Atlanta Hawks

Phil Jackson and the Los Angeles Lakers were not treated too kindly to their visit to Atlanta. The Hawks routed the Lakers on Sunday afternoon taking another positive step forward to clinching the 4th overall spot in the Eastern Conference race for the playoffs. The score was 86 to 76 at the end and the NBA’s 2nd best team had no answers for the Hawk’s tough defense. Pau Gasol led the Lakers with 21 points and superstar Kobe Bryant finished the game with only 17 points. It did seem the Lakers were making a push in the 2nd half, but after a Mike Bibby shot hit the rim and then up to the top of the backboard and back down through the net, you just knew this wasn’t going to be the Lakers day today in Atlanta.

Joe Johnson continues to struggle and he threw up bricks and air balls this afternoon on wide open jumpers and runners in the lane. Mike Woodson seems to ride Joe Johnson regardless of his floor production. The Atlanta Hawks have no chance this year or any other year they let Joe Johnson waste 40 plus minutes a game. He’s the highest paid player, but hasn’t shown any improvements in the last 3 years in Atlanta and he has a poor attitude on the floor when he’s struggling with his game. The Joe Johnson experiment is over with in Atlanta and it’s been for some time now. Even the people that follow the NBA have no idea just how poor of a basketball player Joe Johnson really is. He gets credit for Atlanta winning and his all star appearance proved that. He was the only player in the NBA All Star Game that didn’t score. He doesn’t deserve to play all the minutes he’s getting and the team can’t run the offense through him. It’s ok to use him when he’s hot, but he’s just not making things happen on the floor and he’s a big reason that the Spurs without Tim Duncan and the Celtics without Kevin Garnett won on Atlanta’s home floor last week. The Hawks must sit Joe Johnson and let the other guys that are making things happen out there get more minutes. The Atlanta Hawks are making things so hard right now and it’s not going to get any easier as long as Johnson continues to play over 40 minutes a game.

The long home stay is now over with and the Hawks will be traveling to Philadelphia on Tuesday night to play the Sixers and then on up to Boston to play the Celtics again. This team must prove they can win on the road and now they have 2 quality opponents they will get to have a chance with this week. The team just isn’t thinking long term right now and they aren’t trying new things or trying to perfect the old things that are working. Now is the time to tune up and get things in order, but the team continues to have lack luster performances and the main problem right now is Joe Johnson.

 NCAA Final Four in Detroit

1st Game: Michigan State .vs. Connecticut

2nd Game: North Carolina .vs. Villanova

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The final four teams in college basketball have been determined. There are two teams we expected to see there like North Carolina and Connecticut. The other two teams we did not expect to see there are Michigan State and Villanova. These will be the 4 teams going for the 2009 college basketball championship in Detroit.

The first game on April 4th will be underdog Michigan State taking on a tough UCONN team. This should be a good game between the Huskies of Connecticut and the Michigan State Spartans. I know Connecticut will be the favorite here, but I will be rooting for the underdog to upset the higher seeded team. The Spartans do have a realistic chance of winning this game and I’m sure a lot of fans in Michigan hope to see their team make it to the championship game.

The 2nd game on April 4th will be featuring the Tar Heels from North Carolina trying to win against the surprising Villanova Wildcats. The chances for Villanova winning this game are slim to none. The Carolina team has a lot of fire power in their arsenal and I can’t imagine an upset here. I will be rooting for the Wildcats to win this game, but I really think North Carolina may win this one by double digits. If you have North Carolina playing in the championship game on your college bracket; then you should be smiling. I believe North Carolina is the most likely team to advance to the championship game out of the 4 teams that still remain in the NCAA tournament.

I think this year’s tournament has been fun to watch. I would think the NCAA and the advertisers and sponsors want to see a North Carolina and Connecticut match up for the championship and this would be a great game to see. Villanova and Michigan State are still in this thing and they aren’t out to please anyone but their own school and fans. Can the Cinderella story continue with Michigan State or Villanova in this year’s 2009 championship game? I think if these two teams both make it to the finals, it will be good for college basketball and the NCAA.

I haven’t been good picking the winners yet; so I will try to give this one more try. I do think North Carolina will easily win over Villanova and advance to the NCAA Championship Game. I have the North Carolina Tar Heels penciled in for the final college basketball game of the season. I am going to go with those Spartans from Michigan State to pull out another miracle. Why? Well the last time I checked the Final Four was going to be played in Detroit for the 2009 NCAA Tournament. I also believe that Detroit is in the state of Michigan and since Michigan State and their fans will have such a short trip to the site of this year’s NCAA Final Four in Detroit, I’m going to pick them to win. I think the fans will be the 6th man for them and they can win this game.

My championship game on my NCAA Tourney Brackett has Michigan State playing North Carolina. I think the Spartans continue the momentum from the win over UCONN and they come out and play the Tar Heels tough. If Michigan State ever has the lead at any time in the 2nd half, they will beat the North Carolina Tar Heels and win it all this year. I’m going with Michigan State to be the last team standing when it’s all said and done! I’m sure the Spartan fans will be rooting loud for Villanova to upset North Carolina; if they are still in the tournament when they play. Michigan State will have to take care of business first on April 4th; before they can root for a winner in the 2nd game of the night.

Congratulations to the schools, players, coaches, and fans from North Carolina, Villanova, Michigan State and Connecticut! Just making it to the Final Four in college basketball is like winning a championship and all 4 schools should be proud!

We knew it couldn’t last forever and the Atlanta Hawks would have to lose at some point on their home floor at Philips Arena. You just wouldn’t have figure the San Antonio Spurs would be the team to do it; since they did arrive in Atlanta with Tim Duncan in street clothes. The Spurs didn’t need him Wednesday night and they kept the Hawks at arm’s length all night long. It was a disappointing way to see the Hawks 8 game home winning streak come to an end. This game proves that the young Hawks have a lot of preparations to make before the NBA playoffs get here. This team isn’t ready to defend their home court like last year and they must start tuning up things in a hurry. The Hawks are playing without Marvin Williams right now and his back needs to heal fast, so he can get back on the court with the Hawks team.

The Hawks will miss Josh Childress who helped the team a lot last year in the playoffs. Childress was a guy that would get all the hustle plays and even picked up the name ”baseline bum” for a short time. Mario West is a guy that could make up for Josh’s absence, but it doesn’t seem Coach Mike Woodson has enough faith to play him in the 2nd half of games. Mario has did everything right and deserves major minutes for the Hawks. It’s not clear why players like Mario West and Zaza Pachulia stay in Mike Woodson’s dog house; when the Hawks will really need these 2 players coming down the stretch. Woodson hasn’t given these guys enough key minutes in games for them to have any confidence in their game and I’m sure the pressure is on when they do receive their limited playing time each game. Too much talent on the Hawks bench not to use in basketball games and these guys could be effective late in games. Joe Johnson is not the answer in Atlanta and they need the best 5 players on the court in the 4th quarter. That determination should come from how these guys perform in the first 3 quarters and let guys earn their time on the floor in the 4th quarter.

The fun isn’t over yet and the Hawks will face the Boston Celtics for the last time this season at home tonight. This is a must-win game for the Hawks. They can not afford to lose 2 games in a row at home and can’t let the Celtics team beat them for a 3rd time this season. This is a game that could give the Hawks a lot of confidence if they win. They will need more confidence as they continue to face some of the best teams in the NBA coming to Philips Arena this season. It is a tough schedule for the Hawks going down the stretch, but they need to prove they can beat these quality opponents. They can’t keep waiting until the 4th quarter to play hard and need to find ways to win games in the first half. Their desires to win games in the 4th quarter is not the mind-set this team needs right now and playing hard from the tip is what they must do each game now. It’s the Boston Celtics and Atlanta Hawks in Philips Arena tonight! This will be a playoff atmosphere game and the Hawks need to win this one convincingly.

Yes, the boys from A-Town are creating a stir in the NBA and their 8 game home winning streak is probably the reason why. The Hawks did lose a tough game in Cleveland on Saturday afternoon, but quickly bounced back by beating the Minnesota Timberwolves at home Monday. The team has no problems or fear at home right now, but will be heavily tested this week. The best teams in the NBA come to town this week and we will see if Atlanta can hold their own against the elite teams.

The action starts in Philips Arena Wednesday night against Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs. The fans in Atlanta will be treated to the best team in the NBA finishing out the week in Atlanta as the Hawks and Lakers play a Sunday afternoon game. It is a great time to be a Hawk’s fan right now and let’s hope Atlanta can continue to win at home this week.

Atlanta is coming closer everyday to securing home court advantage in the first round of the NBA playoffs. They really need it too; considering the team has played poor on the road this season. They have figured out a way to win games at home, but it’s the road games they must improve on. You never know when a team may steal a game on your home floor in the playoffs and it’s important to return the favor when that does happen. If the Hawks play Cleveland or Boston in the playoffs this year, they will need to win at least 1 road game to advance in the 2009 NBA playoffs.

The team has the talent to win it all, but it’s all about putting the best 5 guys on the floor. No matter what the name on the back of the jersey says or how much money they make, the Hawks must play the best 5 guys each night. This is the only way they will stay in ball games in the playoffs and especially those critical road games that the Hawks will have to learn how to win. I think most fans are confident in the Hawks winning a series this year in the playoffs. Hopefully they win a road game in the first round; to give them the confidence to do it in the 2nd round too. Atlanta is very close to a NBA championship appearance, but they have to play as a team and continue to build on the young talent this team has in its possession.

The Los Angeles Lakers sit on top of the rankings and for good reason. The best player in the NBA is Kobe Bryant and he may just have enough supporting cast around him now to win a NBA title. I’m sure Jack and all the other Lakers fans are very pleased with the season so far and it should be interesting to see how the Lakers do in the playoffs this year. Just behind them on the latest NBA power rankings is the Cleveland Cavaliers. Ben Wallace going down to injury will hurt the Cavs and this will probably be evident in the postseason play that is set to begin soon. LeBron James is a great basketball player and Mo Williams has helped to carry the load too, but will it be enough in the playoffs in 2009?

A lot of good teams make up the NBA power rankings, but I’m sure the playoffs this year will feature a lot of upsets. We have seen a few upsets in the NCAA college basketball tournament currently going on. I think we may see the same in the NBA when teams show what they are made of in the post season.

Here is a list of the top 10 teams in the power rankings:

1 - Los Angeles Lakers

2 - Cleveland Cavaliers

3 - Boston Celtics

4 - Orlando Magic

5 - Houston Rockets

6 - San Antonio Spurs

7 - Atlanta Hawks

8 - New Orleans Hornets

9 - Denver Nuggets

10 - Utah Jazz

Any surprises?

I’m not sure the Hornets or Jazz deserve a top 10 ranking, but I think the other 8 teams belong there. I think the Portland Trail Blazers, Dallas Mavericks, and Miami Heat deserve a top 10 nod and perhaps they should have been in the top 10 teams too. The Detroit Pistons are listed at number 17 on the list and this seems a bit low for them. Maybe the Pistons don’t deserve a top 10 showing, but higher than 17.

The two last teams on the list are the Minnesota Timberwolves and Sacramento Kings.  The Kings are a bit better than Minnesota in my opinion and these two teams may need to flip flop at the very end of the NBA power rankings. Both teams will need a good offseason in the free agent market and a high draft pick to help them going into next season.

The New York Knicks are in serious trouble and they are at 21 on the list. They actually may not even be this high. I know NY fans can’t be happy seeing teams like the Milwaukee Bucks and New Jersey Nets ahead of them on the NBA power rankings. The most loyal Knicks fan of all is Spike Lee and you can see him going to games that feature LeBron James, so even their biggest fans are not supporting the Knicks right now.

The playoff picture is still being developed but with each passing day, we do get to see a clearer image of how the teams will stack up; when the regular season ends. The NBA is going to be fun watching these next few weeks and seeing how that tough Western Conference picture comes out. Who will be the lucky team that gets to play the Lakers in the first round?

It was a great night for basketball in the city of Atlanta. The weather conditions outside was fine and the longer daylight hours make the evenings perfect for a tip off at Philips Arena. The hot Atlanta Hawks were playing host to the Sacramento Kings or should I say the Sacramento Attorneys. The team from the Golden State of California and capital of the West Coast State came in with an attorney’s attitude. This team seemed like lawyers from California as they debated all night with the referees calling the game. I’m not sure what a Sacramento attorney earns, but attorneys in California should sign up for Sacramento’s basketball team. It seemed like every call that went against the Kings last night, the players and coaches from Sacramento strongly disapproved. They got caught up with what the officials were doing and these lawyers wearing basketball uniforms were forgetting to play basketball. Atlanta had their way with the Kings for most of the night and did a great job taking advantage of their weak interior defense.

Joe Johnson struggled early, but did help the team rally in the 2nd half. Al Horford was on pace to have a triple double at halftime and finished with a great game. The Hawks key weapon last night was the slam dunk. They were dunking just about every play and the team from Atlanta created their own dunking highlight reel last night. The Highlight Factory certainly earned it’s name with this win over the Kings and Josh Smith played a big role in the dunk fest.

This win over the Sacramento Kings make it 6 straight now for the Atlanta Hawks. This is the 3rd time this year they have put together a 6 game winning streak. It’s been a long time since the fans in Atlanta has seen this before. You have to go back to the 1993/1994 season to find a Hawks team that had 6 or more wins in a row at 3 separate times during the season. The 6 game winning streak is good to see and the team needs to be hot going into the post season. If they can continue to win, they will lock up the 4th spot in the Eastern Conference and this means home court advantage for the 1st round of the playoffs.

The stage is now set for the Dallas Mavericks and they are the Hawks next opponent. The Mavericks have been playing good basketball and they are currently the 8th seed in the Western Conference playoff race. The West is so tight that Dallas could easily jump to a higher position in the next few games, so they will be looking to win when they arrive in Atlanta on Thursday. I expect a big crowd to show up and watch the Hawks take on their former teammate Jason Terry and his Dallas Mavs team. The NBA action in Atlanta Thursday night will have a ”playoff feel” since this game is so important to both teams. This is going to be a big win for one of these NBA teams; let’s just hope the Hawks can make it 7 in a row! 

The bracket is in place for the March Madness to begin in college basketball. It looks like a great field of teams and they will all be trying to advance to the Final Four in Detroit. The NCAA tournament is fun to watch and congratulations to all the teams that made it to this year’s big dance. Who will win the 2009 NCAA college basketball tournament? Which team will be the last one standing in Detroit? The road to Detroit begins now and here is how the field shapes up.

Midwest

1 Louisville vs 16 Moorehead St.

2 Michigan St vs 15 Robert Morris

3 Kansas vs 14 North Dakota St

4 Wake Forrest vs 13 Cleveland St

5 Utah vs 12 Arizona

6 West Virginia vs 11 Dayton

7 Boston College vs 10 USC

8 Ohio St. vs 9 Siena

West

1 Connecticut vs 16 Chattanooga

2 Memphis vs 15 CSU Northridge

3 Missouri vs 14 Cornell

4 Washington vs 13 Mississippi St.

5 Purdue vs 12 Northern Iowa

6 Marquette vs 11 Utah St.

7 California vs 10 Maryland

8 BYU vs 9 Texas A&M

East

1 Pittsburgh vs 16 East Tennessee St.

2 Duke vs 15 Binghamton

3 Villanova vs 14 American

4 Xavier vs 13 Portland St.

5 Florida St. vs 12 Wisconsin

6 UCLA vs 11 VCU

7 Texas vs 10 Minnesota

8 Oklahoma St. vs 9 Tennessee

South

1 North Carolina vs 16 Radford

2 Oklahoma vs 15 Morgan St

3 Syracuse vs 14 Stephen F. Austin

4 Gonzaga vs 13 Akron

5 Illinois vs 12 Western Kentucky

6 Arizona St. vs 11 Temple

7 Clemson vs 10 Michigan

8 LSU vs 9 Butler

Those are the teams in place for this year’s 2009 college basketball tournament. Only 1 team can win it all and it should be interesting to see who we will crown in Detroit. I see some very interesting match ups in the first round games. I think the teams in the East section of the bracket are the best. If you had an all star team from all 4 sections and created 4 super teams, I would think the East would be the best all star team. I do think an upset will take place in the East and I’m going with a team that most won’t be picking to win that part of the bracket and advance to the Final 4 in Detroit.

Here is the teams I think will make it to the Final Four and you can let me know if your college brackets have the same teams as mine. Be sure to reply and give me your 4 selections on which teams you see making the Final Four in Michigan.

Midwest Champions: Wake Forrest

West Champions: Memphis

East Champions: Florida State

South Champions: North Carolina

Those will be the 4 teams I will be rooting on to make it the Final 4. Now tell me the teams you see making a trip to Detroit, Michigan for the Final Four.

Atlanta Hawks Playoff Tickets

The Atlanta Hawks are once again playing good basketball and their good play will soon be rewarded with another trip to the NBA playoffs. The Hawks hope to do much better in the playoffs this year. The taste of last year’s playoff run was just the start for this group of young and talented basketball players. Last year’s team took the World Champion Boston Celtics to a 7 game series. The team has reloaded and energized their batteries for this year’s NBA playoffs. Players like Maurice Evans and Flip Murray will give this year’s team more weapons and the whole team is a year older and wiser to the NBA playoff system. It’s going to be a fun time watching these guys make another playoff run this year and you can get your seats now for all the action! Get your Atlanta Hawks playoff tickets now and reserve your spot at Philips Arena. It promises to be a good time for all at the Highlight Factory and let’s watch these young Hawks go against the NBA’s best teams!

There will be a pre-sale on Atlanta Hawks playoff tickets. This is your chance to get Hawks playoff tickets before the rest of the public can! It’s a nice way of the Atlanta Hawks organization to reward the loyal Hawk fans that support this team through the good times and the bad. If you would like to get your hands on the best playoff seats possible, you will want to purchase them through the pre-sale event. All you need to do now is sign up for free to the Highlight Reel. Once you are signed up, you will get special emails about Hawks tickets, team news, video content, player features, and other special offers; that are only good to Highlight Reel members.

The Atlanta Hawks will start selling pre-sale tickets on Monday March 23rd. Everyone that is a subscriber to the Highlight Reel will receive a special email, that will contain the link to purchase these Atlanta Hawks playoff tickets. Just be sure to wake up early Monday morning (March 23rd) and keep an eye on that email to arrive in your inbox. As soon as you get the email, rush quickly to buy your playoff tickets and you will have the best seats possible come playoff time! These tickets will be sold before the general public even has a chance to buy playoff tickets for the Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena.

Our favorite basketball team in Georgia has done their part to get to the playoffs this year. It’s now our turn as fans of the Atlanta Hawks to go out and cheer them on to victory, as they will be a tough match up for any NBA team that comes into the Highlight Factory at Philips. Go show your support and don’t forget to scream and yell and be the 6th man for the Atlanta Hawks! This time is our time and soon the whole NBA will know it! NOW YOU KNOW!

The Atlanta Hawks continue their winning streak by beating the Utah Jazz on Wednesday Night. The Hawks looked good on Monday when they faced Chris Paul and the New Orleans Hornets. The tough defense gave Paul more than he could handle and you could see his frustrations coming out on the court. He really accepted losing like a spoiled child and not sure if that’s the type of guy you want leading your NBA team. David West is the main guy in New Orleans and the one the team needs to build on. The Chris Paul show will never take them any where far in the playoffs and his poor character issues is something the team will have to address over there.

The Utah Jazz coached by Jerry Sloan doesn’t have too many issues, other than the fact they have no athletes on the team. Andrei Kirilenko was a great athlete at one time, but his days are numbered in Utah. They drafted Corey Brewer to help spice up the athleticism on their team, but he may just be a hair under NBA talent. The only other player you could make the case for is Paul Milsap and a tough rebounder inside is about all he is good for. The team is led by Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer and they are both very limited in the athletic department. It’s important to be athletically gifted in the NBA and especially in today’s games. Most NBA teams have several players they can call on, but the Utah Jazz doesn’t really have that guy. They could use a major upgrade in athleticism and perhaps Jerry Sloan needs to tweak his style of coaching. The 21 years that Sloan has ran the show in Utah is the longest in the NBA and any other professional sport. The Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox is 2nd on the list in the longest tenure with 19 years under his belt.

The Utah Jazz looked lost all night long in Philips Arena on Wednesday. They quickly found their self down 15 points in the first half and they were able to get back even, after the Hawks had laid down their guard. The Utah Jazz did bring a 12 game winning streak to Atlanta, but this team isn’t winning those games on their talent. I would imagine it’s tough for NBA opponents to get up for a game against the Utah Jazz. You can just look at their roster and see that there really isn’t anything there. NBA teams and players like competition or to play against a team that is better than them. The Utah Jazz doesn’t offer anything for opposing teams to get excited for and I’m sure they get took for granted on most nights. I believe the 12 game winning streak is more of a result of other teams not getting up to play against them; rather than the team actually having talent to win NBA games. It’s easy to see why the Jazz have never won an NBA championship and they are sitting ducks in a playoff style match up; where other teams can focus on them for several games in a row.

Josh Smith went off on the Jazz Wednesday night and they had no one close to matching his high flying dunks and the shots he kept blocking from the air. The whole Atlanta team was clearly more talented than the Utah Jazz. The Jazz are the most overrated team in the NBA and they may just be the most overrated team in any sport. Perhaps with the recent passing of their owner, things will change in Utah. Drafting better athletes and replacing their coach Jerry Sloan would be good starting points. Deron Williams shows good fundamental skills and would be an excellent teacher of the game or a coach one day. His athletic ability is a far cry from what NBA point guards and players need these days to win in the National Basketball Association. The Jazz may very well find their self in a playoff spot this year and in the future. It will be a result of teams taking them for granted and not the actual players they currently have.

Things are much brighter in Atlanta with a talented core of young players and a pinch of veterans like Joe Johnson, Mike Bibby, and Flip Murray. The coaching situation in Atlanta is not good and Mike Woodson does need to be replaced. He doesn’t have a good feel for game situations and appears to play players based on what they have done in the past, instead of playing them based on what they have done that night. The Hawks got a tremendous spark from Mario West when they faced Utah earlier in the week. His performance in the first half deserved major minutes but Woodson only played the former Georgia Tech star a couple of minutes in the second half. West produces each time he gets a chance to play and the coaching staff in Atlanta doesn’t seem to recognize this. It is hard to find time for all the talented players they have, but Mario West is a difference maker and needs more playing time.

The Hawks are looking good on their current home schedule and they have now beaten Detroit, New Orleans, and Utah for a 3 game winning streak. They have a long ways to go to match the 12 game winning streak that Utah manage to get. The Hawk’s next opponent is Indiana on Friday night in Atlanta. The team has an excellent opportunity to extend the winning streak to four, if they can find a way to shut down the Indiana Pacers. It should be a fun game to watch and we will have to see if Joe Johnson and Josh Smith stay hot and if they can continue to win games with Marvin Williams being out due to back problems.

The Big East tournament in college basketball is currently going on in Madison Square Garden in New York. There was a good match up on the schedule for Thursday; when the number 3 team in the country Connecticut going against the number 18 team in college basketball Syracuse. There was no reason to believe that this game had anything special about it, other than it was two top 20 teams competing against each other. After the smoke had clear and a winner was found from this college basketball game, people would be left wondering if this was the best college basketball game ever.

I have seen many great games in sports over the years, but I’m not sure any of them would top the college basketball game played in Madison Square Garden on March 12, 2009. You can look at any team sport or individual sport and find great match ups and games over the years. I know Magic Johnson and Larry Bird had many historic battles in their careers in basketball. The Bird/Magic matchups started in college and the 1980’s was filled with Larry’s Celtics and Magic’s Lakers playing for NBA championships. Their famous battle in college doesn’t even come close to the comparison of the Uconn and Syracuse game.

The game was close throughout and it was hard to tell who would win this one. As the last seconds of regulation ticked off the clock, a Syracuse Orangeman player knocked down a 3 point shot from the right wing. The score was all tied up at this point and this shot would have gave Syracuse the win over Uconn. Since the shot came very close to the buzzer, the officials decided to have another look at this critical basket. It was this 3 point shot that would determine if overtime was needed or if the Syracuse team would advance in the Big East tournament. It took a very close look to determine if the player had released the ball in time or not. You could see the basketball just barely touching the player’s finger when the last second left the clock. The shot was called no good by the referees and now the two Big East teams prepared of an overtime session.

Going to overtime in college basketball is something that happens often, so at this point it really wasn’t a big deal. After the first overtime was played and a winner hadn’t been found yet, since the teams were still tied, a 2nd overtime had to be played. A double overtime college basketball game is pretty rare, but even that wasn’t enough time for a team to take the lead in this one. Now the Uconn and Syracuse matchup becomes a triple overtime game and it starts to enter the realm of all the other triple overtime games ever played in college basketball. However, the 3rd overtime was as successful as the first two were and still no winner in this Big East match up. A 4th overtime didn’t work either and the teams had to enter a 5th overtime session! You don’t get 5 overtime periods in any sport and you never see this in college basketball. Now the game between these two exhausted teams was special, but it got even more special when the time expired in the 5th overtime and the score remained tied. This Big East tournament game between Connecticut and Syracuse would need 6 overtimes to see which team would advance in the tournament.

The first 5 overtimes ended in ties with each team scoring 10 points in the first overtime, 6 points in the 2nd overtime, 11 points in the 3rd overtime, 6 points in the 4th and 5th overtimes. Uconn only manage to score 7 points in the sixth overtime and Syracuse would win this incredible game with a 17 point performance in the last overtime. The final score showed Syracuse with 127 points and Connecticut with 117. The final score would suggest an easy win for Syracuse, but this was not easy in any way.

This game will be remembered for a long time and will be known as an historic matchup in the years, decades, and centuries to come. It took 3 hours and 46 minutes to play this game. It lasted so long, that it really took two days to play. The tip off came on March 12, but wouldn’t end until Friday March 13th at 1:22 AM eastern time. The fans from both schools will always remember the 6 overtimes it took to settle this one. The players and coaches involved in this game will never forget it either.

The player that will be best known from this game is Jonny Flynn. He ran the show for Syracuse for 67 of the 70 minutes this game took to play. He was also the leading scorer with 34 points. Many may forget that Jonny Flynn had 11 assists and 6 steals in this game or the fact he was perfect from the free throw line going 16 of 16 there. They will remember he led an exhausted Syracuse team over over the 3rd ranked team in the nation. His comments after the game where he stated that he couldn’t even feel his legs right now, will be something that college basketball fans remember for a long time too. Friday the 13th is a great day for the men in orange and their 6 overtime victory is the greatest game I have ever seen or heard about.