By Paul Gotham
Stubborn adherence to beliefs
From time to time, Crossword Pete reminds us “even a broken clock is correct twice a day.”
A loose interpretation of that wisdom explains Louisville’s win over the Syracuse Orange.
When thinking of Rick Pitino basketball, a few ideas come to mind: playing up-tempo, pressure defense, tenacious rebounding, and most of all, shooting from behind the three point arc. After all, it is Pitino who is given credit for identifying the worst shot in basketball – a foot on the line that turns a three-pointer into a deuce.
This season has been no different.
Entering play Sunday, 40 percent of Louisville’s shots came from behind the arc. This despite ranking somewhere around 220th in the nation when it comes to making trifectas.
Still, Pitino and Louisville forged ahead. The 15-9 Cardinals took 30 three pointers (Louisville took 56 total shots for the game) against the Orange. They only made nine of those attempts (30 percent), but Louisville knocked off the No. 2 Orange, 66-60 at the Carrier Dome.
Pitino and the Cardinals have now beaten the Orange the last five times the teams have met. Syracuse and Louisville close the Big East regular season on March sixth at Freedom Hall in Kentucky.
Syracuse was due for a loss. The Orange have been living dangerously of late. With Wes Johnson hobbled by a recent injury, Syracuse needed a time-out controversy to beat UConn last week. Two weeks ago, Syracuse scrambled to beat DePaul by two.
More Big East turmoil
The ‘Cuse is not the only Big East heavyweight sent to the canvas last week. Similar to the Orange, West Virginia has had a few narrow escapes this season. The Mountaineers found themselves snared in a pair of traps last week.
Pitt needed overtime to trim West Virgina, 98-95. This after Bob Huggins’s gang fell to Villanova, 82-75. West Virginia has three one-possession wins this year and another win in overtime.
Eight days after tripping Villanova, the Georgetown Hoyas fell at Rutgers. Rochester native, Dane Miller, had 13 points and 10 rebounds as the Scarlet Knights won 71-68. Miller scored four points in the final :25. The freshman made two free throws to give Rutgers the lead for good with ten seconds remaining.
Enough of the reputation already
During my Saturday viewing, I caught a few of those “last four in – last four out” graphics. These glimpses are intended to give us an idea which teams stand where when it comes to earning a spot in NCAA Tournament. UCLA made its way on to the “last four out.”
UCLA? Really?
The Bruins are 6-6 in the Pac 10 and 11-13 on the season. How, in the good name of John Wooden, is this Bruin team even remotely considered for a spot in the Dance? Their conference record is good for sixth in the Pac 10.
The Pac 10 deserves one team and one team only in the tournament. Nobody has fewer than eight losses amongst them. Three of the Pac 10 teams (UCLA, Stanford, and Oregon State) have losing records. Oregon is 12-12.
Can we please put the Pac 10’s reputation out of mind when picking the field of 65!
1,000 and counting
Duke’s victory over Maryland on Saturday was the 1,000th in the career of Coach Krzyzewski in Durham, North Carolina. For 190 of those 1,000, the Blue Devils have been ranked No. 1.
Binghamton fallout
March is the time of Cinderella’s. Binghamton captured the interest of fans less than a year ago when they took the America East conference tournament and earned a spot among the 65. Eleven months later and the fallout from that team continues.
George Vecsey described the situation with the New York school. As quick as Binghamton rose from D1 entry in 2000 to a NCAA Tournament, the Bearcats fell into infamy. Coach Kevin Broadus is still on leave, and a judge recently ruled against the athletics department and a series of decisions made over the past few years.
1st Team All Casey
PG Scottie Reynolds – Villanova
SG Jordan Crawford – Xavier
SF Wesley Johnson – Syracuse
PF Al-Farouq Aminu – Wake Forest
C Greg Monroe – Georgetown
2nd Team All Casey
PG – Jon Scheyer – Duke
SG Matt Bouldin – Gonzaga
SF Kyle Singler – Duke
PF Chris Wright – Dayton
C Cole Aldrich – Kansas
Got any college hoops splinters? Share them here.
Leave a Reply