We’re back, Nantz/Packer are here with the UNC vs. Mount St Mary’s game. This game is actually kind of crazy to be honest because UNC came out on a 7-0 run prompting me to say “Well geeze they sure are on a mission.” Except Mount St Mary’s took their punch and responded by scoring 12 points and cutting the lead to 5. Will this last? Absolutely not. Just interesting.
For those keeping score I was 5-3 this morning (yikes) and have UNC, St Joe’s, Vandy and Oregon during this upcoming slate of games.
I’m sure Coup will return as soon as he’s done icing his hands. The guy was a machine.
4:20 — I’m resisting to make a corny joke about the time. Apparently I used up all my corny jokes with my ‘Having a bad DAYE’ line during the Gonzaga game. So what.
4:22 — To say UNC has a ridiculous homecourt advantage is not even funny. Any coincidence that UCLA and UNC are somehow playing their opening games ‘right down the road’?
4:24 — Just saw the score flash up ‘5-0 Siena’ about 2 minutes into that game. Oh geeze. CBS of course cuts away from the UNC/Mount St Mary’s game to give us the Oregon/Mississippi St game. I have no complaints with this at all.
4:25 — Definitely disappointed the Ducks aren’t wearing their black uniforms. Also disappointed I just saw the Ducks slow the game down and actually call a half-court play. What’s going on?
4:27 — Rhodes from Mississippi State just posterized Leunen. I’m not exactly sure why he jumped to be honest with you. (On the replay…it didn’t look that bad. Slightly disappointed. It still was nasty on first sight)
4:31 — Oregon is HEATING UP….11-2 run as Hairston, Taylor and Porter have all hit threes. Ducks are up 11-4 going into the first media timeout. This is not good news for the Bulldogs.
4:40 — 19-15 Oregon…Leunen is killing Mississippi State’s athletic bigs with his up-fakes and pivots. Yes, even the great Vernado. This is a dang good game.
4:41 — Leunen with another pump fake and he turns this one into a midrange bank that had no business going in. I like the pace of this one
4:43 — Looking at the other games Siena is in firm control over Vandy (26-13), St Joes and Oklahoma look to be in a back and forth battle (23-20 Oklahoma) and UNC is a few stops away from the pedal to the medal (41-30 UNC).
4:45 — CBS takes us around the world again as we visit the UNC game, followed by the Oklahoma game and we see the Siena score.
4:49 — That Oklahoma lead is growing (27-20) as I begin to become fearful that St Joes is going to turn into a ‘scare’. You know the team an announcer will say could scare a higher seed. Which if you think about it really means nothing because they aren’t saying that team is going to win or its even going to be close, just that at some point in time the game will be in doubt.
4:51 — Leunen with another 3-ball (third of the game) as the Ducks go up 28-20 with 7:32 left in the first half. Ducks are 5/11 from deep and the Bulldogs are kind of playing right into their hands.
4:55 — Big stretch right here for the Ducks with Leunen going to the bench with his second foul. We’ll see if they can hold that 7 point lead over these next few minutes.
4:58 — Oregon is still up 7 with Leunen on the bench, 30-23 with 5 minutes left in the half. Charles Rhodes is keeping the Bulldogs in it but he is going to need some help here pretty shortly.
5:00 — Didn’t take long for UNC to say bye to MSM. 60-41 at halftime for the Tar Heels. Siena is still up comfortable on Vandy (36-24) but if Vandy can get it to 5-6 before the half it is far from over. Oklahoma closed the half on a 14-2 run and are up 34-22. Looks like they are pulling away. Just thought you want to know.
5:02 — Also wanted you to know Oregon has the best basketball cheerleaders in the Pac-10. Just a fun fact.
5:04 — The announcer just said Tajuan Porter isn’t a “true PG” and is still learning the nuances. Duh, duh, duh.
5:05 — No shocker Charles Rhodes is going back to the line. Ducks still up 7 with 3 minutes left in the half. If Oregon wants to win, Hairston has got to get it going.
Coup 8:55 –Back to Eastern time here. I take a little break and all the sudden one of my Final Four teams, Vanderbilt (ableit my upset Final Four team) is losing to Siena with 10 minutes to go. At least Oregon is winning, though as I wrote that Miss St. closed the gap to three. Fun stuff. CBS has us on St. Joes, trying to come back on Oklahoma, who I picked to lose because of the injury to Blake Griffin.
Coup 9:02 — Got to feel sorry for Mount St. Mary’s, losing by 40 to UNC. But you have to think for all those guys that it will make a good story one day, “Yeah, I played DI ball, made the big dance, and lost by 40 to UNC. Now let me sell you some stock.”
Coup 9:05 — Calathes is another one of those guys I’ve seen from the sideline, color me unimpressed then, and not much more now. But hey, did you hear he has a brother in DI basketball too?!
Coup 9:07 — Going to have to be a fan here for a second. OREGON WHAT ARE YOU DOING? Ok, I’m done.
Coup 9:11 — Speaking of Blake Griffin, if a decent PG doesn’t fall to the Blazers and no trades seem to be in the works, I’d be pretty ok with this guy. He’d be a strong value pick at 13 as a backup PF for LaMarcus, and a pretty decent change of pace from LMA too with his rough n’ stuff size. I should note he probably wont be avaliable at 13 nor will he probably be in this year’s draft either.
Coup 9:14 — Little problem here with St. Joe’s unable to get the ref to whistle a foul. Everybody always makes the argument that refs are supposed to “know” what you are trying to do and should immediately whistle, but you’ve got to actually foul the guy first. How are we to expect the refs to be clairvoyant and call every tap at the end when we want them to just “let the guys play” in the final minutes as well?
Coup 9:16 — CBS switches to Oregon, which seems desperate to lose. I hate the black on green last names on Oregon’s jersey’s by the way, just unnecessary. Marty Leunen misses on a drive and now Miss St. is in control. I look into the corner and see Vandy down 11 with less than 3 to go — if I was a gambling man and had big money on my bracket, I’d have a bottle of scotch in front of me right now.
Coup 9:20 — Where are Oregon’s seniors, the announcers wonder aloud. Hairston, you used to be a lottery pick, what happened?
Coup 9:22 — Vanderbilt, we are no longer on good terms. I should’ve known better than to pick Skip Bayless’ alma mater. Bracket, officially, Busted.
Coup 9:26 — Did a little more research on Griffin’s draft stock. No way in hell the Blazers are getting him so forget about that. Still love him though.
Coup 9:28 — Hairston just bricked a game-changing 3. He’s always been good, but rarely have I seen him step up when things matter most.
Coup 9:31 –Hairston commits a charge with less than a minute to go and the Ducks down 7. It’s time for him to move on. That said, Tajuan Porter hasn’t exactly shown up either. I’m sure plenty of Ducks fans are even more pissed off at Kevin Love than ever tonight.
Coup 9:36 — Leunen fouls out. I’ll tell you from experience, fouling out of what you know is the last game of your career is just an awful feeling.
Coup 9:38 — Going to take a quick break and then I’ll be back for the last batch of games, including Indiana-Arkansas.
Coup 10:05 — I’m back and for some reason watching Clemson – Villanova. I’m sure this game will be good, but can we please watch the 8-9 seed game with Indiana. Is that too much to ask? I’m going with the online player so I can see Eric Gordon.
Coup 10:11 — It was only one play, but the first thing I see Gordon do today is stand eight-feet outside the arc while the rest of his team is inside. That is not something
you want to see in a high-lottery pick.
Coup 10:18 — Gordon’s version of one-on-one defense involved a lot of standing up and looking around. Another not-so-good sign. Maybe the Ben Gordon comparisons work, for all the good and bad.
Coup 10:21 — Arkansas takes a ten point lead. Still got all my Elite 8 teams, but the early rounds have been BRUTAL.
Coup 10:30 — It’s early and they are playing Boise St. but I wonder if, after being burned by them so often in the past, this was the year to get behind Louisville. Caracter takes one of his teamates skulls to his own face and somewhere, Rip Hamilton cringes. Clemson is up fairly big on ‘Nova, Memphis is on cruise control and Louisville is doing its thing so Indiana is our last bastion of hope for a close game. The Razorbacks are up 7 at the half, so we’ll see.
Coup 10:52 — D.J. White. Keeping the Hoosiers in the game. First thing you notice about the guy is how ridiculously long his arms are. Nbadraft.net has him going around the 22nd pick, and he’s down there partially because of medical concerns (broken foot). 22 is a steal for him. Gordon, meanwhile, really looks awful. Maybe this will ruin his draft stock enough for him to drop to Portland’s pick, giving that pick more value as a trading chip.
Coup 10:58 — Marvin Basset hits back to back 3s to pull Indiana back within three. I knew the basketball gods would give us a game.
Coup 10:59 — HOW IS BRADY QUINN MAKING COMMERCIALS?! This honestly boggles my mind. I know its because he looks commercial and girls think he’s cute, but my god, can we wait for him to play ONE game first people. He wasn’t even a top-10 pick.
Coup 11:16 — Clemson, geez. Villanova somehow pulled within six points. ‘Nova could save my bracket with a comeback. Don’t know if they have enough, reminiscent of Kentucky’s attempt yesterday.