Day 223.5

Fresh Start_223.5: Final Four basketball in the desert

With the Final Four being decided last night, it is only right to have to Fresh Starts. What a night of basketball. Two compelling, heart pounding games, that gave everyone in the building their money and everyone watching around the country thrillers to stick to the couch for every single moment.

Starting with the first game between Gonzaga and South Carolina. The mid-major that has never gotten this far and the Cinderella story that is South Carolina. The storylines that drove this game where the play of Gonzaga Junior guard Nigel Williams-Goss and South Carolina’s Senior guard Sindarius Thornwell. Williams-Goss played excellent leading all scorers with 23 while also chipping in 5 rebounds and 6 assists. The play of Williams-Goss was just what you would expect from the Junior at this point with his experience and the level of play that he can elevate at times. The other thing that Gonzaga did to disrupt the flow of the game was put in the “Twin-Towers” of Przemek Karnowski and Zach Collins. The duo combined for 27 points and 18 rebounds while playing 48 total minutes. With South Carolina’s lack of height the double big lineup that Mark Few leaned on for a good portion of the game is one of the reasons why Gonzaga won the game. However, you cannot help but tip your cap to South Carolina.

 Not only did they defy the odds, getting past both Baylor and Duke to get to the Final Four, while coming back from 14, going on a 16-0 run at one point in the second half against Gonzaga. Sophomore guard PJ Dozier who had 17 points (leading South Carolina), and having 9 rebounds, Sophomore forward Chris Silva who had a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds, and of course the Senior guard Sindarius Thornwell who had 15 points and 5 rebounds. The Game Cocks showed tremendous grit and composure for not being in that type of situation before. I commend South Carolina’s head man Frank Martin for preparing his team for a dog fight and giving everything they had against the Bulldogs. In the end too much height on Gonzaga and the inability to grab a rebound cost the Game Cocks a shot at the title.

Moving to the late game between Oregon and North Carolina. This was the game that everyone wanted to watch and seemed the better of the two. Those expectations did not disappoint because the 40 minutes of basketball that followed South Carolina and Gonzaga was a great 40 minutes. For Oregon, North Carolina is a team that haven’t seen before in the tournament with the height that the Tarheels had. With Player of the Year Candidate Junior forward Justin Jackson and Senior forward Kennedy Meeks. With the injury of Chris Boucher (tore his ACL in the Pac 10 Tournament) the Ducks where considerably under sized against North Carolina. Meeks went to town against the small lineup of Oregon going for 25 points and 14 rebounds. Jackson had 22 points going 4-9 from behind the arc.

Oregon on the other hand had great performances by guys who you might not have seen it coming from. Senior guard Dylan Ennis played the game of his life going for 18 points, and 6 rebounds, while Junior forward Jordan Bell had a double-double going for 13 points and 16 rebounds (game high). Tyler Dorsey did have 21 points but he went 3-11 from the field. All of the damage that Dorsey did was from the free-throw line going 12-12. In the end, the lack of Boucher not being there for rebounding purposes was the down fall of the Ducks. Oregon had two chances at grabbing a defensive rebound which would have lead to a chance at a game winning shot. The Tarheels went 0-4 from the line inside 10 seconds to go in the game and would get two HUGE rebounds to extend the game and win the game. Dilon Brooks did foul out with about 90 seconds left in the game so that limited Oregon’s chances at getting a rebound even more. But, with that said the fundamentals of boxing out failed Oregon in the end. Both games were incredible last second thrillers that delivered to the words “Final Four.”

The one aspect that I think needs addressing is the officiating that has been displayed throughout the tournament. It wasn’t just tonight either. There has been a few calls that the referees made that have impacted the game in multiple ways. The play that Brooks fouled out on tonight was a jump ball that was missed which can’t happen with 90 seconds left in a Final Four game. But, I’ll give the officials the benefit of the doubt because that was a tough call. The one thing that I CANNOT stand is the amount of time that officials are taking to make the correct call. The Gonzaga and West Virginia was nauseating how long that took; then the call of an inadvertent whistle that switched the possession arrow is unforgivable. Then tonight in two situations in the North Carolina and Oregon game. If the people in the arena, the announcers, and the people watching at home all know what the call should be, the officials on the floor should know what the call should be and should have figured out what the clock should be. If getting NBA officials to call the Sweet 16, Elite 8 games, and the Final Four is what it will take, then do that. The calls being made have an enormous amount of height on them, in more ways than one.

Sources:(espn.com)

Don’t forget to like, comment, subscribe, and share on your way out!