Coaching Career of Chris Matthews (CH2k8)

[Deuce2223]

Re: Coaching Career of Chris Matthews (CH2k8)

Wow a Florida vs N. Florida Final 4 would have to have drama all over it. If you can make it there and win, I love your chances for the Title.

[superjames1992]

Re: Coaching Career of Chris Matthews (CH2k8)

Wow, 15-19 in the second round game for Riley. Impressive, especially against a good team.

[cubsfan203]

Re: Coaching Career of Chris Matthews (CH2k8)

NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Preview



Point Guards
UNF: Junior Rivera (JR, 6'4, 73 ovr) - 9.5 PPG, 8.0 APG, 2.2 RPG, 2.0 SPG
LAS: Warren Messy (SO, 6'3", 69 ovr) - 6.8 PPG, 1.9 APG, 1.1 RPG, 0.8 SPG

Advantage: UNF - Rivera should have no problem distributing the ball in this game. Messy has averaged 13 points per game in the tournament so he'll probably win that battle. Rivera makes his money dishing the ball to teammates for open looks.


Shooting Guards
UNF: Brent Wood (SR, 6'5, 64 ovr) - 17.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.7 apg, 39% 3pt
LAS: Darnell Clement (JR, 6'2", 78 ovr) - 8.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.9 apg, 32% 3pt

Advantage: UNF - Clement isn't a great shooter, and will struggle to keep up with Wood if he gets hot.


Small Forwards
UNF: Emanuel Dancy (SO, 6'5", 72 ovr) - 15.5 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 2.1 APG
LAS: Mason Piplkis (FR, 6'4", 72 ovr) - 5.7 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 2.2 APG

Advantage: UNF - Dancy will look to get back to his scoring ways against more of a SG trying to play at SF.


Power Forwards
UNF: Jean Francois Monceaux (FR, 7'0", 81 ovr) - 9.3 PPG, 9.1 RPG
LAS: Parker Sowers (FR, 6'5", 78 ovr) - 7.7 PPG, 6.7 RPG

Advantage: UNF - Giving up that much height will cause problems against anyone, but against someone skilled and coming off a career high scoring night will be big trouble.


Centers
UNF: Emerson Riley (JR, 7'3", 71 ovr) - 19.3 PPG, 9.2 RPG, 0.8 BPG
LAS: Jerrell Williams (SR, 6'8", 74 ovr) - 18.6 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 0.3 BPG

Advantage: UNF - Williams did well against a smaller opponent in Michigan, but struggled in the first round against a 7-footer. Riley has been too dominant to not pick him here.


Bench
Advantage: LAS - La Salle has more options that can come off the bench and put up points. Zakee Copeland has put up 14 and 11 off the bench in the tournament. Moran also scored 15 against Michigan St. The Ospreys will look to Harrington and Kowalczuk to contribute.


X-Factor
UNF: Wood and Dancy
LAS: Williams

North Florida's big men are going to put up big numbers. Wood and Dancy need to get things going and this one will be a walk in the park for the Ospreys.

Williams is THE guy for the Explorers. He finished 3rd in the A-10 in scoring, and he's going to have to put up big numbers against the biggest guy he'll ever face to keep his team in the game and give them a chance.

Summary:
--North Florida likes to score....a lot. La Salle plays at a slower pace and only averages 70 points per game. If the Ospreys start taking control of the speed of the game this could get ugly.

La Salle wasn't expected to be here, but they've got things done in the conference tournament and so far in this tournament to get this far. They are 4-1 against teams in the field, and look to make that 5 with a win over coach Matthews' Ospreys.

[cubsfan203]

Re: Coaching Career of Chris Matthews (CH2k8)

Explorers Look Lost, North Florida Advances to Elite 8
”Ospreys take control in the 2nd half to advance once again."
March 24, 2011

FINAL
	12 La Salle (23-13)	35	31	66
	1 North Florida (33-1)	43	52	95
Players of the Game UNF - Emerson Riley (Pts: 30, Reb:11, Ast: 3) LAS - Warren Messy (Pts: 20, Reb: 3, Ast: 2)

The Explorers had a great ride, but their Cinderella story was cut short in the 2nd half of tonight's game. They just couldn't keep up with the size and athleticism of the North Florida Ospreys and their trio of Wood, Dancy, and Riley.

La Salle actually started the game on top. They led the majority of the first half, and managed to get Rivera and Monceaux in foul trouble very early. They tried to force the Ospreys to settle for three pointers instead of passing it to Riley in the paint, which also worked well at first. Wood really struggled because of it, starting the game 0-7 from behind the arc and only hit 5-21 shots all night (5-18 from 3pt).

North Florida took control with around 7:00 remaining in the first, and never surrendered the lead again. After being down 8 points at halftime, they managed to bring cut the lead to as little as one in the 2nd half, but couldn't get over the hump before the Ospreys took over the game completely.

At one point the score was 61-60, but then the Ospreys closed the game out with a 34-6 run to finish the game. They head to the Elite 8 with a chance to reach the Final 4, and get Coach Matthews his 100th win in the process.


Coach Matthews’ Minute
“That was pretty much us against a directionally challenged Christopher Columbus. Another one bites the dust.”



North Florida Ospreys Player Stats
Junior Rivera - 4 pts, 9 ast, 2 blk
Brent Wood - 19 pts, 3 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl (5-21)
Emanuel Dancy - 23 pts, 7 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl
Jean Francois Monceaux - 2 pts, 6 reb, 2 blk (foul trouble)
Emerson Riley - 30 pts, 11 reb, 3 ast, 3 blk

Mike Harrington - 10 pts, 2 reb
Colin Harvey - 5 pts, 4 ast



La Salle Explorers Player Stats
Warren Messy - 20 pts, 3 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl, 6 to (career high pts)
Darnell Clement - 8 pts, 4 reb, 2 ast (3-15)
Mason Piplkis - 7 pts, 9 reb, 5 ast, blk (1-8)
Parker Sowers - 6 pts, 5 reb, 2 ast
Jerrell WIlliams - 8 pts, 7 reb, ast, blk

Jerry Moran - 9 pts, 2 reb
Zakee Copeland - 4 pts, 3 reb, 2 ast



Record: 33-1 (16-0)
Up Next: NCAA Tournament Elite 8

[superjames1992]

Re: Coaching Career of Chris Matthews (CH2k8)

Your team is a second half team for sure.

[cubsfan203]

Re: Coaching Career of Chris Matthews (CH2k8)

Road to the Final Four
Sweet 16 Recap

East Region

(1) Florida 114 vs. (4) UNLV 80
Junior Kenny Odia led the way with 27 points as the Gators chomped on UNLV. They outscored them by 22 points in the second half to pull away and make this one a blowout. Florida continues to move on despite not having Jai Lucas.



(2) UCLA 84 vs. (11) Oklahoma St 78
Oklahoma St was down by 18 at halftime, and managed to bring it back to a close game behind seniors James Anderson (29pt) and Martavis Adams (24pt). The veteran line-up couldn't quite keep up with UCLA in the end. The Bruins were led by potential lottery pick Jabahri Laws.


West Region

(1) North Florida 95 vs. (12) La Salle 66
La Salle's Cinderella story comes to a less than happy ending. They led the majority of the first half, before the Ospreys took over and made them look silly. The Explorers only lose one starter, so we could be hearing about them again next year.


(3) Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 68 vs. (2) Arizona 78
The Islanders magical season came to a screeching half against the Wildcats. Arizona pulled out to an early lead and maintained it through the game. Leading freshman of the year candidate Albert Christian put up 28 points to lead the way.


South Region

(4) Iowa St 77 vs. (9) Washington 74
The Cyclones beat Washington on a late 3-pointer by Diante Garrett, who led all scorers with 23 points. Washington shot poorly from behind the arc, and couldn't hit free throws which led to their downfall.


(2) DePaul 75 vs. (14) East Carolina 64
East Carolina's completely unexpected run is over, but some fans are calling foul, pun intended. The refereeing seemed to be one-sided. DePaul shot twice as many free throws as ECU (35 to 17), which also led to the Pirates having three starters foul out.


Midwest Region

(4) Cincinnati 74 vs. (9) Penn St 70
After winning two games by just two points, Penn State couldn't pull off another close victory. The Bearcats hit their free throws down the stretch, and thanks to another 20+ point effort by senior Nick Aldridge they got the victory.


(3) Purdue 81 vs. (7) LSU 79
Seniors E'Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson continue to put up tons of points, and keep leading Purdue further and further in the tournament. They had to come from behind, but they made it happen despite Hummel fouling out.

[Deuce2223]

Re: Coaching Career of Chris Matthews (CH2k8)

Interesting that Florida and UCLA are playing each other just like in real life.

Good luck against Arizona. I really want to see a UNF vs UF Final 4 game.

I am going to go with Depaul and Cincy on the other side and Cincy in the Championhisp. Hopefully against UNF.

[Ice_Cold345]

Re: Coaching Career of Chris Matthews (CH2k8)

Gotta love that Midwest Final being two teams close to each other (if they are playing in Indy, it would be perfect.) Sucks that the East/West are so chalky.

Good luck against the #2 Arizona squad, should be a good game.

Predictions of Final Four:

EAST: UCLA (Jai Lucas will cost Florida not being there)
WEST: North Florida (You've been on fire on the offense, so you should pull it out)
SOUTH: Iowa State (DePaul barely beat East Carolina, so I think ISU will pull it out)
MIDWEST: Purdue (I remember Johnson/Moore/Hummel so well, oh how I wish Purdue was as good as they were then. )

[cubsfan203]

Re: Coaching Career of Chris Matthews (CH2k8)

Interesting that Florida and UCLA are playing each other just like in real life.

Good luck against Arizona. I really want to see a UNF vs UF Final 4 game.

I am going to go with Depaul and Cincy on the other side and Cincy in the Championhisp. Hopefully against UNF.

I would love to try to get some revenge against Florida since they knocked us out last season. Unfortunately the 3 best teams out of the other 7 are all on my side of the bracket. The others aren't bad, just not as good. Every team remaining finished in the top 16 in the final poll.

[cubsfan203]

Re: Coaching Career of Chris Matthews (CH2k8)

Road to the Final Four
Elite 8 Preview

East Region

(1) Florida vs. (2) UCLA
Easily the best match-up of these four games. Florida is the best team in the country, but UCLA might have the deepest team in the nation. The Bruins have 5 players who shoot above 40% from behind the arc. Lucas will miss this game for the Gators, but could be back for the Final 4 if they make it.


West Region

(1) North Florida vs. (2) Arizona
In terms of talent, this could be considered David vs. Goliath. Arizona has two juniors in Linebaugh and Martin that could be lottery picks, and have several others that could be high picks as well as the likely freshman player of the year. North Florida has a lot of size and plays well as a team.


South Region

(2) DePaul vs. (4) Iowa State
DePaul has a very balanced team, including a front court that likes to have block parties, and a couple of guards that can light up the scoreboard. Unfortunately for them, Iowa State is almost identical. They are led by senior Craig Brackins, who averages just over 19 points per game


Midwest Region

(3) Purdue vs. (4) Cincinnati
Purdue has three guys that can put up 20+ on you in Moore, Hummel, and Johnson. They don't have a true point guard which can cause problems, but they have a lot of seniors wanting this final season to include a championship. Cincinnati starts 4 seniors as well, and has two more on the bench. After that they have a very inexperienced squad, but Nick Aldridge has scored 20+ in every tournament game and is 5th in the nation with 23.8ppg.

[cubsfan203]

Re: Coaching Career of Chris Matthews (CH2k8)

NCAA Tournament Elite 8 Preview



Point Guards
UNF: Junior Rivera (JR, 6'4, 73 ovr) - 9.4 PPG, 7.9 APG, 2.1 RPG, 1.9 SPG
ARI: Ronni Sherrill (JR, 6'1", 86 ovr) - 6.1 PPG, 3.2 APG, 2.8 RPG, 1.3 SPG

Advantage: UNF - Rivera has the height advantage, and is better and scoring and passing. Sherrill is quick though, so Rivera will have to avoid foul trouble which has been a problem for him at times.


Shooting Guards
UNF: Brent Wood (SR, 6'5, 64 ovr) - 17.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.8 apg, 39% 3pt
ARI: Sergio Linebaugh (JR, 6'6", 90 ovr) - 13.6 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 4.0 apg, 39% 3pt

Advantage: ARI - Wood is going to score his points, but Linebaugh does it all. He leads the team in rebounds and assists, while still being able to put up a bunch of points when the team needs it.


Small Forwards
UNF: Emanuel Dancy (SO, 6'5", 72 ovr) - 15.8 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 2.1 APG
ARI: Garrison Martin (JR, 6'3", 89 ovr) - 18.3 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 2.7 APG

Advantage: ARI - We would give it to Dancy because of height advantage, but Martin has put up 20+ on two guys taller than Dancy in the tournament. Dancy is a solid defender, but he's going to have his hands full.


Power Forwards
UNF: Jean Francois Monceaux (FR, 7'0", 81 ovr) - 9.1 PPG, 9.0 RPG
ARI: Jamelle Horne (SR, 6'8", 88 ovr) - 11.0 PPG, 4.3 RPG

Advantage: UNF - Height seems to always be the difference maker here. The only problem is that Monceaux has had a foul trouble problem, which takes that away. He needs to stay out of it in this one.


Centers
UNF: Emerson Riley (JR, 7'3", 71 ovr) - 19.6 PPG, 9.2 RPG, 0.9 BPG
ARI: Albert Christian (FR, 6'9", 79 ovr) - 14.9 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 0.9 BPG

Advantage: UNF - Christian win more than likely win the National Freshman of the Year award, but he hasn't faced anyone like Riley all year. Christian is good at a lot of things, but rebounding isn't one. Riley could get a lot of second chance looks.


Bench
Advantage: ARI - The Wildcats have more depth. They have JR guard Sead Bathie who averages 10.1 a game while shooting 42% from behind the arc, as well as a couple others that can put up points if needed. They also have two big guys, Alex Jacobson (7'2") and Clinton Patton (7'0") who usually don't get much playing time but could be crucial in this game against Riley and Monceaux.


X-Factor
UNF: Wood and Dancy
ARI: Christian and the bench

Same story here. North Florida's big men are going to put up big numbers. Wood and Dancy need to get things going to match the Arizona guards.

Christian needs to have a big game, which is asking a lot against a guy that has a half a foot on him. The bench is probably the biggest deal. They have talent on the bench that can make or break the game for them.

Summary:
--Both of these teams like a fast paced, high-scoring game. The Ospreys are the best in the nation at it, but Arizona isn't very far behind in 4th. The Wildcats are more about depth, having 5 different guys who average 10+ points. North Florida mostly relies on 3 guys, Riley, Wood, and Dancy to do the bulk of their scoring.

Foul trouble has been an issue for North Florida. They haven't played a team as talented as this Arizona squad all year, so they'll need to avoid that or it could cause problems. Arizona needs to have their guards put up points and try to get Monceaux and Riley out of the game.

The Wildcats have been to two straight championship games, and lost both to Duke. They are looking for the elusive championship and hope 3rd time's a charm.

[superjames1992]

Re: Coaching Career of Chris Matthews (CH2k8)

2.9 rebounds per game for a center? Yikes.

Good luck! Your height down low should be the difference-maker in your favor, IMO.

[JJ4]

Re: Coaching Career of Chris Matthews (CH2k8)

should be a good game.

[cubsfan203]

Re: Coaching Career of Chris Matthews (CH2k8)

Back-Up Kowalczuk leads Ospreys to Final Four
”Coach Matthews' 100th win takes team to first Final 4."
March 26, 2011

FINAL
	2 Arizona (30-7)	49	47	96
	1 North Florida (34-1)	47	54	101
Players of the Game UNF - Austen Kowalczuk (Pts: 19, Reb: 9, Ast: 3) ARI - Garrison Martin (Pts: 19, Reb: 6, Ast: 1)

As expected, this one was a high-scoring, roller coaster of an epic game. The two teams kept matching each other blow for blow. Between the 15:00 to go mark in the 1st half until the final minute of the game, neither team led by more than 6 points.

The Ospreys had as much as a 10 point lead early, but the Wildcats came roaring back quickly after both Riley and Monceaux got in foul trouble quickly. Arizona finally took the lead 41-40 after a basket and a free throw. They would take that lead and keep for the rest of the first half and majority of the 2nd half.

Both teams had foul trouble, and this really became a battle of the benches. Kowalczuk had 10 in the first half for the Ospreys, and Harrington had 9. Both Bathie and Johnson had 9 for Arizona at halftime. The Wildcats wound up winning the battle of the benches, scoring 42 points compared to North Florida's 32.

The Ospreys finally took the lead back 74-72 with around 8:00 remaining in the game. They could never stretch it out of reach as Arizona kept battling. The lead was 88-83 with 4:15 to go when Monceaux fouled out of the game. After a quick basket, Horne had a monster alley oop in which he also got fouled to bring the lead to 90-86. That was as close as they got, as the Ospreys hit their shots and free throws and managed to close out the victory.

North Florida joins Purdue as the two teams that punched their ticket to the Final Four today. Both teams will head to Reliant Stadium in Houston within the next few days.


Coach Matthews’ Minute
“What a way to get your 100th win! I'm actually happy for once! Oh, but one thing the refs need to learn how to swallow their damn whistle! That game took forever because there were 70 freakin free throws attempted.”



North Florida Ospreys Player Stats
Junior Rivera - 11 pts, 15 ast, reb, 2 stl
Brent Wood - 15 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl
Emanuel Dancy - 12 pts, reb, 3 ast
Jean Francois Monceaux - 16 pts, 6 reb, 2 ast, blk (fouled out only 16 minutes)
Emerson Riley - 16 pts, 3 reb, ast, 2 stl, 3 blk (only played 12 minutes foul trouble)

Austen Kowalczuk - 19 pts, 9 reb
Mike Harrington - 9 pts, 3 reb, ast



Arizona Wildcats Player Stats
Ronni Sherrill - 5 pts, 10 ast, 3 reb, 2 blk
Sergio Linebaugh - 16 pts, 3 reb, ast
Garrison Martin - 19 pts, 6 reb, ast (1-8 3pt)
Jamelle Horne - 7 pts, 6 reb, ast (foul trouble)
Albert Christian - 7 pts, 4 reb, 2 ast

Sead Bathie - 15 pts, 5 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl
Clinton Patton - 13 pts, 6 reb



Record: 34-1 (16-0)
Up Next: NCAA Tournament Final Four

[Ice_Cold345]

Re: Coaching Career of Chris Matthews (CH2k8)

Nice win and also nice to see Purdue in the Final Four.

Jean Francois dominated it seemed outside of his foul troubles.