March 22nd, 2008

If You’re Not 1 of 65, Please Don’t Whine

March 22nd, 2008

Interesting article by John Feinstein in today’s Washington Post. Excerpts follow -

Let us begin today with a very simple statement: The NCAA men’s basketball tournament does not need more teams. If anything, it needs one less team, removing the horrific play-in game that forces one team to go home without getting to go to an actual tournament site.

John Feinstein

Last Saturday, understandably emotional in the wake of his team’s 68-66 loss to North Carolina in the ACC tournament, Virginia Tech Coach Seth Greenberg declared there was no way his team was not one of the best 65 teams in the country.

Check out some of Virginia Tech’s nonconference games: Elon, Eastern Washington, UNC Asheville (a decent team but the game was, of course, at Cassell Coliseum), UNC Greensboro, Liberty, Charleston Southern. Heck, maybe Greenberg should have demanded a bid as the Big South champion. Take out those games and Virginia Tech was 13-13.

[What did the Atlantic Coast sports writers see that Feinstein didn't when they voted Seth Greenberg 2008 ACC Coach of the Year?]

In short, the big guys are given every possible chance to get into the tournament. The answer when they fail to make it isn’t to whine that life is unfair and more teams should get in but to find a way to get better the next year.

The NCAA doesn’t get very many things right, but it got this basketball tournament exactly right in 1985 when Wayne Duke and Vic Bubas pushed to expand it from 53 teams to 64.

That’s what we have right now: competition to get in and competition once you’re in. Expanding the tournament would be good for one group: power-conference coaches. It would be bad for everyone else. Most important, it would be bad for college basketball.

[Add to that the fact that no # 16 seed has ever beaten a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.]

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Pictures: Davidson 82 , Gonzaga 76

March 22nd, 2008

Stephen Curry scored 30 of his 40 points in the second half and hit the tie-breaking three-pointer with just over a minute left to lead Davidson to an 82-76 win over Gonzaga in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Jason Richards added 15 points and nine assists for Davidson.

View the 2008 NCAA Tournament Davidson vs. Gonzaga basketball game pictures here.

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Pictures: UNC 113, Mount St. Mary’s 74

March 22nd, 2008

Tyler Hansbrough and Ty Lawson each had 21 points Friday night to help the top-seeded Tar Heels cruise by Mount St. Mary’s 113-74 in the first round of the East Regional of the 2008 NCAA Basketball Tournament at the RBC Center in Raleigh, N.C.

View pictures from the game here.

 

March 21, 2008, Game 3, North Carolina vs. Mount St. Mary’s

Tournament Notes

North Carolina

 

  • North Carolina scored 60 first half points against Mount St. Mary’s. Those 60 points are the second most points in a regulation half this season (61 in the first half against South Carolina State on Nov. 18, 2007)
  • North Carolina went over 100 points in a NCAA Tournament game for the first time since 1993 (second round-UNC 112 , Rhode Island 67). Those 113 points are the tied for the second-most ever (113 vs. Penn in 1987) in an NCAA Tournament game by the Tar Heels. The most points ever scored in a NCAA Tournament game by North Carolina came against Loyola Marymount in 1988 (123 points).
  • UNC out-rebounded the Mountaineers by a 48-22 margin this evening. That is the largest rebound margin in a NCAA Tournament game by the Tar Heels (previous best was +25 against Missouri in 2000). It is the 29th time in its last 30 games that the Tar Heels have out-rebounded their opponent. The only exception came on March 14 when Florida State and North Carolina had 30 rebounds apiece.
  • North Carolina is now 6-1 in NCAA Tournament games in Raleigh. The only loss came against Penn (72-71) in the 1979 East Regional second round.
  • North Carolina is now 19-0 in games played away from Chapel Hill this season (13-0 in road games, 6-0 in neutral site contests).
  • UNC is now 22-1 in NCAA Tournament games played in the state of North Carolina (7-0 in Charlotte, 3-0 in Greensboro, 6-1 in Raleigh and 6-0 in Winston-Salem.
  • Junior forward Tyler Hansbrough scored 21 points in the win over Mt. St. Mary’s. It is the 56th time (out of 104 career game) that Hansbrough has scored 20 or more points. He has reached double figures in 98 of 104 career contests.
  • Sophomore forward Deon Thompson totaled nine first half points against Mount St. Mary’s. Thompson had only eight points in three ACC Tournament games (5 vs. Florida State, 0 vs. Virginia Tech, 3 vs. Clemson).
  • Sophomore guard Ty Lawson tallied 21 points against Mount St. Mary’s, his fourth 20-point game of the season and the sixth of his career. All six 20-point games have come away from the Dean Smith Center. It is the most points scored by Lawson since he scored 23 at Miami on Jan. 23. The 21 points are the most scored by Lawson since he returned from an ankle injury at Florida State that forced him to miss six games.
  • Sophomore forward Alex Stephenson scored a career-high 12 points, besting his previous high of 11 (on two occasions).
  • North Carolina has now won seven consecutive games in the month of March. The 1957 squad won nine in a row in March en route to the national title. The 1982 and 1987 squads won eight straight in March. The 2008 team joins the 1981, 1991, 1998 and 2007 squads who each won seven consecutive games in March.
  • The Tar Heels have won at least one game in 25 of their last 26 NCAA Tournament (Carolina lost in the first round of the 1999 NCAA Tournament to Weber State).
  • North Carolina Head Coach Roy Williams has had at least one win in the NCAA Tournament for 19 consecutive years, a NCAA Tournament record. The previous best was 17 by UNC’s Dean Smith.Mount St. Mary’s
  • Mount St. Mary’s falls to 1-3 in its third NCAA Tournament appearance. In the process, the Mount had its six-game winning streak snapped in the loss to North Carolina.
  • MSM has been a No. 16 seed in all three appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
  • MSM last gave up 100 points in the 2001-02 season when the club lost 102-70 to Wagner (2/2/02).
  • Chris Vann and Jeremy Good each posted their 26th double-figure scoring game of the season.
  • MSM falls to 1-13 when trailing at halftime and is now 0-7 when its opponent shoots at least 50.0 percent from the field.

    • Posted in ACC Basketball Photos, Carolina Tar Heels by genefoto | No Comments »