mpoindexter – Rush The Court

Rushed Reaction: #10 Xavier 70, #15 Lehigh 58

mpoindexter — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 03:16:56 +0000

Three Key Takeaways.

A sea change. With six minutes to play in the first half, Lehigh was up 31-16, with everything going their way. But by halftime, Xavier had cut the lead to only four points. The momentum stayed with the Musketeers the entirety of the second half as they quickly surpassed Lehigh, and the Mountain Hawks never could quite catch up. The difference between the Lehigh team that started the game and the Lehigh team that started the second half was night and day. Shots that rattled around and went in before now rattled around and popped out; loose balls [...]

Rushed Reaction: #1 North Carolina 87, #8 Creighton 73

mpoindexter — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 01:25:02 +0000

Three Key Takeaways.

Kendall Marshall likely done for the year. In the midst of another fantastic performance, the sophomore who has lately been the best Tar Heel on the court came down with a scaphoid fracture to his right wrist. Though it isn’t his dominant hand, and UNC said that they don’t know Marshall’s range of motion yet, the medical literature does not offer a good prognosis. Much of the commentary will focus on how greatly this diminishes North Carolina’s odds of winning a title in 2012, but the real focus should be on Marshall, a player who seems as vocally [...]

Four Thoughts From Greensboro…

mpoindexter — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 14:45:45 +0000

Looking back at Friday’s action in Greensboro, what was most illuminating was sitting only a few feet behind the bench used by Alabama, North Carolina, Duke, and Xavier. Television broadcasts have given us an intimate view of almost every aspect of the game, but they still haven’t provided an insider’s experience of what goes on in the huddle (and due to the likelihood of FCC fines, they probably won’t). Here are four observations of Greensboro’s benches up close. Despite losing in the last seconds to Creighton, everything is looking up for Anthony Grant at Alabama. Significantly, Grant was able to take one [...]

Rushed Reaction: #10 Xavier 67, #7 Notre Dame 63

mpoindexter — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 06:10:34 +0000

Three Key Takeaways.

Don’t try to Get Away with Anything at the end of a close Game. Officials in this year’s NCAA Tournament games have made a point of calling small violations in the final seconds of games. Down by two with 2.8 seconds left on the clock, Notre Dame’s Eric Atkins went to the line for a 1-and-1. His first shot went in, but an official erased it and the following attempt by calling a lane violation on Notre Dame. Then, on the ensuing play, the official called a flagrant foul on Notre Dame for tugging on a Xavier player’s [...]

Rushed Reaction: #15 Lehigh 75, #2 Duke 70

mpoindexter — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 03:07:23 +0000

Three Key Takeaways.

The Mountain Hawks may be the Most Fun Team in the Tournament. Lehigh’s players didn’t just want to win, they wanted to do it with style, with bravado. Few players can be as artfully aggressive on the court as C.J. McCollum. Few can grin wide and shuffle their feet — almost dancing — in a tense late-game situation like Mackey McKnight did when he got a perimeter mismatch against Miles Plumlee. Few players are as constantly vocal on the court as Justin Maneri. The result is a team that may play with more attitude and panache than any other [...]

Rushed Reaction: #1 North Carolina 77, #16 Vermont 58

mpoindexter — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 22:44:47 +0000

Three Key Takeaways

The Tar Heels Need Henson. While James Michael McAdoo has shown flashes of inspired play, North Carolina is a significantly better team with John Henson on the floor. McAdoo and fellow freshman Desmond Hubert are much less physically imposing when defending opposing big men. What’s more, UNC’s usually stunning rebounding takes a hit without Henson. They can get by a 16-seed without him, but Roy Williams needs John Henson on Sunday. Slow Start for UNC. Harrison Barnes wasn’t shooting well. McAdoo was missing point-blank layups. Kendall Marshall made a couple of sloppy passes. It looked like UNC came out trying [...]