Posts Tagged ‘Miami site’
Analysis: 3 Syracuse def. 6 Arizona State
3 Syracuse 78
6 Arizona State 67
South Region second round • American Airlines Arena, Miami
By Jim Reedy
– Arizona State just couldn’t figure out the 2-3 zone fast enough. Rihards Kuksiks and Ty Abbott each scored 20 points on six 3-pointers, but the Sun Devils got very little from their three best players. James Harden vanished for the third straight postseason game, Jeff Pendergraph was all but lost to foul trouble and Derek Glasser hit one shot from the field. It was impressive, in one sense, that ASU even had the margin as close as four points in the second half.
Analysis: 12 Arizona def. 13 Cleveland State
12 Arizona 71
13 Cleveland State 57
Midwest Region second round • American Airlines Arena, Miami
By Zachary Osterman
– Cleveland State was always going to be the underdog in this one, obviously, and playing from behind hurt them. It’s generally true – and it was this afternoon – that underdogs that are so because of severe size and talent gaps (i.e. not Wisconsin vs. Xavier or, say, Arizona vs. Utah) need to be there from the beginning. If not, said teams need to at least control the game at some stage. Cleveland State never did.
At the Arena: Can you hear me now?
Alex Prosperi of the Michigan Daily reports from Kansas City:
With five minutes left in today’s second round matchup between Memphis and Maryland, the Tigers fans starting cheering “ACC! ACC!” as their team led 86-57. 30 seconds later they did it again, but Memphis coach John Calipari turned to the section behind his bench and told them to stop.
Maryland fans clearly didn’t like the chant, and the Kansas fans didn’t either. Jayhawk fans in attendance started doing their Rock Chalk Jayhawk chant, reminding Memphis fans of last year’s title-game victory.
UPDATE: Two Memphis cheerleaders are wearing Calipari cutout masks as they go through their celebratory postgame cheers. It’s really, really creepy.
At the Arena: Our new overlords
By now, you’re accustomed to corporate sponsorship of every aspect of this “college” tournament. Bryan Roy of the Arizona Daily Wildcat reports from Miami on life under the thumb of Coca-Cola:
At every NCAA tournament site this season, all sideline cups, jugs and coolers have purple Vitaminwater logos visible in almost every CBS camera angle.
While the fresh logos are new to the NCAA in 2009, it’s still a Coke brand on the sidelines: The Coke-owned Vitaminwater replaces Coke-owned Dasani’s sideline sponsorship this season after Coke acquired Glaceau for $4.1 billion in 2007.
Analysis: 13 Cleveland State def. 4 Wake Forest
13 Cleveland State 84
4 Wake Forest 69
West Region first round • American Airlines Arena, Miami
By Jeff Greer
– What’s the formula for beating Wake Forest, a team that was ranked No. 1 in the nation earlier this year? Turn the Demon Deacons over and don’t let their size, length and athleticism intimidate you. Well, after beating Syracuse in the Carrier Dome back in December, Cleveland State wasn’t intimidated by Wake’s athletic prowess. And the Vikings turned the Deacs over plenty, too. Wake had 18 turnovers. You can’t win a game when you take 15 fewer shots than your opponent.
Analysis: 12 Arizona def. 5 Utah
12 Arizona 84
5 Utah 71
Midwest Region first round • American Airlines Arena, Miami
By Jeff Greer
– You have to wonder what Arizona would’ve been like this year had all the drama surrounding Lute Olson. This team is supremely talented. Chase Budinger, Jordan Hill and Nic Wise are all studs. It’s really a shame – the sky could’ve been the limit for this club.
At the Arena: Mascot Madness
Alex Espinoza of the State Press has been watching the mascots a lot in Miami:
The Stephen F. Austin mascot, a lumberjack, was a huge guy with sleeveless shirt and a large purple axe. He looked like he should have been included in the Mitchell Report.
Sparky, Arizona State’s mascot, came out of the locker room with his jersey on backward. He’s also deft at walking on his hands, as he showed at halftime.
The Temple Owls’ mascot has a robust silver beak. Much shinier in person.
Analysis: 6 Arizona State def. 11 Temple
6 Arizona State 66
11 Temple 57
South Region first round • American Airlines Arena, Miami
By Jim Reedy
– Pac-10 player of the year James Harden didn’t score from the field until the final minutes, but power forward Jeff Pendergraph and point guard Derek Glasser led the way for the Sun Devils in their first NCAA appearance in six years.
Analysis: 3 Syracuse def. 14 Stephen F. Austin
3 Syracuse 59
14 Stephen F. Austin 44
South Region first round • American Airlines Arena, Miami
By Wyndam Makowsky
– Don’t be fooled by the final score—the game was never nearly as close to that margin. Syracuse jumped out to a quick 12-2 advantage, and by the time Jonny Flynn drove the lane for a nice floater to put the Orange up 16-4 it was practically over. That’s probably foolish to say during March Madness, but the Lumberjacks simply never recovered from their slow start, even after Syracuse’s play degenerated during the second half. They looked overcome by a malaise that they couldn’t shake. Missing 12 of your first 13 shots will do that to you.
Inside Scoop: Syracuse Orange
As Jim Boeheim pointed out, history will remember only two things about this Syracuse basketball season: That crazy, six-overtime win against UConn in the Big East tournament and their performance in the NCAA tournament, however that plays out. Can the Orange get a run started today against No. 14 seed Stephen F. Austin? The Daily Orange has the scoop.
Boeheim’s bunch is on quite a roll these days:
At the end of most seasons, Syracuse gathers at head coach Jim Boeheim’s house on Selection Sunday to witness the brackets take shape. Last year, forward Paul Harris didn’t watch. He didn’t want to see any team’s logo appear, as the likelihood of seeing his team’s logo was slim.
“Last year I didn’t watch it,” Harris said. “I just hoped someone would call me and tell me that we were in.”
