The Top 1 Through 16 Tournament

[Wayne23]

CLEARLY this is fantasy!

[PointGuard]

Again the Atlanta location of the tournament led to teams which are nearer the south and east winning 5 of 7 games. The 8th game was between two teams from the same state (Kentucky). Teams countering the trend and winning in spite of being further from Atlanta were Oklahoma State and Arizona.

[PointGuard]

Game 17 (L1/L9 vs L3/L10): UCLA vs Indiana

Game 18 (L2/W9 vs L4/W10): Syracuse vs North Carolina

Game 19 (W1/L11 vs W3/ L12): Louisville vs UConn

Game 20 (W2/W11 vs W4/W12): Kentucky vs Florida

Game 21 (L5/L13 vs L7/L14): Georgetown vs Stanford

Game 22 (L6/W13 vs L8/W14): Oklahoma State vs LSU

Game 23 (W5/L15 vs W7/L16): Duke vs Michigan State

Game 24 (W6/W15 vs W8/W16): Arizona vs Kansas

[PointGuard]

You can see it in the players faces...desperation. Desperation to get out of the all loss bracket and avoid playing for LAST place if they were to lose this game.

Both UCLA and Indiana played poorly in the first round and lost badly. But then they played well in round 2, with both teams being in the game until the last few minutes. Each team lost by 8 points in round 2.

UCLA’s inability to control the ball led to 7 turnovers in the first 5 minutes of play allowing Indiana to take an 11-6 lead. UCLA’s errant hands continued and led to 16 first half turnovers. Indiana wasn’t much better, turning the ball over 9 times. But the Hoosiers outshot the Bruins 57% to 42%, although UCLA hit 4 of 5 from beyond the arc. Indiana made just 1 of 8 from the free throw line. The half ended with Indiana up 35-28. Leading the Hoosiers offensively were PG Kadjo Branch with 9 points and C Christ Mitchell with 8 points. UCLA’s SF Ernest Blackmon was their top scorer with 7 points. C Dan Davis pulled down 8 rebounds for the Bruins.

Indiana extended their lead to 17 points early in the 2nd half as UCLA’s shooting went ice cold. But the Bruins made a run midway through the half and with 6:08 remaining trailed 58-53. With 1:31 to go, UCLA cut the lead to 67-63 and got the ball on an Indiana turnover. But UCLA’s poor shooting from the field kept them from making a final run. Indiana’s final margin of victory increased to 10 points, 76-66.

UCLA was +3 in rebounds but had 5 more turnovers than Indiana. Ultimately though, Indiana won the game by hitting 48% of their shots while UCLA could only manage to connect on 39% of theirs.

Indiana was led by PG Kwadjo Branch’s 24 points, C Chris Mitchells 15 points and 8 rebounds, and SF Neil Whitehead’s 14 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists.

UCLA’s double digit scorers were PG Russ Eidson with 14, SG Ernest Blackmon with 12, and reserve PF/C Reginald Cox with 10. C Dan Davis scored 7 and grabbed 15 rebounds.

[PointGuard]

Syracuse and North Carolina both had solid 2nd round wins after poor performances in round 1. North Carolina has packed Phillips Arena with their fans.

Tarheel fans rattled Syracuse and what the fans didn’t do, the refs did by calling nearly all fouls against the Orange. North Carolina used those advantages to build a 17-4 lead with 9:20 remaining in the first half. Syracuse got back into the game by knocking down 7 straight points. But the Tarheels immediately countered with 10 unanswered points to take a 27-11 lead. The half ended with Syracuse trailing 39-17.

North Carolina controlled every team stat, leading in rebounds 18-10, turnovers 12-9, FG% 56% to 25%, and scoring 6 more points at the line. Syracuse starters only scored 6 points while two reserves, John Cooper and Bill Reece combined for 11 points. North Carolina’s C Bryan Erwin popped in 15 points while hauling down 6 rebounds.

Syracuse seemed to turn things around by scoring the first points of the 2nd half. But the Orange couldn’t quiet Tarheel fans for long and North Carolina rode the crowd’s enthusiasm to open a 30 point lead with 4 minutes to go. North Carolina cruised to a 81-48 drubbing of Syracuse.

North Carolina finished the game by hitting 53% of their shots compared to Syracuse’s 32% shooting. The Tarheels out-rebounded the Orange 36-26, had a 19-13 turnover advantage, and scored 9 more points from the free throw line.

North Carolina was led by C Bryan Erwin who scored 27 points and pulled down 9 rebounds. SG Aaron Walton chipped in 14 points and PF Larry Purnell added 11 points.

For Syracuse PF Marcus Salvi, reserve SF John Cooper, and reserve PG/SG Bill Reece each scored 12 points.

[PointGuard]

Connecticut hit their first 9 shots to take a 19-8 lead after about 5 minutes of play. The Huskies rode those hot hands (they hit an amazing 79% for the entire half) to romp to a 58-35 halftime lead.

Reserve PF/C Brandon Erege was top scorer for UConn with 9 points. Louisville’s PF Travis Baily held high-point honors with 10 points.

Louisville resurrected their defense for the 2nd half. While they reduced UConn’s shooting to 60% for the entire half and caused the Huskies to turn the ball over frequently, Louisville’s offense was insufficient to cut the lead to less than 18 points. UConn walked off the court with a resounding 86-66 victory.

UConn’s reserve PF/C Brandon Erege scored 15 and had 5 rebounds, SF Nick Jarmon dropped in 14 points and handed out 4 assists, reserve SF Maurice Porter scored 12 points and had 4 assists, SG Edmond White scored 11 points, and PG Keith Williams added 9 points and dished out 8 assists.

PF Travis Baily led Louisville with 16 points, Eric Radl scored 10 while pulling down 6 rebounds and handing out 3 assists, PF Curtis Poindexter hit for 10 points, and PG Carlos Tompson scored 8 and had 9 assists. Reserve PF Andrew Bradley scored 8 points and pulled down 7 rebounds in just 9 minutes on the court.

[PointGuard]

The winner of this game goes to the Championship game in the final round.

Both Kentucky and Florida have won with ease in each of their first 2 games in the tournament. Kentucky’s PF Delawn Bond and Florida’s C David Jackson have been the big hosses for their teams thus far.

After falling behind in the early minutes of the game, Kentucky came back to tie the game 16-16 midway through the half. But Florida scored 13 of the next 15 points. Kentucky was unable to respond to that onslaught and trailed 39-25 at the half.

While Kentucky controlled the board 20-14, Florida’s defense was relentless and forced the Wildcats to turn the ball over 15 times. SF Shaun Mason led the Florida offense with 12 points. PF Delawn Bond again was Kentucky’s rock, scoring 12 and pulling down 7 rebounds.

Kentucky whittled Florida’s lead to 51-44 with about 10 minutes to go. But again the Gators responded to the threat by scoring the next 6 points and holding a double-digit lead from there on. Florida finished by recording a 67-53 win to earn their way to the championship game.

The keys to victory for Florida were a tough defense that led to 26 turnovers by Kentucky and getting to the linen18 more times and scoring 16 more points on free throws than the Wildcats.

Even though Florida’s C David Jackson was limited to 4 points, SF Shaun Mason picked up the slack by popping in 19 points while reserve C Kenny Davis scored 12 and PG Steve Vinson added 10.

Again, Kentucky was led by PF Delawn Bond who scored 20 points, pulled down 10 rebounds and had an assists, 2 steals, and a block.

[bloomington]

Connecticut hit their first 9 shots to take a 19-8 lead after about 5 minutes of play. The Huskies rode those hot hands (they hit an amazing 79% for the entire half) to romp to a 58-35 halftime lead.

Reserve PF/C Brandon Erege was top scorer for UConn with 9 points. Louisville’s PF Travis Baily held high-point honors with 10 points.

Louisville resurrected their defense for the 2nd half. While they reduced UConn’s shooting to 60% for the entire half and caused the Huskies to turn the ball over frequently, Louisville’s offense was insufficient to cut the lead to less than 18 points. UConn walked off the court with a resounding 86-66 victory.

UConn’s reserve PF/C Brandon Erege scored 15 and had 5 rebounds, SF Nick Jarmon dropped in 14 points and handed out 4 assists, reserve SF Maurice Porter scored 12 points and had 4 assists, SG Edmond White scored 11 points, and PG Keith Williams added 9 points and dished out 8 assists.

PF Travis Baily led Louisville with 16 points, Eric Radl scored 10 while pulling down 6 rebounds and handing out 3 assists, PF Curtis Poindexter hit for 10 points, and PG Carlos Tompson scored 8 and had 9 assists. Reserve PF Andrew Bradley scored 8 points and pulled down 7 rebounds in just 9 minutes on the court.

Clearly Wayne has resorted to using his deep pockets to influence the results!

[Wayne23]

Hmmph. UConn fighting for fourth place! No, we're saving up to buy another title!

[Wayne23]

Whoa! My computer was hijacked. That last post was NOT from me. The good and decent folks here in CT would NEVER stoop to such tactics. We win fair and square!

Only guy I know with the skills to sneak in a post and make it look like it came from elsewhere- well, I won't mention names, or even habits, like towel chewing for example, just an example though.