Friday, March 20, 2009

In-game comments post: USC (NCAA Opening Round)

Last hurrah or the start of something big? We will find out shortly. Oh, and there is a pretty big hockey game too. Let's go 2-0 tonight!


I will not be online during the game. Leave your comments below.

88 comments:

Eagle in Somerville said...

When I go to a sports bar tonight, can I request to see just the BC game, or am I going to be stuck watching CBS switch between different games?

Nick P. said...

Check out this preview of the basketball game tonight. It has a pretty good anlaysis of our team and Skinner's coaching and recruiting styles.

http://deadspin.com/5175778/ncaa-first-round-7-boston-college-vs-10-usc

Erik said...

CBS is less likely to switch away from a local team. Only for a really tight finish.

When its Ohio State vs Florida and its Texas vs Utah, they have no idea what Massachusetts would rather watch so they show you the closer game. But when BC is playing, I'll bet we're getting all of it.

TONIGHT - it just doesn't feel like Rice's last night. There's gotta be more coming.

Nick P. said...

Erik, I hope you're right. It seems like the team was putting everything together last week and then Southern and Jackson went down and we just didn't have enough fire power to pull off the upset. Lets hope with those two back, they continue what they started in the first half of the Duke game.

On another note, this could be a serious emotional roller coaster today with both the basketball team and hockey team playing at the same time. A loss means the season is over for both teams. It's going to be sensory overload if the bar I'm going to has the good sense to put both games on the TV.

matthew2 said...

I am 2 things:

1) nervous.

2) waiting for Tyrese's signature game as a senior.


One performance can alleviate both of my issues.

WWOD? said...

I'm glad someone found my piece from Deadspin. I'm Class of 2003 and have a Knicks blog (What Would Oakley Do) but always cover BC when I can.

Anyone watching this somewhere in NYC? I don't want to think that this is really Rice's last game. Ugh.

Langsgangs said...

Does anyone know if the hockey game will be on at Finley Dunne's in Chicago? I know the place will be packed with BC fans, I was just wondering if anyone has confirmed that the hockey game will be on too....

Bryan said...

WWOD?,

I'm watching at the Riviera Cafe, which will hopefully attract other BC alum. Hoping for a couple more opportunities to watch Rice!

BaldEagle90 said...

Good sign - Vitale and Digger both picked USC on SportsCenter

Groundhog said...

some keys to victory: 1. trapani, sanders, and rice not getting cold at the same time 2. biko paris taking out his anger and working circles around usc defenders 3. refs give us a break with the offensive fouls

eagleboston said...

Not happy with the shot selection so far but I am encouraged by the play of Rice in the early going.

Vegas says we will lose and I think that is more probable than not, but I'm hoping for an upset.

Bravesbill said...

Uh oh. Sanders in foul trouble, Trapani not able to hit the broad side of a barn, and a matador defense (esp. in the interior). It looks like this game is Rice's to win.

totheights said...

I got a live blog over at my new blog. Towers on the Heights! http://totheights.blogspot.com/

If anyone wants to join that would be fun.

eagleboston said...

Skinner is making some gutsy rotation calls that should pay off late in the game. USC is going to get tired as the game goes along and BC should be fresh.

eagleboston said...

Morehead State hanging with Louisville.

Bravesbill said...

On the other hand, Roche is actually making a contribution in a big game for BC which will help BC towards the end of the game.

ChicagoD said...

Backcourt of tomorrow looking good today.

totheights said...

USC always leaves their starters in for most of the game. If they have to go to their bench it is advantage us. But we haven't drawn many fouls.

totheights said...

God this team is dumb sometimes.

Bravesbill said...

USC can do this all day long. Like I've said all week, BC has nobody to cover Gibson. And for the love of God, if you are going to foul, don't let the shooter get the shot off!

eagleboston said...

Boy USC really passes the ball well.

We're gonna need to play out of this world tonight to avoid the one and done.

totheights said...

Jackson is playing awful.

totheights said...

Good end of the half.

Check my blog for half-time analysis.

Towers on the Heights
http://totheights.blogspot.com

(Sorry for the spam, but need to generate a good blog for a job)

Big Jack Krack said...

We can do this.

Anfield10 said...

anybody know where i can listen to the hockey game? i can't find an audio link on bceagles.com, and was hoping to listen to hockey while watching basketball

totheights said...

Check my blog. I got the analysis up. Suggestions, complaints and comments would be nice.

totheights said...

Should I live blog the hockey game as well??

totheights said...

SOUTHERN IS RETARDED. 2 fouls in 3 seconds to get 4.

Wow idiot. We have no one we can stop Gibson.

eagleboston said...

Skinner needs to drop into a zone.

totheights said...

ATTACK GIBSON. We need to get him his fourth.

totheights said...

STOP REACHING IN. This tea is playing clueless.

Big Jack Krack said...

What is going on in Sanders' mind? We'll have to win without him tonight.

eagleboston said...

Feel free to box out guys...Basketball Fundamentals 101!

Man, this team plays lazy so often. Put on the big boy pants guys. You can't be lazy now.

totheights said...

This team is the dumbest team in the nation. Stupid shots, stupid fouls, no defense. Now they are shooting free throws. With 11 mins left.

totheights said...

This is the Duke game all over again.

Big Jack Krack said...

This is where it gets very dangerous.

Big Jack Krack said...

"USC was about to run them out of the gym"

eagleboston said...

Floyd is just flat-out out-coaching Skinner. Flat out.

totheights said...

Giving up in an NCAA tournament. Embarassing.

Big Jack Krack said...

"BC is getting hammered on the glass".

Too early to show any sweat, Al. Let them get it up to 15, then you can turn the guys loose.

Big Jack Krack said...

"BC is getting hammered on the glass".

Too early to show any sweat, Al. Let them get it up to 15, then you can turn the guys loose.

chUck said...

No rebounding, no movement on offense, Tyrese has all but disappeared...Pretty pathetic effort in the second half thus far

Groundhog said...

we need to drive into the paint and get fouled. jacking 3s is not going to work.

totheights said...

Gibson has 4.

eagleboston said...

Game over....CBS just left for the Arizona game. Now I'm going to have to watch the end on that crappy March Madness on Demand.

totheights said...

They won't miss.

eagleboston said...

2nd time this decade that USC has crushed BC in the tourney

John B said...

Very disappointing to see Tyrese just disappear with his career on the line.

totheights said...

I for one am glad Rice is gone. All to much he does this. Doesn't show up.

John B said...

Just disgusting. Getting beaten to every loose ball.

eagleboston said...

OK, BC clearly needs major help on the inside and he has a 5-10 guard coming in? Can someone explain that logic to me?

eagleboston said...

I'm referring to recruiting not the current game.

Greg Frank said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Groundhog said...

i didnt want to believe it, but tyrese rice just proved to me that he will never make it in the NBA

Big Jack Krack said...

You can see all the holes in this team, and their approach to playing basketball. We look worse than Clemson last night - at least they made a run.

This was entirely predictable, in spite of all of the optimistic bloggers. I wish they were right, but they weren't. 2 minutes to go and we have scored 17 points in the second half.

Maybe Hockey will pull off a stunner.

Greg Frank said...

BC is going to lose this game because they had no answer for Taj Gibson! He didn't miss a shot from the field. Plus Tyrese didn't have his best night either. Tough way to end your career as an eagle. All the best to Tyrese in the NBA.

Groundhog said...

rice will not play in the NBA

Rob said...

That was disgraceful. Way to not show up on national tv.

eagleboston said...

I love Rice but he is not an NBA caliber player. He just got schooled by taller college-level guards. Nearly all of the NBA guards 6'2" to 6'5"

Big Jack Krack said...

Pretty disheartening. You could actually see this team quit half way through the second half.

Oh well, I have a golf tournament in the morning - have to get my rest!

Big Jack Krack said...

Put it this way - the knew they weren't going to win.

Go ACC - Oh Boy!

Rob said...

At least I'm not the only one who underestimated the Pac-10. (I'm looking at you, Mr. President)

Greg said...

Why, oh why, did I pick BC in my pool??? From now on I'm always picking against them. This way perhaps they will have a chance to win, and I won't feel like it is a double-loss if they don't.

eagleboston said...

Obviously, USC was more talented and athletic than BC. If they played 10 times, USC would win at least 7 on talent alone.

Still, what is frustrating is that BC shoots themselves in the feet. Poor shot selection, failure to box out for rebounds, lazy passes, terrible inbounds plays and weak fouls. These have nothing to do with talent but rather with effort and mental alertness.

I don't mind losing to USC as they had the talent edge, but I despise losing to Harvard and other teams due to lack of desire.

And I think it comes down to coaching. Why TOB, the winningest coach in BC football history was thrown under the bus for mediocrity, while Skinner gets a free pass for virtually the same level of mediocrity is beyond me.

Big Jack Krack said...

What did you think, Karen?

matthew2 said...

great comments guys. If you're all bc alumni, knock us down in the US NEWS rankings. When Bravesbill is one of the only commenters who says something remotely intelligent all night, you know there's a problem.

at least you are qualified to announce with the likes of len elmore.

morrina said...

Very disappointing. I think that's about as bad as we could play (and coach) in the second half. Bad all around, and little effort in the last 10 minutes. Inexcusable.

Unknown said...

I've been a proud BC fan for 20 years and that was the only time I've been embarrased for the school and the program. The effort was disgraceful; it was so bad I couldn't watch anymore and was driving home for the last 7 minutes and the color man on the radio said BC had quit and BC was embarassing itself. That is bad. Al Skinner has been terrible all year and I think the team won close games in spite of him; his subsitution patterns are abysmal and his inability to call a timeout is unbelieavable. It must have been tough on Gibson with Dunn and Roche on him, that is a tough assingment for Gibson; by the way, could Southern and Jackson have played any worse? Sorry for the rant, I can take losing, but I can't take quiting.

eagleboston said...

Matthew, this is a blog where we express our opinions. No one is claiming to be an expert. But, since you are so certain we are idiots, may we have your analysis of the game?

Eagle0407 said...

That was the most painful half of basketball I think I've ever watched. Just unbelievable. I think some really horrid officiating kept us from pulling away and let USC get the lead, and then we just gave up. Rice was just getting killed and no whistles. So then he decided to take the ball to the hole, a sensible move if you're being played physically. Still no whistles, which was ridiculous. And then, he just started sulking. I can understand how frustrated he was, being handchecked and bumped all night, but how can you just quit like that?? In your last game?? He spent the rest of the game standing still off the ball. The only really good stretch of the entire game was in the first half with Rice out, because we moved the ball and ran the offense. I don't think we took a good shot the entire second half --just so many bad threes that weren't off ball rotation with no offensive rebounding position. Trapani seemed to just lose his legs. Sanders never really got into the game after spending the whole half on the bench. I really was not that impressed with USC, other than Gibson. We just stunk. I felt good at halftime but in retrospect I should have been more worried that Raji was our only one scoring consistently. That half was so bad I think it's going to take me a few days for it to set in that it really happened and wasn't some awful nightmare. I'm still pscyhed about these guys for next year though. We'll be a better team, for sure.

Greg said...

Anyone know what is happening in the hockey game?

Big Jack Krack said...

Scoreless end of first period.

Unknown said...

A classic BC WTF game. First half good enough to win followed by a second half that is reminiscent of the Harvard loss. How can you quit in the tourney? Unbelievable.

CT said...

Pretty predictable, actually.

Listen, this game is gravy. We are not playing (as much as we played tonight) for '08-'09, but for the next two years.

When you are an easy to guard team, and the opposing team plays good defense (as USC has ALL YEAR), this is the result.

How many times can I say that Rice is not an NBA caliber player? I've been saying it all year, and if this wasn't proof tonight--playing against longer, more athletic guards--then nothing will register. I wish him the best of luck. In Europe. He's had his moments and I've been lucky to share in them.

But, wait, opposing teams are SCARED of him, right? More so than Troy Bell. Didn't I hear that more than once on here. And I chuckled.

Anyway, the flex offense is the worst offense for catch-up basketball, and I think it would behoove us to have a Plan B for those instances when we're down 10 with four minutes left and we don't want to take 30 seconds to get a shot.

I would disagree with the post. We didn't go from our style in the first half to their style in the second. Frankly, they played good defense throughout and only Corey Raji kept us in the game in the first half. They just stuck with their gameplan--take Rice out of it--and the second half typified much of the regular season in my eyes. Nobody else to step up against good competition.

The rose-colored glasses that I've seen on this blog too often this year were masking the evident. USC DIDN'T press and DIDN't force bad inbounding...they just stayed in front of us on defense and penetrated to the paint on offense. Simple, really.

Got to get the young'uns ready for next year. I hope tonight is a lesson learned.

cherry ghost said...

i don't want to beat a dead horse, but that was unbelievably painful. the most frustrating thing was seeing Tyrese nearly quit playing in the second half. he certainly did not play like a proud senior leader of this team. he was frustrated and stopped participating in the offense. he stood still on at least a half dozen possessions and didn't move for the ball. i have loved watching Tyrese for 4 years, but that was no way to end a career. it's quite sad. i understand the frustration, but you would think Tyrese would use that as extra momentum to turn things around. what an awful way to end an otherwise outstanding career.

Big Jack Krack said...

Nick - I had trouble posting on your blog.

Rob said...

Matthew (poster above), you're truly courageous...yawn

matthew2 said...

Rob you're right -- posting like that isn't courageous -- I posted a longer post about how i felt on the newest post. I just wanted to get that out before I posted a longer on. And I think CT had some very nice thoughts there.

Anfield10 said...

I am listening to the hockey game through the BU athletic website. I can't believe you can listen to this through BU but the BC website has no link to listen. It is a nailbiter with BU outplaying us but it is 0-0 most of the way through the 2nd period. we just scored, and as I type it is under review. it counts!!!!! BC 1 - 0 BU. Oh god our hockey team needs to do this

Big Jack Krack said...

And BC took the lead to start the second half 37 to 30 - and thereafter was outscored 42 to 18.

When was the last time we scored 21 points in a half?

Big Jack Krack said...

Thanks Christopher.

Anfield10 said...

i know most people are still devastated by the loss so i won't post anything else about the hockey game. but if anyone wants to listen in, we are one up and it is the second period intermission and if you can put up with the unbearable BU announcers, here is the link

http://lightningstream.surfernetwork.com/Media/player/view/wwzn3.asp?call=wwzn&skin=WWZN

morrina said...

Len Elmore (an F.O.A. 'friend of Al'), actually couldn't contain his dismay in the last five minutes:

"I can't believe BC isn't showing more intensity on defense or trapping."

"Too little too late."

jr said...

wow...3-1 BU

3 goals in 40 seconds

totheights said...

What a shitty night.

WI_Eagle said...

Wow, at least we didn't look as bad as Wake (although it was close).

CT said...

Wow. Wake Forest. Now if anyone has a right to complain, given expectations, it's DD fans.

That is not good for the ol' ACC.

Ouch.

Big Jack Krack said...

After going a perfect 10-for-10 with 24 points and six rebounds in the Trojans’ opening-round victory over BC on Friday, Gibson scored just three points with no rebounds and five blocks in 23 minutes against MSU.