Big-time Big Ten carries Day 4 of March Madness; T-Mac hosts the Rockets at MSG
Ohio State's Evan Turner
After the first three days of the NCAA Tournament belonged to lovable underdogs like Jimmer Fredette, Ali Farokhmanesh, Cornell and the St. Mary’s Hoosiers, Day 4 belonged to the big dogs — a.k.a. the Big Ten. Thanks to Korie Lucious and Chris Kramer‘s clutch play and Evan Turner‘s overall dominance, we’re headed to the Sweet Sixteen with the Big Ten having more teams still standing (Ohio State, Michigan State, Purdue) than any other conference, including the much-hyped Big East … Michigan State was trailing Maryland by one with six seconds left after Greivis Vasquez (26 pts, 8 asts, 3 stls) hit a tough shot in the lane. The Spartans got it to Lucious (13 pts), and the sophomore calmly found his spot and drained a three at the buzzer. Lucious was only on the court because star junior PG Kalin Lucas had gotten hurt in the first half. Tom Izzo later said Lucas tore his Achilles, a crushing blow for the Spartans and a crappy way for Lucas to end his season. Even with Lucas out, MSU still has to be considered the favorite over Northern Iowa and you can’t write them off as a Final Four candidate … Meanwhile, Purdue went to overtime with Texas A&M, and after JaJuan Johnson stuffed A&M’s Brian Davis at the rim, the Boilermakers had the ball with 10 seconds left and the score tied. Kramer (17 pts, 7 rebs, 3 stls), a senior guard known more as a defensive specialist than a scorer, got into the lane on a crossover and got a layup in traffic. A&M got off a three at the buzzer, but it missed … Ohio State didn’t have as much drama in their win over Georgia Tech. Turner was simply the best player on the floor, putting up 24 points, 9 boards and 9 assists. Throw in his 9 turnovers, and the national P.O.Y. favorite almost had a quadruple-double … Wisconsin was also in the running to advance out of the Big Ten, but they got 20-pieced by Cornell … So what happened to the Big East? With 2-seed Villanova and 3-seed Pitt getting upset in Round Two, following Georgetown, Marquette, Notre Dame, and Louisville losing in the first round, that leaves only Syracuse (smacked Gonzaga yesterday) and West Virginia (beat Missouri) left in the Sweet Sixteen. Granted, the Orange and the Mountaineers are legit national title threats, but overall this wasn’t a good showing for the powerhouse conference … And in yesterday’s only game that didn’t involve a Big East or Big Ten team, Duke continued cruising toward the Final Four, disposing of Cal and making sure there would be no Jason Kidd/Bobby Hurley flashback. That the Blue Devils could crush a decent opponent even though Jon Scheyer shot 1-for-11 is bad news for the rest of the bracket …
Tracy McGrady (photo. Marc Morrison)
Where most guys would do the diplomatic thing, give T-Mac credit for at least admitting he wanted to stick it to his old team. McGrady has been up and down in this stint with the Knicks, but when the Rockets came to MSG Sunday, he had some extra pep in his step. Mac filled up the stat sheet with 15 points, 7 boards, 5 dimes, 2 steals and 2 blocks, and the Knicks led by 17 at one point, but the Rockets just had too many weapons … New York was still clinging to a slim lead late in the fourth when Aaron Brooks (16 pts) went on a personal 7-0 run to put Houston ahead. Brooks hit some step-back jumpers that he set up with moves that had Danilo Gallinari hopping around like he was playing Dance Dance Revolution. Kevin Martin scored 28 in the win … McGrady said he wanted to have a big game against the Rockets, and Rick Adelman shed some light on why T-Mac’s last half-season with the franchise went downhill so fast. “He wasn’t ready to play. It’s a very simple explanation,” Adelman said. “He missed the year before, he came back and he wanted to come back and play, but last year we played him on one leg and we had Yao and Ron Artest and we were able to do that for a while and get by. But this year it was really hard to put him out there and play him when he really wasn’t ready.” … San Antonio looked like they were going to run away from Atlanta in the first half — and a couple years ago they would have put the nail in the coffin in a game like this — but the Hawks went on a 23-9 run and took the lead at halftime on a Marvin Williams (26 pts, 9 rebs) steal and buzzer-beater to make it a ballgame … During the halftime show, ESPN’s Jamal Mashburn said the Hawks would rather face Cleveland than Orlando in the playoffs, basically because Al Horford can’t do anything with Dwight Howard. Not like Horford heard that statement, but he went out and showed he could at least do something with Tim Duncan: hammering a facial and-one dunk on TD, dominating the offensive glass, getting stops while guarding Duncan (29 pts, 13 rebs) without help down the stretch, and Horford (22 pts, 18 rebs) stuck the dagger mid-range J in OT that helped seal the win. Joe Johnson added 20 points and 13 dimes, while Manu Ginobili scored 38 in the loss … Other stat lines from Sunday: Danny Granger dropped 32 points and helped hold Kevin Durant to just 16 points (4-16 FG) as Indiana knocked off Oklahoma City; Beno Udrih put up 20 points and 17 assists to lead the Tyreke-less Kings past the Clippers; Leon Powe‘s 16 points and 7 boards off the bench led six Cavs in double figures to rout the Pistons; Amar’e Stoudemire posted 18 points and 14 boards to beat Portland; and Pau Gasol had 28 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Lakers past the Wizards. Kobe scored 22 in the first half on 17 shots and appeared to be gunning for 50, but he took his foot off the gas after halftime and finished with 24 points without another FG … Did NBA TV’s Dennis Scott really call Grant Hill a “savory veteran”? As in he tastes good? Let’s just leave that one alone … We’re out like the Turtle …
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March 22nd, 2010 at 7:54 am
M Intellect says:
No need for the taste good comment fam…
March 22nd, 2010 at 8:28 am
barons beard says:
Good to see Sean Livingston’s knee looking strong with his stutter dunk on the Lakers, hopefully he can stick with the Wizards a be a solid player in the L
March 22nd, 2010 at 8:45 am
RC says:
Good for Shaun! Man those knee injuries are the worst. I’m glad he can still play in the NBA. 6’9 for a point guard is very rare nowadays.
March 22nd, 2010 at 9:13 am
PWEEZY says:
T Mac trying to beat his old team to prove his worth lol he still hasn’t impressed the mecca land yet ….KICK ROCKS TMAC KICK ROCKS..What’s his worth for salary next year?
March 22nd, 2010 at 9:23 am
Diego says:
Dime, please make my day by posting a link to that Horford facial of Duncan! I hope it looked as nice on tv as it did up close in person! Now that was a poster!
Man, is it just my biased Hawk self, or did San Antonio just get a ton of calls? (And they seemed to have a real sense of indignation/entitlement when they didn’t get a call.) That ref that looked like a cross between Fonzi and Eddie Munster just did not want the Hawks to win. Difference between Ginobli and Jamal Crawford is Ginobli gets the foul call on his wild drives to the hoop.
Even if Hawks had lost, that was one hell of a great game last night.
March 22nd, 2010 at 10:44 am
collaboro says:
When Duncan puts up 29 and 13 how much did Horford really stop him??
March 22nd, 2010 at 12:05 pm
jimmhumm says:
nah for real in the 4th horford was in his grill. He had like 9 offensive rebounds! On the flp side, for 3/4 of the game TD was playing like it was 1999.
March 22nd, 2010 at 12:06 pm
eyes says:
If the Big East isn’t a power conference. What is the ACC. A power conference by who falls first. It’s who stands last. Lets wait & see. I’m still pretty bummed that Kansas lost. S.Collins still had a bad game but what he’s been for Kansas is phenomenal. Reward the 4yr senior
Xavier Henry & Scottie Reynolds both are terrible & they showed why in this tournament. 2 very overhyped players that got exposed. Funny how high Henry is on the draft board & how much pub Reynolds got his whole College career.
Great shot by Michigan State soph. That sucks for Kalin Lucas. Hope that doesn’t hurt his N.B.A. chances. Kids stay in school for 4yrs(2nd round is guaranteed) Money & roster spot isn’t. Do what’s not best for you. These DAMN KIDS. LOL. KL get better soon man.
The Livingston dunk on Pamper Gasol was tough. The landed took it off of top 10 status.
How about those Miluakee Bucks? Anybody? Mike D’Antoni is in over his head in NYC. How do you want players to be mature. Yet you handle media like a child. He can’t take any criticsm.
I also would call out my favorite to win the National Championship but I don’t want refs tampering with games to boost ratings.
I’m in like Brandon Jennings & a eventual Big East Championship winner or Kentucky. LOL. Watch Cornell go all the way(just because).
Does Tyreke Evans injury hurt his R.O.Y. vote? Does Steph Curry have to win because it would do the league’s image just. I missed the article saying how Jennings killed Evans in that Kings/Bucks 2OT Game.
Last question. Why & How could Duke let a player like Elliot Williams transfer to Memphis. Could it be Coach K only likes robots. Williams will make a better pro than anybody on Duke’s roster. I do love those plumlee twins. One of them caught a reverse lob. Somthing many jumpers can’t convert let alone in a dunk contest. Not bad mouthing Coach. Just trying to shed some light on E.Williams from Memphis game. Scorer in a Anthony Morrow/CJ Miles mold. Could be a Kevin Martin or better like player.
March 22nd, 2010 at 12:20 pm
chris says:
michigan state is NOT considered a favorite over northern iowa, odds are 50:50 on that one.(basketballprospectus.com)
kalin lucas blew his achilles at a bad time – most teams will want proof that he has recovered his quickness before they sign him (a big if after achilles repair), i’m guessing he doesn’t get drafted.
duke let elliot williams go to memphis to be close to his sick mom- has nothing to do with whether coack k likes robots.
March 22nd, 2010 at 1:47 pm
Mr. Brogden says:
When Duncan puts up 29 and 13 how much did Horford really stop him
Nobody said Horford STOPPED him.
He outworked him and the Hawks barely got the W.
He put up 22 and 18, had 6pts in OT with the go ahead jumper. Duncan scored 4 in OT. And oh yeah, he smashed on him.
Judging by the college games this year, the Cinderellas aint really Cinderallas. And it’s not because they don’t got the Beauty, it simply because they are BEASTS.
St Mary’s big bol is all that.
And Cornell plays the game the way every basketball purists wants to see the game played.
Honest D. Stretch the floor on O. Hit shots. Feed the middle…awww man, what a beautiful thang to watch.
And oh yeah, they don’t miss sh**!!!!!!!!
March 22nd, 2010 at 4:49 pm
Ian says:
lol @ me for thinking that jefferson was turning the corner.
March 22nd, 2010 at 5:27 pm
LakeShow84 says:
Lol @ Ian for thinking RJ was turning the corner
lol jk man
March 22nd, 2010 at 5:30 pm
Ian says:
no man its ok i deserve it
March 22nd, 2010 at 6:28 pm
doodoo says:
spurs game was a heart breaker. They must feel so bad knowing they expended a ton of energy, only to lose. That play where duncan got his arm yanked in front of the ref and it was a no call was ridiculous. But a few missed calls weren’t the reason they lost. No one’s looking on the bright side. They got KILLED on the offensive boards and almost pulled it out. Turnovers and free throws have traditionally been their Achilles heel. When you add defensive and offensive lapses, that’s a lot to overcome. I still think they’re a team no one wants to see in the playoffs (except maybe Utah).
p.s. If the Blazers finish with the 8th seed, Lakers need to watch out. If they can steal one in LA, there could be an upset (even if the Blazers win, Golden State over Dallas will still be the greatest upset i’ve ever seen)
March 22nd, 2010 at 7:16 pm
LakeShow84 says:
^^^ for reals?? ^^^^
I dont know whats crazier.. Losing to Portland with no bigs or us not wanting to “see” the Spurs..
crazy internet guy..