Saturday, March 18, 2023

State Tournament: Day Four

OK, so here's what has happened since yesterday:

(8) Lex. Frederick Douglass beat Lou. Male, 58 to 54
(4) Geo. Rogers Clark beat (9) Lyon Co., 60 to 56

In the first semi-final today:

(1) Warren Central beat Woodford Co., 56 to 48

Right now, GRC leads Douglass 34-33 with 4:26 left in the game.

107 comments:

  1. GRC is wearing gray uniforms with white numerals and red trim. The word "Cards" is above their chests.

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  2. This is the first we've seen of Douglass. This school opened in 2017. Because the school is located on a former horse farm, their teams are known as the Broncos. Their colors are "Keeneland Green" and orange.

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  3. Douglass is wearing white uniforms with green numerals and orange trim. Their jerseys say "BRONCOS."

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    1. It's a very dark green -- it looks like the sort of green used by the Packers.

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  4. Meanwhile, Duke and Tennessee are playing in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Duke is wearing their classic blue uniforms. UT is wearing their white uniform with the cursive "Vols" across the chest.

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  5. 14,173 in attendance for this session of the tournament.

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  6. GRC leads 39-35 with 2:35 left in the game.

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  7. If GRC wins, we will have a rematch of last year's final, in which GRC beat Warren Central 43-42.

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  8. GRC wins 51-44, in large part because they went 20-24 from the free throw line.

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  9. So we have a rematch: (1) Warren Cent. v. (4) George Rogers Clark

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  10. Good job by the pollsters. Warren Central and GRC were the highest ranked teams to make the Sweet 16, and now they are playing for the title.

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  11. OK, so I'm going to turn over to WMTB Radio from Emmitsburg, Maryland: 89.9 FM. It's motto is "High in the mountains, but low on your dial." They are currently playing "Blackwater," by the Doobie Brothers.

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  12. Warren Central is 35-1. GRC is 30-5, but 29-3 against teams from Kentucky.

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  13. Now on WMTB, we get "Tin Man," by America.

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  14. Duke leads 10-9 with 14:09 left in the first half, and CBS is showing two different Duke players getting whacked in the head by the Vols. My take here is that Duke players do flop, but Tennessee players do hit the other team in the face. It's actually sort of fascinating to watch these two go up against each other. It's like a battle between the Riddler and the Joker.

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  15. On WMTB, we get "Feels Like the First Time," by Foreigner.

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  16. Next up on WMTB: "Downbound Train," by Bruce Springsteen

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  17. Next up on WMTB: "Drive My Car," by the Beatles

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  18. And then we get "Desperado," by the Eagles.

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  19. By the way, for all the folks who think that Calipari is an idiot who was going to be lit up by Bryce Hopkins last night, here were the actual figures:

    B-Hop:
    2-6 from 2-point range
    0-3 from 3-point range
    3-5 from the line
    7 points, 8 rebounds, 4 fouls

    Jacob Toppin:
    6-12 from 2-point range
    0-2 from 3-point range
    6-6 from the line
    18 points, 6 rebounds, 1 foul

    K-Pom gave Toppin an Offensive Rating of 124, and gave Hopkins an Offensive Rating of 52.

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  20. "Scarborough Fair," by Simon and Garfunkel. The part in "The Graduate" where they play this music while Dustin Hoffman goes up to Cal-Berkeley to look for Katherine Ross is my favorite part of that movie, and one of my favorite parts of any movie.

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  21. The Beatles: "I Want to Hold Your Hand"

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  22. Tennessee leads Duke 27-21 at the half. For now, Duke looks like the high school hot shots taking on the old guys in the Rec League.

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  23. Last song from WMTB: "Take the Long Way Home," by Supertramp. I love this song.

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  24. Duke is on a 7-0 run, and they trail Tennessee 33-31 with 15:05 left.

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  25. Tennessee leads 41-33 with 12:30 left in the game, and Duke calls time.

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  26. Tennessee leads 51-44 with 7:24 left. Duke is doing a better job of running its offense, but the Devils are still allowing a lot of open three-point shots for the Vols.

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  27. I have no idea what's going to happen here. On the one hand, Tennessee usually chokes in big games. On the other hand, Tennessee plays better when motivated by hatred, and Duke is a rare team that provokes Tennessee to play its best.

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  28. The officials are watching video. I have a feeling we'll get a lot of that down the stretch here.

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  29. Whatever happens, this is fun. I wish Tennessee and Duke met in the tournament every year.

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  30. Vols 55-48 with 5:33 left. Duke is 11-16 from the field in this half.

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  31. Tennessee is 9-19 from three point range. Olivier Nkamhoua and Santiago Vescovi have combined to go 7-11, and that's the difference in the game.

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  32. Kyle Filipowski, Duke's big freshman center, is 5-13 from the field with 11 points and 5 rebounds. He's also got a cut under one eye thanks to a Tennessee elbow. I saw Sam Bowie play exactly this type of game against Tennessee on numerous occasions.

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  33. Here was Anthony Davis in his one game in Knoxville:
    7-10 from the field, 4-5 from the line, 18 points, 8 rebounds, only 2 fouls.

    Davis is the only young center I ever saw who figured out how to play against Tennessee. That was the game where I really came to believe the Cats were going to win it all.

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  34. Vols 59-48 with 3:09 left. Duke has missed three 3-pointers in a row, and UT has gotten the rebound every time.

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  35. UT turns it over and Duke gets an easy basket. Vols lead 59-50 with 2:33 left.

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  36. With 2:24 left, UT goes into the bonus. If you think about it, you can get a total of six points from your three 1-and-1's. Last night, against Providence, UK got five of six, which is really good. UT starts by going 1-2, and they lead 60-52 with 2 minutes left.

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  37. With 2:04 left, UT goes back to the line. They make the first. They miss the second. 61-52.

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  38. Duke shoots a two, misses, gets the rebound, shoots a three, misses, UT ball.

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  39. UT runs off 30 seconds and then takes a crazy off-balance shot. But that's a trap, because Duke falls asleep and a Vol comes in to SLAM HOME the rebound. Vols lead 63-52 with 49 seconds left.

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  40. It's really been fascinating to watch Duke make all the same mistakes that I've seen UK make down in Knoxville for so many decades. I think the Devils really missed Coach K in this game.

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  41. UT wins 65 to 52, in large part because they went 9-21 from 3-point range, while Duke went 6-22.

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  42. So for now, UK is still in the tournament, and both Duke and UNC are out. That hasn't happened since 2014.

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  43. I'm going to write more about this at some point in the future, but I've decided that going forward, I'm just going to classify teams as if they are in the old conferences that I remember. So from my perspective, Maryland is the only ACC team left in the tournament. The SEC still has Alabama, Tennessee, Auburn, and Kentucky. The Southwest Conference still has five teams: Houston, Texas, Baylor, Texas Christian, and Arkansas. The Big 8 still has Kansas, Missouri, and Kansas St.

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  44. Kansas is rolling over Arkansas, 42-31 with 16:17 left in the game.

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  45. Meanwhile, Vandy came from 8 points down with less than two minutes to go to stun Michigan 66-65. Memorial Magic! For the second year in a row, the Dores have reached the quarter-finals of the NIT.

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  46. Princeton leads Missouri 33-21 with 1:29 left in the first half. I haven't understood Missouri's team all year.

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  47. Starting with regional play, here's how Warren Central got to the final:
    03/01: Warren Cent. 73, Franklin-Simpson 28
    03/06: Warren Cent. 81, Warren East 45
    03/07: Warren Cent. 52, Bowling Green 50 (OT)
    03/15: Warren Cent. 80, Pulaski Co. 55
    03/17: Warren Cent. 64, Ashland Blazer 48
    03/18: Warren Cent. 56, Woodford Co. 48

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  48. Here's how GRC did it:
    03/02: Geo. Rogers Clark 108, Augusta 53
    03/06: Geo. Rogers Clark 69, Harrison Co. 56
    03/07: Geo. Rogers Clark 54, Mason Co. 42
    03/16: Geo. Rogers Clark 62, N. Laurel 54
    03/17: Geo. Rogers Clark 60, Lyon Co. 56
    03/18: Geo. Rogers Clark 51, Lex. Frederick Douglass 44

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  49. Arkansas has come all the way back and now leads Kansas 52-51 with 8:50 left in the game.

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  50. Warren Central in their usual home uniforms. GRC in the red uniforms, white numerals with black trim. I appreciate that GRC had to play two games as the road team today, and that they saved the red uniforms for the final.

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  51. Kansas leads Arkansas 54-53 with 7:30 left.

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  52. With 2:33 left in the first quarter, Warren Central has used a 6-0 run to go up 12-6. GRC calls time.

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  53. KU leads Arkansas 57-55 with 6:30 left.

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  54. Warren leads 12-8 with 1:41 left in the first.

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  55. KU leads 64-61 with 3:30 left. They just made a 3, and then Arkansas missed a 3, and that feels very important.

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  56. After one quarter, Warren Central leads GRC 18-12.

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  57. Arkansas could have used the officials who called the Tennessee/Duke game. Arkansas has had two players foul out already. We are tied at 65 with 1:30 left. KU ball.

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  58. With 4:32 left in the half, Warren Central leads 26-18, having made back-to-back three-pointers. GRC calls time.

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  59. Kansas fails to score. Still tied at 65. Arkansas takes over with 1:07 left.

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  60. Arkansas misses, but gets the rebound and scores. They lead 67-65 with 39 seconds left, but are called for yet another foul.

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  61. Tied at 67 with 38 seconds left. Arkansas ball.

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  62. With 23.7 seconds left, Kansas is called for a blocking foul. KU wanted a charge. Lots of complaining.

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  63. Warren Central leads 28-20 with 2:37 left in the half.

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  64. Arkansas makes the first FT. Arkansas misses the second, but grabs the rebound and is fouled!

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  65. 20.4 seconds left. Arkansas makes both FT's and leads 70-67.

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  66. What a game by Arkansas. KU came to Rupp about a month and a half ago and simply dominated UK.

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  67. KU drives to the basket and is fouled. 8 seconds left.

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  68. Three Arkansas players have now fouled out, along with one of KU's players.

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  69. KU makes both FT's. Arkansas 70-69. Foul on KU. 7.1 seconds left.

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  70. Ricky Council IV goes to the line for Arkansas. He makes the first. He makes the second. 72-69 Arkansas.

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  71. With 3.0 seconds left, Arkansas is called for a blocking foul.

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  72. KU makes the first FT. The KU player looked like he tried to miss the second one, but HE BANKED IT IN. Arkansas quickly inbounded the ball and ran out the last three seconds. ARKANSAS WINS, 72 TO 71!

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  73. Meanwhile, Warren Central BANKS IN a three-point shot at the buzzer to take a 36-27 lead into the halftime locker room.

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  74. Meanwhile, the Mizzou fans can't enjoy KU's defeat, because Princeton leads Missouri 56-40 with 7:51 left.

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  75. For years, I've complained that the style of play in the SEC is too physical, but I have to admit that UT and Arkansas both won because they were simply bigger and stronger than Duke and Kansas respectively.

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  76. There's also been an upgrade in SEC coaching. Rick Barnes and Eric Musselman are both really solid coaches. Duke was without Coach K, and KU was without Bill Self, and that made a difference.

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  77. On the other hand, Princeton is blowing out Mizzou. Now 66-48 with 4 minutes left.

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  78. Warren Central is getting closer. The Dragons lead 52-40 with 1:21 left.

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  79. Warren Central leads 52-42 with one quarter left.

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  80. By the way, give credit to Ken Pom, who has consistently treated Arkansas as a top 20 team. He thought Kansas would win, but he thought it would be really close, and he was right.

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  81. GRC scores six straight points to open the fourth quarter, and suddenly Warren Central's lead is only 52-48 with 7:11 left. The Dragons call time.

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  82. With about 3 1/2 minutes left, GRC hit a three-pointer to move within 59-56. Warren Central then ran off more than a minute of time before a GRC foul sent us to a media timeout. Warren Central leads 59-56 with 2:12 left.

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  83. Princeton beats Mizzou, 78 to 63. I never did understand that team.

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  84. Warren Central had a shot blocked, then GRC missed a 3, then Warren Central finally scored on an inside shot, then GRC missed another 3. Then GRC had a commit a series of fouls to send Warren to the line. But with 44.1 seconds left, Warren turned it over. Warren Central 61, GRC 56. GRC ball.

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  85. GRC gets to the rim, but their shot is blocked and Warren takes over. 24.5 seconds left. If the Dragons make their free throws, they will win the State Championship.

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  86. Warren Central makes one FT, and then GRC gets a quick layup and calls time. Warren Central leads 62-58 with 17.5 seconds left.

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  87. 11,664 patrons at the game tonight. Over 99,000 fans attended this year's tournament -- the highest total since 2014.

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  88. Warren Central misses the front end of the one-and-one, and GRC comes back down for another quick layup. With 9.3 seconds left, Warren Central leads 62-60. Cameron Mills points out that Warren Central could commit three fouls without sending GRC to the line, and that they shouldn't keep giving up these layups.

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  89. Kade Unseld is fouled and makes both ends of a one-and-one. Warren Central leads 64-60 with 8.1 seconds left.

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  90. GRC can't score and the game is over! WARREN CENTRAL WINS THE STATE CHAMPIONSHIP, 64 TO 60!

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  91. In the first half, Auburn outscored Houston 41-31. In the second half, Houston outscored Auburn 50-23. The Cougars beat Auburn 81-64 in Birmingham, and that is not easy to do.

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  92. Now a guy from Maryland has gone to the sidelines with blood all over his face after battling Alabama for a rebound. And people wonder why UK has injury problems.

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  93. In retrospect, it seems clear that one of the main ways that college basketball coaches reacted to the one-and-done movement was by getting bigger and tougher guys and making the game much more violent. No matter how talented he may be, an 18-year-old is still only 18, and if you load up the floor with bigger and stronger players, and hammer everyone who gets close to the basket, you will limit the effectiveness of thinner players, no matter how talented they are.

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  94. It's amazing how many possessions end with the offensive team either scoring on a put back, or getting hammered on a layup opportunity.

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