Texas Draws #7 Seed In East, Will Face Minnesota Thursday
by Peter Bean on Mar 15, 2009 6:14 PM CDT
in Texas Longhorns Basketball
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PrintTexas draws a #7 seed in the East Regional and will face 10th-seeded Minnesota on Thursday in Greensboro, NC. Should Texas win, they would almost certainly face #2 seed Duke.
I'm off to the airport and Wiggo is in Tahoe skiing. My breakdown of Texas regional will run tomorrow morning. Complete tourney coverage throughout the week.
Your comments and thoughts below.
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Texas got about the best draw they could hope for
a. We go Carl Spackler on the Gophers
b. Flush the Dukies
c. Get our rifles out for the ’cats or baby blue bears
-rBr-
really?
i can think of better things than playing duke in Greensboro!
Duke in Greensboro
With Duke and North Caroline playing these early games in Greensboro, there will be more UNC fans than Duke, because in NC everyone loves UNC and Duke is more of a national team, or so I’ve read. I’m sure we’ll get plenty of support from UNC fans through the enemy of my enemy is my friend logic. So I’d rather play Duke in front of UNC fans than at a more neutral court, all things being even.
by Longhorn@Berkeley on Mar 15, 2009 7:49 PM CDT up reply actions
Good point for both teams to keep in mind (UT & UM)
The thing that is going to suck is trying to get tickets for the game(s). With both UNC and Duke playing in the same building, they will surely be hard to come by.
I moved to Charlotte a little over a year ago, and I assumed the state or North Carolina was about evenly split between Duke and UNC fans with a few Wake and NC Staters here and there.
As it turns out, there may be more Virginia Tech fans around here than even Duke, with NC State ahead as well. Duke is a small, private college with a lot of out-of-state attendees, so there’s not nearly as many Duke fans as most might imagine. And because it’s small, private, and expensive (and has no fake street cred like, say, Miami which is also small, private, and expensive), it basically has no bandwagon fans of the community college/no college variety.
UNC is the giant public state school, with NC State not far behind. Duke fans do exist and I’m sure plenty will show up in Greensboro, but I’d estimate ticket purchasers will be 60-70% Tar Heel fans.
assuming the second round?
think what you want of the Gophers but we all know what happens in the Tourney when you start assuming your next game.
what you say here can, and will, be used against you
I assume nothing.
Maybe that Texas shows up and competes. Nothing more. We’re not a good enough shooting team to blow anyone out. Nor are we a good enough defensive team to pull away either.
This is a 7/10 match up for a reason. Neither team is great and neither team is horrible. I expect a close game.
Texas is a better offensive team with Balbay in the lineup but, for whatever reason, a poorer defensive one. We are also a one dimentional perimeter shooting team. We don’t shoot free throws well and struggle when Dexter or James get in foul trouble. Last, we are at our best when Pittman is a factor on offense and not a liability on defense.
From a Minnesota fan, you guys are dangerous when you shoot the ball well and don’t turn it over. I’d say, we’re a dangerous team when we attack the rim off the dribble, play inside-out on offense, and stay out of foul trouble.
Should be a good one.
--AW--
did I say that?
:)
what you say here can, and will, be used against you
by GopherNation on Mar 16, 2009 10:03 AM CDT up reply actions
"what you say here can, and will, be used against you"
we made it
and we’ll get to knock Duke out!
what you say here can, and will, be used against you
by GopherNation on Mar 15, 2009 5:28 PM CDT
-rBr-
by run Bevo run on Mar 15, 2009 7:26 PM CDT up reply actions
Tongue in Cheek
We’re just trying to needle you guys. We certainly aren’t assuming anything either. But I think I can safely say that everyone in the nation outside of Durham, NC, will be rooting for the UT/UM winner to eliminate Duke.
I'm pretty sure I know the answer to this,
but has Texas ever beat Duke? In recent years, I can’t remember the game even being competitive.
Haven't we only played Duke once in the Barnes era?
Wasn’t it the black jersey disaster? My memory might be off….
I watched us lose pretty horrifically
at the Garden a few years ago, and we weren’t in black, so that’s at least two.
by BrooklynHorn on Mar 16, 2009 4:32 AM CDT up reply actions
This was harder than it should have been to find out
Texas vs Duke All Time:
- Blue Devils easily handling the Horns 95-69 in the 2000 Preseason NIT semifinals
- Duke beat Texas 89-61 on Saturday, December 20th, 2003. The game was played before a pro-Blue Devils sellout crowd at Madison Square Garden.
- Duke beat Texas 97-66 on Saturday, December 10th, 2005, at the Meadowlands (black jersey disaster).
Thanks for finding that......
And Yikes. This isn’t the same Duke team that lost to Belmont. Henderson is playing great basketball. Well, let’s get past Minny first…..
Not to be negative
but I’m not expecting much from the Duke game if we do get past Minnesota. I think if DJ didn’t go pro we’d have a good chance but right now if the Texas team that just shoots jumpers shows up then it’s gonna be a very long game for us. So uh gooo Binghamton!
"If DJ didn't go pro......"
We’d be a 1 seed and would have finally won a Big 12 tourney. That “if” is just too much to swallow now….
Wow.
What time do Duke/ UNC play? Wouldve thought they’d get that spot. Or is that 6:10 eastern?
by the other Andrew on Mar 15, 2009 9:39 PM CDT up reply actions
AWESOME!
That means I should be back from work in time to see the whole game. No more of this ESPN gamecast crap or relying on tv streaming that’s probably blocked at work.
by goingforthecorner on Mar 15, 2009 10:30 PM CDT up reply actions
One positive way to spin this
is that, although we might think Duke is a shitty draw for us, Duke is probably thinking the same, that their reward for being a #2 seed is having to play Texas in the second round. They probably consider that pretty unlucky.
Really?
You think they would really think that? I didn’t think we had ever really played them that tough. Seems to me like the few times we have met, the horns haven’t really brought our A-game. But I could be wrong. Hope so. And I hope we get to find out.
Hook’em
"A lot of people look for the easy way to do anything, in swimming there is no easy way." - Eddie Reese
P.S. 45-35
yes, but...
Texas has a very strong record against top-10 teams the past few years (including this year), and we’re usually ranked in the top 10 ourselves. If you’re a fan of a powerful #2 seed, you don’t expect to play a team like that in the round of 32.
by BrooklynHorn on Mar 15, 2009 11:01 PM CDT up reply actions
Not sure about that
Most 7-10 seeds are middling teams from the power conferences. This year:
BC/USC
Cal/Maryland
Clemson/Michigan
Minnesota/Texas
Once you are in the tournament, virtually every team is going to be tough. Even the 13+ seeds are there for a reason—they know how to win, even if it is usually against lesser competition.
I don’t think Duke is sweating Minnesota/Texas winner all that much—especially in their own backyard. At least not any more than they would teams from other 7-10 matchups. The other three 7-10 matchups involved ACC teams, and the rule is that you are not supposed to face a conference opponent until the region semi-finals. That rule aside, I think the Clemson/Michigan winner is the toughest on paper.
That being said, I don’t think Duke would take either team lightly either. Minnesota beat Louisville and Texas beat Oklahoma, so we’ve both proved capable of winning big games.
Should we whip out the Halloween jerseys if we play Duke again?
by goingforthecorner on Mar 15, 2009 11:02 PM CDT reply actions
Wondering about that myself
The jerseys were universally panned after the horrible performance against Duke, but I kind of liked them. I’m sure there’s a school of thought that say that Texas should never wear them again, particularly against Duke, against whom Texas has played horribly in the last few years. Why push the bad luck that clearly exists in that series?
There might also be a school of thought that says the Longhorns could exorcise some serious demons against Duke were they to wear the unis and win. A way to energize the team.
Getting past MInnesota won’t be easy for this team, so playing Duke is far from a guarantee, but I kinda like the idea of wearing them against Duke if the Longhorns make it that far, though I can’t say why I feel that way, particularly.
by Wescott Eberts (GoBR) on Mar 16, 2009 12:50 AM CDT up reply actions
I'd compare it to Georgia this year.
They used their black jerseys to get a mental edge against Auburn last year and they won. However, when they played Alabama this year with the exact same jerseys, they got destroyed. Are they going to bring back black any time soon? In all likely hood not for a while. But should Texas wear black if we play Duke in the second round? Absolutely.
Against Big 10 teams...
We played MSU tough and beat Wisconsin at their place. I think we have a good chance at this one, but I also thought we’d beat Baylor. With this team, absolutely anything is possible. One thing is almost certain, it will be a close game. Whether or not we can finish the game well remains to be seen.
The Big Ten sucks in basketball, just like football.
Second of all, I can’t believe so many of y’all voted for duke to beat us in the 2nd round. Oh ye of little faith……..They aren’t UNC, Pitt, Uconn or even Memphis for that matter.
Tubbie Smith is overrated. The national championship he won at Kentucky was with players from the coach before.
Minnesota can get hyped up all day about having a decent basketball team, but I’m looking for the Big Ten to get exposed come tournament time. HOOK EM!
But with this Texas team
You either win close or you lose. we never blow anyone out, we are not in the business of exposing anyone at this point
that's an ignorant statement
The national championship he won at Kentucky was with players from the coach before.
Considering the fact that Pitino himself said that one of the reasons he left to take the Celtics job was because he didn’t think he could do anything with the players he left Smith.
and this is a 9 year old's statement
We’re the #9 seed in the West, which means we’ll face #8 BYU in our first round game in Philadelphia. If we win that game, we get the privelige of facing #1 seed UConn in the second round.
I don’t see any other way to look at this except to say that we got screwed.
Are you going to take your toys and go home now? Is the world out to screw aTm?
-rBr-
by run Bevo run on Mar 16, 2009 9:27 AM CDT up reply actions
Furthermore...
…look at what Billy Gilliispie has done with Kentucky since he took over. Hello NIT. Also, it takes much, much more to coach than just having the right players. You have to manage players and best utilize their strengths and hiding their weaknesses. If it was so easy, they wouldn’t get paid very much.
Lastly, look at what he did with Tulsa and Georgia. They aren’t even relevant in college basketball anymore. They certainly were when he was the coach. He took Tulsa to two consecutive sweet 16 appearances and then led Georgia to their first ever back to back 20 win seasons.
Hardly overrated.
Once again, Beergut says something ridiculous (only not to an empty room on a game thread).
Pitino has said numerous times, numerous times, that the reason he left was because he thought he was getting Duncan and Van Horn in the draft.
And then the lottery went the wrong way (unless you live in San Antonio), and he ended up with Ron Mercer.
so is Dan Monson a better coach than Tubby?
Tubby won last year with all Monson players and is in the Tourney this year with mostly Monson’s players. Clearly he is overrated.
Billy G was given two first team All-SEC players recruited by Tubby and turned them into an NIT team. Tubby has nobody on first three B10 teams and made them a tourney team. Clearly overrated.
what you say here can, and will, be used against you
by GopherNation on Mar 16, 2009 10:14 AM CDT up reply actions
I don't see why we are debating whether or not Tubby is a good coach....
The guy won a MNC. He is quickly turning around a Minnesota program that hasn’t been relevant since Bobby Jackson. The guy is an excellent coach.
That said, Rick Barnes isn’t exactly Pat Knight. There’s a reason why we are seemingly always in the Sweet 16. This, though, is his weakest team since the Daniel Gibson led one and done squad (Nevada, anyone?). I think it’s going to be a very close game where turnovers and made free throws will make the difference, not necessarily coaching strategy….
wangmene
wangmene and i hung out tonight. the concensus is that everything looks okay. pittman is the key to reach the 3rd round. nonetheless, wangmene is a class act and a very friendly guy.
they also believe that abrams is the key.
if he has a successful night, we’ll be golden. i’ll take it. wangmen is a class act.
by longhornricky on Mar 16, 2009 2:15 AM CDT up reply actions
"they also believe that abrams is the key."
Umm, that statement frightens the bejesus out of me. It’s like someone isn’t watching any game tapes from this year.
-rBr-
by run Bevo run on Mar 16, 2009 9:29 AM CDT up reply actions
Abrams is the key
to our death. I have an awful feeling in my stomach that he’ll shoot us out of one of these games.
by goingforthecorner on Mar 16, 2009 12:49 PM CDT up reply actions
I don't know,
At this point in the season, I can’t think of anyone else I want shooting the ball either. It’s not like he’s taking shots away from some secret weapon we have been saving for the tournament. He’s the best weapon we have on the perimeter and the guy can hit free throws. I mean, if he isn’t shooting, who is? Gary? Dogus? Mason? If AJ is hitting, we beat Minnesota. If he’s off, then we can all pray that Dexter has another 20-20-5 game.
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