Both of these teams are very good and fun to watch.

[donk]

nm

[Brandon72]

A great game and you're right, both of these teams are very good!!

[Hoggish1]

They play basketball.

[hogman99]

They play basketball.

Refreshing, isn't it?

[jry04]

They play basketball.

As opposed to?

There isn't just one style that is considered "basketball."

[Karma]

As opposed to?

There isn't just one style that is considered "basketball."

They can shoot and have offense.

[hogman99]

As opposed to?

There isn't just one style that is considered "basketball."

They make adjustments based on the flow of the game, how it is being played, how it is being officiated and how the other team is reacting.  They are not stuck to one system, they play many systems of the game to fit their needs at that time.

[jry04]

They make adjustments based on the flow of the game, how it is being played, how it is being officiated and how the other team is reacting.  They are not stuck to one system, they play many systems of the game to fit their needs at that time.

Whatever you say. I find it funny so many people say "this is what basketball is supposed to be." or "they actually play basketball."

Just because you do not like the way a team is playing does not mean it isn't how the game is supposed to be played. It is no different than saying Bielema's style isn't football, or Malzahn's isn't football. Last night was a good game, but one of the most talked about games of the tournament was UNC v Arkansas because of the pace. But that isn't basketball.

[Hogarusa]

Whiskey scored 15 points in the final 13 minutes.  Dont be fooled into thinking a 68-63 game is great entertainment.

[jry04]

Whiskey scored 15 points in the final 13 minutes.  Dont be fooled into thinking a 68-63 game is great entertainment.

They also only went 7/21 from 3, and shot 41% overall. BUT THAT WAS GREAT OFFENSE AND THE WAY BASKETBALL SHOULD BE PLAYED!!!!!

[HawgnCorona]

There is not that much practice time during the course of year to learn many systems...


Perhaps, fundamentally is better choice of words. But like the Jry04 said there are many ways/styles to play basketball.

[jry04]

There is not that much practice time during the course of year to learn many systems...


Perhaps, fundamentally is better choice of words. But like the Jry04 said there are many ways/styles to play basketball.

I would agree both teams were more fundamentally sound than most.

[The_Iceman]

Are there really people trying to take jabs at Mike Anderson in this thread?

[HawgnCorona]

Trying is a good word...

[azhog10]

They make adjustments based on the flow of the game, how it is being played, how it is being officiated and how the other team is reacting.  They are not stuck to one system, they play many systems of the game to fit their needs at that time.

Yes, Wisconsin truly showed they know how to solve the Duke zone in the last 3 minutes of the first half. Or the fact that Wisconsin couldn't get a bucket in transition. Oh, and that they were running their offense 30 feet from the basket and couldn't figure out how to score against the switching defense of Duke. Dekker, disregarding his awful shooting performance, still refused to do anything but put the ball down with his left hand, and Wisconsin never realized to get the ball to Frank when Okafor and Winslow were out. Wisconsin tried to slow the game down as much as they could, really did not play any other type of offense besides that.

Don't get me wrong, it was a good game, but to act like the teams adjusted is crap. Duke missed a ton of lay ups and point blank basketbs. If not for Allen coming in and getting to the foul line repeatedly and Jones making those clutch shots with a man in his face, the game would have been different.

[HawgnCorona]

What you saw also last night were the coaches "influence" on the game. Along with the officials...the difference was the quality of athletes. Take nothing away from Kaminsky and Dekker.

But who had the better athletes? Doooooook!!!!

[azhog10]

I will say this, if Arkansas could get away with the hand check's and holding of both teams last night I think Arkansas could have played both those teams close. I always love how, at least early in the game last night, the officials let the kids play. Wasn't a whole lot of nickel and dime stuff. Okafor should have had a couple more fouls on him in the first half with how he was stiff arming Frank when Frank pulled him away from the basket. I thought the refs did a fairly good job in the 1st. In the 2nd, they tightened things up and that helped Duke. I thought the Okafor call on his 3rd foul was a bad call, but besides that he earned his fouls.

I just find it funny how you can call a game one way most of the year and then when the final four rolls around the whistles seem to slow down, unless you are playing against Duke.

[hogman99]

Whatever you say. I find it funny so many people say "this is what basketball is supposed to be." or "they actually play basketball."

Just because you do not like the way a team is playing does not mean it isn't how the game is supposed to be played. It is no different than saying Bielema's style isn't football, or Malzahn's isn't football. Last night was a good game, but one of the most talked about games of the tournament was UNC v Arkansas because of the pace. But that isn't basketball.

Never said I didn't like the way we play. All I am saying is, there are multiple ways to play and sometimes the actual game dictates how it needs to be played. 

[HawgnCorona]

Good analogy AZ...

[Nipsey Mussle]

Want to know when someone doesn't have a clue what they're talking about? Just see if they're saying this year's Hogs can't shoot...

In the SEC, we were 5th in fg%, 3rd in ft %, and 2nd in 3pt %.

The biggest issues for our team this season were guard play and defense. Shooting was not one of our issues.

[Atlhogfan1]

The whistles were very slow last night for a half.  In the second half, Wisconsin could not guard Duke players on the ball and they weren't rewarded for flopping as they had been.  In Bo's post game whining:

"We practice in our practices where if an offensive player jumps into you, we always call it on the offensive player. It's just what we do. So there were some situations where obviously our guys felt they were in position. I'm sure they felt they were in the rights. Both teams are always going to feel that there's a question or two. So it's just the way the game's played."

Too bad for him it isn't how the actual games are officiated.  Winslow's first foul came on what could have been a charge yet he was called for a block.  Dukan thought he got the charge on Winslow in the second half.  Duke did a better job of drawing contact and forcing officials to make a decision in the second half and they did it going to the basket which resulted in FTA's. 

Wisconsin can whine about the hand checking but they are a big team capable of playing physical basketball.  Yet they put up 21 3pt shots.  Perhaps Bo is teaching players not to play physically and they do not play through contact or even initiate it as well as they should have. 

And Jackson was not nearly the same player he was before the injury.  In game 1 vs Duke: 25pts.  Last night: 2pts   Duke's G's were just better.  More talented, more athletic and Wisconsin could not match up on either end. 

Last night went like a lot of NC's in having lower scoring than the norm for the teams.  It was dramatic and had some shotmaking but not the norm for either team. 

I think the season is too long and has gotten longer.  Wisconsin season's was 40 games starting Nov 14th and ending April 6th.  And they got no breaks in the NCAAT in terms of catching the lowest possible seed in any matchup.  It looked like both teams had players worn down on the offensive end.  Not surprising especially for Wisconsin having had to play UK's size on Saturday. 

A couple of things influenced the balancing of the brackets.  Az and Wisc were both F4 caliber teams.  But Nova had a 32-2 record and benefitted from the Big East/Big 12 "numbers" factor.  And the committee wanted Az in LA in the second weekend.  UVa was not the same team after Anderson was hurt.  It is too bad the East region was how it was.  A F4 of Az-Duke and Wisc-UK would have been more interesting.  Or Wisc-Duke, Az-UK.

[azhog10]

Want to know when someone doesn't have a clue what they're talking about? Just see if they're saying this year's Hogs can't shoot...

In the SEC, we were 5th in fg%, 3rd in ft %, and 2nd in 3pt %.

The biggest issues for our team this season were guard play and defense. Shooting was not one of our issues.

Don't bring numbers into this discussion. We want to talk about how Teams like Duke and Wisconsin adjust to the game. Even though they didn't really do a whole lot of adjusting. The refs made the biggest adjustment at halftime and if you disagree with that you weren't watching the game. Wiscy played defense the same in the first as they did in the 2nd and all you have to do is look at the amount of fouls and free throws called against them in the 2nd half. It's sad a game can be called two different ways in the same game. You tell your kids to adjust. But asking them to adjust after officials have called half the game one way and decide to change how they call it the 2nd half is really unfair and shows just how poor of a job they did.

[Boarcephus]

What you saw also last night were the coaches "influence" on the game. Along with the officials...the difference was the quality of athletes. Take nothing away from Kaminsky and Dekker.

But who had the better athletes? Doooooook!!!!

The thing that shocked me was the youth of Duke.  They were UK young.

[Atlhogfan1]

Want to know when someone doesn't have a clue what they're talking about? Just see if they're saying this year's Hogs can't shoot...

In the SEC, we were 5th in fg%, 3rd in ft %, and 2nd in 3pt %.

The biggest issues for our team this season were guard play and defense. Shooting was not one of our issues.

The SEC was not a good offensive conference.  Our 3pt % was +100 in college basketball.

I'm not getting involved in whatever weird criticism/defense is going on of Coach A.  It's dumb. 

[azhog10]

The whistles were very slow last night for a half.  In the second half, Wisconsin could not guard Duke players on the ball and they weren't rewarded for flopping as they had been.  In Bo's post game whining:

Duke flopped more than Wiscy did. Not sure what game you watched. I thought both teams played a very good first half of defense. It was entertaining and both teams were aggressive. In the 2nd half, Duke continued to drive, and continued to miss layups, the only difference the refs. There were at least three calls that I remember where the Wisconsin defender was straight up and the Duke player initiated the contact and got the whistle. I do think that Hays got away with one foul in the first half where he jumped into his defender and got the call. But besides that Okafor got away with plenty of holds and hand checks when he was trying to guard Frank out top. In the 2nd half, it didn't seem to matter what Wiscy did, the officials were calling fouls and sometimes from the oppostie side. Okafor's 3rd foul was a bad call. But Wisconsin drove the ball and Frank got hit on the arm on the shot clock violation and that was clear as day. I prefer to see a game officiated the way it was in the first half. Sure Duke had more fouls, but Duke also shot pretty much the same amount of free throws. What I don't get is Duke didn't let up defensively, and Wisconsin played virtually the same game in the 2nd half and the fouls at one point were 10-4 and the free throw discrepancy was even worse. Make whatever argument you want but the numbers don't lie, and Dukes guards were given quite a few calls and were also allowed to hold Dekker all night.

[jkstock04]

Was a very fun and refreshing game to watch. It was like watching a game played from 20-30 years ago. Lots of great basketball players as opposed to straight athletes with minimal bball skills, which is what most of college ball is today.

[Atlhogfan1]

Duke flopped more than Wiscy did. Not sure what game you watched. I thought both teams played a very good first half of defense. It was entertaining and both teams were aggressive. In the 2nd half, Duke continued to drive, and continued to miss layups, the only difference the refs. There were at least three calls that I remember where the Wisconsin defender was straight up and the Duke player initiated the contact and got the whistle. I do think that Hays got away with one foul in the first half where he jumped into his defender and got the call. But besides that Okafor got away with plenty of holds and hand checks when he was trying to guard Frank out top. In the 2nd half, it didn't seem to matter what Wiscy did, the officials were calling fouls and sometimes from the oppostie side. Okafor's 3rd foul was a bad call. But Wisconsin drove the ball and Frank got him on the arm on the shot clock violation and that was clear as day. I prefer to see a game officiated the way it was in the first half. Sure Duke had more fouls, but Duke also shot pretty much the same amount of free throws. What I don't get is Duke didn't let up defensively, and Wisconsin played virtually the same game in the 2nd half and the fouls at one point were 10-4 and the free throw discrepancy was even worse. Make whatever argument you want but the numbers don't lie, and Dukes guards were given quite a few calls and were also allowed to hold Dekker all night.

Flop calls evened up at 1.  Hayes tried one on Winslow and the ref didn't reward him. 

Wisconsin players weren't straight up.  Now a player going into your body especially chest will draw the arms down but they fouled. 

Wisconsin players couldn't handle it.  Kaminsky falls the first time Okafor hits him in the chest.  Plenty of contact in the post doesn't bring Kaminsky down but that did .  It got into Okafor's head.  It was good for Wisconsin when they had the upperhand.  When things changed, they fell apart.  Perhaps it is a reflection of Bo.  Dukan clearly called Jones a bitch out of frustration late in the second half going into a timeout.  Wisconsin wasn't tough enough and fell apart.  Up 9 in control yet Duke was mentally and physically tougher. 

[azhog10]

Flop calls evened up at 1.  Hayes tried one on Winslow and the ref didn't reward him. 

Wisconsin players weren't straight up.  Now a player going into your body especially chest will draw the arms down but they fouled. 

Wisconsin players couldn't handle it.  Kaminsky falls the first time Okafor hits him in the chest.  Plenty of contact in the post doesn't bring Kaminsky down but that did .  It got into Okafor's head.  It was good for Wisconsin when they had the upperhand.  When things changed, they fell apart.  Perhaps it is a reflection of Bo.  Dukan clearly called Jones a bitch out of frustration late in the second half going into a timeout.  Wisconsin wasn't tough enough and fell apart.  Up 9 in control yet Duke was mentally and physically tougher.

I disagree i guess. I felt Wisconsin was straight up on a lot of those calls, and Duke played just as close defensively when Dekker and Dukan were driving and got no calls. I will absolutely agree that Wisconsin didn't take advantage of Duke's bigs being in foul trouble but I also firmly agree that the biggest adjustment of the game came from the guys with whistles.

[woodhog14]

The thing that shocked me was the youth of Duke.  They were UK young.

Duke was younger than UK. UK only started 1 freshman.

[Atlhogfan1]

I disagree i guess. I felt Wisconsin was straight up on a lot of those calls, and Duke played just as close defensively when Dekker and Dukan were driving and got no calls. I will absolutely agree that Wisconsin didn't take advantage of Duke's bigs being in foul trouble but I also firmly agree that the biggest adjustment of the game came from the guys with whistles.

I can see your point of view.  Officials sometimes reward for aggression and toughness.  I go back to Wisconsin's mindset and the way they play with their usually fouling less than anyone else cost them down the stretch.  The Badgers couldn't handle it when it got physical.  Doesn't make sense from a B1G team in a conference with Mich St.  They are built like a physical team yet wilted.  Their offensive execution disappeared.  The best team won officiating or not.  I'm not anti-Wisconsin.  But I see them as a whiny, sneaky team like the Jazz of the 90's.  They're smart and execute well.  But they also like to bait officials and when it doesn't work, they aren't tough enough or good enough in the end.  Their incredible 3pt shooting got them by Arizona.  3pt shooting had them in position to win last night with 13 left.  A physical looking team with a finesse attitude.  Perhaps they have the right idea of how basketball should be played.  I can't disagree with that. 

[The_Iceman]

Duke was younger than UK. UK only started 1 freshman.

But had a superior coach.

[Hoggish1]

As opposed to?

There isn't just one style that is considered "basketball."

As opposed to trowing it up on the rim and slamming it in over and over...  What part of basketball did you not understand?

It is refreshing to see cuts, screens, picks, ball movement and driving to the basket with skill at the rim and out on the court...

[Hoggish1]

Last night was a good game, but one of the most talked about games of the tournament was UNC v Arkansas because of the pace. But that isn't basketball.

When I said it was basketball, I wasn't talking about pace.  I was mainly referencing the skill at which the game was being played.

I love the style we play. 

[Hoggish1]

Are there really people trying to take jabs at Mike Anderson in this thread?

Nobody is taking jabs at Mike.

[Atlhogfan1]

As opposed to trowing it up on the rim and slamming it in over and over...  What part of basketball did you not understand?

It is refreshing to see cuts, screens, picks, ball movement and driving to the basket with skill at the rim and out on the court...

Movement.

The shot making of Jones, Cook, Winslow and Allen(in the NC game) surprised me at times this season even though I am a Duke fan(after the Hogs).  I would find myself saying expletives after they make a shot and then think this is what I once remember more teams having.  They made shots driving that you just don't see college players finishing.  Missed more than usual last night as a group. 

[Hoggish1]

Was a very fun and refreshing game to watch. It was like watching a game played from 20-30 years ago. Lots of great basketball players as opposed to straight athletes with minimal bball skills, which is what most of college ball is today.

[Paul]

As opposed to trowing it up on the rim and slamming it in over and over...  What part of basketball did you not understand?

It is refreshing to see cuts, screens, picks, ball movement and driving to the basket with skill at the rim and out on the court...

I'm jealous of the style of basketball those teams play