E. Washington v. #15 UConn

[BearInDC]

Tomorrow. Only helps UNC if a Big Sky team beats a ranked team on their court.

Watchable on ESPN3. CT is a 19.5 favorite, but at the very least, a good chance to see one of the fave's to win the Big Sky in action.

 

[BearInDC]

"...a 3-pointer by Harvey cut the Eagles' deficit to 48-42 midway through the second half, forcing Ollie to use a timeout." That's a good showing by a Big Sky team against #15 on the road.

"It's a positive for us," said Harvey. "I thought we competed the whole 40 minutes. We just had a few shots that rimmed in and out. I think this really helped us prepare for our conference."

EWU is going to be a force in the Big Sky.

"The game, played during UConn's winter break, gave the fan base and donors in wealthy Fairfield County a chance to see the team in person." :nod:

 

[BearInDC]

I totally support EWU's strategy--3's to overcome the lopsided talent issue. They shot 28 3's. Unfortunately, they only made 9. But nevertheless, know your opponent and do your best.

 

[Beardown]

If you live and die by the three pointer, sooner or later it will catch up to you.

 

[BearInDC]

From ESPN, http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/37965/37965" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;:

He was craftier, that’s always been the argument. Pete Carril was able to conjure up an offensive scheme that put his Princeton teams on equal footing with their more talented foes.

“Sometimes we had centers and forwards smaller than our guards, so who were you going to post up?” Carril said. “So what we had, we had 3-point shooters and we made a lot of 3s. They add up.’’

There is, it turns out, genius in simple math:

•2010 Butler Final Four run: The Bulldogs sunk 42 3s to 22 by their opponents.

•2011 Butler Final Four run: The Bulldogs sunk 44 3s to 34 by their opponents.

“When you are truly undersized and undermanned, the 3-point shot changes everything,’’ Butler coach Brad Stevens, who now coaches the NBA Boston Celtics said.

 

[BearInDC]

“The 3-point shot has changed the game, and I think the biggest impact is giving the mid-majors a better opportunity to play with the so-called big boys because they can go out and get guys that can shoot the 3-point shot and offset the size and the athleticism sometimes that the bigger opponents have,” former Tulane coach Perry Clark said. “That’s why college basketball has balanced out. That’s why you are seeing the Butlers, the VCUs emerge, because they had gone after those sort of kids that have that sort of ability. It definitely has changed the game.”