Soxbadger Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 In little under 2 hours the Badgers and Tar Heels will meet for a place in the Final Four. This should be the cliche "good offense" versus "good defense" match up that is so over used in sports today. Pretty much every media outlet has already said UNC is in the Final Four. My own brackets depend on UNC making it to the championship game, but just because a few weeks ago I picked UNC over Wisconsin in this match up, does not mean that today I do not think that there is a chance for Wisconsin to win. Here are some reasons why Wisconsin could win: 1) Wisconsin does what Villanova did, better. You could see the frustration on UNC's faces, and you could tell after the game that Roy was not to pleased with the low scoring, time management offense of Nova. The problem was that Nova would push the ball up the court, where as the Badgers will almost never fast break. 2) The Badgers have already played equal competition. Illinois is generally considered the 1 or 2 team with NC taking the other spots. Yes Wisconsin lost to Illinois 3 times (2 of them being at fan heavy Illinois locations) but, Wisconsin played them well regardless of the final score. Most of the seperation came at the end with foul shots, but the facts are, Wisconsin was able to control the tempo with Illinois, why will it be run off the court by UNC? 3) UNC let down. If Wisconsin can control the tempo, UNC may begin to frustrate themselves. This is the trap that great players at the College level will fall into. If McCants, etc, start to break and pull up for jumpers, this could give Wisconsin a chance. The best defensive possession for them, is when the other team, breaks out, takes a quick shot, and Wisconsin gets a rebound and is able to use another 30 seconds of clock. For most of the players on UNC, it could feel like a minute before they were able to touch the ball or get into rhythm. 4) Strength of the Big 10. I am not talking about how good the conference is, but instead how physical the conference is. Illinois, MSU, Wisconsin have all been able to outlast their opponents. While the others have faded down the stretch, the final parts of the game have been where Wisconsin, etc have distanced themselves. May could be good, but I think that the Badgers will be able to contain him better than most will expect. So far we have only played 1 good big man in the tournament (Bucknell guy who single handledly beat Kansas), but I think that May is not as bad of a match up as people are claiming. In the end, I doubt that Wisconsin wins. But that is a far cry from saying that it is impossible or it will not happen. I would venture to guess that UNC will not blow out Wisconsin, and that a close game at the end favors Wisconsin as they have played in many more defensive oriented games. No matter what, I just hope that Wisconsin shows that offense may be fun to watch, but that defense is what wins games. SB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3E8 Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 If Tucker plays the way he did Friday, I think they should put up a pretty good fight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greasywheels121 Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 I hope Wiscy does this. I would love to see the Big Ten represent well in the Final Four. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soxman35 Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 lets go wisconie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black jack Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 my pool looks pretty bleak overall, but my final four of Illini, Wisconsin, Kentucky, and Wake can still go 3-4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IlliniKrush Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 Soxbader, Illini Nation is behind you guys. On Wisconsin!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnB Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 Go Wiscy....lets keep the big 10 pride going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palehosefan Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 Good assessment. No way UNC will blow Wisconsin out. It will be another low scoring affair. Thankfully we don't have Foye to deal with again, but you guys have alot of people that can shoot the 3 also. It will be a great game regardless of what anyone says. Good luck to you guys, less than an hour away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonkeyKongerko Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 If Wiscy gets down 10 early, I don't think they can muster a comeback like the one against NC State. We hear about tempo being important in almost every ballgame now but never has it been more true than for this one. We saw UNC's inability to produce consistently in the half-court even with May down low. We also saw how they can rain threes in the transition game. Like Pearl said before the Illini game, if they're in it after the first 10 minutes, they'll be in it the whole game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T R U Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 Come on Wisconsin!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonkeyKongerko Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 Great run before halftime by the Badgers. And we are TIED at the HALF!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WHarris1 Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 AND WERE TIED WHAT A f***ING RUN BY THE BADGERS LETS GO WISCY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goldmember Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 QUOTE(DonkeyKongerko @ Mar 27, 2005 -> 02:26 PM) Great run before halftime by the Badgers. And we are TIED at the HALF!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greasywheels121 Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 Carolina wins the game over Wiscy, 88-82. Congrats Palehosefan; you're a good UNC fan. It was a solid season for Wiscy, and a good coaching job for Bo Ryan to get this far, after all the players they lost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Honda Civic Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 QUOTE(greasywheels121 @ Mar 27, 2005 -> 03:44 PM) Carolina wins the game over Wiscy, 88-82. Congrats Palehosefan; you're a good UNC fan. It was a solid season for Wiscy, and a good coaching job for Bo Ryan to get this far, after all the players they lost. Why put them on the line down 3 with 53 secs. left? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3E8 Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Mar 27, 2005 -> 03:48 PM) Why put them on the line down 3 with 53 secs. left? I was wondering the same thing. Guess they wanted to chance the 1and1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LowerCaseRepublican Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 I just have to say I watched most of that game on mute because I got sick and tired of the announcer "OH MY GOD! SEAN MAY TOOK 3 STEPS! SO AMAZING!" shilling like a slack jawed idiot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WHarris1 Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 (edited) That was just a dumbass foul in the backcourt. Good game, solid season and good run for the Wadgers, just too much fire power on UNC Edited March 27, 2005 by WHarris1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3E8 Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 QUOTE(LowerCaseRepublican @ Mar 27, 2005 -> 03:49 PM) I just have to say I watched most of that game on mute because I got sick and tired of the announcer "OH MY GOD! SEAN MAY TOOK 3 STEPS! SO AMAZING!" shilling like a slack jawed idiot. Raftery would definitely have sex with May if he could. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Honda Civic Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 wasn't that Packer and Lundquist? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WHarris1 Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 Nope Raf was there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palehosefan Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 Congrats Palehosefan; you're a good UNC fan. Thanks alot greasy! Its been a long time coming for this group. Wiscy put up a great fight, they will be very solid for years to come. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoodAsGould Posted March 27, 2005 Share Posted March 27, 2005 yeah the announcer really did have a hard on for Sean May and after awhile it got annoying. But as for the game i thought it was great until the end when Wisonsin just wasted those fouls, i thought they should of setup their defense 1 more time and than go from there. Than that 3 point attempt was just plain bad, but overall Wisconsin played pretty well against NC. Watching Sean May be able to score so easily kind me has me worried for the Illini if/when we beat Lousville. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black jack Posted March 28, 2005 Share Posted March 28, 2005 QUOTE(black jack @ Mar 27, 2005 -> 12:30 PM) my pool looks pretty bleak overall, but my final four of Illini, Wisconsin, Kentucky, and Wake can still go 3-4. and like that, my bracket falls apart. tough loss for the Badgers....I was pulling for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soxbadger Posted March 28, 2005 Author Share Posted March 28, 2005 (edited) It was a good game, UNC played better than any team Wisconsin has faced this year. Wisconsin had its share of chances to put themselves ahead, and to try and win, but UNC prevailed where Wisconsin fell short. The best hope for Wisconsin was that the UNC players would play for themselves, and forget about the team, but it became apparent early that even the biggest stars were willing to feed May for the victory. I know that most think Wisconsin should be satisfied to have shown up and done well, but it is very hard to lose at 8, knowing that you played the 1 or 2 team to its limit. But in the end, you have to tip your hat to UNC. The media barely recognizes Wisconsin, but UNC did their job and played the game the right way. If they had not, they would have been sent home. You have to give Roy and Co credit for keeping all those talented players team oriented. UNC v. MSU will come down to foul trouble. Who ever gets the other teams big man in trouble first will have a huge advantage. Also its possible UNC will have to go through the top 3 Big 10 teams to win the championship. Was a good run, I think we play UNC in football in the next few years so we can have some revenge. Not sure who we get in the Big 10 ACC match up, but I hope for UNC because if they graduate a bunch of those guys, I have a feeling next year we will be ready for them. {edit} According to the Wisconsin papers, Taylor was not supposed to foul, they were trying to press, but he got carried away and bumped him. SB Edited March 28, 2005 by Soxbadger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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