Saturday, March 19, 2011

Huskies Advance to Round of 32 with 68-65 Win

Isaiah Thomas had 19 points and Scott Suggs added 10 points off the bench as the Washington Huskies  defeated the Georgia Bulldogs 68-65 to advance to the third round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday.

Lorenzo Romar didn't get a textbook performance from the team by any standards but at the end of the day a win is a win. The Huskies overcame a horrible night from beyond the arc by going 4-18. In fact, the Huskies were only 2-14 for three pointers in the first half and the Huskies found themselves in a dog fight tied at 28.

However, in the second half the Huskies play much better. The Huskies started the second half on a 12-4 run that was caped off by a Darnell Gant three pointer to give the Huskies a 40-32 lead. After that the Huskies played good fundamental basketball to lead 63-53 with under two minutes to go in the game. Georgia tried to save their season with a heavy pressure that confused Washington. It startled Washington so much a Georgia had clawed its way back to 67-65 with under 10 seconds to go.

All C.J. Wilcox needed to do was knock down his two biggest free throws of his life so far. After hitting his first free throw, he missed his second free throw. That opened the door for the Bulldogs to tie the game and send it into overtime. Isaiah Thomas wasn't going to allow that to happen. Georgia moved the ball up briskly to try to get a last second three. That last second three was a broken play after Isaiah Thomas deflected a pass that would have led to an open three. The pass was deflected to Travis Leslie who put up a desperation three ball that hit the backboard and didn't draw iron. The Huskies had survived  Georgia's late serge.

Georgia was led by Trey Thompkins and Gerald Robinson. Thompkins led all scores with 26 points and Robinson added an additional 12 points. In the end it was the depth of Georgia that hurt them the most. The Bulldogs got badly outscored 28-0 on bench points which also seemed to give Washington an advantage. It gave Washington an advantage because not only did Romar have fresh legs he could use, he also had confidence that his bench could get the job done.

Even though the Huskies got the win, their going to have to play a lot better on Sunday. In Contrast, the Huskies played a really good second half that propelled them to possibly a deep tournament run. That said,  the Huskies will take on the North Carolina Tar Heels. The Tar Heels were victorious over Long Island University by a final score of 102-87. The Tar Heels are a well coached team coached by Roy Williams. He has won two National Titles at UNC and will surely have his team ready to play Washington.

Personally, I think North Carolina is a favorable matchup for Washington. UNC and Washington both score in bunches and that should favour Washington. It is often said in Tournament games that the three point shot is the great equalizer. If Washington knocks down three's there is no reason why Washington ca't win. In the game on Sunday Washington will look to keep pace with the Tar Heels. It is something Washington should be able to do if they shoot the ball well. The pressure is on the youthful Tar Heels. In some ways all the pressure is off Washington which could be a good thing.

The game starts at 9:15am and will be on CBS.

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