NCAA basketball, tornadoes, and March Madness 2008 (1 Viewer)

[Patrick Sun]

Sigh, my bracket is now toast. So, I'm also predicting a Memphis Monday night win.

 

[Carlo_M]

If Kansas zones Memphis, and plays well offensively, they have a very good chance to win.

Unfortunately, my alma mater does not believe in zone defense. I think in Howland's first year (where he took over a 10-19 Lavin team) he was forced to play zone because the team he inherited was lazy, soft and uncommitted to defense, but ever since he got his own recruits in there (starting with Farmar, Afflalo, Shipp and Mata) he hasn't played a minute of zone defense.

Unfortunately, unless you match up well athletically with Memphis (and UCLA did not, Collison was eaten alive no matter who he guarded) you have to pack it in and make them beat you from the outside.

Kansas (and to some extent UNC) match up athletically with Memphis, much better than UCLA did. So even if KU doesn't zone, they can run with them. However packing it in and making Memphis beat you from 3 is probably the best strategy you can employ. I know others in C-USA employ the zone, but Memphis's athletes could still shred and penetrate. A KU zone, run by the stellar athletes they have, could make penetration very difficult for Rose.

Of course, I've never been a big Bill Self fan, so I don't know if he'll do it.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Both teams like to fastbreak so I doubt much zoning will happen off of a miss shot.

 

[ZacharyTait]

My best bracket went bust last night, thanks to moi picking North Carolina to beat UCLA tomorrow night. Oh well.

I have 2 other brackets where I have Memphis and Kansas winning (over Louisville and Texas, respectively). I also had Memphis losing to Tennessee in another one.

 

[Marty M]

My bracket is toast, as well. I had UCLA winning it all. I am going to cheer for Memphis tomorrow. Us University of Illinois fans are still miffed at Bill Self for bolting to Kansas five years ago, espacially when he snuck out without even talking to his U of I players, personally.

 

[Jan H]

Man, that was rather Self-ish of him...Sorry, I'm sure you've never heard that one before. Memphis is my pick, but Kansas playing zone is definitely the way to beat those guys, if it can be done. But Memphis is sooo long and athletic... Should be a great game.

 

[Jan H]

Hmm...is a great game.

 

[ZacharyTait]

Memphis fans are going to be thinking about those 4 missed free throws for a long, long, long time.

I was surprised that Calipari didn't have his players foul a Kansas player on the final possession.

 

[Brian Perry]

I was very happy to see Calipari and Memphis blow the game. Talk about choke artists...that was a masterpiece!

 

[Patrick Sun]

Memphis did foul someone, but it just wasn't the guy with the ball, and the refs didn't call it. Calipari mentioned it in his after game interview with Sam Ryan.

Calipari also took the blame for losing the game.

 

[Carlo_M]

I wonder if Cal's going to work on FTs next season?

Seriously, it was a great game, great come from behind win by KU. Self finally gets the monkey off of his back in a big way. Being a UCLA alum/fan, I know about unreasonable expectations (people here trumpet the fact that we don't hang Final Four banners, only Championship banners in Pauley), and Self had done well in the last couple of years, just not well enough for KU fans. Now he'll be laughing to the bank (or to Stillwater, and then the bank).