I watched UCLA 53 Colorado 45 in a sports bar. 20 chicken wings plus two beers came to $55 before tip, suggesting I should have made the car trip to Los Angeles Sunday, and stayed for two games.
However, the sports bar experience is unique, for how else would I have known the Campbell Fighting Camels won in two overtimes 105-100 vs. the North Carolina-Wilmington Seahawks in Coastal Athletic Association mens’ play. Ahead 103-100 with 4 seconds left, a Campbell kid missed the dagger free throw.
The nearest UNCW rebounder went flying over the baseline. No foul was called, though the guy went up, then went over. The game recap said there was a defensive rebound and an offensive rebound on the shot, which raises the question ‘why does the software allow this to happen’.
If the UNCW guy grabbed the defensive rebound, and the Campbell guy ripped the ball from his hands, that makes sense, except for how the UNCW player went flying out of bounds without a foul call.
Colorado at UCLA went on near the end of the first quarter because the preceding game — Kansas State 94 West Virginia 90 — also went to overtime.
The Wildcats have won 7 games in OT this season, and 11 OT games in a row. That’s boggling. 11 teams were equal to Kansas State for 40 minutes, but not 45.
My brother Jon is an editor at Kansas St. community bringonthecats . Fucker doesn’t answer my email these days, but I venture if the KSU women were winning all their overtime games, he might’ve mentioned it.
UCLA 53 Colorado 48
Forget the tournament seeding — it’s murder wherever you land; the first-round bye means you face one fewer firing squad. Let’s skip the last week, and start the tournament tomorrow. I think UCLA wins it.
Stanford gets the 1 seed because they’ve got the best forward combination in the league (maybe the nation), and the Cardinal don’t beat themselves.
That’s what separates Stanford from the field: First in defensive efficiency (UCLA is second by thousandths of a percentage pt), first in offensive efficiency (Utah’s second, again by thousandths). Munge the turnovers-and-fouls numbers, it’s Washington State and Stanford.
In an elimination format, though, power is probably preferable to finesse, and that’s what separates UCLA from Stanford (it’s also Utah’s Achilles heel — are finesse teams ever the last team standing? NBA Phoenix was a most pretty team in the ’80s and ’90s, but they had to add Charles Barkley to reach the finals in ’93).
I would’ve thought if any team will emerge from the Pac in the post-season with scores of 53-48, it’s Colorado, but the Buffaloes aren’t the most confident team when they have the ball. Sherrod is brilliant. Forman and Nolan can both shoot lights out (but the Bruins nearly shut them out Monday).
Colorado has one of my favorite player at all five positions, but as a group, they’re lacking. They’re in the middle of the pack in terms of FG% allowed, and defensive efficiency. That’s too middling for a team that intends to do it with defense.
Coach Payne gave Wetta the start at 2, because she’s done an excellent job against Kiki Rice before. Then Kindyll made two fouls in the first minute. I think it’s a great idea, but that team counts on Wetta to stay on the floor with guile.
Wetta’s the defensive player of the year in the Pac. But Cameron Brink’s name was engraved on that plaque in October, partly because she’s so good on both sides of the floor. That’s not how it’s supposed to work, but that’s how it works.
Utah 74 Southern Cal 70
Utah’s beaten more top 10 teams than any other team in Division I. Unfortunately, that accident against Arizona might leave the Utes with the #6 seed.
I was a mouse tap away from being at the airport now. I almost booked at 5 a.m. flight out of Oakland for the senior weekend. My right little finger hovered over the Enter key, but if Utah goes on to earn hosting rights in the NCAA, I’d be flying back and forth. I thought to keep faith in the team’s ability to get a 4-seed at the end.
Sunday’s game in the Galen Center was — for the purposes of earning a bye in the conference tournament, or hosting rounds 1 and 2 in the NCAA event — a must-win for Utah, and the Utes came through against the highest-ranked team the school has ever defeated on the road.
As usual, the first thing I check in the boxscore is number of assisted FG, and Utah assisted on 21 of 23.
Which is remarkable, unless you’re me, who thinks: Wait a second, were we that good?!
Utah shot well, rebounded well, and played defense well, which should suffice to win most games, even against the best teams in the country, like USC. But the ball movement that fuels Utah’s offense wasn’t as evident to me as 21 assists on 23 makes should be.
So I watched the game again, to examine each Utah field goal, and now I’d like a word with the scorer at USC.
The “assist” is easier to come by than it used to be. (I blame the guy who credited John Stockton with assists while Stockton was seated on the bench. Once that clown got away with it, it was clear no one pays attention.) These days, a player can receive the ball and take a short dribble before shooting, and the passer can still be credited with an assist. In the judgment of the official scorer, the player making the FG must make an immediate move toward the basket for an assist to be credited.
Jenna Johnson is one of my favorite players, who had a career-high 9 assists Sunday. I’d erase 5 of them.
A handoff on the perimeter before the recipient reads the defense, then starts a drive to the basket does not constiute an assist, in my view. That would wipe out Jenna’s assists at 7:47, 3:31, and 2:34 in the 3rd quarter. McQueen’s jumper at 2:34 is a conspicuous case, because Kennady moved, then reversed direction! before shooting.
I also quibble with Jenna’s assist at 7:11 in the 3rd, when Dasia took the pass, faked the defender into flying past, then hit the jumper. Were it up to me, Jenna would’ve had 4 assists instead of 9, and I’m fair certain she’d be OK with that.
The worst of these “assists” was 1:37 in the 1st, when Ross inbounded after a make to Vieira, who took the ball 75 feet for a layup. That’s not an assist, but a liberal application of the term “making an immediate move toward the basket”.