Fab Melo To Miss NCAA Tournament
The team would not release any other information at this time since Syracuse is a private university. Obviously, this is a crushing blow to the Orange, the top seed in the East Region. Melo led the team in rebounding at 5.8 per game and in blocks at 2.9 per contest. Syracuse will clearly miss his defensive presence and long arms in the middle of Jim Boeheim’s vaunted 2-3 zone defense. Syracuse plays its first round game on Thursday afternoon in Pittsburgh against 16th seeded UNC Ashville.
2012 NCAA Tournament First Look
Here are some thoughts on the opening round games and a look at the bubble teams that did and didn’t get in:
South Region
Iowa State vs UConn- Both teams have highly touted big men in Royce White for the Cyclones and Andre Drummond for the Huskies and strong guards in Scott Christopherson for ISU and Jeremy Lamb for Connecticut. UConn is more athletic, but this should be an extremely interesting game.
Wichita State vs VCU- Both teams come from strong non-power conferences but the Rams have the experience from their Final Four run last year. Some touted the Shockers as a Final Four sleeper a few weeks ago and Wichita is 15th in the nation in scoring and 28th in rebounding led by Garrett Stutz, who averages 13.5 points and eight rebounds per contest.
Indiana vs New Mexico State- The Hoosiers had a standout year, but have to travel west against an Aggies team that was 11th in the nation in points per game and sixth in rebounding. IU is battle tested after playing a tough regular season in the nation’s best conference this year, but expect a close one in Portland with Cody Zeller making a huge impact for IU.
Bubble Team That Got In- Xavier- A total of four Atlantic 10 teams got in the tournament, and Tu Holloway and the Muskateers are certainly deserving of a bid. They beat Vanderbilt, Purdue and Cincinnati outside conference play and their 37th ranking in both RPI and strength of schedule served X well. No beef with this selection at all.
West Region
New Mexico vs Long Beach State- The Lobos won the competitive Mountain West tournament, but the 49ers ran roughshod over the Big West and have played Kansas, UNC and Creighton extremely close this season with a win over Xavier to its credit. This could be one of the best games on Thursday.
Louisville vs Davidson- The Cardinals won the Big East tournament and their reward is a trip to Portland and a game against Bob McKillop’s Davidson Wildcats. Jake Cohen and De’mon Brooks make a good tandem and they can get down the floor and keep up with Rick Pitino and company. Louisville’s defensive ability could be the difference, but this game will be close.
Florida vs Virginia- This could be the most compelling game of the first round of the tournament. If you read Sports Illustrated this week, you’d know that Virginia has a really strong perimeter defense, and the Gators are a guard oriented team. Each team also has a star in the frontcourt, with Patric Young for Florida and Mike Scott for UVA. I can’t wait to watch this game…
Bubble Teams That Got In- BYU & Iona- I’ve seen both teams play this season, and to me the Gaels deserved a bid while I’m not as sure with the Cougars. Iona has one of the best PG’s in the nation Scott Machado and Iona leads the nation in scoring and assists. I don’t know if BYU would have beaten teams that were barely left out like Miami, Drexel or Washington and the Cougars went just 1-4 against West Coast Conference heavyweights Saint Mary’s and Gonzaga.
East Region
Kansas State vs Southern Miss- K-State is the larger name and will probably be the overwhelming favorite among bracket bettors around the country, the Golden Eagles of Southern Miss excelled in an underrated C-USA and notched wins over New Mexico State (twice in eight days), Memphis, USF and Ole Miss. They took Murray State to two OT’s in their closest call over the first half. That being said, the Wildcats will have the advantage at the guard position and in the coaching of Frank Martin.
Gonzaga vs West Virginia- This will be the Bulldogs’ second straight year they play a Big East squad in the first round. After easily ousting St. John’s a year ago, the Zags will have a much tougher time in 2012 against the physical Mountaineers. Kevin Jones will be very difficult to combat inside, but the Elias Harris-Jones matchup at forward will be worth the price of admission. This will be a very interesting matchup featuring contrasting styles.
Bubble Team That Got In- Texas- The Longhorns played a very tough nonconference schedule, something the committee really valued, but Texas went 9-9 in the Big 12 and split their last eight games. They never seemed to pass the eye test for me this year, but their athleticism could give Cincinnati trouble in the first round. Yancy Gates and Sean Kilpatrick did some major damage in the Big East tournament, but they’ll be in a close one against the Longhorns.
Midwest Region
Creighton vs Alabama- A classic matchup of offense against defense. JaMychael Green leads the Crimson Tide defense, which is 16th in the country in points allowed per 100 possessions, according to ESPN Stats & Info. Crieghton, led by Doug McDermott, is seventh in the country in points per game and leads the country in field goal offense. The committee gave us a really interesting one here.
Georgetown vs Belmont- Like Davidson, Belmont is a small school that is used to reaching the NCAA’s. The Bruins still remember its one point loss at Duke to open the season and Belmont is fourth in the nation in points per game. Henry Sims will be an imposing presence in the middle for the Hoyas, and John Thompson is going to want to slow this game down. The team that controls the tempo could end up with the win. Don’t be surprised if G-Town goes down early.
Saint Mary’s vs Purdue- A lot of people will be picking the upset here, but the Boilermakers did remarkably poor against Big 10 teams that made the tournament. Purdue went a combined 1-6 against Michigan State, Ohio State, Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin. Robbie Hummel will be the best player on the floor, but his team has come up short in a huge percentage of their big games.
Bubble Teams The Got In- California, USF and NC State- I could argue that the team that did not end up in the First Four game, NC State, is the least deserving team in the tournament among this trio. The Wolfpack has been inconsistent all season and only has one win over a team from the RPI top 50, and Texas was 50th and I don’t think they belong either. Cal has no top 50 wins but a strong enough RPI to get them in the field, even though RPI is being slowly phased out of the selection process. South Florida, on the other hand, played the 27th toughest schedule and earned wins over Louisville and Cincinnati to end the month of February. The Bulls will beat Cal on Tuesday night and their stifling defense and their ability to slow games down will give Temple trouble on Friday.
Like this:
Syracuse Orange Big East Tournament Report
It seems like every installment of the Syracuse-UConn rivalry ends in a close, hotly contested game and Thursday’s Big East Tournament quarterfinal matinee was no exception.
Syracuse led by eight with just under eight minutes in the first half before UConn went on a nifty run and held an eight point advantage of its own at 42-34 with 12:20 left in regulation. Then Syracuse’s bench provided the difference in a 58-55 win that improved the Orange’s record to 31-1 and advanced the Cuse to a semifinal date with Cincinnati on Friday night.
With Kris Joseph struggling from the field because of a thumb he jammed during pregame warmups, Dion Waiters once again asserted himself as the team’s best player and James Southerland snapped his season-long funk with 10 crucial points, including two gigantic three-pointers, in the last eight minutes to help Syracuse escape with the win over its bitter rival.
Waiters finished with a game high 18 points and Southerland and Joseph each added 10 for Syracuse, who was out-rebounded by eight but negated that Connecticut advantage by hitting 10 more free throws than the Huskies and by only committing four turnovers in the entire contest.
That brings us to tonight’s contest against the fourth seeded Cincinnati Bearcats, who fell at home to Syracuse 60-53 on Jan. 23 at home. Cincy got a Cashmere Wright runner with 7.9 seconds left in double overtime to knock off Georgetown in Thursday’s quarterfinal. Wright is a very solid point guard and Yancy Gates patrols the middle, averaging 9.4 rebounds per contest, and will be a tough test for Fab Melo in the middle. The two combined for 33 points in the first meeting.
Syracuse held Sean Kilpatrick, Cincy’s leading scorer, to eight points back in January and he’ll be the focal point of Mick Cronin’s offense in tonight’s contest. The Orange hold the depth advantage as per usual and could be more fresh after Cincinnati played 10 more minutes than Syracuse on Thursday. You can catch tonight’s contest at 7 eastern on ESPN.
College Hoops Stock Watch 2/26/12
Stock Up
Kansas- The Jayhawks came from 19 down to best Missouri in the final regular season Big 12 Border War and took control of the conference and put themselves in great position for a number one seed. Thomas Robinson had 28 points and 12 rebounds in KU’s biggest win to date.
Purdue- If there was any doubt the Boilermakers wouldn’t make the tournament, that’s probably out the window now after a 14 point road win over Michigan. With Robbie Hummel leading the way, Purdue will make someone sweat a whole lot in the NCAA’s.
Iowa State- If the Cyclones weren’t already locked into an at-large bid, lock them in after a win at Kansas State. Scott Christopherson scored 29 points in the win and has emerged as a worthy sidekick to Royce White, making ISU a potentially dangerous tourney squad.
Alabama- The Crimson Tide remained on the bubble after a home win over Mississippi State and may have eliminated the Bulldogs. Levi Randolph had 18 points and seven boards in the win as the SEC looks to get more than Kentucky, Florida and Vanderbilt in the tournament.
Penn- A late road win at Harvard means that the Crimson and the Quakers each have two Ivy League losses, potentially making for another one game playoff for the league crown. Would Harvard get in as an at-large? Will two Ivies reach the Big Dance?
Stock Also Up- St. Joe’s, Saint Mary’s, UNLV, San Diego State, Dayton, VCU, Xavier, Northwestern, Drexel.
Stock Down
Missouri- The Tigers’ chances at a number one seed are gone, but there isn’t much shame in a one-point OT loss at the Phog.
Florida- The Gators would probably like a top four seed and a couple of games closer to home, but a bad 14-point loss at Georgia could spell the end of that prospect.
Notre Dame- With the conference tournament coming up, the Irish don’t have much more margin for error if they want a top four seed. They took a bad loss at St. John’s on Saturday and are likely on the four line for now, and we’re talking seeding not the subway.
New Mexico- It’s hard to believe that the Lobos, UNLV and San Diego State all make the tournament, so there may be one left out. After New Mexico was blown out at TCU, there’s a three-way tie atop the Mountain West and likely only NCAA room for two. Every game is critical.
Kansas State- The Wildcats are .500 in a deep Big 12 but after a home setback to Iowa State, Frank Martin’s club can’t afford many more losses if they and their fans want to remain comfortable on Selection Sunday, which is only two short weeks away.
Stock Also Down- Michigan, Saint Louis, NC State, ODU, Seton Hall, Harvard, UMass, Mississippi State, George Mason, Stanford.
College Hoops Stock Watch
Stock Up
Michigan- The Wolverines remained undefeated at home this season and tied rival Ohio State for the Big 10 lead with a 56-51 win behind Trey Burke’s 17 points. The Buckeyes were held to under 40 percent shooting for the evening.
Murray State- The Racers are going to be in the NCAA Tournament no matter what after its 65-51 beatdown of Saint Mary’s in the showcase game of the BracketBusters weekend. Isaiah Cannan scored 23 points as Murray State got its best win of the season to go to 26-1.
Kansas State- The Wildcats were on the bubble before, but a one point road win over Baylor will go a long way towards ensuring KSU’s tournament chances. They’re still only 7-7 in the Big 12, so staying over .500 will be important for Frank Martin’s squad.
New Mexico- The Lobos are on fire and are now the clear cut class of the Mountain West after an enormous 20 point home win over UNLV on Saturday at The Pit. If you don’t know Drew Gordon, get a pen and watch some tape. He scored 27 points to go with 20 rebounds on Saturday.
Wichita State- The Shockers proved that its dominance over the Missouri Valley Conference could transfer over to other big time mid major venues. Wichita stormed into North Carolina and knocked off Davidson 91-74 behind 30 points and seven rebounds from Joe Ragland.
Stock Also Up- Drexel, Oral Roberts, Washington, Iona, Northwestern, Creighton, LaSalle.
Stock Down
UNLV & San Diego State- The two presumed Mountain West powers may now be in danger of missing NCAA bids given their recent play. The Runnin’ Rebs dropped a 20 point decision at New Mexico, and the Aztecs lost its third straight after a two point loss at middling Air Force.
North Carolina State- The record was never very impressive, and the Wolfpack blew a good opportunity for a resume builder in two straight games. They blew a huge lead against Duke on Thursday night and dropped a 76-62 decision to Florida State at home on Saturday.
Mississippi State- The Bulldogs have a ton of talent, but they have never reached their full potential this year. That was further evidenced by Saturday’s 65-55 loss at Auburn that pushed MSU back to .500 in the SEC and permanent residence on the bubble.
Gonzaga- After a recent win over Saint Mary’s gave the Bulldogs life, the Zags gave it all back on Saturday night by losing 66-65 at San Francisco. The Dons got a Rashad Green leaner with 3.3 seconds left to steal the win and deal Gonzaga a blow in its quest to win the WCC.
Illinois- The Illini had a pretty easy assignment: Win at last place Nebraska on Saturday night and keep your spot in the tentative field of 68. Instead, the Huskers went on a 36-4 run to bury Illinois 80-57 and send them to a fifth straight loss. Illini coach Bruce Webber may not get to keep his job after the season.
Stock Also Down- Ohio State, Baylor, Saint Mary’s, UConn, Davidson, Cleveland State, Memphis, Arizona, Texas, Nevada, Seton Hall, UMass, Minnesota, Southern Miss, Long Beach State.
