NCAA Tournament

[Norm]

He was 8 for 21 and 1/3 of his points came from foul line.  Some terrible shots at the end.  Cameras didn't go to his brother at end? 

Good for FAU. Like these stories, good for basketball.

Not as good as 11 seed George Mason in 2006, who beat Michigan St., North Carolina, Wich St and UConn, but a great run.

The thing to remember about the George Mason run in 2006 was that they got to play the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games in Washington, DC - about 5 miles from their campus, It's one of the largest state schools in Virginia and their fans flocked to the games and those of other teams that lost adopted. They had more of a home court advantage than any team in the last 20 years in the NCAA tournament. Absolutely great run but aided by a huge crowd advantage both of those games.

[wadesworld]

It's going to be an all Big East final

No it's not.

Uconn is the class of the big east. We anointed ourselves the next Villanova but I think this tournament has proven otherwise. I hope clingen and Hawkins declare cuz holy crap...

Is Clingen declaring for the G League Ignite?

[Goose]

I know we MU beat UConn twice this season, but they did not beat this UConn. This version had little trouble with MU when we played in CT. UConn deserves being in the FF, and IMO, they were the most talented team in the BE this year.

[panda]

You were the Houston stan, ya?

Lol - Hurley actually was able to slow the game down. Kudos

[Shooter McGavin]

It's going to be an all Big East final

Possible.  Would be great for the conference and the next TV contract.

[Shooter McGavin]

I know we MU beat UConn twice this season, but they did not beat this UConn. This version had little trouble with MU when we played in CT. UConn deserves being in the FF, and IMO, they were the most talented team in the BE this year.

Agreed.  UConn is hitting their stride with the best talent in the conference. 

[TSmith34, Inc.]

I know we MU beat UConn twice this season, but they did not beat this UConn. This version had little trouble with MU when we played in CT. UConn deserves being in the FF, and IMO, they were the most talented team in the BE this year.

This is true. MU had a magnificent season, but for a long stretch of the conference play, UConn played under their talent level while MU exceeded theirs.

[Dr. Blackheart]

MU was better than UCONN as the Huskies don't have a point guard. If they can grab an early lead, they can grind you down to dust like they did to MU in Hartford, however. The UCONN v MU BET game was the best college game I saw this season, btw.

[panda]

MU was better than UCONN as the Huskies don't have a point guard. If they can grab an early lead, they can grind you down to dust like they did to MU in Hartford, however. The UCONN v MU BET game was the best college game I saw this season, btw.

Tristan newton is definitely their Pg. Andre Jackson also great at spreading the floor.

[Lennys Tap]

Lol - Hurley actually was able to slow the game down. Kudos

LOL - the game was up and down from start to finish. UConn ran them off the court.

[Dr. Blackheart]

Tristan newton is definitely their Pg. Andre Jackson also great at spreading the floor.

They are combo guards with high turnover rates.

[panda]

LOL - the game was up and down from start to finish. UConn ran them off the court.

It was 30-25 at the under 4 timeout in the first half. UConn did a great job of dictating tempo in the first half. Then Timme picks up his third and subsequently fourth foul early in the second half and then UConn ran them off the floor.

[MU90620]

Tristan newton is definitely their Pg. Andre Jackson also great at spreading the floor.

Don't want to be confrontational and we might just have different definitions of spreading the floor, but I would say that Jackson has the opposite effect of spreading the floor. His inability to shoot tends to clog the lane and I believe is one of UConn's few true weaknesses.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

I know we MU beat UConn twice this season, but they did not beat this UConn. This version had little trouble with MU when we played in CT. UConn deserves being in the FF, and IMO, they were the most talented team in the BE this year.

I disagree.  UConn throttled Providence in the BET.  Marquette matched their level in the BET semifinal.  The problem was Marquette didn't maintain that level in the NCAA tournament.

[panda]

They are combo guards with high turnover rates.

In what world does a bad turnover rate disqualify you from being a PG. Newton is definitely their PG. He just makes boneheaded decision which leads to turnovers.

[panda]

Don't want to be confrontational and we might just have different definitions of spreading the floor, but I would say that Jackson has the opposite effect of spreading the floor. His inability to shoot tends to clog the lane and I believe is one of UConn's few true weaknesses.

Jackson isn't a PG. He's a good passer, moves well without the ball and is smart with his spacing. That all helps.

The lane clogs sometimes with them because they play with two very traditional bigs. They have Hawkins who is one of the better shooters in the country and calcaterra to spread the floor.

[StillWarriors]

I know we MU beat UConn twice this season, but they did not beat this UConn. This version had little trouble with MU when we played in CT. UConn deserves being in the FF, and IMO, they were the most talented team in the BE this year.

I believe we did in the BET. Absolute battle that could have gone either way. MU was that good, we just didn't play like it in the big tourney.

As for UConn, teams always look better when shots are falling. They have it going on all cylinders right now, and I thought their game plan was exceptional last night with Sanogo dropping passes to baseline cutters. Really impressive.

[Dr. Blackheart]

In what world does a bad turnover rate disqualify you from being a PG. Newton is definitely their PG. He just makes boneheaded decision which leads to turnovers.

Nobody said such a thing. The question is how MU beat them?  The answer is MU pressured their guards before UCONN could could get into their half court sets because "he makes boneheaded decisions which leads to turnovers": A 6'5" combo guard who plays PG.

That's not taking away anything from their combo guards. They are tough and play well in that system away from the Big East, but ballhandling isn't their strength.

[panda]

Nobody said such a thing. The question is how MU beat them?  The answer is MU pressured their guards before UCONN could could get into their half court sets because "he makes boneheaded decisions which leads to turnovers": A 6'5" combo guard who plays PG.

That's not taking away anything from their combo guards. They are tough and play well in that system away from the Big East, but ballhandling isn't their strength.

Tristan newton plays point for them. He doesn't look like mateen cleaves, but I don't know what to tell you if you don't think he's their point guard.

[Lennys Tap]

It was 30-25 at the under 4 timeout in the first half. UConn did a great job of dictating tempo in the first half. Then Timme picks up his third and subsequently fourth foul early in the second half and then UConn ran them off the floor.

UConn was #211 in tempo going in, Gonzaga was #39. The game was uptempo throughout (Gonzaga pace)and the faster it got the worse it became for the Zags. Period.

[panda]

UConn was #211 in tempo going in, Gonzaga was #39. The game was uptempo throughout (Gonzaga pace)and the faster it got the worse it became for the Zags. Period.

UConn slowed it down a ton with Timme on the floor and then with Timme in foul trouble they got out in the open floor.

[MU90620]

Jackson isn't a PG. He's a good passer, moves well without the ball and is smart with his spacing. That all helps.

The lane clogs sometimes with them because they play with two very traditional bigs. They have Hawkins who is one of the better shooters in the country and calcaterra to spread the floor.

Agree to disagree. They don't play the two bigs together very often if at all. Their fans actually complain about it quite a bit. The lane clogs because Jackson's man never leaves the lane and often doubles the post. With a traditional back to the basket 5 always on the court and Jackson's man sagging it gets pretty cramped in there.

The mistake a lot of non conference teams make is they defend him when he flashes to the ball. Marquette never did. They just let him catch it. Now what.

[TSmith34, Inc.]

UConn was #211 in tempo going in, Gonzaga was #39. The game was uptempo throughout (Gonzaga pace)and the faster it got the worse it became for the Zags. Period.

Once panda has established his position, he isn't going to let facts trump his need to be right.

[jesmu84]

Tristan newton plays point for them. He doesn't look like mateen cleaves, but I don't know what to tell you if you don't think he's their point guard.

Playing the PG position and being a PG can be 2 different things.

[panda]

Playing the PG position and being a PG can be 2 different things.

When is a point guard not a point guard? Even if he is listed as a point guard ?