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Mar 30 2013
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By Evan Hollander Big East, NCAA Tournament, That School in New York

Orange Prevail in Elite Eight, Set for Atlanta

In a battle of two Big East teams, Syracuse (30-9) trounced Marquette (26-8) 55-39 in an ugly NCAA East Regional final at Verizon Center on Saturday afternoon.

The No. 4-seeded Orange, who defeated Indiana in the Sweet 16 Thursday, again flustered their opponent with aggressive defense, holding the Golden Eagles to a miserable 22.6 percent shooting from the floor and containing junior forward Davante Gardner, who had been a thorn in Syracuse’s side during the team’s only regular season meeting, to 14 points. Continue reading →

Mar 29 2013
By Carolyn Maguire Big East, Men's Basketball, NCAA Tournament

Rugged Marquette Dominates Miami to Cruise into Elite Eight

Miami was trying to fake its way through to the next round Thursday night, but fakers don’t win in the Sweet Sixteen.

The Hurricanes were forcing shots and begging for calls all night, but what they weren’t doing was crashing the boards or getting back on defense, losing both the effort battle and ultimately the contest to the Golden Eagles of Marquette, 71-61, at Verizon Center.

Yes, No. 2 seed Miami entered the game as the favorite Thursday, but the shock factor of No. 3 seed Marquette’s win didn’t even register in a tournament that had already seen the likes of Georgetown and New Mexico fall in the Round of 64. The comfort level of the Golden Eagles’ victory was surprising, however, as — in a game in which the refs by and large let the two teams play — Miami looked outmatched by its opponent’s physical Big East style and as a result found itself out of the game entirely for the vast majority of the 40 minutes.

Jim Larranaga’s squad could not buy a basket in the early going, starting out 2-of-12 from the field, with their shooting woes continuing largely unimpeded from there. It wasn’t just bad offense that did in the ’Canes, though, as junior guard Vander Blue and Co. forced turnovers and generally wreaked havoc on the defensive end to cause Miami’s inability and seeming apprehension to hit shots.

“I thought our rotations were really good. I thought our ball screen coverage for the most part was probably as good as it has been,” Marquette Head Coach Buzz Williams said after the game. “If you don’t guard their guard their ball screens and they shoot and miss because they’ve put in you rotation, they’re going to get offensive rebounds and score.”

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Mar 29 2013
By Evan Hollander Men's Basketball, NCAA Tournament, That School in New York

Syracuse Trounces Indiana, Sets up Marquette Rematch

When Syracuse played at Verizon Center three weeks ago, a Georgetown defensive lockdown saw the Orange escape with just 39 points on the afternoon. On Thursday night in the NCAA East Regional semifinals, they had almost that many by halftime.

No. 4 seed ‘Cuse (29-9) took care of business against No. 1 seed Indiana (29-7) in the Sweet 16, flustering the Hoosiers into 18 turnovers and holding one of the nation’s top three-point shooting teams to just 20 percent from beyond the arc en route to a 61-50 victory.

Sophomore guard Michael Carter-Williams, who was the only significant contributor in Syracuse’s loss to Georgetown at Verizon Center, paced the Orange with 24 points on Thursday night. And MCW was complemented against Indiana by senior guard Brandon Triche and junior forward C.J. Fair, who had 14 and 11 points, respectively.

The Hoosiers led only once in the ballgame — at 3-2 very early in the first half — and trailed by 12 at the intermission. Despite combining for 29 points, both junior guard Victor Oladipo and senior forward Christian Watford had uncharacteristic off-nights against the vaunted Syracuse zone. Perhaps worst of all, freshman guard Yogi Ferrell never reached the scoreboard at all.

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Mar 22 2013
By Ryan Bacic Men's Basketball, NCAA Tournament, Rapid Recap

Georgetown Upset, Outclassed by No. 15 Seed Florida Gulf Coast

Screen Shot 2013-03-22 at 9.35.37 PMYou really want to read about this right now? Are you a Syracuse fan or something? No? Then stop reading, and go watch a Will Ferrell movie or listen to sad music or something. I don’t drink myself, but you can go right ahead and do that too. You deserve it.

Alright, you’re really still here? Fine, then I guess I’m kind of obligated to do a bit of recapping for you.

In short, junior point guard Markel Starks showed up to the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia for the second-seeded Hoyas’ first-round matchup with the Eagles of Florida Gulf Coast. He did so alone.

In what on paper should have been a breeze for the second-seeded Hoyas, Starks put up 23 points and six assists to account for more than a third of Georgetown’s points in what ended a lopsided 78-68 loss. Unanimous Big East player of the year and Wooden Award finalist Otto Porter Jr.? 5-of-17 from the floor, 13 points, no spark. Freshman guard D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera? Still cold: 3-for-11, six points.

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Mar 20 2013
By Arik Parnass Men's Basketball, NCAA Tournament, Preview

Midwest Regional Breakdown: Fear the Trendy Upset Pick

Has it really been a year? *checks rhetorical calendar* Yes it has! So it’s time to preview what most people think is the most predictable bracket of the lot this year. As somebody who has been trying to find a creative yet logical championship pick for a few days now, I can tell you it’s not easy. Louisville seems to be the consensus champion. Let’s take a look at the bracket now in more depth:

Team that lost three in a row at one point and you wrote off but now is somehow the tournament’s top seed despite never beating a team in the top 10: Louisville

No I didn’t make any of that up. The Cards rank 15th in adjusted offense and 1st in adjusted defense, according to KenPom rankings, but they don’t have any particularly convincing wins on their resume. They certainly looked good in their second-half thrashing of Syracuse over the weekend, but it’s unclear if they could replicate that against a top team like Duke.

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Mar 20 2013
By Pat Curran Men's Basketball, NCAA Tournament, Preview

West Regional Breakdown: Dammit, I Guess the Big Ten is Pretty Good

The wild, wild West. If the country’s foremost basketball experts are to be believed, this is where all the fun is going to happen. Top-seeded Gonzaga’s weak schedule has gamblers looking to spice up their brackets, salivating at the chance to throw all the chalk out the window.

Or, it WOULD, if the committee hadn’t been a total fun-sucker and put Ohio State in the region as well. The Buckeyes, a No. 2 seed, are soaring in most analysts’ estimations after outlasting the likes of Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State and Wisconsin for the Big Ten title.

As a result, most bettors are going to ink The Ohio State University in the region’s Final Four slot, much to the chagrin of New Mexico and Gonzaga fans. The pick is pretty much impervious to criticism — the Buckeyes are hot (eight-game win streak), experienced (Final Four last year) and battle-tested (the Big Ten was kind of good I guess). But will they win? Our predictions after the jump.

MOST VULNERABLE HIGH SEED: Gonzaga

Sorry to be a downer, but it’s completely true: The ’Zags are operating under a different set of expectations than every other No. 1 seed until they prove they can beat up on major-conference teams. Gonzaga will beat Southern in the opener, but watch out for tough potential matchups with Pittsburgh in the second round or the Fightin’ Buzzcuts of Wisconsin in the regional semifinal.

As far as first-round upsets go, I don’t see anything dramatic happening here. A lot of people will get sucked into the Slim Shady Marshall Henderson hype and pick Ole Miss to take out Wisconsin in the 5-12 game. It’s certainly possible, but while the brash guard can shoot his team into any game, he’s just as likely to chuck them out of it. A quick, undiscriminating trigger isn’t your friend against a Bo Ryan defense. I see sixth-seeded Arizona falling to 11th-seeded Belmont as the more likely first-round disappointment — the Wildcats are fading down the stretch, and the Bruins can fill it up quickly from beyond the arc.

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