I Have Met The Enemy And It Wears Dog Tags
Patrick Ewing, USMC Ret.
With the complete meltdown of Tar Heel Reactor 1 last night, the Georgetown Hoyas advanced to play Ohio State in the Final Four. The 15 minute stretch at the end of the game in which the Tar Heels went 1 for 23 from the field will not be fondly remembered in Chapel Hill.
Watching this game was great, because no matter who won, the Buckeyes owed the winner. A rematch with North Carolina would have given the Bucks a chance to continue their quest towards revenge symmetry, but the more I think about it, the more I’m glad the Buckeyes get to take on the Hoyas.
Second-seeded Ohio State was embarrassed by a taller Georgetown squad in the second round of the tournament last season. Roy Hibbert had 20 points, 14 rebounds and 3 blocks against a Buckeye squad that ran its post offense through 6′9″ Terence Dials. With the Odenator patrolling the paint this year, you gotta figure Hibbert won’t duplicate those numbers, but make no mistake about it — Hibbert will be Oden’s best test of the season.
A victory over Georgetown will hopefully lead to a chance for some further revenge against the likes of the Gators, who are quickly becoming the new Michigan. I can hear the old-timers screaming now, but based on the fiasco in Glendale, the basketball blowout earlier this season in Gainesville and the fact that the Wolverines haven’t beaten the Buckeyes in anything of significance since Arnold Schwarzenegger was just a bad actor, a case can be made for more disdain directed at the Gators than the Wolverines these days in Buckeye Nation. Need I even mention Joakim Noah?
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On a side note, for Buckeye fans that plan to make the trip to Atlanta, Brooks has put together an excellent travel guide.
2 Responses
Like the matchup. GT isn’t a spectacular 3-point shooting team like we have been facing lately. We should be able to pack it in the 2-3 and keep Oden out of foul trouble. Offensively, if we shoot well we can get GT in man. Then we penetrate with Lewis and Connelly and get Hibbert in foul trouble. Good times.
Evan - March 26th, 2007 at 8:47 am - #
I agree with starting in the 2-3 zone to protect Oden and force G-Town to hit some outside jumpers. Another reason to use a 2-3 is I also dont like our defensive match-up with Green man-to-man. Lighty would be the best option but that would Green an edge in the post. I would like to see us bring back the 2-2-1 a little bit to see if we can force the tempo and get Conley in transition. One con employing a 2-3 zone is that G-Town rebounds the heck out of the ball and it’s easier to find a man to block out when you are playing man to man defense.
chris - March 26th, 2007 at 11:29 am - #
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