Thursday, March 17, 2005

Tournament Journal - 3/17/2005 (Evening Games)

Still at home.

Texas-Nevada

6:00 PM We're finally getting an early game, no need to watch 30 minutes of BS before they get out to the game

6:09 Jay Bilas says "Daniel Gibson leads Texas in scoring" One problem: P.J. Tucker actually leads the Horns in scoring. And he's suspended.

6:10 And we're underway

6:14 (18:07 1st half) Brad Buckman hits a 3 to take a 3-2 lead

6:16 (16:18) Teams trade baskets, and the lead, until Jason Klotz misses a jump shot

6:17 (16:01) TV Timeout. Nevada leads 6-5.

6:20 (15:16) Buckman scores to tie it at 9.

6:22 Lots of shots clanking off the rim

6:24 (12:43) Brad Buckman, one of Texas's two pasty white toothpick figures, scores to put Texas ahead 11-9. Buckman has been surprisingly dominant in the early going

6:25 (12:05) Daniel Gibson finally gets on the scoresheet. 14-9 Texas.

6:27 (10:33) Bilas: "Nevada is giving up too many offensive rebounds." Um yeah, that and they aren't playing very good zone offense, which you were too busy talking about to notice.

6:27 (10:12) TV Timeout. Texas up 16-11.

6:31 (9:52) Kevinn (with 2 "N"'s) Pinkney completes the 3-point play to make it 17-13 Texas.

6:33 (8:34) Controversial Call: Jermaine Washington hits what he thinks is a 3, but replay shows it was a 2 and they make the change at a dead ball.

6:34 (7:55) TV Timeout. Longhorns lead the Wolfpack 19-16.

6:38 Live Look-ins: Gonzaga is losing to Winthrop 13-10; Chattanooga leads Wake Forest 15-12; Utah State is tied with Arizona 12-12.

6:40 (6:22) Buckman now has 12 points and 4 rebounds

6:42 (5:19) Kevinn Pinkney runs the floor, gets the easy bucket, and puts Nevada up 22-21

6:43 (4:39) Brad Buckman commits a dumb over-the-back foul and gives the ball back to Nevada.

6:40 (4:00) The 4:00 TV Timeout happens right at the 4:00 mark! It never works out like that!

6:45 Monday on CBS: Comedies no one wants to watch and CSI:Miami

6:49 (3:15) Timeout Texas. Amazingly, Gibson has 3 points. And Paulino, the "sparkplug off the bench" has provided no spark. Zero points.

6:54 (1:40) Dick Enberg: "Only 2 field goals in the last 9 minutes."

6:57 (0:35.0) Nevada committs a dumb 3-shot foul on Syndmill Harris. Harris makes all 3 and Texas takes the lead.

6:58 Halftime: Texas 24, Nevada 23

6:58 Live Look-in: Chris Paul hits a 3-ball to pull Wake Forest within 3 of Chattanooga at the half

7:00 Live Look-in: Utah State leads Arizona with 0:40 to go Timeout Arizona.

7:03 Mustafa Shakur misses a half-court shot and Utah State is up on Arizona 29-26 at the half.

7:07: Live look-in: Gonzaga is losing to Winthrop 32-29.

7:09 Gonzaga takes the lead 33-32 on an Adam Morrison jump shot.

7:13 Winthrop takes the lead.

7:18 CBS throws us back to Indianapolis, but according to the web, Winthrop is leading 35-33

7:20 Second half of Texas-Nevada is underway. Nick Fazekas has been quiet in terms of scoring, but other guys like Kevinn Pinkney have had career games.

7:21 Crowd Shot: Indianapolis Colts' head coach Tony Dungy.

7:23 (17:46 2nd Half) Jason Klotz hits a hookshot to cut the lead to one.

7:25 (16:34) Nevada now has a 5-point lead, the biggest by either team, after Mo Charlo hits a jump shot in the land.

7:27 (14:49) Kenny Taylor, another offensive option suddenly gone cold for Texas, hits a 3 to tie it at 33-33. TV Timeout.

7:28 No one is in serious foul trouble at the moment. Kevinn Pinkney is the only one with 3 fouls.

7:30 (14:14) The Wolfpack's Jermaine Washington breaks the tie out of the timeout.

7:32 Bilas notes that Texas went to man-to-man on the last posession. Texas can ill-afford to stay in that set because Fazekas will get off shots easier.

7:33(12:48) Kenny Taylor is heating up. He's hit Texas's last 2 shots. Tied at 38.

7:35 (11:51) Texas collapses the zone and Fazekas makes them pay. 41-38.

7:36 (11:31) Brad Buckman, a non-factor since his surprising first half, hits the bucket and has a chance to tie it on a free throw after a TV Timeout....

7:38 (11:31) ...and Buckman bricks it. So do the Wolfpack on the other end.

7:39 (10:22) Kenny Taylor hits the shot. 3 straight baskets for him, Texas leads 42-41

7:40 (10:07) Nick Fazekas makes them pay again. 44-42 Nevada

7:42 (9:36) There was a Longhorn getting medical attenion on the sidelines, I think it was Syndmill Harris.

7:44 (8:08) Timeout Nevada. The Wolfpack lead the Longhorns 45-44. There were 2 fouls on Texas, one on the defensive end and an offensive charge, that were not called on the previous sequence.

7:48 (7:22) Nevada goes on a 4-0 run out of the timeout, prompting Rick Barnes to call timeout. You think Virginia's gonna want Barnes if Texas loses?

7:50 By the way, Nevada is outrebounding Texas 33-23

7:52 Crowd shot: Nevada assistant AD Cindy Fox, wife of Nevada coach Mark Fox, and their baby.

7:54 (5:58) Jason Klotz's basket pulls Texas within 1. Whatever Barnes called during the timeout worked.

7:55 (5:21) Klotz gives Texas the lead 53-51

7:56 (4:14) Timeout Nevada.

7:57 (3:33) TV Timeout. Texas leads by 4, their largest lead. Neither team is lighting things up. Texas is shooting 37% and Nevada 35%.

8:00 Klotz has a career high 20 points.

8:02 (1:28) Mo Charlo converts the 3-point play to to cut the Texas lead to 57-56. Texas allowed about 3 offensive rebounds on that sequence.

8:05 (0:44.0) Mo Charlo gets another hoop to put Nevada in the lead, but bricks the free throw. 58-57 Nevada

8:06 (0:21.0) Daniel Gibson misses and Texas is now playing "foul and pray".

8:11 Game over. Nevada wins 61-57. Mark Fox and family are happy. Rick Barnes looks despondent.

8:12 Live Look-in: Gonzaga leads Winthrop 63-60. And my bracket is safe for the moment.

8:13 None of the other games are close at the moment. Wake Forest and Arizona have both come back to dominate their games

8:16 Gonzaga hits a 3 to make it a 6 point game.

8:20 Just ordered a pizza.

8:29 Winthrop is now playing "foul and pray," and Gonzaga is hitting it's free throws. Which means the winner of UCLA-Texas Tech gets Gonzaga.

Texas Tech-UCLA

8:45 PM Illinois' game with Farleigh Dickinson has tipped off. Texas Tech's game tips off after 9:00.

8:48 Illinois naturally jumps out to the lead.

9:00 Creighton-West Virginia and LSU-UAB have both tipped off

9:02 Texas Tech's starting lineup: Devonne Giles, Darryl Dora, Martin Zeno, Ronald Ross, and Jarrious Jackson

9:03 And we're underway. And both teams brick their first shots.

9:04 (18:50) Ross draws first blood for Texas Tech!

9:07 Tech has gone on a 9-0 run to start the game

9:08 (16:37) Josh Shipp makes UCLA's first points, a 3 pointer

9:09 (16:00) TV Timeout. They show the Burger King commercial with Darius Rucker from Hootie and the Blowfish singing a jingle in a ridiculous looking cowboy outfit. Hootie and the Blowfish were great when I was in college. Have they fallen that far?

9:14 (14:15) Texas Tech has expanded the lead to 14-5. Dan Bonner remarks that UCLA is playing like they did in the Pac-10 Tournament loss to Oregon State. I don't know how they played, but I hope they keep playing like it.

9:16 (13:28) Time out Texas Tech. They turned the ball over on the previous possesion, which led to a layup, which could have sparked a rally. Good Timeout.

9:18 (13:14) And out of the timeout, Ross hits a jumper. 16-9 Tech.

9:19 (11:30) Bad shot selection and bad perimeter defense by Tech have let UCLA tie the game. Credit Dijon Thompson though for finding the holes in the "D". TV Timeout.

9:24 (10:22) UCLA and Tech Trade baskets, then trade misses.

9:27 (7:59) UCLA simply has no answer for Ronald Ross. He just hit a 3 to make it 27-23.

9:28 (7:52) Out of the time out, UCLA's Thompson throws an illegal screen. TV Timeout.

9:30 Surprisingly absent: UCLA's Jordan Farmar who has no points and 1 assist in 11 minutes.

9:31 (7:25) UCLA's Jordan Shipp makes a great offensive rebound, scores, and then rejects Zeno on the defensive end

9:31 (7:09) Tech committs a stupid foul on the perimeter, and UCLA sinks 3 free throws to tie it,

9:33 Jarrious Jackson finds Devonne Giles for a jumper and Tech retakes the lead.

9:36 Ugly sequence. Both teams missing a lot of shots and turning the ball over.

9:37 (4:20) UCLA ties it up at 29-29

9:38 TV Timeout. Still tied at 29. Texas Tech has played defense very well for the most part, but they need to get someone other than Ross going. UCLA needs Jordan Farmar to get back on track. Both teams need to hang on to the ball

9:41 (3:37) Out of the timeout, Martin Zeno finally comes alive and scores.

9:44 (1:43) UCLA bricks 2 free throws that could have made it a 2 point game.

9:45 (0:30.0) Trading baskets. Tech leads 35-31.

9:47 (0:07.0) Damir Suljagic, a freshman Bobby Knight usually puts in for Giles for defensive purposes, scores.

9:47 Halftime Score: Texas Tech 37, UCLA 31. Tech is leading, but they aren't dominating despite playing good defense for most of the half.

9:49 Also at the half: Illinois 32, Farleigh Dickinson 31; West Virginia 33, Creighton 31; UAB 41, LSU 29.

9:58 Halftime was uneventful. They basically read off all the day's scores, gave us a peek at Illinois-FDU and sent us back to our game.

10:02 Checking up on the West Virgina-Creighton game on the web. Creighton has taken the lead 42-39

10:03 OK, CBS throws it back to Tucson, but immediately cuts to break. What gives?

10:07 We're underway, and Dijon Thompson hits a 3 to start things off for UCLA

10:10 Teams trading baskets, but the margin is still 4 points in Tech's favor.

10:11 (17:42 2nd Half) UCLA's Ryan Hollins bricks 2 free throws.

10:12 (17:03) Timeout UCLA. Texas Tech has run off a 6-0 run to match their largest lead. It's 45-36 Texas Tech. They've tried to set screens for Farmar, but their screens have been ineffective.

10:16 (15:24) TV Timeout. Teams traded baskets. it's now 47-38 Tech.

10:19 Farmar's numbers through 20 minutes: 0 points, 2 assists, 3 turnovers.

10:22 Another ugly stretch.

10:24 (12:58) Timeout. UCLA has cut the lead to 49-44. Tech needs to re-focus. UCLA needs to get hot.

10:26 (12:16) Ronald Ross now has 18 to lead the Red Raiders.

10:32 (9:40) Ross stops a UCLA 8-2 run with a 3 pointer.

10:34 (8:31) Tech now leads 56-50. Field goal percentages: Texas Tech 54%, UCLA 46%.

10:35 (8:09) Jordan Farmar hits his first basket, a 3 pointer, after 32 minutes of being held scoreless.

10:36 (7:44) TV Timeout. Farmar, after finding his shooting stroke, had his pocket picked.

10:39 (7:33) Devonne Giles hits a 3-point play, he now has 14.

10:40 (7:18) Ronald Ross hits 2 free throws to extend the lead to 9.

10:41 (6:33) and Dijon Thompson, UCLA's only effective offensive option, hits a 3.

10:44 Jarrious Jackson hits the 3.

Or does he? The replay shows his foot on the line.

10:45 It's a deuce and a 9 point lead for the Raiders.

10:46 With the Raiders now up by 11, we go to a Live Look-in. Creighton and West Virginia are tied at 61 and Creighton has the ball. Time out

10:47 They throw it back to the Tech-UCLA game. UCLA is now down 72-59

10:48 Live Look-in: Back to Creighton-WVU. Creighton misses a shot, then West Virginia gets a fast break lay-up for the apparent game-winning shot. Time out 0:02.4 seconds left.

10:50 Back to the Texas Tech-UCLA game. The lead back down to 9, 72-61 2:18 left

10:54 Live Look-in: Back to Creighton-WVU. Creighton can't get the last-second shot and West Virginia wins.

10:54 (2:11) Devonne Giles fouls out for Tech, but had a great night with 16 points. UCLA can't convert the free throws. Jarrious Jackson now has 13, making it 3 Red Raiders in double figures.

10:56 Graphic shows Texas Tech is now shooting 61%.

10:59 Texas Tech wins 78-66 and now faces Gonzaga. Given Gonzaga's performance earlier, I think Tech has some hope if they can continue to play great defense, but the higher seeds generally hold after round 1, so it's not looking good.

11:00 Oh, for all you "experts" who were writing off Texas Tech as an upset special...

Suckers!

Seriously though, the pieces are there for Ben Howland and the Bruins. I think their immaturity showed. UCLA will be a good team. Just not this year.

11:02 Live Look-in: UAB, a team I thought didn't belong, is making a statement against LSU.

11:05 Lost in the shuffle. and not really surprise a surprise: Illinois beats Farleigh Dickinson 67-55.

11:08 There's really no way LSU can win now. Which makes the SEC 1-2 in this tournament. Good job by the Alabama-Birmingham Blazers, a sweet 16 team from a year ago who are proving last year was no fluke. One wonders if they would dominate the reconstituted Conference USA next year...

11:12 Game over, time for bed. Good night.

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