Monday, February 20, 2012

I Wanna Dance with Somebody...from the Big East

With Selection Sunday just 20 days away...yes, 20 days...we wanted to explore who'd be dancing from the Big East Conference. You might be saying, anyone can look at the standings and figure who the best teams in the conference are. That may be true. But can anyone predict who will make the Tournament while also comparing the teams to, and in turn honoring, the late, great Whitney Houston? Challenge accepted.

1. Syracuse - "Greatest Love of All" or "I Will Always Love You" - No brainer here. The only school that I've ever truly loved, and will love forever. Syracuse has been in control of the conference since Day 1. They look to be in the drivers seat for a #1 seed in the Big Dance as well (most likely in the East), which would mean opening round games in Pittsburgh, and Sweet 16/Elite 8 games in Baaaahston. Even at 27-1, the Orange have their flaws. If they don't fix the rebounding woes that have hurt them all season, there could be an upset before New Orleans.
Bold Prediction: The Final Four is on Bourbon Street, and Jimmy B has been there in '87 and '03. Why not just invite him and the Orange back for '12, as well.

2. Marquette - "It's Not Right, But It's Okay (Thunderpuss Remix)" - The Golden Eagles beat Syracuse during the regular season last year, and then knocked them out in the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament. If I had to root for another Big East school this year, it'd be Marquette (It's not right, but it's okay). I don't know about you, but Marquette scares the crap out of me. They are a tough as nails team, have a crazy coach (in a good way, not in a Frank Martin/Mike Rice way), have a couple of guys that are seniors and have been there before (Crowder and Johnson-Odom), and there have been at least three or four games this year in which they've been down by at least 15 points, and have come back to win the game.
Bold Prediction: They not only make a run to Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in the final "real" Big East Tournament, and continue the streak with a Elite 8 run in the Tourney. Don't be surprised if you see in NOLA as well.

3. Georgetown - "Run to You" - As in, run the Princeton offense. Hoyas have been solid all year long. Nice mix of young and old, as well as inside and outside. Jason Clark can go for 25 time any time he steps on the court, Hollis Thompson is an experienced swingman, while Henry Sims and Nate Lubick provide skill and experience in the paint. However, the Hoyas also depend a group of freshman who have gotten big minutes all year. Can a team with a lot of freshmen go far in the tournament? It's happened before, and G'town would like to rebound from last year's 1st round exit.
Bold Prediction: The Hoyas will be one of the last Big East teams standing in the NCAAs, along with Marquette and Cuse. Look for Georgetown to be playing for a shot to go to the Elite 8, come late March.

3a. Notre Dame - "Saving All My Love for You" - This references all the love Notre Dame is getting from around the country. "Mike Brey does it again....Coach of the Year in the Big East....they lost their best player before the season started....they're they only team to beat Syracuse..." To be honest, most of it is all warranted. Notre Dame has come out of nowhere, running their "burn" offense when they want to control the tempo of games, like they did against Syracuse. Since losing to UConn and Rutgers in mid-January, Notre Dame has won 8 in a row and are now ranked in the top 20.
Bold Prediction: The Irish might be pulling a Rick Pitino, and may be peaking too early. They got trampled out of the NCAA tournament last year during opening weekend. A great story this year, but don't expect the Irish to be around after St. Patty's Day weekend.

5. Louisville - "Heartbreak Hotel" - Unfortunately Fortunately Whitney didn't have a song titled "Italian Restaurant Bathroom," or else we'd have the perfect match for Pitino and the Cardinals. We'll go with the Heartbreak Hotel instead. Syracuse was able to beat the Cardinals at the Yum last Monday, after Louisville basically owned the Orange in their last 7 meetings. Coming off that loss, Cards needed OT to win at DePaul. Big game at Cincy on Thursday. L'ville needs to get some confidence back.
Bold Predication: Louisville is obviously in, and most likely a 3-5 seed. This sets them up perfectly for 13-4/12-5 upset, and "Pitino Doesn't Last Long" jokes lighting up Twitter.

6. West Virginia - "One Moment in Time" - The Mountaineers are taking their final breathes of Big East basketball. Whether or not they'll be spending late March in the NCAA Tournament or the NIT still remains to be seen. WVU has a Huggy-sized huge game against Notre Dame on Wednesday. A win in South Bend would go a loooong way for selection committee members. If WVU wins the games they are supposed to (ND not included) down the stretch, and can get a pair of Ws in NYC in their final Big East Tournament, they should be dancing.
Bold Predication: Their final moment in time in the Big East includes a trip to the NCAA Tournament, but a loss in the Round of 32. Kevin Jones can't do it all.

7. South Florida - "How Will I Know" - The Bulls are a tough team to predict. They are 10-4 in conference (good for a tie for 4th overall), with a trip to the Carrier Dome on Wednesday looming. After Cuse, they have Cincy at home, Louisville at the Yum, and host WVU in the season finale. If they go 2-2 over the final four regular season games, and win at least one in NYC, Bulls will be running into the NCAA Tournament.
Bold Predication: USF isn't quite ready to take the next step yet. They go 1-3 to finish the year, and get bounced early in the Big East tournament, punching a ticket to the NIT. With that said, can you keep an 11-7 team in the Big East out of the Big Dance? Redact prediction, Bulls are in if they win 3 more games before Selection Sunday.

8. Cincinnati - "So Emotional" - It's been quite the rollercoaster of emotions for Cincy this year. The Bearcats have a couple of black eyes on their resume that won't do them any favors on Selection Sunday (Presbyterian and Marshall). Throw in the black eyes they gave to Xavier players, it's been an up and down season for the 'Nati. The Bearcats sit basically in the same position as USF. I'd say they are in right now, but losing to the Bulls or Villanova in the final weeks of the season could be the knockout punch for Cincy.
Bold Predication: If the Bearcats can defend their home court and beat Louisville on Thursday night, they are in. If they lose, they still have a chance, but that's a resume building win and they need it at this point in the season.


9. Seton Hall - "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" - Did you know that Seton Hall lost 6 games in a row during the month of January and early February. Even with that stretch of games, most "experts" have said the Pirates are in, despite being 7-8 in the league right now. The Hall hosts Georgetown and Rutgers before closing out the year at DePaul. To say the Pirates still have some work to do, would be putting it lightly.
Bold Predication: The Hall loses 2 of their final 3, and answer the question, Where Do Broken Hearts Go....the NIT.


10. UConn - "I Have Nothing" - If you looked at UConn's Tournament resume, changed the name at the top to Storrs College, there is no way they'd be a tournament team. But they are UConn, the defending National Champs, so they get the benefit of a perennial tournament team. Similar to Villanova last year, who had no business making the tournament (and lost in their first game), UConn could get some benefit of the doubt votes. Throw in the fact UConn won't be in the tournament next year (NCAA violations), could this year be Calhoun's last opportunity to coach in a NCAA tourney game?
Bold Predication: It's been a rough year for the defending champs. Suspensions due to NCAA violations for a player as well as Calhoun. They've basically quit in a number of games, where it really showed that they had nothing. Shabazz Napier kept hopes alive with his ONIONS on Monday night at Villanova. Don't think that will be enough though. No NCAA Tournament for the Huskies, and loyal reader Ramy has to console his little brother, Jeremy Lamb (that's if he didn't trade in this Jeremy for Jeremy Lin).

Final count: Big East definitely gets 7, possibly 8. Only get 9 if someone has a Gerry McNamara/Da'Sean Butler/Kemba-esque run in NYC. Give me 4 of those teams in the Sweet 16, 2 in the Elite 8 and 1 in the New Orleans.

Friday, February 10, 2012

Tale of the Tape: Victor Cruz vs. Jeremy Lin

New York is dealing with a pair of out of nowhere superstars that are taking their sport by storm. First there was Victor Cruz, the New York Giants wide receiver that helped bring the Lombardi Trophy home to New York New Jersey ("I got a ring....he got one too!"). Now, after the last three games he's played for the New York Knicks, Jeremy Lin is the craziest thing since Tebow Time.


Let's take a look at how these two surprising stars stack up against each other (yes, we are well aware there is a smaller sample size for Lin right now).


Cruz gets the slight edge for his high school, representing the great state of New.....Jerrrrrrseeey, but Lin wins when it comes to college. You have to give the nod to the Ivy Leaguer in the NBA, over the guy that had some academic issues at UMass. Similar in most of the other categories, so let's get into the more important things.


Fun things to do with their name:
Victor Cruz: Obviously everyone knows what to do here...Cruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Jeremy Lin: Endless opportunities here, and we've already seen the likes of Linsanity, #Linning, All I do is Lin, etc.
Advantage: For now, we are going Cruz. It's simple, easy to remember and can get loud. There are too many options for Lin right now, and we might be trying to hard to come up with more creative names.


First three games:
Salsa. Cruz.
Victor Cruz: In week 1, Cruz was shutout. Week 2 he had 2 catches for 17 yards. Week 3 was his breakout game in Philadelphia. Cruz had 3 catches for 110 yards and 2 TDs, including a 74 yard touchdown. The Giants went 2-1 in these three games.
Jeremy Lin: While Lin has played previously, we are going to focus on his three games this week, where he's really taken off: 25 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds. 28 points, 8 assists. 23 points, 10 assists, 4 rebounds. He's also shooting 58% from the field in these games, and most importantly the Knicks have won these three games.
Advantage: Lin has been a little more consistent at the start, but as we stated, he has a lot more pro games under his belt. Cruz went on to have a record-setting season, so if we were to check back in April, we'd probably have to give the season award to Cruz...unless Linsanity goes out of control.


Celebration/handshake:
Victor Cruz: One word. Salsa.
Jeremy Lin: Thus far we have seen Lin bow with Carmelo Anthony after a big play (ala Cruz's teammate, Justin Tuck). On Wednesday night, Lin and teammate Landry "Lance" Fields, who attended Stanford, showed off their "nerd" handshake, where they mimicked reading a book, putting on glasses, and then wearing a pocket protector. 
Advantage: We are giving the nod to Cruz and the Salsa. While we like the bow, the handshake seemed a little too choreographed (because it was), and you need a partner to do it. Cruz's salsa was not only legit (Cruz's hip don't lie), but it also signified a touchdown for the New York Football Giants.


Contract Situation:
Victor Cruz: Currently in the second year of a three year deal, Cruz earned $450,000 this season. Next year he is set to make $490,000. For those scoring at home, Cruz's regular season stats were 1,536 yards and 9 TDs. In the postseason, 269 yards on 21 receptions and the first Giants TD of the Super Bowl. Jerry Reese, pay the man.
Linsanity taking over NYC.
Jeremy Lin: Earlier this week, the Knicks picked up Lin's contract for the rest of the season, which will pay him a pro-rated share of $800,000. With this guaranteed money, Lin might be able to get himself a new place in NYC, or at least a bed. For the last six weeks, Lin has been sleeping in his brother's living room on a couch. 
Advantage: Lin might end up making more money than Cruz this year, but it looks like Cruz has a better future both on and off the field. With that said, how crazy is it that Lin sleeps on his brother's coach! Come on, James Dolan, give the kid a hotel room or something. I saw plenty of invoices during my time with the Knicks, and room for Lin for a few weeks wouldn't make that big a difference.


Comparison to Others
Victor Cruz: Known as a slot receiver, you would have to compare Cruz to the best slot receiver in the league right now, Wes Welker. We need to give credit to Welker for basically revolutionizing the slot position (and thank him for dropping that pass in the 4th quarter of the Super Bowl). I wouldn't say Cruz is as good as Welker, but I think he can get there. He's got the knack for making big plays out of nothing. If he repeats this year's output next year, Welker may have to make some room at the top of the Slot receiver rankings.
Jeremy Lin: I've seen bits and pieces of Lin's last three games, and the first person to come to mind was Steve Nash. With that said, obviously Lin has a long way to go to get to Nash status. But the way Lin handles the ball, sees the floor, gets to the rim, draws contact, etc, looks a bit like Nash. 
Advantage: Push. If you are wide receiver and get compared to Welker, or a point guard and get compared to Nash, that's pretty damn good. Like many of these areas, we'll see if Lin can keep this up the rest of the season, or if fizzles out in the next few weeks.


Twitter
Victor Cruz: @TeamVic has 135,500 followers. Cruz is pretty active as a tweeter, and is good about responding and interacting with his followers. Also has an avatar picture from the Super Bowl parade day earlier this week.
Jeremy Lin: @JLin7 has 74,280 followers, many coming in the last week. Lin tweets a limited times a day, and still has his location as Bay Areaaa (his spelling, not mine).
Advantage: Cruz wins with higher numbers and more activity.


Miscellaneous 
Victor Cruz: Mr. Salsa turned down the opportunity to appear on Dancing with the Stars, which he probably would have won. He also has been participating in a lot of Fashion Week events in NYC the past few days and will be presenting an award at the upcoming Grammy Awards.

Jeremy Lin: I wanted to include this tweet somewhere in this post, but didn't know where to put it. Last night, Knicks beat writer Frank Isola tweeted this from the Knicks game in Washington D.C. on Wednesday night. 
Advantage: Lin has proven that he can drive, just ask John Wall who he blew by a few times on Wednesday night.


Cruz wins the Tale of the Tape, 4-2 with one push. The sample size for Lin is small, and Cruz just helped lead the Giants to their second Super Bowl in five years, so I guess this result is expected. Regardless, we are excited for the Giants to lock up Cruz, and we are excited to see the success of Jeremy Lin continue.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

ONIONS Rivers

In the words of loyal reader @mpenz21, "welcome to the Duke-UNC Rivalry, Austin Rivers." The only thing that would have made last night's ONIONS moment better, would have been if Bill Raftery was on the call....(check that, two things would have made it better) and if Rivers pulled a Sam Cassell and did the big marbles dance after he hit the shot.

Just in case you missed it live, like @bradsmit did, here's Rivers firmly planting himself into the greatest moments of the Duke-UNC Rivalry.



Let's say this first. Unbelievable individual performance from freshman Austin Rivers last night. Check out this line: 39 minutes (out of 40), 29 points on 9-16 shooting, including 6-10 from behind the arc. Also chipped in with 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal.

Now, let's really look at what happened in the last few minutes of last night's game. Bottom line, North Carolina should have never lost that game, especially on their home court.

  • Duke went on a 13-2 run to end the game.
  • Seth Curry got a way with a walk prior to hitting a three with 1:48 left, which brought Duke to within four points.
  • Tyler Zeller not only scored in his own basket (accidentally tipped in an errant three pointer) in the final 20 seconds to cut the UNC lead to 1 point, but he also missed a a free throw with 13.9 seconds left, which would have given the Tar Heels a 3 point lead (Zeller actually went 2-4 from the line in the final 44 seconds of the game). Oh, and he also was the one guarding Rivers when he hit the three, giving him too much space for Rivers to get a great look at the game winner. Zeller, who picked up Rivers on the switch, needed to guard him closely and make sure he didn't get off a three. Even if Rivers goes around you, the worst thing that happens is he hits a two and we are going to overtime. Definitely a final few minutes that Zeller will want to forget.
  • 2:35. That was the point at which UNC scored their last FG of the game, a Harrison Barnes jumper.
  • In the final 4 minutes of the game, Duke had 3 offensive rebounds and a steal, which directly led to 10 points. 
Remember before the season when everyone thought North Carolina wouldn't lose a game? Barnes, Henson, Zeller returning, a couple of McDonald's All-Americans coming in. Well the Tar Heels are now 20-4, 7-2 in the ACC (same exact record for Duke). Their first conference loss was a 33 point loss at Florida State three and a half weeks ago. Their second came last night, at home, to their biggest rival, after blowing an 11 point lead in the final 3:54. This was is going to sting...for a while.