Sat. Jayhawks vs. Bruins. Western Regional Finals.
Looking at the scores of today's regional semi-finals, it was about DEFENSE. KU beat SIU 61-58. Memphis edged A&M 65-64. UCLA defeated Pittsburgh 64-55. Quite striking that these games were all in the 50s and 60s. The only game that showed some offensive fireworks was the Ohio State vs. Tennessee game with the Buckeyes rallying furiously from a 20-point deficit. It looks to be coming down to the final possession or maybe even into overtime!
UPDATE: Its a final, Ohio State 85 UT 84!
UCLA vs. Pittsburgh game observations:
Was very nervous when Mata and Mbah a Moute picked up some early fouls in the first half. Keefe (10 minutes) and Abboya (19 minutes) played solidly in their place on the defensive end. If you look at their line scores there wasn't much offense but these guys helped keep the Panther's bigs under wraps defensively. In the end, the Panther's rally was lead by 3-point shooting late in the 2nd half.
An all around team effort: Roll put in some important minutes (10) and hit 2 big shots. Mata made his presence known in the rebounding department with nine and none bigger than that offensive rebound that he turned into an assist to Shipp who slashed to the basket.
I billed the game as UCLA's perimeter players versus the Pather bigs: UCLA perimeter players scored 52 of the teams 64 points! Pittsburgh Center Aaron Gray was limited to 10 points.
Kansas looks tough. I wonder what the Las Vegas line will be? I'd venture, KU favored by 4.
Nevertheless, go BRUINS!!!!!
UPDATE: UCLA 68 KU 55! Interesting stats: UCLA 24 turnovers. KU 21 turnovers. UCLA 15 steals. KU 17 steals. Whoa!
UPDATE: Have started to watch my VCR copy of the game, seems to me the turnovers and steals aren't about sloppy play but incredible pressure defense by both sides!
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