Tourney Thread - All Big East Games

[MUWhistler]

So, I missed the game last night, but very disappointed to see Providence blow a 17 pt lead. We want as many wins as we can in the BEast to build up the tourney credits.

Butler is putting on a good showing so far in their first game. Not watching it, but seeing the score online shows a nice halftime lead.

Xavier and Nova rounding out Day 1 games for the BEast.

[DCwarrior]

Providence was absolutely terrible in the 2nd half. Couldn't make a shot, tons of turnovers and bad defense. They blew that game.

Butler was Butler -- steady and efficient.

As bad as Xavier has been playing, I think they have a decent shot to win today...Maryland is not that good.

[warriorfan4life]

Very nice showing for Butler against a pretty good Winthrop team. While they have been a touch inconsistent this year, Butler will be a tough out in the tournament.

[mufan2003]

I have Butler going to the Sweet 16 in my plethora of brackets. However, Middle Tennessee was impressive. They look every bit as good as the team that knocked off Michigan State last year.

[MUWhistler]

In general, I want the Big 10 and the ACC teams to lose, so very glad for Middle Tennessee. Although, the exception to my distaste for the Big 10 is I was happy to see Northwestern win. It's their first time in the tourney, so excited to see them go as far as they can.

[CaribouJim]

Come on X!!!

[MUWhistler]

Woo hoo!!! Best of both worlds. BEast beats Big 10111213. Way to go X!!!

[mufan2003]

Well done X. BE 3-0 today.

[mufan2003]

"It's in the hole!"

[CaribouJim]

Woo hoo!!! Best of both worlds. BEast beats Big 10111213. Way to go X!!!

...although not quite making up for giving away the UW game last year, but I'll take it.

P.S. - go VaTech!!!

[Nukem2]

SHU frittered that game away with turnovers, poor shooting and dumb flagrant foul.

[MUAlphaBangura]

Seton Hall didn't deserve that game with the stupid turnovers down the stretch. Totally unforced. But that was one of the worst, if not THE worst flagrant calls I have ever seen called. Ridiculous.

[MayorBeluga]

Sadly SHU has no one to blame but themselves. Dumb unforced turnovers.

That said, Hizzoner disagrees with the talking heads. No reason to call it a flagrant foul at the end. Use some freakin' judgment!

[Nukem2]

Creighton is shooting bricks.

[mufan2003]

Patton not playing well at all. Creighton is going to need more from him.

[MUMac]

Sadly SHU has no one to blame but themselves. Dumb unforced turnovers.

That said, Hizzoner disagrees with the talking heads. No reason to call it a flagrant foul at the end. Use some freakin' judgment!

Agree with this. SHU could not handle the high traps. Carrington had troubles with it.

With regards to the "flagrant foul", that was horrible. They never looked at the monitor. Those officials should not be allowed to officiate another tourney game this year. Absolutely pathetic. It decided the game, but not necessarily determined it. SHU was done with after the call. They may not have won without it, and nothing in the last few minutes would lead me to believe they would have, but an official cannot make that call.

[CaribouJim]

Sadly SHU has no one to blame but themselves. Dumb unforced turnovers.

That said, Hizzoner disagrees with the talking heads. No reason to call it a flagrant foul at the end. Use some freakin' judgment!

Trainwreck of a game - horrific last 10 minutes.

[Mucrisco]

Foster is taking some bad shots.

[Nukem2]

Foster is taking some bad shots.And, he is missing layups too.

[Mucrisco]

Dunk that ball, Patton!!!

[Mucrisco]

Foster...another dumb shot.

[warriorfan4life]

We are seeing what happens when you struggle at point guard. Hall needs someone to steady the ship and Creighton did not have cover for Watson.

[Nukem2]

Nova off to a tough start against Bucky which has a significant height/length advantage.

[Nukem2]

Nova really shooting poorly, especially Jenkins.

[Nukem2]

Poor shooting be Jenkins with no scoring at all from Brunson, Bridges and Reynolds. Wonder if Reynolds' ribs are still bothering him as he has been very quiet.

[TheSultan]

They looked similar v. Mount St. Marys for a half. They eventually ran away with it in the second half, but this UW team is way better than that.

[Mucrisco]

How is that not an intentional foul?

[Nukem2]

How is that not an intentional foul?Driscoll even signaled it as such on the spot. No different than the SHU game.

[MayorBeluga]

Crap. You just knew somehow the rodents would find a way.

[Nukem2]

How is that not a foul on Brown? He knocked Hart down. If anything, call a held ball.

[DCwarrior]

I really hat Bucky, but they sure do have a knack for turning it on come tourney time. They were better than 8 seed.

Big East not helping their reputation this tournament

[Nukem2]

Nova really misses Ochefu in a game like this with the size differential. Could Spellman have made a difference?

[Nukem2]

Bucky is really going to miss those seniors next year, especially Koenig and Hayes. Will be an entirely different team built around Happ. Can he carry them?

[mufan2003]

Nova never had enough quality post play. They were always vunerable in that regard. Omari Spellman's ineligibility was a huge blow (as was losing Phil Booth). Jenkins seemed to get lazier and lazier as the season progressed. Just thankful that Duke is in the East region.

[warriorfan4life]

Nova never had enough quality post play. They were always vunerable in that regard. Omari Spellman's ineligibility was a huge blow (as was losing Phil Booth). Jenkins seemed to get lazier and lazier as the season progressed. Just thankful that Duke is in the East region.

Think Nova ran out of gas at the end of the year, Hart and Jenkins in particular.

[MayorBeluga]

Uncanny how similar our win over Nova was to today's rodent win. Nova up 5-7 with about 4 minutes to go and they start making bad decisions while the opponent hits some tough shots. You just know Duke is going to lose and the rodents are going to the Final Four. Sigh.

[warriorfan4life]

Really impressive showing by X today. If Butler can hold on in second half, it definitely salvages the day for the Big East.

[IrwinFletcher]

I'm sitting here watching X dominate without their stud PG, drooling over the length and athleticism, thinking how good they will be next year, then remembering, we beat that same team. Twice.

[mufan2003]

Really impressive showing by X today. If Butler can hold on in second half, it definitely salvages the day for the Big East.

Shocked by Xavier. Their freshmen (Goodin and Jones) have really improved. Hope Butler can hang on, Middle Tennessee on a bit of a run.

[MUMac]

Bucky is really going to miss those seniors next year, especially Koenig and Hayes. Will be an entirely different team built around Happ. Can he carry them?

Seems like we have seen this playbook before and they were just fine. Sad to say, but I envy their program right now. Never thought UW would be lightyears ahead of MU, but they are.

[Markedman]

So 2 Big East teams in the sweet 16 and neither one is Nova......conference showing it's depth.

[Nukem2]

So 2 Big East teams in the sweet 16 and neither one is Nova......conference showing it's depth.
Yep, just what I was going to post. Poor little BE is right there. Wish Nova could be there, but matchups prevail in one and done.

[mufan2003]

Nicely done Butler. So much for Seth Davis' Middle Tennessee lock.

[MUMac]

So 2 Big East teams in the sweet 16 and neither one is Nova......conference showing it's depth.

It was said all year how even and deep the league is. Wish Nova would have continued on, as I thought they could get to the Final 4. UW was a tough matchup for them, especially in the field of 32. They had length inside and that hurt Nova.

[Halo]

Seems like we have seen this playbook before and they were just fine. Sad to say, but I envy their program right now. Never thought UW would be lightyears ahead of MU, but they are.

Agree. They just seem to reload. I do think it will be a little harder this time when they lose their entire backcourt and going to Trice/Hill. Showalter does all the little things and Koenig is likely their best PG since Devin Harris. But they still have Happ and always have someone develop unexpectedly.

Hoping MU has someone take a big jump next year.

[warriorfan4life]

Agree. They just seem to reload. I do think it will be a little harder this time when they lose their entire backcourt and going to Trice/Hill. Showalter does all the little things and Koenig is likely their best PG since Devin Harris. But they still have Happ and always have someone develop unexpectedly.

Hoping MU has someone take a big jump next year.

Think it will be the player that Bo let get away (and will be the start of a family dynasty here).

[Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"]

It was said all year how even and deep the league is. Wish Nova would have continued on, as I thought they could get to the Final 4. UW was a tough matchup for them, especially in the field of 32. They had length inside and that hurt Nova.

I still think we could have a Final Four team. I'm bullish on Butler, especially in a region where everyone is overlooking the Bulldogs.

[TheSultan]

Right now the Big East is performing as expected by seed.

**They lost a toss up pairing of 11 seeds in the First Four.
**Should have had three in final 32. They did that with Xavier replacing Creighton.
**Should have had 2 in Sweet 16. They did that with Xavier replacing Nova

Now with Nova losing, they should have had one in both the Elite 8 and Final 4, and that is going to require some upsets that IMO aren't likely. (Although Butler could give UNC a game and Mack is coaching against his former boss.)

But by the end of the day, the conference will perform at worst slightly below expectations. Not the end of the world.

[mufan2003]

I still think we could have a Final Four team. I'm bullish on Butler, especially in a region where everyone is overlooking the Bulldogs.

I am too. They have had some nice wins this season: beating Nova twice, Arizona, Cincinnati, Northwestern. Jay Wright compared them to UW in the paper (especially defensively). I think Butler is better offensively.

UNC has depth in the post with Meeks, Hicks and Bradley. Butler does not have the same talent in the post, but can match UNC physically with Wideman, Chrabascz and Fowler.

[Nukem2]

I am too. They have had some nice wins this season: beating Nova twice, Arizona, Cincinnati, Northwestern. Jay Wright compared them to UW in the paper (especially defensively). I think Butler is better offensively.

UNC has depth in the post with Meeks, Hicks and Bradley. Butler does not have the same talent in the post, but can match UNC physically with Wideman, Chrabascz and Fowler.Fowler has really come on recently.

[MUMac]

I still think we could have a Final Four team. I'm bullish on Butler, especially in a region where everyone is overlooking the Bulldogs.

I hope you are right. I agree that they could make it. That Sweet 16/Elite 8 rounds will be difficult.

[Markedman]

Agree. They just seem to reload. I do think it will be a little harder this time when they lose their entire backcourt and going to Trice/Hill. Showalter does all the little things and Koenig is likely their best PG since Devin Harris. But they still have Happ and always have someone develop unexpectedly.

Hoping MU has someone take a big jump next year.

More likely Trice and someone else......King or Pretzel(so) would be my guess. Davison is also somebody that could get significant minutes right away.

[Nukem2]

Interesting turnover in the Ville-MI game. MI guy inbounding the ball throws a bounce pass that hits out of bounds before going in bounds. Don't recall having seen that before. Surprised the ref was alert enough to catch it. Belilein just kept shaking his head.

[Markedman]

Louisville in trouble against Michigan .....down 4 with a minute left....

Greatest conference of all time needs Duke and NC to win to get 2 teams into the sweet 16.

[ge1974]

ACC = Atlantic Criminal Conference. Glad to see Looeyville go down! No escorts for the team tonight!

[MayorBeluga]

ACC against Big 10111214. Pity they both can't lose.

[MayorBeluga]

ACC = Atlantic Criminal Conference. Glad to see Looeyville go down! No escorts for the team tonight!

Now now. Let's not go crazy. The players will just have to pay for their own escorts.

[ge1974]

Now now. Let's not go crazy. The players will just have to pay for their own escorts.

Haha, Mr. Mayor. Will Pitino be back to Louisville tonight in time to enjoy his favorite Italian restaurant?

[MayorBeluga]

Haha, Mr. Mayor. Will Pitino be back to Louisville tonight in time to enjoy his favorite Italian restaurant?

Just a quickie. If you know what I mean (and I think you do)

[mufan2003]

Fowler has really come on recently.

Yeah, and freshman Joey Brunk (6'11"), who was a Top 60 recruit, has not been able to get into the rotation because of Wideman, Chrabascz and Fowler.

[Nukem2]

Yeah, and freshman Joey Brunk (6'11"), who was a Top 60 recruit, has not been able to get into the rotation because of Wideman, Chrabascz and Fowler.
I believe he is red shirting. Played in 7 games early and Butler filed a hardship waiver as his father has brain cancer and Joey needed to be with him.

[mufan2003]

Wow, thanks, did not know that.

[Mucrisco]

Xavier!!!!!!!!

[Nukem2]

Xavier!!!!!!!!
Yup! And, we beat them twice!

[MUfan12]

Yup! And, we beat them twice!

Handily, at that.

[ge1974]

Geez, it was only a few weeks ago that Marquette jumped out to a 28-4 lead on X at home. I was there! Bluiett or no Bluiett - nobody was going to beat Marquette that night with our rowdy, tanked up crowd for National Marquette Day.

[TheSultan]

Geez, it was only a few weeks ago that Marquette jumped out to a 28-4 lead on X at home. I was there! Bluiett or no Bluiett - nobody was going to beat Marquette that night with our rowdy, tanked up crowd for National Marquette Day.


We blew them out on their home court 22 days before they made the Elite 8.

I think Butler can give UNC a game too. Can't fall into the trap of a track meet like Purdue did tonight.

[TheSultan]

Sam Vecenie‏ @Sam_Vecenie 8h8 hours ago
More
So….this is something I just realized. One of these teams will play for the title.

Gonzaga
Xavier
Wisconsin
Florida
South Carolina
Baylor

[Goose85]

Sam Vecenie‏ @Sam_Vecenie 8h8 hours ago
More
So….this is something I just realized. One of these teams will play for the title.

Gonzaga
Xavier
Wisconsin
Florida
South Carolina
Baylor

Wow. That list right there is crazy.

[Nukem2]

As against MU, X is having trouble defending the 3 ball.

[Nukem2]

Omara is out of his element tonight? Play Gason and the other big.

[CaribouJim]

Well, at least a Jesuit school will be in the FF.

[Markedman]

zags shot the 3 like we did against them......and with more size and a better defense the result was predictable.

Great season for X.....congrats to Few to get the haters off his back

[MayorBeluga]

Ok, who had Duke & Nova losing the 1st weekend, X being the most successful BE team and Kansas losing what is basically a home game?

[Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"]

Ok, who had Duke & Nova losing the 1st weekend, X being the most successful BE team and Kansas losing what is basically a home game?

1 out of 3 ain't bad?

Oh...yes it is, ESPN has my bracket in the 6th percentile. :(

[MU/Panther]

Heck, Kansas does play a home game in Kansas City over Christmas break every year. Played two games in the CBE Classic and lost to TCU in the Big 12 Tournament in that Arena. Amazing what Oregon did!