My Thoughts on the Quarterfinals
First of all, I want to say the atmosphere at game one was the best I've seen at a Sun Belt Tournament since...maybe ever. Both USA and USM fans turned out, which is what you're supposed to do when travel isn't an issue.
Stop with "the teams that had to already play had an advantage. Bulltacky. South Alabama won because they were the better team. And, given what they did to USM in Mobile, playing against App State two days ago had nothing to do with it.
No, the refs didn't cost USM the game. Actually I thought the game was officiated well. There was a lot of contact in a very physical game and, for the most part, the officials let them play. I'm good with that. I saw Owen White miss open shots early and I guess USM thought they didn't need to guard him...cuz they never did. Harris might have played his best game of the year in the loss. Yes, not having Alvarez hurt, but at about the seven minute mark, USA stopped toying with the Golden Eagles and abused them the rest of the way like they did in Mobile.
Man, the JMU/Troy game was really a good one. Terrance Edwards is a man. A real man. A man's man. But, man, that team from Troy plays so hard and they play for 40 minutes. And, if they don't miss a couple of critical free throws in the final two minutes, we might be talking about a different outcome. And the irony of Mark Byington going up against Scott Cross, which happened when both were at different schools.
Marshall fans are impressive. They brought more fans than any team not named Southern Miss and the dejection on their faces told the whole story.
Why is Texas State an 11 seed. Look no further than the injury to Mason Harrell. He missed three games and then was well less than 100 percent for at least several more. But what we saw today down the stretch is what made Texas State a regular season champion for two straight years. The kid is a gamer.
Marshall lost because Texas State was more physical and because Marshall got exposed as a very average defensive team. Those two things were the issue with the Herd all year, but their guards were talented enough to where they could get away with it. But not today.
When they played in Lafayette, Georgia Southern scored 49 points in the first half. Tonight they scored 49 the entire game. The Cajuns' decision to pressure the ball in the backcourt paid dividends as the Eagles never found a rhythm. Obviously Savrasov's playing at a lot less than 100% hurt. But in the end it really didn't matter. Jordan Brown got over the 1,000 point mark in his second season at Louisiana. The Cajuns have some of the best depth in the league and it showed tonight. Two of the five in double figures came off the bench.
Cajun fans showed up in bigger numbers than I expected because baseball is at home this weekend. But they had the third biggest turnout behind USM and Marshall.
Oh, and you want to know how much of a difference the officiating crew can make. Tonight the two teams combined for 34 free throws. When they played in Lafayette, they shot 72. Both games were on a Saturday.
Looking ahead, I have no idea who is going to win the first semifinal. South is playing its best basketball, but JMU is very capable of winning. Note to the Dukes...might be a good job to guard Owen White. And, how about White and Moore. Both are D-II transfers. If South can defend, I think they'll be in the final.
The Cajuns defeated Texas State by nine in San Marcos (Harrell did not play) and by 20 in Lafayette (Harrell played, but wasn't close to being Harrell.) Texas State will challenge the Cajuns' rebounding prowess. Since the Cajuns knocked them out a year ago, the Bobcats will be motivated. But this might be the time that four games in five days catches up to them. We shall see.
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