Friday, March 24, 2017

Friday morning Sweet 16 musings

- What a job by Chris Mack. Xavier should go to him with a blank check and tell him write your number. After getting killed on othe offensive glass, his team only gave up one over the last 17 minutes. Baskets came in bunches out of timeouts again. His team perfectly executed a 2-for-1 in the final minute. Larri Markkanen got 1 shot in the final 11 minutes, though Allonzo Trier's 13 point run had something to do with that. Trevon Bluiett has been sensational. Sean O'Mara has given them so many good minutes in March, he's been a revelation. Fun run.

- Sean Miller lives another year without a Final Four. Winning in March is hard but I get the pressure he'll be feeling. Is it fair? Hard to say but I bet he'll be sick of hearing about it and when it does happen, he might explode.

- The Kansas evisceration of Purdue happened so fast, it was as if the Death Star became fully operational and Purdue was Alderaan. Not sure what the Boilermakers could have done. Josh Jackson does so many things well and his ability to get in position everywhere on the court is something to watch. Three straight games in the 90's. Fun team.

- Michigan came up short but after being left for the NIT in January by yours truly, it's hard to be disappointed in the grand scheme. Oregon made one more play. Listening to Dan Bonner and Reggie Miller makes you wonder if they watched any Michigan film. They seemed shocked Michigan didn't push more tempo. It's a slow team, gents. I give Oregon a lot of credit. They matched Michigan's patience and didn't get out of sorts like some teams might in a game like that. That was a mature performance by the Ducks in a game played at Michigan's dictation.

- Let's not talk of West Virginia-Gonzaga. Let's thank Gonzaga for not only ending Northwestern but also ending the Mouintaineers season. They should just put that end of game West Virginia possession on a loop for One Shining Moment.

No comments: