The Final Four

Interview with Jarquez Jones

Through a struggling attempt to load this interview video, I decided to do something different. I interviewed a guy on my hall in his room about basketball and this is it. I think it was kinda of ironic because when I walked in, he was watching basketball which made me feel like I knew he was a good person to interview.

Jeffrey: Hey, what is your favorite sport?
Jarquez: Basketball.
Jeffrey: How long have you played basketball?
Jarquez: Since sixth grade.
Jeffrey: Why do you play basketball?
Jarquez: I love it, man.
Jeffrey: You love basketball. Awesome.
Do you watch a lot of basketball? Actually you're watching basketball right now.
Jarquez: All the time, yeah.
Jeffrey: Who's your favorite team?
Jarquez: Miami Heat.
Jeffrey: Who's your favorite college team?
Jarquez: Carolina.
Jeffrey: Carolina? Alright.
Jarquez: UNC baby.

I thought this was an interesting video because I knew Jarquez really liked basketball, and I know he still plays while he is in college. I also really like basketball, and I especially like watching it. The only part of the interview that I didn't really like is when he said he liked Carolina  because I am a Duke fan.

Outdoor Basketball Court

I went to the courts behind my dorm and took a video of some people playing basketball.

College Basketball on the Internet

Basketball is a very popular sport, and it is especially popular in the United States. There are so many people that watch college basketball online now, and more and more people are converting to that each day. In addition to all of the online game watching, there is also fantasy teams to draft, informational videos on basketball, online basketball games to play, and especially highlights and recaps of games. All of these things have this common relation to basketball, and they have become more popular as years pass. The common theme is basketball, and so much money is put into it because it is such a great revenue generator. The basketball industry is lucrative and the online aspect allows for online advertising as well. The features for basketball online not only make watching basketball easier, but it makes the experience a different one because it is online.

Indoor Basketball Court

I went to the UNCG Rec center and took a picture of some guys playing basketball on the basketball court.

Outdoor Basketball Court

I went to the basketball courts behind my dorm and I took a picture of some people playing basketball. There were actually a lot more people at the courts than I thought would be there.

NCAA Tournament 2012 in Greensboro!

Although the 2011 NCAA Basketball Tournament just finished, there is always predictions for next year. There have already been all of the seeds predicted for the tournament and they have been put online at http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/2012-ncaa-tournament-projection.htm. This does not mean that the rankings won't change because they probably will. The rankings are determined by performance in 2011 and whether or not players go to the NBA. The exciting part of the NCAA 2012 Tournament is that a part of the tournament will be played here in Greensboro. I think Greensboro is a great selection for second and third round games because it is also a very well known place for the ACC Tournament. The games next year will be played at the Greensboro Coliseum, and I will be really excited next spring for some college basketball.

Jimmer wins the Naismith

Jimmer Fredette won the Naismith men's college player of the year which is basically an award for a really great basketball player. The Associated Press and the National Association of Basketball Coaches named Fredette the winner because of his outstanding performance on the court and his obvious basketball ability. I read one article about how some of the voting took place, and it really interested me. Basically, there are basketball journalists, coaches, and administrators from around the counrty that voted, but there were also fan votes cast via text message which is what I thought was cool. In my opinion, Jimmer Fredette is a very impressive athlete, but I think Kemba Walker or Nolan Smith could have been a better choice. Although Fredette led with most points per game, I think other players might have had more to offer. Overall though, Jimmer was still an outstanding choice for this year's Naismith.

Butler and UConn in the Championship

Butler, making their second Championship appearance in a row, has come to redeem themselves from last years game. This year Butler played a great UConn team lead by Kemba Walker. Butler suffered a sad loss against UConn by 12 points, and Butler will have to go through the whole next year if they want another shot at the Championship. The 2011 NCAA Championship game was a fairly low scoring game, and it is because the defense coming from both teams was phenomenal. UConn's head coach, Jim Calhoun explained how "eventually our quickness and length got to them," and essentially, UConn just had the extra step to take the W. The Championship game is always interesting, but this year it seemed uneventful in the respect that neither team played great basketball even though one team played better basketball than the other. That team just happened to be UConn so they came out on top. The interesting part of this game for me is the fact that anyone with Internet access can follow play-by-play, scores and commentaries online during the game. There was a streaming of the game on the Internet so people could watch, and it is amazing how the Internet can now update you after almost every basket that is made.

College Basketball

Some people from my dorm decided to watch a game on the tv.

Butler defeats VCU for another shot at the Championship

Butler defeated VCU in the semifinals so they have a second chance at the NCAA Championship Final. In 2010, Butler lost to Duke in the Championship, and now they have a second shot to win the Championship in 2011 against either UConn or Kentucky. Although Butler did not have an easy road, they overcame adversity and are going to the finals this year. I think Butler and VCU both have great basketball programs and players but in the end VCU just made more mistakes and Butler executed their offense better. Butler and VCU had very similar 3-point shooting percentages and overall field goal shooting percentages, but Butler had better free throw shooting percentages and they also had less fouls. Unfortunately, VCU had to take a hard loss for Butler to be able to take another shot at the Championship so lets hope it was worth it.

Kentucky and UConn have met before in the Tournament

Kentucky and UConn's last meeting was in the second round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament. UConn beat Kentucky in the 2006 Tournament, and I think they have a good chance to win this year too. Although UConn looks like a favorite to win this game, Kentucky has had more success in NCAA Tournaments in the past. UConn has had 29 Tournament appearances, 3 Final Fours, and 2 Championships which is a very solid record. Kentucky, on the other hand, has had 51 Tournament appearances, 13 Final Fours, and 7 Championships, and it still wouldn't surprise people if they win this year as well. We are not even talking about Kentucky's 2012 recruiting class because they are going to have one of the best in the nation. We will see who has the better team on Saturday, April 2.

About Jeffrey Tanner

This is a video where I went around to people that I thought could describe me instead of me trying to describe myself.

A $10,000 ticket...I think not.

The NCAA Tournament is extremely popular, and people that want to go to the finals pay a big price for this entertainment. This year's finals are played at Reliant Stadium in Houston Texas. This Stadium seats around 71,500 people, and the farthest seats could start at around $200, and the lower level can be up to $10,000. I think the seating arrangement is interesting because the combined seating for Butler and VCU's stadiums have a total of 17,500. Large arenas or stadiums have to be used because so many people will buy tickets to see the games being played. Now, you could go online and just look at all of the tickets and prices which makes it a lot easier. Even if it is as easy as clicking a button on the Internet, I still don't think I would pay $10,000 for a ticket.

Kemba Walker is overshadowed by Jimmer Fredette

Kemba Walker is a Junior Guard at the University of Connecticut, and he is probably the best player still in the 2011 NCAA Tournament. I say 'still' because Senior Guard Jimmer Fredette of Brigham Young University has shown his amazing stats that make him seem better than Kemba. The only question I have is although Jimmer's stats are better, who is still in the 2011 Tournament? Kemba and his UConn Huskies are. Kemba averaged 23.9 points a game, and that is no small feat, but compared to Jimmer's 28.9 points per game, Jimmer seems like the better player. In my opinion Kemba Walker is the better player because he and his team are still in this Tournament, and they have a good shot at winning it all if Kemba comes out and plays some good basketball against Kentucky and then against the winner of the VCU and Butler game.

VCU's success story

Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) was more than likely not a Final Four choice for most people. VCU was only the third 11th seed to make it to the Final Four. The FiveThirtyEight statistical model estimates what is the percentage of a team getting to the Final Four. VCU's likelihood of going to the Final Four was a 0.12% chance. The odds were against VCU, and VCU fought against a number six, three, ten, and one seed, and lets not forget the play-in game also. Basically, VCU has had a hard road to the Final Four, and I would personally like to see VCU go to the Championship game.

Almost all upsets to get to the Final Four

Three out of the four regions had teams make upsets to get to the Final Four. The only team to make it to the Final Four that was a better seed than its opponent was (3) Connecticut against (5) Arizona. The other three were fairly intense games. In the East region, (4) Kentucky beat (2) North Carolina for a Final Four spot. This was not too much of a surprise especially with North Carolina's rough start to the season. North Carolina went farther than most people thought they would so an Elite Eight finish is rather commendable. In the Southeast region, (2) Florida took a loss to (8) Butler which came in overtime. Butler beat the first number one seed in this 2011 tournament, and they were the runner-up in the 2010 tournament, and they brought a strong team back to come to this Final Four spot. Lastly, the Southwest region Final Four spot was most likely the biggest surprise of the 2011 tournament. The win went to (11) Virginia Commonwealth (VCU) over a previously dominating (1) Kansas. VCU beat Kansas by ten points, and they are the only team to play five games to get to the Final Four. This puts (4) Kentucky playing (3) Connecticut and (8) Butler playing (11) VCU. This also makes history in the tournament by being only the second time no number one seeds have made it to the Final Four. Also, the Butler versus VCU game makes it the two highest seeds to play against each other in the Final Four. History is being made in College Basketball in this year's tournament.

Duke vs. Arizona was not just an upset

The Sweet Sixteen round in the West region was a difficult loss by the Duke Blue Devils. This game on March 24th was between (1) Duke and (5) Arizona, and it was the next meeting of these two teams since the 2001 Championship game in Minneapolis where Duke beat Arizona. In this 2011 NCAA Tournament, Arizona beat Duke for a spot in the Elite Eight. I think this upset was Arizona avenging their loss from their 2001 meeting. In this year's game Arizona was hitting every shot, and they were just on a roll. When a team plays better basketball, they win, and Arizona played better basketball. Unfortunately, Arizona's win came with a blow to Duke's dream of winning two Championships in a row.

Kansas...understandable; Richmond, VCU, and Florida State...really?

In the 2011 NCAA Tournament, there are three double digit teams in the Southwest region of the bracket along with number one seed Kansas that made it to the Sweet Sixteen. There have not been three double digit seeded teams in the sweet sixteen since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985. This feat is very rare and it will be amazing to see two double digit teams be able to play in the elite eight, but that is unlikely with Richmond’s game against number one ranked Kansas. Each of the three double digit teams have had a tough road to get where they are and it is not going to slow down just yet. Number ten seed Florida State beat number seven ranked Texas A&M by seven points in the second round. Florida State got its first win in the NCAA Tournament since 1998. Florida State played a great number two seed Notre Dame in the third round, and they got a big 14 point win to move on to the Sweet Sixteen. The number eleven seed in the Southwest region of the 2011 Tournament is Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) which has had the hardest road of the three teams. VCU had a play-in game against Southern California which was a supposed upset. Then in the second round VCU played number six seed Georgetown and VCU came out with another upset with an eighteen point victory. VCU then went on to beat third ranked Purdue by another eighteen points to move to the Sweet Sixteen to face Florida State. The third double digit seed is number twelve Richmond who upset Vanderbilt in the second round by three. Richmond went on to play number thirteen seeded Morehead State with a seventeen point victory. Richmond is now in the Sweet Sixteen facing number one ranked Kansas. These Sweet Sixteen games are being played on Friday, March 25, and we will see who moves on to the Elite Eight.