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
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