Ga Tech / Uconn Final

[THE KOD]

FINAL GAME

Man this has been a exciting tournament. One of the best I
remember in awhile. I came in late to basketball after football was over. Alot of good cappers in here that has really helped me out. I haven't made a killing but I am up money and I am happy with that to start the year.

Ga Tech and Uconn are evenly matched and it will be hard to pick the final outcome. Both are deserving and have played well enough to get to the Championship game.

I have to admit that I have only seen UConn play 3 times this year but I have followed the news on them. They lost to some
teams that I definately thought they shouldn't lose to.

Ga Tech - I have seen 60% of their games and I feel comfortable with reading them. They all hate to lose and are very competitive.
If UConn manages to win this game I have to say Ga Tech will fight them to the end. Hewitt is a good coach and has these players believing in themselves. I think that counts alot.

Okafer is trouble for Tech no doubt. But then we think about his horrible foul shooting. ( I for one will not forget that Duke foul shot, but I will not let that sway my thinking about this play. That game is over and I put it behind me and only focus on the next win, not the last loss.)

At the end of the game you can't throw the ball to your best player because he is a Shaq brick like foul shooter.

Okafer is also capable of picking up some quick fouls and sitting out a entire half. If that happens Tech wins.

Okafer has a bad back prone to spasms. I understand this much , the spasms better not happen tonight. If that happens Tech wins.

Then we got the Austrailian Shidfsddw on Tech (however you spell it. } This guy is 7' tall and is the most improved player on the team this year. Thats saying alot because this team is loaded with athletes. He is long and gangly and has proven himself
against a tough ACC schedule. If he plays well Tech wins.

Tech beat them once this year so they are familiar with Uconn.
Advantage Ga Tech.

Tech plays tough defense and Techs guard play is strong. They also have the better bench strength.

Duke had UConn all out of sync. Defense can win this game outright for Tech. They beat Duke at Duke with defense.

In a big game the big time players show up.


GA TECH +5.5 ........PLAY.......


KOD

 

[THE KOD]

"It's hard to put into words what this all means," sophomore guard Jarrett Jack said. "I know that a lot of people thought we could never get here. But we believed. We always believed."

This despite the fact that the Yellow Jackets were given little respect in the media, mostly because they would start the season without Chris Bosh, who jumped to the NBA after being named ACC Rookie of the Year in 2003. Logically, there was no way that Tech could replace his 15.6 points and 9.0 rebounds, which were team highs last season.

But Hewitt knew better. Will Bynum, a transfer from Arizona, would join the team in December. Hewitt knew that Bynum was a street-wise kid from Chicago who would give his team a much-needed dose of toughness.

He knew that Clarence Moore, who was so disenchanted with basketball that he sat out the entire 2002-03 season, was returning, rejuvenated, to the team.

He believed that Jack was about to show the world that he was one of college basketball's best point guards.

He knew that 7-foot-1 Luke Schenscher, who had regressed as a sophomore, had the potential to be a major contributor.

And he knew that he had enough good players to go nine deep, and that such depth, particularly when it is very athletic, can pay big dividends at tournament time.

But Hewitt also knew that the key to everything was to make this collection of talented players believe as he believed: That in the final analysis, basketball at its best is about a group of individuals putting their individual hopes and desires on hold for the greater good of the team.
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[THE KOD]

San Antonio -- The night before Thanksgiving, in Madison Square Garden, Georgia Tech stunned top-ranked Connecticut 77-61.

Tonight, the teams meet in a rematch, this time for the national championship.

"We probably did surprise them," Tech forward Isma'il Muhammad said Sunday, with a look of pleasant recollection. "They didn't realize how good a team we were. We just went out there and totally dominated."

Muhammad came off the bench in that Preseason NIT game to score 22 points, serving notice that the Yellow Jackets had some serious reserve power.

"I just attacked off the dribble. They couldn't defend off the perimeter," he said. "People say you don't want to go right at them because they'll block the shot. But you've got to go right at them."

Guard Jarrett Jack recalled, "We were going to let it all hang out. We were the team that nobody knew about."

That victory gave Tech a 4-0 start and helped swivel the attention of college basketball observers who had overlooked the Jackets in preseason rankings. They had been picked to finish seventh in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Both teams evolved to make it this far. Tech's Will Bynum watched the UConn game from his Chicago home, "cheering like a little kid." He became eligible in early December, and has hit the winning shot in three NCAA tournament games.

Center Luke Schenscher had only 2 points and 3 rebounds in 21 minutes against the Huskies. Coach Paul Hewitt, though, praised his defense that night, and the way he has developed into a potent post player (19 points, 15 rebounds in a 67-65 win Saturday against Oklahoma State).

B.J. Elder also scored 22 back in November, backing up Hewitt's boasting that he was the sport's "best kept secret." Elder turned into Tech's leading scorer, but an ankle injury has limited him to only two points in the past three games. "I suspect he'll play a big game tomorrow," Hewitt said Sunday.

Since Thanksgiving, UConn's freshman 6-11 forward Charlie Villanueva became eligible, too, and will provide more inside toughness for the Huskies. Rashad Anderson has become a starting guard/forward, an outside threat who has made more than half his 3-point tries in the postseason.

They'll join 6-10 star Emeka Okafor, who suffered back spasms that first game and scored only 9 points. He's now healthy and confident after leading his team Saturday to a comeback 79-78 win over Duke.

UConn shot an abysmal 10-of-30 (from the free throw line and 1-of-10 from the 3-point line against Tech in November. But any early-season complacence has now turned to vengeance.

"We want another crack at them," Villanueva said
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[IntenseOperator]

Box and One's thread has 600 views.....

you have some work to do

You better start reading your own more!

LOL

GL

 

[THE KOD]

Intense

LMAO!

that was a good one

KOD

 

[THE KOD]

Famous Last Words
UConn is deep and talented and will have the best player on the floor in almost any game it plays. A legitimate NCAA title contender, if Okafor is healthy.
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If If If If If If If If If If If If If ..............

If the cows came to the barn by themselves I wouldn't have
to go in the pasture and get em.

Alot more ifs with UConn in this game.

Okafor = bench time....Alamo back spasms predicted for tonight

UConn struggles big time without him. When Ga Tech struggles they just send in another player as they are nine deep.

Did I mention Winner winner chicken dinner !


KOD

 

[THE KOD]

ATS

Ga Tech................ 20-15-0

UConn....................15-18-1


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Covering the spread has not worked out too well for UConn.
Understandably they had some -15 games to cover, but they
struggled with putting up points in crunch time.


KOD

 

[THE KOD]

UConn was upset 77-61 by the Yellow Jackets.


It was a miserable game for the Huskies. They shot just 38 percent from the field and were even worse at the foul line, making just 10 of 30 attempts. From 3-point range, they were only 1-for-10.

``The fastest team we played this year was Georgia Tech,'' UConn coach Jim Calhoun said. ``The most difficult team we matched up with was Georgia Tech.''
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fastest and most difficult team for UConn to
match up with.....hmmmm

Right from the lips of the UConn coach.

KOD

 

[THE KOD]

B.J. Elder, the Yellow Jackets' leading scorer, has been slowed by a sprained right ankle in the NCAA tournament. He managed just two points on 1-of-4 shooting.

``I know it's not 100 percent,'' he said. ``It hampered me on my jump shots. I couldn't get the lift I needed. But with a couple of more days, it should be fine.''
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When one of your best players goes down, bigger players
step up without missing a beat.

They play as a team and are unselfish.

 

[THE KOD]

Starters - GA Tech

" Point guard Jarrett Jack: Tech's unquestioned team leader has blossomed in his sophomore year. He knows his primary job is get teammates involved offensively first, but has proven in the latter part of the regular season and throughout the postseason that he's capable of taking over games when needed. He's the Jackets' most valuable player. Nobody is more clutch.

Guard B.J. Elder: Freed of the ball handling duties he shouldered his first two seasons, Elder, a second-team-All-ACC pick, is a dual threat with the ability to shoot from deep and take the ball to the basket with aplomb. He was averaging nearly 18 points per game in the ACC and NCAA tournaments combined before spraining his ankle against Nevada in last weekend's Sweet 16 victory. He also is an excellent defender.

Guard Marvin Lewis: The senior pure shooter is the Jackets' top 3-point threat, ranking fourth in the ACC at 40.1 percent from that range. He's usually very steady from the outside and has played well defensively and rebounded well against bigger opponents throughout the tournament. Lewis is the team's designated shooter.

Forward Anthony McHenry: Considered by Hewitt to be a "Penny Hardaway-type player" coming out of high school, the 6-foot-7 McHenry has gamely reinvented himself and has become invaluable to the Jackets. He is perhaps his team's best one-on-one defender, and is capable of defending all five different positions thanks to his great athleticism, lanky frame and long arms. His scoring has picked up as his confidence has improved.

Center Luke Schenscher: Tech desperately needed an inside presence after the offseason defections of Bosh and Ed Nelson, and the 7-1 Schenscher has more than delivered in rebounding from a disappointing sophomore season. He's a skilled player with a deft shooting touch who makes Tech's offense run more smoothly the more touches he gets. He's not the quickest or strongest, but Schenscher continues to find ways to get the job done. His interior defense against Boston College's Craig Smith and Kansas' Wayne Simien was excellent.

Top reserves

Forward Isma'il Muhammad: This high-rising junior has probably shown up on radar on more than one occasion with crowd-pleasing dunks that demoralize opponents. But he's also an excellent on-ball defender and an improving offensive player who's quick enough and physically strong enough to get to the basket, often for spectacular results.

Guard Will Bynum: It's almost unfair to have someone as athletic or as prolific offensively as Bynum, an Arizona transfer, coming off the bench. He brings high energy and adds another dimension of speed to the Tech offense. His memorable circus shot of a reverse lay-up helped in the win over Nevada, while his 3-pointer from the top of the key did likewise in the decision over Kansas."
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