With the news of his suspension today I should probably talk about that, but it’s too depressing. We’ve already lost one team to heartbreak in the playoffs this month so I can’t really use any more depressing news. Instead, check out this compilation video of Rondo. Not going to lie, I don’t think I’ve ever paid attention to him during the tip but after watching this you bet all eyes will be on him now.
Last night the Celts took their talent to South Beach and dominated the Heat at home. Keep in mind they’ve only lost four games all year at the American Airlines Arena. The red hot C’s have now taken two games from the Heat in ten days, pulling three games ahead of Philly for the division lead. A few months ago the Celtics wouldn’t have even been a 
topic of discussion come May, but post All-Star break has been good to them. They’ve gone from a team presumed to be ousted first round to a team that has potential for a strong playoff run.
Life is good in Beantown right now. Hard to complain when we’ve got the Celtics picking things up in the second half of the condensed season, the Bruins heading full speed into another playoff run, and a hefty 157 game schedule left ahead for the 1-4 Red Sox to turn things around. Oh, and word on the street is that Gronk’s out of the running for the Madden cover so we don’t have to worry about any curse breaking both his legs. Knock on wood.
The Celtics are finishing up their season strong heading into the playoffs, the B’s start their playoff run Thursday at home, and the Red Sox open up at home Friday despite their subpar start to the season, yet the Pats still make headlines, all thanks to Gronk and his continuing quest to make the cover of Madden.
Not a bad Monday for us those of us here in Boston reflecting back on this weekend in the sports world. The Celtics stretched their win streak to 5 games, topping off the weekend with an absolute clobbering D. Wade and the Heat. With a month left of games, the C’s sit at the 4 spot in a crowded Eastern Conference playoff race and one game up on the 76ers for the lead in the division. A 14 game April will make or break the C’s and set the stage for what could be the last playoff run of the Big Three era. On the ice, the B’s took care of business in New York, taking one a piece from the Islanders and the Rangers while clinching the Northeast Division with three games left on the schedule. The Bruins wrap up the regular season Saturday at home vs. Buffalo before gearing up for playoff hockey once again in Boston. As if a weekend of winning wasn’t enough, today brings us one day closer to baseball season. The Red Sox open up regular season play this Thursday in Detroit, starting off a 6 day, 6 game road trip before baseball comes back to Boston on Friday the 13th against the dreaded Rays. It’s a good week to be from Boston. Happy Monday!
With the loss of Fab Melo, many people wondered if the Orange would even beat 16 seed UNC Asheville. The Orange advanced after a tough fought game with the help of some questionable officiating. In the round of 32, the Wildcats of Kansas State put up a fight against the Orange but the depth of the Orange proved to be too much in the end, as Dion Waiters and James Southerland combined for 33 points off the bench. Despite these two victories, the Orange are still seen as the most vulnerable of the number one seeds. Tonight’s matchup against Wisconsin will be a true test for the Orange. The Badgers come into this game with the 4th ranked defense in the country and on paper, look to be a great matchup for Syracuse. Wisconsin is very stingy with the basketball, coming into this game averaging the second fewest turnovers per possession in the nation, and this will truly prevent the Orange from capitalizing on turnovers and getting easy buckets off of fast breaks. Syracuse will most likely have to score in their half-court offense which is not an easy task against the Badgers defense. Expect this game to be a low scoring game, with Syracuse only scoring 70 points or better 4 times in their last 13 games and the Badgers only giving up and average of 53 points in their first two tournament games.
Keys to Success:
For the Orange, Scoop Jardine and Kris Joseph are the two players that will need to step up if they are going to advance to the elite 8. Both of these experienced players have played in big games and know what it takes to win in the NCAA tournament. The Orange will be successful if they can produce good ball and player movement and not settle for jump shots, and their success starts from these two seniors.
For the Badgers, Jordan Taylor will have to have a big game and the defense will need to continue to be strong. Although Taylor has not been as productive this season as he was in his junior season, with a .402 field goal percentage, .359 three point percentage, and a .785 free-throw percentage, the Badgers are in the same position as they were one year ago, the Sweet Sixteen. If the Badgers continue to take care of the ball and keep the Orange’s offense in front of them, they will have a good chance of advancing to the Elite 8.
Prediction: Wisconsin
#4 Louisville vs. #1 Michigan State
The Big East Champion Louisville Cardinals will face their biggest test yet as they come up against Michigan State number one seed Michigan State in the Sweet Sixteen. The Spartans will enter the game minus an important role player in freshman guard Branden Dawson. Dawson has been huge in piling up hustle points for the Spartans and his loss will provide an advantage for the Cardinals. The player for the Spartans that has to step up in this game will be Draymond Green. Green is averaging 20 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 8 assists in the tournament, leading the tournament in scoring. The Spartans have been a second half team so far in the tournament shooting 64.2 percent in the second half in wins against LIU Brooklyn and Saint Louis, but the Cardinals may jump on the Spartans early if they get off to a slow start. For Louisville to win this game it is going to have to come from the defensive end. The Cardinals play as hard on defense as any team in the country with Gogui Deng being a force in the paint and great guard defense led by Peyton Siva. On the offensive side of the ball, Siva has been averaging 9.2 points per game and 5.5 assists per game. He will need to continue to get his team involved if the Cardinals are going to pull off the upset.
Prediction: Michigan State
#6 Cincinnati vs. #2 Ohio State
The Cincinnati Bearcats are coming off of a huge win over the ACC Tournament champion Florida State Seminoles and will need to continue with this momentum if they are going to upset Ohio State. With Fab Melo out, The Buckeyes have quickly become the favorite to reach the Final Four from the East Region. Cincinnati has played well as of late, reaching the finals in the Big East Tournament and defeating Texas and Florida State in the first two rounds of the tournament. One of the most intriguing matchups in this game is going to be the matchup between Yancy Gates and Jared Sullinger. Gates and Sullinger are averaging 9.2 and 9.3 rebounds per game respectively, and whoever wins this big man matchup is going to give their team a huge advantage to win the game. I would give the edge to Sullinger in this battle. Sullinger possesses a point scoring ability that Gates does not as he is leading his team and averaging 17.6 points per game. He has flown under the radar for much of this season and is much better than people are currently giving him credit for. Each of these teams has the chance to bring Ohio its first men’s basketball title since 1962.
Prediction: Ohio State
#7 Florida vs. #3 Marquette
In the round of 32, Marquette beat a very good Murray State team who did not get as much credit as they deserved. Darius Johnson-Odom and Jae Crowder is one of the best duos in the country and they have shown this throughout the tournament. Each of these players were finalists for the Big East player of the year, an award that Crowder won. A key to the game for the Golden Eagles is not Johnson Odom’s offense, rather his defense. Florida’s offense is run around ball screens and spacing along the three point line with very minimal post game. Florida shoots more three point shots than most and for Marquette to slow down their offense Johnson Odom has to come up big defensively. For Florida the key player is Kenny Boynton. He is averaging 16.3 points per game and has been Florida’s most consistent player all season. He will have to have a big offensive night if the Gators are going to beat Marquette. Florida’s defense will also be a huge factor in determining their success. The Gators have struggled at time this year when they were shooting poorly from behind the arc because they could not get stops or force turnovers. However, in their two NCAA tournament wins so far they allowed their opponents to a .71 and .77 points per possession. The Golden Eagles are very capable of scoring in bunches and the Gators will need to play tenacious defense once again to stay in this game.
Prediction: Marquette
Guest Writer: Matt Frags
This week in sports history…
1822 – The city of Boston, MA was incorporated.
1983 – Northampton, MA – The first women’s collegiate basketball game was played at Smith College.
1904 – A patent was issued for a “baseball catcher”.
1934 – The first Masters Golf Championship began in Augusta, GA.
1953 – The Boston Celtics beat Syracuse Nationals (111-105) in four overtimes to eliminate them from the Eastern Division Semifinals.
With the Sweet Sixteen tipping off tomorrow, and our college writer on spring break, I figured I’d share this NCAA tourney infograph from CSB Sports. Enjoy.
In the past six months the sports world has been overwhelmed with two triumphant stories of individual athletes who defied the odds. The most notable coming from the NFL in Tim Tebow and most recently in the NBA with Jeremy Lin. Each has caused a media frenzy that I don’t think any of us have seen before. Tebow Mania, Bronco’s Savior, Linsanity, Super Lintendo. The list of puns and corny titles go on. But the two “Cinderella” stories have since died down. We all know what happened to Tebow when he stepped foot on the turf at Gillette Stadium in the playoffs and the hype around Jeremy Lin has since settled down, as the Knicks have been on a skid. But once again, 
Tebow finds himself in the headlines in a much different way.
At the end of the Bronco’s season, John Elway announced that Tebow would be the team’s starting QB heading into next year. Sorry Timmy, but I don’t exactly see that happening any more. With Peyton Manning now heading to Denver, I think even Tebow knew to start packing his bags. In a way, you gotta feel bad for the guy. Then again, it’s pretty funny. Tebow spent all season winning games in the most unlikely ways, gaining an immense fan base in no time, and redefining the phrase “becoming a household name”. But it has to be rough with all the progress he’s made and what he did for the Denver organization to be put in a position to expectedly get ousted in a heartbeat by Manning. Although painful, I’m sure Tebow won’t even argue with his replacement, I mean who could? Don’t get me wrong, I can’t hate on Tebow. He’s clearly a good guy and he showed he could win (some games) but the Pat’s certainly put him in his place in the playoffs, so no hard feelings. Nothing definite has happened with his place in Denver or potential trade, but I’m sure once things begin panning out as to where he will end up, Tebow will once again be the sole topic of ESPN.
Here’s a new addition to the Boston Sports Blog…Throwback Thursdays. Each Thursday we’ll post a few historic events in Boston sports or other interesting events that occurred at this time years ago. Enjoy.
1939 – Boston Bruins won the Prince of Wales Trophy, clinching the NHL regular season championship. Marked the first time the trophy was awarded for this reason.
1954 – NBA raised the basket from 10 ft to 12 ft for an exhibition game between the Minneapolis Lakers and the Milwaukee Hawks.
1955 – Baseball commissioner Ford Frick said that he was in favor of legalizing the classic spitball.
1982 – The NCAA college basketball tournament selections were televised for the first time.
1995 – Dominique Wilkins of the Boston Celtics became the ninth NBA player to achieve 25,000 career points.
And why not use this post to give a little old school tribute to the B’s in the video below.
Due to popular demand we’d like to welcome back the regular weekly posts (aka Weekend Recaps, Tuesday’s Top Tweets, Video Match-Ups, a new Throwback Thursday, and of course the Friday Funnies)! Enjoy!
If you have any tips don’t forget to email us your ideas at bsb.tips@gmail.com!
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