MBB: NESCAC

[Mr. Ypsi]

From the (probably) meaningless stats department: Michigan is 28-0 when Duncan Robinson has 6+ points; 4-7 when he doesn't!  That's almost certainly merely a coincidence, but I hope Coach Beilein is just superstitious enough to make sure DR gets plenty of playing time in San Antonio!

[Old Guy]

Congratulations to Duncan Robinson on his Wolverines making it to the Final Four! Duncan has now bookended his college career, with final four appearances in his freshman year, Williams (D3), and senior year, Michigan (D1). He is certainly the only college player to ever do that!

Yep, and they are FF bound due largely to him!  UM was up only 56-54 with 20-something seconds to go when DR hit two FTs.  FSU then missed a shot with 20 to go and UM rebounded.  Despite UM in general being a horrible FT-shooting team, the Seminoles, down only 4 with 20 to go, did not foul.  All I could figure is that Duncan intimidated them, and they just decided to surrender with grace.

Only #11 seed Loyola stands between them and the title game.  IF they can beat Cinderella, Duncan gets his second chance at a title - may it go better than the first!

I agree — it was astonishing they didn't foul Robinson who had the ball with 11 seconds to go (might have been a little more), and it was probably based on a "don't foul 22" assumption. Or they screwed up.

I don't understand why they don't look for Robinson more. He played 31 minutes and took five shots! I yell at the screen, "He's open in the corner!" Testimony, I guess, to how complete his game has become. Coach likes him on the floor.

Young guy and I head to San Antonio Friday for the Final Four for his college graduation present. We went to Atlanta five years ago with a best friend and dad as a high school graduation present. The winner that year was a university named "Vacated."

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Congratulations to Duncan Robinson on his Wolverines making it to the Final Four! Duncan has now bookended his college career, with final four appearances in his freshman year, Williams (D3), and senior year, Michigan (D1). He is certainly the only college player to ever do that!

Yep, and they are FF bound due largely to him!  UM was up only 56-54 with 20-something seconds to go when DR hit two FTs.  FSU then missed a shot with 20 to go and UM rebounded.  Despite UM in general being a horrible FT-shooting team, the Seminoles, down only 4 with 20 to go, did not foul.  All I could figure is that Duncan intimidated them, and they just decided to surrender with grace.

Only #11 seed Loyola stands between them and the title game.  IF they can beat Cinderella, Duncan gets his second chance at a title - may it go better than the first!

I agree — it was astonishing they didn't foul Robinson who had the ball with 11 seconds to go (might have been a little more), and it was probably based on a "don't foul 22" assumption. Or they screwed up.

I don't understand why they don't look for Robinson more. He played 31 minutes and took five shots! I yell at the screen, "He's open in the corner!" Testimony, I guess, to how complete his game has become. Coach likes him on the floor.

Young guy and I head to San Antonio Friday for the Final Four for his college graduation present. We went to Atlanta five years ago with a best friend and dad as a high school graduation present. The winner that year was a university named "Vacated."

The big question with the non-foul that the NCAA doesn't want to hear repeated is that the betting line on the game was 4.5 - foul shots in that instance might've meant a Michigan cover.  I won't cast aspersions on Hamilton - far from it; I like the guy as a coach - but those conversations are not inappropriate with all the money involved.

[gordonmann]

Do you think officials didn't call a foul because they were thinking about the spread?

Isn't there a lot of money on the line in just about every tournament game?

[Smitty Oom]

http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-basketball/news/march-madness-2018-leonard-hamilton-interview-michigan-florida-state-elite-eight-cbs/mx6cn2u16fdb1w0twp4xvxhmv


The Postgame interview is what tipped the scale for me. Who knows what coach Hamilton told his players. There was a slim chance they could win the game though (as soon as Duncan Robinson secured the rebound ESPN projected Florida State had roughly a 4% chance to win), but no matter what happened on the court he could have done better in this interview.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

He has admitted he could have done better in the interview and has apologized. It raised questions to be sure... Dan Patrick on his show was very good at trying to grasp it. The questions were the right ones to ask... if anything, I think it explained that maybe FSU wasn't fully aware of the situation more than anything. I think it was a lapse in awareness and coaching and understanding of the situation.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Do you think officials didn't call a foul because they were thinking about the spread?

Isn't there a lot of money on the line in just about every tournament game?

It was more than FSU didn't foul down four with 11 seconds left.  They let the clock run out.  I don't think Hamilton was aware of the betting spread, especially in the second game of a weekend like that - certainly no time to pay attention - but it came up a lot.  I read a long piece recounting every time this year they have fouled in a similar situation (which was quite a few - once even down 8 with 4 seconds remaining).

An odd ending to be sure.

[grabtherim]

With your season on the line, nearly every coach would foul there and take what admittedly is the slimmest of chances to get to  OT or even less so to win it.  That said, in the heat of the moment, the fact that he didn't have them foul, while a mistake is not that big of a deal.  While I know he wishes he had done better with the reporter, I would give him a pass.  So soon after the game, I think his adrenaline was pumping high and his the needle was still on red.  The entire episode is not as earth shattering as so many made it out to be.  I guarantee Hamilton had no thought whatsoever to the betting line.         

[nescac1]

Great story on Duncan's time at Williams by Eph Tim Layden:

https://www.si.com/college-basketball/2018/03/29/michigan-duncan-robinson-roots-williams-college-final-four

[Mr. Ypsi]

The San Antonio media are going ape over Duncan Robinson, since Tim Duncan and David Robinson led the Spurs to two NBA titles, and rank #1 and #3 in all-time Spurs scoring.  I doubt that can overcome Sister Jean and "Cinderella" Loyola-Chicago on Saturday (I suspect the crowd will strongly favor the underdog), but if UM gets to Monday, maybe that can result in a bit of 'home-court' advantage.

[jumpshot]

Sports Illustrated's best writer, Tim Layden, captures an endearing story with lots of dimensions of friendship and grit. Outstanding—-and thanks NESCAC1 for posting.

[toad22]

I am brought back to the year when Duncan Robinson was at Williams. I am a complete Williams basketball junky. I drove 4+ hours to Exeter to watch Duncan play, after he was accepted to Williams. I watched nearly all of his  practices at Williams. Duncan was the most polite, proper, spectacular player I have seen at Williams. He thanked me for coming to every practice. At the end, he thanked me for coming, again. During practice, I watched him shoot, nearly flawlessly, most every practice. If I live a thousand years, i'm sure that I will never watch a better shooter. The rest of his game, has been produced with the help of Michigan specialists. He was a mediocre defender when he was at Williams, at best. What I most remember about him was that he was a wonderful person, a really nice kid. I wish him the best of luck this weekend. There are a whole lot of Williamstown people that are rooting for him. Good luck Duncan!!

[WUPHF]

I am not sure if complete junky adequately describes that level of commitment. +1.

[JEFFFAN]

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/colleges/2018/04/01/duncan-robinson-has-been-michigan-fab-find/Hv2aFMSz1MsQg1KfT6Y6EP/story.html

[P'bearfan]

I am brought back to the year when Duncan Robinson was at Williams. I am a complete Williams basketball junky. I drove 4+ hours to Exeter to watch Duncan play, after he was accepted to Williams. I watched nearly all of his  practices at Williams. Duncan was the most polite, proper, spectacular player I have seen at Williams. He thanked me for coming to every practice. At the end, he thanked me for coming, again. During practice, I watched him shoot, nearly flawlessly, most every practice. If I live a thousand years, i'm sure that I will never watch a better shooter. The rest of his game, has been produced with the help of Michigan specialists. He was a mediocre defender when he was at Williams, at best. What I most remember about him was that he was a wonderful person, a really nice kid. I wish him the best of luck this weekend. There are a whole lot of Williamstown people that are rooting for him. Good luck Duncan!!

Can't help but root for Robinson.  It's been a great ride so far and I hope it ends in a championship for him and the Wolverines.  To do that though, I think Robison will need a big night - i.e. not just 6 pts.