Tell me who to pull for

[DukiesPA]

Oh dear. I think Mr. Blake Griffin will enjoy pounding the living daylights out of t-bangs. Griffin is 100% stud, not a whiner, not a flopper, not a mouth-breathing log in sneakers.
Okeydoklahoma to laugh at the heel.

While I'll agree Griffin is "100% stud", they don't match-up with UNC well at all. I can't recall many good big men OK went up against this year and UNC will have four big men to throw at them (if for no other reason than just to foul Griffin, who's a sub-60% FT shooter). If they can work the ball down low and get Griffin into any sort of foul trouble the game tuns to Willie Warren trying to outscore Carolina. Then can keep going down low without having to worry about BGriffin, Lawson will be able to penetrate, and they should be in good shape.

If they have to match-up against SU's 2-3 zone they could have a tough go of it. They don't see much of it and, though their big men pass decently and will be able to play at the foul line to accept a pass and pass out, if they don't get a lot of fast break points the effect of Lawson's speed will be minimized and it's going to fall to Ellington and Green to hit shots to win the game. While Ellington's been hot, Green has been about as far from hot as you can imagine.

IMHO Syracuse is a much tougher matchup for UNC, especially if Flynn and Devendorf stay hot.

[Hancock 4 Duke]

I saw what one person posted earlier, saying that Blake Griffin is not a whiner; etc. He is 100% right. You saw how he got flipped over someones shoulders and didn't even go towards him. I think Oklahoma has the strength to get past UNC.

[slower]

Syracuse. I think I'm turning into their biggest booster or something. They just look great. Boeheim has all the elements he needs to make his system work: explosive lead guard, size at the guard and on the wings (for purposes of the 2-3), scoring and BEEF down low, experience and multiple shooters. I think SU beats the Oklahoma Griffins easily and I'd call a match between the Orange and the holes even, perhaps in Syracuse's favor if Lawson isn't 100%.

Do not be the least bit surprised if Syracuse comes comes out of the South and not UNC. I can't think of anybody playing better than them right now.

Flynn and Harris are MEN!! I think that they can at least give the Holes a good working over, even if they do lose.

[dukemsu]

I saw what one person posted earlier, saying that Blake Griffin is not a whiner; etc. He is 100% right. You saw how he got flipped over someones shoulders and didn't even go towards him. I think Oklahoma has the strength to get past UNC.

I agree with you on the first part. Griffin dishes out punishment as well, but it's been awhile since I saw a guy absorb as many hits, slaps, and outright cheap shots as Griffin does. At some point he is going to show some frustration with it. The guy just gets killed out there and continues to produce.


Not so much on the second part. The only matchup Oklahoma wins with UNC is Griffin vs. Hans. They also are pretty thin on the bench. I think UNC will have a harder time with Gonzaga than with Oklahoma (and Oklahoma will have a tough time getting by a red-hot Syracuse club).

dukemsu

[fan345678]

He's a walking technical foul.

and Hansbrough is technically a walking violation

[Ian]

Out of Gonzaga, OU, and Syracuse, Gonzaga has the best chance to taking down the Heels.

[Chitowndevil]

Syracuse, and it's not even close. If you look at Carolina's four losses this season, the common denominator was a red hot opposing PG:

1/4: Tyrese Rice, 7-13, 25 pts, 5 reb, 8 ast
1/11: Jeff Teague, 9-17, 34 pts, 6 reb, 4 ast
2/21: Greivis Vasquez, 13-24, 35 pts, 11 reb, 10 ast
3/14: Toney Douglas, 10-18, 27 pts, 4 reb, 4 ast

Lawson's A:T ratio was below 1 in the first 3 losses; he is much less effective in my opinion when forced to play defense. Heck, go back to UNC's FF loss to Kansas last season--Lawson went 2-8 for 9 points, 2 ast, 2 TO against KU's backcourt.

Bottom line, and this might be the most obvious statement I'll make all month, you want to beat Carolina, you better have a backcourt that can match up with Ty Lawson. And at least in terms of one-on-one matchups Jonny Flynn is as good as anybody in the tournament. Objectively, the only reason I could justify not picking Carolina when the brackets came out is I thought it highly likely Lawson would end up facing at least two of Flynn, A. J. Price, Tyreke Evans, and Levance Fields.