The Quarterfinals are in the books for Michigan High School basketball and the stage is set for the Final four in each bracket to be played at the Breslin Center on the campus of Michigan State University starting Thursday. I hope the weather Gods cooperate and allow me to get back from my business trip in time because I am excited about the games. Very few upsets in the Quarterfinals but the top team in Michigan and ranked #18 in USA Today national poll, Romulus, was beaten tonight, EASILY by Detroit Southeastern 73-51. Losing to Detroit SE I did not expect but could see, but this well coached, talented, deep team losing by 20 I don't understand. Detroit SE brings some serious talent in 6'6 swing guard Brandon Kearney (Michigan St) and 6'9' power forward, Percy Gibson (Dayton) who is a steal for the Flyers. They have quick guard play with Ed Brown being real quick. They deserve to be here but just didn't expect to see them handle Romulus so easy.
Defending State Champ Kalamazoo Central had a tougher game than I expected and needed overtime to beat Hudsonville 48-44.
The rest of the state will get to see the Michigan Gatorade High School basketball player of the year - 6'9' Junior Matt Costello (Michigan State) as Bay City Western advanced with an 11 point win over OLSM while Costello kicked in 31 of the teams 60.
Southfield rolled tonight and could be the hottest team (other than Lansing Sexton) in the tournament right now. They have some athletes on this team led by Michigan signee Carlton Brundidge.
East Grand Rapids gets upset in Class B by Dowagiac but the big game in Class B tonight was the Detroit Country Day win over Flint Powers Catholic in what must have been an outstanding game as DCD wins by a 67-64 margin. This will set up an unbelievable semi between DCD and Lansing Sexton.
Detroit Consortium won their contest over Saginaw Buena Vista and George Goodman in Class C. I am really looking forward to a potential championship game between Consortium and Beecher - that will be well worth the price of admission if it happens.
Class D saw one upset - Detroit Westside Christian knocked off Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Sem. We also have a great semi final matchup in this Class D between the #1 ranked Wyoming Tri-Unity and #2 Eber Junction Superior Cent.
This is like deja vu for some teams as they are returning from trips last year.
Class A - Southfield and Kalamazoo Central return with Kazoo defending their state title.
Class B - Three of the four teams return. Detroit Country Day looks to defend their state title while returnees Lansing Sexton and Muskegon Heights try to win it as well. Sexton met DCD in the finals last year but draw them in the Semi's this year.
Class C - Beecher is the only returnee and they lost in the semi's last year. That should not happen here this year.
Class D - Only Eber Junction Superior Cent is returning and hoping to fare better than their semi loss of a year ago. Tough draw though getting top ranked Wyoming Tri-Unity in the semi's.
Game times and matchups along with comments and predictions are below. Hope to see you there this Thursday thru Saturday.
Thursday Class C
Detroit Consortium vs. Schoolcraft 1:00 Consortium studs vs. Kody Chandler - Consortium wins this one
Flint Beecher vs. McBain 2:50 Monte Morris and Antuan Burks baby - Beecher wins this one
Thursday Class D
Wyoming Tri-Unity vs. Eber Junction 6:00 #1 vs. #2 - should be great game but Wyoming continues on
Fulton vs. Detroit Westside Christian 7:50 Fulton is real good
Friday Class A
Southfield vs. Kalamazoo Central 1:00 Great matchup - Southfield has better talent but Kzoo plays better team ball and is better coached
Bay City Western vs. Det Southeastern 2:50 Looking forward to this one. Costello against Gibson and Kearney. Edge to Det SE
Friday Class B
Country Day vs. Lansing Sexton 6:00 Best game of entire tournament - will be sold out. s/b the Championship game. Sexton wins it.
Muskegon Heights vs Dowagiac 7:50 Heights has Daevante Hudson - Looking forward to seeing him. Heights should win
Predictions
Saturday Class D Final
Wyoming Tri-Unity vs. Fulton 10:00 Should be good game - if anyone can beat Wyoming it would be this team. Wyoming gets back to where they use to be - on top.
Saturday Class C Final
Detroit Consortium vs. Flint Beecher 12:00 2nd best game of tournament - Consortium better talent but Beecher has experience and best sophomore guard in state - Beecher wins in upset
Saturday Class A Final
Southfield vs. Detroit Southeastern 4:00 Could be track meet. Great athleticism on the floor. I think Southfield has got it together and will upset Southeastern
Saturday Class B Final
Lansing Sexton vs. Muskegon Heights 8:00 Will be heading to the exits early as Sexton will kick some Heights tail.
That's it reporting live from New Jersey - Good night from your Basketball SNOB.
Link to Basketball webpage:
http://www.mhsaa.com/tabid/104/SportProfile/True/SportTypeCode/BB/Default.aspx
Ray McAllum
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Backyard Barbeque Burns Bruce Pearl
The waiting game is over and Bruce Pearl is out as head coach at Tennessee. Bruce Pearl was burned by his own Bar-b-que in his own backyard. Pearl hosted a backyard cookout at his home two years ago and invited some talented Junior High School players. One of which was previous Tennessee commit, Aaron Craft, who changed his commitment to Ohio State following the release of some of the pictures that showed his mug in attendance at Pearl's home. There were also additional allegations against Pearl who lied to the NCAA investigation committee. Following a very up and down season, one which had Pearl suspended for 8 games, and a miserable 30 point blowout to Michigan in the NCAA tournament, everyone knew it was just a matter of time. Make no mistake about the fact that people in Tennessee love Pearl and Pearl loves Tennessee but the administration could not afford anymore bad publicity centered around this charasmatic but questionable coach. I for one feel that we are not done hearing about allegations or infractions. Speaking of, why is it that Pearl gets penalized and punished but one of the players who broke the rules gets to play on and play at another school of his choice. The very talented Craft should also be held accountable. I know these are young kids but when you are that talented and playing AAU basketball all across the country, chances are you are going to get a D-1 scholarship and need to be tuned into the recruiting do's and don'ts. I for one feel that the players as well as the coaches should be penalized. I guess because it is all allegations at this point as to who was there, they get a pass but why not an investigation into "who". After all, Pearl could not be penalized unless we established who these kids were and what age they were and the purpose of being there. Well we will see no more flashy Mountain top Orange sportscoats for awhile while they look for a replacement. Look for VCU Shaka Smart to be one of the lead candidates. With his hot run with VCU and ACC backgorunds as roles with CLemson and Florida he knows the league and is familar to the bball players of the south.
Someone else I would like to see considered is Butler Brad Stevens
Rants and Raves:
Is anyone sick of Charles Barkley commentating.....eerrrr......I should say......spewing garbage from his mouth. Now I love Charles for the entertainment value he brings but in his own words......he is "turible, turible, turible". His ignorance for the college game and players really showed mightily when Kenny Smith felt so bad that he had to try and speak on behalf of Charles to articulate his points. Charles still tried to argue with Smith when Smith said, I am making your point Charles. DUH. He makes brash statements but has no substance behind what he speaks. He mentioned that the Big East is the Little East or Big Least, as they only have 2 teams remaining in the Sweet 16. Even though this is true, it does not diminish the fact that these teams deserved to be there based on strength of schedule, which includes non-conference games, RPI rating, wins and wins over ranked teams. Just because the Big East teams did not all fair well (don't forget two times they had to play each other in the tournament so they are virtually canabolizing themselves) in the tournament it does not take away from the entire body of work for the season. At one time, 8 big east teams were ranked in the top 20. The Big East has supreme talent that simply did not get it done in the tournament. Period. Nothing more to comment on or points to make.
Is is just me or does Greg Anthony have it out for the refs? Boy he was being very methodical and pointed with his questions and commments on the refs calls or intrepatations of the rules. I for one, feel these guys have an unbelievable tough job to do but it seems now, with instant reply, monitors, high technology, they have to get everything right or they get dinged. No one is perfect but I would say that these guys have done a pretty exceptional job. If you don't agree, try putting on the stripes and give it a try yourself. It may change your perspective.
Dwaun Anderson is Mr. Basketball in Michigan. I guess I am confused on what it represents or what you have to achieve to receive it. From my perspective, Anderson and his team did not live up to expectations. Anderson is talented, their is no question about that, in fact he is a human dunking highlight reel but lets not forget that his team finished 17-5 in a very average league that is dominated by Class C teams. They also lost in the beginning of the state tournament. Heck one of the leading scorers in the state, also from Class C - had a better individual and team season......George Goodman of Saginaw Buena Vista who play in the Class C quarterfinals tomorrow against #1 seed Detroit Consortium. Anderson is a talented 6'4 slasher guard that is an average ball handler and an average outside shooter. He can get to the basket like no ones business and score when he takes it there but he is mostly a transition player. I am beginning to believe that if you get a scholarship to Michigan St (Anderson did) then that gives you a leg up on the competition. If the award is for best performance, then I give it to LaDontae Henton of East Lansing, who finished second. He clearly had a better statistical year, exemplifies team player, hard work, determination and never say die attitude, who averaged double figures in scoring and rebounding against tough competition all year, he gets my vote. Amir Williams is another one that you could argue for. On one of the top teams in the state all year, the anchor to their offense and defense, with tremendous talent and upside and due to his size and progress, will be in the NBA. If you give the award based on most potential to have impact on a college team or ability to make it to the pro level, Williams is your man. Sorry Dwaun but the voters missed badly on this one this year. In case you are wondering and want to prove me wrong....then step in next year and help resurrect that sputtering Spartans. I would love to see him do this and prove me wrong.
Romulus - ranked #20 in the Country. Talented deep team that must get by the Jungaleers of Detroit Southeastern tomorrow night.
Unfortunately have to head out of town and will miss some great Quarterfinal matchups but will be back just in time to catch tip off at the first game on Thursday at 1 PM
Best Quarterfinal mathchups:
Romulus vs. Detroit Southeastern at Detroit Mercy Callahan Hall 7:30 Pm
Southfield vs East Detroit at Detroit Mercy Callahan Hall at 5:30 PM
Detroit Country Day vs. Flint Powers Catholic at Ferndale at 7 PM
Detroit Consortium vs Saginaw Buena Vista at West Bloomfield at 7 PM
Got to hit the hay, have to be up at 3:30 AM for a 5:45 AM flight.
Good night from your Basketball SNOB
Someone else I would like to see considered is Butler Brad Stevens
Rants and Raves:
Is anyone sick of Charles Barkley commentating.....eerrrr......I should say......spewing garbage from his mouth. Now I love Charles for the entertainment value he brings but in his own words......he is "turible, turible, turible". His ignorance for the college game and players really showed mightily when Kenny Smith felt so bad that he had to try and speak on behalf of Charles to articulate his points. Charles still tried to argue with Smith when Smith said, I am making your point Charles. DUH. He makes brash statements but has no substance behind what he speaks. He mentioned that the Big East is the Little East or Big Least, as they only have 2 teams remaining in the Sweet 16. Even though this is true, it does not diminish the fact that these teams deserved to be there based on strength of schedule, which includes non-conference games, RPI rating, wins and wins over ranked teams. Just because the Big East teams did not all fair well (don't forget two times they had to play each other in the tournament so they are virtually canabolizing themselves) in the tournament it does not take away from the entire body of work for the season. At one time, 8 big east teams were ranked in the top 20. The Big East has supreme talent that simply did not get it done in the tournament. Period. Nothing more to comment on or points to make.
Is is just me or does Greg Anthony have it out for the refs? Boy he was being very methodical and pointed with his questions and commments on the refs calls or intrepatations of the rules. I for one, feel these guys have an unbelievable tough job to do but it seems now, with instant reply, monitors, high technology, they have to get everything right or they get dinged. No one is perfect but I would say that these guys have done a pretty exceptional job. If you don't agree, try putting on the stripes and give it a try yourself. It may change your perspective.
Dwaun Anderson is Mr. Basketball in Michigan. I guess I am confused on what it represents or what you have to achieve to receive it. From my perspective, Anderson and his team did not live up to expectations. Anderson is talented, their is no question about that, in fact he is a human dunking highlight reel but lets not forget that his team finished 17-5 in a very average league that is dominated by Class C teams. They also lost in the beginning of the state tournament. Heck one of the leading scorers in the state, also from Class C - had a better individual and team season......George Goodman of Saginaw Buena Vista who play in the Class C quarterfinals tomorrow against #1 seed Detroit Consortium. Anderson is a talented 6'4 slasher guard that is an average ball handler and an average outside shooter. He can get to the basket like no ones business and score when he takes it there but he is mostly a transition player. I am beginning to believe that if you get a scholarship to Michigan St (Anderson did) then that gives you a leg up on the competition. If the award is for best performance, then I give it to LaDontae Henton of East Lansing, who finished second. He clearly had a better statistical year, exemplifies team player, hard work, determination and never say die attitude, who averaged double figures in scoring and rebounding against tough competition all year, he gets my vote. Amir Williams is another one that you could argue for. On one of the top teams in the state all year, the anchor to their offense and defense, with tremendous talent and upside and due to his size and progress, will be in the NBA. If you give the award based on most potential to have impact on a college team or ability to make it to the pro level, Williams is your man. Sorry Dwaun but the voters missed badly on this one this year. In case you are wondering and want to prove me wrong....then step in next year and help resurrect that sputtering Spartans. I would love to see him do this and prove me wrong.
Romulus - ranked #20 in the Country. Talented deep team that must get by the Jungaleers of Detroit Southeastern tomorrow night.
Unfortunately have to head out of town and will miss some great Quarterfinal matchups but will be back just in time to catch tip off at the first game on Thursday at 1 PM
Best Quarterfinal mathchups:
Romulus vs. Detroit Southeastern at Detroit Mercy Callahan Hall 7:30 Pm
Southfield vs East Detroit at Detroit Mercy Callahan Hall at 5:30 PM
Detroit Country Day vs. Flint Powers Catholic at Ferndale at 7 PM
Detroit Consortium vs Saginaw Buena Vista at West Bloomfield at 7 PM
Got to hit the hay, have to be up at 3:30 AM for a 5:45 AM flight.
Good night from your Basketball SNOB
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Bracket Busters Join the Sweet 16
What a weekend with Sunday's games being no exception. Another great day of great, close games and as always, upsets. Upsets mean one thing.......Bracket busters. There certainly has been a few since this tournament started on Thursday. Gone are the big name teams of Louisville, Georgetown, St. John's, Vanderbilt and Xavier all in the first round. Now you add to that list, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Syracuse,Texas and Notre Dame.
A few of the great games to mention - the opener of the day saw a great high scoring basketball game with North Carolina coming out on top of Washington by 3 while Washington had a last second (1.4) shot to tie the game but failed on the attempt. Tyler Zeller and Harrison Barnes played well and led the team in scoring.
Duke held off a late rally by a never say die young Michigan team and held on for a 2 point victory. Michigan trailed by as much as 14 late in the second half but actually had a chance to tie or win it on the last possession. Darius Morris missed a 12 foot floater in the lane and Michigan could not rebound the miss as time expired.
The Arizona - Texas game was another great game that went back and forth the entire time. Derrick Williams (this guy is a PLAYER) got the winning bucket with 9 seconds and was fouled on the play. He gave Arizona a 70-69 lead and Texas had a failed off balance driving layup attempt and a blocked shot (could have been called a foul) at the end to finish their year. Another unbelievable finish.
Marquette ends up finishing off Syracuse as the Cuse turns it over in a tie game on a routine sideline inbounds pass with 51 seconds. Marquette hits a 3 pointer with 25 seconds to give them the lead for good in this one. The Cuse missed Brandon Triche late in the second half as he left with an injury and Syracuse turned the ball over 19 times despite shooting 54% from the field. Their defense was bad and Scoop Jardine and Brandon Triche played poorly. Marquette was more aggressive, played harder and won the boards battle in this one.
VCU proved they can play and took it to Purdue for an easy 18 pt win. This team is dangerous right now as they are playing solid basketball and believe in themselves.
Ohio State won as easily as expected by over 30 points and look right now to be the BEST TEAM in the tournament and the favorite to win.
Florida State pulled off the other big upset of the night by beating Notre Dame handily. They got up big early and Notre Dame lacks the athleticism, speed and quickness to get back into a game especially when they are going against the number 1 defense (lowest field goal percentage in the country in 10 years) in the country.
So who are the new Bracket Busters that will join the Sweet 16:
#12 Richmond Spiders (Atlantic 10 Conference)
#11 VCU Rams (Colonial Athletic Conference)
#11 Marquette Golden Eagles (Big East)
#10 Florida St. Seminoles (ACC)
# 8 Butler Bulldogs (Horizon League)
We will have some classic match ups for the Sweet 16 along with some "who knows what will happen in this one" and some games that on paper do not look to be closely contested. I will let you choose which you think are which.
EAST
Ohio St. vs. Kentucky (1/4)
North Carolina vs. Marquette (2/11)
WEST
Duke vs Arizona (1/5)
San Diego St. vs Connecticut (2/3)
SOUTHWEST
Kansas vs. Richmond (1/12)
Florida St. vs. VCU
SOUTHEAST
Wisconsin vs. Butler (4/8)
Florida vs. BYU (2/3)
My predictions:
EAST Ohio St. and North Carolina meet for Final - Ohio State goes to final 4
WEST Arizona and Connecticut meet in final - Arizona goes to final 4
SW Kansas and Florida St meet in final - Kansas goes to final 4
SE Butler and BYU meet in final - BYU advances to final 4
If any upset - Could be Florida St over Kansas to advance to final 4
Congrats to Coach K on getting his 900 career win. Unbelievable.
HIGH SCHOOL
More to follow this week before the Michigan State High School semi and finals this coming weekend, March 24-26.
Michigan Mr. Basketball to be announced tomorrow. The five finalists are;
Amir Williams - Detroit Country Day (Ohio St)
Brandon Kearney - Detroit Southeastern (Michigan St)
LaDontae Henton - Lansing Eastern (Dayton)
Carlton Brundidge - Southfield (Michigan)
Dwaun Anderson - Sutton's Bay (Michigan St)
I believe it will be awarded to Amir Williams who is the most talented with the most upside to be playing in the NBA but statistically and what a player was able to accomplish on the floor this year I believe it should go to LaDontae Henton. He averaged dobule figures in scoring and rebounding this year and is all over the court when he plays. He was an impact player for his team this year.
Good night from your Basketball SNOB
A few of the great games to mention - the opener of the day saw a great high scoring basketball game with North Carolina coming out on top of Washington by 3 while Washington had a last second (1.4) shot to tie the game but failed on the attempt. Tyler Zeller and Harrison Barnes played well and led the team in scoring.
Duke held off a late rally by a never say die young Michigan team and held on for a 2 point victory. Michigan trailed by as much as 14 late in the second half but actually had a chance to tie or win it on the last possession. Darius Morris missed a 12 foot floater in the lane and Michigan could not rebound the miss as time expired.
The Arizona - Texas game was another great game that went back and forth the entire time. Derrick Williams (this guy is a PLAYER) got the winning bucket with 9 seconds and was fouled on the play. He gave Arizona a 70-69 lead and Texas had a failed off balance driving layup attempt and a blocked shot (could have been called a foul) at the end to finish their year. Another unbelievable finish.
Marquette ends up finishing off Syracuse as the Cuse turns it over in a tie game on a routine sideline inbounds pass with 51 seconds. Marquette hits a 3 pointer with 25 seconds to give them the lead for good in this one. The Cuse missed Brandon Triche late in the second half as he left with an injury and Syracuse turned the ball over 19 times despite shooting 54% from the field. Their defense was bad and Scoop Jardine and Brandon Triche played poorly. Marquette was more aggressive, played harder and won the boards battle in this one.
VCU proved they can play and took it to Purdue for an easy 18 pt win. This team is dangerous right now as they are playing solid basketball and believe in themselves.
Ohio State won as easily as expected by over 30 points and look right now to be the BEST TEAM in the tournament and the favorite to win.
Florida State pulled off the other big upset of the night by beating Notre Dame handily. They got up big early and Notre Dame lacks the athleticism, speed and quickness to get back into a game especially when they are going against the number 1 defense (lowest field goal percentage in the country in 10 years) in the country.
So who are the new Bracket Busters that will join the Sweet 16:
#12 Richmond Spiders (Atlantic 10 Conference)
#11 VCU Rams (Colonial Athletic Conference)
#11 Marquette Golden Eagles (Big East)
#10 Florida St. Seminoles (ACC)
# 8 Butler Bulldogs (Horizon League)
We will have some classic match ups for the Sweet 16 along with some "who knows what will happen in this one" and some games that on paper do not look to be closely contested. I will let you choose which you think are which.
EAST
Ohio St. vs. Kentucky (1/4)
North Carolina vs. Marquette (2/11)
WEST
Duke vs Arizona (1/5)
San Diego St. vs Connecticut (2/3)
SOUTHWEST
Kansas vs. Richmond (1/12)
Florida St. vs. VCU
SOUTHEAST
Wisconsin vs. Butler (4/8)
Florida vs. BYU (2/3)
My predictions:
EAST Ohio St. and North Carolina meet for Final - Ohio State goes to final 4
WEST Arizona and Connecticut meet in final - Arizona goes to final 4
SW Kansas and Florida St meet in final - Kansas goes to final 4
SE Butler and BYU meet in final - BYU advances to final 4
If any upset - Could be Florida St over Kansas to advance to final 4
Congrats to Coach K on getting his 900 career win. Unbelievable.
HIGH SCHOOL
More to follow this week before the Michigan State High School semi and finals this coming weekend, March 24-26.
Michigan Mr. Basketball to be announced tomorrow. The five finalists are;
Amir Williams - Detroit Country Day (Ohio St)
Brandon Kearney - Detroit Southeastern (Michigan St)
LaDontae Henton - Lansing Eastern (Dayton)
Carlton Brundidge - Southfield (Michigan)
Dwaun Anderson - Sutton's Bay (Michigan St)
I believe it will be awarded to Amir Williams who is the most talented with the most upside to be playing in the NBA but statistically and what a player was able to accomplish on the floor this year I believe it should go to LaDontae Henton. He averaged dobule figures in scoring and rebounding this year and is all over the court when he plays. He was an impact player for his team this year.
Good night from your Basketball SNOB
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Individual Performances Stand Out on Saturday Showdowns
Another Great day on Saturday of NCAA March Madness with the most insanity coming in the conclusion of the Pittsburgh-Butler game. If you didn't see it, it is so hard to explain but I will do my best here. Pitt is leading by a score of 69-68 when Butler goes for the win on the last shot. They get a 4 foot bank shot to drop with just under 3 seconds to go for a 70-69 lead and a what appears to be a win. Pittsburgh is shocked and does not appear to know what to do. They inbound a long pass up near the half court sideline. It becomes a race between Gilbert Brown (Pitt) and Shelvin Mack (Butler) to the ball. Brown secures the ball and Mack runs into him enough to knock him off balance before he goes out of bounds. The refs call a foul and go to the monitors to review the time. Brown will get two shots and a chance to win it for Pitt. While the refs are at the monitors, Brown is waiting at the free throw line and Mack is standing in the lane about 3 feet away and jawing with Brown. It appeared at the time to be trash talk but he later stated that he was just having a casual conversation. The refs come back and put 1.9 seconds on the clock. Brown hits the first to tie it at 70-70 but misses the next. Butler rebounds the miss but Pittsburgh is called for a foul on the rebound. Butler (Howard) goes to the line with .9 seconds and sinks the first (71-70) and intentionally misses the second. Pitt bobbles the miss and fires a three quarter court shot that hits the rim. However, due to the bobble, time expired and the shot would not have counted. It was an emotional and crazy a finish I have seen in a tournament game. I felt bad for both teams however Butler proved they are a good team and belong among the best. They were out rebounded by Pitt by 10 boards and Pitt shot 52% from the floor and Butler still beat them. One of the main reasons was the outstanding individual performance of Shelvin Mack. Mack scored 30 in this game on 10-16 shooting from the field including 7 - 3 pointers. Mack is a strong, 6'3 215 guard that can shoot and up until this game was very underrated nationally. Watch how this all changes after tonight. With the loss Pitt becomes the first #1 seed to fall in the tournament. However, the other three (Duke, Kansas & Ohio St) still have their second games to be played on Sunday. Ohio St and Kansas are not in any jeopardy of losing but Duke could get challenged by Michigan. Duke and Michigan match up very well and have a lot of similarities with top point guard play (Irving, Morris) and very good perimeter shooters however Duke has the size advantage on Michigan and I think it all comes down to the team that is more effective in knocking down the perimeter shots.
I should probably watch my predictions, so far I have not been to accurate. In my prior blogs I said to watch out for a few teams who could upset or make a run. I called for Washington to make a run (still alive) St. John's, Vandy and UNLV were all bad calls as was Oakland and Penn State. Michigan is the only other one that has a chance to help my predictions out. Speaking of accuracy, I need to correct my post from yesterday, it was Brandon Knight and not Doron Lamb that scored the winning basket for Kentucky and his only two points of the game. This is a good segway into the next individual stand out performance in a Saturday game......Brandon Knight.
Brandon Knight from Kentucky, took the momentum he had from the winning basket with 2 seconds left to beat Princeton, and carried it over to Saturday. Brandon was another recipient of our Outstanding Individual Stand Out performances for Saturday. He scored 30 in leading Kentucky to a hard fought 71-63 win over West Virginia.
Our third recipient for Individual Performance Stand Out (IPSO) for Saturday is none other than Jimmer Fredette. Is it just me or doesn't all these references to his first name of "Jimmer" remind you of a Seinfeld skit. "Jimmer is unbelievable", "what time does the Jimmer show start for BYU", "Did you see Jimmer make that 38 footer". I think the best sign before the BYU - Gonzaga game was one that referenced NBA great John Stockton whose son David Stockton plays for Gonzaga. It said something like John Stockton is really here to see the Jimmer show.
A show is what Jimmer put on. Fredette scored 34 including some incredibly long bombs that were nothing but net. This guy can flat our shoot from anywhere inside the gym. There is no hesitate for him once he steps over half court. He led BYU to a surprisingly easy 89-67 win over favored Gonzaga.
IPSO award #4 goes to Kemba Walker from Connecticut who never seems to tire and just keeps getting it done. Kemba scores 33, including 14 of 14 at the charity stripe in helping Connecticut to come back from an early 10 point first half deficit to defeat Cincinnati, 69-58 and advance to the Sweet 16.
IPSO award #5 goes to the gutsy play of Florida's stocky PG Ervin Walker. He came up with some outstanding and clutch baskets down the stretch and was the difference maker in this game that helped Florida defeat UCLA 73-65. Walker scored 21 points on only 5-8 shooting from the field but that included 3 - 3 pointers and some acrobatic driving shots. His clutch shots down the stretch sent UCLA home for another year.
Our final IPSO award is probably the most deserving especially in a losing role. Kansas St guard Jacob Pullen became the all time scoring leader in K-State history by scoring his career high, 38 points, on 60% shooting from the field including 6 - 3 pointers. He played an unbelievable, never say die game but unfortunately for the Wildcats they came up a little short as Wisconsin hit the free throws down the stretch to beat them 70-65. Pullen was visibly shaken by the defeat following the game and it was clear that he left everything (blood, sweat and tears) on the court Saturday but he will not have to worry about his future... it will be in the NBA.
So once again the Individual Performance Stand Outs for Saturday
Shelvin Mack - Butler (30); Brandon Knight- Kentucky (30); Jimmer Fredette - BYU - (34); Kemba Walker - Connecticut (33); Ervin Walker - Florida (21); Jacob Pullen - Kansas St (38).
One final note before I head to bed to dream about what lies in store for us tomorrow, Wisconsin is 21-42 from 3 pt land in the first two games. If they keep shooting like this the Sweet 16 match up with Butler should be something to see.
Good night from Your Basketball SNOB
I should probably watch my predictions, so far I have not been to accurate. In my prior blogs I said to watch out for a few teams who could upset or make a run. I called for Washington to make a run (still alive) St. John's, Vandy and UNLV were all bad calls as was Oakland and Penn State. Michigan is the only other one that has a chance to help my predictions out. Speaking of accuracy, I need to correct my post from yesterday, it was Brandon Knight and not Doron Lamb that scored the winning basket for Kentucky and his only two points of the game. This is a good segway into the next individual stand out performance in a Saturday game......Brandon Knight.
Brandon Knight from Kentucky, took the momentum he had from the winning basket with 2 seconds left to beat Princeton, and carried it over to Saturday. Brandon was another recipient of our Outstanding Individual Stand Out performances for Saturday. He scored 30 in leading Kentucky to a hard fought 71-63 win over West Virginia.
Our third recipient for Individual Performance Stand Out (IPSO) for Saturday is none other than Jimmer Fredette. Is it just me or doesn't all these references to his first name of "Jimmer" remind you of a Seinfeld skit. "Jimmer is unbelievable", "what time does the Jimmer show start for BYU", "Did you see Jimmer make that 38 footer". I think the best sign before the BYU - Gonzaga game was one that referenced NBA great John Stockton whose son David Stockton plays for Gonzaga. It said something like John Stockton is really here to see the Jimmer show.
A show is what Jimmer put on. Fredette scored 34 including some incredibly long bombs that were nothing but net. This guy can flat our shoot from anywhere inside the gym. There is no hesitate for him once he steps over half court. He led BYU to a surprisingly easy 89-67 win over favored Gonzaga.
IPSO award #4 goes to Kemba Walker from Connecticut who never seems to tire and just keeps getting it done. Kemba scores 33, including 14 of 14 at the charity stripe in helping Connecticut to come back from an early 10 point first half deficit to defeat Cincinnati, 69-58 and advance to the Sweet 16.
IPSO award #5 goes to the gutsy play of Florida's stocky PG Ervin Walker. He came up with some outstanding and clutch baskets down the stretch and was the difference maker in this game that helped Florida defeat UCLA 73-65. Walker scored 21 points on only 5-8 shooting from the field but that included 3 - 3 pointers and some acrobatic driving shots. His clutch shots down the stretch sent UCLA home for another year.
Our final IPSO award is probably the most deserving especially in a losing role. Kansas St guard Jacob Pullen became the all time scoring leader in K-State history by scoring his career high, 38 points, on 60% shooting from the field including 6 - 3 pointers. He played an unbelievable, never say die game but unfortunately for the Wildcats they came up a little short as Wisconsin hit the free throws down the stretch to beat them 70-65. Pullen was visibly shaken by the defeat following the game and it was clear that he left everything (blood, sweat and tears) on the court Saturday but he will not have to worry about his future... it will be in the NBA.
So once again the Individual Performance Stand Outs for Saturday
Shelvin Mack - Butler (30); Brandon Knight- Kentucky (30); Jimmer Fredette - BYU - (34); Kemba Walker - Connecticut (33); Ervin Walker - Florida (21); Jacob Pullen - Kansas St (38).
One final note before I head to bed to dream about what lies in store for us tomorrow, Wisconsin is 21-42 from 3 pt land in the first two games. If they keep shooting like this the Sweet 16 match up with Butler should be something to see.
Good night from Your Basketball SNOB
March Madness is Here
The Madness began on Thursday with six games that came down to the last possession. The first and largest upset of the day belonged to Morehead State who shocked the Cardinals of Louisville and 94% of the bracket participants with a 62-61 victory on a 3 pointer with 4 seconds to go and a blocked Louisville shot at the buzzer.
This was followed by the 12 seed Richmond Spiders upsetting the #5 ranked Vanderbilt Commodores. Richmond, from the Atlantic 10 joins conference mate Temple who also advanced with a last second shot and win as Temple snuck by Big Ten interstate foe, Penn State 66-64. Butler picked up a loose ball for a layup put back at the buzzer for a 60-58 defeat of an Old Dominion team that many people thought would win this one easily. Kentucky was taken to the wire by a very good, methodical Princeton team but freshman Doren Lamb (Oak Hill Academy) scored his only 2 points of the game but they could not have been any bigger as he scored on a driving layup with 2 seconds to give Kentucky a 57-55 victory. The final close game of the night should not have even been a close game as Michigan State was getting blown out by UCLA by 23 in the second half and mounted an unbelievable comeback only to fall short on a traveling violation by Kalin Lucas on their last ditch effort to try and tie or beat UCLA when they rebounded a missed UCLA free throw with 4.5 seconds left. Lucas was racing up the court for a last second shot when he was called for traveling at half court ending the Spartans comeback bid and sending them home after a disappointing season with a 78-76 defeat.
Speaking of Michigan State - former players Kory Lucious and Chris Allen, both dismissed from the team for conduct detrimental to the team, are rumored to be enrolling together at Iowa St
As expected, there was more madness on Friday with four games coming down to the wire. George Mason with a come from behind victory beats Villanova by 4 in a game that came down to the end. George Mason was the higher seed but was not favored in this one. GM is now 17-1 in their last 18 games and gets to face off with top seeded Ohio State. Can the magic continue? Texas held off a spirited comeback from our own Oakland Grizzlies as they failed to quit and hit some big three pointers down the stretch before falling short to the talented # 4 Texas Longhorns, 85-81. Many people were picking Oakland including TV announcer and analayst, Jay Billups. I liked Oakland to win at least one game until I saw who they were playing. They got a bad draw and in my opinion, a bad seed. They were deserving of a seed better than 13. They showed people they can play with one of the best. Well done Oakland on a great season.
Memphis loses a heartbreaker to Arizona, 77-75 in a wild finish. Down 77-74 with 12 seconds and the ball, Arizona chose to foul and put Memphis on the line. They made the first and missed the second but batted the missed free throw and rebounded on the off side. They then attempted a 6 footer but was denied by another timely block by Williams (same Williams that swatted away last second shot by Washington in Conference game earlier)and lose at the buzzer. Finally, Washington holds off and survives a last minute three point heave from Georgia from about 35 feet to win 68-65
There were some other upsets of note. VCU dominated Georgetown most of the game and cruises to an easy 74-56 win. Gonzaga took down a St. John's team that many felt (including yours truly) could reach the final four. The Zags won easily 86-71. Florida St and Marquette were slight upset winners. Florida St. beating Texas A&M by 7 and Marquette taking care of #6 seed Xavier by 11.
It was easy pickins for ACC rivals, Duke and North Carolina as they both rolled over their 15 and 16 seed opponents, Hampton and Long Island respectively. Kyrie Irving is indeed back and that serves the Duke faithful well. I did not think they would have a chance of winning this thing but now I am thinking differently. He changes the complexion of this team for the better. UConn won by 29 and in the one of the largest unexpected lopsided victories, Michigan buried everything it was shooting up from la la land for a 30 point margin of victory over Tennessee and could be the final straw that gets Coach Bruce Pearl fired.
With all the madness there was some sanity as the winless streak stayed intact for the 1 vs 16 matchup games where the overall record is now 0-108.
How the Conferences are fairing after the first round:
Big East showing - record of 7-4 (.636)
Big Ten showing - record of 5-2 (.714)
Pac 10 showing - record of 3-0 (1.000)
Big 12 showing - record of 3-1 (.750)
ACC showing - record of 2-1 (.666)
SEC showing - record of 2-3 (.400)
Big East and Big Ten still have the most surviving teams with 7 & 5 respectively.
All Tigers are gone from the Tournament - Clemson, Memphis, Missouri and Princeton
Some nice second (or do we say third round now with the 4 "first round" play in games)
matchups. There should be some real close ones:
Marquette vs. Syracuse - Marquette won earlier in the year.
Cincinnati - Connecticut - Another Big East matchup - Cincy will be tough but expect UCONN to advance
West Virginia and Kentucky in the who has more teeth matchup should be a physical game - West Virginia is stronger and more physical but Kentucky has athletes. Nod goes to Kentucky here in another close one.
Washington - North Carolina is another one that I think will come down to the end. I am picking Washington in the upset.
Michigan - Duke is now very intriguing. I am pulling for Michigan and my college Alma matter (LeMoyne College - small Jesuit college in Syracuse, NY)ex basketball coach, Jim Beilein, to rise above the Dukies. Will be very tough now that Irving is back at the point.
Arizona - Texas looks good on paper but I am thinking Texas wins by 9.
UCLA - Florida - the Bruins can beat this Florida team - look for another close one that could go either way.
Kansas St. - Wisconsin should be another one to follow. We will see how good Wisconsin is playing and whether or not they can make a run at it but need to get by Kansas St for next step.
Gonzaga - BYU in the battle of the West. Looking for a shootout and hoping for a close one.
Looking forward to two more days of Games, Excitement and here is to hoping the Madness Continues.
Goodnight from your Basketball SNOB
.
This was followed by the 12 seed Richmond Spiders upsetting the #5 ranked Vanderbilt Commodores. Richmond, from the Atlantic 10 joins conference mate Temple who also advanced with a last second shot and win as Temple snuck by Big Ten interstate foe, Penn State 66-64. Butler picked up a loose ball for a layup put back at the buzzer for a 60-58 defeat of an Old Dominion team that many people thought would win this one easily. Kentucky was taken to the wire by a very good, methodical Princeton team but freshman Doren Lamb (Oak Hill Academy) scored his only 2 points of the game but they could not have been any bigger as he scored on a driving layup with 2 seconds to give Kentucky a 57-55 victory. The final close game of the night should not have even been a close game as Michigan State was getting blown out by UCLA by 23 in the second half and mounted an unbelievable comeback only to fall short on a traveling violation by Kalin Lucas on their last ditch effort to try and tie or beat UCLA when they rebounded a missed UCLA free throw with 4.5 seconds left. Lucas was racing up the court for a last second shot when he was called for traveling at half court ending the Spartans comeback bid and sending them home after a disappointing season with a 78-76 defeat.
Speaking of Michigan State - former players Kory Lucious and Chris Allen, both dismissed from the team for conduct detrimental to the team, are rumored to be enrolling together at Iowa St
As expected, there was more madness on Friday with four games coming down to the wire. George Mason with a come from behind victory beats Villanova by 4 in a game that came down to the end. George Mason was the higher seed but was not favored in this one. GM is now 17-1 in their last 18 games and gets to face off with top seeded Ohio State. Can the magic continue? Texas held off a spirited comeback from our own Oakland Grizzlies as they failed to quit and hit some big three pointers down the stretch before falling short to the talented # 4 Texas Longhorns, 85-81. Many people were picking Oakland including TV announcer and analayst, Jay Billups. I liked Oakland to win at least one game until I saw who they were playing. They got a bad draw and in my opinion, a bad seed. They were deserving of a seed better than 13. They showed people they can play with one of the best. Well done Oakland on a great season.
Memphis loses a heartbreaker to Arizona, 77-75 in a wild finish. Down 77-74 with 12 seconds and the ball, Arizona chose to foul and put Memphis on the line. They made the first and missed the second but batted the missed free throw and rebounded on the off side. They then attempted a 6 footer but was denied by another timely block by Williams (same Williams that swatted away last second shot by Washington in Conference game earlier)and lose at the buzzer. Finally, Washington holds off and survives a last minute three point heave from Georgia from about 35 feet to win 68-65
There were some other upsets of note. VCU dominated Georgetown most of the game and cruises to an easy 74-56 win. Gonzaga took down a St. John's team that many felt (including yours truly) could reach the final four. The Zags won easily 86-71. Florida St and Marquette were slight upset winners. Florida St. beating Texas A&M by 7 and Marquette taking care of #6 seed Xavier by 11.
It was easy pickins for ACC rivals, Duke and North Carolina as they both rolled over their 15 and 16 seed opponents, Hampton and Long Island respectively. Kyrie Irving is indeed back and that serves the Duke faithful well. I did not think they would have a chance of winning this thing but now I am thinking differently. He changes the complexion of this team for the better. UConn won by 29 and in the one of the largest unexpected lopsided victories, Michigan buried everything it was shooting up from la la land for a 30 point margin of victory over Tennessee and could be the final straw that gets Coach Bruce Pearl fired.
With all the madness there was some sanity as the winless streak stayed intact for the 1 vs 16 matchup games where the overall record is now 0-108.
How the Conferences are fairing after the first round:
Big East showing - record of 7-4 (.636)
Big Ten showing - record of 5-2 (.714)
Pac 10 showing - record of 3-0 (1.000)
Big 12 showing - record of 3-1 (.750)
ACC showing - record of 2-1 (.666)
SEC showing - record of 2-3 (.400)
Big East and Big Ten still have the most surviving teams with 7 & 5 respectively.
All Tigers are gone from the Tournament - Clemson, Memphis, Missouri and Princeton
Some nice second (or do we say third round now with the 4 "first round" play in games)
matchups. There should be some real close ones:
Marquette vs. Syracuse - Marquette won earlier in the year.
Cincinnati - Connecticut - Another Big East matchup - Cincy will be tough but expect UCONN to advance
West Virginia and Kentucky in the who has more teeth matchup should be a physical game - West Virginia is stronger and more physical but Kentucky has athletes. Nod goes to Kentucky here in another close one.
Washington - North Carolina is another one that I think will come down to the end. I am picking Washington in the upset.
Michigan - Duke is now very intriguing. I am pulling for Michigan and my college Alma matter (LeMoyne College - small Jesuit college in Syracuse, NY)ex basketball coach, Jim Beilein, to rise above the Dukies. Will be very tough now that Irving is back at the point.
Arizona - Texas looks good on paper but I am thinking Texas wins by 9.
UCLA - Florida - the Bruins can beat this Florida team - look for another close one that could go either way.
Kansas St. - Wisconsin should be another one to follow. We will see how good Wisconsin is playing and whether or not they can make a run at it but need to get by Kansas St for next step.
Gonzaga - BYU in the battle of the West. Looking for a shootout and hoping for a close one.
Looking forward to two more days of Games, Excitement and here is to hoping the Madness Continues.
Goodnight from your Basketball SNOB
.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Consortium Cougars Rip ABT
I attended the Detroit Consortium - Melvindale ABT Regional finals last night and this game was packed with energy, excitement and huge swings. When it was over, #2 ranked Consortium came out ahead, 64-54 over previously ranked #1 ABT. Melvindale jumped out early to an 18-11 lead with very balanced scoring in front of a very boisterous crowd at Bishop Foley. Once the second quarter started it was all Cougars as they went on a 17-0 run to stake themselves to a 28-18 lead. It wasn't until the 2:43 mark of the second quarter before Melvindale scored their first points of the quarter. Point guard, Travon Baker, proved why he is one of the top, if not top, Junior guards in the state, by scoring 14 points in the second quarter to double up Melivndale's total output for the quarter. Baker hit 4 3-pointers in the second quarter and had 20 at half. Consortium went up 35-25 at half and never relinquished the lead. Baker finished with 27 and sophomore Vincent Hunter slashed and drove his way to 22 points. This super soph is very tough to stop when he goes to the hole. He is in control, protects the ball and is strong and long. This entire Consortium team is very young and talented. They start one senior, 3 Juniors and 1 sophomore. Tre Tigner is a strong as a bull down low 6'6" player that gives them a presence on the boards. 6'5" junior Devondre Peoples is very athletic, is very long, can board with body control and can jump to the moon. Baker and Hunter round out the other underclassman starters. Oh yeah, then they bring in 6'10" junior Matt Willms off the bench. This kid has very good skills but has been hampered by a bad foot (ankle) all year so gets limited playing time. He needs to put on some weight and strength but is a D-1 prospect.
Consortium may have another tough game coming up with Saginaw Buena Vista but if they can contain leading scorer George Goodman they should be on their way to Lansing and a showdown with Flint Beecher. Consortium is the most talented C team and should win states the only thing preventing them from this is injury or foul trouble to their very talented floor leader, Travon Baker. I can not sing enough praises about this guard. He handles the ball well, gets to the glass on drives, can drain the outside shot and plays with a sense of fun for the game.
Detroit Southeastern beat Cody again, 43-40 to advance to meet Romulus. Winner goes to Breslin.
Kalamazoo took care of business and defeated the team that I wanted to see in Lansing, Lansing Eastern by a bucket 46-44 in a wild finish with a goaltending call with .2 seconds on the clock to give Kazoo the win. Should see Kalamazoo Central and Southfield meet in the semi-finals at State. Should be Bay City Western vs. winner of the Tuesday night showdown at Callahan between Romulus and Detroit Southeastern.
Romulus has the better overall team but Det Southeastern has the better star talent with Brandon Kearney and Percy Gibson.
CLASS B
Detroit Country Day and Flint Powers both won bringing on a huge quartrefinal match between the two on Tuesday with the winner getting the rights to go to Lansing. Flint is playing tremendous basketball right now and if anyone can beat DCD it is them. Winner goes to Lansing to hopefully meet Lansing Sexton.
Expect to see East Grand Rapids now and Muskegon Heights in the other semi.
ClASS C
Expect to see Flint Beecher, Schoolcraft and McBain join Detroit Consortium. This would probably be the best final four of the classes.
CLASS D
Cedarville sneaks by Posen, 64-62 in OT. Oakland Christian gets upset by Detroit Westside Christian. Expect now to see Wyoming Tri-Unity meet Eben Junction or Cedarville in one semi and Fulton and Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Sem in the other.
We are getting closer and closer to March 24-26 at East Lansing and this Basketball SNOB is getting excited.
Talk about excitement, should be plenty today as March Madness kicks off. Will be at Bailey's (Happy St. Patrick's Day) watching all the games.
One of the best times of year. Enjoy
Consortium may have another tough game coming up with Saginaw Buena Vista but if they can contain leading scorer George Goodman they should be on their way to Lansing and a showdown with Flint Beecher. Consortium is the most talented C team and should win states the only thing preventing them from this is injury or foul trouble to their very talented floor leader, Travon Baker. I can not sing enough praises about this guard. He handles the ball well, gets to the glass on drives, can drain the outside shot and plays with a sense of fun for the game.
Detroit Southeastern beat Cody again, 43-40 to advance to meet Romulus. Winner goes to Breslin.
Kalamazoo took care of business and defeated the team that I wanted to see in Lansing, Lansing Eastern by a bucket 46-44 in a wild finish with a goaltending call with .2 seconds on the clock to give Kazoo the win. Should see Kalamazoo Central and Southfield meet in the semi-finals at State. Should be Bay City Western vs. winner of the Tuesday night showdown at Callahan between Romulus and Detroit Southeastern.
Romulus has the better overall team but Det Southeastern has the better star talent with Brandon Kearney and Percy Gibson.
CLASS B
Detroit Country Day and Flint Powers both won bringing on a huge quartrefinal match between the two on Tuesday with the winner getting the rights to go to Lansing. Flint is playing tremendous basketball right now and if anyone can beat DCD it is them. Winner goes to Lansing to hopefully meet Lansing Sexton.
Expect to see East Grand Rapids now and Muskegon Heights in the other semi.
ClASS C
Expect to see Flint Beecher, Schoolcraft and McBain join Detroit Consortium. This would probably be the best final four of the classes.
CLASS D
Cedarville sneaks by Posen, 64-62 in OT. Oakland Christian gets upset by Detroit Westside Christian. Expect now to see Wyoming Tri-Unity meet Eben Junction or Cedarville in one semi and Fulton and Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Sem in the other.
We are getting closer and closer to March 24-26 at East Lansing and this Basketball SNOB is getting excited.
Talk about excitement, should be plenty today as March Madness kicks off. Will be at Bailey's (Happy St. Patrick's Day) watching all the games.
One of the best times of year. Enjoy
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
High School Corrections and Updates
I need to do a quick update as some of the information I provided last night was not accurate. In a big shocker, winning tradition rich Saginaw was actually knocked off by Bay City Western (22-2) last night 55-47 as the two big men Matt Costello (6'7 JR commit to MSU) and Brandon Hovercamp took control. Costello had 18 points and both finished with 12 rebounds. This is pretty amazing considering they lost to Saginaw earlier in the year (without the services of Costello who was serving a one game suspension for getting tossed in the previous game) by a score of 60-28. They will now play Clarkston in the Regional final. I would love to see these guys move on now.
The other major correction was that Saginaw Buena Vista did not get beat by Harbor Beach, in fact it was the other way around as SBV crushed them 94-51. I should have wondered about this one because George Goodman could have scored over 50 by himself for this team. My new final four projections:
CLASS A
Southfield vs. Kalamazoo Central (I want Lansing Eastern to get here though)
Bay City Western vs. Romulus (wouldn't mind seeing Det. Southeastern either)
Southfield upsets Kazoo Central and Romulus defeats Bay City Western
Romulus wins it all
CLASS B
Detroit Country Day vs. Lansing Sexton (this should be championship game)
Grand Rapids Christian vs. Muskegon Heights
DCD defeats Sexton but Sexton has the talent to beat DCD
GR Christian wins
DCD repeats and wins it all
CLASS C
Detroit Consortium vs. Schoolcraft
Flint Beecher vs. McBain
Consortium wins and Beecher wins - would be great final game.
Beecher upsets Consortium to win it all
** In place of Consortium it could also be either Melvindale ABT or Saginaw Buena Vista - these teams are that close. Either way it goes, I still have Beecher winning it
CLASS D
Wyoming Tri-Unity vs. Eben Junction Superior Cent(would like to see Cedarville though)
Fulton vs. either Saginaw Mich Lutheran or Auburn Hills Oakland Christian
Wyoming wins easy and Fulton gets by Oakland Christian
Wyoming Tri-Unity wins it all.
I will be at Foley tomorrow night for the Consortium / Melvindale game. Although the Cody / Det Southeastern game should be a great one as well.
Thats it for now - Your Basketball SNOB
The other major correction was that Saginaw Buena Vista did not get beat by Harbor Beach, in fact it was the other way around as SBV crushed them 94-51. I should have wondered about this one because George Goodman could have scored over 50 by himself for this team. My new final four projections:
CLASS A
Southfield vs. Kalamazoo Central (I want Lansing Eastern to get here though)
Bay City Western vs. Romulus (wouldn't mind seeing Det. Southeastern either)
Southfield upsets Kazoo Central and Romulus defeats Bay City Western
Romulus wins it all
CLASS B
Detroit Country Day vs. Lansing Sexton (this should be championship game)
Grand Rapids Christian vs. Muskegon Heights
DCD defeats Sexton but Sexton has the talent to beat DCD
GR Christian wins
DCD repeats and wins it all
CLASS C
Detroit Consortium vs. Schoolcraft
Flint Beecher vs. McBain
Consortium wins and Beecher wins - would be great final game.
Beecher upsets Consortium to win it all
** In place of Consortium it could also be either Melvindale ABT or Saginaw Buena Vista - these teams are that close. Either way it goes, I still have Beecher winning it
CLASS D
Wyoming Tri-Unity vs. Eben Junction Superior Cent(would like to see Cedarville though)
Fulton vs. either Saginaw Mich Lutheran or Auburn Hills Oakland Christian
Wyoming wins easy and Fulton gets by Oakland Christian
Wyoming Tri-Unity wins it all.
I will be at Foley tomorrow night for the Consortium / Melvindale game. Although the Cody / Det Southeastern game should be a great one as well.
Thats it for now - Your Basketball SNOB
Monday, March 14, 2011
Hoops Heaven
Does it get any better than watching tournament hoops in Vegas. Got up Friday morning and my Sports Jockey (wife) and I toured some of the casinos in search of glamour, fortune and fame. We saw glamour and glitz, had a brush with fame (Comedian George Wallace) and eluded fortune. As my better half was not feeling well we thought laying pool side in a sun drenched 80 degree day sipping drinks for 4 hours would be a good cure. It was for me but not for my wife who was still feeling under the weather, so what is a sports junkie suppose to do in Vegas when all the tournament games are on and your wife is in bed, go to the sports book of course. So I headed to my favorite book, the Mirage and took in 4 games of interest at the same time. Saw Western Michigan lose to Akron, watched my Cuse boys lose to UConn in OT, saw the Spartans shock and destroy Purdue and won my bet on the Duke - Florida State game. After two days of betting, I was doing exceptionally well with 6 out of 7 wins with my only loss with ND who was giving a point to Louisville. Thank God I did not see this game (was at the Frank Calliendo show) because I heard ND was up 20 at half and coasted and lost. What a great day though. But as quickly as Vegas givith, it taketh away quicker. I proceeded to crap the bed and go 1 for 5 in games on Saturday. Still not a better place to be than Sin City at Tournament time, it truly is Hoops Heaven.
Staying with College basketball before I get to the Michigan High School games.
I know I said Oakland would win a first round game but that was before I saw who they got seeded against. The Grizzlies drew Texas...are you kidding me. With this new play in game concept featuring 11/12 seeds playing for a right to that spot - killed OU who deserved a 12 or maybe an 11 seed. Does this make any sense to anyone? Two teams fighting for a 11 or 12 seed? Just put them in for God's sake and have the play in games be all 16 seeds. What am I missing here, other than the right to screw other teams from their rightful seeds, like Oakland. Anyway, even though Texas has been a top 10 team all year and number 1 seed about a month ago, they fall to a 4 seed to meet Kampe's boys. I really don't think a Florida, Wisconsin or Kentucky are more deserving of a higher seed. Enough of that rant.
East bracket (Ohio St, NC, SYR, Kentucky, West Vir, Villanova as a 9 seed and Washington as a 7 seed is the toughest bracket.
Southwest bracket with (Kansas, ND, Purdue, Louisville, Vandy, Georgetown is a close second.
I feel the SE bracket is the easiest road in.
My upset specials or teams that could make some noise:
#7 Washington in the East bracket could go a ways.
#6 St. John's in the SE bracket could go a ways.
#5 Vandy or #8 UNLV could pull some upsets in the SW bracket
#8 Michigan, #13 Oakland or #10 Penn State could pull some upsets in the West bracket.
My final Four picks
Ohio State - East
Connecticut - West
Notre Dame - Southwest
St. Johns/Pittsburgh winner in Southeast - had to hedge this one.
I see Ohio State and Notre Dame in the finals with Notre Dame upsetting them and winning by 5.
Now on to High School Hoops.
Went to see a double header at Cass Tech tonight. I saw two good games that were closer than the final score indicated. The first game pitted Detroit Cody against Catholic league champ, UD Jesuit. Cody won by a final of 65-57 while hitting key free throws down the stretch. This is the first time I saw either team this year and I was impressed with Cody. They are big and have size to match anyone. They go 6'7" Jelani Carpenter who is big, strong, long arms, shot blocker that defends the middle exceptionally well and nice shooting touch from the free throw line. Converted quite a bit of free throws tonight. Follow that up with super athletic 6'4" Javonte Barnes. This kid is a jumper, he is athletic, quick, a slasher that goes hard but under control to the basket. A very active player that could be there best player. Then they throw 6'6" bruiser lefty Jerrell McKinney into the mix. This kid is solid structure with a big, strong upper body that takes up space and creates problems in the middle. Add in 6'5" Wes Harrison and 6'3 guard Zedric Sadler who is a tough matchup for smaller guards and you add the fact that this team doesn't care who is doing the scoring (look for best team shot) and now I know how they went undefeated in the PSL this year. I think they are a more overall talented and more athletic team than Detroit Southeastern (who they lost to by 2 pts in the PSL Championship) with the one weakness being the guard play. They may have trouble handling the Southeastern press but I think they could beat the Jungaleers.
For UD they have two very talented JR players in guard Cameron Fowler who has decent quickness, is fast with the dribble, real nice distributor of the ball and a very good bounce passer that can find the man down on the low post and get him the ball on the right side.
Chris Jenkins (6'7") JR has division one talent for sure. This kid is long, can shoot the outside jumper, attacks the basket well and controls his body extremely well. Oh yeah.....he can elevate....high and in a hurry. He will make a lot of noise next year in the Catholic league.
In the other contest, Detroit Southeastern defeated a game Livonia Stevenson team by a final score of 52-45. I sat next to another High School fan from Grosse Pointe, who was knowledgeable of the game and a Michigan State Alum that came to see his future Spartan, Brandon Kearney play (as did I) but what we both witnessed was the Percy Gibson show soon to be headed to Dayton. By my count Gibson finished with 27 points, 8 rebounds and 5 blocks and dominated the 6'9 Jaylen Reynolds of Livonia on the low post. Gibson is a beast and this team is most dangerous when they use him as a first option. He is strong, has quick feet and looks to score when he touches it down on the block and has the strength to score when fouled. He was 5-7 from the foul line and three of those where conversion attempts on three point baskets. Brandon Kearney once again failed to dominate or over impress. This kid has skills but I still have yet to see them come out consistently. This is the 4th game of his I have seen this year and the most impressive part of his game is his ability to pass off the penetration drive. He did have several passes that were spot on that his team mates could not handle but I would like to see the mentality that shows he can score over an 6'0 guard that is defending him. He finished with 9 points. For Livonia, Jaylen Reynolds was impressive on the boards and defending his basket. He had 11 rebounds and 4 blocks but only finished with 7 pts. He definitely has skills for the next level, where ever that will be, but needs to work a bit more on fighting for position on the offensive side of the ball. The scoring star was Jonathan Campbell who lit it up from behind the arc. He finished with 21 points, 15 from three point land and several acrobatic reversal layups. This kid is deceivingly quick and fun to watch. Too bad it was his last high school game as I would love to see this kid play again. The win for the Jungaleers sets up another showdown with Cody on Wednesday at Cass Tech at 6 PM. This game could go either way. Whichever team wins has talent so it will do well on the next round and would set up a good quarterfinal game with Romulus.
CLASS A Updates:
Ann Arbor (#2) gets shocked by Detroit Catholic Central, 67-54.
Pontiac gets upset by Rochester Adams
Warren DeLaSalle (#4) gets beat by East Detroit 50-47 in OT
Muskegon in a mild upset beats Petoskey 59-54
Ypsilanti gets beat by Taylor Kennedy 59-52
Saginaw wins the big showdown with Bay City Western, 56-47
Good Regional Final Games:
Lansing Eastern - Kalamazoo Central - shame - both teams good enough to be in Semi's.
Detroit Cody - Detroit Southeastern
Possible Quarterfinal showdowns:
Romulus vs Cody/Southeastern winner
Muskegon vs. Lansing Eastern/Kalamazoo Central winner
New Final Four Predictions:
Southfield
Kalamazoo Central but want to see Lansing Eastern
Saginaw
Romulus but would be Ok with seeing Detroit Southeastern as well
CLASS B
Flint Powers blows away a good Saginaw Swan Valley team by a score of 80-53
Detroit Douglass upset by a very good Detroit Community team, 60-54 in OT
Lansing Sexton is playing well and crushed a strong Williamston team 66-42
Standish-Sterling gets upset by Cadillac 51-35
Best Regional Finals:
Lansing Sexton vs Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard
East Grand Rapids vs. Grand Rapids Christian
Best Quarterfinal Possible Matchups (3/22)
Detroit Country Day vs. Flint Powers Catholic - what a shame. These two and Lansing Sexton are the three best teams. Bummer that they can't meet in Lansing.
Detroit Community vs. Lansing Sexton (provided they get by an inspired AA Gabriel)
Final Four
Detroit Country Day
Lansing Sexton
Grand Rapids Christian
Muskegon Heights
CLASS C
Unfortunately the Hope on the Hardwood for the Fennville Blackhawks came to an end tonight as they lost to Schoolcraft, 86-62. Hats off to this team for finishing the way they did and dealing with the tragic loss of team mate Wes Leonard. Thanks for showing us all a lesson in life on how to pull together and play on. Well done Fennville.
Saginaw Buena Vista blown away by Harbor Beach, 94-51 - Who is this Harbor Beach team
Best Regional Games:
#1 Detroit Consortium vs. #2 Melvindale ABT Wednesday at Bishop Foley - I won't miss this one. Once again, another shame as this should be the Championship game for Class C in my opinion.
Flint Beecher vs. Hanover-Horton
Best Possible Quarterfinals:
Detroit Consortium/Melvindale winner vs. Harbor Beach - have to include them by virtue of drubbing of #5 Saginaw Buena Vista
Flint Beecher vs. Muskegon Western Michigan Christian
Final Four
Detroit Consortium
Schoolcraft
Flint Beecher
McBain
CLASS D
Cedarville destroys ranked Pellston 87-50
Bellaire gets upset by Leland 45-42
Fulton wins over Big Rapids Crossroads in a battle of top ranked teams.
Muskegon Catholic outlasts Lansing Christian
Carsonville-Port Sanilac gets dumped by Genesee Christian 58-54
Cedarville-Posen regional final is best game
Final Four Predictions:
Wyoming Tri-Unity
Fulton
Oakland Christian
Eben Junction or upset by winner of Cedarville/Posen game (tough that all three of these top ranked teams are in the same quarterfinal bracket.
Got to sign off - for tonight that is it from your Basketball SNOB.
Staying with College basketball before I get to the Michigan High School games.
I know I said Oakland would win a first round game but that was before I saw who they got seeded against. The Grizzlies drew Texas...are you kidding me. With this new play in game concept featuring 11/12 seeds playing for a right to that spot - killed OU who deserved a 12 or maybe an 11 seed. Does this make any sense to anyone? Two teams fighting for a 11 or 12 seed? Just put them in for God's sake and have the play in games be all 16 seeds. What am I missing here, other than the right to screw other teams from their rightful seeds, like Oakland. Anyway, even though Texas has been a top 10 team all year and number 1 seed about a month ago, they fall to a 4 seed to meet Kampe's boys. I really don't think a Florida, Wisconsin or Kentucky are more deserving of a higher seed. Enough of that rant.
East bracket (Ohio St, NC, SYR, Kentucky, West Vir, Villanova as a 9 seed and Washington as a 7 seed is the toughest bracket.
Southwest bracket with (Kansas, ND, Purdue, Louisville, Vandy, Georgetown is a close second.
I feel the SE bracket is the easiest road in.
My upset specials or teams that could make some noise:
#7 Washington in the East bracket could go a ways.
#6 St. John's in the SE bracket could go a ways.
#5 Vandy or #8 UNLV could pull some upsets in the SW bracket
#8 Michigan, #13 Oakland or #10 Penn State could pull some upsets in the West bracket.
My final Four picks
Ohio State - East
Connecticut - West
Notre Dame - Southwest
St. Johns/Pittsburgh winner in Southeast - had to hedge this one.
I see Ohio State and Notre Dame in the finals with Notre Dame upsetting them and winning by 5.
Now on to High School Hoops.
Went to see a double header at Cass Tech tonight. I saw two good games that were closer than the final score indicated. The first game pitted Detroit Cody against Catholic league champ, UD Jesuit. Cody won by a final of 65-57 while hitting key free throws down the stretch. This is the first time I saw either team this year and I was impressed with Cody. They are big and have size to match anyone. They go 6'7" Jelani Carpenter who is big, strong, long arms, shot blocker that defends the middle exceptionally well and nice shooting touch from the free throw line. Converted quite a bit of free throws tonight. Follow that up with super athletic 6'4" Javonte Barnes. This kid is a jumper, he is athletic, quick, a slasher that goes hard but under control to the basket. A very active player that could be there best player. Then they throw 6'6" bruiser lefty Jerrell McKinney into the mix. This kid is solid structure with a big, strong upper body that takes up space and creates problems in the middle. Add in 6'5" Wes Harrison and 6'3 guard Zedric Sadler who is a tough matchup for smaller guards and you add the fact that this team doesn't care who is doing the scoring (look for best team shot) and now I know how they went undefeated in the PSL this year. I think they are a more overall talented and more athletic team than Detroit Southeastern (who they lost to by 2 pts in the PSL Championship) with the one weakness being the guard play. They may have trouble handling the Southeastern press but I think they could beat the Jungaleers.
For UD they have two very talented JR players in guard Cameron Fowler who has decent quickness, is fast with the dribble, real nice distributor of the ball and a very good bounce passer that can find the man down on the low post and get him the ball on the right side.
Chris Jenkins (6'7") JR has division one talent for sure. This kid is long, can shoot the outside jumper, attacks the basket well and controls his body extremely well. Oh yeah.....he can elevate....high and in a hurry. He will make a lot of noise next year in the Catholic league.
In the other contest, Detroit Southeastern defeated a game Livonia Stevenson team by a final score of 52-45. I sat next to another High School fan from Grosse Pointe, who was knowledgeable of the game and a Michigan State Alum that came to see his future Spartan, Brandon Kearney play (as did I) but what we both witnessed was the Percy Gibson show soon to be headed to Dayton. By my count Gibson finished with 27 points, 8 rebounds and 5 blocks and dominated the 6'9 Jaylen Reynolds of Livonia on the low post. Gibson is a beast and this team is most dangerous when they use him as a first option. He is strong, has quick feet and looks to score when he touches it down on the block and has the strength to score when fouled. He was 5-7 from the foul line and three of those where conversion attempts on three point baskets. Brandon Kearney once again failed to dominate or over impress. This kid has skills but I still have yet to see them come out consistently. This is the 4th game of his I have seen this year and the most impressive part of his game is his ability to pass off the penetration drive. He did have several passes that were spot on that his team mates could not handle but I would like to see the mentality that shows he can score over an 6'0 guard that is defending him. He finished with 9 points. For Livonia, Jaylen Reynolds was impressive on the boards and defending his basket. He had 11 rebounds and 4 blocks but only finished with 7 pts. He definitely has skills for the next level, where ever that will be, but needs to work a bit more on fighting for position on the offensive side of the ball. The scoring star was Jonathan Campbell who lit it up from behind the arc. He finished with 21 points, 15 from three point land and several acrobatic reversal layups. This kid is deceivingly quick and fun to watch. Too bad it was his last high school game as I would love to see this kid play again. The win for the Jungaleers sets up another showdown with Cody on Wednesday at Cass Tech at 6 PM. This game could go either way. Whichever team wins has talent so it will do well on the next round and would set up a good quarterfinal game with Romulus.
CLASS A Updates:
Ann Arbor (#2) gets shocked by Detroit Catholic Central, 67-54.
Pontiac gets upset by Rochester Adams
Warren DeLaSalle (#4) gets beat by East Detroit 50-47 in OT
Muskegon in a mild upset beats Petoskey 59-54
Ypsilanti gets beat by Taylor Kennedy 59-52
Saginaw wins the big showdown with Bay City Western, 56-47
Good Regional Final Games:
Lansing Eastern - Kalamazoo Central - shame - both teams good enough to be in Semi's.
Detroit Cody - Detroit Southeastern
Possible Quarterfinal showdowns:
Romulus vs Cody/Southeastern winner
Muskegon vs. Lansing Eastern/Kalamazoo Central winner
New Final Four Predictions:
Southfield
Kalamazoo Central but want to see Lansing Eastern
Saginaw
Romulus but would be Ok with seeing Detroit Southeastern as well
CLASS B
Flint Powers blows away a good Saginaw Swan Valley team by a score of 80-53
Detroit Douglass upset by a very good Detroit Community team, 60-54 in OT
Lansing Sexton is playing well and crushed a strong Williamston team 66-42
Standish-Sterling gets upset by Cadillac 51-35
Best Regional Finals:
Lansing Sexton vs Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard
East Grand Rapids vs. Grand Rapids Christian
Best Quarterfinal Possible Matchups (3/22)
Detroit Country Day vs. Flint Powers Catholic - what a shame. These two and Lansing Sexton are the three best teams. Bummer that they can't meet in Lansing.
Detroit Community vs. Lansing Sexton (provided they get by an inspired AA Gabriel)
Final Four
Detroit Country Day
Lansing Sexton
Grand Rapids Christian
Muskegon Heights
CLASS C
Unfortunately the Hope on the Hardwood for the Fennville Blackhawks came to an end tonight as they lost to Schoolcraft, 86-62. Hats off to this team for finishing the way they did and dealing with the tragic loss of team mate Wes Leonard. Thanks for showing us all a lesson in life on how to pull together and play on. Well done Fennville.
Saginaw Buena Vista blown away by Harbor Beach, 94-51 - Who is this Harbor Beach team
Best Regional Games:
#1 Detroit Consortium vs. #2 Melvindale ABT Wednesday at Bishop Foley - I won't miss this one. Once again, another shame as this should be the Championship game for Class C in my opinion.
Flint Beecher vs. Hanover-Horton
Best Possible Quarterfinals:
Detroit Consortium/Melvindale winner vs. Harbor Beach - have to include them by virtue of drubbing of #5 Saginaw Buena Vista
Flint Beecher vs. Muskegon Western Michigan Christian
Final Four
Detroit Consortium
Schoolcraft
Flint Beecher
McBain
CLASS D
Cedarville destroys ranked Pellston 87-50
Bellaire gets upset by Leland 45-42
Fulton wins over Big Rapids Crossroads in a battle of top ranked teams.
Muskegon Catholic outlasts Lansing Christian
Carsonville-Port Sanilac gets dumped by Genesee Christian 58-54
Cedarville-Posen regional final is best game
Final Four Predictions:
Wyoming Tri-Unity
Fulton
Oakland Christian
Eben Junction or upset by winner of Cedarville/Posen game (tough that all three of these top ranked teams are in the same quarterfinal bracket.
Got to sign off - for tonight that is it from your Basketball SNOB.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Tourney Updates
This is your Basketball SNOB writing live from Sin City (Las Vegas for those not in touch with the COPA) where basketball in the sports books is King at this time right now. Nothing like it, tournament time and a million games on at once. Of course next week's NCAA tournament time beats this but this is warm-up is still the next best thing. Had to place a couple of wagers and so far the SNOB is 2-2. I did bet on my Cuse and have to admit it was with my heart and not my head, which is never a good thing to do, but this time it paid. Syracuse was giving three and they won 79-73. The other bet was a mystery to me, it seemed so easy that I almost didn't bet it. Kent, who had the best overall record of all MAC teams and was the Eastern Division champ, was getting a point vs. Buffalo. I kept wondering what is up with this? Was one of their star players out, did players have the flu? Well I bet it and they won the game outright by 9.
College Tourney Updates:
Syracuse advances to Semi's with nice 79-73 win in a good back and forth basketball game over St. John's.
UConn beats Pitt as Kemba Walker hits a sick step back, ankle breaking, and unbelievable jumper at the buzzer to beat Pitt 76-74. Kemba is now in an even race with Jimmer Fredette for National Player of the Year. Walker plays at the pro level right now. The Pitt loss could cost them the #1 seed in the field of 68 next week. It opens up the door for Notre Dame to grab it.
Miami overcomes a 10 point deficit to Virginia with 40 seconds to play and wins in OT by 7. Virginia did everything they could to lose this game......and they did......what a choke job.
USC beats Cal in their opening game, 70-56 as Saginaw Arthur Hill's own Pookie Jones lead the team in scoring and assists in this one with 16 pts and 4 assists.
Michigan State rides an unbelievable game by Draymond Green to beat Iowa 66-61 in a game Iowa could have tied with a 3 pointer with 5 seconds to go. Green had a monster game with
Kansas barely escapes with one point win over Oklahoma State as Oklahoma State had the ball for final shot and never got one off.
Oakland University wins big the other night and secures another spot in the tournament as Keith Benson was huge. Definitely a lottery pick next year and could be top 3 pick. Oakland deserves at least a 12 seed if not better. We will see what kind of respect they get; they certainly have earned it this year.
Western Michigan (My daughter's Alma matter and current school that my son attends) won their opening game today and are hoping to play their way into the tournament but have to win it to get in. Will be an uphill battle but I expect them to make it to the Championship game. GO BRONCOS.
Have to tip my cap to the refs, two very senior officials, Tim Higgins & Jim Burr, who expelled themselves from the remainder of the Big East tournament for missing two calls at the end of the game. Class move - if you don't perform, you remove yourself. I applauded this move, takes guts and shows character.
HIGH SCHOOL
Early exits and upsets and close calls are the highlight of this blog tonight.
CLASS A -
CLOSE CALLS
Kalamazoo Central, Saginaw, Romulus, Ann Arbor Huron and Warren DeLaSalle, the top 5 teams all win close games in the districts
Kazoo Central beats Niles by a 42-36 score
Saginaw plays a tough opponent in Flint Carmen-Ainsworth and wins 56-54
Ann Arbor Huron gets by Ann Arbor Pioneer by 4
Romulus beats Inkster by 4
Warren DeLaSalle beats a weak Warren Mott team by 55-50 margin
UPSETS
Rockford loses to Grand Rapids Northview in OT 57-54
Novi losses to Canton
White Lake Lakewood gets stunned by White Lake Northern on a 3 pointer at the buzzer, 58-57
East Lansing loses to Okemos by 6 - mild upset
Lansing Waverly gets blown out by St. John's - didn’t see that one coming
Taylor Truman losing to Belleville 35-32
Rochester losing to Stoney Creek by a 1 point
NEXT ROUND BEST GAMES
Avondale vs. Pontiac
Okemos Lansing Eastern
CLASS B
UPSETS = Not many at all but a Big One. #3 seeded Gull Lake loses to Parchment by 11.
Next Round BEST Game
Lansing Sexton vs. Okemos
CLASS C
UPSETS
Sutton's Bay loses close one, 72-69 to Traverse City St. Francis
BEST UPCOMING GAME
Flint Beecher - Burton Bindle
Fennville continues its HOPE ON THE HARDWOOD with its second straight win since losing their star player, Wes Leonard, to a tragic illness. I am pulling for you Fennville.
Finally I have to comment on Detroit Country Day's 77-13 win over Madison Heights Lamphere. Yes you read that score right, 77-13. Shame on coach Keener for allowing this to happen. You beat a team by 64 and they only score 13 points then I lose some respect. Now I know DCD is a competitive school both academically and athletically but there are no good lessons to be learned in this one, only bad. Poor sportsmanship and poor leadership by their coach. Now I realize he played their bench a bit in this one but at some point you have to stop the embarrassment as it not only is the right thing to do but because at some time it will come back to bite you as well. This is not New York where they have a shot clock, how about holding the ball, how about working on your stall game in preparation where you may need it in a close game. How about instructing your team that you want a minimum of 10 passes or even 20 passes before a shot goes up. All I have to say is Shame on You Coach.
College Tourney Updates:
Syracuse advances to Semi's with nice 79-73 win in a good back and forth basketball game over St. John's.
UConn beats Pitt as Kemba Walker hits a sick step back, ankle breaking, and unbelievable jumper at the buzzer to beat Pitt 76-74. Kemba is now in an even race with Jimmer Fredette for National Player of the Year. Walker plays at the pro level right now. The Pitt loss could cost them the #1 seed in the field of 68 next week. It opens up the door for Notre Dame to grab it.
Miami overcomes a 10 point deficit to Virginia with 40 seconds to play and wins in OT by 7. Virginia did everything they could to lose this game......and they did......what a choke job.
USC beats Cal in their opening game, 70-56 as Saginaw Arthur Hill's own Pookie Jones lead the team in scoring and assists in this one with 16 pts and 4 assists.
Michigan State rides an unbelievable game by Draymond Green to beat Iowa 66-61 in a game Iowa could have tied with a 3 pointer with 5 seconds to go. Green had a monster game with
Kansas barely escapes with one point win over Oklahoma State as Oklahoma State had the ball for final shot and never got one off.
Oakland University wins big the other night and secures another spot in the tournament as Keith Benson was huge. Definitely a lottery pick next year and could be top 3 pick. Oakland deserves at least a 12 seed if not better. We will see what kind of respect they get; they certainly have earned it this year.
Western Michigan (My daughter's Alma matter and current school that my son attends) won their opening game today and are hoping to play their way into the tournament but have to win it to get in. Will be an uphill battle but I expect them to make it to the Championship game. GO BRONCOS.
Have to tip my cap to the refs, two very senior officials, Tim Higgins & Jim Burr, who expelled themselves from the remainder of the Big East tournament for missing two calls at the end of the game. Class move - if you don't perform, you remove yourself. I applauded this move, takes guts and shows character.
HIGH SCHOOL
Early exits and upsets and close calls are the highlight of this blog tonight.
CLASS A -
CLOSE CALLS
Kalamazoo Central, Saginaw, Romulus, Ann Arbor Huron and Warren DeLaSalle, the top 5 teams all win close games in the districts
Kazoo Central beats Niles by a 42-36 score
Saginaw plays a tough opponent in Flint Carmen-Ainsworth and wins 56-54
Ann Arbor Huron gets by Ann Arbor Pioneer by 4
Romulus beats Inkster by 4
Warren DeLaSalle beats a weak Warren Mott team by 55-50 margin
UPSETS
Rockford loses to Grand Rapids Northview in OT 57-54
Novi losses to Canton
White Lake Lakewood gets stunned by White Lake Northern on a 3 pointer at the buzzer, 58-57
East Lansing loses to Okemos by 6 - mild upset
Lansing Waverly gets blown out by St. John's - didn’t see that one coming
Taylor Truman losing to Belleville 35-32
Rochester losing to Stoney Creek by a 1 point
NEXT ROUND BEST GAMES
Avondale vs. Pontiac
Okemos Lansing Eastern
CLASS B
UPSETS = Not many at all but a Big One. #3 seeded Gull Lake loses to Parchment by 11.
Next Round BEST Game
Lansing Sexton vs. Okemos
CLASS C
UPSETS
Sutton's Bay loses close one, 72-69 to Traverse City St. Francis
BEST UPCOMING GAME
Flint Beecher - Burton Bindle
Fennville continues its HOPE ON THE HARDWOOD with its second straight win since losing their star player, Wes Leonard, to a tragic illness. I am pulling for you Fennville.
Finally I have to comment on Detroit Country Day's 77-13 win over Madison Heights Lamphere. Yes you read that score right, 77-13. Shame on coach Keener for allowing this to happen. You beat a team by 64 and they only score 13 points then I lose some respect. Now I know DCD is a competitive school both academically and athletically but there are no good lessons to be learned in this one, only bad. Poor sportsmanship and poor leadership by their coach. Now I realize he played their bench a bit in this one but at some point you have to stop the embarrassment as it not only is the right thing to do but because at some time it will come back to bite you as well. This is not New York where they have a shot clock, how about holding the ball, how about working on your stall game in preparation where you may need it in a close game. How about instructing your team that you want a minimum of 10 passes or even 20 passes before a shot goes up. All I have to say is Shame on You Coach.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Lets Continue with This Party - Class C & D
Class C & Class D predictions and comments - note that this was scripted before the games were played tonight. On the West Coast right now trying to get it all online.
Best Opening round game
#12 Maple City-Glen Lake vs. #14 Fife Lake Forest Area - District 87
Fennville vs. Lawrence - just because everyone but Lawrence fans will be pulling for Fennville to keep the perfect season going in honor of Wes Leonard
Toughest District in ALL 4 Classes is at District 87 at Maple City - Glen Lake with 5 ranked teams competing for one spot to advance
#7 Suttons Bay
#12 Maple City-Glen Lake
#14 Fife Lake Forest Area
#17 Traverse City St. Francis
#23 Elk Rapids
Toughest Regional Semi Match ups - 3/14
#2 Detroit Consortium vs. #13 Madison Heights Bishop Foley - District3 73/74
#1 Melvindale ABT vs. #22 Detroit Loyola - Districts 71/72
#7 Sutton's Bay vs. #9 McBain - Districts 86/87
Regional Finals - 3/16
Best of any Game in all 4 classes - the State Championship in many peoples eyes - too bad they have to meet so early:
#1 Melvindale ABT vs. #2 Detroit Consortium
Also have:
#3 Flint Beecher vs. #11 Hanover Horton
#7 Winner of Sutton's Bay/McBain vs. #21 Charlevoix
Quarterfinals - 3/22
#1/2 Winner of Detroit Consortium/Melvindale game vs. #5 Saginaw Buena Vista
#3 Flint Beecher vs. #5 Montague
Final 4
#3 Flint Beecher vs. #7 Sutton's Bay
#2 Detroit Consortium vs. #5 Schoolcraft
Detroit Consortium should win it but Flint Beecher could beat them as well
CLASS D
Best first round games:
#4 Bay City All Saints vs. #7 Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary - District 116
#10 Pellston vs. #13 Harbor Springs Harbor Light Christian - District 123
Toughest District - 111
#3 Fulton, #5 Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart, #18 Beal City
Best Regional Semi's - 3/14
#3 Fulton vs. #16 Big Rapids Crossroads
#8 Cedarville vs. #10 Pellston - Districts 123/124
Best Regional Final Games - 3/16
#8/10 Winner of Cedarville/Pellston vs. #9 Posen
#4 Bay City All Saints vs. #11 Carsonville-Port Sanilac
Best Quarterfinal Game - 3/22
#4 Bay City All Saints vs. #6 Oakland Christian
Final Four
# 1 Wyoming Tri-Unity vs. #2 Eber junction - This could be considered the championship
# 3 Fulton vs. #4 Bay City All Saints
This would be unbelievable if the top 4 seeds made it into the Final 4.
Projected Winner - Wyoming Tri-Unity
To Recap - here are my final 4 for each class with the predicted winners.
CLASS A
Warren DeLaSalle vs Kalamazoo Central
Saginaw vs Romulus
Winner - Romulus.
Darkhorse - Lansing Eastern
Now what I want to see is Southfield instead of WDLS and Ann Arbor Huron instead of Saginaw. We will see if I get my wish
CLASS B
Gull Lake vs Miuskegon Heights
Detroit Country Day vs. Lansing Sexton
Winner - Detroit Country Day
Darkhorse - Flint Powers Catholic
CLASS C
Flint Beecher vs. Sutton's Bay
Detroit Consortium vs. Schoolcraft
Winner - Detroit Consortium (Flint Beecher could beat them)
Darkhorse - Saginaw Buena Vista
CLASS D
Wyoming Tri-Unity vs. Eber Junction
Fulton vs. Bay City All Saints
Winner - Wyoming Tri-Unity
Darkhorse - Oakland Christian
Best Opening round game
#12 Maple City-Glen Lake vs. #14 Fife Lake Forest Area - District 87
Fennville vs. Lawrence - just because everyone but Lawrence fans will be pulling for Fennville to keep the perfect season going in honor of Wes Leonard
Toughest District in ALL 4 Classes is at District 87 at Maple City - Glen Lake with 5 ranked teams competing for one spot to advance
#7 Suttons Bay
#12 Maple City-Glen Lake
#14 Fife Lake Forest Area
#17 Traverse City St. Francis
#23 Elk Rapids
Toughest Regional Semi Match ups - 3/14
#2 Detroit Consortium vs. #13 Madison Heights Bishop Foley - District3 73/74
#1 Melvindale ABT vs. #22 Detroit Loyola - Districts 71/72
#7 Sutton's Bay vs. #9 McBain - Districts 86/87
Regional Finals - 3/16
Best of any Game in all 4 classes - the State Championship in many peoples eyes - too bad they have to meet so early:
#1 Melvindale ABT vs. #2 Detroit Consortium
Also have:
#3 Flint Beecher vs. #11 Hanover Horton
#7 Winner of Sutton's Bay/McBain vs. #21 Charlevoix
Quarterfinals - 3/22
#1/2 Winner of Detroit Consortium/Melvindale game vs. #5 Saginaw Buena Vista
#3 Flint Beecher vs. #5 Montague
Final 4
#3 Flint Beecher vs. #7 Sutton's Bay
#2 Detroit Consortium vs. #5 Schoolcraft
Detroit Consortium should win it but Flint Beecher could beat them as well
CLASS D
Best first round games:
#4 Bay City All Saints vs. #7 Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary - District 116
#10 Pellston vs. #13 Harbor Springs Harbor Light Christian - District 123
Toughest District - 111
#3 Fulton, #5 Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart, #18 Beal City
Best Regional Semi's - 3/14
#3 Fulton vs. #16 Big Rapids Crossroads
#8 Cedarville vs. #10 Pellston - Districts 123/124
Best Regional Final Games - 3/16
#8/10 Winner of Cedarville/Pellston vs. #9 Posen
#4 Bay City All Saints vs. #11 Carsonville-Port Sanilac
Best Quarterfinal Game - 3/22
#4 Bay City All Saints vs. #6 Oakland Christian
Final Four
# 1 Wyoming Tri-Unity vs. #2 Eber junction - This could be considered the championship
# 3 Fulton vs. #4 Bay City All Saints
This would be unbelievable if the top 4 seeds made it into the Final 4.
Projected Winner - Wyoming Tri-Unity
To Recap - here are my final 4 for each class with the predicted winners.
CLASS A
Warren DeLaSalle vs Kalamazoo Central
Saginaw vs Romulus
Winner - Romulus.
Darkhorse - Lansing Eastern
Now what I want to see is Southfield instead of WDLS and Ann Arbor Huron instead of Saginaw. We will see if I get my wish
CLASS B
Gull Lake vs Miuskegon Heights
Detroit Country Day vs. Lansing Sexton
Winner - Detroit Country Day
Darkhorse - Flint Powers Catholic
CLASS C
Flint Beecher vs. Sutton's Bay
Detroit Consortium vs. Schoolcraft
Winner - Detroit Consortium (Flint Beecher could beat them)
Darkhorse - Saginaw Buena Vista
CLASS D
Wyoming Tri-Unity vs. Eber Junction
Fulton vs. Bay City All Saints
Winner - Wyoming Tri-Unity
Darkhorse - Oakland Christian
Lets Get this Party Started
The March Magic Party kicks off today and I have to get in my comments and predictions for Class A & B. Class C & D to follow shortly. Please note that for team rating purposes I am using the ratings from Stephen Bell of Mlive.
CLASS A
Toughest first round games
#9 East Lansing vs. #10 Okemos District 3
#16 Southfield vs. #25 Henry Ford - District 24
Toughest District
#3 St. John's
Has #9 East Lansing, #10 Okemos, #17 Lansing Eastern, #23 Lansing Waverly
Close 2nd - District 15 with Romulus, Taylor Trumand and Inkster
Possioble best Regional Semi's - 3/14
#6 Warren DeLaSalle vs. #15 East Detroit - Districts 22/28
#11 East Kentwood vs. Winner of Okemos/East Lansing/Lansing Eastern - Districts 3/4
#3 Saginaw vs. #13 Bay City Western - Districts 10/11
#5 Detroit Southeastern vs. #19 Livonia Stevenson - Districts 19/20
#7 Detroit Cody vs. NR Ferndale - Districts 21/23
Possible Best Regional Finals - 3/16
#4 Kalamazoo Central vs. Okemos/East Lansing/Lansing Eastern winner
#3 Saginaw vs. Clarkston
#5 Detroit Southeastern vs. #7 Detroit Cody
#1 Romulus vs. #12 Ypsilanti
Possible Quarterfinals - Some unbelievable matchups 3/22
#6 Warren DeLaSalle vs. #16 Southfield
#2 Ann Arbor Huron vs. #3 Saginaw
#1 Romulus vs. #5/7 Detroit Southeastern/Cody winner
Semifinalists
Warren DelaSalle vs. Kalamazoo Central - I want to see Southfield instead of WDLS
Saginaw vs. Romulus - I want to see Romulus vs. Ann Arbor Huron.
CLASS B
Not alot of stellar early round matchups which is a good thoing
Best Districts
#47 - Lansing Sexton #2 and Lansing Catholic #8
#50 - Grand Rapids Christian #7 & Grand Rapids South Christian #13
#51- Grand Rapids Catholic Central & Comstock Park #11
Best Possbile Regionals Semi's - 3/14
#2 Lansing Sexton vs. #9 Willamston
#2 Detroit Country Day vs. #6 Harper Woods Chandler Park
#5 Detroit Douglass vs. #17 Detroit Community
Best Possbile Regional Final
#5 Detroit Douglass vs. Melvindale/Dearborn Heights Robichaud winner
Awesome Quarterfinal potential matchups - 3/22
#2 Detroit Country Day vs. #4 Flint Powers Catholic
#2 Lansing Sexton vs. #5 Detroit Douglass
#3 Gull Lake vs. #10 Grand Rapids Christian
#12 Muskegon Heights vs. #16 Standish-Sterling
Semi Predictions
Gull Lake vs. Muskegon Heights
Detroit Country Day vs. Lansing Sexton - it is a shame because this would be more like the championship game.
CLASS A
Toughest first round games
#9 East Lansing vs. #10 Okemos District 3
#16 Southfield vs. #25 Henry Ford - District 24
Toughest District
#3 St. John's
Has #9 East Lansing, #10 Okemos, #17 Lansing Eastern, #23 Lansing Waverly
Close 2nd - District 15 with Romulus, Taylor Trumand and Inkster
Possioble best Regional Semi's - 3/14
#6 Warren DeLaSalle vs. #15 East Detroit - Districts 22/28
#11 East Kentwood vs. Winner of Okemos/East Lansing/Lansing Eastern - Districts 3/4
#3 Saginaw vs. #13 Bay City Western - Districts 10/11
#5 Detroit Southeastern vs. #19 Livonia Stevenson - Districts 19/20
#7 Detroit Cody vs. NR Ferndale - Districts 21/23
Possible Best Regional Finals - 3/16
#4 Kalamazoo Central vs. Okemos/East Lansing/Lansing Eastern winner
#3 Saginaw vs. Clarkston
#5 Detroit Southeastern vs. #7 Detroit Cody
#1 Romulus vs. #12 Ypsilanti
Possible Quarterfinals - Some unbelievable matchups 3/22
#6 Warren DeLaSalle vs. #16 Southfield
#2 Ann Arbor Huron vs. #3 Saginaw
#1 Romulus vs. #5/7 Detroit Southeastern/Cody winner
Semifinalists
Warren DelaSalle vs. Kalamazoo Central - I want to see Southfield instead of WDLS
Saginaw vs. Romulus - I want to see Romulus vs. Ann Arbor Huron.
CLASS B
Not alot of stellar early round matchups which is a good thoing
Best Districts
#47 - Lansing Sexton #2 and Lansing Catholic #8
#50 - Grand Rapids Christian #7 & Grand Rapids South Christian #13
#51- Grand Rapids Catholic Central & Comstock Park #11
Best Possbile Regionals Semi's - 3/14
#2 Lansing Sexton vs. #9 Willamston
#2 Detroit Country Day vs. #6 Harper Woods Chandler Park
#5 Detroit Douglass vs. #17 Detroit Community
Best Possbile Regional Final
#5 Detroit Douglass vs. Melvindale/Dearborn Heights Robichaud winner
Awesome Quarterfinal potential matchups - 3/22
#2 Detroit Country Day vs. #4 Flint Powers Catholic
#2 Lansing Sexton vs. #5 Detroit Douglass
#3 Gull Lake vs. #10 Grand Rapids Christian
#12 Muskegon Heights vs. #16 Standish-Sterling
Semi Predictions
Gull Lake vs. Muskegon Heights
Detroit Country Day vs. Lansing Sexton - it is a shame because this would be more like the championship game.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
March Tragedy Precedes March Magic
This is suppose to be a time of excitement and anticipation for the teams entering the State playoffs starting tomorrow however with the tragic news of the passing of Wes Leonard it has changed the theme from March Magic to March Tragic.
There are no words strong enough to capture what his family and community in Fennville are dealing with at this time. My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone whose life was touched by this outstanding young man. I have never met Wes Leonard and to be perfectly honest with you, had not heard of him before Friday. Now I wish I had. After reading and hearing all the comments about him, I feel at least like I knew the person he was. He was not just an athlete but rather a leader, a friend, someone who cared for others and about life. His parents, although grief stricken, should feel extremely proud that he lived his life with meaning and brought meaning to others. In my eyes, that is what made Wes Leonard a real winner.
This has to be the most exhausting, emotional time for the family and team. Visiting hours today, the decision to play the basketball game tomorrow and the funeral on Tuesday will take its toll on this team. For me, I have no understanding of why this tragedy happened and I personally feel that it is not my place to question something that is far greater than me but I do know that their is a plan and reason for these happenings. I don't know what that is but I just know there is. If it was my plan, I would see to it that Wes was up in heaven coaching from a high and directing his players and teammates to the State Promised Land of the Breslin Center, still undefeated and winning the Class C Championship game on Saturday, March 26. Now that, for me, would be the ultimate definition of March Magic.
God Bless and do your best Fennville, there are a lot of people pulling for you.
The State playoffs get in full swing tomorrow and before they do I wanted to post my final rankings. On every other blog I have combined my rankings for the Class A & B schools but with the playoffs starting I will give my final ranking by Class. SNOB RANKINGS.
CLASS A
1. Romulus
2. Ann Arbor Huron
3. Saginaw
4. Kalamazoo Central
5. Warren DeLaSalle
6. Detroit Southeastern
7. Detroit Cody
8. East Lansing
9. Okemos
10 Ypsilanti / Petoskey
CLASS B
1. Detroit Country Day
2. lansing Sexton
3. Flint Powers Catholic
4. Gull Lake
5. Grand Rapids Christian
6. Harper Woods Chandler Park
7. Detroit Douglass
8. Saginaw Swan Valley
9. Lansing Catholic Central
10 Williamston / Muskegon Heights
CLASS C
1. Melvindale ABT
2. Detroit Consortium
3. Flint Beecher
4. Schoolcraft
5. Montague
6. Fennville
7. Saginaw Buena Vista
8. Suttons Bay
9. Sanford-Meridian
10 McBain / Madison Heights Bishop Foley
CLASS D
1. Wyoming Tri-Unity
2. Fulton
3. Superior Central
4. Bay City All Saints
5. Cedarville
6. Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary
7. Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart
8. Oakland Christian
9. Posen
10 Port Sanilac
I hope to have my Final Four Predictions for each class out by tomorrow but heading to the West Coast so they may be delayed a bit.
COLLEGE NEWS
Michigan has earned their way in to the big dance with the victory and season sweep over the Spartans. These two teams are going in completely the opposite directions. Michigan has won 8 of its last 11 games and is getting better each game. They play as a team and have some outstanding young talent in Morris, Hardaway & Morgan to name a few. Michigan State on the otherhand has lost their identity and will not find it come Big Ten tournament or the NCAA's. They are deserving of no better than a 8 to 10seed and that is being generous. Although they won't get a higher seed, Michigan should be seeded higher than MSU. I figure Michigan to get between a 12-14 seed. The team I am curious to see where they get seeded is Oakland. I am assuming they will win their tournament. If they do, it would not suprise me to see them at a 12 or 13 seed. If they lose their tournament I believe they still have an outside chance of getting in. In my mind they are definately deserving of a spot in the top 64.
I had a feeling St. John's was going to lose to Seton Hall. That loss takes away the double bye for them and awards it to Syracuse. May be a blessing in disguise as it is just as tough to sit out two rounds and come in and play as it is to play in all of them. I like the following Big East teams to make it to the Big East semifinals:
Louisville, St. John's, Notre Dame and Pittsburgh. St. John's is the darkhorse, Louisville if they get real hot. Notre Dame is playing the most consistent of the bunch and Pitt has the strength and bench to carry them to the Championship. Should be a great warmup for the Big Dance
North Carolina is playing extremely well right now and their freshman Barnes and Marshall came up big last night in the win over Duke 81-67. North Carolina is to be watched now. This Marshall kid is a fantastic young guard. Another in a long line of outstanding true point guards that have come out of North Carolina.
Kentucky finally won a meaningful road game with a win over Tennessee today, 64-58.
Ohio State had already clinched the Big Ten title thanks to Purdue's letdown loss to Iowa on Saturday but didn't let it stop them from having a statement game against #10 Wisconsin. They buried them 93-65 as John Diebler led the Scarlet & Gray with 27 points including 7 for 8 beyond the arc. By virtue of this smackdown this team, regardless of what happens in the Big Ten tournament, will be a #1 seed in the NCAA.
My picks, as of now, subject to change based on what happens in the tournaments this coming weekend, for the #1 seeds are:
Ohio State / Kansas / Pittsburgh / BYU
BYU could get replaced by Duke or Notre Dame or Texas
Enough for now. Got to get some sleep. Your Basketball SNOB.
There are no words strong enough to capture what his family and community in Fennville are dealing with at this time. My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone whose life was touched by this outstanding young man. I have never met Wes Leonard and to be perfectly honest with you, had not heard of him before Friday. Now I wish I had. After reading and hearing all the comments about him, I feel at least like I knew the person he was. He was not just an athlete but rather a leader, a friend, someone who cared for others and about life. His parents, although grief stricken, should feel extremely proud that he lived his life with meaning and brought meaning to others. In my eyes, that is what made Wes Leonard a real winner.
This has to be the most exhausting, emotional time for the family and team. Visiting hours today, the decision to play the basketball game tomorrow and the funeral on Tuesday will take its toll on this team. For me, I have no understanding of why this tragedy happened and I personally feel that it is not my place to question something that is far greater than me but I do know that their is a plan and reason for these happenings. I don't know what that is but I just know there is. If it was my plan, I would see to it that Wes was up in heaven coaching from a high and directing his players and teammates to the State Promised Land of the Breslin Center, still undefeated and winning the Class C Championship game on Saturday, March 26. Now that, for me, would be the ultimate definition of March Magic.
God Bless and do your best Fennville, there are a lot of people pulling for you.
The State playoffs get in full swing tomorrow and before they do I wanted to post my final rankings. On every other blog I have combined my rankings for the Class A & B schools but with the playoffs starting I will give my final ranking by Class. SNOB RANKINGS.
CLASS A
1. Romulus
2. Ann Arbor Huron
3. Saginaw
4. Kalamazoo Central
5. Warren DeLaSalle
6. Detroit Southeastern
7. Detroit Cody
8. East Lansing
9. Okemos
10 Ypsilanti / Petoskey
CLASS B
1. Detroit Country Day
2. lansing Sexton
3. Flint Powers Catholic
4. Gull Lake
5. Grand Rapids Christian
6. Harper Woods Chandler Park
7. Detroit Douglass
8. Saginaw Swan Valley
9. Lansing Catholic Central
10 Williamston / Muskegon Heights
CLASS C
1. Melvindale ABT
2. Detroit Consortium
3. Flint Beecher
4. Schoolcraft
5. Montague
6. Fennville
7. Saginaw Buena Vista
8. Suttons Bay
9. Sanford-Meridian
10 McBain / Madison Heights Bishop Foley
CLASS D
1. Wyoming Tri-Unity
2. Fulton
3. Superior Central
4. Bay City All Saints
5. Cedarville
6. Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary
7. Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart
8. Oakland Christian
9. Posen
10 Port Sanilac
I hope to have my Final Four Predictions for each class out by tomorrow but heading to the West Coast so they may be delayed a bit.
COLLEGE NEWS
Michigan has earned their way in to the big dance with the victory and season sweep over the Spartans. These two teams are going in completely the opposite directions. Michigan has won 8 of its last 11 games and is getting better each game. They play as a team and have some outstanding young talent in Morris, Hardaway & Morgan to name a few. Michigan State on the otherhand has lost their identity and will not find it come Big Ten tournament or the NCAA's. They are deserving of no better than a 8 to 10seed and that is being generous. Although they won't get a higher seed, Michigan should be seeded higher than MSU. I figure Michigan to get between a 12-14 seed. The team I am curious to see where they get seeded is Oakland. I am assuming they will win their tournament. If they do, it would not suprise me to see them at a 12 or 13 seed. If they lose their tournament I believe they still have an outside chance of getting in. In my mind they are definately deserving of a spot in the top 64.
I had a feeling St. John's was going to lose to Seton Hall. That loss takes away the double bye for them and awards it to Syracuse. May be a blessing in disguise as it is just as tough to sit out two rounds and come in and play as it is to play in all of them. I like the following Big East teams to make it to the Big East semifinals:
Louisville, St. John's, Notre Dame and Pittsburgh. St. John's is the darkhorse, Louisville if they get real hot. Notre Dame is playing the most consistent of the bunch and Pitt has the strength and bench to carry them to the Championship. Should be a great warmup for the Big Dance
North Carolina is playing extremely well right now and their freshman Barnes and Marshall came up big last night in the win over Duke 81-67. North Carolina is to be watched now. This Marshall kid is a fantastic young guard. Another in a long line of outstanding true point guards that have come out of North Carolina.
Kentucky finally won a meaningful road game with a win over Tennessee today, 64-58.
Ohio State had already clinched the Big Ten title thanks to Purdue's letdown loss to Iowa on Saturday but didn't let it stop them from having a statement game against #10 Wisconsin. They buried them 93-65 as John Diebler led the Scarlet & Gray with 27 points including 7 for 8 beyond the arc. By virtue of this smackdown this team, regardless of what happens in the Big Ten tournament, will be a #1 seed in the NCAA.
My picks, as of now, subject to change based on what happens in the tournaments this coming weekend, for the #1 seeds are:
Ohio State / Kansas / Pittsburgh / BYU
BYU could get replaced by Duke or Notre Dame or Texas
Enough for now. Got to get some sleep. Your Basketball SNOB.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Eagles Soar to Top
The showdown and expectations that surrounded the meeting between the states two top teams did not disappoint. Before an overflow crowd at Detroit Country Day, everyone got their $5 worth the price of admission and more when the states two best teams, Romulus (#1 in Class A) and Detroit Country Day (#1 in Class B), clashed on Thursday night. It was a game that was played like a Championship Title Bout, like there was no tomorrow. It was Big Man vs Big Man and they slugged it out like heavyweight contenders. In the end, the Romulus Eagles and their Big man, Justin Moss were declared the winners by virtue of a 59-57 final score. This one literally came down to the last 3/10 of a second on the clock before it was decided. Detroit Country Day was trailing 59-57 with 3 seconds left when the Yellow Jackets Chris Fowler intercepted the Romulus inbound pass in the right corner of the court and quickly fed Amir Williams under the basket who was hacked to prevent from scoring the tying bucket. Williams went to the line with 3 tenths of a second on the clock. He missed the first of two and had to intentionally miss the second and hope for a tap in but Justin Moss rebounded the ball and the Eagles celebration began. It would have been something if he would have made both and sent it into overtime because many people exited the gym when Romulus went up 59-53 and had foul shots coming at the 43 second mark. Then again when DCD trailed 59-55 after Williams missed a 3 footer and Romulus grabbed the rebound and was fouled with 10 seconds left. However, once again they missed another front end of a one and one and Country Day quickly raced down for a Fowler layup to cut the lead to 2 with 3 seconds left. Romulus was forced to use a timeout as they could not inbound the ball. On their next try following the time out, it was an errant inbound pass that Fowler came up with and got into Williams who was able to put up a shot and get fouled before the final horn.
This game was played not with the caliber of a Championship game but rather with the passion, intensity and closeness of one. There was a lot of physical contact, a lot of bodies hitting the floor, too many turnovers and a fair share of ugly looking and forced shots but my wife and I thoroughly enjoyed this game. It was filled with Alley Ooopp Dunks, block shots, pressing defensive play and the Battle of the Big Men. In this game, my vote went to Justin Moss. He was physical all game with Williams, denying him the ball down low on the block, taking it at him hard on the offensive end. He played with his body forcefully against Williams all game, he played with no fear and a sense of proving that he was the better Big Man. He scored 24 points had 9 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 dunks - one of which was an Alley Ooopp that he had to reach back for and slam as he fell and landed on his back. Williams was pretty much held in check in the first half (6 pts) and only touched the ball down low twice in the first quarter and was forced to go up top to assert himself and unclog the middle for other players to extort. He came out much more aggressive in the second half and scored 15 of his 21 points in the later half. He also finished with 11 rebounds, 2 blocks and 3 dunks.
The first quarter was an active one and one where the lead did not get any larger than a 4 pt spread with DCD leading 20-16 after 1. Romulus then came out with aggressive attacking man to man defense in the second quarter and held Country Day without a point for over 4 minutes to start the second quarter. Romulus ended up limited DCD to 5 total points in this period and outscored them 18-5 to take a 34-25 halftime lead. But Country Day came out and scored 6 straight points in the first minute of the third quarter to cut the lead to 34-31. Romulus maintained the lead at 42-40 going into the last quarter. Moss and Jamyles Coleman led the fourth quarter charge with 7 & 5 points respectively and Senior Derrick Stephens hit a big three pointer with 1:48 to go to put Romulus back in the lead, 53-52 after they had fallen behind. Then Coleman nailed another big 3 with 1:20 left in the game to break a 53-53 tie and give the Eagles a 56-53 lead. Then it was Moss's turn to come up big as he attacked the basket scoring and drawing the foul and converting the free throw to make it 59-53 with 43 seconds. That is when people started filing out the doors. But Country Day did not go down without a fight and that they did until the end.
In the end, Romulus was the more aggressive team, Moss was more impressive than Williams, the defense was played with an intensity that I have not seen from a collective unit yet this season. All 5 players for Romulus that were on the floor played aggressive, shut down defense. Senior Mouse Boler was a pleasure to watch on the defensive end. This 5'11 guard was in the jock of every player he defended and did not get beat, had 3 steals and forced two jump balls and several turnovers. This Romulus team, when they play as a team unit, is very strong. They play 8 players, they all guard well, they have very quick guard play with Coleman (quickest), Stephens, Boler, Clark and Lee. They have athleticism with Lee and EC Matthews and they have a Big Man that plays with a football player mentality but a feathery soft touch on his shots. This is a talented team that has a trio of underclassmen in Lee and sophomores Wes Clark and EC Matthews that will allow them to compete again next year.
Both teams struggled with the outside shot tonight and Romulus really hit a cold spell in the third and early fourth quarters. For Country Day, sharpshooter Mahesh Umasankar had 8 points but missed quite a few 3 pointers and shot well below his normal percentage from the field. Sophomore Austin Price played very impressively in limited time in this game. I believe if they had used him more in this game the outcome might have been different and Bailey, Fowler and Knight struggled with the ball especially in the second half.
Overall this was an entertaining and fun war to watch tonight. It has me excited about the state playoffs starting on Monday and was just what I needed to get me psyched for my annual pilgrimage to Breslin at the end of March.
Time to catch some ZZZZZZZ'sssssss
Your Basketball SNOB
This game was played not with the caliber of a Championship game but rather with the passion, intensity and closeness of one. There was a lot of physical contact, a lot of bodies hitting the floor, too many turnovers and a fair share of ugly looking and forced shots but my wife and I thoroughly enjoyed this game. It was filled with Alley Ooopp Dunks, block shots, pressing defensive play and the Battle of the Big Men. In this game, my vote went to Justin Moss. He was physical all game with Williams, denying him the ball down low on the block, taking it at him hard on the offensive end. He played with his body forcefully against Williams all game, he played with no fear and a sense of proving that he was the better Big Man. He scored 24 points had 9 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 dunks - one of which was an Alley Ooopp that he had to reach back for and slam as he fell and landed on his back. Williams was pretty much held in check in the first half (6 pts) and only touched the ball down low twice in the first quarter and was forced to go up top to assert himself and unclog the middle for other players to extort. He came out much more aggressive in the second half and scored 15 of his 21 points in the later half. He also finished with 11 rebounds, 2 blocks and 3 dunks.
The first quarter was an active one and one where the lead did not get any larger than a 4 pt spread with DCD leading 20-16 after 1. Romulus then came out with aggressive attacking man to man defense in the second quarter and held Country Day without a point for over 4 minutes to start the second quarter. Romulus ended up limited DCD to 5 total points in this period and outscored them 18-5 to take a 34-25 halftime lead. But Country Day came out and scored 6 straight points in the first minute of the third quarter to cut the lead to 34-31. Romulus maintained the lead at 42-40 going into the last quarter. Moss and Jamyles Coleman led the fourth quarter charge with 7 & 5 points respectively and Senior Derrick Stephens hit a big three pointer with 1:48 to go to put Romulus back in the lead, 53-52 after they had fallen behind. Then Coleman nailed another big 3 with 1:20 left in the game to break a 53-53 tie and give the Eagles a 56-53 lead. Then it was Moss's turn to come up big as he attacked the basket scoring and drawing the foul and converting the free throw to make it 59-53 with 43 seconds. That is when people started filing out the doors. But Country Day did not go down without a fight and that they did until the end.
In the end, Romulus was the more aggressive team, Moss was more impressive than Williams, the defense was played with an intensity that I have not seen from a collective unit yet this season. All 5 players for Romulus that were on the floor played aggressive, shut down defense. Senior Mouse Boler was a pleasure to watch on the defensive end. This 5'11 guard was in the jock of every player he defended and did not get beat, had 3 steals and forced two jump balls and several turnovers. This Romulus team, when they play as a team unit, is very strong. They play 8 players, they all guard well, they have very quick guard play with Coleman (quickest), Stephens, Boler, Clark and Lee. They have athleticism with Lee and EC Matthews and they have a Big Man that plays with a football player mentality but a feathery soft touch on his shots. This is a talented team that has a trio of underclassmen in Lee and sophomores Wes Clark and EC Matthews that will allow them to compete again next year.
Both teams struggled with the outside shot tonight and Romulus really hit a cold spell in the third and early fourth quarters. For Country Day, sharpshooter Mahesh Umasankar had 8 points but missed quite a few 3 pointers and shot well below his normal percentage from the field. Sophomore Austin Price played very impressively in limited time in this game. I believe if they had used him more in this game the outcome might have been different and Bailey, Fowler and Knight struggled with the ball especially in the second half.
Overall this was an entertaining and fun war to watch tonight. It has me excited about the state playoffs starting on Monday and was just what I needed to get me psyched for my annual pilgrimage to Breslin at the end of March.
Time to catch some ZZZZZZZ'sssssss
Your Basketball SNOB
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Country Day Remains # 1
I attended the Detroit Country Day - Saginaw Arthur Hill game Saturday night as my default game. I really wanted to attend the Romulus - Kalamazoo Central game but couldn't work it into my schedule and of course missed the better game. Anyway more on that later.
Detroit Country Day maintained their number 1 position in my rankings based on a furious fourth quarter pull away victory where they scored 30 points in the 4th to finish off SAH, 86-68. DCD started strong out of the box led by Amir Williams 8 points and 7 rebounds in the first quarter to stake them to a 21-7 lead. SAH Big man Jordan Hare picked up his second foul only 4 minutes into the game and sat for the remainder of the half. DCD led 39-26 at half as SAH outscored Country Day 19-18. Saginaw had an explosive 3rd quarter outscoring Country Day 30-17 to tie the game at 56 at the end of three. Arthur Hill got back into this with aggressive defense, quickness and attacking the basket. Just as Saginaw did it to Country Day they returned the favor in the 4th quarter by outscoring them 30-12 and running away with this one. Amir Williams was dominating presence underneath. He scored 32 points, had 18 rebounds, and 6 monster dunks. He was 8-10 from the free throw line and the remainder of his scoring came from within 6 feet. Jordan Price contributed 14 and Lee Bailey chipped in 12 in the win. Country Day is a deep team with players like sharpshooters Zavadil and Umasanker coming off the bench. Then you add sophomore Austin Price, who is too good to be sitting the bench as much as he does. However I did notice a weakness to this team in this game, their defense. They are known for have tough defenders but I will tell you that I did not see it in this game. They were definately outquicked in this game and Chris Fowler has been slowed by the knee injury and is not the defensive player he once was. Benjamin Batts led SAH with 21 and got by the DCD defense too easily in the second half. Jordan Hare also played well considering the limited time he played. He went right at Williams in the second half and hit three consecutive bank half hooks over Williams. He finished with 15 points, 13 in the second half with 2 dunks. He showed some tenacidy that I hadn't seen in him before. He will be tough to stop next year especially if he puts on about 25 lbs of muscle.
Hillsdale was there looking at Fowler. I hope for football because this guard is not as good as he thinks he is.
Albion was also there but not sure who they were looking at. Ray McCallum was there to see his old team mates play.
Romulus will move up in my rankings based on their strength of schedule and 69-68 come from behind victory over K-Zoo Central last night. Justin Moss led Romulus with 14 points but as usual was very balanced. This team is deep as well and I am really looking forward to their showdown with Country Day on Thursday, 3/3 at DCD. This will decide the number 1 ranking going into States.
SNOB's Rankings:
1. Detroit Country Day (1)
2. Romulus (3) Move up based on SOS and win over Kzoo Central
3. Ann Arbor Huron (2)
4. Detroit Southeastern (4)
5. Lansing Sexton (6)
6. Kalamazoo Central (7)
7. Saginaw (5)
8. Detroit Cody (9)
9. Gull Lake (12)
10. Lansing Eastern (10)
11. Grand Rapids Christian (13)
12. Flint Powers Catholic (15)
13. Chandler Park Academy (16)
14. Southfield (11)
15. Warren DeLaSalle (14)
My Strongsville Spy reported in late last night that he just saw a great game in the Cleveland area. The Number 1 team in the state of Ohio, Garfield Heights, who was 19-0 got knocked off by #15 Strongsville (15-5) 86-79 in OT in the season finale. Strongville was lead by their Big man, Aaron White (Iowa) with 36 points and guard Gurjeet Gil who finished with 27 pts. Garfield is a talented team and whose star player, Trey Lewis will be attending Penn State, who my spy says has better all around game than Keith Appling. Lewis had 24 but sophomore Tony Farmer led the losers with 30 points.
In case you were wondering, Ohio has some pretty good high school basketball too.
College Hoops
Jimmer Fredette and BYU showed they are the better team in the Mountain West and will fare well in the tournament with their 80-67 win over San Diego State. Fredette had 25 pts and showed he can shoot and score from the Moon. He has no limit on his range. He shots are as deep as Peeper Roberson (Saginaw) used to take except Fredette's go in. Fredette is from a small community in Glen's Falls NY called Lake George. I know it well as I spent a few lost weeks there in my youth vacationing and partying. It is known for its beautiful lake and a quaint resort town but soon will be known as the place Jimmer Fredette grew up. BYU stroked 14 - 3 pointers in that game and have others that can shoot as well. They are a tall team and will make some noise in the Dance. As Good as Fredette is, Kawhi Leonard is better. This kid is only a sophomore and has some much athleticism it is scary. He can flat out play.
My Syracuse boys pulled out another strong win over Georgetown, 58-51 as Scoop Jardine came to play and led the Orange with 17.
St. John's did it again and knocked off another top 15 team, this time on the road, beating Villanova 81-68. Dwight Hardy had 34 points and is the leader of this team that is on a mission. With the win, they might finish in the top 4 of the big east which would give them a double bye. My bold prediction is that St. John's is going to win the big east tournament. They are dancing for sure. They are the comeback team of the Year.
Kentucky beat Florida as I predicted, why not, they were at home.
I believe there is a relation between the #1 seed and the Sports Illustrated cover jinx. #1 Duke falls to Va Tech, 64-60 and that might be enough to get Va Tech in to the tournament.
Baylor, who I thought was out, is a little closer to being in after knocking off #21 Texas A&M, 58-51.
#5 Texas gets upset by Colorado 91-89 but that victory won't be enough to get Colorado (18-10) in to the tourney.
#10 Arizona gets clobbered by UCLA 71-49 and UCLA (21-8) is quietly kicking it into gear, just in time.
#18 Vanderbilt (21-7) is a team to keep an eye on in the tournament.
Michigan's big win over Minnesota gets them one step closer to the dance. A win over MSU on Thursday, will secure a spot for them. Hardaway and Morris are playing outstanding basketball for the Wolverines. Hardaway was 5-5 from behind the arc in the first half over Minnesota.
MSU lost ugly at home today to Purdue. Johnson showed Izzo and the Spartans the importance of a big man that can contribute on both ends. MSU will probably make the dance but I think they don't deserve it.
In case you haven't figured it out by now, my loyalties lie with the Orangemen and the Big East. Marshon Brooks broke the Big East single game scoring record this past week by scoring 52 in a 94-93 loss to Notre Dame. He broke a record that stood for almost 20 years. Brooks can flat our score, he is 2nd in the nation in scoring averaging 25 a game. You don't hear much about him because Providence is not one of the 11 teams that will make the Tourney. The Big East is the BIG BEAST. They will most definately get 11 teams in. They have 8 teams in the AP top 25, which has never happened before in the NCAA. They have 10 teams in the RPI top 40 and 26 out of 70 games between ranked opponents have been Big East clashes. It will be interesting to see how they will be distributed throughout the brackets in the NCAA.
That's it for now. Don't forget the big games on Thursday, 3/3:
Michigan State at Michigan
Romulus at Detroit Country Day
High School playoffs begin March 7 cultivating in the State Semi-finals at the Breslin Center March 24-26.
Your Basketball SNOB
Detroit Country Day maintained their number 1 position in my rankings based on a furious fourth quarter pull away victory where they scored 30 points in the 4th to finish off SAH, 86-68. DCD started strong out of the box led by Amir Williams 8 points and 7 rebounds in the first quarter to stake them to a 21-7 lead. SAH Big man Jordan Hare picked up his second foul only 4 minutes into the game and sat for the remainder of the half. DCD led 39-26 at half as SAH outscored Country Day 19-18. Saginaw had an explosive 3rd quarter outscoring Country Day 30-17 to tie the game at 56 at the end of three. Arthur Hill got back into this with aggressive defense, quickness and attacking the basket. Just as Saginaw did it to Country Day they returned the favor in the 4th quarter by outscoring them 30-12 and running away with this one. Amir Williams was dominating presence underneath. He scored 32 points, had 18 rebounds, and 6 monster dunks. He was 8-10 from the free throw line and the remainder of his scoring came from within 6 feet. Jordan Price contributed 14 and Lee Bailey chipped in 12 in the win. Country Day is a deep team with players like sharpshooters Zavadil and Umasanker coming off the bench. Then you add sophomore Austin Price, who is too good to be sitting the bench as much as he does. However I did notice a weakness to this team in this game, their defense. They are known for have tough defenders but I will tell you that I did not see it in this game. They were definately outquicked in this game and Chris Fowler has been slowed by the knee injury and is not the defensive player he once was. Benjamin Batts led SAH with 21 and got by the DCD defense too easily in the second half. Jordan Hare also played well considering the limited time he played. He went right at Williams in the second half and hit three consecutive bank half hooks over Williams. He finished with 15 points, 13 in the second half with 2 dunks. He showed some tenacidy that I hadn't seen in him before. He will be tough to stop next year especially if he puts on about 25 lbs of muscle.
Hillsdale was there looking at Fowler. I hope for football because this guard is not as good as he thinks he is.
Albion was also there but not sure who they were looking at. Ray McCallum was there to see his old team mates play.
Romulus will move up in my rankings based on their strength of schedule and 69-68 come from behind victory over K-Zoo Central last night. Justin Moss led Romulus with 14 points but as usual was very balanced. This team is deep as well and I am really looking forward to their showdown with Country Day on Thursday, 3/3 at DCD. This will decide the number 1 ranking going into States.
SNOB's Rankings:
1. Detroit Country Day (1)
2. Romulus (3) Move up based on SOS and win over Kzoo Central
3. Ann Arbor Huron (2)
4. Detroit Southeastern (4)
5. Lansing Sexton (6)
6. Kalamazoo Central (7)
7. Saginaw (5)
8. Detroit Cody (9)
9. Gull Lake (12)
10. Lansing Eastern (10)
11. Grand Rapids Christian (13)
12. Flint Powers Catholic (15)
13. Chandler Park Academy (16)
14. Southfield (11)
15. Warren DeLaSalle (14)
My Strongsville Spy reported in late last night that he just saw a great game in the Cleveland area. The Number 1 team in the state of Ohio, Garfield Heights, who was 19-0 got knocked off by #15 Strongsville (15-5) 86-79 in OT in the season finale. Strongville was lead by their Big man, Aaron White (Iowa) with 36 points and guard Gurjeet Gil who finished with 27 pts. Garfield is a talented team and whose star player, Trey Lewis will be attending Penn State, who my spy says has better all around game than Keith Appling. Lewis had 24 but sophomore Tony Farmer led the losers with 30 points.
In case you were wondering, Ohio has some pretty good high school basketball too.
College Hoops
Jimmer Fredette and BYU showed they are the better team in the Mountain West and will fare well in the tournament with their 80-67 win over San Diego State. Fredette had 25 pts and showed he can shoot and score from the Moon. He has no limit on his range. He shots are as deep as Peeper Roberson (Saginaw) used to take except Fredette's go in. Fredette is from a small community in Glen's Falls NY called Lake George. I know it well as I spent a few lost weeks there in my youth vacationing and partying. It is known for its beautiful lake and a quaint resort town but soon will be known as the place Jimmer Fredette grew up. BYU stroked 14 - 3 pointers in that game and have others that can shoot as well. They are a tall team and will make some noise in the Dance. As Good as Fredette is, Kawhi Leonard is better. This kid is only a sophomore and has some much athleticism it is scary. He can flat out play.
My Syracuse boys pulled out another strong win over Georgetown, 58-51 as Scoop Jardine came to play and led the Orange with 17.
St. John's did it again and knocked off another top 15 team, this time on the road, beating Villanova 81-68. Dwight Hardy had 34 points and is the leader of this team that is on a mission. With the win, they might finish in the top 4 of the big east which would give them a double bye. My bold prediction is that St. John's is going to win the big east tournament. They are dancing for sure. They are the comeback team of the Year.
Kentucky beat Florida as I predicted, why not, they were at home.
I believe there is a relation between the #1 seed and the Sports Illustrated cover jinx. #1 Duke falls to Va Tech, 64-60 and that might be enough to get Va Tech in to the tournament.
Baylor, who I thought was out, is a little closer to being in after knocking off #21 Texas A&M, 58-51.
#5 Texas gets upset by Colorado 91-89 but that victory won't be enough to get Colorado (18-10) in to the tourney.
#10 Arizona gets clobbered by UCLA 71-49 and UCLA (21-8) is quietly kicking it into gear, just in time.
#18 Vanderbilt (21-7) is a team to keep an eye on in the tournament.
Michigan's big win over Minnesota gets them one step closer to the dance. A win over MSU on Thursday, will secure a spot for them. Hardaway and Morris are playing outstanding basketball for the Wolverines. Hardaway was 5-5 from behind the arc in the first half over Minnesota.
MSU lost ugly at home today to Purdue. Johnson showed Izzo and the Spartans the importance of a big man that can contribute on both ends. MSU will probably make the dance but I think they don't deserve it.
In case you haven't figured it out by now, my loyalties lie with the Orangemen and the Big East. Marshon Brooks broke the Big East single game scoring record this past week by scoring 52 in a 94-93 loss to Notre Dame. He broke a record that stood for almost 20 years. Brooks can flat our score, he is 2nd in the nation in scoring averaging 25 a game. You don't hear much about him because Providence is not one of the 11 teams that will make the Tourney. The Big East is the BIG BEAST. They will most definately get 11 teams in. They have 8 teams in the AP top 25, which has never happened before in the NCAA. They have 10 teams in the RPI top 40 and 26 out of 70 games between ranked opponents have been Big East clashes. It will be interesting to see how they will be distributed throughout the brackets in the NCAA.
That's it for now. Don't forget the big games on Thursday, 3/3:
Michigan State at Michigan
Romulus at Detroit Country Day
High School playoffs begin March 7 cultivating in the State Semi-finals at the Breslin Center March 24-26.
Your Basketball SNOB
Thursday, February 24, 2011
My Old Kentucky Home
My Old Kentucky Home never rang so true as it has this year for the Wildcats. Why you ask......because they are horrible on the road this year. This Kentucky team has a record of 19-8 yet is ranked #22 in the country. Their home record is 16-0 and you guessed it, that makes their road record a dismal 3-8. How many teams do you know of that are in the top 25 and have lost 8 road games. Now I am not saying they are not a top 25 worthy team in fact based on their strength of schedule and their close road loses they are deserving. What I am saying though is strong teams find a way to finish and win on the road. Here is a breakdown of their road losses:
UCONN lost 84-67 one of only a few blowout losses
North Carolina lost 75-73
Georgia lost 77-70
Alabama lost 68-66
Mississippi lost 71-69
Florida lost 70-68
Vanderbilt lost 81-77
Arkansas lost 77-76 On Wednesday night
Six of those losses were by 4 points or less and five of those were by 2 or less. The Kentucky teams of old found a way to win those games. They have lost 4 consecutive road games and lost 6 of their last 7 road contests. The good news is that they have only three games left with two at home. If they hold true to this consistent performance they should upset #13 Florida on Saturday at Home and then avenge an earlier road loss to Vanderbilt on Tuesday before taking it the road to probably lose to Tennessee on the final regular season game. What a tale of two teams, 16-0 at home and 3-8 on the road. Their three road wins you ask............Portland, Louisville & South Carolina. With the SEC tournament held in Atlanta they will have to see if they can muster up some good old fashion home cookin' to carry them into the Big Dance or they could see an early second round exit in the field of 65.
Cincinnati's win over Georgetown last night in DC gives the Bearcats another claw in their paw as they head into the big dance.
Marquette's big 74-67 OT win over Connecticut tonight in Storrs should make Marquette the 11th Big East team to get a bid to the Big Dance.
Wisconsin's three point bank shot desperation buzzer beater was a shot to the gut of Michigan and may have dashed the Wolverines last chance at securing a bid to the tournament. What a shame as they played well enough to win this game.
Don't forget the following games this weekend:
Saturday
#7 BYU at #6 San Diego State University 2:00
#17 Syracuse at #11 Georgetown 12:00
#13 Florida at #22 Kentucky 4:00
#23 St. John's at #15 Villanova 2:00
Sunday
#4 Pittsburgh at #16 Louisville 2:00
#8 Purdue at Michigan State 1:00
On an NBA note - how about the debut for Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups at the Garden in the NY Blue. Three players score 20 or more for the Knicks and Stoudamire gets 19 on significantly less number of shots than Anthony. Carmelo drops 27 points with 10 rebounds in his new Blue uniform and Billups chips in 21. It was a party at the Garden last night but how long will this party last with the likes of Stoudamire and Anthony that both are use to be center stage spotlight. Time will tell if either team or egos wins out in this one.
Look for my High School rankings coming out this weekend. Good night from Your Basketball SNOB
:
UCONN lost 84-67 one of only a few blowout losses
North Carolina lost 75-73
Georgia lost 77-70
Alabama lost 68-66
Mississippi lost 71-69
Florida lost 70-68
Vanderbilt lost 81-77
Arkansas lost 77-76 On Wednesday night
Six of those losses were by 4 points or less and five of those were by 2 or less. The Kentucky teams of old found a way to win those games. They have lost 4 consecutive road games and lost 6 of their last 7 road contests. The good news is that they have only three games left with two at home. If they hold true to this consistent performance they should upset #13 Florida on Saturday at Home and then avenge an earlier road loss to Vanderbilt on Tuesday before taking it the road to probably lose to Tennessee on the final regular season game. What a tale of two teams, 16-0 at home and 3-8 on the road. Their three road wins you ask............Portland, Louisville & South Carolina. With the SEC tournament held in Atlanta they will have to see if they can muster up some good old fashion home cookin' to carry them into the Big Dance or they could see an early second round exit in the field of 65.
Cincinnati's win over Georgetown last night in DC gives the Bearcats another claw in their paw as they head into the big dance.
Marquette's big 74-67 OT win over Connecticut tonight in Storrs should make Marquette the 11th Big East team to get a bid to the Big Dance.
Wisconsin's three point bank shot desperation buzzer beater was a shot to the gut of Michigan and may have dashed the Wolverines last chance at securing a bid to the tournament. What a shame as they played well enough to win this game.
Don't forget the following games this weekend:
Saturday
#7 BYU at #6 San Diego State University 2:00
#17 Syracuse at #11 Georgetown 12:00
#13 Florida at #22 Kentucky 4:00
#23 St. John's at #15 Villanova 2:00
Sunday
#4 Pittsburgh at #16 Louisville 2:00
#8 Purdue at Michigan State 1:00
On an NBA note - how about the debut for Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups at the Garden in the NY Blue. Three players score 20 or more for the Knicks and Stoudamire gets 19 on significantly less number of shots than Anthony. Carmelo drops 27 points with 10 rebounds in his new Blue uniform and Billups chips in 21. It was a party at the Garden last night but how long will this party last with the likes of Stoudamire and Anthony that both are use to be center stage spotlight. Time will tell if either team or egos wins out in this one.
Look for my High School rankings coming out this weekend. Good night from Your Basketball SNOB
:
Monday, February 21, 2011
Top 10 Dumped Again
Another week and weekend where the Top 10 went down to defeat in numbers. Seven of the top 10 teams lost this week, only Duke, San Diego State and BYU won. I don't recall a year where we have had so much change with the top spot or within the top 10. This is a very balanced year and one where March Madness could come down to 10-12 possible teams that could win it. Here is a quick recap.
1. Kansas (25-2) Gets smoked by rival Kansas St 84-68 but bounces back with win over Colorado on Saturday
2. Texas (23-4) Loses to Nebraska on Saturday 70-67
3. Ohio State (25-2) Loses to #11 Purdue in one of the toughest and loudest places to win, Mackey Arena, 73-62
4. Pittsburgh (24-3) Becomes another MSG victim of St. John's, 60-59. St. John's is making a lot of noise
5. Duke (25-2) Wins 79-57 over Georgia Tech - they will be new number 1 and will stay there until NCAA
6. San Diego St (27-1) Beats Air Force 70-58. Should get number 2 spot but probably won't. Not enough respect for this team
7. BYU (25-2) Tops TCU 79-56. Looking forward to showdown with SDSU this coming weekend
8. Notre Dame (21-5) Drop game at West Virginia 72-58 on Saturday
9. Georgetown (21-6) Loses to #13 UCONN 78-70 on Tuesday but rebounds to win over USF on Saturday by 61-55 margin
10 Wisconsin (20-6) Lose to #11 Purdue on Wednesday 70-62 but bounce back against Penn St to win 76-66 on Sunday
You should see Duke #1 and San Diego State University # 2 but they won't put them at #2 because of Strength of schedule. You should also see Purdue and Arizona enter the top 10 and it would not surprise me to see St. John's in the top 25 as they have a SOS rating of 3 and RPI rating of 16 and just beat a very physical Pittsburgh team. The Big East will get 10 teams in for sure and now have a good shot of getting 11 in. That is dominance.
Speaking of the Big East, my Syracuse Orangemen had another scare at home against Rutgers as Rutgers missed a 3 at the end of regulation that would have given them a HUGE upset at the Carrier Dome. The Orange survived in OT thanks to Chris Joseph and won 84-80.
Michigan is keeping their NCAA hopes alive with a nice come from behind win at Iowa in OT as well. They won 75-72 and were paced by an unbelievable freshman performance by Tim Hardaway Jr who scored 30 and had a nasty in your face dunk down the stretched that he also got fouled on and converted the free throw. This young team is really starting to come together and will be a contender next year. They have won 4 out of the last 5 and need to win 2 of their last 3 to have a chance to make the dance. It will not be easy as they face Wisconsin at Home, Minnesota on the road and finish at home vs. Michigan State. That last game on Saturday March 5th could decide which Michigan team makes it in to the NCAA's.
Michigan State won a big game on College Game Day Saturday as Kalin Lucas once again carried this team to victory. He scored 25 and was not to be denied on this night in their 61-57 victory over Illinois. The Spartans are now 15-11 but only 7-7 in league play. They have 4 games remaining and will have to win at least three to be eligible for the Dance. They do have SOS on their side but must win at Minnesota and beat Iowa at home for sure. The games that will challenge them will be at home against Purdue (Saturday 2/27) and on the road at Michigan on 3/5. Sparty is at least playing more with a sense of urgency and desperation and they will need that to succeed.
Western Michigan won another close game at home on Saturday over Illinois State, 68-65. They have now won 6 of their last 7 and have won their last three at home by margins of 2, 3 and 2. They are 16-10 and are leading the Western Conference of the MAC with a 7-4 record. They are led by Demetrius Ward (Detroit Pershing) who has scored in double figures for 10 straight games now.
University of Detroit Mercy is fading fast and is at a disappointing 6th place in the Horizon league with a 9-8 conference record. They have lost 3 of their last 4 games and now sit at an even 500 record of 15-15 on the season. I was expecting better from this team especially with the addition of Ray McCallum. While he does lead the team in scoring at 14 a game and leads in assists I thought his play would translate to more wins. What will be interesting is if he will be a recruiting magnet for the better Detroit PSL players to stay at home and join forces with him going forward.
Oakland University continues to roll up the wins and the points. They won again at home for their 20th win of the season and 25 consecutive home conference win. They are now 20-9 on the season and 15-1 in conference and virtually impossible to beat at home in conference play. In their 105-96 win over South Dakota State they were led by 22 apiece from both Larry Wright and Travis Bader. Bader once again was strong from behind the arc as he was 6-10 from 3 point land. This Oakland team is very good and one that I predict will win a NCAA first round game for their first time ever this year.
Purdue's win over Ohio State showed that they can play with anyone and are a team to watch come tournament time. E'twaun Moore's record high 38 points was sick as no one from Ohio State could stop him.
Some great games this week and weekend getting us all amped for conference and tournament play.
Monday 2/21 #17 Syracuse (22-6) vs. #15 Villanova (21-6)
Wednesday 2/23 #23 Temple (21-5) vs. #5 Duke (25-2) - We will see if the Atlantic 10 can compete with the Dukies
Wednesday 2/23 #10 Wisconsin (20-6) vs. Michigan (17-11) - just a local game of big interest
Saturday 2/26 #6 San Diego State (27-1) vs. #7 BYU (25-2) - A chance for SDSU to avenge their only loss of the season
Saturday 2/26 #9 Georgetown (21-6) vs. #17 Syracuse (22-6) - at Verizon Center in DC
Saturday 2/26 #14 Florida (21-5) at #22 Kentucky (19-7) - Kentucky is terrible road team but this one is at home. Should be good game
Saturday 2/26 #15 Villanova (21-6) vs. St. John's (17-9) - St. John's is visiting but should be ranked in top 25 by then
Sunday 2/27 #4 Pittsburgh (24-3) at #16 Louisville (20-7) - We will see how well Pitt rebounds. Strength vs. Athleticism in this one
Sunday 2/27 #14 Purdue (22-5) at Michigan State (15-11) - local interest game again and Purdue will be in top 10 by then
Enjoy the games, it is heat up time for some or freeze and stay out in the cold.
Your Basketball SNOB
1. Kansas (25-2) Gets smoked by rival Kansas St 84-68 but bounces back with win over Colorado on Saturday
2. Texas (23-4) Loses to Nebraska on Saturday 70-67
3. Ohio State (25-2) Loses to #11 Purdue in one of the toughest and loudest places to win, Mackey Arena, 73-62
4. Pittsburgh (24-3) Becomes another MSG victim of St. John's, 60-59. St. John's is making a lot of noise
5. Duke (25-2) Wins 79-57 over Georgia Tech - they will be new number 1 and will stay there until NCAA
6. San Diego St (27-1) Beats Air Force 70-58. Should get number 2 spot but probably won't. Not enough respect for this team
7. BYU (25-2) Tops TCU 79-56. Looking forward to showdown with SDSU this coming weekend
8. Notre Dame (21-5) Drop game at West Virginia 72-58 on Saturday
9. Georgetown (21-6) Loses to #13 UCONN 78-70 on Tuesday but rebounds to win over USF on Saturday by 61-55 margin
10 Wisconsin (20-6) Lose to #11 Purdue on Wednesday 70-62 but bounce back against Penn St to win 76-66 on Sunday
You should see Duke #1 and San Diego State University # 2 but they won't put them at #2 because of Strength of schedule. You should also see Purdue and Arizona enter the top 10 and it would not surprise me to see St. John's in the top 25 as they have a SOS rating of 3 and RPI rating of 16 and just beat a very physical Pittsburgh team. The Big East will get 10 teams in for sure and now have a good shot of getting 11 in. That is dominance.
Speaking of the Big East, my Syracuse Orangemen had another scare at home against Rutgers as Rutgers missed a 3 at the end of regulation that would have given them a HUGE upset at the Carrier Dome. The Orange survived in OT thanks to Chris Joseph and won 84-80.
Michigan is keeping their NCAA hopes alive with a nice come from behind win at Iowa in OT as well. They won 75-72 and were paced by an unbelievable freshman performance by Tim Hardaway Jr who scored 30 and had a nasty in your face dunk down the stretched that he also got fouled on and converted the free throw. This young team is really starting to come together and will be a contender next year. They have won 4 out of the last 5 and need to win 2 of their last 3 to have a chance to make the dance. It will not be easy as they face Wisconsin at Home, Minnesota on the road and finish at home vs. Michigan State. That last game on Saturday March 5th could decide which Michigan team makes it in to the NCAA's.
Michigan State won a big game on College Game Day Saturday as Kalin Lucas once again carried this team to victory. He scored 25 and was not to be denied on this night in their 61-57 victory over Illinois. The Spartans are now 15-11 but only 7-7 in league play. They have 4 games remaining and will have to win at least three to be eligible for the Dance. They do have SOS on their side but must win at Minnesota and beat Iowa at home for sure. The games that will challenge them will be at home against Purdue (Saturday 2/27) and on the road at Michigan on 3/5. Sparty is at least playing more with a sense of urgency and desperation and they will need that to succeed.
Western Michigan won another close game at home on Saturday over Illinois State, 68-65. They have now won 6 of their last 7 and have won their last three at home by margins of 2, 3 and 2. They are 16-10 and are leading the Western Conference of the MAC with a 7-4 record. They are led by Demetrius Ward (Detroit Pershing) who has scored in double figures for 10 straight games now.
University of Detroit Mercy is fading fast and is at a disappointing 6th place in the Horizon league with a 9-8 conference record. They have lost 3 of their last 4 games and now sit at an even 500 record of 15-15 on the season. I was expecting better from this team especially with the addition of Ray McCallum. While he does lead the team in scoring at 14 a game and leads in assists I thought his play would translate to more wins. What will be interesting is if he will be a recruiting magnet for the better Detroit PSL players to stay at home and join forces with him going forward.
Oakland University continues to roll up the wins and the points. They won again at home for their 20th win of the season and 25 consecutive home conference win. They are now 20-9 on the season and 15-1 in conference and virtually impossible to beat at home in conference play. In their 105-96 win over South Dakota State they were led by 22 apiece from both Larry Wright and Travis Bader. Bader once again was strong from behind the arc as he was 6-10 from 3 point land. This Oakland team is very good and one that I predict will win a NCAA first round game for their first time ever this year.
Purdue's win over Ohio State showed that they can play with anyone and are a team to watch come tournament time. E'twaun Moore's record high 38 points was sick as no one from Ohio State could stop him.
Some great games this week and weekend getting us all amped for conference and tournament play.
Monday 2/21 #17 Syracuse (22-6) vs. #15 Villanova (21-6)
Wednesday 2/23 #23 Temple (21-5) vs. #5 Duke (25-2) - We will see if the Atlantic 10 can compete with the Dukies
Wednesday 2/23 #10 Wisconsin (20-6) vs. Michigan (17-11) - just a local game of big interest
Saturday 2/26 #6 San Diego State (27-1) vs. #7 BYU (25-2) - A chance for SDSU to avenge their only loss of the season
Saturday 2/26 #9 Georgetown (21-6) vs. #17 Syracuse (22-6) - at Verizon Center in DC
Saturday 2/26 #14 Florida (21-5) at #22 Kentucky (19-7) - Kentucky is terrible road team but this one is at home. Should be good game
Saturday 2/26 #15 Villanova (21-6) vs. St. John's (17-9) - St. John's is visiting but should be ranked in top 25 by then
Sunday 2/27 #4 Pittsburgh (24-3) at #16 Louisville (20-7) - We will see how well Pitt rebounds. Strength vs. Athleticism in this one
Sunday 2/27 #14 Purdue (22-5) at Michigan State (15-11) - local interest game again and Purdue will be in top 10 by then
Enjoy the games, it is heat up time for some or freeze and stay out in the cold.
Your Basketball SNOB
Friday, February 18, 2011
Powers Catholic CHARGES past Detroit Consortium
I traveled to Flint last night with my Sports Jockey (wife) to watch the Flint Powers Catholic - Detroit Consortium Prep showdown. I must admit, I felt that Consortium would win this game and as it happens a lot with me.......I was wrong. The Chargers came out strong and fast and Javonte Hawkins lit it up for 14 first quarter points and single handily outscored the Cougars. Hawkins drained 4 three pointers and staked Flint Powers to a 21-13 lead first quarter lead that they would never relinquish. The final score ended up being 73-52 and both Patrick Lucas-Perry and Hawkins were a two man show for the Chargers as they both chipped in 26 apiece with their combined scoring equalling the total (52) for Consortium.
Hawkins and Lucas-Perry were extremely impressive. When one was filling it up the other was observing and they traded off each quarter. Hawkins hit for 14 in the first, 10 in the 3rd. Lucas-Perry had 9 in the 2nd and 9 more in the 4th quarter. Hawkins has raised his game. The 6'5 Junior swing guard/forward has a real nice soft shot and outside jumper range of 22-25 feet. He was 5-7 from 3 point range and everyone that went in was all net. On several occasions he demonstrated explosive steps from the baseline to get to the basket. He is long so he covers great distances in a hurry with his long strides. He also has a real nice ball fake that he used effectively to get the defenders up in the air when he was on the perimeter and used it to go around them to the hole. Lucas-Perry showed me the smarts, confidence and quickness that seem to run in the family. He was exceptional from the point position either stroking the outside jumper (3 - three pointers) or distributing the ball on drives. He was 7-8 from the foul line and only had 2 turnovers the entire game.
In the 4th quarter Consortium was making a run at it and had cut the Powers lead to 49-42 with 5:30 left when Vince Adams (SR-Guard) came alive and scored 8 of his 10 total points including a nice one hand slam on a breakaway late to put an exclamation point on the victory. Adams is a nice defender and a real nice compliment guard player to Lucas-Perry. FPC had leads of 21-13 after one, 33-25 at half, 48-34 after three before barraging Consortium with a 25 point 4th quarter. I was really surprised on Consortium's inability to score on Flint's 1-3-1 zone defense. The lone bright spot for Consortium on this game was Jr guard, Travon Baker. He is a talented and quick guard that has some great moves and can dish off the drive. The problem in this game was his teammates inability to hold on to his passes and convert around the rim. Baker led the scoring with 13 and what really hurt Consortium was losing Super Soph, Vince Hunter, to early foul trouble. He picked up two quick fouls and exited the game only 4 minutes into it. He picked up his third early in the third and for some reason did not see the floor at all in the 4th quarter. I have to admit, being a retired ref, the calls certainly were going in favor of Flint. Detroit Consortium had 6 offensive fouls called on them this game and 3 of those, in my opinion, were bad calls. The Detroit coach obviously felt this way as well based on his courtside demeanor. I believe this Detroit Consortium team is well coached but something was off in this game for their coach. I couldn't understand why he went with a small lineup as he did not have the right personnel on the floor to bust the zone. He had much bigger size that he failed to utilize down low against Flint where they could have been more successful. In the 4th quarter he had Hunter (6'5), Wilms (6'10) and Peoples (6'5), who is a long player that can jump, on the bench. In my opinion he had the wrong mix of players and it showed as they had cut the lead to 7 only to lose by 21. Wilms, a talented and skillful 6'10 Junior does not start for this team and I don't know why. He did not get into the game until 3 minutes were left in the first quarter and trailing 15-9. He did get into foul trouble but only had 3 for the game and did not see much time on the floor. This kid needs playing time and is not getting it here. I think he has great upside. Now my sports jockey commented that she has seen him twice now and is not impressed, hasn't shown her anything yet. Once again.....I could be wrong and she could be right........but as the saying goes "I'd rather be happy than right". Bottom line for Consortium is that they were the number 1 team in Class C and got it handed to them last night and did not look strong in the process. They are a talented team but just didn't seem to gel as a unit, or at least the unit he had together last night didn't gel. If they can pull it all together they should rebound from this loss and be ready to compete in East Lansing in late March.
The other game that I wanted to attend was the Saginaw - Bay City Western game. Good thing I didn't go to this one. Saginaw blew them out 60-28. Not much of a game and Saginaw played without West Virginian signee, Tommy McCune. This was a real shock to me because I saw when I was out of town this week that Romulus handled Saginaw quite easily in beating them 72-54. That win might just get Romulus another notch up in my rankings. It also makes the 3/3 game with #1 Detroit Country Day look like a state championship game. Looking forward to that one.
I was surprised by how easily Southfield beat Pontiac, 70-50 on Tuesday. This Southfield team is very athletic but they have to gain that consistency to return to the Breslin Center
Great matchup tonight for the PSL championship between Detroit Cody and Detroit Southeastern. I think Southeastern is the better team and should win this one. They are another team that has a great shot at visiting the campus of Michigan State in March.
Have a Good weekend from your Basketball SNOB
Hawkins and Lucas-Perry were extremely impressive. When one was filling it up the other was observing and they traded off each quarter. Hawkins hit for 14 in the first, 10 in the 3rd. Lucas-Perry had 9 in the 2nd and 9 more in the 4th quarter. Hawkins has raised his game. The 6'5 Junior swing guard/forward has a real nice soft shot and outside jumper range of 22-25 feet. He was 5-7 from 3 point range and everyone that went in was all net. On several occasions he demonstrated explosive steps from the baseline to get to the basket. He is long so he covers great distances in a hurry with his long strides. He also has a real nice ball fake that he used effectively to get the defenders up in the air when he was on the perimeter and used it to go around them to the hole. Lucas-Perry showed me the smarts, confidence and quickness that seem to run in the family. He was exceptional from the point position either stroking the outside jumper (3 - three pointers) or distributing the ball on drives. He was 7-8 from the foul line and only had 2 turnovers the entire game.
In the 4th quarter Consortium was making a run at it and had cut the Powers lead to 49-42 with 5:30 left when Vince Adams (SR-Guard) came alive and scored 8 of his 10 total points including a nice one hand slam on a breakaway late to put an exclamation point on the victory. Adams is a nice defender and a real nice compliment guard player to Lucas-Perry. FPC had leads of 21-13 after one, 33-25 at half, 48-34 after three before barraging Consortium with a 25 point 4th quarter. I was really surprised on Consortium's inability to score on Flint's 1-3-1 zone defense. The lone bright spot for Consortium on this game was Jr guard, Travon Baker. He is a talented and quick guard that has some great moves and can dish off the drive. The problem in this game was his teammates inability to hold on to his passes and convert around the rim. Baker led the scoring with 13 and what really hurt Consortium was losing Super Soph, Vince Hunter, to early foul trouble. He picked up two quick fouls and exited the game only 4 minutes into it. He picked up his third early in the third and for some reason did not see the floor at all in the 4th quarter. I have to admit, being a retired ref, the calls certainly were going in favor of Flint. Detroit Consortium had 6 offensive fouls called on them this game and 3 of those, in my opinion, were bad calls. The Detroit coach obviously felt this way as well based on his courtside demeanor. I believe this Detroit Consortium team is well coached but something was off in this game for their coach. I couldn't understand why he went with a small lineup as he did not have the right personnel on the floor to bust the zone. He had much bigger size that he failed to utilize down low against Flint where they could have been more successful. In the 4th quarter he had Hunter (6'5), Wilms (6'10) and Peoples (6'5), who is a long player that can jump, on the bench. In my opinion he had the wrong mix of players and it showed as they had cut the lead to 7 only to lose by 21. Wilms, a talented and skillful 6'10 Junior does not start for this team and I don't know why. He did not get into the game until 3 minutes were left in the first quarter and trailing 15-9. He did get into foul trouble but only had 3 for the game and did not see much time on the floor. This kid needs playing time and is not getting it here. I think he has great upside. Now my sports jockey commented that she has seen him twice now and is not impressed, hasn't shown her anything yet. Once again.....I could be wrong and she could be right........but as the saying goes "I'd rather be happy than right". Bottom line for Consortium is that they were the number 1 team in Class C and got it handed to them last night and did not look strong in the process. They are a talented team but just didn't seem to gel as a unit, or at least the unit he had together last night didn't gel. If they can pull it all together they should rebound from this loss and be ready to compete in East Lansing in late March.
The other game that I wanted to attend was the Saginaw - Bay City Western game. Good thing I didn't go to this one. Saginaw blew them out 60-28. Not much of a game and Saginaw played without West Virginian signee, Tommy McCune. This was a real shock to me because I saw when I was out of town this week that Romulus handled Saginaw quite easily in beating them 72-54. That win might just get Romulus another notch up in my rankings. It also makes the 3/3 game with #1 Detroit Country Day look like a state championship game. Looking forward to that one.
I was surprised by how easily Southfield beat Pontiac, 70-50 on Tuesday. This Southfield team is very athletic but they have to gain that consistency to return to the Breslin Center
Great matchup tonight for the PSL championship between Detroit Cody and Detroit Southeastern. I think Southeastern is the better team and should win this one. They are another team that has a great shot at visiting the campus of Michigan State in March.
Have a Good weekend from your Basketball SNOB
Monday, February 14, 2011
Saginaw Soaring
Saginaw is up to its old ways.....pressure defense, full court trap presses, uptempo basketball and oh yeah........Winning. With their 67-63 win over Kalamazoo Central (#4) on Saturday they are now 14-2 and have won 7 straight and 13 of their last 14. Their only two losses this year are to Detroit Country Day (#1) and Lansing Eastern. I was at their loss against Lansing Eastern and they did not play well. I saw them their next game at Delta College against Chicago Orr, who had beaten Detroit Country Day earlier in the year, and asked one of the players beforehand if they were going to rebound and get back on the winning track. One of the players made the statement that they had several people playing sick during the Lansing Eastern loss and that they were not going to lose again. Well they completely dismantled the Chicago Orr team that day (91-47 on 1/17/11) and they have not lost since. This team is playing extremely well and is being led by a very underrated guard named Marquaivas Ford. This kid is an athlete and boy can he get to the hole and create. He had 23 against Kalamazoo Central in leading them to the win. This team is deep, athletic and now have a confident floor leader that puts the Nasty in Sagnasty. They are peaking and soaring at the right time and have now soared up my rankings. See rankings below.
Flint Carman-Ainsworth had a big win over Flint Powers Catholic last week as super soph Denzel Watts led the team with 19 points in the 62-57 victory. They too, like Saginaw, are getting on a run. They have won 5 in a row and defeated two ranked teams (FPC and Saginaw Buena Vista) in the last week. They are now 12-4 on the season.
There are some great games this week. Unfortunately for this Blog SNOB I have to travel out of town and will miss the showdown between Saginaw (#5 now in my latest poll) and Romulus (#3) on Tuesday night.
On Thursday (2/17) you have two great games between Detroit Consortium (#1 in Class C) at Flint Powers Catholic and the really big game between Saginaw (#5) at Bay City Western (#8). I would love to be at the Saginaw - Western game as Matt Costello is playing great now but I know that will be a sell out and I would hate to drive that far to get shut out. I will be at the Flint Powers Game. This Detroit Consortium team has 4 potential D-1 players. They will give Flint a game and I predict they will beat them on Powers Catholic's own court.
Basketball SNOB Rankings with last poll in parenthesis
1. Detroit Country Day (1)
2. Ann Arbor Huron (2)
3. Romulus (3)
4. Det. Southeastern (5)
5. Saginaw (10)
6. Lansing Sexton (7)
7. Kalamazoo Central (4)
8. Bay City Western (11)
9. Det Cody (8)
10 Lansing Eastern (6)
11 Southfield (13)
12 Gull Lake (15)
13 Grand Rapids Christ (18)
14 Warren DeLaSalle (8)
15 Flint Powers Cath (14)
16 Chandler Park Aca (16)
17 Det. Douglass (12)
18 Ypsilanti (17)
19 Petosky (19)
20 Inkster (NR)
Dropped Out - East Kentwood
Flint Carman-Ainsworth had a big win over Flint Powers Catholic last week as super soph Denzel Watts led the team with 19 points in the 62-57 victory. They too, like Saginaw, are getting on a run. They have won 5 in a row and defeated two ranked teams (FPC and Saginaw Buena Vista) in the last week. They are now 12-4 on the season.
There are some great games this week. Unfortunately for this Blog SNOB I have to travel out of town and will miss the showdown between Saginaw (#5 now in my latest poll) and Romulus (#3) on Tuesday night.
On Thursday (2/17) you have two great games between Detroit Consortium (#1 in Class C) at Flint Powers Catholic and the really big game between Saginaw (#5) at Bay City Western (#8). I would love to be at the Saginaw - Western game as Matt Costello is playing great now but I know that will be a sell out and I would hate to drive that far to get shut out. I will be at the Flint Powers Game. This Detroit Consortium team has 4 potential D-1 players. They will give Flint a game and I predict they will beat them on Powers Catholic's own court.
Basketball SNOB Rankings with last poll in parenthesis
1. Detroit Country Day (1)
2. Ann Arbor Huron (2)
3. Romulus (3)
4. Det. Southeastern (5)
5. Saginaw (10)
6. Lansing Sexton (7)
7. Kalamazoo Central (4)
8. Bay City Western (11)
9. Det Cody (8)
10 Lansing Eastern (6)
11 Southfield (13)
12 Gull Lake (15)
13 Grand Rapids Christ (18)
14 Warren DeLaSalle (8)
15 Flint Powers Cath (14)
16 Chandler Park Aca (16)
17 Det. Douglass (12)
18 Ypsilanti (17)
19 Petosky (19)
20 Inkster (NR)
Dropped Out - East Kentwood
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)