Sunday, March 29, 2009

Recap of the Elite 8

The only game of note was the Pittsburgh-Villanova scrapper. With time running out, it seemed as if Pittsburgh had no chance. Then Villanova threw a full court pass that flew out of bounds. Pittsburgh then tied the score. In a wonderfully designed play, Villanova in bounded the ball at half court to Dante Cunningham who handed it off to Scottie Reynolds. By the time he received the ball, Reynolds was in an all out sprint. He glided into the paint, jumped, hung, and floated the ball through the orange circle. A near make on a full court heave by LaVance Fields decided it. The undersized Wildcats advanced to the Final Four.

Missouri's press was only effective towards the beginning of the second half, which was not enough as UCONN coasted. Michigan State's balanced attack surprised me by blowing out Louisville. The Cardinals didn't put forth the effort required to beat the more physical Spartans. UNC stormed by Oklahoma. The Tar Heels look tough to beat, but they haven't been truly tested in the tournament yet. If they are, it's up in the air how they will respond.

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