Patrick Marshall – Rush The Court

Rushed Reaction: #2 Kansas 63, #10 Purdue 60

Patrick Marshall — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 03:59:32 +0000

Three Key Takeaways.

Sticking Around. It felt like Purdue was going to win this game throughout the evening, but the Jayhawks stuck around. Kansas shot 29.4% in the first half and they were lucky to be only down by six points at halftime. In the second half the shooting woes hit Purdue down the stretch where the Boilermakers only shot 28.6% in the second half to allow KU back into it. Through the final three minutes, Purdue had some real struggles to run its offense. It was the Kansas defense that forced turnovers in the final possessions. Defense, so they say, [...]

Rushed Reaction: #7 Florida 84, #15 Norfolk State 50

Patrick Marshall — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 00:53:48 +0000

Three Key Takeaways.

Three-point shooting was the killing blow. The biggest difference between Friday and today was the three-point shooting by Florida. Against Virginia the Gators were completely cold behind the arc, only hitting one three before halftime. Against Norfolk State, the Gators hit seven before the half that effectively led to their 28-point lead. For the game the Gators shot 10-of-28 from three, a far cry from the four they made on Friday. Florida set a school record with made three-pointers this season and they will need those to go down as they progress through the tourney. Ball movement. Florida has [...]

Four Thoughts from Omaha…

Patrick Marshall — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 13:35:57 +0000

In 2008, Omaha hosted NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament games. To be honest, none of those games that year were very significant. All the teams that were supposed to win did, and they did so in large margins. The great thing about the games this week four years later, it was the total opposite. Each game played a significant part of the day — although some more than others. Here are some thoughts from all four of Friday’s’ games.

Norfolk State wins the folks of Omaha. Norfolk State got its first taste of the NCAA Tournament on Friday against Missouri. What they [...]

Rushed Reaction: #2 Kansas 65, #15 Detroit 50

Patrick Marshall — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 05:39:55 +0000

Three Key Takeaways.

Thomas Robinson is good. Robinson is everything as advertised and it is pretty obvious why he is at the top of most people’s Player of the Year ballots. He almost had a double-double before halftime and scored 12 points in the first half pretty much all on dunks. He finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds. The one thing that could become a factor on Sunday is if he gets into foul trouble. He finished this game with four fouls. Physical play. Kansas used their physical advantage to overpower Detroit. Looking on the court, it was obvious how much [...]

Rushed Reaction: #10 Purdue 72, #10 St. Mary’s 69

Patrick Marshall — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 03:25:19 +0000

Three Key Takeaways.

Exploiting interior defense. Purdue took advantage of one glaring weakness for St. Mary’s — its lack of interior defense. The Boilermakers continually exploited the middle with guard Terone Johnson leading the way with 21 points. He took advantage of the openings in the first half and the rest of his teammates got involved after that as Purdue scored 36 points in the paint. They can be successful further into the NCAA Tournament by attacking the basket. Key Outside Shooting. Although Purdue didn’t shoot very well from three, the ones that did go down were at critical points in the [...]

Rushed Reaction: #15 Norfolk St 86, #2 Missouri 84

Patrick Marshall — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 23:52:21 +0000

Three Key Takeaways.

A fight and not a show. Missouri might have come into the game as the favorite today, but Norfolk State was not going to stand by lightly, putting up a fight and taking it to the Tigers early. Missouri players looked frustrated throughout the game in trying to stop the Spartans, but the shots kept going in. Kim English was held to only two points on 1-7 shooting and 0-5 from three, 12 off of his season average. At one point in the game, you could see Missouri guard Michael Dixon showing his frustration at the free throw line [...]

Rushed Reaction: #7 Florida 71, #10 Virginia 45

Patrick Marshall — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 21:27:08 +0000

Three Key Takeaways.

The lane is open. To open the game, Florida relied too heavily on the three-point shot. After getting down early 10-2, the Gators rallied back to make a 28-10 run into halftime and an eight-point lead of their own thanks to driving the ball into the lane and Florida’s Erving Walker slicing between the Cavalier defense. Three point shooting woes. Both teams struggled from the three-point line in the first half, going a combined 1-of-22 from behind the arc. The second half was a little better as Florida went 3-of-7, but Virginia struggled only going 3-of-10 in the second [...]