The Official Tourney Thread

[Mots010]

Calhoun had five elite 8's before reaching his first Final 4 at age 57.

Calhoun wasn't pulling in Arizona type talent, however. How many 5 stars has Miller pulled in compared to Calhouns first 13-14 years?

 

[superjohn]

Calhoun wasn't pulling in Arizona type talent, however. How many 5 stars has Miller pulled in compared to Calhouns first 13-14 years?

True. Was only trying to say when you knock at the door that many times, eventually it should open. Miller is a good coach but couldn't hold Calhoun's jock. Mack badly outcoached him last night.

 

[Mr. French]

Miller is a very good coach and will get there eventually. If they wanted to get rid of him, they'd be nuts.

I don't watch every coaching decision he makes but I never see him as a bad game coach either, it just happens in the tournament sometimes.

 

[Fishy]

Miller will get his - it's just really freaking hard to advance in the tournament which makes it more amazing that UConn won six games four times.

Xavier didn't do anything particularly brilliant and Arizona didn't do anything particularly wrong. Chris Mack has three upperclassmen guards and Miller had Alonzo Trier. Trier got sucked in by the zone defense and tried to play hero ball.

That was the difference.

 

[Jerry1714]

Miller is a very good coach and will get there eventually. If they wanted to get rid of him, they'd be nuts.

I don't watch every coaching decision he makes but I never see him as a bad game coach either, it just happens in the tournament sometimes.

Very nice to see a smart and rationale post on this subject.

Xavier had been to the Sweet 16 twice in their program history before Miller, he got them there and past it twice in his 5 years there.

After completely rebuilding Arizona, a program who had been better than a 8 seed like once in the 5 or 6 years before him, he has got them 2 Sweet 16s and 3 E8 in 7 years.

Do people remember the shot against us in the E8 that bounced off at the buzzer? Or the fact they missed 2 buzzer beaters in the E8 against Wisky? So if these shots fall is he now suddenly a great coach? But because they bounce out hes overrated and just a good recruiter?

People need to be smarter and get off the hot takes. Getting to the F4 is really really hard. Do you remember how many times we knocked on the door before being let in?

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

- it's just really freaking hard to advance in the tournament which makes it more amazing that UConn won six games four times.

Yes.

And every year, someone does it.

 

[superjohn]

Miller will get his - it's just really freaking hard to advance in the tournament which makes it more amazing that UConn won six games four times.

Xavier didn't do anything particularly brilliant and Arizona didn't do anything particularly wrong. Chris Mack has three upperclassmen guards and Miller had Alonzo Trier. Trier got sucked in by the zone defense and tried to play hero ball.

That was the difference.

Thought Mack ran some great stuff. Miller had a huge advantage down low and didn't use it, instead they just jacked up threes. Trier kept them in it with 15 straight points by himself but the three ball should not have been their game. Whenever I watch Zona it looks like they are playing stiff for the amount of talent they have, not nearly as fun to watch as the earlier Lute Olson teams.

 

[djct1999]

Thought Mack ran some great stuff. Miller had a huge advantage down low and didn't use it, instead they just jacked up threes. Trier kept them in it with 15 straight points by himself but the three ball should not have been their game. Whenever I watch Zona it looks like they are playing stiff for the amount of talent they have, not nearly as fun to watch as the earlier Lute Olson teams.

I agree. I think Chris Mack is an excellent coach and if I were the Indiana AD, I would start there.

 

[Fishy]

Thought Mack ran some great stuff. Miller had a huge advantage down low and didn't use it, instead they just jacked up threes.

Arizona has struggled against zones all year - man defensive teams in the PAC-12 were switching to zones for just the Arizona game. Stanford and Cal rarely play zone and both were in it for almost the entire game against Arizona.

Trier just reacted poorly. When they got it to Ristic, Markkanen or Comanche inside, they were 10-13. I thought Jackson-Cartright did a pretty good job of that, but Trier gave up and started chucking.

But I agree - Xavier's offense is just much better. Their guards are very good and they're huge - they remind me of Illinois back in the day where all five players on the court were basically the same size.

 

[superjohn]

Arizona has struggled against zones all year - man defensive teams in the PAC-12 were switching to zones for just the Arizona game. Stanford and Cal rarely play zone and both were in it for almost the entire game against Arizona.

Trier just reacted poorly. When they got it to Ristic, Markkanen or Comanche inside, they were 10-13. I thought Jackson-Cartright did a pretty good job of that, but Trier gave up and started chucking.

But I agree - Xavier's offense is just much better. Their guards are very good and they're huge - they remind me of Illinois back in the day where all five players on the court were basically the same size.

Thought he needed to find more minutes for Comanche and Markkanen barely touched the ball in the second half.

 

[champs99and04]

Thought Mack ran some great stuff. Miller had a huge advantage down low and didn't use it, instead they just jacked up threes. Trier kept them in it with 15 straight points by himself but the three ball should not have been their game. Whenever I watch Zona it looks like they are playing stiff for the amount of talent they have, not nearly as fun to watch as the earlier Lute Olson teams.

Yeah. Miller is a very good coach, but last night was not his finest moment. The last couple crunch-time possessions were cringe-worthy, and there were even bigger problems on the other end. I only saw the second half, but Xavier was taking good shots all half - even their misses were good looks, and some of the basic slip action that generated points down the stretch is just hard to understand.

 

[upstater]

You have to feel for Zona fans, the final 4 is in Arizona and they had a good team. Miller's a great recruiter, but maybe not so much of an X and O's guy. They were up by 8 and couldn't close. How many lives does that guy have? That one's going to stay in their heads for a while.

This may sound like I'm singling you out, so I apologize in advance, but this idea about certain coaches being Xs and Os people as opposed to others is highly overrated on this board. I'm not saying some coaches don't know them better than others, but rather that so man other factors are in play, while we tend to emphasize this one. Sean Miller is one of the Millers . His father imparted more about Xs and Os to Archie than he did to Sean? His kid made the same shooting mistake that Beilein's kid did. Is Beilein similarly to blame?

 

[B1GEast]

This may sound like I'm singling you out, so I apologize in advance, but this idea about certain coaches being Xs and Os people as opposed to others is highly overrated on this board. I'm not saying some coaches don't know them better than others, but rather that so man other factors are in play, while we tend to emphasize this one. Sean Miller is one of the Millers . His father imparted more about Xs and Os to Archie than he did to Sean? His kid made the same shooting mistake that Beilein's kid did. Is Beilein similarly to blame?

Fair enough. He's squandered a lot of talent.

 

[Walker11]

There is a better chance of Miller coaching UNC or UK in 5 years than of him getting fired.

 

[noeynox]

Just because it is a 3 does not mean it was a bad shot or that it was ¨jacked up¨. Yes, the zona shot was poor, we also saw WVirginia jack up 3 bad shots. But that Michigan 3 was a good solid shot. The guy who took it had made 3 or 4 that half and was kind of on fire, I think he had close to 20 points that half.

Not of fan of that, get something going to the hole, drive and dish, draw a foul. It wasn't a terrible shot, but it's not great shot either. You're down 1, so a two wins it. Oh well.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Kansas has worse looking cheerleaders than we do!

Somehow, I've watched ONLY Oregon's final 7 points against Rhode Island live, but here you are tempting me. Undecided about watching tonight, and committed tomorrow night.

Extended family 90th birthday celebration next Saturday, and Monday is the final night of a self-planned 'couple retreat,' and there's no guarantee that my co-facilitator will design the Men's final game into the mix.

It's a weird version of "out for a penny, out for a pound," though I keep checking scores, watching replays of final missed shots, and spending time here. And, I don't really mind. I really absorbed the embrace of alternatives that the Huskies season moved me toward.

 

[NielsisGood]

You have to feel for Zona fans, the final 4 is in Arizona and they had a good team. Miller's a great recruiter, but maybe not so much of an X and O's guy. They were up by 8 and couldn't close. How many lives does that guy have? That one's going to stay in their heads for a while.

Idk how you can blame Miller for Trier doing his best(worst) Kobe impersonation.

 

[B1GEast]

Idk how you can blame Miller for Trier doing his best(worst) Kobe impersonation.

I don't recall if he had a time out, but you have to settle down your team and play a possession game and manage the clock better. This shouldn't all fall in Trier.

They lost and every one right now is blaming Trier, but I think Miller needs to share some of the blame.

 

[Dogdeacon]

My lord, in a tournament with tons of horrible possessions under 30 seconds, that has to top it. Two awful shots and then dribble out the clock. The guy took two already, might as well have taken that third shot. Awful.

RE: WVU
Yep, those were the worst TWO awful end of game 3's in a tournament chock-full of em' (and they had more than 30 seconds). What's worse is they didn't even get a shot attempt at the buzzer cuz the guy who just jacked up TWO hero-ball 3's realized throwing up a 3rd was too selfish. So too late he develops a conscience and decides not to toss up the 3rd hero shot and add a 3rd exclamation point to crystal clear fact that he became a ball hog. Basketball gods say too bad & buzzer sounds. PASS THE _____ING BALL!!!

 

[RichZ]

I really felt kinda sorry for WVU. They controlled the pace of the game throughout, and had the lead at the start of winning time. And then went completely brain dead at the thought of actually winning, I guess. That was either Zag's best defensive stand EVER, or it was simply the worst endgame possession ever.

 

[BugsyCT]

Caught this stat on the deuce today -

Most NCAA Tourney wins by teams that haven't reached the Final Four:
T1) Gongaza - 27
T1) Xavier - 27
3) Boston College - 22

lol

 

[UConnSwag11]

need ucla and butler here. I dont have butler in my bracket

 

[NielsisGood]

I don't recall if he had a time out, but you have to settle down your team and play a possession game and manage the clock better. This shouldn't all fall in Trier.

They lost and every one right now is blaming Trier, but I think Miller needs to share some of the blame.

I'm pretty sure he had used his last TO when they had that poss with about 1 minute left. I'm inclined to believe that the guy who has been involved with coaching in some capacity for 20+ years is less likely to have made a mistake than a 21 year old kid.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Butler looks lost.

 

[beakumhawks]

UNC-Butler got ugly early for Butler