Sixteen Deep: Three Rounds Later

So the first three rounds of the Big East Tournament are in the books and the final four is set. And let me just say, my predictions were absolutely terrible. Now, I know I make a lot of predictions based on personal bias and nonsense things like hating Jay Wright for blowing Rutgers out like seven years ago but still, I thought I had a decent chance of doing alright. Anyway, I admit it, I was awful.

On to the first three rounds. I was initially going to cover each round each day but the first day was fairly boring (and I was so mad Rutgers fouled that guy with two seconds left) so I couldn't really muster enough strength to do it. Of course, Round 3 turned out to be crazy exciting with a bunch of upsets and a buzzer beater to cap it off. Now on to the games.


ROUND 1:

#9 USF 58 vs #16 DePaul 49
I don't think these teams really woke up until the second half. Or at least DePaul didn't. 15 points at halftime isn't good defense, it's bad offense. Surprised it was this close.

#13 St. John's 73 vs #12 Connecticut 51
UConn just did not show up for this game. I really thought they had it in them to make a run but wow, they just showed no emotion at all. I'm glad they lost, they really didn't deserve it. Only upset of this round and it wasn't that big.

#10 Seton Hall 109 vs #15 Providence 106
This is the third game in a row that made the Big East look terrible. 215 combined points in a non-overtime game is Big 12 basketball, not BE.

#11 Cincinnati 69 vs #14 Rutgers 68
Actually the best game of the day. Couldn't believe Rosario nailed that three and I was crushed when they fouled Lance. This could've been the year. Rutgers played really hard though and I was happy to see they put up a good fight against a pretty solid Bearcat squad.


ROUND 2:

#8 Georgetown 69 vs #9 USF 49
USF was just over-matched in this one. They made some nice strides this year so I hope they continue to improve but they got out-coached and out-played in every area. They shot 29 percent from the field so, yeah. But nice run.

#5 Marquette 57 vs #13 St. John's 55
A pretty good game but St. John's made it closer than it really was in the end. Marquette looked scary good shooting better than 50 percent from the field. Something about Buzz Williams is just really likable. Good game though.

#7 Notre Dame 68 vs #10 Seton Hall 56
Hate Seton Hall so was glad to see them lose. Full disclosure there. Harangody looked to be back to his old self with his 20 and 10. They look really good, too. Obviously foreshadowing of what was to come.

#11 Cincinnati 69 vs #6 Louisville 66
I watched this game start to finish. Really exciting. In fact, almost all of these games were pretty good. The tournament kept getting better. This was the only upset of the round but in reality, this isn't that big an upset. I like Cincinnati when Lance is hitting shots and playing unselfishly. Or at least, not as selfishly as he normally plays.


ROUND 3:

(Obviously, this was the most exciting round yet. Three of the four teams with double-byes lost and Cincinnati would have had a chance to put WVU away had they not committed that awful turnover. The semifinals are sure to be pretty fun.)

#8 Georgetown 91 vs #1 Syracuse 84
I saw Georgetown lose to Rutgers in a pretty close game at the RAC and this was definitely not the same team. They looked poised the entire game and played so smart. They attacked the 2-3 zone like no other team I've seen all year. They really found lanes I didn't think anyone could find in that long zone. John Thompson III really out-coached Boeheim and that's saying a lot. I thought Syracuse looked rushed and panicky most of the game. They missed shots and didn't get offensive boards. If Onuaku is out for the NCAA Tournament, I wouldn't be too confident picking them to go beyond the Sweet Sixteen. I have to say, they kind of got a raw deal with the way this worked. Georgetown was definitely the best team in this round and they played the number 1 seed. They're 22nd in the nation. No idea what they'll do in the tournament. Depends which team shows up.

#5 Marquette 80 vs #4 Villanova 76
This game was an upset but a mild one. I thought Marquette played really great basketball and Villanova just couldn't gain enough momentum to really take control. Scottie Reynolds has just been awful lately and while his numbers aren't that terrible, he needs to be doing more. Marquette answered back every time Nova hit a big shot and that was the difference.

#7 Notre Dame 50 vs #2 Pittsburgh 45
Mike Brey's slowdown offense thing is really working wonders. Maybe those Notre Dame kids really are pretty smart. They handled Pitt well and effectively used their gameplan and were never deterred. They're going to be a scary team to face in the tournament if they keep hitting their shots and you have to focus attention on Harangody.

#3 West Virginia 54 vs #11 Cincinnati 51
I knew that buzzer beater was coming. As soon as Dixon turned over the ball, I knew it was coming. Because college basketball is so unforgiving and cruel. Jay Bilas must have said it 100 times but jeez, why didn't they cover the inbounder on that play? Sure Cincinnati played great defense on that shot and it was a lucky bank but just don't let them get the ball to Butler. He hits game winners all the time. Just let it go in to some guy behind half-court or something. Also, WVU didn't have any timeouts so while unlikely, pressure on the ball could have forced an awful pass or even a 5-second call. I understand what they were doing but it's not like they double-teamed Butler or Ebanks anyway. They had a free safety out there roaming around. Seemed pretty stupid. Fun game to watch though.

So the final four are set and it should be a really fun ending. If WVU wins they could be a number 1 seed. All four teams are in but this could really jump their seeding. No big upsets have really happened in other conference tournaments and definitely not this many. I really think the Big East is a tough, tough conference and is really deep this year. I will almost guarantee five teams in the Sweet Sixteen. But we'll leave that for another post.