2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Thread

[zenryan]

its the title game and youre down two possessions with 50 seconds left, why not put the pressure on Louisville by fouling quickly and making its a FT shooting contest. Instead they let UL run off 21 seconds before getting to the bonus.

[Soxbadger]

Terrible coaching at the end by Michigan thats for sure.

[southsider2k5]

At the end of the day, Michigan just didn't defend enough.

[RockRaines]

What a game, better team won but what a run by Michigan. Inconsistent refereeing was annoying but didn't have all that much to do with the outcome. Sad the season is over. I guess football is next.

[iamshack]

What a game, better team won but what a run by Michigan. Inconsistent refereeing was annoying but didn't have all that much to do with the outcome. Sad the season is over. I guess football is next.

I disagree. The refs have allowed teams that want to play rugby to turn the game into a rugby game whenever they choose. That is the reason Wichita almost lost to Ohio State and it is the reason they lost to Louisville. And now it was the reason Michigan lost tonight.

 

They have to call the fouls consistently, even if it means they are going to be blowing the whistle constantly on the offending team. It is human nature to not want to constantly call infractions over and over, but that allows a team to dictate a style of defense that has a cumulative negative effect on the opposing team. I just don't care (and never have) for allowing a style of play that is not within the rules because you don't want to have to blow your whistle on them every trip down the court.

 

That game was a joke, and I haven't even gotten to ridiculous calls they blew, they called about the only clean block of the game a foul, they assigned fouls to the wrong players, they allowed guys to block balls that had bounced 6 inches off the glass already, kicks...what an all-around piss-poor job.

Edited April 9, 2013 by iamshack

[RockRaines]

I disagree. The refs have allowed teams that want to play rugby to turn the game into a rugby game whenever they choose. That is the reason Wichita almost lost to Ohio State and it is the reason they lost to Louisville. And now it was the reason Michigan lost tonight.

 

They have to call the fouls consistently, even if it means they are going to be blowing the whistle constantly on the offending team. It is human nature to not want to constantly call infractions over and over, but that allows a team to dictate a style of defense that has a cumulative negative effect on the opposing team. I just don't care (and never have) for allowing a style of play that is not within the rules because you don't want to have to blow your whistle on them every trip down the court.

 

That game was a joke, and I haven't even gotten to ridiculous calls they blew, they called about the only clean block of the game a foul, they assigned fouls to the wrong players, they allowed guys to block balls that had bounced 6 inches off the glass already, kicks...what an all-around piss-poor job.

So they let Louisville win by calling more fouls on them?

[iamshack]

So they let Louisville win by calling more fouls on them?

Did you watch the game?

 

As big as the disparity was, it could have been far worse...

[RockRaines]

Did you watch the game?

 

As big as the disparity was, it could have been far worse...

Yes every second. When a team gets into foul trouble they back off. Michigan and especially McGary got away with a lot. Somehow the fouls were 2 to 1 against Lou.

 

I saw the overall number one seed beat a good not great Michigan team that got hot. They spent the second half watching Trey Burke play. I've seen that Michigan team lose many games this year. They weren't beaten by the refs, they were beaten by a better team, and frankly better coaching down the stretch.

[iamshack]

Yes every second. When a team gets into foul trouble they back off. Michigan and especially McGary got away with a lot. Somehow the fouls were 2 to 1 against Lou.

 

I saw the overall number one seed beat a good not great Michigan team that got hot. They spent the second half watching Trey Burke play. I've seen that Michigan team lose many games this year. They weren't beaten by the refs, they were beaten by a better team, and frankly better coaching down the stretch.

I don't dispute your points about the coaching...but a tighter called game leads to a more open game, which I thought Michigan would have won. It wasn't until Louisville (and frankly, many of the favorites in games throughout the tournament) were allowed to foul, I mean pressure, where their guards are allowed to ride the ball handler, rebound without any regard for position, etc, that the game forcibly turned into the style of play Louisville thrives in.

 

You think whatever you want. I certainly don't have to agree with an Ohio State fan about a Michigan game.

Edited April 9, 2013 by iamshack

[RockRaines]

I don't dispute your points about the coaching...but a tighter called game leads to a more open game, which I thought Michigan would have won. It wasn't until Louisville (and frankly, many of the favorites in games throughout the tournament) were allowed to foul, I mean pressure, where their guards are allowed to ride the ball handler, rebound without any regard for position, etc, that the game forcibly turned into the style of play Louisville thrives in.

 

You think whatever you want. I certainly don't have to agree with an Ohio State fan about a Michigan game.

Lol, Michigan would have won me a hefty sum tonight. Nice try though. I haven't seen much b****ing about the refs influencing the outcome of the game anywhere except right here. It was a great almost wide open game. And the better team won.

[mr_genius]

Great game. Was hoping for a Michigan (big ten) win, oh well.

[LittleHurt05]

Great game. Was hoping for a Michigan (big ten) win, oh well.

 

Same thoughts here. One of the most entertaining championship games I've ever seen. In the end, for all the talk of parity, the best team in the country won the title.

[Brian]

At the end of the day, Michigan just didn't defend enough.

 

Ding! Michigans bigs were non existent and got outplayed all night.

Can't give up 80 points. I saw those back door plays coming when Louisville set em up.

[southsider2k5]

Same thoughts here. One of the most entertaining championship games I've ever seen. In the end, for all the talk of parity, the best team in the country won the title.

 

I wouldn't even call it that entertaining. The officiating was the worst I can remember, and the defense wasn't much better.

[iamshack]

Lol, Michigan would have won me a hefty sum tonight. Nice try though. I haven't seen much b****ing about the refs influencing the outcome of the game anywhere except right here. It was a great almost wide open game. And the better team won.

Rock, I don't know how you can see how poorly that game was officiated and not think the outcome of the game was affected. This wasn't one or two plays they messed up...this was literally 15-20 calls that were very questionable....beginning to the end...

 

Oh well...

[southsider2k5]

Rock, I don't know how you can see how poorly that game was officiated and not think the outcome of the game was affected. This wasn't one or two plays they messed up...this was literally 15-20 calls that were very questionable....beginning to the end...

 

Oh well...

 

Not even questionable. Just wrong.

[cabiness42]

It wasn't just this game--officiating has been terrible all season. I've lost track of the number of times I've seen:

 

• Missed block/charge calls
• Guy with the ball loses ball due to being hacked but no call
• Guy with the ball is shoved and then called for traveling

 

It's almost like the NCAA does not want teams to score. They've created a system that rewards teams who are very athletic and hyper-aggressive on defense but not necessarily skilled on offense.

[Jenksismyhero]

You whiny Illinois fans need to stop b****ing about the officiating. SO ANNOYING.

[pettie4sox]

Officiating was inconsistent and sucked all night. I don't know who got the better end of the deal but it was definitely out of hand.

 

That being said, Louisiville outplayed Michigan in the 2nd half and won the game.

 

AND THAT'S THE BOTTOM LINE!

 

That game was Michigan's to lose. They let cock boy hit 4 threes in the span of a minute and half and didn't even contest them.

[lostfan]

Way too much talk (mostly by Michigan fans) about the officiating as being what decided the game. That's just not true. Michigan couldn't stop a parked car from about 5 minutes left in the second half, throughout the rest of the game. If Michigan plays better defense, especially in the second half, we aren't even talking about this. Burke's block was all ball, for example, but that wasn't even a momentum-changer.

[lostfan]

At the end of the day, Michigan just didn't defend enough.

This. And Michigan did a pathetic job on the boards.

[RockRaines]

Rock, I don't know how you can see how poorly that game was officiated and not think the outcome of the game was affected. This wasn't one or two plays they messed up...this was literally 15-20 calls that were very questionable....beginning to the end...

 

Oh well...

Because it wasn't lopsided at all. If anything Michigan got the benefit because they were in the bonus the entire second half. The officiating didn't cause Michigan to stand around and watch Burke dribble nor did it cause them to stop playing defense entirely. If anything they had the chance to be more aggressive as that's the way the game was called. There were 6 losses in conference play that looked a lot like last night.

[RockRaines]

And as much as I liked the Fab Five, why weren't they actually celebrating the team that won the title? Where was Glen Rice? Such a jinx to keep showing the team that came up short twice and then was the reason you had to take banners down.

[IlliniKrush]

I wouldn't even call it that entertaining. The officiating was the worst I can remember, and the defense wasn't much better.

That wasn't an entertaining game? LOL, right. Good luck watching basketball the rest of your life. Enjoy Indiana HS I guess.

[iamshack]

Because it wasn't lopsided at all. If anything Michigan got the benefit because they were in the bonus the entire second half. The officiating didn't cause Michigan to stand around and watch Burke dribble nor did it cause them to stop playing defense entirely. If anything they had the chance to be more aggressive as that's the way the game was called. There were 6 losses in conference play that looked a lot like last night.

But the officiating did favor Louisville's style of play, which eventually wore down Michigan...whereas if they would have called a tighter game, then the game gets played more along Michigan's style and they win the game.

 

What drives me nuts about college basketball is that they allow the teams that pressure to foul constantly.

 

The play that stands out is when they allow the pressuring defenders to ride on the ball handler's hip as he brings the ball up the court. Coaches have done a very good job of teaching their defenders to then lean on the ball handler. Now I don't know how much you play full court basketball, but it is incredibly annoying to have a defender leaning on you and pushing you as you try to bring the ball up the court. And if the ball handler slows down to try and shake the defender, then the defense brings over another defender to trap. Once a team gets a trap on, the officials will almost never call a foul. So instead, the ball handler is rushing the ball up the court with a defender riding and leaning and pushing him, which is where you see the errant pass or the out of control drive to the basket, where another defender suddenly slides over right as the offensive player leaves the ground to attempt the shot, and a charge is called.

 

And so much of it stems from the one play that the refs do not call...all they have to do is refuse to allow the defender to ride the ball handler and so much of this would go away and then we'd have basketball again...