Memphis will take on Texas in what should be a great game. I think Texas will pull this one out, with the “home-court” advantage working for them. The big matchup, of course, is Derrick Rose vs. D.J. Augustin. Augustin will have to win the matchup, and I think he will.
2:30PM: The Memphis backcourt has come out strong, with Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts combining for 11 of their first 13 points, en route to an early 5 point lead. Even against an elite team like Texas, these two still have a distinct size and strength advantage over the opposing team’s guards. But Augustin is the smarter, more experienced player. It really is an interesting matchup.
2:36PM: Timeout Texas, as Rose and CDR now have 15 of Memphis’s 17 points, with CDR headed to the line. CDR just had a steal on a Texas pass that was right at him and Billy Packer claimed the Texas player “underestimated Douglas-Robert’s wingspan”. Take it easy on the star worship there, Billy.
2:49PM: Really poor offensive play by Texas right now. They’re putting up some really bad shots. Memphis has been dominant at both ends.
2:53PM: I love when announcers read these stats like, “When Texas loses, their opponents score more points and shoot a higher percentage from the field”. Wow, that really tells us a lot. I guess the takeaway on that stat is that it’s not good for Texas that Memphis is shooting a high percentage from the field and scoring a lot of points. No way!
3:00PM: Nice show-boating dunk by Joey Dorsey there after not bothering to make any effort to back on defense after a turnover. I have no problem with a dunk like that after you’ve made a steal or something, but I don’t think you should be drawing more attention to the fact that you just got a dunk because you were being lazy. Just lay it in, and get yourself down to the other end of the court.
3:13PM: That push by Texas at the end of the half kept them in this game. 39-28 Memphis.
3:38PM: Augustin just can’t get untracked. He can’t make a jump shot, can’t make a short-range shot. Texas is playing better now but they have no chance unless Augustin steps it up.
3:41PM: Now Packer is reading Dorsey’s mind and then questioning if what Dorsey is allegedly thinking is accurate. OK.
3:48PM: It’s looking over now, as Memphis has responded to Texas’s run with a run of their own and pushed the lead up to 15, with 12 minutes to play. Texas has to respond immediately.
4:18PM: Blowout win for Memphis. I’ll be back in about 45 minutes for Kansas-Davidson.
Kansas vs. Davidson:
Davidson will attempt to continue the “Cinderalla” run here against Kansas. I’ve bought into Davidson as being a legitamately awesome team, but I’ll go with Kansas in this one. Davidson’s offense obviously revolves around Stephen Curry and point guard Jason Richards. Kansas has two guards, Russell Robinson and Mario Chalmers, that are elite defenders and while there’s no way they will stop Curry, they should be able to hold him to under 25 points and win.
5:07PM: Robinson is on Curry to start and Chalmers is on Richards. Both Kansas guards have long arms and quick feet, it will be tough on the Davidson backcourt.
5:13PM: Great start for Davidson here. The fact that they’ve held Kansas to two points over 4 minutes into the game has to have given them an early confidence boost. I’m sure they have plenty of confidence at this point, but in the back of their minds they had to be slightly intimidated by this #1-seeded Jayhawk team. Also, Curry’s had two good opportunites that rimmed out.
5:24PM: Davidson is playing right with them, even with Curry scoreless. Neither team made a jump shot until over 8 minutes in, with Davidson hitting a 3. Richards is doing a Miles Simon impression, beating his defender and then hitting runners in the lane before the help defense gets to him. That’s been the most effective offense so far.
5:31PM: Curry got going in a big way, with a beautiful drive through traffic for a bucket, sandwiched between two nothing-but-net 3’s. I’ve seen some quick releases, but I don’t know if I’ve ever seen one as quick and accurate as this kid.
5:39PM: #24 for Davidson might be the reason they lose this game. He takes bad shots and pretty much never makes them. He has reddish hair, which is probably the problem. Name me a decent red-headed guard in the history of basketball.
6:00PM: Len Elmore has made a big deal about Kansas doing a good job on Curry, but I’m pretty sure he has 15 points here at the half, and that means he’s due for about 30-35 in the second-half, so I’m not going to give Kansas too much credit. Then again, I haven’t seen any evidence that even great defense stops Curry from scoring. Two point Kansas lead and it’s not hard to imagine Davidson winning this game.
6:39PM: This is a crucial point in the game for Davidson. Kansas is starting to pull away a little bit for the first time. The Jayhawk offense is finally starting to resemble the offense you expect. Maybe the Davidson players are starting to get a little worn down. They have to make sure the game doesn’t get away from them right here.
6:47PM: OK, good call by me on #24, apparently his name is Barr. He’s nailed 3 3’s in the last few minutes, and they’ve been huge. Davidson out to a 4-point lead, 8 minutes to play.
7:03PM: Davidson needs to get the ball more in the hands of Richards and Curry here.
7:10PM: Davidson is lucky that Thomas Sander is such a bad free throw shooter. His brick came hard of the rim and let Davidson keep possession, and Curry nailed a 3 off the inbounds, after a few straight misses. 59-57 Kansas, 1 minute left. It’s Madness!
7:13PM: 17 seconds left, Davidson down 2 with the ball. I think if you’re Davidson, you have to have Curry shoot a 3 for the win. Andrew Lovedale is fouled out, I don’t think you want overtime.
7:19PM: They were looking for the Curry 3-pointer, but the Kansas defense had him smothered. Great game, great run by Davidson. I wonder what Curry will end up doing now? He probably wouldn’t be higher than a late first-round pick, so does he leave? Maybe he’ll stay at Davidson for two more years. That could be very interesting. As long as they have him, they’ll be a dangerous lower-seeded tourney team. All set with four #1 seeds, should make for a great Final Four.
If you’re Kansas, do you even consider fouling (not Curry) with 13 seconds left, up by two? You have to know that they’re gonna go for a 3, and you have to be terrified. Right? Plus, you have to like your chances in OT, which is the worst case scenario–and for that to happen, they have to make 2 clutch free throws and stop you on your end, with plenty of time to score. I really hate the end-game foul when you’re ahead, but I think this situation, it may have made some sense. Not saying I definitely would have done it, but I would have thought about it.