This is it. VCU upsets Duke 79-77 and sends them home after the first round for the first time since 1996.
As the last game of the night, of course the prior game would run long. Jeez Maynor is a killer. I don’t know how many of you saw what he did to George Mason in the CAA Championship. He scares the hell out of me, assuming Pitt wins.
Tip time is 10:10.
10:14: Looks like this game will be called loosely. That benefits Pitt. So does the score. 13-0 Pitt. 17:05 still to go in the half.
10:32: Well, looks like Wright St. has some fight in them. 21-15 with under 11 minutes. Gray took an extended break. Solid WSU game plan to take their time on offense and then drive when presented the opportunity.
10:39: Call a TO. Pitt just stopped playing team offense. Everyone just started launching, sloppy. Tied at 22.
10:50: Fields has really struggled lately. He seems to be trying to hit the homerun in his passes and shooting too much lately. I don’t know what it is. He just is making reckless passes, way too often.
10:53: Speeding the game up actually helped get Pitt back the lead. Not running and gunning, but getting out ahead of the defense. The bright side, assuming Pitt wins, they won’t be taking VCU lightly.
11:00: 43-30 Pitt at the half. Everybody breathing. Just a little bit of highs and lows in the first half.
11:16: Anyone else notice that Eastern Kentucky has closed to within 5 early in the second half. After leading by 27. Fire Roy Williams.
11:52: Looks like Buffalo has cleared out as the game has remained a blowout throughout the second half. Graves did a fantastic job on making DaShaun Woods a non-factor for most of the game. Ramon had a good game. The cynical view is that, of course he did, he was shooting over guards that weren’t as tall as him and played too far off. Still he hit the open looks — just hope he still does that on Saturday.
12:06: Well, after watching Ramon get stripped twice in 10 seconds, I think he won’t be getting too cocky despite his solid shooting night.
12:07: Jeff Rizk hits 1-2 at the FT line.
Final score. 79-58 Pitt wins.
Now it’s VCU. Start reviewing what worked against Marquette and Louisville in the BET and really emphasize protecting the ball and getting it inside.
I figure CBS will switch over to the Pitt game with about 4 minutes remaining.
Pitt is romping. Bring on VCU. They will present a challenge b/c they are a great pressing team (we struggle against the press) and they shoot 3s well.
Pitt also better concentrate on catching passes with two hands. How many times have we fumbled them tonight. We won’t get away with that at VCU
I don’t like some of the nonchalant bullshit like that play by Gray, who had an easy lay-up, but tried to make a fancy pass instead.
This won’t cut it against anyone with a pulse.
Xavier-BYU is going down to the wire. Go Fighting Sean Millers!
It eventually just went away.
For the record, I use IE.
Ramon 4 of 5 on the three pointers tonight.
Speaking of more consistent play, Cook has also been a bigger factor. He still disappears for long stretches, though. But Graves clearly has the most fire of anybody on this team. Hopefully it is rubbing off on the others.
Good win tonight….onwards to VCU
I’m very scared, I watch the first game, they are very fast and very athletic. They press on EVERY SINGLE POSESSION, swipe at the ball, trap….etc. And when their on offense, they are still very quick, penetrating, etc. They don’t have an inside game, but Gray will be a liability on defense, standing like a stick in the mud. And they seem like they never get tired. Had all 5 starters and someone else off the bench score well.
We did learn our lesson from Bradley last year, right? They can’t possibly overlook this game, can they? Anybody want to catch them in the lobby of their hotel and tell them to “REMEMBER BRADLEY”?
There’s the dancers, which are kind of like the band’s majorettes in high school. They’re subpar.
Then there’s the actual cheerleaders. I was walking down to Forbes to get some food after the game and about four of them happened to be going that way at the same time as me. They were all smoking hot. Nice girls too, dumb as bricks, but nice girls.
(….grrrr… stupid girlfriend)
Put Graves on their PG, be patient with their press & keep the ball in the middle while making smart clean passes, and work the ball down low. And for goodness sakes, Gray please keep the ball above your head, and drive to the hole and make them foul you!!!
