Spring practice starts next week, but the Big East tournament through the first two rounds of the NCAA are perhaps my favorite time of year for sports.
Not going to bore everyone with analysis, but watching the Marquette-Villanova I wanted to point something out about the end.
I am a big hater of over coaching, which is calling endless time outs to set up a play in the final minute. Managing the clock is one thing, but calling a timeout without first testing the defense has become a cardinal rule of college coaches. They try to control the game too much. All of them do, even the great ones.
But, look what happened at the end of the Marquette game. Marquette missed a shot and with 15 seconds left Villanova had the ball down one with no timeouts. What happened? Experienced players ran the offense and a guy broke free for a layup.
When you have experienced guards, as Nova does, the best thing to do in that situation is to allow your guards to run the offense and try and take advantage of the mismatch. Calling a timeout to set up a play is an advantage to the defense because it allows them to set up and relax. Sometimes you need a quick hit play, such as a 3 off a double pick. That's fine for a timeout. But, under 10 seconds left? I want the game to be chaotic.
In a scramble situation, I will always take the team with guards and the ball over the defense. I would say good job by Jay Wright, but I am positive he would have called a timeout if he could have.
Let's remember this as we watch hoops for the next month. Watch out for over-coaching.
Okay, random post over
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