Wright State survives and advances with a sloppy 68-56 win over Valparaiso. I fear that the Raiders may have reached the end of their line tonight. Maybe I'm being pessimistic, but I'd be ecstatic if they beat Milwaukee on Friday night and get to play Butler in the Semi-finals on Saturday night. I really think Milwaukee is going to beat the Raiders. I know WSU just beat them the other day, but I have a bad feeling that Milwaukee's guards are going to rise to the occasion and carry the Panthers offensively.
Will Graham and N'Gai Evans were pretty bad last night. You look at their stats and it's hard to believe Wright State wins somewhat comfortably. Graham and Evans combined for something like 7 points 8 assists, and 7 turnovers…those were the combined numbers from your PG and your SG!
To Evan's defense, he had the two early fouls and had to sit the bench for much of the first half. I think as a young player it's sometimes hard to know how to get back in the flow of the game when you sit so much in the first half like Evans did.
Graham only took 3 shots. It's Graham's untimely turnovers though that plague the Raiders the most. Many times it's when the Raiders have a chance to push the ball or open up a little bit of a lead he just gets too excited and makes a bad decision with the ball. In many ways, I love Graham. He is a true team player, and his free throws at the end of the HL championship against Butler will always stand out to me.
But he is not the greatest Point Guard of all time. He's one of the least smooth point guards of all time. It seems every game he turns the ball over on traveling violations at least like 2 times. I think he was a solid backup PG. It's kind of interesting how he has played so much in the last few years, partially because of injury. I think his defense, and hustle are welcomed by the team, and sometimes he can really spark a run, but he's just too inconsistent to keep the offense running smoothly.
If the Raiders do make it to Saturday night, I just hope they keep the game respectable, because Butler just outmatches in almost every way on paper. I still think Green Bay or CSU is going to knock off Butler though in the Final…
On the Bubble
Well, the Bearcats played themselves out of the NCAA tournament. They lost to South Florida by 11 points. I don't know about the Big East. Is it overrated? You know Wright State beat South Florida by like 17 in Puerto Rico earlier this year?! They stomped South Florida. The Syracuse loss was enough to disqualify Cincinnati in my opinion. It's weird because I am a Cincinnati fan. But I never thought they deserved a bid unless they like won their last 5 games or went maybe 4-1 and won a few games in the Big East tournament. They don't really have many good wins. They have won a lot of games they should have won and had some embarrassing defeats.
The questions about Mick Cronin are going to start to get louder. Is he really up to the challenge of Coaching UC in the Big East? I think this is only his 3rd year, but he's still a mystery to me. Initially, I thought he was a good hire, but the Big East is a whole new ballgame. Just look at Notre Dame and their coach. He probably gets fired after this season. ND had high expectations…preseason Top 10 (preseason rankings are pretty silly), some very good players returning…yet they have underperformed big-time.
I don't think Ohio State should get in either. Their best out of conference wins are probably against Butler and Miami…The Butler game was at home. And as good as Butler has been, they went into OSU with a younger team then OSU and almost won. Miami of Florida is only 6-8 in the ACC.
Finally
…Kentukcy. If Kentucky gets an automatic bid this year I will consider it fact there is a conspiracy theory among the selection committee to always have Kentucky in the Field of 64. Shoot, VMI probably deserves to get in before UK. They did beat UK on their home floor.
The questions on Gillespie have already been loud for quite awhile. Maybe rightfully so. Jodie Meeks has had a great year. Patrick Patterson is very good, and probably a first round NBA pick. You've got 2 guys probably gonna be drafted in the first round of the NBA draft. Meeks is one of the most prolific scorers in the nation, and still they are mediocre on most night. With 2 players like that in a weak SEC, UK should be better then they are.
Alrighty!! Well, just some thoughts. I am so ready for some March Madness.
Jer
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