2018 NCAA Tournament

[Gregory Sager]

That was a massive upset, too, especially since it occurred at UWW's Kachel Gym. But I still have to go with tonight's win, because I think that the '15 Defiance team had more credibility going into that game than this Aurora team had coming into tonight; heck, the Spartans lost three games this season to teams that finished well below .500 for the year. That '15 Defiance squad was the two-time defending champion of a better league than the NACC.

[Ralph Turner]

I agree about the NACC vs the HCAC.

If we have the 5 or 6 power conferences, the HCAC is in that 2nd tier, IMHO.

[Greek Tragedy]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9ej71jsLiOM

Watched an extended version of the Aurora buzzer beater that includes Wash U's 3. The clock is set at 4 seconds before Wash U's inbounds play. It doesn't start until AFTER Wash U hits their 3 to tie it. Not sure how "official" the clock on the screen is...

[WUPHF]

It doesn't start until AFTER Wash U hits their 3 to tie it. Not sure how "official" the clock on the screen is...

I finally watched the video and it confirms what I believed to be the case last night: the clock operator did everything right. 

The only thing Washington University has to complain about is the fact that three defenders looked completely lost on the in-bounds play.  Unfortunately, Washington University had already used their final two timeouts to set up that final three-point shot.

[rlgyank]

Would somebody who is smarter than me let me know about possible hosting for the sectionals. Do you have to submit a bid for those rounds also, or do they just award those to someone? Thanks in advance.

[Greek Tragedy]

Would somebody who is smarter than me let me know about possible hosting for the sectionals. Do you have to submit a bid for those rounds also, or do they just award those to someone? Thanks in advance.

Submit bids.

[Greek Tragedy]

It doesn't start until AFTER Wash U hits their 3 to tie it. Not sure how "official" the clock on the screen is...

I finally watched the video and it confirms what I believed to be the case last night: the clock operator did everything right. 

The only thing Washington University has to complain about is the fact that three defenders looked completely lost on the in-bounds play.  Unfortunately, Washington University had already used their final two timeouts to set up that final three-point shot.

The Aurora player who has the ball after the bucket nearly pulls a "Chris Webber" and looks to nearly try to call a timeout before throwing the ball to the inbounds guy. They were out of timeouts.

[Gregory Sager]

It doesn't start until AFTER Wash U hits their 3 to tie it. Not sure how "official" the clock on the screen is...

I finally watched the video and it confirms what I believed to be the case last night: the clock operator did everything right. 

The only thing Washington University has to complain about is the fact that three defenders looked completely lost on the in-bounds play.

I don't know about that. I talked about this in the NACC room, and I think that, rather than blame the Bears, credit should be given to the Spartans for what I suspect may be a set last-second play installed by AU head coach Lance Robinson. Three of the Spartans stayed close in, while the fourth, Marcus Myers, turned and started walking up the floor before breaking into a sprint and heading for a specific spot on the floor (the left elbow) in the forecourt.

The Bears all started retreating after Nester hit his trey, showing great discipline in doing so by resisting the urge to celebrate a huge shot that potentially got them into overtime. But four of them (all but Knupp) stopped at the top of the key and turned back towards the inbounder, Max Vickers, because those three Spartans stayed close in to Vickers. That's just Basketball 101 -- in transition defense you always locate and stay close to your man, no matter what. Never mind the fact that none of those three Spartans was going to get off anything more than a 60-foot prayer shot at best if he caught the inbound and got in a dribble or two before flinging the ball towards the far basket. The Bears did what they had been trained to do.

Knupp at least got close enough to Myers, who had done such a magnificent job of disguising his intent by turning around with no sense of urgency after Nester's shot and walking up the floor, to get into the vicinity of the Spartans star when he released his shot. It's just asking too much of Knupp, or of any other defender, to read Myers's mind and react quickly enough to block the shot when Myers was heading to a specific spot on the floor on a dead sprint. Plus, the last thing that Knupp would've wanted to do in that situation was to risk fouling Myers when he (Myers) was taking such an unlikely shot, anyway. (Highsmith, on the other hand, came dangerously close to hitting Myers's outstretched arms from behind after flying up the floor in panic mode and taking a swipe at the shot a split second after it had left Myers's hands.) The most amazing thing about the entire play was that that shot went in, because everything about it screamed "miss" -- shooter off-balance, drifting to his left, not squared up, twenty feet from the basket.

I think that you're being too hard on the Bears regarding the endgame scenario. I think that the Spartans either showed five-way genius basketball improvisation or (more likely) perfectly executed something drawn up by Lance Robinson that they'd practiced for just this situation, and combined it with one of the most improbable buzzer-beaters in D3 this season, in order to win the game. Now, what happened before the endgame scenario, the 39:55 that produced the situation in which Wash U was fighting for its life on its own floor against a heavy underdog -- there's plenty of room for criticizing the Bears for that.

Incidentally, hat tip to Jay for a really great call on all of that craziness at the end of the game.

[WUPHF]

I think that you're being too hard on the Bears regarding the endgame scenario. I think that the Spartans either showed five-way genius basketball improvisation or (more likely) perfectly executed something drawn up by Lance Robinson that they'd practiced for just this situation, [...]

There is no reason why Washington University should not have had a body on Marcus Myers.

Now, what happened before the endgame scenario, the 39:55 that produced the situation in which Wash U was fighting for its life on its own floor against a heavy underdog -- there's plenty of room for criticizing the Bears for that.

I certainly agree with this...

I was making an assumption that my comments would be taken in context of the comment I quoted which questioned whether or not there was an issue with the clock.

There were hundreds of clicks on the UAA thread in the hours since I last posted.  If you tell me you have yet to read any of my comments, I'll believe you.  But I have written in more detail than anyone else that I have seen about how Aurora won and Washington University lost the game.

[Gregory Sager]

I think that you're being too hard on the Bears regarding the endgame scenario. I think that the Spartans either showed five-way genius basketball improvisation or (more likely) perfectly executed something drawn up by Lance Robinson that they'd practiced for just this situation, [...]

There is no reason why Washington University should not have had a body on Marcus Myers.

Sorry, but I just don't agree with that. Between the perfect dejected-walk deke that Myers pulled off, the fact that he ran directly to a specific spot, and the logical decision by Knupp not to risk a foul by making contact with Myers for what was obviously going to be a low-percentage shot, there's just no way that the Bears could've or should've bodied up Myers in such a short amount of time.

Now, what happened before the endgame scenario, the 39:55 that produced the situation in which Wash U was fighting for its life on its own floor against a heavy underdog -- there's plenty of room for criticizing the Bears for that.

I certainly agree with this...

I was making an assumption that my comments would be taken in context of the comment I quoted which questioned whether or not there was an issue with the clock.

There were hundreds of clicks on the UAA thread in the hours since I last posted.  If you tell me you have yet to read any of my comments, I'll believe you.  But I have written in more detail than anyone else that I have seen about how Aurora won and Washington University lost the game.

I read your comments last night. I didn't comment on the UAA board because I thought that you perfectly captured the gist of why the game played out the way that it did.

[Mr. Mo]

According to the Aurora players on the court after the game, that is their last second shot play.  They have practiced it all season.

[Ralph Turner]

According to the Aurora players on the court after the game, that is their last second shot play.  They have practiced it all season.a

+1!  Last second play. Congrats to Aurora!

[Mr. Mo]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9ej71jsLiOM

[Gregory Sager]

Down goes Williams! The Ephs played Wile E. Coyote to the visiting Roadrunners, as Ramapo walks off the floor with a 66-62 win.

[Gregory Sager]

... and down goes Wittenberg as well. UW-Oshkosh coughed up a 17-point lead, but outlasted the host Tigers in a close one down the stretch, 68-60.