Jay Wright vs. YTG

[danaandvictory]

UC really put together a nice first half on Vaughn's senior night and was tied with Nova at the half.

Gnome made his customary late-season tweaks and 'Nova immediately went on a 12-1 run to start the second half.

[AviatorX]

Great 4 minute war by the Cats to start the half...

[Tardy Turtle]

My goodness YTG is a foul-mouthed little man.

EDIT: Every single time they show him he's reminding the officials that they engage in carnal pleasures with their maternal parental units.

Funny anecdote: I called Gates a "lazy bitch" to no one in particular and my not-quite-two year old daughter repeated it perfectly. She's so smart.

[danaandvictory]

You look at Wright and YTG and wonder how these two can be part of the same species.

[Espe]

The YTG... I like that.

[XU 87]

UC cuts the lead to 1. But I have great confidence that they'll find a way to lose.

And as I'm writing this they commit a dumb foul and Nova makes two freee throws and then UC misses a shot.

P.S. And now UC is down by 6.

And then not be outdone, Stephenson misses two free throws with 20 seconds to go. Game over. But we are again treated by another UC collapse.

UC actually gets the game down to 2. Those two missed free throws were pretty big. But they still lose.

Today's trivia question: how many games has Mick Cronin won in March while at UC?

[Strange Brew]

I know I shouldn't but I can't help but LOVE watching Mick's teams collapse at the end of every season (if not before). I shouldn't revel in other's misery but then again it is UC. :D

[Strange Brew]

"Born Ready" obviously not born ready to hit free throws in the clutch.

[AviatorX]

Today's trivia question: how many games has Mick Cronin won in March while at UC?

That would be 0

[kyxu]

"Born Ready" obviously not born ready to hit free throws in the clutch.

"Born Ready for the NIT" -Doug Gottlieb

[xsteve1]

I'd love to play Nova in the tourney. Love and McClean would kill them inside and our guards can hang with theirs.

[XU 87]

That would be 0

You are correct. Mick keeps his unblemished record intact.

[xu2010]

First, I think Villanova would be tough. We saw what a team of a lot of guards/shooters could do to us in Richmond. Second, love to see UC going down. No tournament for UC, or wait, that's called the NIT.

[xavierj]

First, I think Villanova would be tough. We saw what a team of a lot of guards/shooters could do to us in Richmond. Second, love to see UC going down. No tournament for UC, or wait, that's called the NIT.

Nova looks very tired. They just do not have much depth. They can be had.

[GuyFawkes38]

I was board and reading Ken Pomeroy's blog. According to him, the most important stat in college basketball is shooting %.

Why has XU been better than UD and UC for the past several years. It all stems from shooting %. X has better shooters. I think it's true that some other factors influence shooting % (offensive flow, post play, etc...). But having several players who are naturally gifted shooters is independently crucial.

When Thad Matta changed XU's recruiting strategy to attract more offensive skilled players who had natural shots, everything changed (in contrast, Gillin and Prosser tended to recruit more athletic, less skilled UD type players which created half court problems).

I hope that Mack continues to put a premium on recruiting and developing shooters.

[X-band '01]

0-11. Georgetown better not be looking past UC to the Big East Tournament.

[Cheesehead]

I was running some errands last night and listened to a good part of this game.

Two things: 1) Chuck Maychock is terrible as the color man. He shouts randomn stupid thigs. He's painful. Dan Hoard is ok; I think Joe paints a much better picture of the action. 2) YTG: is one foul-mouthed coach. He was near the mikes for much of the game. I heard, "Are you f-ing kidding me?" live during the teleacast and then I swear 700 put a delay on in anticipation to more cuss words, as there was a brief drop of the broadcast. At one point, I heard John Cahill say, "Mick, that's enough."

I could see UC biting the bullet and going in "another direction" if UC continues to tank this season. I think there will be enough UC wealthy boosters to pony up and buy YTG out.

[danaandvictory]

Gnome also utilized his post-game comments to exhibit manly, stoic leadership. Nah, I'm kidding. He continued to whine about calls that occurred up to four months ago.


"The only mental part for it for me is keeping guys together through all the things that have gone on. Tough calls at Gonzaga and Xavier. Missed free throws. From there things that happend at St. John's. Pittsburgh was given a basket at a dead ball. First time in the history of the game and we are down two with a minute-and-a-half to play against them. In the first half they were given a basket on a dead ball. So, these guys have been through a lot of heartbreak this year. Along with certain guys on our team wishing they played more mintues or wishing they were playing better and continuing to hang in there and fight."

[XU 87]

When Thad Matta changed XU's recruiting strategy to attract more offensive skilled players who had natural shots, everything changed (in contrast, Gillin and Prosser tended to recruit more athletic, less skilled UD type players which created half court problems).

I hope that Mack continues to put a premium on recruiting and developing shooters.

You are correct. That was a huge change in the program. Skip was recruiting athletes. Matta, Miller and now Mack are recruiting basketball players.

Skip's teams were great when they could make the game a running full court game. But they were painful to watch at times when they had to grind it out in a half court game. And we now know that if you want to win in March, you had better be able to play a half court game.

[GoMuskies]

James Posey and David West (as well as all Hornets fans) are not pleased to find out that they are not basketball players.

[Masterofreality]

Mo Egger was talking on his show yesterday about how refs never ever give YTG (again, props surf) any ear. He couldn't believe how Sippin' Mick was ignored.

Why do you think that is?

Hell, to me it's easy. When all you do is bitch and moan about the refs after every game you lose...and sometimes win....they will give you no respect. When you harp on things that happened 4 months ago and can't get over it, it's the nail in your ref relationship coffin. Those guys read the papers too and are sensitive about their performance the night before. A guy calling them out all the time will get nothing- not even a listen.

CMack handled it just right when he was asked about tough calls after losses. He simply said, that it was over, in the past and his opinion didn't make any difference.... Next question. This from a guy in his first year. YTG is now in his, I believe 7th head coaching year between Murray State and SucKS. He obviously has learned nothing and, apparently, his "coaching legend" father Hep has taught him nothing either.