If I had photoshop skills (or photoshop), I'd totally turn the title of the post into a visual pun.
Anyway, the Terps won because they matched up well against Cal, who relies on their defense and 3 point shooting. Maryland was able to stop perimeter shooters from making the high-percentage shots, as evidenced by Cal's terrible 3 percentage. In particular, check out Patrick Christopher's stats: 0-7 on the 3, and fouled out. Maryland looked well coached, and seemed to know exactly who to guard in which situations. Once Christopher fouled out, Cal went on a run that was too little, too late.
The Terps, by winning, have added to their own resume of credibility. By winning as a tenth seed against a team from another major seed, they've helped their chances of making the Big Dance next year. But more importantly, they showed the most tournament-time poise since their championship season, arguably. Memphis looks like a very intriguing matchup, they're of comparable overall skill to Wake Forest in my opinion. If Maryland can have the same kind of game they did against Cal and Wake, they might be able to pull off the awesome upset.
As for the rest of the field, I hate to say it, but it looks like another top seed heavy year. Good for my bracket, terrible for my underdog sympathies.
I'd type more, but I'm lazy. Comments, yo.
- Matt
Showing posts with label College Basketball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label College Basketball. Show all posts
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Mid-March State of the Blog
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Ok, just gentlemen.
Here's a long-awaited post from me, as I've been slacking a lot, after giving Will a lot of shit earlier. With the Penguins streaking (10 straight games with at least a point earned), I've been spending a ton of time on the Pensblog in a state of maddening joy. But it's time to rap, gents. About the sports.
Baltimore Orioles: Orioles Hangout had a very good post on Brian Matusz's pitching mechanics recently. I recommend reading it, but you may not like what you hear. In short, he needs a lot of work, meaning he probably won't make an impact in the majors until at least 2012. Whatever keeps the arm fresh is good with me though.
And, uh, Orioles will flirt with .500 as late as September. Bank on it.
Baltimore Ravens: It's good that the dirty birds kept Ray Ray. He's one of the most beloved players in Baltimore sports history, no matter what the rest of the country thinks. The only thing to watch is a potential "old guard" versus new D coordinator situation, much like the Steelers experienced with Alan Faneca in their offensive line. Which reminds me, Steelers suck.
San Diego Chargers: Good move restructuring LT's deal without trying to rip him off. He's still a top 5 back in the league, he just needs to get healthy. Cutting down on the money while including guarantees for the roughest position in all of sports is a fair compromise. It's even better that this got resolved early in the offseason, rather than creating a boiler pressure situation after the draft. I'm feeling good about the Bolts next season.
Indianapolis Colts: are gay.
Maryland Terrapins: WOOOOOOOO! I like the first round matchup with Cal. It's a rematch of the football game last fall when the Terps surprised the Bears. MD has a good chance, I'm penciling them in the W column. They're starting to play well on neutral courts, which will be very useful in the very near future.
Pittsburgh Penguins: Streaking! Suddenly, the Pens find themselves in the 5 seed position with 82 points. With 11 games left to play, one figures the Pens need to go 6-5 the rest of the season to be assured a playoff spot. That would be 43 wins and 94 points, which is enough in the post-lockout landscape. Depending on their first round matchup, they could be doing a lot of damage. The first line is looking very good these days, Guerin, Kunitz and Crosby all had 3 points in this afternoon's game. It was good enough to make the scoring race a 1-2 Penguins punch, which is the first time since Lemieux-Jagr that it's happened this late in the season.
Washington Capitals: Whaaa?!? Considering a third of our readership is Caps fans, I'm giving legitimate space to reporting about them without calling them names. Given their stellar track record at home (despite recent struggles), their recent road power show speaks volumes. On the other hand, their first round opponent will come out swinging in the first two games, knowing that the Caps can clean up in another team's arena. Ovechkin in particular has picked up his game away from home, but bank on him creating more points at home in the postseason. The worry spot for fans has to be Green; teams are starting to pick up on his reluctance to take the body. The playoffs are a grind, and dirty goals are a must. The Ovechkin Play (TM) on the power play may not work, so the Caps have to find a way to adjust.
NHL: Red Wings have taken the points lead. Who's surprised? ...Columbus is the lovable underdog in the West, they're in good position to make the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. ...Philly may make a push for the Atlantic division title if Brodeur stops owning the league soon. They have several games in hand on most Eastern teams. ...It seems only one of the Sabres, Canes and Panthers will make the playoffs. I'm banking on the Hurricanes to finally snap their drought.
Totally wrong NCAA tourney predictions later this week.
- Matt
Here's a long-awaited post from me, as I've been slacking a lot, after giving Will a lot of shit earlier. With the Penguins streaking (10 straight games with at least a point earned), I've been spending a ton of time on the Pensblog in a state of maddening joy. But it's time to rap, gents. About the sports.
Baltimore Orioles: Orioles Hangout had a very good post on Brian Matusz's pitching mechanics recently. I recommend reading it, but you may not like what you hear. In short, he needs a lot of work, meaning he probably won't make an impact in the majors until at least 2012. Whatever keeps the arm fresh is good with me though.
And, uh, Orioles will flirt with .500 as late as September. Bank on it.
Baltimore Ravens: It's good that the dirty birds kept Ray Ray. He's one of the most beloved players in Baltimore sports history, no matter what the rest of the country thinks. The only thing to watch is a potential "old guard" versus new D coordinator situation, much like the Steelers experienced with Alan Faneca in their offensive line. Which reminds me, Steelers suck.
San Diego Chargers: Good move restructuring LT's deal without trying to rip him off. He's still a top 5 back in the league, he just needs to get healthy. Cutting down on the money while including guarantees for the roughest position in all of sports is a fair compromise. It's even better that this got resolved early in the offseason, rather than creating a boiler pressure situation after the draft. I'm feeling good about the Bolts next season.
Indianapolis Colts: are gay.
Maryland Terrapins: WOOOOOOOO! I like the first round matchup with Cal. It's a rematch of the football game last fall when the Terps surprised the Bears. MD has a good chance, I'm penciling them in the W column. They're starting to play well on neutral courts, which will be very useful in the very near future.
Pittsburgh Penguins: Streaking! Suddenly, the Pens find themselves in the 5 seed position with 82 points. With 11 games left to play, one figures the Pens need to go 6-5 the rest of the season to be assured a playoff spot. That would be 43 wins and 94 points, which is enough in the post-lockout landscape. Depending on their first round matchup, they could be doing a lot of damage. The first line is looking very good these days, Guerin, Kunitz and Crosby all had 3 points in this afternoon's game. It was good enough to make the scoring race a 1-2 Penguins punch, which is the first time since Lemieux-Jagr that it's happened this late in the season.
Washington Capitals: Whaaa?!? Considering a third of our readership is Caps fans, I'm giving legitimate space to reporting about them without calling them names. Given their stellar track record at home (despite recent struggles), their recent road power show speaks volumes. On the other hand, their first round opponent will come out swinging in the first two games, knowing that the Caps can clean up in another team's arena. Ovechkin in particular has picked up his game away from home, but bank on him creating more points at home in the postseason. The worry spot for fans has to be Green; teams are starting to pick up on his reluctance to take the body. The playoffs are a grind, and dirty goals are a must. The Ovechkin Play (TM) on the power play may not work, so the Caps have to find a way to adjust.
NHL: Red Wings have taken the points lead. Who's surprised? ...Columbus is the lovable underdog in the West, they're in good position to make the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. ...Philly may make a push for the Atlantic division title if Brodeur stops owning the league soon. They have several games in hand on most Eastern teams. ...It seems only one of the Sabres, Canes and Panthers will make the playoffs. I'm banking on the Hurricanes to finally snap their drought.
Totally wrong NCAA tourney predictions later this week.
- Matt
Monday, February 16, 2009
Washington: Joke City
Surprisingly, I'm not talking about the Capitals.
Long have I mocked the Nationals. You just can't turn the Expos into contenders in a few years, especially with a strategy that makes Peter Angelos blush. So imagine my surprise when I happened upon this little nugget:
[ESPN, sadly]
I don't think I've ever heard of someone announcing their regret upon signing with a team before Spring Training really got going. Check out this gem from manager Manny Acta:
"I really do not understand what is happening. I am waiting for Odalis since Saturday, but nobody has given me a reason for his absence from the field,"
Perhaps you should try checking with him:
"I thought it best and I prefer to sit in my house if the Nationals do not show more appreciation for my work," Perez said from Santo Domingo.
Appreciation, eh? I wonder if they appreciate his 7-12 record. But wait, maybe his team just failed to score runs while he was pitching. Oh, 4.34 ERA? In the National League? Well, at least he ate a lot of innings... wait, 159 2/3. Tell me they couldn't get that from other pitchers. This is why you see this when you google "Washington baseball"
Grossest image ever put on this site for sure
In other news, I know this has nothing to do with DC, but I have to wonder why Oklahoma is about to become the number 1 team in the coach's poll. The Big 12 is maybe the fourth best conference in the country, behind the Big East, ACC and even the Big Ten. The Pac 10 is also probably better than the Big 12.
Pittsburgh seems to have shifted to a more offensive style of play, in response to DeJuan Blair getting into foul trouble early and often. The result has been domination, including an upset against number 1 Connecticut in Hartford. This change in philosophy could be exactly what the school needs to finally crack the Final Four. The only two losses by Pitt are to a streaking Louisville team and an underrated Villanova squad. No one in the country has lost to a combination of better teams. That's the quality of a top team.
As for Maryland, they're going to need to win at least 5 of their remaining 6 games. Wins over Clemson, Duke and North Carolina would help a lot. Will this happen? No. When does Orioles season start again?
- Matt
Long have I mocked the Nationals. You just can't turn the Expos into contenders in a few years, especially with a strategy that makes Peter Angelos blush. So imagine my surprise when I happened upon this little nugget:
[ESPN, sadly]
I don't think I've ever heard of someone announcing their regret upon signing with a team before Spring Training really got going. Check out this gem from manager Manny Acta:
"I really do not understand what is happening. I am waiting for Odalis since Saturday, but nobody has given me a reason for his absence from the field,"
Perhaps you should try checking with him:
"I thought it best and I prefer to sit in my house if the Nationals do not show more appreciation for my work," Perez said from Santo Domingo.
Appreciation, eh? I wonder if they appreciate his 7-12 record. But wait, maybe his team just failed to score runs while he was pitching. Oh, 4.34 ERA? In the National League? Well, at least he ate a lot of innings... wait, 159 2/3. Tell me they couldn't get that from other pitchers. This is why you see this when you google "Washington baseball"
Grossest image ever put on this site for sure
In other news, I know this has nothing to do with DC, but I have to wonder why Oklahoma is about to become the number 1 team in the coach's poll. The Big 12 is maybe the fourth best conference in the country, behind the Big East, ACC and even the Big Ten. The Pac 10 is also probably better than the Big 12.
Pittsburgh seems to have shifted to a more offensive style of play, in response to DeJuan Blair getting into foul trouble early and often. The result has been domination, including an upset against number 1 Connecticut in Hartford. This change in philosophy could be exactly what the school needs to finally crack the Final Four. The only two losses by Pitt are to a streaking Louisville team and an underrated Villanova squad. No one in the country has lost to a combination of better teams. That's the quality of a top team.
As for Maryland, they're going to need to win at least 5 of their remaining 6 games. Wins over Clemson, Duke and North Carolina would help a lot. Will this happen? No. When does Orioles season start again?
- Matt
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