After last night's games in the real world, here is the latest from the world where the NCAA uses regions:
First Round
Miami (Fla.) v. Kansas
Villanova or St. Peter's over Tennessee
Arizona v. Purdue
Houston over Gonzaga
Duke or N. Carolina over St. John's
UCLA over Ohio St.
Iowa St. v. Providence
Arkansas over Virginia Tech
Quarter-Finals
Miami (Fla.) or Kansas v. Villanova or St. Peter's
Arizona or Purdue v. Houston
Duke or N. Carolina v. UCLA
Iowa St. or Providence v. Arkansas
Anyway, following up on last night: from 1986 through 1994 there were nine college basketball seasons. They were mostly great seasons, filled with some of the best players and coaches in history. In those years, Coach K took Duke to the Final Four seven times, including five times in a row. Since Wooden retired, no one else has had that type of run.
ReplyDeleteAnd he didn't have a bunch of pros, either. Grant Hill was the one truly great player he had. He took guys like Thomas Hill, Bobby Hurley, and Laettner, and he just beat everyone.
ReplyDeleteIn 1989, for example, Duke was the number 2 seed in the East. Georgetown was the number 1 seed in the East, and the number 2 team in the country. Remember that Georgetown was still Georgetown back then -- it had only been four years since the Hoyas played for the National Championship. The Hoyas were 29-4, and they had Alonzo Mourning as their freshman star.
ReplyDeleteHere's who Duke had: Danny Ferry, Phil Henderson, Quin Snyder, Robert Brickey, and a freshman center named Christian Laettner.
ReplyDeleteWhen they met in the Elite Eight, Mourning had 11 points and 5 rebounds. Laettner had 24 points and 9 rebounds. Everyone thought Laettner was just better. But of course that wasn't true. Coach K was better. He was that much better than Thompson.
ReplyDeleteBetween 1986 and 1994, he did that sort of thing a lot. Anyway, I think Coach K eased back -- or did something different -- after he had that illness in 1995, and he was never quite that dominant again. But I've never seen any basketball coach who was better at figuring out how to win one game.
ReplyDeleteWhen he coached the USA basketball team, Coach K went 75-1 and won his last 50 games in a row.
ReplyDeleteUpdate based on last night's results:
ReplyDeleteFirst Round:
Miami (Fla.) v. Kansas
Villanova or St. Peter's over Tennessee
Arizona over Purdue
Houston over Gonzaga
Duke or N. Carolina over St. John's
UCLA over Ohio St.
Providence over Iowa St.
Arkansas over Virginia Tech
Quarter-Finals:
Miami (Fla). or Kansas v. Villanova or St. Peter's
Houston over Arizona
Duke or N. Carolina over UCLA
Arkansas over Providence
Interestingly, Kansas and Miami are playing tomorrow -- and the winner of that game will play Villanova.
DeleteTwo regions are still unresolved. The Fifth Region probably won't be resolved until next week, when Duke and UNC meet in the Final Four. Meanwhile, in the Third Region, St. Peter's -- having already upset Penn State and Seton Hall -- has taken Villanova into overtime. The crowd at the Palestra is going nuts.
ReplyDelete