NCAAM Final Game
 

I've just about finished my research to enter the bracket contest. When's the deadline?

You've got plenty of time, don't worry.

Sometime next March.

Where is the chat room?

Just around the corner

Four corner offense.
 

As many of you know that I am adamantly opposed to two things in basketball: 1) the AP Arrow, and 2) the shot clock at any level of basketball (NFHS, NCAA Men's/Women's, FIBA, and NBA/WNBA).

BUT, after watching the first half of the game tonight, I truely believe that the NCAA Men's should adopt a shot clock for next year.

MTD, Sr.

Really...no shot clock at any of those level? I kind of get at the high school level, but you take it away at the college or pro level, then forget keeping any fans watching on TV.

Wow...what a miserable game. Neither team should be awarded the trophy for that game. UConn was just less bad.

Did anyone see the blatant 2-hand shove foul with around 6 minutes remaining? Napier, IIRC, was going up for a loose ball (after Butler knocked away that ill-advised 35' bounce pass), Mack shoved Napier away from the ball and OOB on his back with 2-hands in his chest. You could then hear through the TV someone yelling WTF...pretty sure that would have been Napier. Shows was right there on the play and Cahill was the C-opposite. Surprising that neither got that. It was bad enough that I wouldn't have been surprised if an intentional foul had been called.

Aside from that, I thought they did a good job.

I was watching at Applebee's with no audio and on my 2nd drink but I definitely saw it. Guess there was no advantage gained. :D

Your choice of beverage?
 

Coffee, Tea, or ???

We talked about that one in the chat room...I didn't note the time, but I'll try and get around to getting that play up.

I remember seeing it and hearing him yell "What the f*&#" as he went flying out of bounds.

A moment like no other?
 

I remember hearing this clearly.....

Did you take a time warp back to the 50's or something?

What's this "back" stuff?

The points in the paint stats was bull****.

If you go back to about the 10:30 mark in the first half, Andrew Smith hit a turnaround jumper that put Butler's point total to 11. Clark Kellogg even noted at that time that it was an important development to get Butler on the board in the paint early in the game.

For them to later say that points in the paint was 18-0 was crap.

18-0...18-2...whatever. Butler was dismal. Can't blame CBS or the talking heads. Maybe their stats were off, but there was no putting lipstck on that pig.

Amen brother!
 

Think the women will shoot better tonight? ;)

Here's the play in question:

<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/VPFMf3VVOuM?hd=1" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" width="640"></iframe>

Here's the play -- sorry about the content of the web site surrounding it. I think that's Lamb, not Napier. Still, weird to take a pass there. He looks like he's looking right at it.

NCAA Championship Game 2011: Watch Horrible Non-Call in Ugly Title Game | Bleacher Report

<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/U3weWo6QWbA?hd=1" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" width="640"></iframe>

Is this a RSBQ play that needs to be gotten...what about the contact by the dribbler at the end of the drive?

Only 2 minutes too slow

Was to post this play:

<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/f-G8IoayUq4?hd=1" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" width="640"></iframe>

RSBQ: That is usually called in most games. Not sure why it wasn't.

Incidental Contact: I don't really see anything other than an ugly play.

No, the guy was trying to execute a tai otoshi. Oh, wait a minute, this is basketball, not judo. sorry.

Definitely a foul. Could lead to dirty play.

I think this one has to be called.

Pass.

Rsbq
 

It appears Harris was about to put air in his whistle but then when A1 regain the ball and his footing he decided to pass on it. Me, I think would have had a foul for the trip even if I didn't have anything for the first bump.

Nothing at the end of the play.

Incidental contact
 

From this angle you can't see if A1 pushed B1 or if B1 just stumbled on his own.

I stated in the chat room last night that Butler need to shoot 38% from 3pt range in order to win. They were 9/33 = 27%. Had they made four of those 3pt shots which they missed they would have been 13/33 = 39% and scored 12 more points. Guess what? They lost by 12.

So I was darn close. They would have needed to shoot a bit over 39% and that would have only gotten them even, so they would have also needed to make one of the several FTs which they missed. Overall, not a bad prediction.

Although your math works out coincidentally, no team shooting 18.8% from the floor deserves to win, much less on that stage.

Is this one of those predictions where you said a few dozen things, pick the one that was closest to being right in hindsight, and only mention that one? :p

For that matter, neither team deserved to win last night...they both stunk it up.

I was hoping the AP pollsters would have the guts and not put UConn/Butler #1/#2....particularly Butler. One voter did and voted Ohio State #1 but the rest were mindless lemmings. That poll is basically a sham if anyone thinks Butler is the #2 team in the country......top 20 maybe, but no where near #2. There were a dozen teams in other corners of the brackets they didn't beat that were so obviously better. They got a few lucky breaks to get to be in the game and nothing more.

It was not an aesthetically pleasing game. But I don't think Connecticut is getting enough credit for the defense it played. They closed out without fouling incredibly well.

Yeah, they only beat a 1, 2, and 4 seed along their path. Unlike everyone else in the tournament, those lucky pikers from Butler should have to beat at least a dozen other teams with names we recognize before they deserve any credit at all.

They were lucky last year too.

Really? I have the opposite opinion. I thought Butler did a great job playing defense the entire game, with exception to when they went zone. They forced 4 UCONN players to have a seat in the first half with 2 fouls each. They went zone, b/c, they had to do SOMETHING since they weren't making shots.
As for UCONN, I think it was more a case of Butler MISSING good and easy shots more then outstanding defense from UCONN.

Having a lucky run coming through one of the easiest brackets with such an abysmal final performance doesn't mean you're good, just played above your head, had a few lucky breaks, and finally came back to earth. Anyone who claims they're the 2nd best team in the land is delusional. They're not even top 10.

If we were to use your arguments alone, there would be several teams equally deserving of the #2, if not more deserving.

What about a team that beat a #5, #2 and the overall #1 and only lost to the champion? (No I don't think they're 2nd best ether but more so than Butler).

What about another team that beat another #4 and a #1 and lost to UConn? They have a good argument too.

Butler was a lot better last year. They overachieved this year. There are many arguments that could be made for at least 4-5 teams that are more deserving..

Just don't see it. You don't go from being a 43 percent shooting team to a 16 percent shooting team randomly. The Butler coach said outside the locker room that it was the best close out team they had played all year, and it showed. Connecticut was long and athletic, and Butler had zero room to operate. By the end of the game, they were so spooked by the double digit blocked shots that they were putting up crazy shots even close in to try to avoid them. The game before, Connecticut held Kentucky to 33 percent shooting and their lowest point total of the year. Doesn't seem like a coincidence to me.

I can understand dumping on the game. It wasn't that fun to watch. But not to at least have someone write the story about CT's defense seems weird. Yes, Butler missed a couple of chippies late. (So did CT early.) But that doesn't tell the story.

Camron, do you work for the BCS? :p

Butler proved it on the court. They won the darn games, until the final one. The other teams didn't. They are a deserving #2.

Well, I'm not Liam's mum!

Regardless of the math, that was just the most awful championship game I've seen in years. I had other commitments and recorded it, all the while being careful not to hear any information on the game. Then I got home, watched it, and wanted the time back afterwards. Yuck.

After all the great Championship games in multiple years, it is about time there was one bad one every now and then.

Peace

Probably a function of the fact that this tournament was so good for the first four rounds. Cinderellas are fun, but when you have a 3, 4, 8 and 11 seed in the final four, a clunker is probably to be expected. I thought two of the three final four games were really good. The most memorable tournaments are ones that have Cinderellas early and chalk late.

I do not think the championship had anything to do with a Cinderella making it. Butler was there last year and it was probably one of the best games in a long time and they had a chance to win without the last shot. Butler played bad that is all. And if you had all 1 and 2 seeds in the Final Four, I doubt that it would guarantee a good game either. If Kentucky played better in the semifinal, we might not have UConn as the champion.

Peace

They proved nothing different than anyone else who lost one game in the tourney.

By your criteria, VCU should have been #3 or #4 and UNC, UF, UA and KU. The other elite 8 teams should be #5-#8, and so on. But they're not.

My other commitment was SLEEP. But I DVR'd it and got up the next morning to watch - best part was I could Fast Forward through the commercials and it really didn't take too much time out of my life. :rolleyes: