Monday, March 23, 2009

Tuesday N.I.T. Turmoil

We have hit our first dry stretch of the NCAA tournament. It's a good thing the N.I.T. provides a descent helping of interesting matchups to get us thru the week. Creighton, the NCAA's odd man out, hosted the Billie Gillespie Farewell Tour in front of a packed house, and two of the elite scoring guards in the country went toe-to-toe in the nightcap.

- #4 Kentucky 65, #1 Creighton 63 - The Qwest Center in Omaha was entirely sold out, and I would guess that a majority of the tickets were sold to students, because it was loud, very very very loud. With every shot that Creighton made, the place erupted like it was a buzzer-beater. Second Team A.A. Jodie Meeks was shut down the majority of the game, but hit the game winner on a nice dribble drive to the basket, and converted on the 3-point play. Perry Stevenson had a 13 points and grabbed 10 boards and Patrick Patterson chipped in with 12. Booker Woodfox led the Blue Jays with 18 points but shot a dismal 9-23 from the field. This game had all the makings of a NCAA tournament game; neither team led by more than 5, and there were 11 lead changes. I think the wildcats need two more post season wins to salvage their season, and Gillespie's coaching status.

- #2 St. Marys 80, #6 Davidson 68 - Steph Curry vs. Patty Mills, not much else needs to be said. Oh ya, this was the fastest sell-out in the history of St. Mary's College. At the half, Mills had 17 and Curry had 12. The pace of this game was set by the two speedy guards. St. Mary's had a better team performance, getting excelent play from Diamond Simpson (12,15) and Omar Samhan. There were stretches of this game that looked like a consistant fast break drill with both guards running the floor, leading to some beautiful finishes (still trying to find a good clip). Curry finished with 26, but Mills had the more complete game, logging the double double of 23 points and 11 assists.

QUARTERFINALS

Tonight's Games
- 9:00PM: #2 Penn St. @ #1 Florida - ESPN
- 7:00PM: #3 Baylor @ #1 Auburn - ESPN

Wednesday's Games
- 7:00PM: #4 Kentucky @ #2 Notre Dame - ESPN2
- 9:00PM: #2 St. Mary's @ #1 San Diego St. - ESPN2

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think this win means BCG keeps his job, but his seat will be the hottest in college basketball next year, especially with PP and Meeks likely returning... the expectations on that team will be enormous and every decision he makes, on and off the court, during sideline interviews, banquet addresses, etc., will be heavily critized... he would be well-served beating Pitino in Lexington...

Rob Dauster said...

From what I have heard, BCG may be out regardless of what happens in teh NIT. And it isn't because of his team's performance, it is because he doesn't know how to handle people - the media, his players, the UK administration. Bottom line - he's a prick. You can deal with a prick when you are making Final Fours and competing for national titles, and not in the NIT.