Arizona - Xavier

[cuseattle]

 

[Cowtown]

F the damn 11 seed. X can always ball. Mack is an excellent coach. These leads evaporate in a heartbeat every game in the Tourney. My only gripe is them not getting Markannen touches late in the game.

Agreed, although is seemed like X was happy to keep the ball on the perimeter and didn't let AZ get entries from the wing. I think Miller got out-coached in this one.

 

[SoBeCuse]

A 2 seed losing to an 11 seed in the sweet 16 is bad no matter how you wanna try to spin it. Its even worse when you have an 8 point lead with 4 mins left. And It's even worse when you consider arizona's recent history in the tournament being a high seed every year and not making a f4.

This was a devastating loss for them, no other way to put it. And what's Syracuse got to do with it? They were an nit team this year so of course they're not on these teams level. But last I checked they made the f4 last year and 2013, what has Arizona done?

I hear you but playing an Xavier is like playing a Wichita St. There is a culture of toughness and winning. I and most (just heard Greenberg say not really an upset) think that it isn't that big of a deal plus there is familiarity with coaching staffs. Disappointing for Arizona but all credit goes to Xavier.

 

[SoBeCuse]

Agreed, although is seemed like X was happy to keep the ball on the perimeter and didn't let AZ get entries from the wing. I think Miller got out-coached in this one.

Yeah, their zone offense was shaky. Credit to X and Mack. That guy can freaking coach.

 

[JDubbin]

Yeah, their zone offense was shaky. Credit to X and Mack. That guy can freaking coach.

Man, it'd be nice if you showed the same amount of love and respect to Boeheim and the 'cuse on their Final 4 run last year. Xavier barely made it into the tourney at all this year, like the Orange last year. Didn't you say the reason that we beat Virginia was because they forgot how to play basketball? I suppose you could just write this off as AZ forgetting how to play basketball in the final 4 minutes too, but from your posts on Mack and Xavier make that seem very unlikely. It's crazy to me that it's a fight to get Syracuse fans respect and acknowledge the success of our own program more so then a random program having a successful tourney.

 

[PoppyHart]

Xavier should easily be pre-season top 10 again, maybe top-5.

 

[Orange Barrel]

Man, it'd be nice if you showed the same amount of love and respect to Boeheim and the 'cuse on their Final 4 run last year. Xavier barely made it into the tourney at all this year, like the Orange last year. Didn't you say the reason that we beat Virginia was because they forgot how to play basketball? I suppose you could just write this off as AZ forgetting how to play basketball in the final 4 minutes too, but from your posts on Mack and Xavier make that seem very unlikely. It's crazy to me that it's a fight to get Syracuse fans respect and acknowledge the success of our own program more so then a random program having a successful tourney.

Board narrative promoted by a handful of members and the non-stop barrage of the same old posts. Many here have read it so many times that they repeat it as gospel. JB only gets credit for the losses. FF's are lucky. Great wins are miracles. The title was Carmelo only. JB destroys his players. JB is a jerk. On and on and on and on.

 

[Cusefan0307]

That has to be a brutal loss for Zona. They've got more wins than anyone the last 5 years but can't crack the FF.

 

[NineOneSeven]

Man, it'd be nice if you showed the same amount of love and respect to Boeheim and the 'cuse on their Final 4 run last year. Xavier barely made it into the tourney at all this year, like the Orange last year. Didn't you say the reason that we beat Virginia was because they forgot how to play basketball? I suppose you could just write this off as AZ forgetting how to play basketball in the final 4 minutes too, but from your posts on Mack and Xavier make that seem very unlikely. It's crazy to me that it's a fight to get Syracuse fans respect and acknowledge the success of our own program more so then a random program having a successful tourney.

Lol. Wrong.

 

[NineOneSeven]

When you have the best player on the floor, anything can happen.

 

[Ward]

That has to be a brutal loss for Zona. They've got more wins than anyone the last 5 years but can't crack the FF.

It was a pretty favorable path for them this year to make a run at a ring too.

S16 - 11 seed
E8 - Gonzaga who they played tough earlier this year without Trier

Final 4 is in Arizona so would've basically been a home game for them.

F4 - Duke/Nova out so a winnable game there from the East champ
NC - 1 game for it all and in the state of Arizona like I mentioned earlier

 

[HOFCeluck]

F the damn 11 seed. X can always ball. Mack is an excellent coach. These leads evaporate in a heartbeat every game in the Tourney. My only gripe is them not getting Markannen touches late in the game.

I don't disagree but there's no way Syracuse gets the benefit of the doubt in Arizona's spot

 

[orangenirvana]

Terrible shot selection there. He, ahem...Bluiett.

I know I'm wait too late for this thread, but I still have to do it...

 

[NineOneSeven]

Even more amazing Xavier won last night is the fact they were without arguably their best player. That's the reason they fell to an 11 seed to begin win, racked up a lot of losses without him. Which gets me thinking... imagine how tough a spot we would have been in the last 2 years if we had an injury like some of these teams do? Obviously we know VERY well about late season injuries to key players (AO ), but the last two years, given we have had guys play absurd minutes, it's pretty amazing we haven't had injuries to key guys. Yes, DC and PC battled injuries this year but I don't consider them to be top 5 guys. Props to X and Oregon.

 

[orangenirvana]

Someone is going to their first final four, and once again Sean Miller chokes in a big spot.

Sean Miller is still 8th among active coaches in NCAA Tournament winning percentage. That's pretty damn good. He'll make a Final Four very soon.

 

[Cusefan0307]

It's a miracle zona missed the FF.

 

[Ward]

Even more amazing Xavier won last night is the fact they were without arguably their best player. That's the reason they fell to an 11 seed to begin win, racked up a lot of losses without him. Which gets me thinking... imagine how tough a spot we would have been in the last 2 years if we had an injury like some of these teams do? Obviously we know VERY well about late season injuries to key players (AO ), but the last two years, given we have had guys play absurd minutes, it's pretty amazing we haven't had injuries to key guys. Yes, DC and PC battled injuries this year but I don't consider them to be top 5 guys. Props to X and Oregon.

Oregon especially. I was watching their game last night thinking I wish we could've seen what kinda run they had in them with Boucher available.

 

[UnknownOrange]

Sean Miller is still 8th among active coaches in NCAA Tournament winning percentage. That's pretty damn good. He'll make a Final Four very soon.

He's had 19 tries.

 

[Trueblue25]

Amazing that Zona hasn't won a national championship yet under Miller. But this is what you get when you squander your best hopes to Kemba Walker and let Uconn advance to get another ring. Bad juju.

 

[Cuseball]

He's had 19 tries.

yep and many folks still don't fully appreciate how hard it is to get to the Final Four. Miller's a very good coach and an elite recruiter. They have to get one soon but still a huge monkey on the back

 

[Fly Rodder]

So disappointing. I really hope that this doesn't lead to another championship for UK, KU, or UNC.

 

[AZOrange]

Sean Miller is a heckuva young coach. He's still trying to figure the x and os on offense a bit. You have to ISO Trier in the last 4 min. He had the hot hand. Krstic should not be the play. People here would love him because he force feeds the post (too much).

 

[NineOneSeven]

Oregon especially. I was watching their game last night thinking I wish we could've seen what kinda run they had in them with Boucher available.

If they were healthy they would have been my final four pick. Who knows, they still have a shot. Bell, Dorsey, and Brooks are one of the best trios in the country.

 

[Jasoncuse]

Xavier should easily be pre-season top 10 again, maybe top-5.

Absolutely.

They should return most of their roster, losing only Gaston and Bernard, two solid role players. Assuming Bluiett is back and Sumner is healthy, I don't see why they wouldn't be a top 5-10 team, especially after this run. They also have a 6 man (!!!) recruiting class coming in.

Actually, now that I think about, I could see Bluiett leaving, though. He's having a monster tourney and could be this year's Malachi in terms of shooting up the boards with his performance. He also entered last year's draft only to withdraw after not being invited to the Combine, so this may be his time to go if it works out for him. I've seen him as a late 2nd, though, so he'll have to measure well. He's not super athletic or big, but he can play, sort of like Mali. Only problem for him is he's already 22.

Sumner is excellent too. It's too bad about his injury--I'm guessing he'd have been a possible 1st round pick this year, maybe even late lottery if he tested well.

 

[HOFCeluck]

How has he had 19 tries when he's been a HC since 2004-5?