Thursday, March 01, 2007

VMI shocks the world

...or at least those who follow the Big South. VMI, who had lost to 22-win High Point twice in the regular season by an average of 14 points, took down the Panthers and their shot for the auto bid, 91-81. VMI will take on Winthrop, who swept them as well during the regular season, for one of the first automatic bids.

VMI took down the team that was basically a forgone conclusion for Saturday afternoon in Rock Hill based on their ability to shut down newly-crowned Big South POY Arizona Reid. Reid was just 5-of-14 for 13 points, eight below his season average. VMI also found just about every open shot on the night from just about every spot on the floor and dominated points in the paint. Likely national scoring champion Reggie Williams scored 28 (right at his average) on 9-of-18.

(By the way, I have an beef with the people who put together those graphics for ESPN. Obviously, VMI is going to score the most points in the country. They play the fastest pace! And obviously, they are also going to give up a lot of points. Why? They play the fastest pace! I feel like so many poor folk are missing out on a beautiful, tempo-free world.)

(Oh, and for the record, VMI is 127th in offensive efficiency and 288th in defensive efficiency.)

Speaking of pace, two of the fastest in North Carolina and Georgia Tech got together and Georgia Tech came out on top by catching absolute fire during a 25-or-so-minute stretch that went from about 15 minutes left in the first until about 10 were left in the game.

1 comment:

MUD said...

KU plays two different games. When they score more than 70 points (Florida, Nebraska games as an example) they win big time. When a team can hold the score to around 60 the hawks can be beat. They are the most fun to watch as they run and gun as any team I have watched all year. MUD