Running 2010 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament thread

See, I disagree with this. I don't think its's special because they came out of nowhere - like George Mason or Villanova or N.C. State - but because they haven't. To me, what would be special about it is that in the era of Big Monday and Super Tuesday (or whatever it's called) and BCS conferences, a school with a tiny budget and a century-old facility and 4,000 students was more good than lucky not just for a couple weeks, but all season long. Stir in the fact that the major conference schools are desperately trying to expand the tournament to 96 teams so their golf buddies can keep their jobs and squeeze the mids farther out of the field of 64, and the fact the game is in Indianapolis, and to me it's way bigger than a couple underachieving big-name programs catching fire at the right time in March.

 

Duke 73, Butler 54. Butler stays in for a while, but Duke turns a few offensive rebounds into three-pointers midway through the second half to open the margin up, and Butler's more limited offense can't keep up

 

I guess all of the North Carolina/Wake Forest fans woke up and started voting.

 

Damn, can't we just have a game where the officials are anonymous and simply background noise?

I really hope Howard is okay and can play like a Player of the Year (2009) because without him, Butler needs Nored to be a scoring threat which is not his game. Also hope Mack is at full strength because without him, Butler is really thin.

Duke can score from the outside, here's hoping Butler sticks to man to man and does not give up free looks. Problem I saw in the MSU game was that Butler would double the pick and roll but not hard so the pass out left them playing 4 on 3 and MSU got good looks. Duke could kill them on that. If Butler goes zone, they have to go to the aggressive "Amoeba" zone that UNLV used to run, with big pressure on the perimeter, essentially a 3 - 2 zone, not a 2-3.

Butler 62-58.

 

He might have set his family for life but he's a pretty big stiff as far as nba players are concerned.

 

So THAT'S what the Daniels family is up to since it sold the Raleigh News & Observer to McClatchy.



qtlaw, if Butler runs a zone, they need to make sure they dominate the boards and hope Duke doesn't shoot worth spit. The Devils slaughtered Bob Huggins 1-3-1.

 

There's no way I foresee Butler playing zone. They've played the best man defense all tournament and Duke destroys zones. I see Nored on Nolan with Mack on Scheyer, Veasley on Singler, Hayward on Thomas/whichever Plumlee comes in for him and the Howard/Jukes/Smith (I think that's his name) on Zoubek/the other Plumlee.

I think the other end is more interesting, though. If I'm Duke, I put Smith on Mack, Scheyer on Veasley, Singler on Hayward, Zoubek on Howard and then I sink Thomas/one of the Plumlees in the paint and dare Nored to shoot (18% 3-point shooter). If Butler has to take him for much of the game, they'd be without probably their best perimeter defender for a large portion of the game.

 

Teddy V, Eades and Cahill are the refs tonight - I think the late money just pelted Duke.

 

I still think Butler pulls this out.

Heyward and Howard combine for 50 points and Scheyer misses the potential game winner with less than five seconds left.

 

Duke will lay off a player if the coaching staff doesn't think said player can shoot worth anything on the perimeter (see UNLV's George Ackles in the '91 semifinal). If so, they'll put either Brian Zoubek or Miles Plumlee in the paint to play help defense on drives and/or dribble drives and to help out with rebounding.

If any one-man zone is played and Zoubek is out on the floor, he's most likely to be the one sitting back. Either of the Plumlees is more mobile, particularly Mason, and Thomas has earned his spot in the lineup with his defense.

 

Good point about Zoubek being the one who would play off Nored.

 

If Nored is left open, I see him curling off the picks and taking it into the lane and see if Zoubek will foul him. I think Mack can get some shots off of weakside picks. Look for some Hayward backdoor cuts/slip screens as well, that worked against MSU.