JoePa's Busted Bracket Friday NCAA Woods

[joepa66]

HAD FREAKING TENNESSEE BEATING OHIO STATE IN MY BRACKET.....lot's of points :flush


UPDATED YTD: 148 - 104 - 7
UNITS: +37
Thursday: 0 - 2
(two shutouts in one week, like the Cleveland Indians annual June swoon....LMAO)

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA +9 vs. UNC
OREGON -3 vs. UNLV
GEORGETOWN -7 vs. Vanderbilt
OVER 126 Florida/Butler
OVER 131 G-town/Vandy


OVEN MITT YTD: 40 - 32
Thursday: 1 - 0
"Definitely"
FLORIDA GATORS -10 vs. Butler

[Silver & Black]

BOL on the day Joepa!!
on all three Games myself

[Whaleydog]

GL Tonight Joepa!

[joepa66]

AND HERE'S SOMETHING FOR FLYERS FAN AND Ohio State Fans about Mr. Basketball and OSU recruit making it to the state finals this weekend! Jon Diebler....


COLUMBUS – Poland basketball coach Ken Grisdale knew his team was going to have to put together an unworldly effort to dispatch Upper Sandusky in the Division II state semifinals Thursday night. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, it was the Rams who reached the launching pad first.

Behind four double-digit scorers – including Mr. Basketball Jon Diebler – US advanced to its second state championship game in three years with a decisive 89-58 rout of Poland at the Schottenstein Center. Nearly 16,000 fans (15,895) watched as US pressured and propelled themselves into Saturday’s final with Dayton Dunbar. That game is a rematch of a 2005 state semifinal won by the Rams en route to their only title.

Entering the contest averaging 94.8 points per game, the Rams – like Diebler – fell short of their average. That mattered little. Held to just one point in the first quarter, Diebler exploded for 17 in the second and outscored Poland (14 points) by himself in the stanza. He finished the game with 24 points (17 below his average), 12 rebounds, nine steals and nine assists. Diebler’s 13 field goal attempts verged on his lowest of the season.

“It doesn’t matter,” Diebler said. “I think what people have seen throughout the tournament is we have a lot of guys who can shoot the ball. I haven’t been putting up the numbers I did during the regular season because these guys have been stepping up and that’s just made us a better basketball team.”

The Rams were clicking on all cylinders against Poland. Down 8-5 with 3:50 to go in the first quarter, US closed the period with a 12-0 run to start the snowball. The Rams led 45-22 at the half. In addition to Diebler, senior Travis Bachtell and sophomore Alex Falk each had 20 points. Senior Jarryd Nelson chipped in 14. As a team, US shot 13-of-32 from 3s and 30-of-70 from the floor. The Rams also attempted 24 foul shots, making 16.

“I said at the beginning of the season that this was going to be the best offensive team I’ve coached,” US head coach Keith Diebler said. “And the numbers bear that out.”

Defensively, the Rams weren’t bad either. Supplying full court, full-time pressure, US forced Poland into 30 turnovers and scored 37 points off of them.

“Their defense is the key,” Grisdale said. “They feed off turnovers and they cause a lot of what happens.” Said Grisdale: “When you get into their tempo you’re walking into a death trap.”

[AUGUSTUS]

Best of luck JoePa

With you on Florida

Hope I don't jinx the mitt

GL

[teebee34]

GL Joepa.......get'em back tonight!

With the mitt again on the Gators, but against ya on Oregon

[joepa66]

AND...DAYTON DUNBAR....what would a final be without them....

COLUMBUS – Repeating as state champions was Dayton Dunbar’s goal since raising the trophy last year. And now, the Wolverines will have their chance. Dunbar advanced to the Division II state title game for the third straight year Thursday night with a 56-43 win over Columbus DeSales at Ohio State’s Jerome Schottenstein Center with 13,061 fans on hand.

“It was a game of small runs and luckily we came out early and played a little bit better than we did in the second half. With Aaron (Pogue) controlling the boards and Norris (Cole) attacking the basket,” said Dunbar head coach Peter Pullen.

The Wolverines clamped down on defense in the fourth quarter to outscore DeSales 15-6 in the final period. DeSales (22-4) erased a 10 point third quarter deficit to pull within two early in the fourth. But a 5:36 scoring drought proved to be DeSales’ demise. DeSales shot 30 percent from the floor and was only 3-of-12 from the foul line.

Leading Dunbar (23-4) was senior guard Cole with 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the floor. With 6-9 Pogue and 6-7 junior center Anthony Oden getting most of DeSales’ attention on defense with double and triple teaming, Cole focused on taking shots to pull the defenders out of the paint and away from his big teammates. Pogue had 13 of Dunbar’s 43 rebounds in the game. Junior center and University of Dayton recruit Josh Benson added 13 points for Dunbar.

DeSales got 16 points and five rebounds from senior forward Elijah Allen and 10 points and six assists from senior guard Dane Johnson.

Dunbar will be looking for its third state title in six trips to the state tournament Saturday at 2 p.m.

[joepa66]

And finally....before Fridays games begin.....Cincy North College Hill san OJ Mayo, and Findlay Liberty Benton games:


COLUMBUS – There was no O.J. Mayo, no Bill Walker, no elephants and no clowns. The big top didn’t follow North College Hill to the Schottenstein Center this year. Instead, the big shot did.

Draining a three-point, one-handed floater from the right of the key as time expired, NCH junior Damon Butler lifted the Trojans to their third straight Division III state title game with a 69-66 overtime win against Wheelersburg. Of the 12,155 in attendance no one was more surprised by the bucket than the guy who let it go.

Despite trailing the entire contest, Wheelersburg tied the game on a miraculous shot of its own at the end of regulation. Down 57-54 with less than 10 seconds to go, senior Seth Cowgill took the inbounds pass and raced the entire length of the floor. Cutting left at the last second, Cowgill got some separation and hit a leaning 3-pointer with 1.7 seconds to go. It was the first time the game had been tied since 0-0. Cowgill scored all 13 of his points in the second half.

Named one of three D-III state players of the year this week, Miller scored 26 points and grabbed 17 rebounds. He scored 18 points in the second half and overtime as Wheelersburg battled back from a 14-point halftime deficit (29-15).

Butler is the main reason the Pirates comeback fell short. Scoring eight points in the first three quarters, Butler erupted for 18 of his team-high 26 points in the fourth quarter and overtime. Multiple times in the fourth he answered Wheelersburg scores with those of his own. During one stretch, Butler scored nine consecutive points.

Butler, who added seven boards and five assists, wasn’t alone. The Trojans also received standout play from seniors Nate Glover (15 points) and Dwayne Parks (11 points). Junior post Alphonso McPherson added a double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds).

In addition to Miller and Cowgill, Wheelersburg junior Drew Spradlin had 14 points. Senior Gary Salyers added 10 boards.

The Pirates, making their sixth appearance at state, were denied a third trip to the title game. NCH goes for its third consecutive and overall title at 10:45 a.m. Saturday. No Mayo, no Walker, no problem. This time the Butler did it.



COLUMBUS – Findlay Liberty Benton is only one win away from a perfect season. With four seniors on the floor and one freshman phenom, L-B advanced to its first state title game since 1995 with a 63-56 win over 2006 Division III state runner-up Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph in front 11,858 fans at Ohio State’s Schottenstein Center.

D-III co-player of the year Nathan Hyde led all scorers with 27 points while sinking 13-of-16 free throw attempts for L-B. Ashen Ward, who shared player of the year honors with Hyde, had 12 points for VASJ.

VASJ (18-8) had three players score in double digits with guard Nate Barnes (12) and Maurice Haynes (12) joining Ward. However, the Vikings were out-rebounded 27-26 despite having a distinct height advantage over L-B (26-0).

The L-B defense also forced 17 turnovers and had 18 points off those takeaways. L-B came out fast and furious off the opening tip getting out a demanding 11-0 lead in the first quarter.

VASJ began to gain some momentum early in the fourth that was highlighted on a Ward dunk. But an official called a technical foul for hanging on the rim and Hyde made both ensuing free throws for L-B. The Vikings pulled within three with just over two minutes left in the game but they were forced to foul on each L-B possession even though the Eagles were in the bonus.

Freshman guard Aaron Craft made 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch to keep the game out of reach for VASJ. Craft finished with seven points, four rebounds, five assists and four steals

[birdsfan5]

GL Joepa

[wsox08]

GL as always JP... I love the Oregon pick and I might be on one of those OVERs too...

[GamblinMan03]

gl joepa, picks look good

[BUNK MORELAND]

joey

[shorts]

Hey Joepa you really have to shorten some of your entries! Don't you know I'm at work!! I can't be reading all day!! LMAO!! With ya on FLA and the O!!!

BOL to ya!

PS. Hate to say it but I might be on Memphis tomorrow!

I have got to quit hanging out with this guy!

[joepa66]

New Ohio School doesn't take too long to make their mark in tourney....

COLUMBUS – Regulation wasn’t enough time to decide a winner between Holgate and Canal Winchester Harvest Preparatory School during a Division IV state semifinal Thursday. HPS’s Marquis Mathis decided one overtime wasn’t enough either. Rebounding teammate Dane Givner’s miss with less than three second to go, Mathis drained the tying shot as time expired to force a second overtime. The Warriors ultimately record a 55-52 win after 40 minutes before 13,526 at the Schottenstein Center. HPS (24-0) plays for the school’s first state title at 5:15 p.m. Saturday. Holgate finishes 17-9.

For the most part, Holgate instilled its methodical tempo on the game and HPS. Allowing a tournament low 33.2 points per game, the Tigers trailed just 18-16 at halftime. Holgate had led the entire first half until a basket by Givner with 2:31 left in the second period.

HPS led 29-27 after the third quarter and 40-38 with 52 seconds left to play. Two Holgate free throws from Joe Baker with 24 seconds left forced the first overtime. In the initial extra four minutes, Holgate built a five-point lead (46-41) with 54 seconds to play. The outlook looked dim for HPS.

An ensuing 3-pointer by Nehemiah Trotter cut the deficit to 46-44 and after Holgate missed two free throws, Mathis tied the game on two freebies of his own. Senior Logan Brubaker’s free throws with nine seconds left vaulted Holgate back into the lead and then Mathis’s last second heroics sent the game to another OT.

In the second OT, HPS never trailed. The Warriors scored the first five points and held on for the victory. Holgate did have a chance to send HPS to the line with 17 seconds left and trailing by two (54-52), but the Tigers were unable to foul any Warriors’ players until 1.9 seconds remained. The Warriors, who have four starters that average double-figures, had only two double-digit scorers. Ray Nelson led HPS with 15 points, while Givner added 10. All four of Mathis’s points came in the final 15 seconds of the first OT.

Holgate was paced by Baker’s 24 points, but missed his offense late as he fouled out with 3:12 to go in the second OT. Jared Clay chipped in 10 points, while Brubaker had nine to go along with six rebounds and seven assists.


It'll be a battle of unbeatens in the Division IV final (Harvest Prep vs. Georgetown) as Georgetown 27-0 defeated Berlin Hiland 23-5 by 41-40 score. The G-men had to hang on at the end of the game as the Hawks turned the ball over with :29 seconds left in the game and again with :07 seconds left in the game while trying to get a last shot and advance to the finals. Check out the story and Division I game stories and listen live on jjhuddle.com (Ohio High School Sport Site. OHIO STATE recruit and runnerup for Mr. Basketball Kosta Koufos leds Canton Glen Oak 24-3 against Cincy St. Xavier 21-5 at 5:15PM, and Cincy Moeller 24-2 takes on Lakewood St. Ed 26-0 at 8:30PM Friday night....

[Underdog88]

GL JoePa