Wild 1st weekend of the NCAA Tournament
by Mark Neal
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posted Mar 21 2011 12:49PM
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The NCAA Tournament, once again, didnt let us down. Great games, buzzer beaters, and incredible finishes were everywhere over the weekend's games. We have a Regional that has Kansas, a #1 seed, with the #10, #11, and #12 seeds remaining...incredible. The upsets were there, but so was the chalk.
The Big East really had a tough first couple rounds. Just two teams reached the Sweet 16, and both of those teams faced other Big East teams to get to that point. Had all 11 Big East teams missed the Sweet 16, that might have been the biggest "upset" in tournament history. Just UConn and Marquette survive...advancing by beating Cincinnati and Syracuse.
The story for me was the great play of the Ohio State Buckeyes. Played well and disposed of UT-San Antonio, before the beatdown that was the George Mason game. Have they been challenged yet? No. Will they be able to repsond if they do? I believe so. They are peaking right now...just as long as they dont peak too soon.
The combination of the outside shooting, which has been deadly, and the inside play of Sullinger and Lauderdale...the Buckeyes are just hard to control on offense. UTSA tried to slow it down, but it didnt work. What is the best way to defend the Buckeyes? Someone needs to figure that out quick. It isnt a zone, that's for sure
1410 ESPN Radio's coverage of the Sweet 16 begins at 7p this Thursday night. The Buckeyes will play Kentucky on Friday...coverage starts with pregame at 9:00p
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