With the schedules coming out and less than 100 days before the
season starts, it's time to take a look at what to watch for in this
upcoming college football season. Alabama without question is the
favorite to win the National Championship yet again. But will the Crimson
Tide win a record three straight BCS titles? Can anybody stop the SEC's
seven year reign as BCS champs? Let's take a look at a few of the
other top contenders.
Three teams other than Alabama to win a National Title
Ohio State - Last year, Urban Meyer's first season with the team, the Buckeyes were undefeated at 12-0. OSU was not bowl eligible because of NCAA sanctions but have a have a great chance of challenging for a national title this year behind quarterback Braxton Miller. They lost a lot on defense but after a great recruiting class where six of their top eight recruits were on that side of the ball they definitely filled some holes. As for their schedule, it works in their favor as the only tests they'll face on the road are Cal and Michigan. Seeing Wisconsin at home and not playing Michigan State or Nebraska is a big help in going for back-to-back undefeated seasons and reaching the national championship game.
Texas A&M - Having the current Heisman trophy winner, Johnny Manziel, on your roster is a huge help when making a championship run. Playing in the SEC, however, makes that run a little more difficult. On his way to the Heisman, Manziel finished with 3,706 yards and 26 touchdowns in the air and 1,409 yards with 29 touchdowns on the ground. Teams will obviously adjust their focus to the QB but stopping him is easier said than done. The loss of Ryan Swope is a big hit for the Aggies passing attack but last years leading receiver, Mike Evans, is only a sophomore. The team is also bringing in a handful of wide receiver recruits. Johnny Football and A&M kind of lucked out with their schedule, if that's possible in the SEC. They don't have to play Florida or Georgia from the SEC East and get Alabama at home. But, they do have to travel to Arkansas and Ole Miss during the season then LSU and Missouri to close out the year.
Oregon - Even with former head coach Chip Kelly leaving for the Philadelphia Eagles, the Oregon Ducks offense still can't be slowed down. Kelly will be replaced by offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich, while quarterback Marcus Mariotta and running back De'Anthony Thomas are both back to run the offense. Mariotta is looking to improve on a really good freshman year in which he threw for 2,677 yards, 32 TD's and only 6 interceptions. As for Thomas, he finally will see a starting role after showing signs of greatness playing behind LaMichael James and Kenjon Barner his first two seasons. Oregon will look to avenge it's OT loss to Stanford (which probably cost them the title game) but will have to do it on the road if they want to reach the BCS title game.
Other teams to watch - Georgia, Louisville, Florida State
What about the Heisman? Johnny Manziel came out of nowhere to win it last year as a freshman. But can he join Ohio State's Archie Griffin as the only players ever to win the award twice? Here are some other players to watch.
Three players other than Johnny Manziel to win the Heisman
Braxton Miller, QB Ohio State - Under the tutelage of Urban Meyer, Miller transformed into a legit duel threat quarterback throwing for 2,039 yards and rushing for 1,271 with 28 total touchdowns. He improved a lot from his freshman year and with having more experience under Meyer we can expect the trend to continue. We all saw what Meyer did with Tim Tebow (2007 Heisman winner) at Florida and he will look to lead Miller to the Heisman as well in 2013.
Teddy Bridgewater, QB Louisville - After an impressive performance against Florida in the Allstate Sugar Bowl, Bridgewater is a player everybody is looking at to have a Heisman worthy season. He finished last year with a 68.5 completion percentage, 3,718 yards, 27 touchdowns and eight INT's. He has the athleticism and speed to be a running quarterback but rarely scrambles. Instead he uses his ability to avoid the rush and find an open receiver down field. Louisville's schedule is definitely one that is favorable to run the table and in turn will give Bridgewater more publicity down the home stretch of the year.
Jadeveon Clowney, DE South Carolina - We all remember this hit on Michigan running back Vincent Smith in last year's Outback Bowl. Since then, Clowney's name was instantly thrust into Heisman talks as well as being seen as the top prospect for the 2014 NFL draft. He finished the season with 13 sacks and 23.5 tackles for loss. He was also sixth a year ago in Heisman voting and if he takes home the trophy in 2013 he will be the first defensive player since Michigan's Charles Woodson in 1997 to do so.
Other players to watch - Georgia QB Aaron Murray, Alabama QB AJ McCarron, USC wide receiver Marqise Lee
The season will be here before we know it and the answers to these questions will start to unfold. And
I wouldn't be shocked if at the end of the year the National Champion
and Heisman winner are not from these lists. A year ago Notre Dame
reached the title game after being unranked in the preseason AP poll and nobody predicted Manziel, Manti Te'o and Collin Klein to be any of the three finalists for the Heisman trophy. That's the beauty of sports, we never really know what's going to happen. But we all seem to think we do.
Showing posts with label Oregon Ducks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oregon Ducks. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Thursday, March 28, 2013
NCAA Tournament Day 3 Recap
Wichita State shocks the Zags
Gonzaga was pushed by Southern in their first game and they were thought of by many to be the first 1-seed to out of the tournament. Tonight they proved those people right as 9-seed Wichita State took out the top team, 76-70, in the crazy West Region. The Shockers jumped out early going up 26-13 and leading 36-31 at the half. Gonzaga came out in the second half blazing on an 18-5 run to take an eight point lead 49-41. At this point you figured the Bulldogs have found their groove and will continue their run to closeout the Shockers. But it was Rob Baker who scored eight points in 1:38 to give Wichita State the lead back at 67-63 with just under three minutes to play. Baker finished with 16 points on 4-6 from deep and Cleanthony Early also chipped in 16 with seven boards. The Shockers went 50% from the field including 14-28 on 3-pointers. On the other hand the Zags couldn't find their offense down the stretch going only 4-12 in the last 6:05. Kelly Olynyk finished with 26 points and nine rebounds.
Marquette seeks revenge on Butler
This was a rematch of a game from November in Maui that Butler won on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Rotnei Clarke for the 72-71 win. Marquette wanted to come out and get revenge for that heartbreaking loss but it was the Bulldogs that had the 35-27 lead at the break. Marquette managed to fight back in the second half and tie the game late with 1:29 left after Vander Blue hit a 3 to make it 69-69. After three free throws by the Golden Eagles, Butler's Roosevelt Jones found himself on the line with 15 seconds left. Jones made the first and The Bulldogs were down two. He missed the second and these two teams found themselves in the same position they were in at Maui. Butler got the rebound off the miss and Rotnei Clarke hoisted the potential game-winning 3 but he was off. Marquette finished off the late rally to win 74-72 behind Blue's 29 points. Clarke added 24 for Butler. The closest margin of the day before this game was Oregon over Saint Louis by 17, so this was the type of nail-biter we all expect to see in the tournament.
Michigan and Michigan State cruise to the Sweet 16
The state of Michigan sent the first two teams in the Sweet 16. Michigan led the way as the Wolverines reached the second weekend of the tournament for the first time since 1994. Coming into their game against the VCU Rams, Michigan was said to be on upset alert for the second straight game. The biggest reason is VCU's "havoc" defense and the fact that they just beat a short-handed Akron team 88-42, but Michigan had a few surprises for the Rams. The first was that to handle their press the Wolverines decided to have Tim Hardaway Jr. bring the ball up to help Trey Burke. VCU leads the nation in steals, led by Darius Theus (2.4 spg, who was on Burke), but the Wolverines took care of the ball well in the first half as Burke and Hardaway only had three turnovers combined and led 38-23 at the break. The other surprise was the play of Mitch McGary who played his most minutes of the season and rewarded John Beilein with 21 points on 10-11 shooting and 14 rebounds, both career highs. An inside presence has been UM's most glaring weakness all year, if McGary can keep this up it makes the Wolverines an even tougher out. Michigan's largest lead was 31 and the highlight of the night went to Spike Albrecht's left handed bounce pass between defenders to Glenn Robinson III for the dunk. Michigan held VCU to only 3-16 on 3-pointers and the Wolverines now gear up for Kansas.
March is the month of Tom Izzo and Michigan State. Memphis was able to keep it close in the first half (32-29) but the Spartans pulled away in the second to earn the 70-48 victory and move on to the sweet 16. Gary Harris was hitting early and often as he poured in 23 points on 4-7 from beyond the arc and Adreian Payne controlled the paint with 14 points, ten boards and a career high five blocks. MSU turned the ball over 18 times but a stifling defense held Memphis to only 29.7% from the floor. The Spartans also are going to have to check the status of Keith Appling as he left the game with a right shoulder injury. The starting point guard said he could have gone back in if needed but it will be interesting to see how it will affect him next weekend. MSU now awaits the winner of Creighton and Duke, if the Blue Devils prevail it will be a matchup between two of the best coaches in the country.
Oregon shows they are for real
Oregon felt disrespected by receiving a 12-seed and they are taking it out on their opponents. After dismantling Oklahoma State 68-55 in their first game, Saint Louis was the next victim 74-57. The Billikens were a sexy pick by a few analysts to possibly upset #1 Louisville but they never reached that matchup because the Ducks weren't having it. The game was tight for the first seven minutes when Saint Louis held an 11-10 lead. After that, Oregon finished the half on a 25-8 run and never looked back. Saint Louis had one of the best defenses in the country but the Ducks ran their offense with great efficiency as they shot 53% from the field and were 8-11 from distance. Freshman Damyean Dotson led the way for Oregon with 23 points and 5-6 on 3-pointers. Also, Arsalan Kazemi controlled the paint with eight points and 16 rebounds, including seven offense. Oregon faces Louisville next weekend and shouldn't be taken lightly by the top seed in the Midwest.
Arizona is looking like the team that started the season 14-0
Another Pac-12 team that didn't get much respect when the tournament began was Arizona. The Wildcats were once ranked as high as #4 in the country after starting 14-0 with wins over Florida, Miami FL, and San Diego State. In conference play (Oregon gave them their first loss) Arizona struggled against the top teams in the Pac-12 and ended up a 4-seed in the conference tournament, then ousted by UCLA. However, they seem to be rejuvenated in the big dance as they've won their first two games by an average of 20 points. Belmont was a popular upset pick by many but they were no match for Arizona and neither was Harvard after pulling off its major upset over New Mexico. In both games the Wildcats have been over 55% from the floor and their leading scorer Mark Lyons has been on fire. In two games Lyons has 50 points on 20-32 shooting. Arizona is back to being a team that has Final Four hopes as they seem to be hitting on all cylinders at the right time.
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Gonzaga was pushed by Southern in their first game and they were thought of by many to be the first 1-seed to out of the tournament. Tonight they proved those people right as 9-seed Wichita State took out the top team, 76-70, in the crazy West Region. The Shockers jumped out early going up 26-13 and leading 36-31 at the half. Gonzaga came out in the second half blazing on an 18-5 run to take an eight point lead 49-41. At this point you figured the Bulldogs have found their groove and will continue their run to closeout the Shockers. But it was Rob Baker who scored eight points in 1:38 to give Wichita State the lead back at 67-63 with just under three minutes to play. Baker finished with 16 points on 4-6 from deep and Cleanthony Early also chipped in 16 with seven boards. The Shockers went 50% from the field including 14-28 on 3-pointers. On the other hand the Zags couldn't find their offense down the stretch going only 4-12 in the last 6:05. Kelly Olynyk finished with 26 points and nine rebounds.
Marquette seeks revenge on Butler
This was a rematch of a game from November in Maui that Butler won on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Rotnei Clarke for the 72-71 win. Marquette wanted to come out and get revenge for that heartbreaking loss but it was the Bulldogs that had the 35-27 lead at the break. Marquette managed to fight back in the second half and tie the game late with 1:29 left after Vander Blue hit a 3 to make it 69-69. After three free throws by the Golden Eagles, Butler's Roosevelt Jones found himself on the line with 15 seconds left. Jones made the first and The Bulldogs were down two. He missed the second and these two teams found themselves in the same position they were in at Maui. Butler got the rebound off the miss and Rotnei Clarke hoisted the potential game-winning 3 but he was off. Marquette finished off the late rally to win 74-72 behind Blue's 29 points. Clarke added 24 for Butler. The closest margin of the day before this game was Oregon over Saint Louis by 17, so this was the type of nail-biter we all expect to see in the tournament.
Michigan and Michigan State cruise to the Sweet 16
The state of Michigan sent the first two teams in the Sweet 16. Michigan led the way as the Wolverines reached the second weekend of the tournament for the first time since 1994. Coming into their game against the VCU Rams, Michigan was said to be on upset alert for the second straight game. The biggest reason is VCU's "havoc" defense and the fact that they just beat a short-handed Akron team 88-42, but Michigan had a few surprises for the Rams. The first was that to handle their press the Wolverines decided to have Tim Hardaway Jr. bring the ball up to help Trey Burke. VCU leads the nation in steals, led by Darius Theus (2.4 spg, who was on Burke), but the Wolverines took care of the ball well in the first half as Burke and Hardaway only had three turnovers combined and led 38-23 at the break. The other surprise was the play of Mitch McGary who played his most minutes of the season and rewarded John Beilein with 21 points on 10-11 shooting and 14 rebounds, both career highs. An inside presence has been UM's most glaring weakness all year, if McGary can keep this up it makes the Wolverines an even tougher out. Michigan's largest lead was 31 and the highlight of the night went to Spike Albrecht's left handed bounce pass between defenders to Glenn Robinson III for the dunk. Michigan held VCU to only 3-16 on 3-pointers and the Wolverines now gear up for Kansas.
March is the month of Tom Izzo and Michigan State. Memphis was able to keep it close in the first half (32-29) but the Spartans pulled away in the second to earn the 70-48 victory and move on to the sweet 16. Gary Harris was hitting early and often as he poured in 23 points on 4-7 from beyond the arc and Adreian Payne controlled the paint with 14 points, ten boards and a career high five blocks. MSU turned the ball over 18 times but a stifling defense held Memphis to only 29.7% from the floor. The Spartans also are going to have to check the status of Keith Appling as he left the game with a right shoulder injury. The starting point guard said he could have gone back in if needed but it will be interesting to see how it will affect him next weekend. MSU now awaits the winner of Creighton and Duke, if the Blue Devils prevail it will be a matchup between two of the best coaches in the country.
Oregon shows they are for real
Oregon felt disrespected by receiving a 12-seed and they are taking it out on their opponents. After dismantling Oklahoma State 68-55 in their first game, Saint Louis was the next victim 74-57. The Billikens were a sexy pick by a few analysts to possibly upset #1 Louisville but they never reached that matchup because the Ducks weren't having it. The game was tight for the first seven minutes when Saint Louis held an 11-10 lead. After that, Oregon finished the half on a 25-8 run and never looked back. Saint Louis had one of the best defenses in the country but the Ducks ran their offense with great efficiency as they shot 53% from the field and were 8-11 from distance. Freshman Damyean Dotson led the way for Oregon with 23 points and 5-6 on 3-pointers. Also, Arsalan Kazemi controlled the paint with eight points and 16 rebounds, including seven offense. Oregon faces Louisville next weekend and shouldn't be taken lightly by the top seed in the Midwest.
Arizona is looking like the team that started the season 14-0
Another Pac-12 team that didn't get much respect when the tournament began was Arizona. The Wildcats were once ranked as high as #4 in the country after starting 14-0 with wins over Florida, Miami FL, and San Diego State. In conference play (Oregon gave them their first loss) Arizona struggled against the top teams in the Pac-12 and ended up a 4-seed in the conference tournament, then ousted by UCLA. However, they seem to be rejuvenated in the big dance as they've won their first two games by an average of 20 points. Belmont was a popular upset pick by many but they were no match for Arizona and neither was Harvard after pulling off its major upset over New Mexico. In both games the Wildcats have been over 55% from the floor and their leading scorer Mark Lyons has been on fire. In two games Lyons has 50 points on 20-32 shooting. Arizona is back to being a team that has Final Four hopes as they seem to be hitting on all cylinders at the right time.
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Friday, March 22, 2013
NCAA Tournament Day 1 Recap
Harvard gets first tournament win in school history
For those of you who didn't stay up until midnight you might have awoken up to your bracket being busted. Harvard, a 14-seed, picked up their first ever NCAA tournament victory over 3-seed New Mexico 68-62. Apparently, they not only have brilliant minds attending their school but ball players as well. The Crimson was able to slow down the pace of the game and hit key 3-pointers, led by Laurent Rivard who went 5-9 from deep with 17 points. New Mexico is known for its offensive struggles and it showed as Mountain West player of the year Kendall Williams went 1-6 from the floor for eight points. The Lobos were discussed as a possible Final Four candidate but that's out the window now that Harvard knocked them out.
Marquette storms back over Davidson
3-seed Marquette looked to be the first casualty in this years tournament at the hands of 14-seed Davidson. The Wildcats were up pretty much the entire game and held a 54-48 lead with 1:10 to play. The Golden Eagles proceeded to hit three 3s to pull within one, 58-57, with 10 seconds left. After the inbound, Davidson tried to play keep away while running the clock and ended up turning the ball over. Marquette's Vander Blue then hits a driving layup with 1 second to spare as the 3-seed is able to survive. Davidson had this game wrapped up if they would have just held onto the ball and got fouled. They are the best free throw shooting in the country at 79.5% but only managed 14-22 for the game including a crucial miss in the last minute. Marquette came up big though making their last three 3s after starting 1-12. And ask St. John's if Blue's shot looked familiar. They now move on to play Butler.
Southern pushes Gonzaga to the brink
Sooner (hopefully) or later we will see a 16-seed pull off the ultimate upset over a 1-seed. Southern University, the champions of the SWAC, was in it all the way down to the wire against top seeded Gonzaga. The Jaguars were only down three at the half and even tied the game at 56 on a Derrick Beltran jumper with 3:47 left. The very next play, the Bulldogs Gary Bell Jr. hit a big 3 to take back the lead. After two Beltran free throws, this time it was Kevin Pangos with an even bigger 3 to push the Zags lead to four with just under two minutes to play. Southern would fail to score the rest of the game and lose 64-58. The 6-point win in the closest in a 1 vs 16 game since 1990 when Michigan State beat Murray State 75-71 in OT. Most people weren't sold on Gonzaga being a top seed and this effort did nothing to silence their critics.
Oregon pulls off the first upset and looked good doing it
Oregon was not given much credit for winning the Pac-12 tournament as they received a 12-seed and faced 5-seed Oklahoma State. The Ducks must have took offense to this because they jumped out to a 37-26 lead at halftime. They balanced scoring as usual, with four guys in double figures led by Damyean Dotson with 17. But it was Arsalan Kazemi who had 11 points and 17 rebounds that stood out for Oregon. They also played great defense holding Marcus Smart and the Cowboys to only 40% from the field. They play Saint Louis on Saturday which will be a tough test but the Ducks seem to have a chip on their shoulder so look for this to be a close one.
Cal gives payback to UNLV
Oregon isn't the only Pac-12 team that can pull off the famous 5-12 upset. The Cal Bears took out UNLV, marking the first time two teams from the same conference won as 12-seeds. This was a rematch from December, a game UNLV won 76-75, and again it came down to the last minute. The Bears were led by Pac-12 POY Allen Crabbe who had 19 points and nine boards but it was reserve big man Robert Thurman who scored eight straight for Cal on four dunks. The Bears will now try to use their "home court advantage" (they are player in San Jose) against Syracuse.
Louisville showed they are ready to make a run
The #1 team overall is Louisville and they did not want to leave any doubt in their game as they cruised to a 79-48 victory over 16-seed North Carolina A&T. The pressure D that made the Cardinals the best defensive team in the country was in full force as they set a NCAA tournament record with 20 team steals. Yes, 20, including eight by Russ Smith who also scored 23 points. Louisville is said to have the hardest bracket, but also has the popular vote to win the title. It's so easy to overlook teams (see Gonzaga) but with handling business they way they did, look for the Cards to be focused no matter who is their opponent.
VCU and Syracuse run opponents out of the gym
The VCU Rams are not sneaking up on anybody like they did back in 2011, but apparently the Akron Zips didn't get the memo. VCU had an impressive showing with an 88-42 win. Now I understand that Akron didn't have their starting point guard Alex Abreu (6 apg) but they were still MAC regular season and tournament champs. Not having a PG is huge against a high pressure team like VCU, but the Rams were on point offensively as well. They shot 54% from the field and 8-16 from downtown, 6-11 from Troy Daniels who scored 23. That is exactly what VCU had going for them when they made their Final Four run in 2011, they pressed the heck out of you and were on fire from 3. Michigan is up next, who has Trey Burke (the best assist/turnover ratio in the country), so it will be interesting to see how he handles the press.
Syracuse was another team that impressed as they crushed Montana 81-34. Cuse was paced by Brandon Triche on offense as he put in 20. But it was Jim Boeheim's patent 2-3 defense that shut down Montana from the outside as they only hit 4-31 (13%) from distance. The Orange held the Grizzlies to 20% shooting overall and nobody on the team had more than five points. Their next game against Cal will basically be a road game but if Syracuse can continue to lock up on D and be efficient on the offensive end this team is dangerous.
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For those of you who didn't stay up until midnight you might have awoken up to your bracket being busted. Harvard, a 14-seed, picked up their first ever NCAA tournament victory over 3-seed New Mexico 68-62. Apparently, they not only have brilliant minds attending their school but ball players as well. The Crimson was able to slow down the pace of the game and hit key 3-pointers, led by Laurent Rivard who went 5-9 from deep with 17 points. New Mexico is known for its offensive struggles and it showed as Mountain West player of the year Kendall Williams went 1-6 from the floor for eight points. The Lobos were discussed as a possible Final Four candidate but that's out the window now that Harvard knocked them out.
Marquette storms back over Davidson
3-seed Marquette looked to be the first casualty in this years tournament at the hands of 14-seed Davidson. The Wildcats were up pretty much the entire game and held a 54-48 lead with 1:10 to play. The Golden Eagles proceeded to hit three 3s to pull within one, 58-57, with 10 seconds left. After the inbound, Davidson tried to play keep away while running the clock and ended up turning the ball over. Marquette's Vander Blue then hits a driving layup with 1 second to spare as the 3-seed is able to survive. Davidson had this game wrapped up if they would have just held onto the ball and got fouled. They are the best free throw shooting in the country at 79.5% but only managed 14-22 for the game including a crucial miss in the last minute. Marquette came up big though making their last three 3s after starting 1-12. And ask St. John's if Blue's shot looked familiar. They now move on to play Butler.
Southern pushes Gonzaga to the brink
Sooner (hopefully) or later we will see a 16-seed pull off the ultimate upset over a 1-seed. Southern University, the champions of the SWAC, was in it all the way down to the wire against top seeded Gonzaga. The Jaguars were only down three at the half and even tied the game at 56 on a Derrick Beltran jumper with 3:47 left. The very next play, the Bulldogs Gary Bell Jr. hit a big 3 to take back the lead. After two Beltran free throws, this time it was Kevin Pangos with an even bigger 3 to push the Zags lead to four with just under two minutes to play. Southern would fail to score the rest of the game and lose 64-58. The 6-point win in the closest in a 1 vs 16 game since 1990 when Michigan State beat Murray State 75-71 in OT. Most people weren't sold on Gonzaga being a top seed and this effort did nothing to silence their critics.
Oregon pulls off the first upset and looked good doing it
Oregon was not given much credit for winning the Pac-12 tournament as they received a 12-seed and faced 5-seed Oklahoma State. The Ducks must have took offense to this because they jumped out to a 37-26 lead at halftime. They balanced scoring as usual, with four guys in double figures led by Damyean Dotson with 17. But it was Arsalan Kazemi who had 11 points and 17 rebounds that stood out for Oregon. They also played great defense holding Marcus Smart and the Cowboys to only 40% from the field. They play Saint Louis on Saturday which will be a tough test but the Ducks seem to have a chip on their shoulder so look for this to be a close one.
Cal gives payback to UNLV
Oregon isn't the only Pac-12 team that can pull off the famous 5-12 upset. The Cal Bears took out UNLV, marking the first time two teams from the same conference won as 12-seeds. This was a rematch from December, a game UNLV won 76-75, and again it came down to the last minute. The Bears were led by Pac-12 POY Allen Crabbe who had 19 points and nine boards but it was reserve big man Robert Thurman who scored eight straight for Cal on four dunks. The Bears will now try to use their "home court advantage" (they are player in San Jose) against Syracuse.
Louisville showed they are ready to make a run
The #1 team overall is Louisville and they did not want to leave any doubt in their game as they cruised to a 79-48 victory over 16-seed North Carolina A&T. The pressure D that made the Cardinals the best defensive team in the country was in full force as they set a NCAA tournament record with 20 team steals. Yes, 20, including eight by Russ Smith who also scored 23 points. Louisville is said to have the hardest bracket, but also has the popular vote to win the title. It's so easy to overlook teams (see Gonzaga) but with handling business they way they did, look for the Cards to be focused no matter who is their opponent.
VCU and Syracuse run opponents out of the gym
The VCU Rams are not sneaking up on anybody like they did back in 2011, but apparently the Akron Zips didn't get the memo. VCU had an impressive showing with an 88-42 win. Now I understand that Akron didn't have their starting point guard Alex Abreu (6 apg) but they were still MAC regular season and tournament champs. Not having a PG is huge against a high pressure team like VCU, but the Rams were on point offensively as well. They shot 54% from the field and 8-16 from downtown, 6-11 from Troy Daniels who scored 23. That is exactly what VCU had going for them when they made their Final Four run in 2011, they pressed the heck out of you and were on fire from 3. Michigan is up next, who has Trey Burke (the best assist/turnover ratio in the country), so it will be interesting to see how he handles the press.
Syracuse was another team that impressed as they crushed Montana 81-34. Cuse was paced by Brandon Triche on offense as he put in 20. But it was Jim Boeheim's patent 2-3 defense that shut down Montana from the outside as they only hit 4-31 (13%) from distance. The Orange held the Grizzlies to 20% shooting overall and nobody on the team had more than five points. Their next game against Cal will basically be a road game but if Syracuse can continue to lock up on D and be efficient on the offensive end this team is dangerous.
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