The Eastern Regionals - Suffocating D

I hope the kids from Marquette and Indiana were able to breathe on their flights home, because the 2-3 zone practically suffocated them at the Verizon Center in DC over the weekend. Cuse held two top seeds to a total of 89 points over the two games in the Eastern Regionals. Indiana -- number one seed in the East, and ranked number one for more weeks this past year than any other team -- was held to only 50, their season low. That was really remarkable considering that Indiana was number three in all of Division I in scoring average. And then, just in case anyone had doubts about the zone, Cuse held Marquette to 39 points, not only their season low, but apparently a record low for the regionals in the modern era (meaning any time after TV was invented). So far, for the four games of the tournament, the Orange have held their opponents, on average to under 50 points. (45.8 to be exact). Another stat I really like from these past few games is that Orange opponents have more turnovers than field goals. Plus we had double digit steals in each game this past weekend and  loads of blocked shots. I imagine Zeller is seeing Orange in his dreams right now.

On the offensive end, the big difference this past weekend was the guard play. Triche and MCW were able to get into the lane for some easy baskets, and especially Friday, able to hit from the outside as well. The two are related, because once defenders come out to guard against the three, it's easier for those guys to find room inside. CJ Fair had some big shots in both games; he remains the most consistent offensive contributor. But yesterday, even though his shot was off at times, I thought Southerland may have had the biggest shots of the game. At the end of the first half, after Marquette had staged a comeback, and cut the lead to three, Southerland drained a three to push the deficit back to six and give the Orange some breathing room. Then, with about two minutes left in the game, and the shot clock about the expire, and with his defender draped all over him, Southerland hit another three that effectively ended the game, and put Cuse in the Final Four.

One thing that ticked me off yesterday was the pundits' lack of respect for Coach Boeheim. During the pregame show, even though the commentators were split two and two, I was irked to hear Barkley and Greg Anthony talking about how coaching made such a big difference in the tourney; how Buzz Williams was such a great game coach; and how in a one game matchup, Williams would make the difference and Marquette would win. What all those geniuses overlooked was that during this late season run, Cuse had beaten a number of teams that had beaten them earlier in the regular season. Pitt, Georgetown, and Marquette all lost their rematches with the Orange. Now how does that happen without good coaching? And just because Boeheim sits there and twists his nose the whole game, without jumping around and losing his voice, doesn't mean he isn't coaching.

The upshot of course, is a trip to Atlanta for another Final Four appearance. The Orange have accomplished that once every decade since Roy Danforth's time, and throughout Boeheim's career. We've become pretty spoiled by Cuse's consistency -- almost every year in the tournament; making the sweet sixteen more often than not, certainly in recent years; and then playing for the championship once every ten years. And when we get to Atlanta, who knows? Ever since this post-season has begun, I've said that that Orange are good enough to beat anyone, but at times have played badly enough to lose to anyone. Same will be true next weekend. One thing to consider though, is that even with the defense playing so well, there is a lot of room for improvement on the offensive end. They really haven't been shooting that well -- missed lots of open jumpers yesterday. And our big guys were woeful from in close -- missing layups and dunks (!) in both games. So if the zone remains effective, and they shoot the ball just a tiny bit better --- better not go there. It's better to leave it unsaid. Instead, let's just say, "Go Orange."