Syracuse made a good run to get to the Big East finals, but now they are way to highly thought of. The team really only had a couple of good wins, and upon second look, those aren't even that great. They didn't beat any of the top teams in the Big East during the regular season, they're best win in conference was against West Virginia. They also beat Kansas and Memphis. However, both those wins came very early in the season and both those teams are laden with first-year starters.
They're big win recently came against now 1 seed UConn. The game went on for six epic overtimes, but UConn should have won early on. They didn't because Syracuse hit every big 3 they needed to and UConn missed a bunch of big free throws down the stretch, or rather the stretches. As one would expect, the big men for both teams got into foul trouble and got tired as the game went on. This hurt UConn more than Syracuse because UConn relies on their bigs more, especially Thabeet, who fouled out.
All in all, upon further review, Syracuse isn't the great team they seemed to become after winning the epic 6 OT thriller. Now, to the future. Syracuse's opening round matchup against the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks will be a lot closer than people expect. The 'Jacks are hot right now, and are lead by 4 seniors out of their starting 5. In specific, they are lead by Center Matt Kingsley who averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds in his teams three tournament games. Like almost every matchup in the big dance, no one really knows what will happen on Friday when these two teams meet. The one thing I do know though, is that Syracuse isn't the team people suddenly think they are.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
How to make the NCAA Tournament better
I'll admit, the NCAA Tournament is great. Maybe the best tournament in all of sports. However, it could be better. The biggest change that needs to be made doesn't involve the Big Dance, but would alter conference tournaments. While the current conference tournament setup gives every team a chance to get to the tourney, it also lowers the overall skill of the 65 teams that make it. While stories like Georgia from last year, a team that had a bad regular season but turned it on and won the SEC tournament to get to the tournament are nice, a lot of better stories go unwritten.
Remember Davidson from last year's tourney? Well, you probably won't see them again because they were upset by the College of Charleston in their conference tournament. There are probably several good teams that don't get a chance to dance because they are upset in their conference tournament. We need to limit tournaments to the top half of the league, or less, so that we are guaranteed to have a good team represent each conference. Also, good teams will have a better chance to show us what they can do in the tournament if we limit the size of conference tournaments. I know the Big Dance is great, but it could be better, and this small change would make it better.
Remember Davidson from last year's tourney? Well, you probably won't see them again because they were upset by the College of Charleston in their conference tournament. There are probably several good teams that don't get a chance to dance because they are upset in their conference tournament. We need to limit tournaments to the top half of the league, or less, so that we are guaranteed to have a good team represent each conference. Also, good teams will have a better chance to show us what they can do in the tournament if we limit the size of conference tournaments. I know the Big Dance is great, but it could be better, and this small change would make it better.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
March Madness is Finally Here
"March Madness" is finally underway now that Cornell locked up a ticket to the dance by winning the conference tournamentless Ivy league, and it couldn't have come quick enough. With the markets continuing to tumble, and unemployment rates continuing to rise, everyone needs a break from reality. And what's a better break from reality than watching Virginia Commonwealth beat Duke University in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The tourney always offers us a great story of a team that went through turmoil but was able to get back on its horse and win games in March. This is the kind of story America needs to here right now, not one about executives getting rich off of the American Public.
However, after a couple weeks of good stories, the college basketball executives (UConn, Pittsburgh, UNC), will get rid of all the good stories, and we will be forced to watch the high-ups in college basketball complain about officiating and the like, as they battle for the title. We will be harshly thrown back into the real world. O well, lets at least try to enjoy the next few weeks.
However, after a couple weeks of good stories, the college basketball executives (UConn, Pittsburgh, UNC), will get rid of all the good stories, and we will be forced to watch the high-ups in college basketball complain about officiating and the like, as they battle for the title. We will be harshly thrown back into the real world. O well, lets at least try to enjoy the next few weeks.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Why NFL teams should be clammoring over Terrell Owens
Just so you know, I do remember that T.O. ruined the 49ers and the Eagles, and was a huge nuisance as a Cowboy. And yes, I know that the Cowboys took a $9 million dollar salary cap hit to get rid of the talkative star. However, I still believe that T.O. is worth however much money Drew Rosenhaus, his agent, can get for him.
First off, T.O. is all about winning. Your right, he always seems to want the ball more, but that's just because he thinks that his team has a better chance of winning if they target him more often. Don't believe me? Look at his time in Philadelphia. He broke his leg late in the 2004 season, and had to sit out all of the NFC playoff games. His doctors didn't give him clearance to play in the Super Bowl, but he went out there anyway. How well did he play on a broken leg? Oh ya, 9 catches and 122 yards, right. And while he started to be a pain in the Eagle's neck during that offseason, I believe that he was just frustrated that his team lost. In college, Owens could have just focused on football. Instead, he was a team player. Risking injury, he was also a basketball and track star at UT-Chattanooga.
Also, Terrell Owens realizes that he isn't as wanted as he used to be. It was made evident that Owens isn't such a hot commodity when 30 out of 32 NFL teams said that they don't want him on their team. T.O. knows he will have to prove his worth, and he will play nice for at least a while...If he gets the ball, that is.
First off, T.O. is all about winning. Your right, he always seems to want the ball more, but that's just because he thinks that his team has a better chance of winning if they target him more often. Don't believe me? Look at his time in Philadelphia. He broke his leg late in the 2004 season, and had to sit out all of the NFC playoff games. His doctors didn't give him clearance to play in the Super Bowl, but he went out there anyway. How well did he play on a broken leg? Oh ya, 9 catches and 122 yards, right. And while he started to be a pain in the Eagle's neck during that offseason, I believe that he was just frustrated that his team lost. In college, Owens could have just focused on football. Instead, he was a team player. Risking injury, he was also a basketball and track star at UT-Chattanooga.
Also, Terrell Owens realizes that he isn't as wanted as he used to be. It was made evident that Owens isn't such a hot commodity when 30 out of 32 NFL teams said that they don't want him on their team. T.O. knows he will have to prove his worth, and he will play nice for at least a while...If he gets the ball, that is.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
What you need to watch on March 6th
8:00 P.M.-NBA-Cleveland Cavaliers at Boston Celtics on ESPN------these two teams always play good games, and, this time, the #1 spot in the Eastern Conference is up for grabs.
8:30 P.M.-NBA-Phoenix Suns at Houston Rockets-----Shaq will look to make a statement after being called out by Orlando coach Steve Van Gundy for flopping. However, he'll have to do it against The Great Wall in Yao Ming. The Suns will need to turn it on if they want to get the eight playoff spot.
10:00 P.M.-NHL-Dallas Stars at Aneheim Ducks ------Both of these teams need a win as they push for the final western conference playoff spot. Dallas, Anaheim, Edmonton and Nashville are only seperated by 1 pt and only two of those teams will make it into the playoffs.
8:30 P.M.-NBA-Phoenix Suns at Houston Rockets-----Shaq will look to make a statement after being called out by Orlando coach Steve Van Gundy for flopping. However, he'll have to do it against The Great Wall in Yao Ming. The Suns will need to turn it on if they want to get the eight playoff spot.
10:00 P.M.-NHL-Dallas Stars at Aneheim Ducks ------Both of these teams need a win as they push for the final western conference playoff spot. Dallas, Anaheim, Edmonton and Nashville are only seperated by 1 pt and only two of those teams will make it into the playoffs.
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