Best of the Best - 2001-2010 [NFL Games Have Started]

Saturday 6:15 Eastern

Salt Lake City, UT

(4) 2001 Arizona 84, (12) 2009 Pitt 71

DeJuan Blair won the opening tip for Pitt.

They didn't win much after that. Arizona scored the first 12 points of the game, rolled to a halftime lead of 52-38, and cruised to an easy victory.

A ?big three? lead the way for the Wildcats. They got 21 points from Jason Gardner, 17 points and 11 rebounds from Gilbert Arenas, and 16 points and 11 rebounds from Michael Wright. DeJuan Blair put up 17 points and 10 rebounds in a losing effort.

Chicago, IL

(6) 2001 Michigan State 86, (3) 2005 Illinois 77

Jason Richardson scored 33 points and Zach Randolph added 16 points as Michigan State upset Illinois.

It was a case of ?anything you can do, I can do better?, as every time the Fighting Illini made a run, the Spartans had an answer and always stayed ahead. In fact, the only lead Illinois had the entire game was 2-0. And that's despite all five starters for Illinois scoring in double figures. Luther Head had 18, Dee Brown 14, James Augustine 11, and Deron Willams and Roger Powell 10 each.

Saturday 8:00 Eastern

Salt Lake City, UT

(13) 2009 Louisville 79, (5) 2002 Indiana 78

In the final minute, Indiana grabbed two offensive rebounds. Unfortunately, they missed three potential game-winning shots, and fell a point short against the Cardinals.

Kyle Hornsby, Jared Jeffries, and Jeff Newton each had a chance to win it for the Hoosiers, but none could connect.

It was the inability to hit the final shot that doomed Indiana, but the discrepancy beyond the three-point line didn't help. Louisville connected on 60% of their triples, while Indiana hit only 32% of theirs.

In total, nine players in this game scored in double figures. Louisville had five (Earl Clark with 17, Andre McGee with 15, Terrence Williams with 14, Samardo Samuels with 11, and Edgar Sosa with 10), and Indiana had four (Jared Jeffries with 16, Jarad Odle with 15, Jeff Newton with 14, and Dane Fife with 13).

Day 4 Recap

SCOREBOARD

Tampa:

(1) 2007 Florida 89, (8) 2001 Maryland 87
(11) 2010 Kentucky 119, (3) 2006 Florida 118 (3 OT)

Washington:

(2) 2009 North Carolina 74, (7) 2010 West Virginia 64
(7) 2008 North Carolina 84, (2) 2010 Duke 81

Chicago:

(14) 2006 UConn 78, (6) 2001 Kansas 55
(6) 2001 Michigan State 86, (3) 2005 Illinois 77

Salt Lake City:

(4) 2001 Arizona 84, (12) 2009 Pitt 71
(13) 2009 Louisville 79, (5) 2002 Indiana 78

Top Performers

Most Impressive Teams:

2001 Arizona
2010 Kentucky
2009 North Carolina

Most Impressive Players:

2010 John Wall (Kentucky)
2001 Jason Richardson (Michigan State)
2006 Corey Brewer (Florida)

Regional Semifinal Games:


South:

(1) 2007 Florida vs. (4) 2001 Arizona
(2) 2002 Maryland vs. (3) 2003 Syracuse

East:

(1) 2001 Duke vs. (13) 2009 Louisville
(7) 2008 North Carolina vs. (11) 2010 Kentucky

Midwest:

(4) 2003 Kansas vs. (16) 2002 Kent State
(14) 2006 UConn vs. (15) 2005 Wake Forest

West:

(1) 2008 Kansas vs. (4) 2007 Ohio State
(2) 2009 North Carolina vs. (6) 2005 Michigan State

 

Why did I say? I'll take Pitt to the Sweet Sixteen and no further.

Glad that 08 UNC beat 10 Duke.

 

(2) 2010 Duke 88, (15) 2005 Kentucky 67

Nice, nice. Not one of the better Kentucky teams, but still.

(1) 2007 Florida 74, (16) 2004 Xavier 73

So close!! Oh well, overrated Florida will go down soon enough

After the first two days, Duke is the only team with two players under top performers - Redick and Scheyer. Duke is also the only team to appear twice on the top teams list, with both the 2001 and 2010 teams making that appearance.

(1) 2001 Duke 97, (8) 2002 Oklahoma 61

That's what happens when you run into 2001 Duke

(2) 2002 Maryland 80, (10) 2006 George Mason 48

I think most of us knew that was coming eventually

(16) 2002 Kent State 82 (8) 2009 UConn 81 (2 OT)

16-seed to the sweet 16! Awesome! Though, Inty, your puns were pretty bad here Calhoun, not a smart decision to leave Thabeet in the game like that

(4) 2003 Kansas 90, (12) 2002 Duke 69

Ouch

(1) 2007 Florida 89, (8) 2001 Maryland 87

Their time will come... they can't keep on winning games this close, right?

(11) 2010 Kentucky 119, (3) 2006 Florida 118 (3 OT)

Ok, there goes the younger version Pretty darn good matchup, though, and triple overtime is always a nice bonus

(7) 2008 North Carolina 84, (2) 2010 Duke 81



(6) 2001 Michigan State 86, (3) 2005 Illinois 77

I thought 2005 Illinois would do better than that...

EDIT: er, I wasn't finished

How about that Midwest? The four teams to the Sweet 16 seeded 14, 15, 16.. and 4. Now we just need 2003 Kansas to get knocked off The South, on the other hand, looks very chalky right now.

 

You can't tell me that 99% of the sportswriters in the country wouldn't have made that Kent State pun, R...J. Just trying to give it a real "vibe".


And ... wow ... it's hard to pick one game I'd want to see out of those two rounds. The two Kent State games would be amazing. That Kentucky triple-OT game as well. Those are probably the top candidates. The Florida-Xavier game is up there, too. I had the final score of that one first, and I was still disappointed when I got to the end of the play-by-play and saw that Xavier couldn't pull it off.

 

And I would complain about the announcers or whomever said the pun then, too. So I guess we're both going realistic

 

Thursday, 7:00 Eastern

Dallas, TX

South Region Semi-Final

(3) 2003 Syracuse 94, (2) 2002 Maryland 91

Nothing like a little controversy, and a little luck, to propel you into the Elite Eight.

Syracuse used both of those, as well as a monster game from Carmelo Anthony, and did just that.

Anthony scored 28 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and dished out five assists, but it was a controversial call by the officials that went the way of the Orange that pushed this game to Syracuse. With the Orange clinging to a one-point lead, and forty seconds remaining in the game, Lonny Baxter got called for a controversial three-second violation, giving the ball back to the Orange.

Anthony then grabbed an offensive rebound on a miss by Hakim Warrick, and converted both free throws, to put Syracuse up three with five seconds to play. And, when Steven Blake couldn't connect on a three at the buzzer, the Syracuse Orange had survived and advanced.

Syracuse threatened to run away with the game midway through the second half, building an 8-point lead, the first time all game either team had stretched a lead to larger than three points. But, Maryland wouldn't go away. They took the lead back with four minutes to play, and from there the teams traded the lead three more times. But, a jump shot from Kueth Duany with 52 seconds remaining gave Syracuse the lead for good, a one-point lead that was expanded upon by Anthony's final two free throws.

Anthony certainly got plenty of help. Gerry McNamara scored 18 points, Warrick added 12 points and 7 rebounds, and Duany scored 20. Juan Dixon lead Maryland with 19 points, and got help from Lonny Baxter (14 points, 10 rebounds) Byron Mouton (12 points) and Steven Blake (7 points, 11 assists).

 

And the officials make their presence felt once again

 

Thursday, 7:45 Eastern

Los Angeles, CA

West Region Semi-Final

(4) 2007 Ohio State 74, (1) 2008 Kansas 72

Greg Oden is proving to be a do-it-all big man in this tournament. He scored 14 points. He grabbed 12 rebounds. He had four blocked shots.

But, it was his late-game heroics that proved to be the story of this game.

Oden's sharp pass from the paint to a wide-open David Lighty resulted in three points for Ohio State, and the Buckeyes' first lead of the game, at 71-68. But, after Sherron Collins tied the game with 17 seconds remaining, Oden did something nobody saw coming. He drilled a jumpshot from 8-feet away as the buzzer sounded, sending Ohio State to the Elite Eight, and Kansas to an all too familiar place: heartbreak city.

Kansas lead from the start, jumping to a 5-0 lead. They could never pull away though, as their largest lead was seven, midway through the first-half. Ohio State closed the half strong, getting a tied game at the half at 34-34. And Kansas never took a lead larger than five in the second half, allowing the Buckeyes to hang around, and eventually win on Oden's heroics.

Ron Lewis was Oden's best sidekick for this game, scoring 18 points and connecting on 4 of 6 three-point attempts. In fact, it was an overall edge from three-point territory that kept Ohio State in the game. As a team, they shot 57% from beyond the arc, while the Jayhaws shot only 31%.

Brandon Rush lead the Jayhaws with 18 points, and Darnell Jackson had 13 points and 12 rebounds.

 

Down goes another #1 seed!

Not in quite the spectacular fashion of losing to a 16, though

 

And, I avoided making "great Oden's ghost" puns R...J. I thought you'd appreciate that!

 

Thursday, 9:00 Eastern

Dallas, TX

South Region Semi-Final

(1) 2007 Florida 83, (4) 2001 Arizona 81

Once again, the Gator Chomp came down, and escaped by the skin of their teeth.

Al Horford hit the game-winning shot with two seconds to go, and a desperation three from Jason Gardner just missed, and lady luck was the Gator's star player for the third time in this tournament.

Midway through the second half, it looked like Florida would finally pull away and cruise to an easy victory. They lead 59-46, and Arizona was on an 0-for-5 shooting slump. But, the gators couldn't pull away, and the Wildcats stormed back to take the lead on a Gilbert Arenas three pointer with one minute to play. Maurice Speights then scored to tie the game back up, and after Speights drew a charge from Richard Jefferson, Al Horford hit a mid-range jumper to give the Gators the lead, and the final margin.

Horford's 21 points and 5 rebounds lead the team, but he got plenty of help. Lee Humphrey scored 13, and Taurean Green scored 12, and Joakim Noah scored 16 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.

Gilbert Arenas scored 30 points for the Wildcats, but Loren Woods, with ten points, was the only other Arizona player to hit double-figures. Twenty-one turnovers (compared to only 12 for the Gators) doomed the Wildcats in this one.

 

Actually, I'd be more likely to appreciate that pun than Kent be done ones

Dang Florida getting lucky again.

 

Thursday, 9:30 Eastern

Los Angeles, CA

West Region Semi-Final

(2) 2009 North Carolina 96, (6) 2005 Michigan State 83

Well, they couldn't all be nail biters and buzzer beaters.

Deon Thompson had a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Danny Green's 20 points lead six Tar Heels in double figures as Carolina exerted their will on Michigan State and cruised to victory.

The Tar Heels aggressiveness was the key to the game. They attacked the basket early and often, resulting in 32 free throw attempts, and they converted 29 of them. Tyler Hansbrough, predictably, lead the way from the line with 8-of-8 shooting, and Thompson was the only Tar Heel to miss from the line, going 5-of-8. Carolina also poked away 12 steals, and had a mammoth 40-28 advantage in rebounding. The six Tar Heels in double figures were Thomson, Green, Ty Lawson (18 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds), Hansbrough (14 points), Wayne Ellington (11 points) and Tyler Zeller (10 points).

The Spartans had six players in double-figures themselves: Alan Anderson (15 points), Kelvin Torbert (13), Shannon Brown (12), Maurice Ager (11) and Chris Hill and Paul Davis (10 each).

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That makes our regional finals:

West: (2) 2009 North Carolina vs. (4) 2007 Ohio State
South: (1) 2007 Florida vs. (3) 2003 Syracuse


That means a potential rematch of Ohio State and Florida. I don't know if I could take another loss to the Gators, even if it was a virtual one! [face_tongue]

Let's hope the Friday games are as exciting as the Thursday games were!

 

Very interesting...I'm surprised that Florida is always able to squeak out the tight ones. Maybe that'll change next round.

 

Can't come soon enough

It hasn't come soon enough

 

Friday, 7:00 Eastern

Detroit Michigan

Mid-West Region Semi-Final

(14) 2006 UConn 83, (15) 2005 Wake Forest 81

With no time to get a shot off, UConn did the next best thing. A lob inbound pass went straight to Josh Boone, and he put it through the basket as time expired, to give the Huskies a thrilling two-point victory over the Demon Deacons.

We appeared to be headed for overtime. A Justin Gray three pointer on a beautiful feed from Chris Paul tied the game at 81 with four seconds to play, and UConn was out of timeouts. They moved the ball up court quickly, and when Chris Paul poked the ball away from Rudy Gay with 0.2 seconds remaining in the game, overtime looked certain. But, Gay delivered a perfect lob to a cutting Boone, and he was able to get it off of his fingertips and directed into the basket just as the buzzer sounded.

This was a game Wake Forest should have won. They dominated the first half, taking a 48-37 lead into the break. But, UConn climbed back into the game, made some great plays, and put themselves in position to win, grabbing their first lead of the game with 6 minutes to play.

Chris Paul scored 20 points for Wake, and added five rebounds and five assists, and Eric Williams added 20 points and seven rebounds. Boone was the high man for UConn, scoring 19 and adding 7 rebounds and four blocks.

 

Friday, 7:45 Eastern

New York, NY

East Region Semi-Final

(1) 2001 Duke 102, (13) 2009 Louisville 66

Believe it or not, the Cardinals had a lead in this game.

With 19:48 to play in the first half, it was 1-0 Louisville.

That was the last time Louisville could feel good about how the game was going. The Blue Devils racked up 66 first half points to take a forty-point lead into the half, and then cruise to victory. The Blue Devil barrage included three runs of 9-0 or better to pummel Louisville into submission.

Jason Williams (24 points), Nate James (22 points, 11 rebounds), Shane Battier (19 points, 9 rebounds), and Carlos Boozer (12 points, 8 rebounds) lead the way for the Blue Devils. Duke limited Louisville to 28% shooting on threes, and out rebounded them by a margin of 53-16.

Terrence Williams lead Louisville with 15 points, although 13 points came in the second half, when the game was well in hand.

 

Friday, 9:00 Eastern

Detroit, MI

Mid-west Region Semi-Final

(16) 2002 Kent State 73, (4) 2003 Kansas 72

One team's mistakes allow for another team's miracle.

And that's the beauty ? and the agony ? of March Madness.

Antonio Gates grabbed a rebound, took the ball the length of the court, and nailed a three at the buzzer, to keep the miracle dream of the Kent State Golden Flashes alive. It was the only three Gates attempted all game, and it was the only three he needed.

Just prior to that, Nick Collison missed three free-throws in the game's final thirty-four seconds, to give Gates even a prayer of hitting a game winner. And the prayer was answered. Those misses were Collison's only misses from the free-throw line all game.

With Kansas leading 71-70, Collison was fouled and sent to the line for two. He hit the first, but missed the second. With 12 seconds to play, Kent State's Eric Thomas missed what would have been a go-ahead three-pointer, and Collison was fouled again and put on the line. He missed both, keeping the game at 72-70 in favor of the Jayhawks. Gates grabbed the rebound, and the next six seconds will forever be on highlight reels.

For the game, Gates had 16 points and 7 rebounds to lead the Golden Flashes. Andrew Mitchell had 15 points and 6 assists, and Trevor Hufman added 10 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. Keith Langford lead the Jayhawks with 17 points, while Collison added 16 points, and Kirk Hinrich scored 10.

We now await a 15-16 game in the Elite Eight, where a second UConn team will get a crack at America's favorite underdogs.

 

Kent State's still in this thing? And we're going to have a 15-16 Elite Eight game? Wow, never would have guessed that.

 

Friday, 9:30 Eastern

New York, NY

EastRegion Semi-Final

(7) 2008 North Carolina 83, (11) 2010 Kentucky 82

For 39 minutes North Carolina lead Kentucky, but couldn't quite put them away.

Finally, they went to their bread-and-butter to get it done and seal the victory.

With four seconds to go, North Carolina had Tyler Hansbrough at the line, for his thirteenth- and fourteenth attempts of the game. He sank both, Carolina had a four-point lead, and a three-pointer by Darius Miller at the buzzer had no effect on the game.

For the game, Hansbrough had 21 points and 8 rebounds. Ty Lawson added 21 points of his own to go along with 6 assists, and Wayne Ellington had 16 points. DeMarcus Cousins lead the Wildcats with 12 points and 12 rebounds, while John Wall added 12 points and 8 assists and Patrick Patterson had 15 points.

North Carolina had, what looked to be, a commanding nine-point lead with 1:32 to play. But, the Wildcats wouldn't go away, and chipped the lead down to 2, stopping Carolina from scoring until Hansbrough's final free throws. In fact, the Tar Heels made only one field goal in the final six minutes of the game.

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That makes our regional finals:

East: (1) 2001 Duke vs. (7) 2008 UNC
Midwest: (15) 2006 UConn vs. (16) 2002 Kent State

 

It's crazy. I think one time in a thousand, Kent State beats Carolina. But, just like in the real tournament, all it takes is one time.

I love that Kansas lost on their inability to do the basic, fundamental things. How Kansas of them.

 

Very true. It just has to happen once, and this is apparently the time and place for it.

Yep, that does seem quintessentially Kansas of them.

Rooting for 08 UNC and Kent State. 06 UConn lost to George Mason, maybe they can keep the tradition of loosing to mid-major schools not known for basketball going.

 

15 vs 16! Awesome! Come on, Kent State, one more game!

Also, I love how 2001 Duke is absolutely cruising in this tournament Louisville barely scored as many points in the game as Duke did in the first half

 

Saturday, 3:15 Eastern

South Regional Final

Dallas, TX

(1) 2007 Florida 75, (3) 2003 Syracuse 62

South Region MVP Corey Brewer scored 13 points and keyed a crucial 18-2 run late in the first half as the Top-Overall Seed Gators made sure they didn't need a miracle finish this time around.

With the Orange up 23-20 with seven minute to play in the first half, it seemed we were headed for a classic game. Then, the Gators scored 18 of the next twenty points to take over the lead, with Brewer scoring 10 of the points, and adding three assists during the run. A two-point jumper at the buzzer by Jeremy McNeil brought the Orange to within 9, but the momentum had swung, the Gators had their swagger, and you just had a feeling the game was over.

Brewer added seven rebounds and four assists to his point total, Al Horford scored a game-high 22. Lee Humphrey added 12 points for the Gators, and while Joakim Noah was held scoreless, he grabbed ten rebounds and blocked three shots.

The key for the Gators, though, was their defense. They frustrated Carmelo Anthony, holding him to 4-12 shooting, and only allowed the Orange to make one of the ten three-point attempts during the game.

 

Saturday, 7:15 Eastern

Western Regional Final

Los Angeles, CA

(4) 2007 Ohio State 86, (2) 2009 North Carolina 76

Twenty-five points from Ty Lawson couldn't stop the Buckeyes.

Foul trouble and an early exit from their super star, Greg Oden, couldn't either.

Oden played only 25 minutes, and fouled out with 11:00 minutes to play in the game, but his 21 minutes of game time were highly effective, as he scored 12 points and grabbed 9 rebounds, and the Buckeyes outlasted North Carolina.

The Tar Heels looked poised to run away with the game early. They jumped out of the gates to an early 22-11 lead, and got three fouls on Greg Oden in the first eight minutes of the game. But, the Buckeyes rallied from there, behind the great play of Mike Conley, and took a 7-point lead into halftime. The Tar Heels never got back to within four points.

The key for the Buckeyes was to contain Tyler Hansbrough. He scored only nine points, had four personal fouls, was harassed routinely, and only went to foul line twice. The Buckeyes team defense was good all over, limiting the Tar Heels to 26% shooting on threes. Ohio State also dominated the board with a mammoth 43-28 advantage.

Conley had 17 points to go along with 8 assists, 4 rebounds, and 6 steals to lead the Buckeyes. Ron Lewis, Othello Hunter, Dequan Cook, and Oden also scored in double figures for Ohio State. Lawson lead North Carolina, with Wayne Ellignton (14) and Deon Thompson (10) also topping the ten-point mark.

Despite his early exit from this game, Oden was named the MVP for the region.