According to Dick Vitale, the Buckeyes have a shot at a #1 seed:
“I really believe Thad Matta and his kids, if they make it to at least the semifinals, will end up as a No. 1 seed,” he said Tuesday in Dayton. “You can look at Memphis, but I give the edge to Ohio State (because) winning the regular-season title in the Big Ten shows you have durability.”
Duke, UConn and Villanova are virtual locks, so it might come down to Ohio State and Memphis for the final slot.
He has struggled all season and has been criticized by the media and fans for his poor production. For one night though, Damon Jones was able to play the role of hero. Jones, who replaced Flip Murray for the final play, knocked down a three-pointer from the corner as time expired to propel the Cavaliers to a 98-97 victory over the Toronto Raptors Wednesday. In an almost identical play to the one the Cavs ran last week to beat the Bulls, LeBron James drove the lane and kicked it out to one of his teammates. This time it was Damon Jones ready to take the shot.
“He’s been criticized at times, but I’ve never lost confidence him. That’s why we picked him up. He’s a shooter,” James said.
The Cavaliers were able to overcome a pair of 30-point performances by Toronto’s Mike James and Morris Peterson to win their fourth straight contest.
As much as we have ripped Damon Jones the entire season, he deserves the credit for the terrific shot he made tonight. His confidence has been wavering all year and maybe this is just what he needs to get him going for the rest of the season. And how about the coaching by Mike Brown, sitting Flip Murray for the last play in favor of Jones. Maybe he saw something in the defense or just had confidence in Damon but whatever the reason, it turned out to be a genius move on his part. The Cavaliers seem to be making a habit out of last second finishes recently, but it sure does make for some exciting basketball.
The NBA media continues to amaze me with their inability to recognize Lebron James when discussing the MVP award for this year. I would like someone to please explain to me how James is continually left off the list of MVP candidates. I understand the top three candidates are Steve Nash, Chauncey Billups and Dirk Nowitzki. The fact that they are leading their teams into the playoffs is a very strong argument.
The part that really puzzles me is Kobe Bryant and Allen Iverson. These two players’ teams are at .500 and at times they forget how to pass the ball. James, on the other hand, continues to lead the team in points and assists. The Cavs are 10 games over .500 and Lebron just won MVP in the all-star game. I have yet to hear an argument on why Lebron shouldn’t be ahead of Bryant and Iverson, except for the fact that Los Angeles and Philadelphia are larger markets than Cleveland.
The Ohio State Buckeyes walked off with the top two awards yesterday. Thad Matta took home coach of year and Terrance Dials was player of the year in the Big Ten. The coaches and media both agreed on Dials, recognizing the fact that he dominated the Big Ten this year.
Coach Matta has now won the coach-of-the-year honor in three NCAA Division I conferences. He has directed four teams in six seasons to regular-season championships. He also has three conference tournament titles to his credit. These types of accomplishments are why Matta’s decision to remain at OSU has the university feeling good about its future.
LeBron James wasn’t having the greatest night, by his standards, so he needed to get help from his supporting cast and that’s exactly what happened in Tuesday night’s 106-99 victory over the Toronto Raptors. For the first time in 24 games, LeBron was not the leading scorer for the Cavaliers as Flip Murray put down 24. Although LeBron finished with 12 rebounds and 8 assists, he struggled from the field, shooting 5 of 17.
“When he has an off night like that, he has to have confidence that we can pick him up,” said Murray, who has given the Cavs a spark since arriving in a Feb. 23 trade with Seattle. “That’s what we did.”
All five Cavalier starters finished in double figures and Eric Snow had a season-high 11 assists as the Cavs won their third straight.
These are the types of games we need to win. In the past, if LeBron didn’t have a great game the Cavaliers usually weren’t going to come out winners. It was great to see the rest of the team step up for a change and we are going to need a strong team effort every game, especially when it comes playoff time.
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