Illinois v. Arizona
 

Is anyone as excited about this game as I am? It's my favorite college player, Dee Brown, against my all-time favorite college team, Arizona. Both teams are stacked with ballers. Who do you think will come out with the W in this one?

I'll be putting my money on Salim and the Cats.

Salim is just sick: 51.6% FG, 51.5% 3PT, 90.8% FT, 18.7 PPG; all of this from a guard.

Lottery teams, meet Mr. Stoudamire

i think this has the chance to be the game of the tournament. i'm damn excited. :)

Illini...no doubt. With three big 10ers in the 1334 eight you have to question the system of judging schedule toughness.

I still like Illinois to win it all, but you hit the nail on the head about Stoudamire. He is a champ when it comes to shooting the ball. Shooting accuracy is the rarest of talents in basketball, and he has it. He doesn't get the press like JJ Reddick (Pac 10 vs ACC), but he is a better shooter and player.

I agree that this will probably end up being the game of the tournament. I think Illinois takes this one, but I'll be pulling to Arizona to represent the Pac-10 (and make up for Washington getting spanked a few nights ago).

My office pool essentially comes down to this game. If Arizona wins, I pretty much win the pool, if Illinois wins then about ten people are in contention to win and I'm out. It definitely looks like it could be the game of the tournament.

This will probably be as good as the 2001 Elite Eight game. I liked how well Frye and Radenovic worked together against double teams in the post against OSU. If Stoudamire gets at least 20 and Adams stays aggressive, I think the Wildcats have a chance.

So far this has been a great game. Half time and they only have a 2 point difference. This might go down to the wire.

If Arizona can get Stoudamire going in the second half, Arizona will run away with it. Frye and Radenovic have been solid thus far and need to keep it up all the way to the end.

Go Cats! :thumbsup:

http://www.fromtheheartpostcards.com...rds/azcat5.jpg

now granted the illi have had a easy tourny that said ......msu beat fucking duke
best team in many pools duke

omg coach k is great duke


and wisconsion is not resopnible for ncstate upseting some teams before they played them

man i can't believe this game. this is freaking awesome. Arizona sucks it up the first half, comes back the second half, leads by 15, and now Ill. just tied it at 80 with 30 seconds left.
jesus christ man. this is a FREAKING AWESOME game.

Wow. I'm crushed. That was one of the worst chokes in Arizona history.

HOLY SHIT!!! i thought it was over with 3 minutes left... i still can't believe illinois came back.

fucking awesome game by arizona... right up till the last 10 seconds of OT. WHEW... my hands are drenched with sweat! :)

I'm not sure you could qualify it as a choke. The teams just exchanged big runs and it came down to one shot.

I'd be surprised if the tournament gets any better after this game. Arizona, up until losing to Washington twice, was a lock for a number one seed in the tourney. I give Illinois credit; they survived probably the toughest regional.

Man, that game was great. Soooo great.

Man the game with freakin awesome. I cant believe we came back from losing by 15 with like 4 minutes to go and tie it. and then win by 1 in overtime with like 30 seconds left again. Wow, amazing stuff, but what is up with the Illini, they seem to always loose steam in the beginning of the second half, then come back to life to win it. Wierd, but whatever gets the job done.

What a great game! Now all we have to do is get by a good Louisville team for a meeting with UNC in the final.

Absolutely amazing. Illinois put on an immense amount of pressure on the ball down the stretch. Down 8 with a little over a minute to go, they did everything right to get back in the game. My heart goes out to the Arizona players and fans; I know a loss like that hurts.

I think Lute Olson is a good coach, but shame on him for not getting the ball to Salim Stoudamire in the final possession. He is a better shooter, better player, and more clutch than Hassan Adams. Sure Stoudamire passed the ball instead of forcing up a shot at the end of regulation, but that doesn't change the fact that he should have had the ball again for the overtime finale. More than any other team sport, basketball relies on individual excellence. As a basketball fan (I actually favor Illinois over Arizona), I would be content to see Stoudamire miss that shot, not Adams

Agreed. I don't what the hell they were planning with that last play. Stoudamire should have had the shot. Nonetheless, being up 14 with 3 minutes left should have made that a non-issue even playing the best team in the country. This loss is going to take a while to get over; I can't imagine how much sleep the Wildcats are going to lose over this.

Anytime a team is in control and all of a sudden forgets how to play basketball counts as choking in my book. Sure Illinois put a lot of pressure, but Arizona become very tentative in the last four minutes, basically trying to run off the clock instead of continuing to go inside to Frye.

I felt like i was watching history as Illinois came back...deron williams put on an AMAZING show in those last few minutes

That game was amazing...I still believe that Illinois is the better team and deserved to win.

I don't think Lute was the one passing the ball ;) I think Salim was actually supposed to get the ball but that dumb fuck wanted to shoot a 3. Why was anyone trying to attempt a 3?! You needed a 2 to win. This game was a thriller but it pissed the fuck out of me.

I am quite aware that Olson wasn't passing the ball, and obviously my comment didn't mean that ;)


You think Stoudamire was supposed to get the ball? You are the first person who I heard that from. To me, its apparent that the play was designed for Adams to create (drive and score, drive and dish). That is why I said shame on Lute Olson. Stoudamire should have been the first player to touch the live ball. As I stated, he is a better shooter, better player, and more clutch than Adams. Not only wasn't Stoudamire given the ball from the get-go, I don't recall any designed picks/screens, flash ups, etc to get him the ball once Adams had it.

From my interpretation, I think that Olson designed an absolutely horrendous play. You said you were pissed about the finish too, perhaps you agree with me.

cross-over... you're correct about stoudamire not getting the ball. they've said multiple times on sportscenter that the last play was designed for adams to have the ball, and either pass it down under or drive to the basket. unfortunately for adams, that's hard to do when there's a wall of illinois players in front of you.

it probably seemed good on paper, but there was more than enough time to run a better play than that... or at least shoot earlier and try for the put-back and/or foul.

ok.. maybe I was wrong but it just seemed like what's his name when he was at the top of the key he looked to Salim as he was running by and wanted to pass it. Maybe not. Why the fuck he was way out there with 3 seconds to go .. is beyond comprehension. Even an elementary student knows to drive and at least draw the foul. They just played with the ball too much with the time left. Fuckin sucks too.. I had 'Zona goin all the way