I've Had An Hour To Step Back From The Ledge

[Tom Crean's Tanning Bed]

This one was painful.  Ranks right up there in my mind with the Louisville games and Stanford last year.

However, given those, a couple of thoughts:

1)  It's almost as though the loss of DJ has also ripped part of Jerel's heart as well.  Shooting, decision making, ball-handling, he is not the same player as he was without DJ.  Unfortunately, Jerel's cost us 2 games down the stretch here, as much as I hate to put it all on one of our players.  I do have a feeling, though, Jerel's heroics will make one last curtain call in the NCAAs. 

2)  Jimmy Butler is a star in the making.  On one of the biggest stages in the world, he has played the two best games of his career.

3)  Officiating was HORRIFIC.  I know 'Nova was packing it in on our dribble drive and hacking away, but seriously, it was just atrocious.  Tim Higgins needs to retire NOW, and the NCAA needs to look at seriously professionalizing refs like the NBA and NFL have.  To have a 60+ year old man calling the late game on Wed. night (ending at 11:30 PM EDT) and then doing an afternoon tip the following day is a disgrace (with all due respect to the seniors on this board).

4)  I remember complaining how Jerel pulled up for a jumper at the end of the Stanford game last year, and on the last possession today, he went to the hole, which I wanted him to do vs. Stanford last year.  To me, that was fine.  What I do wonder about, though, was the instructions Buzz gave him in the huddle.  I know Buzz is out there taking heat on it right now, but I'm curious if Jerel's mentality overrode Buzz's instructions and prompted him to take it to the hole too soon.  That last defensive play by Jerel, though, was inexcusable.

5)  I would NOT want to play us in the first weekend of the tourney. If Acker and Butler can keep their games up at the level they played at in NYC, and McNeal and Matthews can get their shooting woes figured out, this team is going to be dangerous still.

6)  Root for Villanova from here on out, and for Pitt to beat West Virginia tonight.  So long as West. Va. doesn't jump us in the BE pecking order, we should still maintain a 6-7 seed.

7)  Some teams in our range have suffered some bad losses this week.  See Clemson losing to Georgia Tech, and Texas A&M losing to Texas Tech last night.

8)  I think the committee will actually give us a fair shake this year. Tell me ANY team that's ever finished with as tough of a schedule as we've drawn going into the NCAAs (3 #1 seeds and 2 top 15 teams in the course of 2 weeks).  Also, keep in mind the UConn AD, Jeff Hathaway, is on the committee this year, and worked with Buzz/Dale Layer when they were at Colorado State back from 2001-2003, and who gave a VERY strong reccomendation to Buzz.  So this might be the year that we finally get somewhat of a break. 

[downtown85]

Great post.  I hope you are right about the seeding.

[ecompt]

I've stepped back, too, and couldn't be prouder of the heart and guts we showed in the second half. Jimmy Butler is going to be star and Mo had a terrific second half. I can't believe we had only SIX two-point baskets in the game. Gotta be a record.
As for Jerel, we have lived and died with him for four years. I got ripped a few months back for saying he hadn't improved since his freshman year. I was wrong then; his skills HAVE improved. But his basketball sense has stayed in the playground, and the worse thing is he takes his failures to the opposite end of the court (i.e, not guarding his man). You can forgive him for missing shots; it's tougher to overlook the I'm-the-star attitude that leads to his sometimes ridiculous decisions.

[The Man in Gold]

8)  I think the committee will actually give us a fair shake this year. Tell me ANY team that's ever finished with as tough of a schedule as we've drawn going into the NCAAs (3 #1 seeds and 2 top 15 teams in the course of 2 weeks).  Also, keep in mind the UConn AD, Jeff Hathaway, is on the committee this year, and worked with Buzz/Dale Layer when they were at Colorado State back from 2001-2003, and who gave a VERY strong reccomendation to Buzz.  So this might be the year that we finally get somewhat of a break.

I hope your right, unfortunately part of the rules prohibit any conference rep from advocating for any of its members.  Other than answering stat related questions they are not allowed to even debate with the group.  Still its always better to have a friend than an enemy on the committee.

[Tom Crean's Tanning Bed]

I hope your right, unfortunately part of the rules prohibit any conference rep from advocating for any of its members.  Other than answering stat related questions they are not allowed to even debate with the group.  Still its always better to have a friend than an enemy on the committee.

I believe you are correct on that, but I wouldn't be surprised if outside "lobbying" goes on before those guys begin their discussions.  So hopefully Hathaway does a little work for us before those doors are closed on Saturday. 

[NavinRJohnson]

Does anyone have the entire committee list?

[Chicago_inferiority_complexes]

I know it was on Mac's blog on espn 540's site.

[Ari Gold]

This one was painful.  Ranks right up there in my mind with the Louisville games and Stanford last year.

However, given those, a couple of thoughts:

2)  Jimmy Butler is a star in the making.  On one of the biggest stages in the world, he has played the two best games of his career.

3)  Officiating was HORRIFIC.  I know 'Nova was packing it in on our dribble drive and hacking away, but seriously, it was just atrocious.  Tim Higgins needs to retire NOW, and the NCAA needs to look at seriously professionalizing refs like the NBA and NFL have.  To have a 60+ year old man calling the late game on Wed. night (ending at 11:30 PM EDT) and then doing an afternoon tip the following day is a disgrace (with all due respect to the seniors on this board). 

+1 on both.

Jimmy is going to be amazing. He should get more PT next year and that should be win for the whole team.

Tim Higgins sucks very much. I stopped eating Keebler cookies and crackers because of him. I took a baseball bat to my parents garden gnome too.

[Brewtown Andy]

I hope your right, unfortunately part of the rules prohibit any conference rep from advocating for any of its members.  Other than answering stat related questions they are not allowed to even debate with the group.  Still its always better to have a friend than an enemy on the committee.

I thought it was they only had to leave the room for their own team, or in Mike Slive's case, the entire conference.

[Spaniel with a Short Tail]

Good post and I couldn't agree more (unlike some of the hysteria going on in some other threads).  Once the team gets over the disappointment of the finish maybe they'll realize that for the first time w/o DJ they BEAT (not just kept up with) a top-10 team...at least for a half!  Sure McNeal blew the defensive assignment and he has to get his head out of his a$$, but to be where we were at the end with how poorly McNeal & Matthews played offensively has got to - at some point in time - sink in and give them some team confidence.  As long as we don't drop down to an 8 seed, we got a chance next weekend.

[augoman]

I just can't get over hearing that there will be 8, count 'em, 8 teams from the big 10!!!!!  after MSU, there isn't a team that would finish in the top ten in the big east.

[MUSig54]

My argument - We aren't gpong to play a team in the 1st round on the same caliber as the teams we have faced these past few games. We win our 1st games STJ style. Second round is dependent on our seeding, but presuming (worst case scenario) we get an 8, and get UNC, we can still give them a helluva run. BE >ACC after all. If womehow Burke shuts down Hansborough, we still have the opportunity for a very special team. Maybe not 2003 caliber but the next best thing.

This team will still make us proud.

[Tom Crean's Tanning Bed]

My argument - We aren't gpong to play a team in the 1st round on the same caliber as the teams we have faced these past few games. We win our 1st games STJ style. Second round is dependent on our seeding, but presuming (worst case scenario) we get an 8, and get UNC, we can still give them a helluva run. BE >ACC after all. If womehow Burke shuts down Hansborough, we still have the opportunity for a very special team. Maybe not 2003 caliber but the next best thing.

This team will still make us proud.

I love the optomism of your scenario, but you think the PGs we've faced this year with Acker are good?  I'm going to be having nightmares tonight of Acker guarding Ty Lawson. 

[MUSig54]

I love the optomism of your scenario, but you think the PGs we've faced this year with Acker are good?  I'm going to be having nightmares tonight of Acker guarding Ty Lawson. 

Given how we have played it won't be a blow-out. Acker and Cube can still hit te 3. McNeal and Matthews will stilll be a nightmare matchup, not to mention Zar. We may lose, but we will keep it close.

[Mike Deane]

Help me, guys!

I can't sleep.  I watched it on ESPN360 for the third time.  I still can't believe we lost.

That ref killed us.  I don't know his name, maybe Tim Higgins like you say.  Every bad call comes from him.

Yes, Jerel tried to take over, but lost it.

I can't sleep!!!

Mike

[Tom Crean's Tanning Bed]

Help me, guys!

I can't sleep.  I watched it on ESPN360 for the third time.  I still can't believe we lost.

That ref killed us.  I don't know his name, maybe Tim Higgins like you say.  Every bad call comes from him.

Yes, Jerel tried to take over, but lost it.

I can't sleep!!!

Mike

Too much white powder tonight, Mike?   

[Mike Deane]

Well, I found something to do now.  I am watching the 5th overtime between uconn and orange.

by that last play in 4th overtime is almost the same as ours...  oh boy!