I'm listening to Carolina radio right now. It's great to hear Woody Durham sound as enthusiastic as he does.
Tipoff's coming up...
5:08: Alright let's go. They traded threes, and then Michigan State starts to use it's quickness to score points from the fast breaks. MSU's up by one early.
5:19: A physical game, not too many calls by the refs so far. Both teams are coming out sloppy though. They can't execute on either end. A three by MSU's Ager gives them the lead by one with 11:10 left in the half.
5:27: Michigan State is using their quickness to take advantage of Kentucky's defense. Tubby Smith might have to go to a zone to get something going defense-wise. Kentucky also looks rusty on the offensive end. 23-16 MSU.
- Sorry guys, I was eating dinner for the last 10 minutes of the first half. That's my bad, but I am ready for the second half of this one. 37-33 Kentucky lead.
6:20: Second half starts and Michigan State comes out strong to tie the game. Huge three by Brown gives them the lead. 40-39.
6:34: This is like a heavyweight title fight, with one landing a punch and the opponent landing a counterpunch. This could be tight throughout. Neither team seems as if they have a standard plan and everyone on the court is contributing. MSU after a huge alley leads by three.
6:43: MSU's Shannon Brown is having a big game, as he's hit back-to-back threes. MSU's on a hot streak, and it'll be interesting to see if Kentucky can endure it. MSU's up 61-57 with 8:34 left.
6:47: Well my question was answered: No. Michigan State is on a hot streak much like they were against Duke on Friday. Anderson hits a three, MSU gets the steal, and Anderson hits another jumper. MSU's lead is the biggest of the game, 66-58.
6:55: An excellent stretch of basketball with both teams using athletic moves to put points on the board. Kentucky's Rondo Smith is in foul trouble, so that hurts them for their post game. Kentucky has cut the lead in half, though...70-66.
7:00: MSU's Paul Davis is really stepping up on the boards, tipping in a missed shot, and then going to the other end to grab a defensive rebound. He was a big reason for Duke's loss on Friday and will be tough for May to deal with if he faces UNC in the Final Four. MSU leads 72-66 with 2:41 left.
7:05: MSU slipped up and left a wide open Ravi Moss open for a three pointer. After Davis was fouled and hit 1-1, Kentucky comes right back with ANOTHER three pointer by Kelenna Azubuike. I think comebacks have been a signature theme of this tournament. MSU leads by only one with 35 ticks left.
7:07: Ooooo....a BRUTAL foul on Kentucky's Bradley, as he lands on his head. He's done for the day. I think that could have been called flagrant, but the ref made the right call. Tubby gets to bring someone off the bench to shoot the fts. Great sportsmanship by the crowd and both teams today.
7:08: Patrick Sparks misses the 1 and 1. MSU gets the rebound and calls the TO. Not good for Kentucky. Kentucky fouls and MSU goes to the line with 19.8 left, 73-72.
Shannon Brown hits the first of a 1-and-1. Brown....hits the second. Kentucky takes the TO down by three with 16.7 left at half court.
Folks, they gotta give him that three! Sparks earned that, and there is no conclusive evidence that he was on the line. I dont think he was on it!
MORAL OF THE STORY: Do not wait for the final shot! Sparks shot his first basket with 7.7 seconds left, and it game them time to try two more times to tie this game.
THE REFS GAVE HIM THE THREE!!!! OVERFREAKINTIMEEEE!!!! What a game!!
7:25: it's Overtime, and Kentucky seems rejuvenated. Michigan State is a little off as Kentucky is up by two with 4:15 left.
7:28: MSU is tenacious. Missed three 3-pointers but were still able to get rebounds on each of them and finally hit one of them. This is an excellent game. 79-78 UK with 2:30 left.
7:35: Game is tied, Kentucky will have time to take the last shot of the game:
What in the world were they doing? I guess they didn't read my "moral of the story". He didn't even get the shot off. Oh well; DOUBLE OT!
Great game. Really.
5:27: Michigan State is using their quickness to take advantage of Kentucky's defense. Tubby Smith might have to go to a zone to get something going defense-wise. Kentucky also looks rusty on the offensive end. 23-16 MSU.
- Sorry guys, I was eating dinner for the last 10 minutes of the first half. That's my bad, but I am ready for the second half of this one. 37-33 Kentucky lead.
6:20: Second half starts and Michigan State comes out strong to tie the game. Huge three by Brown gives them the lead. 40-39.
6:34: This is like a heavyweight title fight, with one landing a punch and the opponent landing a counterpunch. This could be tight throughout. Neither team seems as if they have a standard plan and everyone on the court is contributing. MSU after a huge alley leads by three.
6:43: MSU's Shannon Brown is having a big game, as he's hit back-to-back threes. MSU's on a hot streak, and it'll be interesting to see if Kentucky can endure it. MSU's up 61-57 with 8:34 left.
6:47: Well my question was answered: No. Michigan State is on a hot streak much like they were against Duke on Friday. Anderson hits a three, MSU gets the steal, and Anderson hits another jumper. MSU's lead is the biggest of the game, 66-58.
6:55: An excellent stretch of basketball with both teams using athletic moves to put points on the board. Kentucky's Rondo Smith is in foul trouble, so that hurts them for their post game. Kentucky has cut the lead in half, though...70-66.
7:00: MSU's Paul Davis is really stepping up on the boards, tipping in a missed shot, and then going to the other end to grab a defensive rebound. He was a big reason for Duke's loss on Friday and will be tough for May to deal with if he faces UNC in the Final Four. MSU leads 72-66 with 2:41 left.
7:05: MSU slipped up and left a wide open Ravi Moss open for a three pointer. After Davis was fouled and hit 1-1, Kentucky comes right back with ANOTHER three pointer by Kelenna Azubuike. I think comebacks have been a signature theme of this tournament. MSU leads by only one with 35 ticks left.
7:07: Ooooo....a BRUTAL foul on Kentucky's Bradley, as he lands on his head. He's done for the day. I think that could have been called flagrant, but the ref made the right call. Tubby gets to bring someone off the bench to shoot the fts. Great sportsmanship by the crowd and both teams today.
7:08: Patrick Sparks misses the 1 and 1. MSU gets the rebound and calls the TO. Not good for Kentucky. Kentucky fouls and MSU goes to the line with 19.8 left, 73-72.
Shannon Brown hits the first of a 1-and-1. Brown....hits the second. Kentucky takes the TO down by three with 16.7 left at half court.
Folks, they gotta give him that three! Sparks earned that, and there is no conclusive evidence that he was on the line. I dont think he was on it!
MORAL OF THE STORY: Do not wait for the final shot! Sparks shot his first basket with 7.7 seconds left, and it game them time to try two more times to tie this game.
THE REFS GAVE HIM THE THREE!!!! OVERFREAKINTIMEEEE!!!! What a game!!
7:25: it's Overtime, and Kentucky seems rejuvenated. Michigan State is a little off as Kentucky is up by two with 4:15 left.
7:28: MSU is tenacious. Missed three 3-pointers but were still able to get rebounds on each of them and finally hit one of them. This is an excellent game. 79-78 UK with 2:30 left.
7:35: Game is tied, Kentucky will have time to take the last shot of the game:
What in the world were they doing? I guess they didn't read my "moral of the story". He didn't even get the shot off. Oh well; DOUBLE OT!
Great game. Really.
7:41: Michigan State is coming out strong this time. Kentucky lost Azubuike, who fouled out. They aren't executing offensively and are in danger of being down by two possessions. 84-81 MSU with 2:31 left.
7:47: Folks, boxing out is important, as Paul Davis's dunk showed. Kentucky has yet to score in this overtime, and are in deep trouble. UK's Morris misses one, but gives them their first point of the double OT. 86-82 with 1:52 left.
7:49: This game should have some hellafied ratings, especially after yesterday's thrillers. Anyway, Michigan State hits two fts to make it six, but Kentucky hits a basket on the the other end. They cancel out, so MSU still leads by four with 1:24 left.
7:52: Good post up by Hayes for UK, which makes it a two pt game. UK takes too much time in fouling MSU, and now....MSU hits both, and that might have locked up the game. 90-86 with 12.2 left.
7:54: Rondo goes coast to coast to cut the lead to two with 7.5 left. They need a quick foul and hope MSU misses. MSU's 20-26 from the line today. Not good odds.
UK fouls, Anderson hits both. That's tough. Izzo is damn near on his way. 7.1 left.
- Well, this was one of the more entertaining games I've seen, and not just at the end of it, but throughout the game (although I missed a good chunk of the first half. Hey, I had to eat dinner.) Kentucky lost, but it was a loss that they shouldn't be ashamed of or feel bad about.
Unlike Georgia Tech with Lethal Weapon 3 and the clutch shot that sent them into overtime in the Elite Eight back in 1990, Kentucky couldn't get it done. But they made it a fight throughout.
As for Michigan State and North Carolina, Carolina better be ready for a team that likes to play physical and use their speed to slash the basket. Paul Davis has already gotten the best of Duke's Shelden Williams, now let's see how well he fares against Sean May. However I doubt if Michigan State will be able to launch the three like a number of teams in this tournament, so keeping Felton out of foul trouble should lead the Tarheels to victory.