Sixteen remain trying for a chance at eight: “…Blue skies up ahead, and in this I’m a rain cloud. Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing.”
#2/2 SYRACUSE (33-2) vs. 14/13 WISCONSIN (26-9)
Syracuse and Wisconsin have met twice previously. The most recent pairing came in 1999-2000 when the two programs squared off in the finals of the NABC Classic in the Dome. SU won, 68-49, in a contest that featured brothers Kueth Duany (SU) and Duany Duany (WU). The Orange and Badgers also met up in 1926-27, a game won by Wisconsin, 31-24. Thursday night’s contest will feature two of the winningest active coaches in the Division I ranks. Jim Boeheim is second on the list with 889 victories while Bo Ryan is seventh (651). The Badgers lead all of Division I in scoring defense (.529). They also rank fifth in 3-point field-goal percentage defense (.288) and 11th in field-goal percentage defense (.385).
No.1 MICHIGAN STATE (29-7/13-5) vs. No.4 LOUISVILLE (28-9/10-8)
Louisville leads the all-time series against Michigan State, 4-3. The two schools have met twice before in the NCAA Tournament (1959, 2009). In the 1959 Mideast Regional Final in Evanston, Ill., Louisville won, 88-81, despite the Spartans getting 29 points and 23 rebounds from Johnny Green. In the 2009 Midwest Regional Final in Indianapolis, the second-seeded Spartans defeated the top-seeded Cardinals, 64-52, as Tom Izzo advanced to his fifth Final Four. Goran Suton paced the Spartans with 19 points and 10 rebounds, scoring 17 in the first half. Draymond Green was the only player on either current roster to see significant time, recording six points, 10 rebounds and three assists as a freshman. Izzo is 2-1 against Louisville in his career.
Category (conf. in paren.) …………….MSU ……………………….UL
Scoring Offense ………………………..72.4 (68.2) ……………. 68.6 (67.2)
Scoring Defense…………………………59.4 (58.2) ……………. 61.1 (64.9)
Scoring Margin ………………………..+13.0 (+10.1) ………….. +7.5 (+2.3)
Field Goal Pct…………………………….482 (.473) ……………. .425 (.422)
Field Goal Pct. Defense ……………..379 (.379) ……………. .379 (.393)
3Pt. FG Pct. ………………………………365 (.362) ……………. .313 (.308)
3Pt. FG Pct. Defense …………………296 (.275) ……………. .302 (.320)
Free Throw Pct. ………………………..696 (.713) ……………. .687 (.680)
Rebound Margin……………………….+8.3 (+7.4) ……………. +1.6 (+0.7)
Turnovers per game ………………..12.9 (12.4) ……………. 14.4 (14.9)
No. 6 Cincinnati (26-10) vs .No. 2 Ohio State (29-7)
Ohio State is 5-4 in the all-time series vs. Cincinnati. The Buckeyes won the most recent meeting 72-50 Dec. 16, 2006 in the 2006 Wooden Tradition. That game was played on a neutral court in Indianapolis. The Bearcats own two wins vs. the Buckeyes in NCAA tournament play, both in the NCAA title game in 1961 and 1962.
Ohio State 72, Cincinnati 50 Dec. 16, 2006, Indianapolis: Greg Oden’s hometown fans got one more glimpse of how dominant he can be. It was every bit as good as they remembered from his high school days. The freshman center had 14 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks in 27 minutes and nearly produced a double-double in the first half as No. 4 Ohio State defeated Cincinnati 72-50.
(7) Florida (25-10, 10-6 SEC) vs. (3) Marquette (27-7, 14-4 Big East)
Florida trails the all-time series vs. Marquette, 0-2, with both losses coming in a home-and-home series in the 1976-77 and 1977-78 seasons. The Gators are 16-9 under Donovan vs. Big East foes, including 2-1 in the NCAA Tournament and 1-0 in the Sweet 16 with a 57-53 win over Georgetown in UF’s 2006 run to the national title.
Florida ………………………….Category………………………… Marquette
76.3 ___________________Points Per Game ____________75.9
65.0 _________________Opp. Points Per Game __________65.9
.464 _________________ Field Goal Percentage _________ .457
.426 _______________Opp. Field Goal Percentage _______ .402
.383 _______________ 3-Pt. Field Goal Percentage _______ .339
.343 _____________ Opp. 3-Pt. Field Goal Percentage _____ .318
9.8 ____________________ 3-Pts. Per Game _____________5.7
6.1 __________________ Opp. 3-Pts. Per Game ___________6.1
.711 ________________ Free Throw Percentage _________ .722
+2.9 ___________________Rebound Margin ____________ -0.1
14.8 __________________ Assists Per Game ____________ 16.7
11.0 _________________ Turnovers Per Game __________ 13.3
12.8 ______________ Turnovers Forced Per Game _______ 16.6
6.4 ____________________Steals Per Game _____________8.7
3.2 ___________________ Blocks Per Game _____________3.5
I am still a huge Marquette fan after their game against Murray State last week.
I am a fan of neither Sullinger nor Yancy Gates. Can they both lose?
Michigan State is holding opponents to under 60 PPG??? Izzo has his man defense force people to the middle. I don’t get how they do this!
“Izzo has his man defense force people to the middle. I don’t get how they do this!”
It’s kind of like a Family Guy scene: “I don’t get it. How does Kevin Costner keep getting work?”
I am interested to see if Syracuse gets exposed tonight. Wisconsin is good from downtown and is also pretty good on the offensive glass. One is the death kiss for a zone, the other is a major Syracuse weakness.
Could the Orangemen go down tonight???!!
Syracuse offense starts with the Wisconsin offense.
Syracuse has 5 team assists compared to Wisconsin’s 14. I am not a big fan of the Orange’s brand of basketball.
Right now Syracuse isn’t getting too much offense as Wisconsin is on fire!! Can they keep it up?
13 threes by Wisconsin with 7:30 to go is already the most trifectas given up by the Orange this season.
#11 is killing Wisconsin right now. He is stepping farher and farther out in the middle and when the ball hits his hands, he’s holding it. Swing the ball young fella!
You have got to be kidding me with that last shot. #11 absolutely killed Wisconsin’s offense the last three minutes. That last shot by him was truly fitting. And with a timeout sitting in Ryan’s pocket. A 3-ball when down by one and ZERO PASSES AGAINST A ZONE?! I’ve seen better final shots from middle school games.
Am I the only one that thought Wisconsin could have gotten a better shot at the end? They only needed two and there was no attempt to penetrate at all.
A little disappointing.
Thanks Rey – you answer my question.
No attempt to move the ball in that last possession. Awful.
It was pathetic. How many times this tournament have we seen a three when a team is only down one. DEAR COLLEGE COACHES: PLEASE STOP LETTING YOUR PGs DO WHATEVER THEY WANT IN THE FINAL SECONDS OF A CLOSE GAME.
Holy crap – I really do not want to watch any more basketball after that. It was awful.
Great minds think alike, Smitty.
Considering what was on the line – that was maybe the worst sequence (can’t all it a play) I have seen all season.
No maybe about it to me. Can anyone explain why Ryan does not use his final TO there? I am looking at #11 and thinking to myself, “Since Syracuse has extended its zone, this guy has backed away and been a ball killer in the middle 43 feet from basket. He’s starting to look like Carmelo Anthony posting up at halfcourt. Let me get these guys in here and explain how to get a good open look.” Crazy – absolutely crazy. I am really irritated by this. Does Bo Ryan have a twitter? Can we start bombarding it now???
Agreed. It is almost like that Indiana/Kentucky game earlier in the year did everyone a disservice. ESPN keeps showing the buzzer beater over and over. What people don’t realize was that 3 was within the confines of their offense. Dribble penetration, kick it out – game winner. Wisconsin just stood around and just waited to take the 3.
You are down 1, you don’t need a 3. Attack the basket and if you have to kick it out, then so be it. But stand around and do nothing. Terrible way to end the game.
@BoRyan: by definition, you can call a timeout when your team possesses the ball. This allows to talk some sense into your players when you need.
Faux Ryan Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/notrealboryan
@BoRyan: a field goal in basketball is worth two points. A field goal behind the arc is worth three points. 64-63 = 1.
@BoRyan : Run offense = better look at the basket = Game on Saturday. Stand around = offseason.
Switching gears – Louisville’s defense is making Draymond Green look average.
Wow! The Big East taking it to the Big Ten.
Michigan State’s effort was a comedy of errors for the last 5:00.
Louisville’s D really took the Spartans’ offense out of rhythm. How many times do you see a Tom Izzo coached team look lost?
Great line by Raftery (about Cincinnati’s Jackson): the gym’s not big enough the way he runs the floor.
Cincinnati’s token 2-2-1 back into a 2-3 has done nothing but allow Ohio State to settle into a rhythm on offense. I get the idea of trying to take time off the shot clock, but eventually you have to show a wrinkle or two and get the Buckeyes off-balance.
From @JeffBorzello: “Michigan State scored 44 points, the fewest for a 1 seed in an NCAA Tournament game in the shot clock era (1985-86).”
Louisville keeps rolling! Great defense combined with poor shooting by Michigan State. Dieng played great at center. Siva a very poor jump shooter but played good defense and came up with some good play making. Russ Smith comes in and complements him well and provides instant offense. Behanan is a beast of a forward. One Yahoo analyst was right. You give Pitino 5 days to prepare for a game he’ll figure out how to beat you.
Good defense can cure a lot of ills.
Back to Wisconsin’s last possession. They spend most of the night taking so long to get into offense, and that hurt them in the end. I am all for moving the ball with the pass, but how many times did they NOT move SU’s zone with the pass. They rarely attacked with the pass. They moved the ball around the perimeter with causing the Orange to adjust. On the last possession, Wisconsin brings up the ball, and I was expecting to see them use a 1-3-1 with a forward at the foul line. Instead they try to screen the zone? With :15 remaining? Time and score.
So how good is Florida? Anyone watched them play a full game this year?
I have NOT seen an entire Florida game this year. I saw most of their loss at Syracuse early in December. Erving Walker and Kenny Boynton carry a lot of the load, but they do have 5 guys that average double figures. Mentor vs. the Apprentice. Pitino doesn’t have five days to prepare for this one.