The second round is over at the Guardians Classic and the Semifinal matchups for Monday look great. WEST VIRGINIA(14) vs TEXAS(2) 6PM ESPN2 IOWA(20) vs KENTUCKY(9) 8PM ESPN2 I'm looking forward to a rematch of last years Maui Invatational between Iowa & Texas. Iowa won that game 82-80, but I think the Longhorns are a much better team at this point in the season than they were last year at the same time. If Kentucky wins, that will make for a great game too. I know WV was Elite 8 last year, but I just see Texas taking that game.
west virginia is one of the screwiest teams texas will face all year. They run a crazy motion offense where everyone shoots three pointers or goes under the basket for backdoor cuts. Basically, if they shoot the three ball with accuracy, west virginia can win this. (same way they beat wake forest last year) On defense they run a 1-3-1 zone that's also really odd and might pose some trouble for texas Texas wins this one in the end but it'll be cool to see teams with completely opposite styles.
texas has to take better care of the bastketball and take better shots. turnovers have lead to easy buckets for WV, and defensively i think they have to switch it up. use zone a couple trips down then switch back to man. disrupt their offense.
Texas stayed with them the whole time, and took advantage of WV mistakes. Great win. Now, I root for the Hawks.
that was an unbelievable win for texas. no way they should have won turning the ball over 24 times, but i thought they played good defense and their inside guys were terrific. gibson and the rest of the guards have to do a better job of playing under control and taking care of the basketball. WV is very unorthodox on both ends of the floor and have an excellent team. they will go very deep in the tournament again. good win for texas, i want the hawkeyes for revenge for last year.
The final is tommorrow at 9pm on ESPN2 - I also hope that the Horns get to play Iowa- those corn eating mo fos deserve a beat down.
Aldridge is looking very very good. PJ Tucker too. D Gibson has me a little worried but atleast he found his shot today.
As for Texas, great win although they probably don't deserve it. West Virginia's unorthodox offense and defense really messed them up the whole game and if it werent for missed free throws, we'd be complaining quite a bit about texas basketball. Both teams will do really well this year. Now to beat Iowa
they most definately did not deserve that win...west virginia gave it to us via free throw line....the wild/sporadic play by the guards just will not cut it..like 25 turnovers?? yes im a texas fan..i go to school there..but i just had a higher expectation from a supposedly more "mature" UT squad
http://sports.myway.com/news/11222005/v3147.html Aldridge Looks to Lead Texas to Guardians Classic Title Against Iowa Nov 22, 2:42 AM (ET) After recovering from January's season-ending hip injury, Texas sophomore LaMarcus Aldridge is picking up right where he left off. Aldridge tries for his fourth straight double-double as the second-ranked Longhorns face No. 18 Iowa in the championship game of the Guardians Classic in St. Louis. Aldridge averaged 9.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game in his first nine games last season. He increased those totals to 12.7 and 9.0 in his final three contests before injuring his hip Jan. 15 at Nebraska. He averaged 16.0 points and 10.5 rebounds in the Longhorns' first two games this season, wins over Southern and Samford in the Austin Regional of the Guardians Classic. He was named MVP of the regional as the Longhorns outscored their first two opponents 166-89. Aldridge continued his impressive play Monday, scoring 15 points and grabbing a career-high 14 rebounds in Texas' 76-75 semifinal win over No. 13 West Virginia. He hit the game-winning shot on a put-back with 3.6 seconds left and then blocked the Mountaineers' last-second shot. "I don't remember anything but getting the basketball and going up," Aldridge said of his game-winner. Aldridge leads Texas (3-0) with 11.7 rebounds per game this season and ranks second with 15.7 points. P.J. Tucker, who had 19 points and nine rebounds on Monday, is the team's leading scorer (19.7). Daniel Gibson hit six 3-pointers and had 20 points Monday for the Longhorns, who ended last season by losing eight of 14 after Aldridge suffered his injury and Tucker was declared academically ineligible on Jan. 20. "This game was a test to see how good we are," Tucker said. "There was a lot of adversity. We faced the adversity and won." Texas outrebounded the Mountaineers 41-22, but committed 24 turnovers which West Virginia turned into 24 points. "Some of our passes were ridiculous," coach Rick Barnes said. "To turn the ball over as many times as we did and win, we were fortunate." Iowa (3-0) upset seventh-ranked Kentucky 67-63 Monday to advance to the finals. Greg Brunner, who scored 16 points in each of Iowa's wins over Maryland-Eastern Shore and Colgate to earn MVP honors in the Iowa City regional, had 17 points and 12 rebounds. Mike Henderson went 7-for-9 from the free-throw line and added 15 points for the Hawkeyes, who shot 50 percent in their first two games, but were limited to 38 percent (23-for-60) Monday. "We beat a very good team tonight, and we did it by guarding," Iowa coach Steve Alford said. "They guarded us well, too. These are two good defensive teams, for the third week of November." Adam Haluska, averaging 13.0 points entering Monday, had nine on 2-for-9 shooting, while Jeff Horner managed only five points on 1-for-10 from the field. However, Mike Henderson picked up the slack with 15 points. "Both teams played defensive games and when you play a defensive game it's not going to be the prettiest thing out there," Horner said. Iowa has won both of the previous meetings between the schools, including an 82-80 victory on Nov. 23, 2004 in the semifinals of the Maui Invitational.
