Yup he was pretty much the reason Wichita St. wasn't playing tonight. Also Michigan look like they were going to blowout Louisville in the 1st half until he got hot.
I know those four threes by Hancock in the first half were huge, but Peyton Siva is definitely my MOP for that game. He was incredible.
I thought Burke was on the bench too long in the 1st half (the last 11:09) and McGary sat a little too long in the 2nd half. In a championship game when the other team is better, you can't afford to be cautious. When Michigan was ahead by 12 in the 1st half, I had no doubt Louisville would eventually make a run. Michigan isn't a good front-runner against very good teams and Louisville wears opponents down. adeelionaire, you are correct. I only saw the last minute of the 5th OT. Maybe it was a "good" loss for them since they went 15-0 afterwards to close the season.
Typical Pitino-coached squad... dominated the glass and forced more turnovers. Really impressed by Behanan, the 6'6'' sophomore forward that ripped down 7 offensive boards. Also, Siva is incredibly explosive for such a diminutive guard, and he has some of the quickest hands I've ever seen at that level. Needs to work on his jumper, though. Overall, very entertaining game. That hammer Hardaway threw down in the 2nd half was just nasty. He doesn't have the handle or fire that his daddy had, but he's certainly more physically imposing. He's a good shooter, too (.382 3PT%).
Peyton Siva night taking a turn for the worst. That groupie James Harden gave 20k is posting his text to her and his phone number all over twitter.
Completely agree on the McGary and Burke thing. After tonight I think McGary is definitely going to return.
When did you want him to bring Burke back in? Burke left and it was a 5 point game. It's not like Hancock went off right away. With 2:01 left, the WOlverines were STILL up by 7. And Behanan what a beast, this is the kinda of PF the rockets need. Gritty, athletic and a monster on the boards. Siva is so hot and cold, I mean I remember a game this year when he actually scored 0 points the entire game. If Siva had another 4 inches he'd be a lotto pick, but I guess you can say that about a lot of undersized guys.
Coach should have sent him in with about 5 mins left in the 1st half and maybe kept Albrecht on the floor (like in the 2nd half). It's too risky to sit your far-and-away best player for 11 straight minutes plus halftime. Albrecht was worn out trying to handle the ball for the team once Louisville keyed on him. Burke might have been able to set him up a couple more times.
Completely agree; I'd have brought Burke back in at the under-4 timeout. Even though they hadn't lost the lead yet, you could see the pressure starting to take a toll on Albrecht. A great coach needs the vision (and guts) to make a preemptive move before the lead goes away. Unfortunately, most coaches are dominated by fear and are determined to sit any 2-foul player until the second half. It's maddening. It's worth noting that Burke's 2nd foul was every bit as garbage as the block. Hancock jumped sideways into him. But at the same time, Beilein should have taken that into account and realized how unlikely it would be for Burke to get a 3rd. It's not like Burke was playing super aggressive or had a history of being foul prone. I think someone said his average was 1.8 per game.
Worth noting that Hancock drew McGary's fourth (his trademark flop on a three) moments after what was clearly Hancock's fourth foul was instead given to Harrell, thus allowing Hancock to stay on the floor. I thought there were four pivotal officiating sequences, and every one of them went against Michigan. Burke's second foul in the first half (when Hancock jumped sideways into him), Burke's foul on the clean block, Hancock not being given his fourth on his undercut, and then McGary's fourth (see above description). Sadly, this stuff is par for the course, even on the big stage. NBA officiating can be maddening, but for those of us that watch both, the NCAA has it far worse.
get out of here. The presure was starting take a toll on ALbrecht? What game are you guys watching? The play right before the under-4 timeout Albrecht dribbled around the defense like a merry a go round and got a lay up. At the 3:55 mark, the lead was 10 freaking points!! Your star has 2 fouls, you're up by 10, some kid named spike who averages 1 ppg is going off and just tooled the defense for a layup and you're going to take him out? Stop lying. You're arguing Burke's fouls are garbage when that only supports the argument to sit him cause the refs are blowing BS whistles. YOu guys act like Michigan has some huge lead and it just got slowly chopped up when that's not the case.
again did you or anyone else post here that they had to bring Burke back? How was Albrecht aleady worn out at about the 5 min mark when he dribbled in circles around the defense for a lay up right before the under 4 timeout? If Burke came back and got a foul you'd be saying what an idiot he was to bring his star back with a double digit lead
Not here but I was texting back-and-forth with a friend of mine in Dallas. You don't have to believe me, but in my case, it wasn't a case of "hindsight is 20-20". And, no, I wouldn't have said the coach was an idiot if Burke had gotten his 3rd foul. Burke would have been the idiot.
