Time to bust out some Fats.
“I’m going to need two pair of shoes. When I get through walkin’ me blues. When I get back to New Orleans.”
(7) Florida (26-10, 10-6 SEC) vs. (4) Louisville (29-9, 10-8 Big East)
Florida trails the all-time series vs. Louisville, 1-7, including 0-2 under head coach Billy Donovan. UF is 43-31 all-time vs. current Big East schools and 17-9 under Donovan. Since the 2005- 06 season, UF is 8-3 against Big East competition. The Gators are 3-1 under Donovan vs. Big East foes in the NCAA Tournament, including 1-0 in the Elite Eight with a 75-62 win over Villanova in UF’s 2006 run to the national title. Florida also earned an Elite Eight win vs. then-Big East foe Boston College, 74-66, in 1994. Donovan is looking for his fi rst win against his former head coach, holding an 0-6 mark vs. Pitino.
Donovan’s Marshall squad and early Florida teams were both 0-2 vs. Kentucky, while the Gators are 0-2 vs. Louisville in Donovan-Pitino matchups.
Florida is appearing in its 15th NCAA Tournament, holding a 32-12 record all-time with two national championships, three trips to the national final and four Final Four appearances. This season marks the 12th NCAA Tournament under head coach Billy Donovan. With a 28-9 mark in the tournament, Donovan’s .757 winning percentage in the tournament is third-highest among active coaches, trailing only Mike Krzyzewski and Roy Williams. Donovan has coached the Gators to both of their national championships and all three championship game appearances in three Final Four trips. Since 2006, the Gators are 18-2 in the NCAA Tournament. Florida is making its sixth Elite Eight appearance in program history, holding a 4-1 mark in its previous five appearances. The Gators are in their fourth Elite Eight in the past seven years (since 2006) and have reached back-to-back Elite Eights twice in that span.
Louisville will be looking to advance to its ninth NCAA Final Four on Saturday. Louisville is tied for seventh in NCAA Final Four appearances, last reaching that plateau in 2005. The Cards have reached the Sweet 16 on 18 occasions and have advanced to the Elite Eight three of the last five seasons. Only seven coaches have coached more Final Four teams than Pitino’s five, a feat matched by four others. Pitino is the first coach to lead three different teams to the Final Four. Louisville’s NCAA Final Four teams: 1959, 1972, 1975, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1986, 2005. This is the 12th occasion the Cardinals have reached the NCAA Elite Eight. Louisville has an 8-3 record in regional championship games. UofL advanced to its 1986 NCAA Championship by way of the West Region, reached its 2005 Final Four through the West, and have a collective 14-5 record in that region. Louisville has a 3-1 record when facing a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament (1980, 1986, 2004, 2005). The Cardinals improved to 13-7 when playing as a No. 4 seed. Louisville is 40-8 in NCAA Tournament play when the Cards are the higher seed as it will be in Saturday’s game vs. No. 7 seed Florida. U of L Coach Rick Pitino has a 32-6 record when his team is the higher seed in NCAA Tournament action.
All-Time NCAA Final Four Appearances
North Carolina . 18
UCLA ………….. 17
Duke ……………. 15
Kentucky ……… 14
Kansas ………… 13
Ohio State ……. 10
Louisville ……… 8
Indiana ………….. 8
Michigan State .. 8
STATISTICAL COMPARISON
Florida …………………………………..Category……………………Louisville
76.1 ___________________Points Per Game __________68.3
64.8 _________________Opp. Points Per Game ________60.6
.463 _________________ Field Goal Percentage _______ .424
.423 _______________Opp. Field Goal Percentage ______ .377
.380 _______________ 3-Pt. Field Goal Percentage _______ .316
.341 _____________ Opp. 3-Pt. Field Goal Percentage ______ .300
9.7 ____________________ 3-Pts. Per Game _____________5.9
6.1 __________________ Opp. 3-Pts. Per Game ___________5.5
.714 ________________ Free Throw Percentage __________ .685
+2.8 ___________________Rebound Margin ____________ +1.7
14.8 __________________ Assists Per Game _____________ 13.5
11.0 _________________ Turnovers Per Game ___________ 14.3
12.7 ______________ Turnovers Forced Per Game ________ 15.6
6.4 ____________________Steals Per Game _____________9.0
3.4 ___________________ Blocks Per Game ____________4.9
Billy Donovan, Rick Pitino have friendly showdown in Florida Gators-Louisville Cardinals matchup
Just two wins from Bluegrass Heaven
The tale of Billy the Kid and Ricky the Old Man
Louisville players bought into coach Pitino’s rosy outlook at a gloomy time
#2/2 SYRACUSE (33-2) vs. 7/7 OHIO STATE (30-7)
Syracuse and Ohio State have met six times previously and the Buckeyes have won four of those matchups. The most recent contest came in the semifinals of the 2007 NIT Tipoff. Ohio State won, 79-65. Syracuse’s last triumph against the Buckeyes came in the semifinals of the 2000 Great Alaska Shootout, a 77-66 decision.
The Orange last reached the NCAA Quarterfinals in 2003, a year that ended with an NCAA Championship for Syracuse. Coach Boeheim has a 3-1 record in Elite Eight games, winning in 1987, 1996 and 2003, and losing in 1989.
Thad Motta is in his eighth season as head coach at Ohio State. A former head coach at Butler and Xavier, he has guided Ohio State to a 220-64 record during his tenure. The Buckeyes have made six NCAA Tournament appearances in that time and reached the championship game in 2007.
Syracuse…………………………… Ohio State
34-2……………….W-L…………..30-7
9-1…….Last 10……….8-2
4-1…………..Last……… 54-1
74-2………PPG………75.0
60.6…………OPP PPG………..59.4
+13.7…………Margin…………+15.5
.468…………..FG %……….. .482
.385……….FG % DEF……… .406
.348………..3PT %……….. .333
.315………..3PT % DEF……….. .324
.694…………FT %………….. .703
34.9…………RPG…………..37.1
36.3……….OPP RPG………29.5
-1.4……….Margin……..+7.6
15.4…………Assists PG………..14.8
10.5……….Turnovers PG………11.8
6.9………Blocks PG……..3.1
9.2………Steals PG……..7.3
Jim Boeheim’s belief in the zone defense carries Syracuse into the Elite Eight
Syracuse has persevered through adversity to get to NCAA’s Elite Eight
Jared Sullinger presents a huge challenge for Syracuse’s centers
Ohio State’s Sullinger on facing Syracuse’s zone: “We’ve got to throw the first punches.”
As a Louisville fan I would rather play Florida than Marquette. It’s hard to beat a quality team 3 times in a season. Last year if I remember right the Cards beat Uconn twice then lost in the Big East final to them.
How is Syracuse going to win by one today? I betcha Boeheim plays a zone!!
If Indiana played more zone maybe Kentucky wouldn’t have got 500 foul shots last night
Kyle Kuric has to step up. He’s been in a slump for a long while
“If Indiana played more zone maybe Kentucky wouldn’t have got 500 foul shots last night” Joe- I was thinking the same thing. Why? Why? Why did IU try to run with Kentucky?
More coverage from Syracuse.com: https://blog.syracuse.com/orangebasketball/2012/03/live_from_orange_nation_update.html
I have to think the key for Syracuse today is the offensive glass. All year rebounding has been a problem for the Orange. Ohio State is a very good rebounding team average 37.1 rpg. If Sullinger starts dominating the glass, it could be a long afternoon for the Syracuse zone.
I think the Louisville/Florida game is going to be a classic. Pitino vs. Pitino’s understudy.
Aaron Craft is the Big Ten defensive player of the year. Great match-ups with him and the ‘Cuse guards all night. I think this game comes down to interior passing. UNC-Asheville did this and nearly upset the Orange. I want to say I’ve seen Sullinger eat up a zone earlier this year. He creates so much space down there and if they collapse, he makes things happen. On the other hand, Buford, in my humble opinion, carries the proverbial gun aiming at the Buckeyes’ foot. He can do some wacky things at times. Hopefully he is not careless with this Syracuse zone if you’re a Buckeyes fan.
Syracuse blocks nearly 7 shots a game? That is the randomly interesting stat of the day. That must be the Fab Melo version of the ‘Cuse.
Smitty hit on the most important stat to me this time of year: rebounding margin. Syracuse in that 2-3 are giving up rebounds while Ohio State is outrebounding its opponents easily.
Yeah, that 7 blocks a game is probably irrelevant today in light of Melo’s absence.
Boynton and Walker can score in bunches. Can they get the ball over half-court?
Interesting to listen to Billy Donovan talk about playing for Pitino at Providence. The assistant coaches were Jeff VAN Gundy, Stu Jackson and Herb Sendek. That’s a pretty good staff.
Syracuse’s 6.9 blocks is third in the nation behind Kentucky (8.6) and St. Joseph’s (7.2).
Carolina (5.8) and Kansas (5.7) also rank top ten in blocks.
This pace favors Florida. Louisville will struggle to maintain 50 percent behind the arc.
That shot clock violation is perplexing. The Gators seemed to be scoring at will prior to that.
Too easy, way too easy. Where is the Louisville defense from the other night?
Is Florida just too athletic? I am not sure I would have found myself typing that sentence regarding a Rick Pitino team.
Pitino might have to make a few adjustments lol
That Michigan State game might have taken too much out of them
70 percent from the field and up by 8? It’s going to be tough to maintain that pace.
Thank you Billy Donovan for yelling at Patrick Young to get back. You dunked the ball, now get back!!
Okay, it was an impressive dunk. I’ll stop now.
I am impressed that Louisville has only turned the ball over 4 times in this game.
But that 62.5 shooting percentage (Florida) vs. 41.1 shooting percentage for Louisville is looming large right now.
Siva and Behanan both have 4 fouls for the Cardinals with 10:56 to go. Wow.
Clark Kellogg just said, “this is where defense wins championships”. I love it!!!
For as good as the Gators were in the first half, their offense in the last 7 or 8 minutes of this game has been atrocious.
Give Louisville credit. They hung in there and now have a chance to win this game.
If I remember right, I believe Billy Donovan is now 0-13 against Pitino. Or should I say Pitino is now 13-0 against Billy Donovan’s team?
most unbelievable comebaCK EVER
pITINO OWNS dONOVAN
That’s as good as 2004 ALCS
yeaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Hey Gators you need enough gas for 40 minutes not 35
Remember how Greg Anthony described Butler last year: “They’re good at playing badly?” That’s Louisville. The Cards never let Florida get too far away. Every time Florida went on a run, Lou-vul did the little things to trim a couple of baskets off those runs. That was the difference.
Florida fell for the fool’s gold.
Headline on ESPN: “Sorry Grasshopper.” David Carradine lives on.
Looking at the numbers above, Ohio State plays at a greater pace than Syracuse. That’s a little bit of an eye-opener considering OSU plays in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes will not win by playing fast tonight.
Joe – Scan your radio Sasquatch!
scan the radio I don’t get it
I don’t get it
I just about to type that SU needs to use its defense to get its offense going and Joseph misses a lay-up. Ouch.
Wisconsin did it and now Ohio State does it. The post to the foul line pass is not there !! It looks open. It may look wide open, but the Syracuse zone suckers you into that pass and they steal it every time!
Joe? White Noise days?
I was playing along with how fired up you were/are/will be. 🙂
I remember sasquatch but… ohhh very faintly “scan the radio”
Scan YOUR radio! 🙂
Comment on Twitter: “Nice of Madame Toussad to loan out Leslie Visser for the night.”
Ohio State started in a nice little set. A short corner, kind of a mid-post , then someone planted above the FT line. Now they are getting to the standard Hi-Lo set against a 2-3 and look stagnant.
One bad call by the referees for one team. One bad call by the referees for the other team. Do two bad calls make a right call?
Did they get this crew from a local Boston high school game??
No call will be as bad as Sullinger’s second foul.
I am putting Brandon Triche in the same category as Austin Rivers. Filed under “Guys who don’t look happy to be on the court”.
I was thinking the same thing! He always looks like he is pouting.
The 2-3 zone is starting to work because Ohio State is now stuck in that typical high-low set with no movement. When they penetrate, the zone collapses and they find zone. Conversely, on the other end Ohio State’s defense is getting them fouls because ‘Cuse’s guards are just getting too deep. on penetration.
Very stagnant. That possession ending in a shot clock violation was awful. Then they follow it up with an airball.
Does Coach Matta bring Sullinger in or try to hold on for the last 2:04 seconds of this half?
Syracuse is dictating where OSU will go on the offensive end.
I know I said before the game started that rebounding would be key for Syracuse. Ohio State is currently out rebounding them 19-14 at the half. That is pretty good for Syracuse.
29-29 at half? Both teams are playing well under their usual pace.