Final Four Prediction #1

[bs4173]

and yes, it's far too early, but a little press never hurts: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/119321-its-never-too-early-for-a-march-madness-final-four-prediction

see page 3.

[g0lden3agle]

Can someone throw a summary up on this thread? Every time I click on the link IE crashes....

[drewm88]

First 3 picks are UConn, Duke, and Wake. He also says at the beginning that last year at this time he picked the correct Final Four. This assessment seems pretty dead on to me.

Marquette

If the Wake pick surprised you then Marquette made you fall out of your chair. No Carolina? No Pitt? No Oklahoma? Nope. UNC is all Hansbrough all the time and that's not a good thing. Although Fields is nice, Pitt's guards aren't in the same class as the above mentioned teams and I think Blair is a bit overrated. Oklahoma probably has the best player in America, but after that I'm from Missouri on Warren or Johnson being second options that can carry a team. Plus their depth sucks as much as their university.

Marquette gets the nod because the Golden Eagle Warriors have the three best guards in college basketball especially when Dominic James isn't channeling AJ Abrams. Jerel McNeal is the best all around shooting guard in America and may be the best player in the country period. He averages a Moneyball-esque combination of a 47% from deep, 5 boards, 4 assists, and 1 block. The senior can get his own offense anytime he wants it and he's a tenacious defender.

He's flanked by two NBA caliber guards Dominic James and Wesley Matthews. When James is using his ability to penetrate for good instead of evil, he makes everyone on the floor better. James has a stellar 5 to 1 assist to turnover ratio, and he does it mostly by creating help and recover situations. Sometimes he goes off the reservation looking for his own offense and that's when Buzz Williams must rein him in.

The other guard, 6-5 third guard Wesley Matthews, is an "oh by the way" 19 ppg 5.6 rpg 2.6 ast type player. He's just happy to be here, and hopes he can help the ballclub. These 3 cats control tempo in every ballgame and will be hell on wheels during tournament time because of their chameleon like abilities to thrive in an up and down game or half court scrum.

The frontcourt starts with Lazar Hayward who plays much much bigger than his 6-6 frame as his 9 boards will attest. He's an athletic finisher that can run the floor, but he's also capable of sneaking away from the bucket to hit the occasional 3, evidenced by his 31 makes on 84 attempts from deep. Senior 6-8 forward Dwight Burke gives Marquette some size at the other forward spot. Jimmy Butler is a 6-6 hybrid forward that gives Williams options off the bench.

Marquette shoots 73% from the foul line and 4 of the 5 starters shoot 75% or better. Dominic James shoots a woeful 48%, but that's mitigated at crunch time by the fact that McNeal and Matthews can handle the rock. It's obvious that the Achilles heel for the Golden Politically Correct Warriors is size and size alone. Can they hold up when faced with a frontcourt like UCONN's or Pitt's? The good news on that front is they'll be able to find out how they match up with big teams when they face UCONN, Pitt, and Syracuse during a two week stretch at the end of February. And after that, it's doubtful they'll face a grossly superior frontcourt unless they get deep into the tournament. Like, say, the final four?

[bs4173]

haha, "Marquette Golden Eagle Warriors"

[JSwarriors08]

"Golden Politically Correct Warriors" = Awesome

[muboy262]

False.  Black bear.

Sorry, i had to do it.

[mosarsour]

False.  Black bear.

Sorry, i had to do it.

Bears.
Beets.
Battlestar Galactica.

[MU in Miami]

I like how we stand in Lunardi's current bracketology...

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/bracketology

I would not think they would throw the two highest ranked big east team in the same possible quarterfinal, but the early part of the bracket looks good.

[patso]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/118325-marquette-golden-eagles-are-they-for-real

[bs4173]

already posted: http://www.muscoop.com/index.php?topic=12234.0

[patso]

sorry

[g0lden3agle]

already posted: http://www.muscoop.com/index.php?topic=12234.0

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this a different story?

[bs4173]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this a different story?

Oh man, I'm so sorry. Good catch. I just saw Bleacher Report, Marquette, and assumed it was the same article. Wow, lots of love from BR today.

[rocky_warrior]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this a different story?

Absolutely correct - I just blindly merged the two topics thinking that bs4173 was correct.  Anyhow - I'll leave it here, but yes, also check out...

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/118325-marquette-golden-eagles-are-they-for-real