Semifinals and Final
January 11th 2011 21:24
A few days ago I did an analysis on Cincinnati’s basketball team (you can find it here) and how they haven’t played/beaten anyone yet. Then, I stumbled upon the Louisville Cardinals and did a comparison. They have a couple of decent wins, unlike Cincinnati, which came against Butler and UNLV (both at home), but nothing to get excited about. Their losses include home games against Kentucky and Drexel. Kentucky is a talented team and can give teams fits, but what about Drexel? Drexel is a 10-4 team that comes out of the Colonial Athletic Conference and is 2-2 in league play thus far - not the best of losses.
Louisville is 2-0 in the Big East, but those games were against Seton Hall and at South Florida – both teams that will be at the bottom of the conference all year.
Many questions are still unanswered for the Cardinals. Can G Preston Knowles carry them to a winning record in the Big East? Does Louisville possess that killer instinct that will win them close games against good Big East teams? We will see shortly as Louisville goes to Villanova on Wednesday.
Prediction: 8-8 finish, 21-10 overall before conference tournament, Eight Seed in the NCAA tournament
Now the Semifinals and the Finals:
Ohio State will have to exploit Auburn’s horrendous pass defense (ranked 105th in the nation) in order to have a shot in this game. DT Nick Fairley and the rest of the Auburn defensive line will have to dominate the line of scrimmage and get pressure against QB Terrelle Pryor so that he can’t pick-a-part the Auburn secondary.
The third ranked rushing offense (in YPC) of Auburn will need to carry the load and Cam Newton will need to make smart decisions in the passing game in order to beat a tough Ohio State defense that is ranked in the top 10 in rushing and passing. Auburn wins this one – but barely.
Final Score: 27-23 Auburn
Arkansas leaves Fayetteville for the first time in the tournament and heads to Eugene for what should be another high scoring affair. QB’s Ryan Mallett and Darron Thomas are sure to light up the scoreboard, while RB LaMichael James should have a field day against the Arkansas defense that is ranked 52nd in the nation in YPC given up. The difference will be James and the home field advantage.
Final Score: 35-27 Oregon
We all saw what happened last night in Arizona. It was a very close game that could have gone either way for so many different reasons. But in the end, Auburn pulled out a victory with a last second field goal and are now the 2010-11 NCAA Football Champions. Congratulations.
Louisville is 2-0 in the Big East, but those games were against Seton Hall and at South Florida – both teams that will be at the bottom of the conference all year.
Many questions are still unanswered for the Cardinals. Can G Preston Knowles carry them to a winning record in the Big East? Does Louisville possess that killer instinct that will win them close games against good Big East teams? We will see shortly as Louisville goes to Villanova on Wednesday.
Prediction: 8-8 finish, 21-10 overall before conference tournament, Eight Seed in the NCAA tournament
Now the Semifinals and the Finals:
5. Ohio State @ 1. Auburn
Ohio State will have to exploit Auburn’s horrendous pass defense (ranked 105th in the nation) in order to have a shot in this game. DT Nick Fairley and the rest of the Auburn defensive line will have to dominate the line of scrimmage and get pressure against QB Terrelle Pryor so that he can’t pick-a-part the Auburn secondary.
The third ranked rushing offense (in YPC) of Auburn will need to carry the load and Cam Newton will need to make smart decisions in the passing game in order to beat a tough Ohio State defense that is ranked in the top 10 in rushing and passing. Auburn wins this one – but barely.
Final Score: 27-23 Auburn
6. Arkansas @ 2. Oregon
Arkansas leaves Fayetteville for the first time in the tournament and heads to Eugene for what should be another high scoring affair. QB’s Ryan Mallett and Darron Thomas are sure to light up the scoreboard, while RB LaMichael James should have a field day against the Arkansas defense that is ranked 52nd in the nation in YPC given up. The difference will be James and the home field advantage.
Final Score: 35-27 Oregon
1. Auburn vs. 2. Oregon
We all saw what happened last night in Arizona. It was a very close game that could have gone either way for so many different reasons. But in the end, Auburn pulled out a victory with a last second field goal and are now the 2010-11 NCAA Football Champions. Congratulations.
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