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Florida Gators: 2007 National Champions

Congratulations to the Florida Gators for being the first team in fifteen years to win back to back NCAA titles.

We also wanted to take this opportunity to thank our readers for continuing to visit our site on a regular basis. The numer of page visits at TRR increased each month during the season...up until the point where the ACC dropped out of contention in the NCAA Tournament. Your support has made the innagural season for TRR a big success.

Our blogging activity will be lighter over the summer months, but that's mainly because we'll be sitting down with our webdesign team to improve the look of the site and add some features we think readers will like. We'll also have some commentary on the upcoming NBA draft and get out any recruiting news that comes our way.

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Carolina Comes Unglued

By Michael

Marcus Ginyard made two free throws to put Carolina up 75-65 with 7:19 to play. Normally this is when the vaunted Carolina run comes. Instead, Carolina would only make 2 of its next 24 field goal attempts, eventually falling to the Hoyas 96-84 in overtime and ending the chances of the ACC in the field of 64.

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Kansas Wimps Out Against UCLA

By Michael

Everyone will be praising UCLA's defense tomorrow, but TRR didn't necessarily see it that way. Yes, UCLA did force 21 turnovers. Kansas, however, played excellent defense as well, forcing 24 turnovers, limiting UCLA to 7 offensive rebounds, and holding UCLA to only 45 field goal attempts. The defenses were a net-wash in my opinion.

The difference was: (1) UCLA's ability to hit the three, where they finished 8 of 17, (2) UCLA's ability to find offense late in the shot clock through Afflalo, and (3) missed opportunities by Kansas. If you ever want to define what missed opportunities means, just call Bill Self at the Kansas Athletic Department. I'm sure they'd be happy to give you this game tape for free since they'll be burning every copy they have.

Kansas was 14 of 34 on layup and dunk opportunities. They finished about as strong as Britney's stint in rehab. The meek may inherit the earth, but they don't belong in the Final Four.

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A Tale of Two Halfs: Carolina Races Away from USC

By Michael

Carolina ignited the rocket fuel with 12 minutes to play. By the time it burned out, the Tar Heels had vanquished USC 74-64 and advanced to the round of 8 where they will take on Georgetown tomorrow in a classic matchup.

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Georgetown Walks Into the Round of 8

The story in this game was second chance points for the Hoyas. Georgetown grabbed 15 offensive rebounds and turned them into made baskets. Hibbert, Green, and Summers were all active on the offensive glass and it paid off in spades, allowing the Hoyas to shoot 25-56 from the floor despite missing most of their first shots. Georgetown was also good from deep when it counted, converting 8 of 19 from beyond the arc.

In contrast, Vandy hit a dry spell and couldn't shake it despite the fact that Hibbert spent much of the second half on the pine and eventually fouled out. For the game Vandy finished a woeful 9 of 27 from deep. There were 4 to 6 wide open looks from three in the second half that didn't fall. Gotta make those to advance.

Oh...and you need officials that aren't scared to call a travel on the opposing team's best player in the crunch. Green walked like a jaybird and got away with it. Heck, even Seth and Clark saw it. You know it's obvious then.

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How to Stop Greg Oden

First, you can never stop Greg Oden completely. Here, we suggest ways to limit his success.

There are three ways to beat an opposing big man like Oden. One is to have a better big man that can outmatch Oden in the low post. Georgetown's Hibbert is probably the only person in the field of 64 that can reasonably do this. He's an absolute load in the low block and it's doubtful that Oden can stop the jump hook if Hibbert gets position in deep.

The second strategy is to make Oden move laterally by using a smaller player that can hit the outside jump shot or turn and drive. Drawing Oden out of his comfort zone and making him move laterally are keys to destroying his advantages inside. Tennessee had this working like a charm, but only found the magic for twenty minutes. It's not clear that Memphis will have the same ability in this regard.

Finally, the third way to beat Oden is to run like the wind. It takes a lot more energy for a 250' big man to run up and down the floor than it does for a 185' swing man or 170' guard. Tiring Oden out physically and getting early offense going to the basket before he sets up defensively increases your chances of winning. Kansas, UNC, and perhaps Florida are the only teams that can step up the pace while still matching OSU physically.

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OSU leans on a freshman...and its not Greg Oden

Rallying from a 20 point deficit, The Ohio State University edged a shell shocked Tennessee team by one point on Thursday night, 85-84. In a game where Greg Oden was in constant foul trouble and a limited factor, Mike Conley Jr. destroyed the Vols in the second half with dribble pentration and looked poised beyond his years. The Buckeyes used a simple high screen with the 5 man to get penetration that set up kick outs to senior Ron Lewis (25 points). It is hard to call this a complete choke by the Vols but their offense stagnated in the second half and became a series of jacking contested threes. The inability to exploit OSU with Hunter and Oden both saddled with 4 fouls was a key difference in the game. For Oden, this was a nightmare performance, but he did block the potential game winner as time expired. The Saturday matchup with Memphis will be an interesting battle of tempo and styles. OSU is the only Big 10 team that has the athletes to run the floor with the Tigers. Should be a good one.

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Texas A&M Falls to Memphis

Three words to A&M: Grab the rebound!

A&M goes home in defeat after Law misses a layup and A&M then gives up multiple offensive rebounds on Memphis's last possession. Memphis returns to the Elite 8 two years in a row.

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Kansas Advances 61-58 Against Southern Illinois

Kansas showed exactly how important the transition game is for them tonight in their win over Southern Illinois. When Kansas could get out and run, they looked dominant. However, after Southern grinded down the pace, Kansas was troubled by the pressure defense and didn't rebound well. The Jayhawks turned it over 19 times and gave up 14 offensive rebounds.

So the blueprint for beating the Jayhawks is there, but the flip side to this is that Kansas did show some maturity to win a game they're not built to play. Rush was extremely efficient, the offense had 16 assists on 25 made baskets, and the Jayhawk bench outscored that of SIU 22-11. Their often overlooked defense was also solid as they held Southern to 6 of 25 from three.

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Tennessee Thrashing OSU at Half

By Michael

Chris called this afternoon as I was on my way out of the office. We were discussing the Tennessee-OSU matchup. Chris had picked Tennessee over OSU in his brackets and remarked, "The threes better be falling for Tennessee or they won't advance." I replied, "You think Tennessee can bring Chism high, pulling Oden out of the paint and inverting the offense?"

Well, for twenty minutes Tennessee is doing both, dominating OSU 49-32 and sticking Oden with foul trouble. Can they hold on...

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NCAA Third Round Preview: (1) UNC v. (5) USC

By Michael

Tim Floyd has found his way back from basketball exile. Can his Trojans stack up with the cream of the ACC? We're less than 24 hours away from the answer. Check out our preview of this game.

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McRoberts to the NBA?

CBS Sportsline is reporting that Josh McRoberts will leave Duke two years early to enter the NBA draft. The article implies that McRoberts will hire an agent and not just test the waters. For the season, McRoberts averaged 13 points, 7.9 boards, and 3.5 assists per game for the Blue Devils. What do we think?

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Was the ACC Overrated? Is the SEC that Dominant?

By Staff

After the first weekend of the 2007 NCAA Tournament, UNC is the lone ACC team in the mix, while the other six ACC teams that received a bid have been sent packing. Since some of the TRR staff lives squarely in the heart of SEC country, we’re already hearing the comments of how overrated the Atlantic Coast Conference has become, while how underappreciated the SEC is year in and year out. Legitimite gripe? Read more to see what we really think.

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My Bracket After Round 2

By Michael

I'm still in solid territory, with 12 of the 16 remaining teams in my bracket and my final four still in place. I have all of the remaining teams from the West and South, but faltered in the Midwest and East. I thought Maryland would handle Butler, placing two ACC teams in the sweet-16, and thought Wisconsin would manage UNLV. However, I'm not surprised UNLV and Lon Kruger managed to slip by the short-handed Badgers since they were clearly the weakest No. 2 seed. In the East, USC manhandled Texas which wasn't too much of a surprise, but I picked this game with my heart and not my head since I was hoping to see Durant meet the Tar Heels. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

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UNC Carries the Hopes of the ACC

After the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament, the only team left representing the ACC is North Carolina. Boston College, Maryland, and Virginia all had chances to advance while Virginia Tech seemed overmatched against a tough Southern Illinois defense. Had the ball bounced a little differently in a few cases, two or three ACC teams could be moving on. However, it's now down to the Tar Heels who are playing as well as any of the remaining teams in the tournament.

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Salukis Advance, Frustrate Hokies Into 48 Points

By Michael

The statistics in this game for each team actually look similar at first glance. Virginia Tech shot 19 of 46 from the field, 8 of 15 from the line, had 28 rebounds with 5 offensive, and only 11 turnovers. Southern Illinois was 19 of 43 from the floor, 13 of 23 from the line, had 29 rebounds with 6 offensive, and only 9 turnovers.

The difference was that the Salukis shot 12 of 21 from three point territory and had 11 assists. Virginia Tech, not known as a stellar outside shooting team, only managed 2 of 13 from three point land and recorded an absurdly low 3 assists. The 2 of 13 is not surprising, and the 3 assists are a reflection of the lock-down defense that the Salukis played. TRR has seen the Salukis several times this year and we think their defense today was as good as we've seen them play. Their stellar defense takes opponents out of any flow and degrades the opponent's offense to one on one moves as the shot clock winds down.

Southern advances to take on Kansas...and they'll need every break to prevail. Virginia Tech loses Dowdell and Gordon to graduation, but the Hokies managed to secure an excellent group of recruits. The team will look very different next year and Seth Greenberg's challenge will be to keep the momentum going.

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(5) Tennessee Downs (4) Virginia 77-74

By Michael

The inability of Virginia to get offense outside of Reynolds and Singletary finally caught up with them. Joseph did contribute 10 points off the bench, but Diane, Soroye, and Cain could only manage 11 points and 9 rebounds between them. The three had all their points from the line while finishing a pitiful 0 for 7 from the floor. TRR has always said that the lack of inside game or consistent third scorer would limit how far Virginia would go.

Tennessee put four players in double figures, outrebounded the Cavaliers on the offensive glass, and converted 11 of 26 from three. This was just enough to offset 26 from Reynolds, 19 from Singletary, and 31 of 36 free throws by the Cavaliers.

The two teams are actually very similar in style and composition, but today Tennessee was a better Virginia than Virgina. Tennessee advances to meet OSU, a game that they can win if the outside shot is falling. J.R. Reynolds has played his last game for the Cavaliers and the faithful will now await Singletary's decision on whether to return.

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UNC Wears Out MSU 81-67, Advances to Sweet 16

By Michael

Michigan State handled the Carolina pressure better than expected, but eventually ran out of gas with five minutes left to play. That's when the Tar Heel depth took over, allowing Carolina to earn the 81-67 victory and advance to the round of 16.

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On Xavier and OSU

By Michael

I thought Oden's shoulder-block at the end of regulation should have been called an intentional-flagrant foul. Xavier should've had two shots and the ball. Clark Kellogg's reasoning that "the players should determine the outcome" doesn't hold water. The players were determining the outcome and Xavier grabbed the defensive rebound. Not calling the play properly gave OSU an advantage...one they would use to get to overtime and advance to the sweet-16. However, don't view my perspective as post-game whining. Xavier was up by 9 to 11 with 6 minutes to play and had a chance to seal it from the line despite the non-call.

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It's Raining Threes, Alleluia

By Michael

In our preview of this game we said that the priority for the Terrapins was to slow down Butler's production from the three point arc. Evidentally, this is easier said than done. Butler made 12 of 26 from deep on their way to a 62-59 victory that sends them to their second sweet-16 since 2003.

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NCAA Round 2 Preview: (4) Maryland v. (5) Butler

By Michael

Please...quit calling them a mid-major. Butler has been ranked nationally all season and has more tournament experience than most of the remaining teams in the field. Their home court, the venerable Hinkle Fieldhouse of Indiana basketball lore, seats around 15,000 and is regularly at capacity so they're not going to be awed by the big stage. Maryland will have it's hands full against a team that has a strong backcourt, excellent defense, and rarely commits turnovers.

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My Bracket After the First Round

Updating Michael's bracket: Doing good, but not great. Missed five games in the opening rounds -- Arizona, Notre Dame, Villanova, Duke, and Marquette -- but my entire sweet-16 and beyond are still in play. I didn't see many upsets this year and that has proven to be true. There are only two double-digit seeds remaining, (11) VCU and (11) Winthrop...and no 5-12 upsets.

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Go Figure...

I'm sitting here posting my thougts on VT-Illinois, and ESPN gladly announces,

"All 63 games of the Women's NCAA Tournament will be broadcast on ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNU."

And why can't this be done for the men's tournament? You'd think this would be a no-brainer, despite the presence of the March Madness subscription package. If CBS was like NBC, they'd have multiple cable outlets like MSNBC and CNBC that would mean extra games and more ad revenue. Next thing you know, CBS will be gladly announcing that we'll get Billy Packer for every broadcast.

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Virginia Tech Recovers Late to Down Illinois

By Michael

Despite a large turnover margin in their favor, Virginia Tech struggled to down shots all evening, They finally found the winning stroke in the final ten minutes, scoring the last 12 points of the game and earning their first NCAA Tournament victory in 11 years.

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Tech Outplayed in 67-63 Loss....

Georgia Tech looked lost on the court at key moments today as UNLV sent the Yellow Jackets home for the season.

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Saturday Preview: (#1) UNC vs. (#9) Michigan State

Early preview of second round matchup......

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VCU Sends Duke Packing

By Michael

It was groundhog day as turnovers killed Duke again (TRR is absolutely sick of writing this about the Blue Devils). VCU used its pressure defense to get 13 steals and force 17 Duke turnovers and the Rams turned these extra possessions into points. Duke's string of 9 consecutive sweet-16 finishes is now over. The Rams advance to play Pittsburgh.

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Boston College Tops Texas Tech, 84-75

by David

You could rename this game, "Dude? Where's my defense?" I don't care what Dick Enberg said ( I know, who does?), there was basically no effective defense played by either team in this game. Once I say the tempo of the game at the start of the 2nd half, I was sure BC would win.

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Maryland Outlasts Davidson….82-70

With six players scoring in double figures, Maryland was able to rally from an 8 point deficit in the second half to defeat a tough Davidson squad on Thursday. The Terrapins were led by the solid floor game of DJ Strawberry (12 points, 8 boards, 5 assists) and great interior play by Ibekwe and Osby. The Terrapins were able to control the boards and eventually wear down Davidson star-freshman, Stephan Curry

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NCAA First Round Preview: (6) Duke v. (11) VCU

And for our last NCAA First Round Preview, we have some thoughts on Duke versus VCU. Will this be the end of the sweet-16 run for the Dukies?

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NCAA First Round Preview: (4) Maryland v. (13) Davidson

A few thoughts on Maryland's opener with Davidson (hint: energy and tempo).

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TRR's Brackets

By Staff

We report a brief summary of our March Madness picks in this article. Who do we have rolling into Atlanta and how far do we see the ACC advancing? Check it out here.

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NCAA First Round Preview: Boston College (#7) vs. Texas Tech (#10)

Our preview for this game.

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NCAA First Round Preview: Virginia (#4) vs. Albany (#13)

Our second preview of ACC teams in the NCAA Ttournament.

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NCAA First Round Preview: UNLV (#7) vs. Georgia Tech (#10)

Our second preview of ACC teams in the NCAA tournament.

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NCAA First Round Preview: Virginia Tech (#5) vs. Illinois (#12)

Today, we begin our preview of ACC teams in the NCAA tournament.

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ACC Receives 7 NCAA Tournament Bids

By Michael

We would have posted some comments on the brackets earlier, but the server was down for several hours. Of all days for that to happen...

North Carolina wins a share of the regular season conference title and wins the ACC Tournament outright...and what is their reward? Possible games against Marquette, Texas, and Gerogetown in the toughest regional bracket. Thanks, but don't do us any more favors.

That and other thoughts in this post.

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When You Can't Be Bothered to Leave the Couch

Robotic Beer Launching Refrigerator - More amazing video clips are a click away

A reader sent us this link just in time for the ACC and NCAA Tournaments. TRR thinks that this Duke Crazy is onto something.

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ACC Thermometer for the Week of March 6

Time is running out for the bubble teams. It's now or never. We are sure eyes will be watching all the second tier conference tourneys this week hoping that Cinderella will not appear and take away an at-large bid. As we enter tourney play, the last two weeks have shown that Maryland, UNC, Duke, and Georgia Tech are all dangerous teams in March. The remaining teams are all sputtering into selection Sunday.

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Mercury Unkind: ACC Thermometer for the Week of Feb 26

We see six definite NCAA bids at the moment. Georgia Tech missed a golden opportunity to lay claim for the seventh, but fell short in a game that may haunt them come Selection Sunday. Kudos to Maryland and Gary Williams for righting the ship in such a dramatic fashion. That’s how you send a message to the selection committee. BC also stopped the backsliding. We can’t see a team with ten conference wins being left out. The Eagles have done enough.

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Poised for a Repeat

TRR watched the Florida Gators dominate the Georgia Bulldogs on Wednesday night in Athens, Georgia, and decided to offer a scouting report for potential ACC foes in March. Before we talk about the scouting report for the Gators, let’s review their conference tempo-free stats.

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ACC Thermometer for the Week of January 29

By staff

Here is this week’s ACC Thermometer, measuring the liklihood of each team making the big dance. It’s almost time to order the tux and call the florist, but before that we need to put together the invitation list. How do we see the postseason for the ACC if the season ended today? Keep on reading for the answer.

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ACC Situational Report for January 19: What if the Season Ended TODAY?

By Staff

We again replace the ACC Thermometer this week with an eye towards March. There’s been some big news in the ACC this week, including the supension of Sean Williams at Boston College and more big victories from Virginia Tech. So how do we see the postseason for the ACC if the season ended today? Keep on reading for the answer.

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ACC Situational Report: Where does TRR see post-season for ACC teams if the season ended TODAY?

By staff.

We replace the ACC Thermometer this week with an eye towards March. There are a few games still going on at the time of this writing -- Georgia Tech has just handed Duke it’s second straight conference loss, but Virginia is still locked in a battle with UNC and Miami is giving Maryland all it can handle -- nevertheless, here’s where we see the teams in the ACC today.

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The Death of the Mid-Range Game

By Michael

The first half of the OSU-UNC game last night was a perfect example of how college basketball lost the mid-range game.

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Our Prediction for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge: Split Decision

The staff at TRR has compiled and aggregated its picks for the 2006 ACC/Big Ten Challenge which begins tonight with Michigan facing N.C. State. We think this may finally be the year that the Big Ten breaks their winless streak, or maybe not. We make our picks below. Half of the staff has 6-5 in favor of the ACC and the other half has 6-5 in favor of the Big Ten. We had to hold our nose on some of the selections so we won’t be taking these to the bank just yet. Mea culpas may be in store.

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ACC Week in Review, Nov. 19-26

By Michael

Boston College continued to struggle in the early going, dropping a game to Providence 73-64, while rebounding to beat Rhode Island 86-68 to even their record at 2-2. The Eagles are struggling in nearly every offensive category, ranking towards the bottom in conference in points per game (71), field goal percentage (42 percent), and three point shots made per game (4.7). The Eagles aren’t much better from the free throw line, converting only two of every three attempts.

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Revenge of the Mid-Majors

By Michael

We call them “mid-majors”, often forgetting that the term itself is derogatory in nature, made up by those who populate and follow the so-called “major” conferences. Come tournament time in March, a raging debate among basketball aficionados usually ensues, namely how many mid-major teams are “deserving” of bids at the expense of their larger brethren. The current state of college basketball has only made this argument more relevant.

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ACC Tastes a Slice of Humble Pie

By Michael

The past few days haven’t been kind to ACC basketball. On Tuesday night, Duke fell to energetic and athletic Marquette 73-62 in the CBE Classic. This was followed on Wednesday night with losses by North Carolina in the NIT Season Tip-Off (82-74 to Gonzaga) and Georgia Tech in the EA Sports Maui Invitational (88-73 to UCLA). Finally, and not to be outdone, Boston College dropped a game to rival Providence 73-64. Taken together, the top squads in the ACC were just handed a big slice of humble pie on Thanksgiving.

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ACC Lands Four in AP Preseason Top 25.

The Associated Press Top 25 basketball poll for week 1 of the upcoming college basketball season contains four ACC schools. North Carolina is ranked second, behind the Florida Gators who received 63 first place votes and one spot ahead of the Kansas Jayhawks. The Tar Heels received 9 first place votes while Kansas did not receive any.

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TRR’s Projected Order of Finish in the ACC.

1. NORTH CAROLINA. Roy Williams and company simply have too much firepower. The key will be getting the youth up to speed. Ellington, Wright, and Lawson surrounding ACC MVP Hansbrough will be too much for opponents to handle.

Postseason destination: NCAA final four or better.

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2007 NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament

Make the Tobacco Road Report your leading source on ACC men’s college basketball. TRR will profile the performance of the ACC during the regular season and throughout the 2007 NCAA Tournament.

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