SWEET 16 PRELUDE AND PREVIEW- SHOULD BE SOUR 16
You want to know what has happened so far and why and now what – here is the skinny.
In the first round of the 2017 tournament, exactly what is, was. Although you could not tell from the dopey reporting on CBS and affiliates and by reading ANY review of the games on line.
And it is just as we called it – brutal coaching and brutal teams. What the know nothings on sports websites are calling – wide open. They do not know what else to call it because they have not played at all and do not have the skills to analyze. But we do.
Kentucky and UCLA showed why they will not win. Kentucky is terrible and Calipari does not seem to care. He had no plays, no nothing in the game against Northern Kentucky. UCLA allowed Kent State to score in the 80’s – how the hell can that happen. Easy. UCLA sucks on defense. Kentucky lucked out on horrible coaching and their players selfishness to win. Cincinnati somehow forgot about playing defense to allow UCLA to win. Neither of those teams should still be around and doubtful they will continue to luck out. At least one of them will play 1 more game and be lucky to do so.
And for those in love with Lonzo Ball, we provide 1 name: Toby Bailey.
Villanova’s 3 main players were so awful it was pitiful to watch. They can’t shoot, they hog the ball, and they make stupid plays – e.g. drive into trouble, force shots. So much for veteran leadership. And Jay Wright was clueless. The idiot played right into Wisconsin’s hands by playing a half court game. It was a joke, because Wisconsin is not very good. It is only in the last two weeks that they even made the tournament having been branded a bubble team at best.
Gonzaga almost blew a 22 point lead thanks to more bad coaching by Mark Few. They did not have a lockdown set to finish off Northwestern. They let the Wildcats get uncontested 3’s away and the Zags guards – specifically Williams-Goss – stunk the joint out big time. They are not very good shooters at all. And Few did little to create the offensive environment for the Zags to close out the game easily.
Notre Dame was felled by West Virginia and by Mike Brey’s poor coaching. He had nothing for the Irish. They mind as well been coaching themselves.
Florida State did is usual disappearing act on the road losing to a less than average Xavier team. How embarrassing.
Duke got supremely unlucky. South Carolina had a perfect 2nd half to win. Duke helped out considerably with zero offense and sloppy defense. Their coach did not help either as he did nothing to stop the Gamecocks’ number 1 scorer. No box and one, no diamond and two. There was no imagination of offense. They played badly and South Carolina played a perfect game. Bad luck and bad play are sure ingredients for losing. South Carolina turns out to be Cinderella for 2017.
This year is madness because the situation is maddening with the truly ugly coaching
The ignorant millennial [redundant] ‘sportswriters’ are grousing about the seeding of Wisconsin- they should not have been an 8, but their metrics weren’t that good – see, freaking typical idiocy from the village idiots. They want to suck and blow at the same time. They are so ignorant that they cannot discern the real story – which is that Villanova is not that good, that the trio of Jenkins and Hart and Brunson are not good shooters, and their coach is a moron for playing to the only strength of the opponent. Wisconsin can only play a halfcourt game. And they only have 1 shooter – Koenig – but still Jay Wright did nothing to counter Koenig nor increase the speed of play. And it matters not that this matchup occurred when it did – good teams are supposed to win at any time. Nova is not that good. And Wisconsin is not as good as Nova. Both are absolute facts. In the game, brutal coaching was the silver bullet for Villanova. Wisconsin will be lucky to score over 50 points against Florida.
Baylor beat USC – as they should. However, unless they get a favourable matchup to exert some of their physical strengths, they won’t last much longer. And they also will be less likely to advance because of their weak guards. Their play – which is their hubris – will be the Bears’ downfall. Baylor plays South Carolina and will have a size advantage but they will face a ferocious defensive team. This game could evolve in so many ways – a grinder, a blowout, a stinker. All are possible and it is all dependent on whose offense plays better. The team who get contributions from the most players will win the game.
Michigan beating Louisville was pure unadulterated luck. Nothing more, nothing less. Anyone who thinks otherwise is an idiot or a Michigan fan – but that is redundant. Michigan plays Oregon next and this is a great matchup for the Ducks. They have more scorers and play better defense. Michigan will not get lucky again.
Kansas downed Michigan State and the difference was only 20 points. Should have been over 30. Kansas is going to going to have a tough road ahead and Purdue has enough to beat them if Matt Painter does not screw it up. The Jayhawks’ guards are vastly overrated, their defense is suspect, and they [like every team] can’t shoot.
We’ll see if Arizona gets help from the referees in the next game against Xavier. You will be able to discern this if Bluiett gets into foul trouble. The Wildcats have not shown anything that separates them from other teams. They are nothing special and since they are underutilizing Maarkenen, they’re just an average team fortunate – with help from the officiating- to get past a determined St. Mary’s team.
The UNC against Arkansas game was painful to watch. The Hogs got supremely hosed with the missed call on Joel Berry – who revealed completely the useless stiff that he is. If the refs did not want to call the charge, then he traveled for certainty. And Meeks fouled the Arkansas forward on the tip in coming over the back. The refereeing was atrocious. Arkansas did not help itself with some ugly coaching and uglier selfishness by their inept guards. UNC will need all the luck a team can get to get past Butler.
Gonzaga will need to get much better guard play offensively when they play West Virginia. If West Virginia could score, they would have a huge edge in this matchup. However, if Gonzaga’s frontcourt score and if they play well at both ends, the Zags will win the game.
We don’t know who will win each of these. The coaching has been so abysmal that it is unknown which coach will set the right environment for their team to have the best chance to win. Stupid players is a given, so all teams qualify in this regard. So it will be the game coaching that will determine the winners and as part of that game coaching will be the preparation the teams have had to be able to adjust tactics to meet the opponent. So far, not one of these coaches has shown that ability.
We can factor in how skilled the players are and who should win, but it is impossible to factor in real bad coaching, real stupid players and stupid plays, crappy officiating, and injuries. Nevertheless, the teams that have the best combo of being able to play against different styles, have good free throw shooters, and have some depth are Gonzaga, West Virginia, Butler, and Purdue (Oregon would be included in Boucher were not injured). Sadly, Gonzaga and West Virginia play each other Thursday. Regardless, these are the teams that have the best chances to get to the final. UCLA only has chance if they can outscore everyone since they cannot stop anyone.
And luck. Who will be the luckiest is anyone’s guess. Luck will be a bigger determinant of the outcomes for the express reasons stated in the previous paragraphs. So that no one misunderstands this – the game outcomes will likely be a consequence of negatives rather than positives and that is, plain and simple, a consequence of coaching, not of excellent play.
Not one of the teams in the tournament or those remaining is dominant and/or significantly better than any of the other. That is not parity. It is mediocrity.
PSR Commentary – March 23, 2017