March Madness 2003 (1 Viewer)

[MickeS]

At the airport yesterday, there was this guy arriving wearing a Kansas Final Four t-shirt... I wonder if he was deliberately trying to piss off as many tucsonans as possible.

/Mike

 

[Jed M]

At the airport yesterday, there was this guy arriving wearing a Kansas Final Four t-shirt... I wonder if he was deliberately trying to piss off as many tucsonans as possible.

Ouch! That reminds me of when I was a student at KU in 97 our first year teacher who had just graduated from U of A (she was about two years older than me) wore a Arizona National Champions t-shirt to class about 4 days after the game. It was so not funny. I was hoping somebody would accidentally lose control of their car and crush her on the sidewalk on her walk to the parking lot. That loss almost ruined our program. It took us about 3 years for us to bounce back and we still haven't shook our Chokers label we gained, which ironically Arizona and Duke were both considered before they beat us in 91 and 97 respectively.

 

[Evan S]

I'm still pissed over my team not even getting the chance to go to the NCAA.

If it wasn't for Harrick and his son, you wouldn't have been that good in the first place. You were pathetic before he arrived and he got you into the upper echelon of the SEC.

I'm a Rhode Island graduate, so I know of what I speak. Before Harrick arrived we were nothing and we got to the Elite 8 (seconds away from a Final 4) under his direction. I'm not defending his actions, but if he never arrived in Athens, do you really think you would have been a 20+ win team?

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I'm still pissed over my team not even getting the chance to go to the NCAA.

Damn you Harrick, and your son too.

At least your team is being punished for infractions incurred under the current coaching regime. Michigan stayed home this year due to infractions that occurred when Chris "The Liar" Webber and the rest of the not-so-Fab-Five-anymore were here a decade ago.

 

[Dheiner]

Scott, I understand your bitterness, but, at least you got to live through some glory, too. I suppose the NCAA can't punish stuff until they find out about it.

 

[Jed M]

Pitt's Howland meets with UCLA, then with players
Pittsburgh coach Ben Howland met with his players on Monday, but gave no indication whether he was in line to take over at UCLA.

Howland, who called UCLA his "dream job" last week, declined to speak with reporters after meeting with his team. Julius Page, a junior guard, said "No comment" as he and several teammates rushed away from the meeting looking glum-faced.

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/news?s...v=ap&type=lgns
I've seen it end up differently but this one looks like a done deal.

 

[Evan S]

The Pain!!! I was in Lawrence that day. My friends and I still can barely talk about that day Tyson Wheeler rained down on us. The only people who will remember Tyson Wheeler 20 years from now is RI Alumni and KU Alumni.

Jed, don't forget Cuttino Mobley! Still kickin it in the NBA for the Rockets. Ahhh....Tyson Wheeler of New London, CT...Thanks for bringing back the memories of good basketball in years gone by.

I actually can feel your pain as well. Don't forget that after we advanced past KU in that tourney, we then beat the Cinderella team, Valparaso of Bryce Drew fame. Then, in a game I thought we would never win, we had a 5 point lead with 70 seconds to go over Stanford for a trip to the Final Four only to watch Mobley and Wheeler turn the ball over 3 times in the last minute, losing in incredible fashion to the Cardinal.

Rhode Island alum can hardly talk about THAT game. We still wonder what could have been. At least KU is a Final Four contender EVERY year. I could be old and grey before little Rhody gets back that far in the big dance.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Scott, I understand your bitterness, but, at least you got to live through some glory, too. I suppose the NCAA can't punish stuff until they find out about it.

That's true, John. However, those memories of the Fab Five are now forever tarnished, and even the '89 NCAA Championship team is not beyond suspicion.

Probably the worst thing regarding NCAA penalties is that coaches rarely suffer as long or as hard as the players, fans or program. Sure, the coach may get fired, but some other school will be willing to hire the sleaze ball if the guy can get the school into the tournament. Tarkanian is a prime example. And Steve Fisher will receive absolutely no penalty for what happened at Michigan under his watch. How long before Harrick gets another job?

 

[Evan S]

Congratulations Tom Rags!!!

Boy your team played well tonight. I have to say I am a little surprised. UConn beat you guys handily the two times they were matched up and we all know how WE fared against Texas, so going in I had my doubts. I knew Anthony was great, but Gerry McNamara did squat against us so I felt he was a bit overrated.

Very impressed by both McNamara and Warrick in this game. Awesome shooting and athleticism. I give you guys big props.

Unfortunately, I stand to win some big money in two pools if Kansas beats you guys so you will have to take your title without me rooting for you, but best of luck!

 

[Steve_Tk]

Steve, what did Travis Deiner do to earn your wrath

Didn't mean for it to sound so offensive, but there were things he was doing in the game that players shouldn't do. Almost taunting the other team with his non playing actions.

Things a player traveled, so the ref does the motion that shows he traveled. So deiner, standing right in front of that player, smiles and does his hands motion for the traveling right in the guys face forever. Then he runs and does a lay up. Makes it and catches his ball coming through the rim. A player is standing there expecting the ball to be thrown to him, so Deiner walks up, puts the ball on the ground right in front of him and runs off. Just annoying to see a middle of the road player act like he is hot shit.

 

[Dave Gorman]

Kansas continues to surprise me. After their inconsistency in their conference schedule, and their woeful non-conference performance, I didn't think they had it in them to win this consistently. But after beating both Arizona and Duke, I guess nothing should surprise me. It looks like they have their work cut out for them with Syracuse though.

It is too bad about Syracuse... but it's tough to lose when 95% of your fouls go uncalled as they have in SU's last 2 games. On the other hand, even with the vast minority of Syracuse fouls that were actually called, had Texas made their free throws they would have won the game.

 

[Jed M]

After their inconsistency in their conference schedule

LOL, what? We lost two games. One in the altitude of Colorado and one in the hostile environment of Oklahoma. If a 14-2 record is considered inconsistent then I guess OU, UT, TT, MU, and OSU were really, really inconsistent because they actually lost more than two whole games in a season.

Syracuse is going to be a tough match up for the Hawks, here is hoping for a good game, and a good outcome for the Jayhawk faithful. The best thing about the game is that one of these two great coaches is going to finally be able to shake the unfairly given "can't win the big one" label. In that sense its a win-win for the fans.

 

[Patrick Sun]

While this is going to be a fast uptempo game (I hope), Kansas should get it done tomorrow night. I won't predict a blowout, but I'd be surprised if the final score was within 10 points.

 

[Evan S]

So...what's your point?

Steve, my point was that even though you don't state directly that it's Harrick's fault you weren't in the tournament, you came across as if you were IMPLYING that it was Harrick's fault you weren't in the tournament. At least that was MY interpretation.

You kinda came off like someone who wanted his cake and eat it too. You wanted to be in the tournament, but at the same time you seemed to be blaming Harrick in your post as the reason you weren't there. It appeared hypocritical in my eyes to blame the coach for the banishment, yet not acknowledge he was the reason you were there in the first place.

It was an obvious mis-interpretation on my part and for that I apologize.

 

[Dave Gorman]

We lost two games.

We? I didn't realize you played for KU?

 

[Evan S]

Dave, I believe Jed is a KU alum. In that case, I feel he is justified for using the phrase "we" when referring to his team. I know I feel justified in saying the University of Rhode Island is "my" school, because I'm sure some of my tuition and alumni money is funding that program.

Now referring to a PROFESSIONAL team as "we" or "my" or "us" is another story entirely.

 

[Dave Falasco]

From another UConn alum and Big East fan, it's great to see SU back in the finals again. Great win against Texas, too--the 'Horns remind me a lot of Pitt this year: great point guard, very (very) physical post players, tremendous rebounders, and both teams play far above their talent level. Just as Syracuse didn't match up with with UConn this year, so UConn didn't match up with that combination of physical post play and a speedy point guard (hence two losses to Pitt and a heartbreaker against Texas).

The semifinal was really the first time I got to see Kansas play in the tourney and I was very impressed with their team. They seem to do everything that UConn does, but a little better. Great man-to-man defense, good outside shooters, terrific post player, and the best running team in the country. Personally I love that fast-break offense, and no one does it better than Kansas right now. It should be a great game against the 'Cuse; I'm really looking forward to it.

 

[Tom Rags]

I'll be at the Carrier Dome tonight watching the game with 10,000 others on the big screen. I am quite nervous about the match-ups tonight from a Syracuse perspective. Collison is a beast. I am more worried about his rebounding than his scoring (he will get his points). Anthony will be tough to defend, but watch out for Josh Pace and Billy Edelin from Syracuse's bench. This is the type of game that they will play well. With smaller guards for Kansas and no real "Okafor"-like shot-blockers, watch for those two to drive into the lane and hit some floaters. They will be the type of shots where you will say, "how did that go in? It had no rotation or anything!"...but that is their game.

My prediction: Syracuse 79 Kansas 73

Another note....if Kansas jumps ahead early, don't look for SU to fold ala Marquette. SU has won 15 games this year after trailing in the second half. Hell, they came back down 17 from Ok State in the tourney. They will never quit, I promise

Go Cuse, War otto!

 

[Ralph Summa]

Evan,

UCONN plays Texas on a neutral court, and they're in the Elite 8. This pod system is a joke. Not to take anything away from Syracuse, because they are playing really well, but they benefited from the pod system also with two games in Albany. I'm probably just bitter because UCONN always seems to get the short end of this stick. '98 they lost a close game to UNC in Greensboro, this year they go to San Antone to play UT.

What is going on in Texas anyway? First, UT gets the winner of the 64/65 game and placed in a bracket with the weakest 2-seed (Florida). These are privledges reserved for the best team in the tournament. UT is ranked 5th in all polls on selection weekend. Second, with two early (easy) wins they can play two games 90 miles from home, a big advantage on the road to the final four. Third, TJ Ford wins player of the year? Although he is good, there are at least 10 guys who should have been chosen over him, including a few guys who are playing tonight!

ANYWAY!

My rant is over. Good luck Tom Rags and the Orange. Make the Big East Proud!

Ralph

 

[Patrick Sun]

Well, it's been an uptempo game, but I'm shocked at how well Syracuse has been shooting this game (McNamara's six 3's have been mighty daggars into KU's heart). But, you have to wonder if Syracuse can maintain the torrid shooting pace they are on as they try to nurse an 11 point half-time lead. Syracuse is doing a great job getting back on defense, seldom allowing KU to get anything in terms of fast break points.