Elite 8 - Part II

In the only non-overtime game whose outcome was never seriously in doubt NC kept marginal distance over Wisconsin throughout the game and got their Final Four ticket punched. Obviously a great situation for the NC seniors who had to live through the 8-20 season under Matt D. And it only took "Old Roy" two years to get back to the Final Four, after back-to-back Final Fours at Kansas. Meanwhile, back in Kansas, Bill Self has an Elite 8 and a 1st round ejection with Roy's players. Maybe "Old Roy" is that good after all :-)

Why didn't Wisconsin use their big guys to wear down on the three NC forwards? Their four bigs off the bench only played a few minutes. They could have been used to wear down May & the two Williams and try to explore matchup issues defensively or offensively. Steinsma seemed to do well at the end of the 1st half in the few milliseconds he played.. I guess Bo Ryan more secure with his upperclassmen. Well, why collect all those bigs if you are not going to play them when they give you a size and matchup advantage?

OTOH Wisconsin has shown that they can actually play and be competitive at a faster pace game. This may have surprised more than a few people. That's food for thought for Bo Ryan during the summer! And Alando Tucker is that good!

On the second game and third OT game of the Elite 8, MSU's seniors also had something to cheer about! A Final Four trip! This class was also underachieving compared to the Flintstones, so beating Duke first and now getting to the Final Four is huge. It also solidifies Izzo as one of the top coaches showing that his three Final Fours were not a flash in the pan. That, along with his crazy number of recent Elite 8 appearances, two more than the closest coaches. It also perhaps shows that the brutal schedule of the 2003-04 season has finally paid off [the hard way]...