Plenty pumped for tonight’s double dip; more so than I was for the 24-hour thing, really. Will end up DVR’ing my 90-minute troika of funny TV (“The Office,” “3o Rock,” “It’s Always Sunny … “) and put that off until the weekend. Fran Fraschilla, whose value seems to rise each year, has handpicked a few of the players on display tonight and where their Draft lies. I think Ed Davis has the best night of the players listed.
By the way, Villanova just escaped against George Mason with about six eligible players left on its roster after all the foul-outs. Plenty of ‘Nova doubters out there, by the way, so you wonder when the chirping will get louder.
Syracuse vs. California
McNamara is now on the coaching staff, in case you missed it. A really nice under card, too. Will Andy Rautins get some MSG osmosis from McNamara and have a big night? Would love to see that. Cal has a good inside-out game, and if Jerome Randle — as much a threat for POTY in the Pac-10 as anyone, if you ask me — gets going, Syracuse could be the one finding itself getting McNamara’ed.
The Orange’s Wesley Johnson is certainly a player to look for. He’s considered the team’s linchpin. Hope the game doesn’t turn into a 3-point-hucking kind of contest, but it could turn into that. The stage is big, the jitters will be unavoidable and we’ve already seen some ugly early-season play. Keep in fundamental, guys.
Totally worth noting: Assistant coach Rob Murphy has been getting the team pumped up with his rap song, “Shut It Down.” Can we please get Boeheim’s reaction on video to this ASAP? Video and audio of the tune right here.
| “Shut It Down” by Syracuse basketball’s Rob Murphy |
North Carolina vs. Ohio State
Ohio State’s Evan Turner is the story. He already has a triple-double and looks to be the player that will carry the Buckeyes toward a deep March run. Don’t want to see him lay an egg on national television. I don’t think Larry Drew has the game to contain Turner, either. UNC has had serious issues turning the ball over, so you wonder if they’ll go smaller in general as the game goes on to keep the TO’s at bay. That said, it would play into Ohio State’s hands, as the Buckeyes lack a lot of size and bulk down below.
You’ll also see the return of one of my favorite glue guys, OSU’s David Lighty. Have a feeling UNC might pull away around the five-minute mark of this one. There’s a feeling I get that many think UNC still has the capability of winning a title this year. I don’t think that’s the case, but I’m not close-minded enough to completely doubt it. Want to see how the Heels handle a legit foe like Ohio State on a neutral court.
Here’s ESPN’s behind-the-scenes look at UNC.
