I dont have the luxury of hearing Bilas or any comments. Nor do I get the controversial replays. But I did have the viewpoint of being in a frenzied crowd tonight at XL Center. Some observations:

1) Djuan Blair is a monster. He did whatever he wanted tonight and was calling for the ball on every possession. Thabeet didnt have a clue as to how to even put pressure on Blair. Clearly a super mismatch. Blair has had his best two games this year against Harangody and Thabeet. The only difference is that Harangody actually played on the same level as Blair in their matchup. Blair made Thabeet look like a biddy league player. The best Thabeet could do was cry to the refs about Blair being physical. NO CONTEST! Blair gets my vote for Big East player of the year.

2) Sam Young is a real player. He got the Panthers started tonight. After he put Pitt clearly in control of the game, he backed off and let Blair go to work. A true All-American. He’s got game.

3)Levance Fields knows when to put the dagger in. Fields didnt score a point the whole game and then hit 2 huge 3′s in the last three minutes to put the game on ice.

4) Jamie Dixon totally outcoached Calhoun tonight. Calhoun really thought that Jeff Adrien could guard Young. WRONG! Stanley Robinson is the only UConn player with the size and athleticism to guard Young. And Robinson gets into a funk and forgets he’s in a game too often. Young blew by Adrien a number of times for quick hoops or pulled UConn’s top rebounder out 20 feet when he hit some 3′s.

5)A.J. Price is a gamer. He was limping at the end of the game and that is a concern. He played with passion and was the HUskies only offensive threat for most of the game.

6) Somebody please give a cheer for Kemba Walker. Walker had heart tonight and was the only UConn player to take the ball to the hoop. And while you’re at it, dont forget Gavin Edwards. The Huskies made that run with 8 minutes left to take a five point lead only to have Calhoun put Thabeet in to replace the hustling Edwards. Game over!

7) Pitt is now the team to beat in the Big East. They are tough with a capital T. Any team not willing to fight it out with Pitt will be run over. Note the 48-31 rebounding edge the Panthers had tonight, not to mention 16 OFFENSIVE rebounds.

Categories: Commentary
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I’ll only make one prediction for tonight’s enormous game between Pitt and UConn: Sam Young will be huge.

I have no clue about anything else, except that it’ll be a great game to watch.

Categories: Commentary, Connecticut, donald, Pittsburgh
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Does experience matter in the NCAA tournament? This is the third year that Ken Pomeroy has published weighted average experience. It’s still too early to count on any trends, but here’s a quick look at the top seeds from the last two tournaments (NCAA rank, school, tournament seed, experience, tournament finish):

2008

• ( 50) Kansas [1], 2.10 years: CHAMPION
• (134) Georgetown [2], 1.78: 2nd round 70-74 Davidson [10]
• (155) Tennessee [2], 1.74: Sweet Sixteen 60-79 Louisville [3]
• (197) Memphis [1], 1.61: Championship 68-75 Kansas [1] (OT)
• (205) UNC [1], 1.58: Final Four 66-84 Kansas [1]
• (229) UCLA [1], 1.51: Final Four 63-78 Memphis [1]
• (295) Duke [2], 1.22: 2nd round 67-73 WVU [7]
• (300) Texas [2], 1.19: regional final 67-85 Memphis [1]

2007

• ( 94) Wisconsin [2], 2.00: 2nd round 68-74 UNLV [7]
• (103) Florida [1], 1.97: CHAMPION
• (272) Georgetown [2], 1.35: Final Four 60-67 Ohio St. [1]
• (276) Ohio St. [1], 1.33: Championship 75-84 Florida [1]
• (287) Memphis [2], 1.27: regional final 76-92 Ohio St. [1]
• (294) UCLA [2], 1.21: Final Four 66-76 Florida [1]
• (309) Kansas [1], 1.11: regional final 55-68 UCLA [2]
• (329) UNC [1], 0.87: regional final 84-96 Georgetown [2] (OT)

Not enough data yet, and there aren’t certain patterns. My observations:

• The last two champions were experienced #1 seeds, the most experienced in fact. I think there’s something to that.
• Two of the three upsets were experienced #2 seeds, not that such teams are prone to early exits; it refutes the idea that experience makes you upset-resistant.
• There were 10 games played between #1 and #2 seeds in these two tournaments. The more experienced teams were 9-1 in such games. Take that with a grain of salt.

It’s worth looking at the top contenders this year and their experience levels. Here’s Joe Lunardi’s current #1, #2, and #3 seeds, which should capture nearly all of the #1 and #2 seeds in a month:

• ( 8 ) Marquette [3], 2.47
• ( 31) UConn [1], 2.20
• ( 78) UNC [1], 1.97
• (108) Pittsburgh [1], 1.88
• (115) Memphis [3], 1.85
• (146) Oklahoma [1], 1.75
• (148) Duke [2], 1.74
• (159) Louisville [2], 1.70
• (181) Clemson [3], 1.63
• (189) Michigan St. [2], 1.61
• (274) Wake Forest [2], 1.31
• (336) Kansas [3], 0.84

Compared to the last couple years when dominant freshman carried several teams to top seeds, most contenders are very experienced. I love seeing several Big East schools at the top.

Don’t hate me for my lists.

Categories: Commentary, Connecticut, Dan'l B, Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, Pittsburgh
2 Comments »

Not only is there a game tonight (strange, as usually only the Ivies play on Friday night — can anyone explain why there’s a game tonight?), but it might be the best game this week — Villanova goes to West Virginia.

Let’s look at the facts.

Villanova comes into the game smoking hot offensively, having scored 94 against Providence, 102 against Syracuse, and 102 against Marquette, and not surprisingly, having won all three games. Indeed, they haven’t lost since they played UConn close on January 21st. They’re ranked #13 in both the AP and ESPN/USA Today polls. Also, Big Willie Style fears them. Anything that puts fear in the heart of Big Willie puts fear into my heart.

On the other hand, West Virginia comes in ranked #7 in the country by Ken Pomeroy — above teams such as Oklahoma and Wake Forest (ranked #2 and #7 respectively by the AP), and namely above Villanova, ranked #12. They’re predicted by Pomeroy to win the rest of their games, including tonight against Villanova, their next game against Notre Dame, and their last game against Louisville (all notably at home). And Dan’l B fears them. Anything that puts fear in the heart of Dan’l B puts fear in my own heart.

What this game (and how West Virgina does for the rest of the season) represents is new school vs. old school. New school is Ken Pomeroy, Dan’l B, tempo-free statistics, favoring close losses over good teams over big wins over bad teams, and believing there’s no such thing as clutch play. Old school is Big Willie Style, watching tape, gut instincts, valuing any type of win over any type of loss, and believing that some players rise to the occasion when others do not. And New School and Old School just don’t agree on West Virginia — they don’t even get one measly vote in the AP poll, but they’re ranked 7th in the country by Ken Pomeroy.

New School vs. Old School. Who do you like tonight?

Categories: BlogWatch, Commentary, donald, Rankings, Villanova, West Virginia
1 Comment »

Pretty much says it all (link).

Categories: Commentary
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