While SBU has been consistent with their regular season success, they’ve been extremely inconsistent in the America East Tournament – where they’ve thrice been eliminated in the past three years. The reason for that is due to their elite backcourt, which is believed by many to be the best in the country.
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On the late, late show that was the final game of the NCAA Tournament regional on Thursday night at Wells Fargo Arena, it took some time for No. 4 seed Kentucky to get its high-powered offense in gear.
“I’ll ask them what do they think about it”, Calipari said of the seeding.
“I always say this, when you misseed a team, it’s not that team you hurt”. “We had 25 offensive rebounds and worked hard in the game. We don’t want to lose right now”.
Kentucky advanced and on Saturday will take on the 5-seed IN, which ran away from 12-seed Chattanooga 99-74. The point guard matchup between IU’s Yogi Ferrell and UK’s Tyler Ulis might be the best of the entire tournament.
All five Wildcat starters hit double digits. The fourth-seeded Cyclones average 81.8 points; the 13th-seeded Gaels average 79.6. The freshman finished with 19 points after making six of seven shots in the second half. “They were really, really in us and wouldn’t allow us to do a lot of things”. Stony Brook is shooting 7-for-37 (18.9 percent), including 0-for-5 from deep … “Again, I’m hopeful if we can find our way through this weekend and get to Philly and get more tickets, our fans will find their way”. But the Seawolves also have an experienced backcourt led by senior Carson Puriefoy, who averages 15 points and three assists per game.
The assist numbers are impressive, obviously, and when his 65 total turnovers are factored in for an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.7, his statistics are downright gaudy.
The man whose record he broke, NBA All-Star John Wall, congratulated him following the contest.
This is a much different, much younger team than that one. Are we going to get a 3 or 2?’ I’m surprised we didn’t get a 5.
Kentucky wasn’t at its best, but at this time of year, it’s all about surviving and advancing. The Cats are given a 91% chance to win the game, but don’t expect Warney to go out lightly in what may be his final collegiate game. The story was missed shots on both ends of the floor. “He goes and gets balls and does what he’s supposed to do”.
Kentucky would lead at the break 33-19 despite shooting just 32% from the field and Murray and Ulis were a combined 3-15 from the field for 10 points. “He understands what he needs to do for this team”. The Wildcats have 24 seconds remaining on the shot clock, meaning the Seawolves will likely get another shot before the half, too. The criteria, I argued with them. He comes out and scores in bunches. The achievement just adds to the accolade that Ulis has racked up this season. “One, well-coached. Two, their strength is their big kid (Warney), and they run great stuff, and he understands angles as good as anybody we’ve played this year”.
“I absolutely love coaching this kid”. He’s going to be special and I’ll tell you why. “He has the mental makeup that he’s never high, never low”. As someone very familiar with America East basketball and how dominant Warney was throughout his career, it was unusual to see him struggle so much. I said, ‘What in the world? They are well-coached, tough and play defense like their lives depend on it, which it does.
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The Seawolves made the NCAA Tournament for the first time, but had to face the perennial powerhouse Kentucky Wildcats in the first-round.
