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Rick Gagliano
Sunday, March 27, 2005
Michigan State Completes the Final Four Puzzle
8:25 pm ET
Michigan State 94 Kentucky 88 2OT
Michigan State established the largest lead of the first half - 7 points - at 23-16, but Kentucky countered with 11 straight to grab a four-point lead that they held until the break, at which point they led, 37-33.
The Wildcats were helped by the play of Patrick Sparks, who took over at the point when Rajon Rondo picked up two early fouls. Sparks hit 4 of 5 3-pointers to finish the opening half with 12 points. The Spartans' Maurice Ager matched the effort with a dozen of his own, including 2-2 from beyond the arc.
At the start of the 2nd half, Michigan State quickly erased Kentucky's slim advantage and the game became extremely contentious from that point on, with 8 lead changes in just the first 4 1/2 minutes of the 2nd half.
With 13:19 remaining and Michigan State up by one, Kentucky's big man, Chuck Hayes, picked up his third foul and was forced to sit. But instead of working the ball inside, the Spartans began hitting from the outside and surged to an 8-point lead, at 66-58, with 7:43 left.
Hayes re-entered the game at that point, but with 5:08 remaining, he picked up his 4th, and coach Smith decided to sit him again.
At 2:41, Michigan led, 72-68 and Hayes was back on the floor, and after a Spartan miss, Ravi Moss hit a big three with under 2 minutes to go. At 1:19 Paul Davis got to the line and hit one of two for a 4-point lead at 73-69. Silent for much of the game, Kelenna Azubuike hit a 3 with a minute left to cut the lead to one. With 32 seconds left, Shannon Brown, who hadn't missed all day, finally did, and then Ramel Bradley was fouled hard at 0:27. Bradley was stunned and Patrick Sparks was elected to shoot the one-and-one. He missed, and with only 26 ticks left, the Wildcats were in a position in which they had to foul.
Shannon Brown was fouled, and the third-best foul shooter in the Big 10 stepped to the line and calmly hit two freebies to put State ahead 75-72.
Kentucky had a last chance with 12.6 seconds left. Patrick Sparks missed a three, Azubuike grabbed the rebound and missed another, but the long rebound came back to Sparks at the top of the key. He stepped back beyond the line, took a jab step and put the ball in the hole, apparently tying the game at the buzzer.
The officials immediately went to the monitors to review the play because Sparks' left foot was very close, if not on, the line. After a long wait of almost five minutes, the officials finally decided that Sparks was behind the line and for the first time in NCAA tournament history, 3 of the 4 regional finals would be decided in overtime.
Both squads scored 6 points in the first OT, with Kentucky having a chance to win it, but Azubuike failed to get off a good shot at the buzzer.
In the 2nd overtime, Michigan State's parade to the foul line began right off the tip, when Kelvin Torbert streaked to the rim and was fouled. He hit one of two, but the Spartans would not miss from the line again. Ager canned two freebies, and then Davis slammed home a miss for a 86-81 lead. It was the last shot the Spartans would have to make, earning their way into the Final Four.
Shannon Brown was the top scorer, with 24, going 8-10 from the floor, including 5 of 6 3s, and 3-4 from the foul line.
As expected, both Tom Izzo and Tubby Smith substituted frequently, though the Spartans only used 8 players to Kentucky's 10. All 8 Spartans scored, while only Bobby Perry, who took only one shot, failed to register at least one point for Kentucky.
Now, it's on to St. Louis, where Louisville takes on Illinois, while North Carolina faces Michigan State in the other semi-final tilt. Both games are scheduled for Saturday, April 2. The Tournament comes to a close on Monday night, April 4.
Random Notes: North Carolina sets a record with their 16th Final For appearance. All of the coaches in the Final Four have been there before, except Illinois coach Bruce Weber, whose team has the best record of all, 36-1. Michigan State hit their first 8 shots in the 2nd half against Kentucky.
North Carolina headed to St. Louis
4:55 pm ET
North Carolina 88 Wisconsin 82
That early lead allowed North Carolina to stay in up-tempo mode, forcing the Badgers to abandon any idea of slowing the game down. After the first 12 minutes of the game, it was evident that Wisconsin center Mike Wilkinson was going to have his hands full with May, and that the Tar Heel guards, Rashad McCants and Ray Felton, were getting plenty of opportunities to penetrate the Badger defense and create scoring opportunities in the lane or spot up for 3s.
While Carolina was maintaining a 5-10 point lead throughout most of the first half, Alondo Tucker, Clayton Hanson were keeping the Badgers in the game with 9 points apiece. Hanson hit 3 of 5 3-pointers, while Tucker did his scoring inside Carolina's zone. Kammron Taylor came off the bench to score 9 as well.
Despite May's 16 first half points, Wisconsin closed the half with an 11-point run to tie the score at 44, capped by Sharif Chambliss' clutch 3-point shot.
Wisconsin continued their run at the start of the second half with 5 quick points, but Carolina quickly countered with 14 straight to take a nine-point, 58-49 lead.
The Badgers, again spearheaded by Tucker and Hanson, would not go away easily though, and when Hanson hit another 3 from the wing, the lead was only one, 68-67.
As the clock wound under 3 minutes, Carolina was still clinging to a one-point lead at 74-73. Jawad Williams hit two free throws and then McCants blocked a 3-point shot by Hanson and came away with the ball. The Heels got into a half-court set and found May inside, who was fouled and canned two more freebies. After a Wisconsin score on a dunk by Tucker, McCants hit a big three, but Kammron Taylor stepped up and answered with one of his own with just under a minute left. Still, Carolina had an 81-78 lead and the ball.
That would prove to be a margin the Badgers could not overcome and they were forced to foul. Point guard Ray Felton put the game out of reach with 4 straight free throws and a mere 34.5 seconds left. Wisconsin came up short down the stretch and the Tar Heels were headed to St. Louis with an 88-82 victory.
May, who hit hit first five shots from the floor, and was 13-19 overall, finished with a game-high 29 points, hauled down 12 rebounds and dished 4 assists. May has averaged a double-double all season long. McCants sparkled from the perimeter, scoring 21 and Felton added 17. Tucker was high man for the Badgers, with 25 points.
Saturday, March 26, 2005
Another Overtime Thriller as Arizona Collapses
9:45 pm ET
Illinois 90 Arizona 89 OT
The Wildcats opened the second half with an 11-3 run, capped by consecutive 3s by Radenovic and Stoudamire, his first basket of the day. Suddenly, Arizona had a 47-41 lead. Hassan Adams picked up his 3rd foul four minutes into the 2nd half but remained on the floor.
At 13:24, James Augustine finally got on the board, tying the game at 49, with a quick hook on the baseline after Jack Ingram and Luther Head had hit back-to-back threes.
The wisdom of Lute Olsen was evident in his decision to leave Adams in the game with three fouls. At the 7:07 mark, Adams had tallied 15 points, 9 of them in the second half, leading Arizona to a 67-58 lead, their largest of the game.
With Deron Williams hounding Stoudamire, nobody could stay with Adams. If he wasn't hitting a three, he was slashing to the lane, finding open men for easy scores as the Illini interior defense was being shredded. With 5:23 remaining, Adams hit a free throw to put Arizona up by 11. Time was running out on Illinois.
Arizona eventually led by as many as 15, and it was all but over at the final TV timeout, as the Wildcats had seized control at 77-63 with 3:28 left. After that, the Wildcats nearly shut down completely on offense, scoring only 3 points - all from the foul line - while Illinois repeatedly stole the ball and scored, cutting the lead to 3 points with 45.3 seconds remaining.
Then, Arizona was sloppy on the inbound pass, Jack Ingram stole the ball and Deron Williams hit a huge three to tie the game at 80. Arizona had the ball with 38 seconds left, but failed to score on three attempts and the game was forced into overtime. In the final 2:48 of regulation, the Illini, all but dead, outscored the Wildcats, 17-3.
In the overtime, Williams hit 2 threes and Luther Head had a breakaway off a steal to put Illinois up by six. Hassan Adams scored 5 straight points to make it a one-point game as time wound under 45 seconds.
With the score 90-89 in favor of the Illini, Arizona had a shot to win with 11.8 seconds left, but Hassan Adams was forced into a poor 3-point attempt and the game, which had looked to be all Arizona with 4 minutes left in regulation, was inexplicably handed to Illinois.
In the end, 3-ball beat inner ball, as Deron Williams and Luther Head each had 5 treys, scoring 22 and 20 points, respectively. Channing Frye was tops for Arizona with 24.
What a day for everybody's inner hoops junkie!
Tomorrow, North Carolina faces Wisconsin and Michigan State faces off against Kentucky.
Louisville Rallies, Heads to St. Louis
7:15 pm ET
Louisville 93 West Virginia 85 OT
The Mountaineers came out firing while Louisville was ice cold and spurted out to a 19-5 lead in the first 9 minutes, hitting 3s from everywhere on the court and controlling the tempo. Just inside the 12-minute mark of the first half, Pat Beilein hit a jumper from another area code to put West Virginia ahead 27-11 and had the Cardinals were reeling. The Mountaineers were 7-10 from beyond the arc at that point while Louisville was 1-9.
It got even worse for Louisville, as West Virginia hit seven straight 3s and took a 38-18 lead with just under 3 minutes left in the half. But after that, the Cardinals went on a 9-2 run to cut the lead to 13. The most telling stats at the break were West Virginia's 10-14 shooting from 3-point range and Louisville's potential inside advantage, with a 12-10 rebounding edge. WVA shot 13-20 overall, while Louisville was 10-25 (4-12 on 3s).
In the second half, the Cardinals began to gradually assert themselves both offensively and defensively and chip away at the lead. With WVA leading, 52-40, Louisville went on an 11-2 run, forcing numerous turnovers and scoring in the paint and on mid-range jumpers, cutting the lead to three. As soon as the Cardinals got close, though, West Virginia went back to its bread and butter, as Kevin Pittsnogle and Mike Gansey hit back-to-back threes and led, 60-51.
With 7:11 left, Kevin Pittsnogle drifted out and hit another three, his 4th of the game, to give the Mountaineers a 68-58 lead. At that point, WVA was 16-21 from 3-point range - an incredible 76%! - and a school record.
With 4:02 remaining and West Virginia up 71-67, Francisco Garcia fouled out and Taquan Dean re-entered the game, nursing a sore hamstring. But the Cardinals were relentless, cutting the lead to one with under two minutes to play. Just as tenacious was Kevin Pittsnogle, who hit his 6th 3-pointer with 1:35 remaining. The Cardinals cut the lead to 2 and with 48 seconds left, had a chance to tie, and Larry O'Bannon did just that, driving to the hoop and laying it in for his 18th and 19th points of the game (all in the 2nd half). As time wore down, WVA had a chance to win, but with 7 seconds left, Louisville's Brandon Jenkins blocked a shot by Joe Herber in the lane. Taquan Dean missed at the buzzer and it was overtime at the Pit, 77-77.
Louisville finally got a lead in overtime, but it was tenuous. Up by one, Larry O'Bannon got fouled in the lane and hit two free throws with 2:17 left. Juan Palacios then scored on a layup, was fouled on a rebound and missed two free throws, but Louisville was up by five. Pittsnogle and Gansey missed three-point attempts and Louisville began a parade to the free throw line. Even though the Cardinals were not converting, WVU was stuck on 83, as Louisville pulled away, finishing a remarkable comeback with a 93-85 win and a trip to St. Louis and the Final Four.
Random Notes: WVA was 18-24 for from 3-point range in regulation, but 0-3 in OT. Larry O'Bannon was the high man for the Cardinals, scoring all 24 of his points in the 2nd half and overtime. Taquan Dean hit 7-17 3-point attempts and finished with 23. Kevin Pittsnogle had a game-high 25 points, hitting 6-9 3-pointers and 9-15 overall.
Friday, March 25, 2005
Elite Eight Set - recaps of late Friday games
12:45 am ET
Kentucky 62 Utah 52
The score could have been much worse, or much closer, had somebody managed to hit a few free throws. The Wildcats were only 10-19 from the line, but Utah really did themselves in, hitting only 14 of 28 free throws.
This marks the sixth time in the last 13 years that Utah and Kentucky has met in the tournament. Kentucky is a perfect 6-0 against the Utes during that span. The Wildcats will face Michigan State on Sunday for a trip to the Final Four.
North Carolina 67 Villanova 66
Carolina continued to pressure Villanova defensively and get timely scoring from Sean May, who registered a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Rashad McCants had 17 for the Tar Heels and Marvin Williams chipped in with 16. After the score was tied at 44, Carolina took control and eventually led by as much as 10. A gutsy Villanona cut the lead to one point with 1.8 seconds remaining, but could not get off a good shot at the buzzer as Carolina threw the inbound pass deep to the other end of the court.
The Tar Heels were lucky to get out of this one with a win as Villanova simply would not go away. Carolina was outhustled for the most part and looked very beatable, shooting only 42%. They were also aided by a dubious traveling call late in the game that went against the Wildcats and erased a bucket and a potential 3-point play that would have tied the game.
North Carolina will face Wisconsin on Sunday.
How good is the Big 10?
10.05 pm ET
With upset wins over two ACC teams, Michigan State and Wisconsin join Illinois in the Elite 8, which begs the question, just how good is the Big 10 Conference?
From the looks of things, the Big 10 is pretty darn good. Considering, with 10 teams currently remaining, that no other conference outside of the Big East (and the Big East's Villanova has North Carolina coming up) has more than one team remaining, the Big Ten holds a 3-1 edge on the other conferences. Could all of them make the Final Four? Not likely, but in the strange history of the NCAA Tournament, it could just happen.
Michigan State 78 Duke 68
Those stats were not lying. Michigan State finished shooting 43% for the game, including 5 of 8 3-pointers in the 2nd half. They also continued to outhustle the Blue Devils, forcing 22 turnovers, and controlling the inside, especially the offensive boards. The Spartans got 14 more shots off than Duke, evidence of their expert offensive rebounding.
Duke's Sheldon Williams fouled out at 2:41 remaining when Paul Davis double clutched, scored and was fouled. He converted the free throw to give the Spartans a 6-point lead that they would never relinquish. Davis finished with a game high 20 points to go with 12 boards. The Spartans, the 2nd best free throw shooting team in the country, converted 19 of 23 (82.6%) from the line.
North Carolina St. 65 Wisconsin 56
The Wildcats' usually dependable Julius Hodge had one of his worst nights ever. Though Hodge managed 14 points, he was only 4 of 16 from the field and could not get his offense in gear against the pressuring Wisconsin defense. The Wolfpack's hot 3-point shooting fell off in the 2nd half, as they hit only 3 of 13 and ended the game hitting at only 38% from the floor.
Credit Wisconsin's relentless defense - something that's quickly becoming a trademark for the Big 10 in this tourney - for the win. The Badgers aren't flashy, were never ranked higher than 12th during the season, but they continue to find a way to get the job done.
Analysis of Thursday night's games
While updating the scores last night, I just gave brief accounts of the action as I was heavily into watching the games, rather than reporting. Forgive me for being a FAN!
In any case, here's what I picked up from Thursday's action.
The least impressive win was probably Illinois. Beating up on the overmatched Panthers was expected, but the Illini barely did that. Wisc.-Milwaukee players had numerous fast break opportunities and the Illini never really put this team away until there were less than 5 minutes left in the game. A few free throws or another 3-pointer (the Panthers were a miserable 7-29 from 3-point range) would have been the difference between covering the line and not. I'm sure there were more than a few anxious plungers when the lead was nine with under 5 minutes to play. Also, Luther Head is much less than 100%, and that's going to hurt their chances against Arizona. And, Illinois is not very deep. In last night's game four subs played a total of 19 minutes. Each of the five starters played at least 33.
I think the gig is up for the Illini. If you were even half awake during the Arizona-Oklahoma State tilt, you witnessed easily the most bruising, physically punishing game of the tournament. Every shot, every pass, every rebound was contested by strong, fast, large and superior athletes than what Illinois will put on the floor on Saturday. The inside game will belong to the Wildcats, and unless Channing Frye gets hurt or in foul trouble, penetration by the Illinois guards will be very tough. If the refs let them play - in other words, allow the game to be physical - it's probably over for the Illini. At least one more #1 seed will fall before the weekend is over and Illinois is the most probable to get their exit ticket punched.
Forget about West Virginia. Sure, their win over Texas Tech was dramatic and hard-earned and they are a very, very, well-coached, disciplined team. They wore down a solid, but undermanned Red Raider squad. Kudos to Bobby Knight for being himself and hanging in. I'm sure he was impressed that his bunch of overachievers got as far as they did.
The main problem for the Mountaineers is that their next opponent is Louisville.
Besides having too many weapons, too much size, superior speed and quickness, a huge edge in rebounding capacity, athleticism and outright skill, the Cardinals are still playing with a chip on their shoulder after being seeded #4 in their region (remember they did win both the Conference USA regular season and tournament titles rather easily), they have Rick Pitino on the bench, possibly one of the greatest collegiate coaches of all time.
Do you think Pitino would like another National Championship to add to his already overwhelming resume? Count on it. Pitino is a man of immense pride and capacity and he has a very talented, well-schooled team. Pitino's record in the NCAA Tournament is now 30-9, and a win on Saturday would earn him his 5th trip to the Final Four with three different teams. Providence, and Kentucky, 3 times, including the National Championship in 1995-96, are the other two.
To a man, the Cardinals don't believe they can lose and a lot of that has to do with Pitino's ability to instill confidence and a winning attitude in his players. The Cardinals are slicing through the tournament field like a hot knife though creamy butter. They beat Louisiana-Lafayette by six (I expect Pitino had some words for his players about taking teams lightly); Georgia Tech they dismantled in the first half and won by 18, and last night's 93-79 victory was 13 points above their season scoring average and 8 below Washington's. They're doing it on both sides of the court.
One thing the Mountaineers have going for them is depth. They can legitimately go eight deep. Unfortunately, their subs will be spending much of their time against Louisville's seemingly tireless starters. Louisville will control the pace, the scoreboard, the crowd and maybe even the concession stands before this one is over.
Louisville will explode into the Final Four like a keg of gunpowder. They're headed straight to St. Louis fully loaded. The game against West Virginia will be an absolute rout and whomever they face in the Final Four better be ready for a war.
Updating the conference standings, with 12 teams left in the field, The Big East, which sent 6 teams to the tournament, is down to two, one of which is Villanova, and they're likely to be run off the court by the Tar Heels tonight. The Big 12 is completely out, with the demise of Texas Tech and Oklahoma St. last night. Five teams went from the Big 12, all are gone. The Big Ten still has 3 of the 5 that made the field, but two of them, Wisconsin and Michigan State, are both underdogs tonight. The ACC still boasts three of the five from the conference as survivors, and the Pac-10 is down to one, Arizona, after sending only four. Kentucky and Utah are the lone representatives remaining from the SEC and Mountain West, respectively, and they face each other tonight. Louisville is the only survivor from Conference-USA of three who originally made the field.
More updates to follow tonight directly after each game.
Thursday, March 24, 2005
Good Ball All Around
12:25 pm EST
Coaching move of the night: Bob Knight challenges a 3 by WVA's Pittsnogle (in the first 4 minutes of the game!) and gets it turned into a 2. Shortly thereafter, the Red Raiders went on a 12-2 run.
Play of the tourney: Ronald Ross' 2 straight steals and scores to take the lead against WVU. Incredible. Those kinds of plays are why we are college hoops junkies.
Andf then he comes back and makes another steal and breakaway dunk to tie the game. Unbelievable. And they're still behind.
In a game of execution, the Mountaineers were the executioners. They move on to face Louisville.
West Virginia wins 65-60
Arizona 79 Oklahoma St. 78
9:55 pm EST
Louiville 93 Washington 79
Illinois 77 Milwaukee-Wisconsin 63
The nest two game will be closer, guaranteed.
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Sweet Sixteen Analysis - Syracuse and Austin Regions
Austin Region
All four of these games will be played on Friday night, March 25. In the Syracuse Region, North Carolina looks like it will advance as Villanova forward Curtis Sumpter will miss the rest of the tournament with a torn ligament in his left knee. Sumpter was the Wildcats' second-leading scorer and top rebounder. It's a big injury considering that the Tar Heels are led in both scoring and rebounding by power forward Sean May.
At 29-4, other than their season-opening loss to Santa Clara, the Carolinians have only lost to three ACC teams - Duke, Wake Forest and Georgia Tech, and two of them are out of the tournament. They were my pick to win it all before the tourney started and they still are, though I believe they will play Louisville in the final.
North Carolina State should be able to find it's way past Wisconsin, who is in this position thanks in large part to the kids from Bucknell, who knocked Kansas off in the first round. Meanwhile, the Wolfpack has beaten Charlotte and UConn, so they've been tested and have been playing well for some time. As long as Julius Hodge is in the game, NC State is a tough beat.
In the Austin Region, all eyes will be looking for a Duke-Kentucky regional final, but Utah looks to be a solid shot for an upset. The problem for Kentucky coach Tubby Smith is to find a way to contain Utah's center, Andrew Bogut. This one may come down to who has the bigger heart, and it could go either way.
Duke should get by Michigan State, right? But would anyone be surprised if Tommy Izzo's disciplined offense gets an edge on the Blue Devils? Duke, as usual, is very solid. They won a tough game against Mississippi State, and they may still be reeling a bit, but coach K will have them ready. I was a little surprised that Duke wasn't a larger favorite.
Monday, March 21, 2005
Analysis of Thursday (3/24) Sweet 16 Games
USA Today Line:
Albuquerque Region
Here we are in the Sweet Sixteen. As usual, a few surprises from the first two rounds upset some of the brackets, but in this tournament, upsets are expected. Today, we're going to look at the Chicago and Albuquerque Regions. These games all will be held on Thursday night. Tomorrow, the Chicago and Syracuse Regions.
(1) Illinois vs. (12) Wisconsin-Milwaukee
In the Chicago region, the status quo survived pretty much intact, with the top three seeds advancing, though the party has been crashed by 12-seed Milwaukee-Wisconsin. The problem for them, however, is they're about to take on one of the best teams in the country, Illinois, the overall #1 seed in the tournament. The Illini should have little problem dispatching the Panthers, who's success is largely tied to their pressing defense.
That is going to be a problem against Illinois' three-guard offense. Deron Williams, Dee Brown and Luther Head are all solid ball-handlers and can get the ball into their big men, James Augustine and Roger Powell, Jr. The Panthers also don't have anyone who can match up with 7' 2" center Nick Smith and they've also gotten quality minutes from sturdy swingman Jack Ingram. This round goes to the Illini.
(2) Oklahoma State vs. (3) Arizona
Arizona and Oklahoma State will present one of the better games of the tournament. Either of these teams has the potential of getting very hot, very quickly. The Wildcats, especially, can call on Salim Stoudamire to devastate opponents from outside, or have Channing Frye wreak havoc inside. They also get a quality effort from Hassan Adams every minute he's on the court.
Point guard John Lucas spearheads the attack for Oklahoma State, and his heads-up play will largely determine the pace of the game. The Cowboys also have an inside-outside game, especially since freshman JamesOn Curry has stepped up in the 2-guard role. Inside, Ivan McFarlan and Joey Graham will do the heavy lifting.
In the final analysts, Stoudamire will likely have to carry Arizona through much of this game. Channing Frye has never lived up to his potential and the inside players for Oklahoma St. are strong and quick and that could prove to be a huge edge.
(4) Louisville vs. (1) Washington
Somewhat surprised that the public made Louisville the choice here, but after their crushing victory against Georgia Tech, a lot of people are waking up to the reality that many of us knew weeks and even months ago - that Rick Pitino has put together a squad that can win it all. The Cardinals were easily the class of Conference-USA, winning both the regular season title and the tournament. The Cardinals have won 11 straight and 20 of their last 21. There is no hotter team in the country.
The starting Five of Francisco Garcia, Taquan Dean, Larry O'Bannon, Ellis Myles and Juan Diego Palacios all average in double figures, with the exception of freshman Palacios, who is close at 9.8 ppg. Outside of Myles, who is an interior expert and their top rebounder, they can all fire from beyond the arc, especially O'Bannon and Dean, who hit at a combined 44% clip. The Cardinals can slash to the hoop or play half-court and kill you from outside. They do not have an imposing inside presence, but against Washington, that won't matter, as neither do the Huskies.
Washington wins with speed, period. They will run and gun all night long and they are very deep, with nine players who average more than 12 minutes per game. Their three-guard offense of Brandon Roy, Tre Simmons and Nate Robinson will try to get loose for easy baskets against Louisville, and forward Bobby Jones, if left alone, will bomb away from beyond the arc. The outcome of this game will depend largely on whether the Huskies can get Louisville into an up-tempo game and even then, it's not a lock. I'll reserve judgment on this one for now.
Bobby Knight's Red Raiders have depth and heart and have beaten ranked teams, the latest being Gonzaga, who could not put the Raiders away after they played one of their worst halves of the season in the first half of their recent encounter. Tech erased a nine-point halftime lead and made the plays down the stretch for the right to advance. They get a bit of a break in facing West Virginia, but only on paper. The Mountaineers knocked off Wake Forest, a team many thought would be in the Final Four (including the ACC-leaning CBS analysts, who had Wake, Duke and North Carolina predicted to make the Final Four as recently as last Saturday afternoon).
After team leader Ronald Ross, there are no real stars on the Red Raiders, although Jarrius Jackson has been known to light it up on occasion. He hits 47% from three point range and is Tech's 2nd leading scorer. The rest of the squad does all the little things so important in Knight's scheme, playing solid defense, setting picks, positioning, and rebounding. When the Tech offense is flowing and the players execute, it is a thing of beauty.
West Virginia has come out of nowhere to excite and dazzle crowds of late. First they made a run to the finals of the Big East Tournament and have excelled that by winning their first two games in the big dance, both of them close, hard-fought contests. The Mountaineers get most of their production from the trio of Mike Gansey, Tyrone Sally and Kevin Pittsnogle, but their true forte is defense and lots of it. Creating turnovers is key for West Virginia and they will be put to the test against Texas Tech. This will be one of the more entertaining games of the tourney, not to be missed.
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