JimThorpe

Yes indeed they are. And they face tougher competition during the regular season. Region 2 always sends a worthy team. The only chink was how hard they were pushed in the third round by unranked Wilmer 81-80. So I don't imagine they'll be looking past Seminole. They know that if an unranked can challenge them like that they'd better respect NO. 10. The 1:00 game should be a good one.

Someset is about 23 minutes from the Alamo Dome. They are so close that all they are doing is having early release on Friday. And it's a really really big deal over there. They had two huge wins as well over the weekend. Their defeat of Brazosport is just as important for them as our win over Yates was for us. I don't know when they actually go on sale, but folks in Somerset are already lining up for tickets allocated to SISD. I bet a bunch of people who miss out on the $16 tickets will go ahead and bite the bullet and buy the $130 tournament ticket. There are still quite a few seats available. Plus there's the Cinderella factor, unaffiliated attendees will usually root for the supposed underdog. And of course, the Carter folks will hang around hoping to see an upset. All this combines make Friday's match practically a home game for the Bulldogs. I would caution them to remember that the No. 2 ranked 4A team, with one of, or maybe the best record in the state, with size and talent and awesome depth and no apparent weaknesses scored 103 points in the Regional final..... and it wasn't nearly enough.

Very true. And we'll probably see him at 2-5 before it's all said and done. I'm sure he could run the offense if asked to but I think we're okay at the No. 1 spot. The word "okay" being the biggest understatement ever.

True, but let's be accurate. They are an elite squad without a center or even a power forward. It's whole bunch of guards and one small forward. And that's what makes this upcoming semifinal game an interesting matchup.

Well right off the bat you have two teams that couldn't be more different. Silsbee is somewhat undersized inside and Somerset starts a 6'10" center and a 6'7" forward. Barnes will be fronting a man 8" taller than he. Should be fun. Bring it on. The Tigers are obviously much greater than the sum of their parts.

38 points in the fourth quarter. I had a feeling Yates would wilt at the end. Not because they are weak or lack talent or character or drive or the will to win. They have all those things. They were simply mentally exhausted. They were pressuring Silsbee but they were also pressuring themselves. That frantic defensive pace had worked on lesser teams. They had broken lesser teams. But Silsbee seemed to be ENJOYING IT! The Tigers were enjoying the challenge of the super high pressure defense. Bring it on! Let's rock! The Tigers were obviously tired but they were still happy in their work. And that was a new experience for Yates. You could tell by the look on their faces that they were getting brittle and about to break. They got that 4 point lead early in the 4th but even then you could see them starting the slide. They were looking at each other with that, "What is it gonna take?" look. Wise is a good coach but he should have called a full time out the instant Silsbee caught them. Apparently he didn't see it or didn't believe it. By the time he started calling time outs it was far too late.

Silsbee is out manned inside. It will be difficult to stop Yates big men. Basketball requires tall people usually. For Silsbee to win their decision making will have to be almost perfect. No bad shots. The Silsbee defense has been very weak in the middle. There's usually a path to the basket. f they can't shore that up it will be a long game for the Tigers. There's one thing. The Tigers will probably be behind going into the 4th quarter. Then they will turn up the intensity to a level that the Lions haven't seen all year. I think the Lions will wilt under the pressure. It will come down to free throws and luck, the bounce of the ball and key calls by the refs.

And free throw shooting hurt Liberty Hill. That and they couldn't buy a 3 to save their lives. They had some open looks and were way off. Connolly played a great game. They would have given Yates all they wanted as well. I think last year it was a close game.

Looking at Liberty Hills schedule I'm not seeing those very low scores that would indicate they can control the game. The only really low score was a 45 to 38 loss to....... you guessed it, Argyle. The scores indicate that the Panthers play a normal style game. Even if they catch Yates looking ahead to the Silsbee game and keep pace early, the Lions will eventually snap out of it and take control. But you never know, an upset now and then is a fun and beneficial thing. We're overdue for one in Region III, in the 6:15 PM game if you please, not the 8:00 PM game.

Silsbee will beat Connolly but the starters will have to play the whole game to do it. Yates on the other hand, will brush Liberty Hill aside almost as easily as they did Hardin Jefferson. It's practically a warm up game. Coach Wise will rest his starters so they will be fresh for the Silsbee game. He doesn't need to win by 50. This will put the Tigers at a disadvantage before the game even begins on Saturday afternoon. The Tigers will have to play their biggest game of the season on one night's rest right after a tough game. And then it's a bad matchup for the Tigers anyway. Yates is big and fast and skilled and plays a better defense. No real weaknesses at all. But if the Tigers are shooting well and can somehow stay out of foul trouble they just might pull it off. Yates will have an apparently comfortable lead going into the 4th quarter. Then Silsbee will rally fiercely and pull close. The Lions haven't been challenged like this in a while and they aren't used to it. They will probably wilt somewhat under the onslaught. I think it will ultimately come down to the bounce of the ball. Pure happenstance will decide it. And since tigers are just naturally luckier than lions Silsbee wins by 1 point. That's my prediction for this weekend.

They aren't going to get it this year, barring a huge upset. I hope it's close but I don't see any path forward for Liberty Hill. They won their district but they aren't ranked. Are they that much better than HJ who also won their district? HJ was simply brushed aside by Yates. I see Yates pulling away at the end for a 30pt win. But it could be even worse than that.

Yates has had a somewhat easier road to Huntsville. All unranked opponents. And now facing unranked Liberty Hill. I'm afraid the Panthers are about to get steamrollered unless they can somehow take the air out of the ball and turn it into a half court game. Very unlikely. Tigers will have a better game. Based on the Tigers last two games it figures to be close with the Tigers pulling way at the end. Connolly isn't a high scoring team, couple of games in the 90's. But they are competent, ranked 17th. Only Region 4 is easy to call. Brazosport has a cakewalk of sorts. Facing No. 22 Somerset then No. 15 West Oso. They will overpower those guys. The other three regions are tossups. No way to call it. Region 1 has No. 8, No. 9, No. 10 and No. 11 - Region 2 has No. 4, No. 5, No. 6 and an unranked. Region 3 has No. 1, No. 2, No. 17 and an unranked. It will be an interesting weekend in 4A.

How did the Tigers score 99? I was there and I didn't notice that happening. The Spartans were playing pretty good defense. Interesting. Tell you what, that's a hard working team. Lot of respect for those guys. There was a moment at the end of the 1st when Scarborough was teetering on the brink of oblivion but they hung in there and made a game of it. Lots of credit. Pros: Finding a way to win and pulling away at the end. Chris Martin had a real good game, watching him battle a guy 8" taller and about 80lbs heavier in the paint was a hoot. Cons: I'm a little concerned about the porous middle in the Tiger defense. Spartans got lots of points driving the lane.

I think there is a pathway for HJ to make this game more competitive than the prevailing wisdom indicates. A 10 point game perhaps. It can be done. Argyle did it to Silsbee last year in San Antonio. Turned it into a half court game, and a slow half court game at that. There's a bunch of ways to do it and Argyle knows all of them. The final score was 46 to 45 and Argyle got the last shot. Silsbee won that game by about an inch and a half. That's how far off Argyles buzzer shot missed. Personally I love transition, improvisational basketball. But still and all, I'd rather lose a boring game by 10 than lose an entertaining game by 38. And if given that choice in advance, knowing the outcome, I'd pick the 10 point loss.

Scarborough will play a solid smart game, you can bet on that. And that's exactly what the Tigers need to see from them. We need the challenge and we need to face a tall player in the middle. Should be a good game. All things being equal Silsbee will pull away to a 25pt win.

Probably everybody in the gym, except their coach, was thinking the same thing. The Shepherd kid was mobile and could handle the ball, better than most his size in the high school ranks. All that making him perfect in the power forward roll. What in the world was he doing outside handling the ball? And what was he doing playing point in the zone? I guess I'm being critical of the coach but it didn't make sense. Can you imagine how quickly the Silsbee guards would have taken the ball away from him out there?

We'll be driving home from Austin Monday afternoon. If the timing is right I'd like to stop by and see it. If I do I'll of course be wearing a maroon Tiger tee. "What are YOU doing here?" both sides will ask, "We arranged to play way up here just so we wouldn't have to suffer the presence of an unwanted stray cat." I suppose Silsbee isn't exactly either school's favorite. Now, how to talk wifey into it. Reduced once again to the role of abject beggar.

Scarborough's big man, no. 50 Noah Smith worked so hard against Shepherd. His play was one reason Shepherd couldn't seem to get anything going. I don't know what kind of matchup problem he presents for the Tigers because he isn't very fast nor is he a leaper. He doesn't move that well but neither can we move him and he's a good bit taller than our tallest. But he's going to have to get on his pony if he intends to be a factor against the fastest 4A team in the state. But he knows that already.

We knew this would be a case of outlasting a good team. We’re done with the blowouts. This is the 21st ranked team after all.

And it's fun to watch. I love it. Doesn't always work but it's always worth a try.

Just noticed your avatar. I guess we both love Christian Laettner. I love Bobby Hurley as well, which is completely beyond the pale. Yes, and Grant Hill too. A strange and tortured mind. But don't go by me, I also think that Wilt Chamberlain and not Michael Jordan was the greatest NBA player. And Pete Maravich might have been the greatest if he had been mentally stable and stayed healthy. As it turned out he'll just have to settle for being the greatest collegiate player ever (by far) and for being the NBA player who had the greatest impact on the game. How do I figure that? The rookie contract of course - nothing like that had ever happened before. Basketball was never the same after Maravich. And speaking of Bobby Hurley, how many agree with me that he would have settled down and had an outstanding career if not for the accident? And this has nothing to do with EC does it? So back on topic, good win Bucs!

Tigers made an courageous run at the end after it seemed all was lost to cut a 17 pt deficit to 4. But they came up short. A couple of bounces a different way and we would have had overtime or even an upset. Congratulations on a great season Lady Tigers!

The first game was 103-92. The second game was 82-66. Not bad at all. They are ranked 21. They should give us a good game. The guys down at the end of our bench have probably seen their last playing time this year. The game last year was a masterpiece. The final score was 124-84. If they had wanted to slow it down North Forest wouldn't have scored 40 pts. The game was over at the end of the first qtr. 35-12. But we didn't coast as the final would indicate. Coach Woods made an unguarded comment after the game to the press that was just priceless. He said. "Wow. Those guys really are good." I think that pretty much summed up last year. I wanted to have it put on my State Tournament T Shirt that my son-in-law was making for us but I didn't find out about it in time. Anyway, North Forest is, I'm sure, up for a little payback. Sending the Tigers home early would do nicely. But it ain't gonna happen.

No. They are not hot tonight, just so so

That's how it shapes up at this point Tonight's game against an unranked Huntington - similar to Orangefield. Then..... No. 21 North Forest No. 20 Scarborough No. 17 Waco Connally No. 2 Yates That's how it pans out. I would say that the Tigers have somewhat less than a 50% chance of making it to San Antonio. Yates maybe has a slightly better chance because they face less challenging opposition before they face the Tigers, but still less than 50%. The 4A team with the best shot at San Antonio is Brazosport. They'll likely face No. 22 Somerset in the regional semi and then either No. 14 Boerne or No. 15 West Oso in the regional final. None of those teams should be able to beat them if they are on and their big man Hunter Quick can stay out of foul trouble. Now if we had a guy like that this whole playoff thing would be a mere formality. A rematch with Brazosport would be spectacular, but it's unlikely. As far as looking ahead goes, Silsbee would be nuts to do that and I just don't think they will. They are a prohibitive favorite tonight but that's the last cupcake they face. And it's the last time the guys at the end of the bench will likely get to play this year. It's top 25 teams from there on out.