic team that can press them a little and play up on their shooters, if in their draw, will take them out.
Wofford is very good but due to their athletic limitations I don’t think they will go that far. A deeper athletic team that can press them a little and play up on their shooters, if in their draw, will take them out.
Last edited:
I also watched St. Mary’s v. Villanova but honestly it was a boring game. SMU is all about slowdown and using all of the shotclock. Villanova played OK and got the job done playing against that style but nothing special in their performance.
Murray State was the most impressive team I saw yesterday. Apart from Morant the rest of their team is solid and athletic, they space the floor well and seem to be well coached. I think they will need more scoring from Morant against FSU. He needs to be careful with his entry passes because FSU is so long and athletic that it’s not so easy to dump passes in. This should be a great game for Hartford Saturday night. I am looking forward to it and recommend it.
Murray State was the most impressive team I saw yesterday. Apart from Morant the rest of their team is solid and athletic, they space the floor well and seem to be well coached. I think they will need more scoring from Morant against FSU. He needs to be careful with his entry passes because FSU is so long and athletic that it’s not so easy to dump passes in. This should be a great game for Hartford Saturday night. I am looking forward to it and recommend it.
Strange thing is Murray St. is the closet thing to a Cinderella so far as a #12, but with one of the top 5 guys in the NBA draft I don't think they are really a surprise. Everything else has been running close to form.
I don’t understand how Hartford is in the West Region or San Jose is in the East Region. They should cease using geographical directions to name these regions. They should name the regions after the place that hosts the regionals or else name them after great NCAA basketball players. It’s totally stupid to have “West Regional” games in Hartford.
I have seen Morant play a few times now. He looks to me like the real deal. He is kind of skinny but very athletic and has an unreal crossover and first step which I favorably compare to Kemba Walker’s, and he can also shoot the rock. His moves are explosive and purposeful. However he doesn’t look like he has a scorer mindset. His instincts are pass first and score second. I think FSU is going to dare him to distribute and play the passing lanes tightly. They will play straight up. He is going to have to penetrate and score/get fouled a la Kemba. NBA scouts will be watching this game closely. I personally think Morant could be drafted overall 1, 2 or 3. I don’t recall seeing a point guard this talented in a long time.
West and South, I don't get it either.... NCAA stuff that complicates things, I think based, on seeding and draw for the early rounds...
Yeah I've seen some Curry & some Westbrook comparison stuff by different writers...even some that say he could go ahead of Zion.
By the way one oddity in yesterday’s games is Vermont shot 16-32 on 3 pointers and lost to FSU. I don’t understand how that happened. They only got outrebounded by 6. It seems like the game was won on the FT line.
I know I need to stop...
... but physically he looks a lot like this guy:PS this is vs. Brewster who have about 6 or 7 High major players on their team:
New England Class of 2019 rankings
Last edited:
I did see Morant snap a 2 handed overhead outlet pass just like Gaffney did in that video. He really whipped that ball. I don’t see many point guards make outlet passes that are on point like that. I hope Gaffney is 75% as good as Morant.
Our AAC tourney champs Cincy are playing with pride early vs. Iowa. This is a good first round test for them. Mick Cronin, wants, needs and craves redemption for that awful NCAA exit Cincy had last year, blowing a 23 point lead to Nevada. Let’s see if Cincy can gain redemption.
What Cincy has this year, which they didn’t have the last few years, is a main man player in Cumberland. In my opinion, and I cite the UConn teams in 2011 and 2014 as examples, you can make a deep tourney run if you have a main man player, and you play with pride, guts and determination, especially on defense and the boards. Cincy has all of these elements. This is why they beat Houston in AAC tourney. Cumberland was the main man at the end of that game. They gotta ride him if this one goes to wire. Kid shows toughness.
They need to show the Big 10 who is boss!
They need to show the Big 10 who is boss!
Cincy is blowing this game! Dysfunctional offense plus allowing wide open 3s spell defeat in the NCAA tourney!!!!!! WTF is going on???????
Forget what I said about Cumberland being a main man player. He couldn’t carry jockstraps of Kemba, Shabazz or Ben Gordon or El Amin.
Typical Cronin...he got outcoached. Iowa put on soft pressure to slow Cincy's offense and instead of beating the pressure like Cumberland did a few times by attacking it ..the Cincy guards slowed it up the court just like McCaffery wanted them to. Then Cincy had to run forced offense with the wrong guys taking shots (poor shot selection) they shouldn't be taking as the shot clock ran out.
And true they guarded the 3 like Uconn does at times...by sluffing to the paint and covering nobody.... their cement head perimeter defenders go guard the the FT lane when the ball is on the other side of the court....Only problem is that their men are at the 3pt line, not standing in the paint like they are ....a couple of quick swing passes by Iowa and it's wide open for a bulls eye !!!
And true they guarded the 3 like Uconn does at times...by sluffing to the paint and covering nobody.... their cement head perimeter defenders go guard the the FT lane when the ball is on the other side of the court....Only problem is that their men are at the 3pt line, not standing in the paint like they are ....a couple of quick swing passes by Iowa and it's wide open for a bulls eye !!!
Last edited:
Totally agree Blades. I was watching the game at a local bar. Cronin got his ass outcoached, Cincy allowed way too many open 3s and Cincy offense the last 5 minutes was worse than awful. Suckfest by Cincy! It’s an embarrassment to have the AAC league champ go out in the first round.
Well I have to give that loudmouth Cronin credit for one thing...he's consistent .....they've made the NCAA's every year since the split ...and he's also never made it past the round of 32..
2013–14 Cincinnati.....27–7 /15–3 .... 1st--- NCAA Division I Round of 64
2014–15 Cincinnati.....23–11 / 13–5... 3rd--- NCAA Division I Round of 32
2015–16 Cincinnati.....22–11 / 12–6 ...3rd ---NCAA Division I Round of 64
2016–17 Cincinnati......30–6/ 16–2.... 2nd--- NCAA Division I Round of 32
2017–18 Cincinnati .....31–5 / 16–2 ... 1st--- NCAA Division I Round of 32
2018–19 Cincinnati .....28–7 / 14–4.....2nd--- NCAA Division I Round of 64
3 first round exits and 3 second round exits. That’s not a great record. You would think that in 6 trips they would have had at least one Sweet 16, especially since they have been a consistent top 25 program in that time.
Nate Oats and Buffalo have trounced his mentor Bobby Hurley and ASU. What a run for Buffalo which is now 32-3. All Oats does is win. No milk or brown sugar needed on this Oats.
Houston has restored AAC pride. AAC is about to go 1-2 so far this tournament. It’s up to UCF to even up the record later tonight. If they do, they will get Duke in the 2nd round.
Houston searches out good shots until they get them...always talking to each other on D...total dominance( we've seen that B4 I think ) ..Anything less than elite eight is a disappointment... as long as the moment doesn't get to big for them. ..or they don't run into something like this again:
) ..Anything less than elite eight is a disappointment... as long as the moment doesn't get to big for them. ..or they don't run into something like this again:
UCF looks like they have s tough matchup tonight in VCU. When you are an offensively challenged team the last thing you need to do is face a clingy, harassing defense like VCU’s. No points for UCF so far and not even close to an open look so far. VCU is in their shirts!!!!!
Wow the two Mississippi teams flamed out of the tourney in a big way. What a bummer of a day for the Mississippi fans. Congratulations to Liberty on a huge win for their program.
Literally, I can't believe what I'm watching these 3 blind mice allow for VCU. They have their hands all over UCF and they are bumping em' on every trap...it looks like these refs forgot what a foul looks like because there's so much of it..... talk about inconsistent officiating !!
Last edited:
UCF won that game and AAC is now 2-2. You figure if Houston wins 2 more games and UCF goes down to Duke AAC will finish a respectable 4-3 for the tourney. I think UCF is a team that could bother Duke, because they have an inside presence in Fall and Duke does not shoot all that well from outside. They rely on Williamson and Barrett to overpower their defenders inside. That game could be interesting plus Dawkins, UCF coach, is a former star player at Duke and a disciple of Coach K, although his teams play very differently.
Tacko Fall: "I Will Not Allow Zion To Posterize Me"
http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/26338255/allow-zion-posterize-me
http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/26338255/allow-zion-posterize-me
I was rooting for Maryland because LSU is a team of guys who got “strong ass offers.” Waters is a good player, and that winning shot was off a crafty move.
First half of Murray St. vs. Florida State was 1 on 5 basketball. 1 on 5 traditionally doesn’t get it done in. NCAA tournament play.
Wow, real bad look @ the XL Center for Nova and the Big Least as their last team standing...Blow Out City !
Last edited:
Well he missed on the New Haven kid but at least KO closed on MAL.
...just what Uconn needed another push guard who can't shoot. I guess Cooley's had enough too.
Last edited:
Duke got very very lucky to beat UCF by 1! UCF had 2 shots go in and out at the end. But Fall gave a Tick Tack 5th foul and allowed Williamson to score. If he hammered him and stopped the 2, and got his money’s worth fouling out, UCF wins that game.
Well he missed on the New Haven kid but at least KO closed on MAL.
Ashton Langford was averaging 3.7 points per game and shooting 34% FGs. And not starting or playing very much. I recall when he was being recruited people pointed out he didn’t shoot well in high school and someone kept posting in that thread that he had “elite penetration skills” which were so unstoppable that he wouldn’t need to shoot jumpers, he would simply penetrate at will and score when he wanted going to the hole. That didn’t happen in 2 years at PC. He might be better off at a mid major.
