Finally, a big game, for the first time since Florida.
The BC Eagles are unranked at this point but they're getting votes. Like Kansas, they have a pair of head-scratching losses, to Vermont and Providence, but they also have three high-quality wins--Rhode Island, Michigan State, and Maryland--so we have to assume they've got the chops to be one of the best teams in the country.
BC has been a great program the past few years, and while I'd like us to blow them out in our house, I can't see it. More likely scenario? KU 70-65.
In Memphis this weekend I cannot watch. CBS is making me watch the UCLA-Michigan blowout.
ReplyDeleteSomeone who ets to see it let me know how we looked. Thanks!
Well, I was sure wrong about the score, but I still win the pool.
ReplyDeleteThis was good because it was the first time this year they had a real party at the Fieldhouse (i.e. big home win against strong competition).
The last ten minutes of the first half was the whole difference; we were knotted up at 16, then just minutes later we were pushing the lead towards 20. Turnovers were the biggest factor; we had 17, they had 22, yet most of theirs led to fast-breaking opportunities while almost none of ours did. The individual stat of the game might have been Mario's 5 steals (and, oh yeah, 22 points and 4 assists).
Some damn good highlights in this game--Channel 6 doesn't operate on Saturdays, but they should have clips up by tonight. The best was a no-look one-handed flip from Julian into the hands of Sasha, who stormed through the lane for a power dunk. There were also a lot of lowlights--both teams had some embarrassing missed dunks, mainly KU.
Other negatives? Russell and Darrell shot poorly, and the latter was once again in foul trouble from the moment he checked in. Julian turned it over too many times (5), but I suppose 13 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals sort of cancels that out, doesn't it?
Feliz Navidad, todos!
Here are those B.C. highlights, including the dunk I mentioned and two from the end of the game that were never broadcast (even in Lawrence, apparently) because CBS cut away to Florida-Ohio State.
ReplyDeleteAnd for you philosophy scholars (an alarming number of you on this blog), the video also includes deep ruminations about the ethical and metaphysical implications of playing a zone defense.
Thank you Deron for the analysis. I was forced to watch the UCLA blowout. Why would anyone in Oregon care about UCLA? I think BC was a big win, right the ship before Christmas, go into break on a good note.
ReplyDeleteAs for zone- I hate it! It is a concession that you can't guard the other team's playmakers one on one. That said, it seems to have worked brilliantly. It has been used so well against KU in the past that it is great to see it work to our advantage. I suppose mixing it in 10-20 percent of time wouldnt be a bad deal. It takes the pressure off of Collins. He is still a liability as far as on- ball defense.
Not much time to post this weekend, as I have Haley, Y and E, and Aaron in town. But the Jayhawks did paste Detroit Mercy Thursday night, and the whole experience seems to have been downright vomit-inducing. (Brandon said he had been up all night throwing up, and one of the Detroit coaches actually heaved right onto Naismith court at one point).
ReplyDeleteWe "Pasted" Detroit Mercy? Methinks you did not see the game. It was UDM 37, KU 43 with 8 minutes to go in the game. Somehow we let this pathetic 3-9 team hang around that long. The refs thankfully started calling UDM for a ton of fouls to get us to the line since we could not get anything done in the halfcourt offense. We hit a couple of garbage 3's late to make the score appear much less close than it really was.
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