St. Joseph's vs. Oklahoma State

[kohlslaw5]

This was one of the best game I ever watched. St. Joe's went up by one, 62-61 on a Pat Carroll 3-pointer, but Baylor-transfer John Lucas hit a game-winner three point shot to send the Hawk's home. And if Xavier ousts Duke, there would be no one seeds in the Final Four.

[packerfan]

st. joes fought hard, but dont believe for one second that duke is gonna lose to xavier. duke by at least 10.....

[England]

Whats even more amazing is that john lucas was ice cold at the beginning of the game.

[foghorn]

Wonderful game -- caught it on replay after the Summit Quest game, which is where a lot of people should have been. That's what TIVO's and VCR's are for, gang. Oklahoma State lucky, in my opinion. Hated to see either of the teams lose.

The only problem I had was listening to Billy Packer, who feels compelled to yammer constantly. At one time he was the best color guy in college basketball, but he's developed the same problem John Madden has: talking us to death. Sometimes less is more. Plus, as my son noted, he spent the whole game kissing St. Joe's butt, not that they didn't deserve it. I'd rather listen to John Thompson on ESPN radio.

I'm sure all the Duke addicts out there are giddy with delight. They've been pretty impressive, granted.

[packerfan]

i wonder if the nerve root injury is worse than anticipated. on espn, stephon marbury said that he had that done, and he couldnt compete will all he had for 2 months. that could measure in as a neutralizing factor inside. thats all IF duke makes it out of today.

[kohlslaw5]

you know who called it when duke loses. . . :arrowu: me

[packerfan]

you know who was dead wrong????? YOU!

[ham55]

He's a Pitt fan, please don't listen to anything they say.

[bison1]

st. joes fought hard, but dont believe for one second that duke is gonna lose to xavier. duke by at least 10.....

call me crazy but when xavier was up 3 with 4 something left in the game and they had been in it all game....i thought they might win.


Duke by at least 10??? Try 3 and it would have been 2 if xavier's last shot was from 19'9" instead of 19'6"


Obviously the point margin has no relevance in the big scheme..."it doesn't matter whether you win by an inch or a mile, winning is winning"

But as good as Duke is they are a very beatable team. Each game they play against a skilled opponent it's more evident. Xavier had a big man to match up underneath and he alone kept them in the game with Duke. It's obvious an inside presence is necessary to beat Duke...

Enter Emeka Okafor and Charlie Villanueva. Both stand 6'10".

Duke also has an excellent outside game. We've seen Redick light it up all year and the freshman Loul Deng is without a doubt the biggest impacting freshman in college basketball this year. He's made the difference so far. In order to match up with these two guys you either need to have a few guys of your own that can hit shots consistently or great defense.

Enter Ben Gordon and Talik Brown. Gordon has been on fire the last 4 games averaging 18 ppg and Brown led the Big east in Assists.

UCONN has what it takes to win this game. It'll come down to desire and coaching. I don't like Coach K but putting Duhon on Chalmers in the 2nd half was a great move. Chalmers did nothing the second half.

[ham55]

Chalmers had 13 points in the first half and was held to 4 in the second half. If Williams stays out of foul trouble then the game will come down to the final mins. of the game. The game should be the most explosive of the year. If Duke can force 10 or more turnovers and keep theirs down around 4-7 then i think they can take the game and move on to the NC game. Duke should play hack-a-Shaq with Okafor by puting in Randolf or Horvath, cuz okafor only shoots like 50 some percent from the free throw line. I can not wait till Saturday night.