Posts Tagged ‘ucla’
From the Wire: Wednesday Links
Today’s best from college newspapers around the country:
All the attention the Blue Devils get, good and bad, is too much for even a Duke-sized brain to absorb — Meredith Shiner, The Duke Chronicle
ALSO: Taylor King is on the other side of Thursday’s matchup after going from Duke to Villanova
Pitt‘s Jamie Dixon is on the cusp of elite status among college basketball coaches
– Mike Gladysz, The Pitt News
ALSO: Pitt campus police are worried about celebratory rioting
North Carolina is somewhat familiar with the Gonzaga squad it’ll face Friday
– David Ely, The Daily Tar Heel
Jonny Flynn has been the center of attention, with a ball in his hand, since well before he arrived at Syracuse — Zach Schonbrun, The Daily Orange
ALSO: SU is the latest team to tackle the problem of Oklahoma‘s Blake Griffin
Screw Cinderella, there’s no reason to give these tiny teams automatic bids — Brett Talley, The Daily Toreador
Their tournament performances prove the Big East was better than the ACC
– Randy Lieberman, The Pitt News
From the Wire: Sunday Links
Today’s best from college newspapers around the country:
Jonny Flynn and James Hardin are good friends who’ll be foes when Syracuse and Arizona State meet — Michael Bonner, The Daily Orange
Jon Brockman’s last game is the end of an era for Washington — Allen Wagner, The Daily
ALSO: Huskies fall achingly short
Michigan State will have its hands full with the talented Trojans
– Alex Altman, The State News
Marcus Morris and Kansas will try to keep Dayton‘s high-flying Chris Wright from taking off — Case Keefer, The University Daily Kansan
UCLA didn’t have nearly enough to keep up with Villanova — The Daily Bruin
ALSO: Villanova rolls into Sweet Sixteen; Bruins say goodbye to Collison, Shipp and Aboya
Wrap: Saturday’s second round
One-stop shopping for all the action as 32 became 24 with Saturday’s second-round action. Or look back on the first round from Thursday and Friday.
West Region
1 UConn def. 9 Texas A&M
South Region
1 North Carolina def. 8 LSU
Analysis: 3 Villanova def. 6 UCLA
3 Villanova 89
6 UCLA 69
East Region second round • Wachovia Center, Philadelphia
By Jim Reedy
– Villanova is way, way more than Scottie Reynolds and UCLA isn’t nearly the same team that reached the Final Four the past three teams. As such, this one wasn’t close. The Wildcats were positively dominant, displaying a combination of skill, savvy, athletic ability and physical determination that will only be derailed in this tournament by foul trouble or an off shooting night.
Wrap: Thursday’s first round
We ginned up analysis and commentary for 16 basketball games Thursday. The least you can do is read a few of them:
West Region
1 UConn def. 16 Chattanooga
5 Purdue def. 12 Northern Iowa
Analysis: 6 UCLA def. 11 VCU
6 UCLA 65
11 VCU 64
East Region first round • Wachovia Center, Philadelphia
By Jim Reedy
– Not again. Really? In the final seconds, Eric Maynor had all eyes on him as he held a sword over the neck of a staggered giant. Two years after Maynor thrilled VCU fans a nation of haters by beating Duke with a game-winning jumper in the NCAA first round, here he was again with a chance to knock out UCLA.
Inside Scoop: UCLA Bruins
Our friends at the Daily Bruin have news, features and columns on Darren Collison, Josh Shipp and a UCLA team seeded 6th in the East Region. Do the Bruins have any shot at a fourth straight Final Four appearance? They will open the tournament Thursday in Philadelphia against Eric Maynor and No. 11 seed VCU, a team that has earned more than a little buzz as a potential sleeper — if mostly because people remember the Rams beating Duke as an 11 seed two years ago.
First off, Matt Stevens throws coffee in your face, UCLA fans, by questioning your fanhood:
I’m sorry, but my Selection Sunday experience has tipped me over the edge. UCLA is not a basketball school, and UCLA fans generally don’t care about sports. I wish I had known that two years ago. Maybe then I would have chosen a different school. …
I don’t care that people have “other things to do in Los Angeles.” Not only does that embody the attitude of a Southern Californian with a superiority complex, it doesn’t matter when it comes to what is happening on our very own campus. If anyone gave a lick about basketball, it’d be on the televisions, and there would be a viewing party in Pauley Pavilion.
