Just wanted to put out a feeler regarding the UT-USC hoops game tomorrow. Personally, as a completely unabashedly biased UT fan, I cannot discuss this game with any level of true rationality. I guess my main question for you USC fans/followers is this: will Floyd try to man up Gibson on Durant or will he play some version of a zone (box & 1) that is specifically geared towards stopping Durant? Personally, I hope he employs the zone, paying special attention to Durant. Hell, if he scouts Rick Barnes well, he'll see that in the last 2 games (against Kansas in the Big XII championship, and against NW St.) Durant disappeared for large stretches of the second half, due in large part to Barnes' steadfast refusal to run plays designed to get Durant open. Against Kansas, Durant attempted only 2FG's in the last 12:48 seconds. When he needed a game tying 3 to force OT, it was Augustin that took the trey. Against NM ST., Durant went 8 minutes without a FG or FT attempt. During both stretches, TX blew considerable dd leads, only managing to win against NM ST thanks to a 25-26 FT shooting performance.
So, you know where I stand with Barnes... And, while I hate to wager against my own team, and probably will refrain from the game altogether, I find it highly probable that USC beats TX, simply based on the coaching matchup. In my opinion, Barnes is one of the worst game managers but possibly an even worse scout of opposing teams. I'm just picturing SoCal in the Box and One and Barnes force-feeding Durant the ball, when instead, he should be running Abrams up and down the baseline, letting D.J Augustin break down the zone, all the while using Durant as sparingly as he's unconscionably used him in the past. I know that sounds nuts, but now that Barnes has been getting skewered by the Austin media elite for only getting Durant 13 FG attempts against NM St., I feel as though he will absolutely forcefeed Durant, regardless of the D-scheme thrown at him. I think UT matches up well against SC at every position (though they may have trouble with Young) and i think they have a clearly more-talented team. But, I see a team that should have won the Big XII championship and been a 3 seed, only laying 2.5 to a USC team that beat a woefully mismanaged Arkansas team... Stan Heath is right there with Barnes in terms of preparedness, and that's scary bad. OK, enough of my ranting here. I'll turn it over to you guys and your opinions... As of now, I can't touch the side in this game, wouldn't find any value on either ML (if the spread were more like 5-6, then I'd lay a tad on the USC ML, but right now there's no value). I don't really like the total either at 147. I'd lean Under, but with no real basis. i don't like teasing either team. I hate this game for all gambling purposes, basically. Still, I want to open a dialog on this game...
So, you know where I stand with Barnes... And, while I hate to wager against my own team, and probably will refrain from the game altogether, I find it highly probable that USC beats TX, simply based on the coaching matchup. In my opinion, Barnes is one of the worst game managers but possibly an even worse scout of opposing teams. I'm just picturing SoCal in the Box and One and Barnes force-feeding Durant the ball, when instead, he should be running Abrams up and down the baseline, letting D.J Augustin break down the zone, all the while using Durant as sparingly as he's unconscionably used him in the past. I know that sounds nuts, but now that Barnes has been getting skewered by the Austin media elite for only getting Durant 13 FG attempts against NM St., I feel as though he will absolutely forcefeed Durant, regardless of the D-scheme thrown at him. I think UT matches up well against SC at every position (though they may have trouble with Young) and i think they have a clearly more-talented team. But, I see a team that should have won the Big XII championship and been a 3 seed, only laying 2.5 to a USC team that beat a woefully mismanaged Arkansas team... Stan Heath is right there with Barnes in terms of preparedness, and that's scary bad. OK, enough of my ranting here. I'll turn it over to you guys and your opinions... As of now, I can't touch the side in this game, wouldn't find any value on either ML (if the spread were more like 5-6, then I'd lay a tad on the USC ML, but right now there's no value). I don't really like the total either at 147. I'd lean Under, but with no real basis. i don't like teasing either team. I hate this game for all gambling purposes, basically. Still, I want to open a dialog on this game...
