Fun Stats

After nothing exciting happened yesterday as far as close games and exciting finishes were concerned, outside of Duke v. Belmont, my idea to write a synopsis of the days events was scrapped and instead I scoured the box scores for fun stats about the games.

1. Will Thomas FG% = 71.4%, Rest of George Mason FG %= 21.03%

If you had told me that Will Thomas would get the best of Luke Harangody and that Folarin Campbell would be an abysmal 1 of 12 from the field I would have told you that you were crazy. But, George Mason stunk the joint out last night, I know Notre Dame plays physical defense, but George Mason and especially Campbell have been in this position before, they should not have been intimidated.

2. Duke-38 rebounds, Belmont-30 rebounds

This is why Duke will not make it deep into the tournament. They have 6 foot 9 inch Lance Thomas, 6 foot 8 inch Kyle Singler, 7 footer Brian Zoubek, and a terrific rebounding guard in Gerald Henderson, and they couldn't out-rebound Belmont, a team whose significant players all stand in the 6 foot to 6 foot 5 range. This was what worried critics and Coach K in the beginning of the year is that Duke could not survive because of their lack of depth in the post, and that sentiment rang true last night.

Zoubek should be ashamed of himself. I watched the entire first half and he clearly had the advantage, no one could get around him to front him, and he towered over Belmont for rebounds. Only to step out of bounds, or turn it over some other way. If I was 7 feet tall, I would kill Belmont. Duke better hope that West Virginia doesn't grab a lot of rebounds, because that combined with the Mountaineers shooting touch, and the Devils will be making an early exit.

3. Joe Crawford (Kentucky) 35 points

The best performance of the first day was thrown in by the much maligned Joe Crawford. Crawford has had to deal with the Coach who recruited him leaving, and the fact that he was in his new coach's doghouse for quite some time. He went from being a 5-star prospect to not getting drafted and being a worse player than his younger brother. Yes, his team lost, but what if they had the services of Patrick Patterson? Regardless, Crawford was simply all over the floor yesterday and just absolutely shredded Marquette's defense. It was awesome to watch.

4. Ron Anderson (K. State) 22 minutes, 10 points, 8 rebounds, 6 offensive, 2 steals

Kansas State as a team proved yesterday that life will go on in Manhattan after Michael Beasley leaves thanks in a large part to the 6 foot 8, 245 lb. freshman Ron Anderson. Take a good look at the stat line I just read you, and then read that on the season he averages 12 minutes, 3.7 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 0.4 steals. Then consider that with Davon Jefferson guarding Beasley, Anderson was matched up with Taj Gibson for most of the game...Yes that Taj Gibson that is expected to be a top 25 draft pick if he comes out. His biggest contribution was on the glass, and considering 3/4 of his rebounds were offensive it is safe to say that he contributed far more points than his point total shows. He did everything perfect, he didn't force shots, he hustled everywhere, and mainly, he wreaked havoc down low so that the concentration could not be left on Michael Beasley.

5. Aaron Bruce (Baylor) 11 minutes, 0-1 from the field, 0 points, 2 turnovers

What the hell happened to Aaron Bruce? Yesterday was an unjust end for the face of the Baylor Bears for the past 4 years. He hung with Coach Drew through the thick and the thin for three years, and now, in his senior season, he has gone completely AWOL. I understand the level of talent of Baylor has risen significantly in the past 3 years, but you are telling me that a kid who averaged 18 per game as a freshman deserves to get phased out of the lineup the way he has this season?