Another great Day 2 in Madison Square Garden and another 3-1 record for me.
Uconn moves on:
The major storyline moving into Day 3 is: Can the Huskies do it again?
Last year, Connecticut, won 5 games in 5 days in Madison Square Garden. Then, they preceded to win 5 in a row in the NCAA Tournament, en route to an NCAA Championship.
Maybe Kemba Walker is walking through the door.
Now Connecticut will be looking to do the same when they face #2 Syracuse. This is sure to be a stern test for Connecticut, Fab Melo and company have led the Syracuse Orangeman to a 30-1 season. Shabazz Nappier, Jeremy Lamb with have to be firing on all cylinders to pull of the upset.
Hoyas End Panthers Season:
The Terrible season for Jamie Dixon's Pittsburgh Panthers finally ended, as they were soundly defeated by the Georgetown Hoyas. Georgetown, was led by the surprising Otto Porter who scored a career-high 20 points against the Panthers. Georgetown will now face Cincinnati. Last time, these two met, Georgetown was beaten at home by the Bearcats. Georgetown and Otto Porter, will have their hands full with the Bearcats, but will be looking to rid the sour taste of defeat, last time out.
Louisville Advances to Quarters:
In the game that led the night session, the Cards defeated Seton Hall, 61-55. Louisville did some things offensively better, and finally scored over 60 points for the first time in 4 games...barely. Louisville, still lacked shooting consistency, shooting a sparkling 38% from the field. However, Peyton Siva had possibly his best game of the season, finishing with 14 points, 6 steals, and 3 assist. Fellow Co-Captains, Chris Smith and Kyle Kuric also did some promising things at times, Kuric finished with 13 points while Smith added 7 points and 2 rebounds.
Now, Louisville will face #3 seed Marquette in the quarter-finals. Jae Crowder is the Big East Player of the Year for the Eagles, and slowing him could go a long way for the Cardinals. Peyton Siva will be the biggest key for the Cardinals, he must limit his turnovers, along with that, he must distribute the ball effectively. Siva, can't settle for the long jumper, instead he will need to challenge the Marquette defense by slashing to the basket. Additionally Louisville has to shoot better, it's that simple. A 38% shooting night is just not going to do it when your facing the Golden Eagles. But, hey, after 5 straight games under 40%. Louisville is surely due for a good shooting night...right?
South Florida Wins in An Ugly Game:
As much as I would like to recap the great battle between Villanova vs South Florida, it's quite painful. But I'll attempt to anyway. South Florida, continues to do it their way: ugly but efficient. The Bulls, continue to hold their opponents to the lower 50's in scoring. Stan Heath, has done amazing job with this team, whom was predicted to finished 14th in the Conference.
Now, South Florida will face another surprising team in Norte Dame. Big-East Most Improved Player, Jack Cooley, leads the Irish into Madison Square Garden having won 3 out of their last 5.
Predictions:
Noon- #9 Connecticut vs #1 Syracuse- Connecticut by 2
2pm- #5 Georgetown vs #4 Cincinnati- Georgetown by 6
7pm- #7 Louisville vs #3 Marquette- Louisville by 5
9pm- #6 South Florida vs #2 Norte Dame- Norte Dame by 6
