Half of a Super Sweet Sixteen

By: Kufere Laing

Yesterday lacked the excitement that we have all come to love and expect from the tourney (with the exception of Pitt-Xavier), nevertheless there was great basketball played. Here are a few of my thoughts:

UConn-Purdue: UConn is my favorite to win the tourney right now. They have great length and athleticism, AJ Price controls the game from the point, Kemba Walker is extremely underrated coming off the bench and not only changes the pace of the game (which allows UConn to use their great athleticism to get out and run), but also uses his speed and quickness to harass the other teams main ball handler and on the rare occasion in which Walker is beat off the dribble Thabeet is waiting to erase the mistake. Lastly, UConn's style of play allows for them to have an off shooting game and still win due to the fact that they are not overly reliant on the three point shot. Purdue gave UConn a little trouble though, but had problems matching up with the more athletic and taller Huskies. Nevertheless, Purdue is a team to watch out for next year, Robbie Hummel will be back along with his buddy E'Tuwan Moore and could be an Elite 8, borderline Final Four team next year.

Pitt-Xavier: Pitt looks very beatable (that loud roar you just heard was about 50 Central Catholic students along with Hannibal Hopson leaving their home with burning stakes attempting to kill me, little do they know I'm in Florida). Pitt seems to be playing not to lose, which never works out. Pitt was very fortunate to beat Xavier, in the first half they didn't defend well, they did not shoot well, and with the exception of Sam Young and Levance Fields Pitt had the deer in the headlights look for most of the game (see: Dixon, Jermaine). In the end, Pitt made enough plays to win, but if they continue to play how they have over the last four games (the WVU loss included) Nova will easily beat Pitt.

On the other hand, Xavier's athleticism really surprised me. They aren't as good as last year's team and struggled at times this year (finished the year 5-5 and Duke embarassed them early in the season), but Sean Miller is a great coach and had a very good gameplan. Xavier was one or two plays away from denying Pitt their first Elite Eight in the Jamie Dixon era.

Missouri-Memphis: Mizzou really shocked me. I felt they were a bit overrated at the start of the tourney, but they have forced me to admit I was wrong. They are an extremely athletic team, shoot very well and their press reminds me of Central Catholic's JV press (in a good way, ask Shaler how good the JV Vikings press). Mizzou always jumps to the ball and they play with a great deal of confidence. They are a good enough shooting team and lit up a really good defensive team in Memphis. Somehow Mizzou made Memphis uncomfortable while playing at a pace that Memphis usually thrives at. Mizzou-UConn should be a really entertaining game.

Nova-Duke: I believe a certain blogger mentioned Nova being a very dangerous team in the tourney this year (the same blogger also said WVU would be in the Elite 8, but hey you win some, you lose some). This was not a good match-up for Duke at all. Duke is not athletic enough for their style of play. With the exception of Gerald Henderson (who really struggled against Nova), Duke does not have anyone who can really get to the hoop. Scheyer is really crafty, but not explosive and the same goes for Kyle Singler. Nova spread Duke out and was able to get to the hoop at will and also played great help defense to prevent Gerald Henderson from beating his man one on one. If Pitt continues to struggle, Nova will moonwalk into the Final Four.