One of the beautiful things about March Madness is the little guys get invited and usually show up to be Cinderella of the Sweet 16. Unfortunately Colorado St was sent traveling against Maryland & Mich St made another Pitino suffer a defeat today - so 15 of the 16 teams will have come from the SEC, Big 12 or Big 10. The only one that's not is the big bad wolf of the underworld... Duke.
I know it's sacrimonous to say anything against the SEC - and each team should be assessed on their own merit... however I don't like where the game is going where the Big 3 want expansion for more of their teams and the erosion of the mid-major... Personally - they should have a rule that unless you win your conference tourney - if you don't finish at or better than 2 games under 500 in conference - then you are eliminated.... This would've prevented Oklahoma and Texas from playing and hopefully given a mid major another opportunity at representation...
Now off my soap box...
Sweet 16 thoughts:
* Dreams of an all SEC Final 4 are alive and well - it would be interesting if it happens given semis would likely be Florida/Auburn vs. Alabama/Tennessee (KY) - would the end result still be the same?
* I'm fine with Duke looking the best so far... Baylor was the weakest 2nd round opponent (UConn/Creighton/Gonzaga)... they will be having nail biter soon - the question is will they have it before final 4?
* Florida exorcised the UConn curse (lost 5 straight prior) and now has a coach comfortable with playing in SF - with no local teams, and maybe a surprise Arkansas with a larger fan base than Florida - can the Gators make SF - Gainesville West? They should be able to play loose and free, after surviving the initial stun of the rock fight. Maryland likes to run - Florida's games against Bama will certainly have them prepared for the Crab 5 who had a Houdini escape of their own.
Elsewhere - Auburn is feeling the pressure of being the #1 seed... with the games in their big city backyard - can the Jungle provide a home court advantage to dispose of FAU North (I mean Michigan) and a grind out MSU team and be called state champs of Michigan? The key is Broome - he's got get 20/10 and make at least 70% FT.
The #1 seed I expect to fall first is Houston - they have a sneaky tough matchup with Purdue - with 60k hometown fans and if they survive that - play either Tennessee or Kentucky team that has as much talent as they do. This is why I was glad UF got assigned out to SF vs. Indy - crowd would've massively been against them.
With 7 teams in the Sweet 16, I'm predicting half the elite 8 will be from the SEC - so while the Big 10 and Big 12 stole the first weekend headlines due to the dregs of the SEC polluting the overall record... the cream always rises to the top.
For Florida's matchup against Maryland - expect the following:
730pm Thursday with Harlan/SVG/Bonner
* Back to a 4 man backcourt rotation - with Denzel providing relief and earning more minutes to make an impact
* Florida playing more downhill and focused first at getting front court post action or drives to the hoop. If we can get their front court in foul trouble - it will open up the rest of the game.
* Florida needs to continue focusing on running Maryland off the 3 point line and force them into tough 2 point shots... again think Bama matchups. This is comfortable for this roster and the # of transition opportunities will juice the morale, effort and focus throughout the team.
I know it's sacrimonous to say anything against the SEC - and each team should be assessed on their own merit... however I don't like where the game is going where the Big 3 want expansion for more of their teams and the erosion of the mid-major... Personally - they should have a rule that unless you win your conference tourney - if you don't finish at or better than 2 games under 500 in conference - then you are eliminated.... This would've prevented Oklahoma and Texas from playing and hopefully given a mid major another opportunity at representation...
Now off my soap box...
Sweet 16 thoughts:
* Dreams of an all SEC Final 4 are alive and well - it would be interesting if it happens given semis would likely be Florida/Auburn vs. Alabama/Tennessee (KY) - would the end result still be the same?
* I'm fine with Duke looking the best so far... Baylor was the weakest 2nd round opponent (UConn/Creighton/Gonzaga)... they will be having nail biter soon - the question is will they have it before final 4?
* Florida exorcised the UConn curse (lost 5 straight prior) and now has a coach comfortable with playing in SF - with no local teams, and maybe a surprise Arkansas with a larger fan base than Florida - can the Gators make SF - Gainesville West? They should be able to play loose and free, after surviving the initial stun of the rock fight. Maryland likes to run - Florida's games against Bama will certainly have them prepared for the Crab 5 who had a Houdini escape of their own.
Elsewhere - Auburn is feeling the pressure of being the #1 seed... with the games in their big city backyard - can the Jungle provide a home court advantage to dispose of FAU North (I mean Michigan) and a grind out MSU team and be called state champs of Michigan? The key is Broome - he's got get 20/10 and make at least 70% FT.
The #1 seed I expect to fall first is Houston - they have a sneaky tough matchup with Purdue - with 60k hometown fans and if they survive that - play either Tennessee or Kentucky team that has as much talent as they do. This is why I was glad UF got assigned out to SF vs. Indy - crowd would've massively been against them.
With 7 teams in the Sweet 16, I'm predicting half the elite 8 will be from the SEC - so while the Big 10 and Big 12 stole the first weekend headlines due to the dregs of the SEC polluting the overall record... the cream always rises to the top.
For Florida's matchup against Maryland - expect the following:
730pm Thursday with Harlan/SVG/Bonner
* Back to a 4 man backcourt rotation - with Denzel providing relief and earning more minutes to make an impact
* Florida playing more downhill and focused first at getting front court post action or drives to the hoop. If we can get their front court in foul trouble - it will open up the rest of the game.
* Florida needs to continue focusing on running Maryland off the 3 point line and force them into tough 2 point shots... again think Bama matchups. This is comfortable for this roster and the # of transition opportunities will juice the morale, effort and focus throughout the team.
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