Re: Preseason NCAA Basketball Poll is released
Alright, let me just respond once, then I gotta get going, lots to do!
The first half of last night's Siena/OSU game was one of the worst displays of basketball I've ever seen by the Saints. It was so sloppy. Everything that could have possibly went wrong did. The team shot 27% from the field. Missed layups off run-outs. A missed dunk off an offensive rebound. Another missed dunk on a breakaway. It was so frustrating. But the fact that we went in down 5 at halftime showed just how hard guys were playing.
But Siena is a very good ballclub, and they showed it. Shooting 27% from the field is not them. You knew they were going to come out of it. The 3/4 court press really caused OSU problems. And yet the Saints had to keep battling; it seemed they were fighting themselves most of the night. And how about Kenny Hasbrouck, continuing to shoot the basketball when he was clearly off his game, and the huge 3-ball he hit from the corner with 47 seconds left in regulation, then getting the 2nd of 2 free throws to finally catch the Buckeyes.
Siena went up 4 quick in the OT, but OSU countered and went up one. Diebler, who'd been very quiet all game, hit his 2nd 3 from the corner. Ronald Moore, the best PG in the country no one talks about (I believe that), knocked down 2 big shots.
In a strange twist of fate, all week long, I was brought back to 2007, when my beloved Muskies drew a 9-seed, and a potential matchup with the Buckeyes. We know what happened, and it was nice for me, personally, to have a little poetic justice against the Buckeyes.
And now just as that Musketeers team drew one of the hottest teams in the country in that 2nd round, the same can be said for these Siena Saints. I think the Saints proved last night, fighting themselves all night long, that they can play with the best teams in the country. This season they played @ Pitt and @ Kansas, so they weren't flustered by the Ohio State crowd yesterday, and they won't be vs. Louisville.
Let's bring on the Cardinals tomorrow, and see what happens....
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2008 Ants NCAA Tournament Pool Champion
Dedicated to Dustin, and the Kansas Jayhawks, who embraced the word "TEAM" all the way to the ultimate prize: NCAA Champs
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