Friday, March 25, 2005
ROAD TO THE FINAL FOUR - SWEET 16 3/25/05
FINAL UPDATE at 9:45 p.m.
Now that the Huskies are gone, you might as well root for North Carolina.
After all, the Tar Heels have a certain Bremertonian on their roster. Just sayin'.
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AUSTIN REGION
#5 Michigan State 78, #1 Duke 68
While I didn't have the Spartans in my bracket (I had them going down to Old Dominion in the 1st round), I did have Duke losing in the Sweet 16.
Oh, and Salim Stoudamire is a better shooter than J.J. Redick.
Redick's line for the night?
13 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists (4-for-14 FG)
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SYRACUSE REGION
#6 Wisconsin 65, #10 North Carolina State 56
Well, look at what we have here. There are THREE teams from the Big Ten in the Elite Eight (Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan State).
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AUSTIN REGION
#2 Kentucky 62, #6 Utah 52
It just wasn't meant to be for the Utah Utes.
Not even Andrew Bogut can get the Utes past Kentucky. But when you go 14-for-28 from the free throw line, chances are you aren't going to win many ballgames.
Bogut scored 20 points and pulled down 12 rebounds. However, Kentucky head coach Tubby Smith is a big time coach. He proved that tonight by using his bench to neutralize the Utes, even with Bogut's solid numbers. That's what Kentucky has done all year long. It isn't just one player with Kentucky. There's a reason why they're headed to the Elite Eight.
As for Utah, Ray Giacoletti's first season in Salt Lake City has ended. The Utes won 29 games and made it to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1998. They'll more than likely lose Bogut to the NBA, but I believe that Giacoletti will keep the Utes afloat. He'll get the Utes back to the NCAA Tournament, no doubt about it.
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SYRACUSE REGION
#1 North Carolina 67, #5 Villanova 66
The Marvin Williams Watch
Marvin Williams was in foul trouble for most of the night (had 3 fouls in the 1st half). But the freshman from Bremerton was able to keep his composure, scoring 16 points as the Tar Heels survive and advance in Syracuse, holding off Villanova 67-66.
Williams was 4-for-8 from the field and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line. He also pulled down 4 rebounds.
Give credit to Villanova, they certainly made it a ballgame. However, I didn't get to see much of it, since I had Utah-Kentucky.
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How's the conference breakdown looking going into the Elite Eight?
ACC - 1 (North Carolina)
Big East - 1 (West Virginia)
Big 10 - 3 (Illinois, Michigan State, Wisconsin)
Conference USA - 1 (Louisville)
Pac-10 - 1 (Arizona)
SEC - 1 (Kentucky)
How many of those 8 teams do I still have left in my bracket?
2, Illinois and North Carolina. And I have both of those teams in my Final Four as well.
West Virginia-Louisville is the first game tomorrow (1:40 p.m.) followed by Arizona-Illinois (4:05 p.m.). Once again, I'd love to see a bracket that had West Virginia facing Louisville in the Elite Eight.
Pat O'Brien looked at my bracket and said, "I once knew a girl from Louisville. She slugged me after I told her I was so f**king into her."
If you haven't already, you need to read this blog genius. After all, you can't go wrong with a blog that brings up Irene Cara and Boggle.
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