Bracket Busting

[kg01]

That play should have been worked on lots of times in practice for months. No excuse for screwing it up in March. Every player should know his role in the final seconds of close games.

Yeah that, iiuc, is one of those situational things all teams work on. The broadcast seemed to be suggesting they rely too much on Nowell. Maybe it bit them in the end?

 

[CuseJacket]

Top scorer for the game passing the ball in that situation to a post player above the arc means 1 thing, nowell choked. He panicked when he realized he took too much time to get the ball up the court and was looking for bailout.. Sure he got 30, but pressure busts pipes.

What if I told you that wasn’t a post player that he passed to, but a forward that shot 41.8% from three on the year?

I agree it felt like Nowell’s game to win or lose though. Despite passing to a great three point shooter, he wasn’t open nor was there enough time to really create off the catch.

 

[TooTall]

What if I told you that wasn’t a post player that he passed to, but a forward that shot 41.8% from three on the year?

I agree it felt like Nowell’s game to win or lose though. Despite passing to a great three point shooter, he wasn’t open nor was there enough time to really create off the catch.

While factual, he wasn't in the groove like Nowell was. He had been rotated in and out of the game the last several minutes and (like the QB on a football team) the point runs the offense on the court. It's extremely hard to get 30 in a game that ends in 70's, you have to be hot. Nowell wasted time getting the ball up the court and panicked. It happens. Raw deal. When you pass in that situation, you make sure your shooter doesn't need to dribble to get a shot up. And while there is room in modern sports for analytics, at 1 point in time, they won't always ring true. As @kg01 & @orientalnc said, this is a situational play that should have been practiced weekly since October with certain kickers added throughout the year.

 

[CuseJacket]

While factual, he wasn't in the groove like Nowell was. He had been rotated in and out of the game the last several minutes and (like the QB on a football team) the point runs the offense on the court. It's extremely hard to get 30 in a game that ends in 70's, you have to be hot. Nowell wasted time getting the ball up the court and panicked. It happens. Raw deal. When you pass in that situation, you make sure your shooter doesn't need to dribble to get a shot up. And while there is room in modern sports for analytics, at 1 point in time, they won't always ring true. As @kg01 & @orientalnc said, this is a situational play that should have been practiced weekly since October with certain kickers added throughout the year.

I agree with 90% of what you're saying. Mainly, trying to give Nowell a softer landing on the criticism, and clarifying that Massoud is not a post player or some random dude. He is a 3-point/spot shooter and played the last several minutes of the game, hitting a pair of free throws. That's all.

I agree the last 7 seconds were handled poorly and Nowell needed (deserved?) to take the last shot if there was an opportunity remotely within reason.

And even with that said, it's hard to know how much of the blame Nowell deserves vs. the HC. We don't know how often that situation is practiced, and I think KSU had burned their timeouts prior.

 

[TooTall]

Being a former player and coach I'm not gloating or blaming him for the loss, simply answering the questionthat was asked. If I sounded too harsh, it was not my intention. Every play in a game effects the outcome and there were plenty to go around. The kid just choked/panicked or whatever you choose to use at that moment, but without him they get blown out. MJ, LeBron, Kobe, C Webb etc, messed up the end of game at some point but they fought back and grew out of the adversity and hopefully this kid will too. It's not an era defining screw up (see C Webb in 93) so he should be fine.

 

[slugboy]

Being a former player and coach I'm not gloating or blaming him for the loss, simply answering the questionthat was asked. If I sounded too harsh, it was not my intention. Every play in a game effects the outcome and there were plenty to go around. The kid just choked/panicked or whatever you choose to use at that moment, but without him they get blown out. MJ, LeBron, Kobe, C Webb etc, messed up the end of game at some point but they fought back and grew out of the adversity and hopefully this kid will too. It's not an era defining screw up (see C Webb in 93) so he should be fine.

As a coach, your best players will make a massively boneheaded mistake sometime. You do try to train them away from those mistakes, and you should. That’s a big part of coaching.
The other thing to do is get a bigger margin for your team. If your margin is bigger, you can survive a screwup or a miracle shot. Nobody remembers a huge mental lapse by Kobe or Magic Johnson in a game he won by 8–it’s the mental lapses in games you lose that people remember.

 

[RamblinRed]

Just some fun with numbers.
There have been 60 games in the Tourney so far this year.
19 resulted in the lower seed winning. 14 resulted in a seed at least 3 spots lower than the opponent winning. (This takes out the 8-9, 4-5 type matchups).
Upsets became more frequent, on a percentage basis, the deeper into the Tournament you went.

1st Round - 5/32 where lower seed won (3+ spot difference in seed)
2nd Round - 4/16 where lower seed won (3+)
Sweet Sixteen - 3/8
Elite Eight - 2/4

 

[CEB]

Just some fun with numbers.
There have been 60 games in the Tourney so far this year.
19 resulted in the lower seed winning. 14 resulted in a seed at least 3 spots lower than the opponent winning. (This takes out the 8-9, 4-5 type matchups).
Upsets became more frequent, on a percentage basis, the deeper into the Tournament you went.

1st Round - 5/32 where lower seed won (3+ spot difference in seed)
2nd Round - 4/16 where lower seed won (3+)
Sweet Sixteen - 3/8
Elite Eight - 2/4

the bolded are the most amazing to me. I have no empirical evidence but It seems to me that the chaos usually ends in the round of 16. One of the top 3 or 4 seeds usually takes care of business in the second weekend. An aberration in the Elite 8 sometimes lands an unexpected Final Four participant, but ALL FOUR? UConn is not a new face, but still a surprise. I just hope we get a first time champ.

 

[Root4GT]

the bolded are the most amazing to me. I have no empirical evidence but It seems to me that the chaos usually ends in the round of 16. One of the top 3 or 4 seeds usually takes care of business in the second weekend. An aberration in the Elite 8 sometimes lands an unexpected Final Four participant, but ALL FOUR? UConn is not a new face, but still a surprise. I just hope we get a first time champ.

UCONN clearly looks like the best team left. In win or go home you never know.

 

[CEB]

UCONN clearly looks like the best team left. In win or go home you never know.

UConn looks really tough. Total speculation but I feel like the best chance to knock them out is Miami on Saturday. Miami can shoot with anyone when hot and I just feel like the stage is too big on Monday night for SDSU / FAU winner vs UCONN.

That said, I have been really impressed with SDSU. first couple of rounds, I just thought they had favorable draws but they matched athleticism with Bama and played smarter. Followed that up beating a really good Creighton team when they could've let down after the physical Bama game. I would like SDSU in a Saturday match with UConn, but I think the Monday night stage is going to have a whole lot of nerves. Miami would share those nerves a little more than UConn... I THINK.

Then again, nothing in this tourney has gone as expected.... Maybe a south Florida final is in the works...

 

[Root4GT]

UConn looks really tough. Total speculation but I feel like the best chance to knock them out is Miami on Saturday. Miami can shoot with anyone when hot and I just feel like the stage is too big on Monday night for SDSU / FAU winner vs UCONN.

That said, I have been really impressed with SDSU. first couple of rounds, I just thought they had favorable draws but they matched athleticism with Bama and played smarter. Followed that up beating a really good Creighton team when they could've let down after the physical Bama game. I would like SDSU in a Saturday match with UConn, but I think the Monday night stage is going to have a whole lot of nerves. Miami would share those nerves a little more than UConn... I THINK.

Then again, nothing in this tourney has gone as expected.... Maybe a south Florida final is in the works...

UCONN's tournament run this year is similar to Baylor's in 2021 Championship run in that they are beating their opponents by large margins. UCONN closest game was a 15 point win over Saint Mary's.

 

[CEB]

UCONN's tournament run this year is similar to Baylor's in 2021 Championship run in that they are beating their opponents by large margins. UCONN closest game was a 15 point win over Saint Mary's.

Funny thing about a tournament... you get better every week, until you don’t.

I agree, ousting UConn is a tall order...

 

[MidtownJacket]

Welp, The Lady hasn't sung on the tourney, but the busting of brackets is complete.. The winner of the 2023 OfficiallyOfficial Bracket Busting Challenge is board favorite, @LawTalkin Jacket! Congratulations friend - you win a whole bag of swag! Do "bee" thinking of your picks for the judicious use of your BanHammer™ capabilities.

Full Results below:

 

[RamblinRed]

UConn is a heavy favorite to take it all right now.
They have looked really good and looked like the best all-around team so far. The combination of strong outside shooting with a dominant big man down low is hard to match. They also play defense at a high level.

FAU and SDSU should be a fascinating game to watch.

 

[dtm1997]

 

[Techster]

 

[kg01]

What an ending. Congrats, SDSt.

 

[ESPNjacket]

 

[AUFC]

Isaiah Wong in the Final Four. From the days of losing by 35 at home to Jose & Co to this. I feel like a proud ACC dad.

 

[Peacone36]

Isaiah Wong in the Final Four. From the days of losing by 35 at home to Jose & Co to this. I feel like a proud ACC dad.

I took a ton of heat a few years ago for ranking him above David Johnson at Louisville. Always been my guy