Mattie T’s Elite 8 Preview of the NCAA Tournament (Part 2)

Ok, so i got half of the Final 4 field correct yesterday.

First off, congratulations to Ohio State & UCLA for punching their tickets last night to Atlanta for the 2007 Final Four.

Now let’s see if i can nail down the final 2 teams…

Sunday, March 25th

Midwest Regional Final

#3 Oregon Ducks (29-7)

vs.

#1 Florida Gators (32-5)

Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, MO.

2:40 PM ET

Mattie T’s Analysis: For the 2nd year in a row, the Florida Gators are in the Regional Finals.

Ernie Kent’s Oregon Ducks are in the regional finals for the 1st time in 68 years & will look to deny Florida a chance to become the 1st team to repeat as national champions since Mike Krzyzewski’s Duke Blue Devils did it in 1991-92.

Oregon G Tajuan Porter has another chance to prove all the big-name schools that passed him over due to his height (Porter is 5′6) that they made a huge mistake.

Porter makes up for his lack of height with incredible perimeter shooting. He was fantastic on Friday, scoring 33 points on 9-17 shooting & connecting on 8 three-pointers to lead Oregon to a 76-72 win over UNLV.

But if Oregon wants to shock the world & knock off the defending national champions, they will have to try & contain Florida’s frontcourt of Joakim Noah, Al Horford & Corey Brewer.

And if that wasn’t enough to worry about, the Gators also have good shooters in Taurean Green & Lee Humphrey.

If Oregon (averages 75.8 PPG on offense) can score 80 or more on Florida, their chances are very good of a huge upset. Florida is 0-3 this season when giving up 80 points or more on defense.

The Ducks will have a good-luck charm on their side today.

88 year-old John Dick will be in attendance today. Dick is the only remaining survivor from Oregon’s 1939 National Championship team, which ironically was the 1st year of the NCAA Tournament. (The title game was played in Patton Gym, located in Evanston, IL.)

I really like what Oregon has done during the tournament. They have a dangerous offense & knows how to win close games. (2 of their 3 tournament games have been decided by 4 points or less)

Florida has not been as intimidating as a #1 seed as you may think. They blew out Jackson State 112-69 in the opening round, but won their next 2 games by a combined 15 points over Purdue & Butler.

I’m a upset-minded guy, and i like for Oregon to win this game. It will definitely be close, but i feel like the Ducks can shock the world today & knock off the defending national champions.

Final Score Prediction: Oregon 81, Florida 79

East Regional Final

#2 Georgetown Hoyas (29-6)

vs.

#1 North Carolina Tar Heels (31-6)

Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, NJ.

5:05 PM ET

Mattie T’s Analysis: The last time these two schools faced off in a game this big, it produced a memorable ending.

North Carolina & Georgetown squared off in the 1982 National Championship game & had the game end on a jumper with 17 seconds remaining from a freshman guard by the name of Michael Jeffrey Jordan.

Jordan is very fortunate for the shot that sparked his superstar presence to the NBA.

“I’m very blessed for what that shot did, and my name did change from Mike to Michael,” Jordan said this month. “To sit back and think “what if?” is a scary thought. There are a lot of other options. I could be pumping gas back in Wilmington, N.C.”

Current North Carolina coach Roy Williams & Georgetown coach John Thompson III were inside the Superdome that night to witness Jordan’s magical shot.

Williams was an assistant to Dean Smith, who won his 1st national championship on that evening. Thompson III was a junior in High School on that night, sitting closeby the Georgetown bench in hopes that his father, John Thompson would bring the school its’ first ever national championship.

The two schools alone have produced so many superstars.

Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing.

James Worthy, Alonzo Mourning.

Vince Carter, Dikembe Mutombo.

Sam Perkins, Allen Iverson.

But today, none of the nostalgic past will carry one of these schools to the Final Four.

North Carolina will depend on their frontcourt of Tyler Hansbrough, Brandan Wright & Reyshawn Terry to lead the way.

The Heels also have a talented backcourt with Ty Lawson & Wayne Ellington.

Georgetown also boasts a talented frontcourt of Jeff Green, Roy Hibbert & Patrick Ewing Jr.

It’s very similar to the USC frontcourt of Nick Young, Taj Gibson & Lodrick Stewart that scored 46 of the team’s 64 points on Friday & gave North Carolina fits for nearly 25 minutes.

However, the Tar Heels found a way to rally, erasing a 16 point 2nd half deficit to post a 74-64 win, advancing to this afternoon’s game.

Georgetown needed a controversial shot by Jeff Green to squeeze by Vanderbilt 66-65 on Friday.

Many people feel that the referrees missed a crucial traveling call when replays showed that Green picked up his pivot foot before rising up for the game-winning basket with 2.5 seconds to play.

Vanderbilt F Ross Neltner said that he didn’t see any type of traveling violation. Neltner was double-teaming Green alongside teammate Shan Foster when Green hit the shot that ended the Commodores’ season.

Georgetown is a great defensive team, but they have given up 70 points or more in 3 of their 6 losses this season to Old Dominion, Syracuse & Pittsburgh.

2 of those teams made this year’s NCAA Tournament field with the only exception being Syracuse, who was one of the big snubs.

North Carolina can be beaten by a high-scoring offense, but it appears that Georgetown doesn’t have the personnel to match the Tarheels point-for-point.
The Heels have given up an average of 85.5 points per game during their 6 losses this season. Georgetown has cracked the 80 point mark just 6 times in 35 games this season.

Roy Williams will lead North Carolina to the Final 4 for the second time in the past 3 years on Sunday.

Final Score Prediction: North Carolina 72, Georgetown 63.

So there you have it!

MLB preview will be posted next weekend. Opening Day 2007 will kick-off a week from today when the New York Mets travel to Busch Stadium to face the 2006 World Champion St. Louis Cardinals.

Kobe Bryant will try to go for his fifth straight 50 point game tonight against Golden State!

Until then,

Mattie T

Sports Writer for BMS Radio Chicago

www.BMSRadio.com

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