ASU/Ohio and Arkansas Little Rock/TX A&M

[tomcat]

The ASU/Ohio game went as scheduled. ASU's athleticism and helter-skelter defense overwhelmed an undersized Ohio team. Still, ASU should have won this game by 35, because that's how much better they were, in an objective sense. They let Ohio stay in the game much longer than they should have because they lose focus and make mistakes. It's like a team with ADD. They may make the Sweet 16 (see below), but that's about it.

A&M/A-LR was the better game because it was closer, and resulted in an upset win for Arkansas. No way that should have happened. You just look at the size and talent Gary Blair could throw on the floor and you'd say there was no way they should lose. They have a couple of big trees plus some athletic players as well. Still, the big players have a hard time converting two-foot shots (especially a very tall one named Hillsman, who has hands of granite) and they had a very bad habit of tossing really lousy passes around. This team has traveled a long way downward from the championship teams of a few years ago.

A-LR was undersized but athletic and feisty. Everyone on the team seemed to specialize in midrange jumpers -- A&M seemed to never have seen one of those before -- and they just kept coming at their opponent.

Prospects for MOnday? I think ASU is a lot like A-LR, expect better and will will in a fairly close game, but an upset is in no way impossible.

 

[triaddukefan]

I would love to see UALR in Greensboro next week.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

The ASU/Ohio game went as scheduled. ASU's athleticism and helter-skelter defense overwhelmed an undersized Ohio team. Still, ASU should have won this game by 35, because that's how much better they were, in an objective sense. They let Ohio stay in the game much longer than they should have because they lose focus and make mistakes. It's like a team with ADD. They may make the Sweet 16 (see below), but that's about it.

A&M/A-LR was the better game because it was closer, and resulted in an upset win for Arkansas. No way that should have happened. You just look at the size and talent Gary Blair could throw on the floor and you'd say there was no way they should lose. They have a couple of big trees plus some athletic players as well. Still, the big players have a hard time converting two-foot shots (especially a very tall one named Hillsman, who has hands of granite) and they had a very bad habit of tossing really lousy passes around. This team has traveled a long way downward from the championship teams of a few years ago.

A-LR was undersized but athletic and feisty. Everyone on the team seemed to specialize in midrange jumpers -- A&M seemed to never have seen one of those before -- and they just kept coming at their opponent.

Prospects for MOnday? I think ASU is a lot like A-LR, expect better and will will in a fairly close game, but an upset is in no way impossible.

I assume you were there? If they said once, they said 40 times on TV that A&M has been a train wreck since their star point guard was injured. That probably accounted for some of A&M's problems.

 

[tomcat]

We were there, having driven all of the seven miles from south-central Tempe to get there. We had a great time, although I still say ASU is overrated by the local folks who just have nothing with which to compare them. UALR will be a tough test for them, although I am not sure they realize it yet. ASU is one good player away from being really good. They don't have a consistently good center who can operate against good centers. Their guards tend toward being little and athletic, which works some of the time on defense, but not always. There are times when they look good and other times when they seem to suffer from ADD.