gpikeSunday NCAA tournament games preview
March 20th 2011 00:29
Today's games thus far have gone by the book, with Kentucky and Richmond both winning. San Diego State is in a great battle with Temple, and Butler has jumped to a seven-point lead on Pittsburgh. More good action is slated to continue for the remainder of the day. Tomorrow has another full slate of games, all day action. Washington and North Carolina begin the day.
Washington has the manpower to give this athletic, North Carolina team a run for their money. Isiah Thomas, Matthew Bryan-Amaning, Justin Holiday, Venoy Overton, the Huskies have great depth. Amaning will be put to the test with Tyler Zeller on the other side of the court from North Carolina. The point guard battle with Thomas and Kendall Marshall will be something special. Both guards distribute the ball well, plus Thomas has the ability to score at any point on the court. Harrison Barnes is the x-factor here, as Washington may struggle to keep him under wrap. Holiday will likely get the matchup with Barnes who leads the Tar Heels in scoring. When I made my bracket the first time, I put Washington down as the winner here. Though my mind has wavered a little. North Carolina wins a great game here.
Michigan and Duke, a great rivalry from the 90's renews in the second game. The game has been under the radar this week as former Wolverine Jalen Rose, and former Duke player Danny Hurley have been taking potshots. Nows the time for the game. Just like in the 90's when Duke always had Michigan's number, they will again on Sunday. The Wolverines thrashed Tennessee on Friday, but Duke is a whole different monster. The Blue Devils continue onto next week as Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith put on a show.
Ohio State continues their quest to become the national champion and they will take on a previous cinderella team in George Mason. The Patriots of George Mason, don't have anyone to match up with Jared Sullinger, so they will need to get their strong guard play in the game. Cam Long leads the way for George Mason. Ohio State has great depth all over their roster, adding difficulty to this game for George Mason, who doesn't. David Lighty continues on with Ohio State in the win. George Mason goes down swinging, they will not die easily.
Two 28-7 teams take the court in the 4-seed versus the 5-seed, with Texas and Arizona matching up. In looking at this game, I felt initially Arizona had the more talent, though Texas has the big bodies to spoil the Wildcats bid. Derrick Williams of Arizona will be the best player on the court, but Texas has a line of big guys who they will be able to throw at the PAC-10's best. Tristan Thompson, Jordan Hamilton, Gary Johnson, the names continue. Texas has the definite advantage. Can Arizona get anything from their guards? That is the question. Guys like Lamont Jones and Kyle Fogg need to contribute. Texas wins in a close one.
Purdue matches up with 11th-seeded Virginia Commonwealth. The Rams of Virginia Commonwealth were the lone team to win one of the play-in games and then win again. The Rams didn't just win, they dominated Georgetown. Can the magic continue? The Rams showed a side of things, I didn't know they could do, and that is shoot the ball. They knocked down 12 3-point field goals in the 18-point win over the Hoyas. Brandon Rozzell connected on six of these 3-pointers. Purdue has a shooter in E'Twaun Moore and a great center in JaJuan Johnson. Purdue is the better team from top to bottom, and they will continue on. VCU hangs in there till the final minutes of the game.
Another Big East matchup with Syracuse and Marquette. First off tonight's rematch of Connecticut and Cincinnati, know the Orangemen plays against the Golden Eagles of Marquette. The Golden Eagles won the team's matchup earlier this year, 76-70. That game was part of Syracuse's four-game losing streak after winning their first 18 games. Jae Crowder led all scorers in this game with 25 for Marquette. Rick Jackson leads the way for Syracuse, averaging 14 points, and ten rebounds. The senior forward scored 14 in Syracuse's loss to Marquette. Scoop Jardine and the other guards for Syracuse need to be ready this time around for Marquette. Who wins? A tight battle ensues, and Syracuse emerges victorious.
Top-seeded Kansas for the Southwest region earns a matchup with Illinois. The Fighting Illini, are an interesting team, one which you never know what team will show up. Kansas on the other hand is a very consistent, team who wins more often then not. The Morris brothers, and a solid group of guards are key for Kansas, who had some issues with Boston University, before pulling away. Illinois whipped UNLV, right from the start, and then you wonder where this team was at all year long. Illinois has the talent to match up with Ohio State and Purdue, they just couldn't put it all together and lost 13 games this year. Demetri McCamey is the leader for Illinois. He will need to stay on the court for the whole game for Illinois to stand a chance. Kansas wins, again pulling away in the final ten minutes of action.
The final third round game features Notre Dame, and Florida State. Florida State won a low scoring affair with Texas A&M, while the Fighting Irish beat Akron with little trouble. Derwin Kitchen leads the Seminoles, averaging ten points and four assists. Notre Dame has a talented roster led by Ben Hansborough. The Fighting Irish wins another low-scoring battle. The Irish move onto next week's games.
Washington has the manpower to give this athletic, North Carolina team a run for their money. Isiah Thomas, Matthew Bryan-Amaning, Justin Holiday, Venoy Overton, the Huskies have great depth. Amaning will be put to the test with Tyler Zeller on the other side of the court from North Carolina. The point guard battle with Thomas and Kendall Marshall will be something special. Both guards distribute the ball well, plus Thomas has the ability to score at any point on the court. Harrison Barnes is the x-factor here, as Washington may struggle to keep him under wrap. Holiday will likely get the matchup with Barnes who leads the Tar Heels in scoring. When I made my bracket the first time, I put Washington down as the winner here. Though my mind has wavered a little. North Carolina wins a great game here.
Michigan and Duke, a great rivalry from the 90's renews in the second game. The game has been under the radar this week as former Wolverine Jalen Rose, and former Duke player Danny Hurley have been taking potshots. Nows the time for the game. Just like in the 90's when Duke always had Michigan's number, they will again on Sunday. The Wolverines thrashed Tennessee on Friday, but Duke is a whole different monster. The Blue Devils continue onto next week as Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith put on a show.
Ohio State continues their quest to become the national champion and they will take on a previous cinderella team in George Mason. The Patriots of George Mason, don't have anyone to match up with Jared Sullinger, so they will need to get their strong guard play in the game. Cam Long leads the way for George Mason. Ohio State has great depth all over their roster, adding difficulty to this game for George Mason, who doesn't. David Lighty continues on with Ohio State in the win. George Mason goes down swinging, they will not die easily.
Two 28-7 teams take the court in the 4-seed versus the 5-seed, with Texas and Arizona matching up. In looking at this game, I felt initially Arizona had the more talent, though Texas has the big bodies to spoil the Wildcats bid. Derrick Williams of Arizona will be the best player on the court, but Texas has a line of big guys who they will be able to throw at the PAC-10's best. Tristan Thompson, Jordan Hamilton, Gary Johnson, the names continue. Texas has the definite advantage. Can Arizona get anything from their guards? That is the question. Guys like Lamont Jones and Kyle Fogg need to contribute. Texas wins in a close one.
Purdue matches up with 11th-seeded Virginia Commonwealth. The Rams of Virginia Commonwealth were the lone team to win one of the play-in games and then win again. The Rams didn't just win, they dominated Georgetown. Can the magic continue? The Rams showed a side of things, I didn't know they could do, and that is shoot the ball. They knocked down 12 3-point field goals in the 18-point win over the Hoyas. Brandon Rozzell connected on six of these 3-pointers. Purdue has a shooter in E'Twaun Moore and a great center in JaJuan Johnson. Purdue is the better team from top to bottom, and they will continue on. VCU hangs in there till the final minutes of the game.
Another Big East matchup with Syracuse and Marquette. First off tonight's rematch of Connecticut and Cincinnati, know the Orangemen plays against the Golden Eagles of Marquette. The Golden Eagles won the team's matchup earlier this year, 76-70. That game was part of Syracuse's four-game losing streak after winning their first 18 games. Jae Crowder led all scorers in this game with 25 for Marquette. Rick Jackson leads the way for Syracuse, averaging 14 points, and ten rebounds. The senior forward scored 14 in Syracuse's loss to Marquette. Scoop Jardine and the other guards for Syracuse need to be ready this time around for Marquette. Who wins? A tight battle ensues, and Syracuse emerges victorious.
Top-seeded Kansas for the Southwest region earns a matchup with Illinois. The Fighting Illini, are an interesting team, one which you never know what team will show up. Kansas on the other hand is a very consistent, team who wins more often then not. The Morris brothers, and a solid group of guards are key for Kansas, who had some issues with Boston University, before pulling away. Illinois whipped UNLV, right from the start, and then you wonder where this team was at all year long. Illinois has the talent to match up with Ohio State and Purdue, they just couldn't put it all together and lost 13 games this year. Demetri McCamey is the leader for Illinois. He will need to stay on the court for the whole game for Illinois to stand a chance. Kansas wins, again pulling away in the final ten minutes of action.
The final third round game features Notre Dame, and Florida State. Florida State won a low scoring affair with Texas A&M, while the Fighting Irish beat Akron with little trouble. Derwin Kitchen leads the Seminoles, averaging ten points and four assists. Notre Dame has a talented roster led by Ben Hansborough. The Fighting Irish wins another low-scoring battle. The Irish move onto next week's games.
Jae Crowder leads Marquette into Sunday's game with Syracuse
| 31 |
| Vote |
subscribe to this blog
Comment by Joe Soriano
Pro Sports Wrap
Orble Sport Blog