Official: NCAA TOURNAMENT THREAD (THAT'S NOT GOALTENDING)

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

2:10, TruTV. Verne/spanarkel + ali laFox

Allie doing an SMU NCAA tournament game? Talk about a confluence of fantasies...

[NY Pony]

2:10, TruTV. Verne/spanarkel + ali laFox

Allie doing an SMU NCAA tournament game? Talk about a confluence of fantasies...

And my mistake, following the 12:40 game. So probably 2:10

[Mustangs35SMU]

Bruins lead series 2-0.
At SMU: n/a
At UCLA: 2-0 UCLA
Neutral: n/a

First Meeting: December 8th, 1973 - at UCLA - L 77-60
Last Meeting: December 28th, 1976 - at UCLA - L 99-71

[Puckhead48E]

Love Larry's sly comment on playing an early Thursday game and Saturday after playing the conference championships on Sunday afternoon. Embrace the hatred, let it run through you, let it make you stronger. The world hates us, want's us to fail. Use that to show them how good we are.

[sadderbudweiser]

Bump

[Zman89]

Whew, those plane ticket prices from Austin look rough! Geesh.

Not sure where you're looking to fly into but, O'Hare is just over 4 hours from Louisvill straight shot on I-65. Or even Indy.

[Zman89]

On a side note we've got Dave Bliss speaking at our pre NCCAA Banquet here in Winona Lake tomorrow night. Nic's mom and I may go to show some SMU love.

[Harry0569]

if we win on Thursday, I am going to drive up Friday night. Is it going to be impossible for me to get tix to Sat's game?

[Harry0569]

PERSONNEL

(Note: Player statistics are for the regular season only.)

STARTING LINEUP

C Tony Parker (11.1 PPG, 6.6 RPG)
F Kevon Looney (11.8 PPG, 9.2 RPG)
G Norman Powell (16.4 PPG, 4.7 RPG)
G Isaac Hamilton (10.7 PPG, 3.1 APG)
G Bryce Alford (15.1 PPG, 5.0 APG)

Key Bench Players

C Thomas Welsh (3.9 PPG, 3.7 RPG)
G/F Noah Allen (1.5 PPG, 1.9 RPG)
F Gyorgy Goloman (1.4 PPG, 1.5 RPG)

Biggest strength: The Bruins have scorers at every position. Alford, Powell, and Hamilton can all get their own shot from the perimeter or take it to the basket. Looney's offensive game is still developing, but he is a much more confident player around the rim than he was earlier in the season. Parker's game is also growing, but he is a legitimate low-post threat already.

Biggest weakness: Depth. Other than Welch, it is starters or bust for the Bruins. It limits what the Bruins can do defensively and makes fouls something to constantly watch. Alford, at the point, gets no relief, playing over 36 minutes per game.

Best player: Powell. The 6-4 senior improved every year at UCLA. He is explosive and streaky with the ability to carry the Bruins for stretches. Powell is at once a slasher and a shot maker, but is at his best in transition.

X factor: Parker. The Bruins are a different, and much better, team when Parker is aggressive and focused. His level of engagement can be variable, however. He disappeared during the Arizona trip and the Bruins lost both games. He was hurt at the time of the Oregon trip and UCLA suffered two more defeats. When Parker gets involved, the Bruins have a potentially dominant big man. When he doesn't, they struggle.

[Harry0569]

SCOUTING REPORT

Offensive approach: UCLA is at its best when it gets the ball inside and plays to the rim. That's why Parker is so important. Trouble starts when the Bruins are taking jumpers before the ball gets into the paint. Powell needs touches because he can collapse a defense and create space for the likes of Alford and Hamilton, coming off ball screens, and offensive rebounding room for Looney, where he is at his best.

Defensive approach: In effort to conserve energy and fouls, Coach Alford uses a 3-2 zone about one-third of the time. Occasionally, he will also turn to a zone press, but that's more designed to increase tempo. UCLA tends to play better in games that have some pace.

How they beat you: When Powell or Alford get into a rhythm, they can score in bunches and UCLA will ride either one. It features good shots and the Bruins hitting on a solid percentage. Parker's play is also a barometer. When he is making plays, generally UCLA gets good results.

How you beat them: Force the Bruins to make tough shots. They will take them and occasionally make some, especially Alford, but they can be lulled into launching too many and shooting themselves out of games. UCLA's offensive discipline is not always a strong suit.
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY

(Note: All statistics in this section are courtesy of kenpom.com and are accurate through games of March 8.)

NATIONAL RANKS

Offensive efficiency, 54th (109.3)
Defensive efficiency, 84th (97.6)
3-point percentage, 114th (35.4)
3-point percentage D, 244th (35.6)
Free throw rate, 171st (37.2)
Free throw rate D, 74th (32.3)
TO percentage, 70th (17.5)
TO percentage D, 217th (18.5)

Good stat: 109.3 offensive efficiency rating
The Bruins are a solid offensive team. All five starters can, and have, led the team in scoring. They are even more efficient when they can push tempo. Hamilton, Alford, and Powell are much better players in transition.

Bad stat: 18.5 turnover percentage D
The lack of depth restricts how much pressure defense the Bruins can employ, which keeps their number of turnovers forced down. Therein lies the dilemma. UCLA would rather run, but doesn't play the kind of defense that helps ignite as many of those opportunities as possible.

HOW FAR WILL THEY GO?

Best-case scenario: Sweet 16
This is a far cry from the team that scored seven points in the first half against Kentucky just before Christmas. The Bruins won four of their last five and were the only team competitive with Arizona in the Pac-12 tournament. An argument could be made that the starting five is as talented as any in the NCAA tournament outside the top four seeds. That talent, if on full display, could carry UCLA to a weekend upset and a spot in the Sweet 16.

Worst-case scenario: 2nd round exit
The Bruins are just as capable of looking disjointed and unfocused. A bad shooting night could turn into a big deficit and UCLA could be gone quickly. Foul problems for Parker and/or Looney could be enough to derail the Bruins as well.

[Treadway21]

Wow - worse case second round exit. BS.

I like how we match up. If they are turnover prone, our deference will smother them.

Thanks for posting Harry.

And thanks for posting the time. Last week Had spring break in Colorado - with the time change, the games being played in the Eastern time zone and daylight savings time, I had the worst time getting the game time right.

[NY Pony]

Wow - worse case second round exit. BS.

I like how we match up. If they are turnover prone, our deference will smother them.

Thanks for posting Harry.

And thanks for posting the time. Last week Had spring break in Colorado - with the time change, the games being played in the Eastern time zone and daylight savings time, I had the worst time getting the game time right.

We're playing them in the second round...

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

And thanks for posting the time. Last week Had spring break in Colorado - with the time change, the games being played in the Eastern time zone and daylight savings time, I had the worst time getting the game time right.

I know what you mean. It's amazing how easy it is to screw up something that should be so simple.

[Treadway21]

Wow - worse case second round exit. BS.

I like how we match up. If they are turnover prone, our deference will smother them.

Thanks for posting Harry.

And thanks for posting the time. Last week Had spring break in Colorado - with the time change, the games being played in the Eastern time zone and daylight savings time, I had the worst time getting the game time right.

We're playing them in the second round...

Yep - I forget the play in is considered a round. I am an old man (well really middle aged that acts old) who considers our game the first round. Thanks for the correction.

[JasonB]

Put this in a half court game and run plays down low to draw fouls and we win. It will force them to play zone more, and we love operating against the zone. Play them even during the man stretches and then build a lead when they switch to zone.