Game 1

[tower912]

Mt. St. Mary's wins by 1, led by a 5'5 PG who had 23 points.    Two interesting choices by the UNO coach.   1.   Down one with 34 seconds, he chose to not foul.   He got the stop, but then only had 2.8 seconds for a game winner that never happened.    2.    After an on-court confrontation between two of his players where one felt the other wasn't giving him the ball in a timely fashion, the coach chose to leave the starter who initiated the confrontation benched for the last several minutes of the game.   Gutsy.   I wish he could have gotten the win so that he wouldn't have to be second guessed, but I admire the coach for taking a stand, though it may have cost him a tourney win.   

[Mr. Nielsen]

I thought New Orleans needed to foul.

[GooooMarquette]

I was really surprised they didn't foul.  As the announcer mentioned, it's different in the NBA where you can move the ball to midcourt.  But 2.8 isn't a lot of time to go full court and hit the shot.

[tower912]

I agree.    Extend the game.    Leave yourself 30 seconds and more possessions.    And maybe the other team misses.   

[Norm]

That New Orleans time out with the choking incident reminded me of some of the MU timeouts under Al.

[Mr. Nielsen]

I was really surprised they didn't foul.  As the announcer mentioned, it's different in the NBA where you can move the ball to midcourt.  But 2.8 isn't a lot of time to go full court and hit the shot.

Clark Kellogg

[skianth16]

I'm hoping the reffing tonight is indicative of the tournament overall. With three minutes to go in the game, neither team was in the bonus, and then only at the two minute mark did they both reach 7 fouls. Even though we're a strong FT shooting team, I'd rather have not have to worry about our guys getting in foul trouble.

[TVDirector]

Mount is my oldest bro's alma mater- lovely area of MD.  Home of the Shrine of Saint Elizabeth (Mother) Seton...
patron saint of 3 point shots.
Nova's in trouble.

heck, come to think of it, 3 of 4 brothers in family have teams in the tourny- Mount, Northwestern, MU.
don't think DeVry has much of a hoops team this year, so #4 just has to live vicariously through his 3 smarter sibs.
TechSlacker.

[wadesworld]

I'm hoping the reffing tonight is indicative of the tournament overall. With three minutes to go in the game, neither team was in the bonus, and then only at the two minute mark did they both reach 7 fouls. Even though we're a strong FT shooting team, I'd rather have not have to worry about our guys getting in foul trouble.

I couldn't disagree more.  If the refs let South Carolina play physical, particularly in pressing and on the perimeter, we are in big trouble.

[Anti-Dentite]

I couldn't disagree more.  If the refs let South Carolina play physical, particularly in pressing and on the perimeter, we are in big trouble.

I couldn't agree more with your disagreement.

[rocky_warrior]

I couldn't agree more with your disagreement.

And I couldn't disagree less.

[wadesworld]

And I couldn't disagree less.

Fair enough. Seton Hall and St. John's certainly took advantage of refs showing no interest in cleaning up hand checks on ball handlers, and we never adjusted at all. When you're a shooting team that doesn't finish well at the rim, the worst thing possible for you is to have a loosely called game. A ton easier to stay attached to a shooter when you're allowed to arm wrestle all over the court.

Edit: There might be too many negatives in there for me. I need some sleep now.

[rocky_warrior]

Edit: There might be too many negatives in there for me. I need some sleep now.

Yes, my intention was to agree with you.  If SC is allowed to mug MU without it being called a foul, we're doomed.

[tower912]

So, should the coach have sat the player for the rest of the game or not?     NCAA tourney.    Close game.   Forgive, forget and move on quickly?    Make it a teaching moment at the potential expense of losing the game?   (We'll never know if they would have won the game if the coach had allowed his player to continue)

I admire what he did.   

[GoldenDieners32]

I couldn't disagree more.  If the refs let South Carolina play physical, particularly in pressing and on the perimeter, we are in big trouble.

True

[skianth16]

I couldn't disagree more.  If the refs let South Carolina play physical, particularly in pressing and on the perimeter, we are in big trouble.

Rowsey is the only one I'm concerned about in that environment. But I think Wojo has to know that Rowsey struggles with the press and will probably have Howard or Reinhardt handle the ball more. Both of those guys seem fine in a more physical game. And I'd like to see our foul-prone bigs on the floor instead of sitting due to foul trouble.

[GGGG]

So, should the coach have sat the player for the rest of the game or not?     NCAA tourney.    Close game.   Forgive, forget and move on quickly?    Make it a teaching moment at the potential expense of losing the game?   (We'll never know if they would have won the game if the coach had allowed his player to continue)

I admire what he did.   

Yes, I think he did the right thing.

However his decision not to foul in the last 35 seconds was awful.

[tower912]

I agree on his decision to not foul.    You have to extend the game and maximize the number of opportunities there.    If there were 40 seconds left at the beginning of the possession, meaning you would get 8-9 seconds to run a play after you got the stop, I could see his argument.    Getting the ball back with <3 seconds simply isn't enough time. 

[wadesworld]

So, should the coach have sat the player for the rest of the game or not?     NCAA tourney.    Close game.   Forgive, forget and move on quickly?    Make it a teaching moment at the potential expense of losing the game?   (We'll never know if they would have won the game if the coach had allowed his player to continue)

I admire what he did.

I don't know how old the kid is, but the coach should kick him off the team. He assaulted a teammate mid game.