The first weekend of March Madness is behind us…
And it was truly madness!!! A 1-seed is gone (Gonzaga), a 15-seed is in the
Sweet 16 for the first time ever (Florida Gulf Coast), and we saw buzzer
beaters thanks to Vander Blue (Marquette over Davidson) and Aaron Craft (Ohio
State over Iowa State).
Through two rounds, Greg leads Andrew in points 43
to 40. Greg led by three after the first round and maintained it on Saturday
and Sunday. Andrew excelled in the Midwest, while Greg was consistent in most
regions equally. Both of us sucked in the wacky West region, but who didn’t.
Remember, on Wednesday we will pick the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games in our
secondary picks competition.
Today though, we wanted to give you our first
weekend reaction. This includes our favorite games and moments, player
analysis, and our three biggest surprises and disappointments. Enjoy!
Reactions
Andrew
– I was actually disappointed most of Thursday. There weren’t too many
great games and finishes, and there weren’t many upsets. Then, New Mexico was
beat Thursday night and it opened up the floodgates. I love when brackets get
ruined and that’s what happened the rest of the weekend. I can recall several
tense moments for me, shouts of joy, shouts of anger, controversy, etc. I love
it!
Greg - What a first four days of
the NCAA Tournament. It has been one of the most unpredictable, enjoyable, and
entertaining tournaments in recent memory. It has been a great tournament so
far.
Favorite
Games and Moments
Andrew – The Harvard story is pretty
cool. This is a team that had never won a tournament game and they lost their
two best players before the year, yet they beat New Mexico on Thursday night, a
team that had Final Four hopes. Wow.
La
Salle vs. Kansas State was absolutely thrilling. I liked it even more because I
predicted it. La Salle and Ole Miss was just as good too. La Salle has a
demeanor about them that I’ve seen before… Have we ever seen a “First Four”
team make a run like this… VCU people!!! They could make a similar run through
a weak region.
Wichita
State vs. Gonzaga was awesome. The Shockers controlled the tempo, played
defense when it mattered, hit bigger shots, and took out a 1-seed and #1 ranked
team in the country. Gregg Marshall knows how to coach. (Gonzaga vs. Southern
was pretty fun as well, but Southern lost so I was also disappointed)
Lastly,
IU vs. Temple was big. It was the type of game that IU has lost every time this
year (Butler, Ohio State, Minnesota, Wisconsin twice). But they found a way to
make the stops when it mattered, execute the offense well down the stretch, and
they finally out-toughed a tough opponent. The most important moment of the
tournament potentially (and my favorite) was Oladipo’s 3-pointer that iced it
with about 12 seconds left. Gutsy! That’s POY stuff in my opinion.
Greg – Florida Gulf Coast vs. Georgetown
- This game was great because it was equal parts impressive, entertaining, and
shocking all at once. In one game it encompassed all that is great
about the NCAA tournament. FGCU dominated the game from tip until conclusion,
played with more enthusiasm, and was simply the better team all game long. The
dunk from Comer in the midst of the Georgetown comeback was a "One shining
moment" clip.
Marquette
vs. Davidson - The only game in the tournament in which the team that was down
for most of the game not only came back to make the game close, but won it.
Vander Blue (more on him later) really was unbelievably clutch at the end of
that game. It was also a preview of what was to come over the next three days
from double-digit seeds.
Marquette
vs. Butler - The first game of the tournament that was really a dogfight from
beginning to end. Neither team had a huge lead at any point in the game, and it
was well played, though not always easy to watch basketball. It was exactly
what I would have expected from this game.
Indiana
vs. Temple - I am somewhat hesitant to put this game on the list, because it
wasn't pretty. I'm pretty much putting it on this list because IU won the game.
Had they not it wouldn't even be on my mind (except angry thoughts). For
Hoosiers fans, it was good to see IU win a game of this type.
Iowa
State vs. Ohio State - A great game. Lead changes, shot making, controversial
calls, a last second shot, this game had it all. Aaron Craft really had a
tough last two minutes prior to his game winning shot and "and
1" play right before it to tie the game at 75.
Five Players
who Delivered
Andrew – First, here’s a shout out to
Aaron Craft and Vander Blue for their game-winners. Victor Oladipo deserves
some love too for his clutch play over the last few minutes, including his
3-pointer that essentially won the game. But below are the five that stood out
to me while watching:
Derrick
Nix, Michigan State: Averaged 18 points and 11.5 rebounds in two wins. Those
are both well above his season averages.
Khalif
Wyatt, Temple: Don’t care that his team lost against IU in the “Round of 32,”
he delivered. He scored 31 points in both of their games and carried them.
Russ
Smith, Louisville – Averaged 25 points in their two blowout wins. They have
been the most impressive team in the tourney thus far.
Jerrell
Wright, La Salle – Didn’t do as much against Ole Miss, but he was responsible
for their big upset of Kansas State. He finished a perfect 6-6 from the field,
9-10 from the line (including many down the stretch to take the lead and win
the game), and ended the game with 21 points and 8 rebounds.
Brett
Comer, Florida Gulf Coast – Made so many of the big plays in both of their
upset wins. His averages of 11 points and 12 assists were huge. He has been the
best point guard by far in the tournament.
Greg - Sherwood Brown, FGCU: 24
points and 9 rebounds vs. Georgetown; 17 points and 8 rebounds vs. SD
State.
Vander
Blue, Marquette: 16 points and the game-winner against Davidson; 29 Points
against Butler in the win.
Mitch
McGary, Michigan: 13 points and 9 Rebounds in win over South Dakota State; 21
points and 14 rebounds in blowout win over VCU. Impressive win there.
Damyean
Dotson, Oregon: 17 points in win over Oklahoma State; 23 points in blowout win
over St. Louis.
Khalif
Wyatt, Temple: 31 Points in win over NC State; 31 Points in loss to Indiana.
Five Players
who Didn’t
Andrew – Mike Muscala, Bucknell:
Averages about 19 points a game and only mustered 9 on 4-17 shooting. Many of
those were layups or in the paint. If he hits what he normally does, they hang
on to their second half lead.
Tray
Woodall, Pittsburgh: Senior stud point guard scored only 2 points on 1-12
shooting in his final game. If that wasn’t bad enough, he had only 1 assist and
5 turnovers. Ouch.
Ryan
Evans, Wisconsin: After dominating the Big Ten Tourney, including an
All-American performance against IU, Evans did nothing in their upset loss to
Ole Miss. He scored 5 measly points, and had to be pulled near the end of the
game because he became a liability.
Otto
Porter Jr., Georgetown: I’m hard on him because he is a National POY candidate…
which explains why he’s on here after scoring a decent 13 points and grabbing
11 boards. It was his 5-17 shooting that got him on the list, many of those
were momentum killing missed layups that set the tone for the upset.
Darius
Theus, VCU: As you can see, I’m tough on seniors. I expect them to perform.
Theus sets the tone for the Rams normally, but he didn’t this weekend. He
wasn’t needed much against Akron but only had 4 points. Then he helped lead
them to a massive letdown, blowout loss to Michigan mustering 2 points. That
only sets the tone for losing.
Greg - Tony Snell, New Mexico:
Only 9 Points in upset loss to Harvard.
Nate
Wolters, South Dakota State: Season low 10 Points in loss to Michigan.
Marcus
Smart, Oklahoma State: 14 Points in loss to Oregon
Matthew
Dellavedova, Saint Mary's: 10 Points in loss to Memphis, and air-balled the
potential game winning shot.
Tray
Woodall, Pitt: 2 points on 1-12 FG shooting in loss to Wichita State.
3 Biggest
Surprises
Andrew – The Oregon Ducks were a
surprise to me in some ways. I picked them to go to the Sweet 16, but they
looked better than I could have imagined in the process. They blew out both
Oklahoma State and St. Louis, and looked like a Top Ten team in the process.
Louisville better be very, very prepared.
Florida
Gulf Coast has to make the list here. They became the first 15-seed ever to
make it to the Sweet 16. And it wasn’t a fluke… they looked like the better
team in each game. I expect them to make a game of it against Florida, and
perhaps take them out too.
Teams
that came out flat were simply a surprise. It’s the NCAA Tournament! This list
includes Valpo, Pittsburgh, Belmont, UNLV, Akron, Montana, Bucknell, Gonzaga,
NC State, Wisconsin, Colorado, Villanova, and UCLA. More could be included. I
know teams get nervous, but bring some energy at least!
Greg - Florida Gulf Coast in the
Sweet 16 is amazing. Though the Eagles were a trendy pick to have a shot at a
possible upset of Georgetown (I warned you last Tuesday), no 15-seed had ever
made the Sweet 16 in the history of the NCAA tournament. What is so impressive
about their two wins is that they dominated both games. They led by double
digits for much of the game against Georgetown, and though trailing at halftime
against San Diego State, they completely dominated the last 10 minutes of the
game by outscoring the Aztecs 27-19 down the stretch.
Michigan
defeating VCU by 25 points was shocking. My pre-tournament "game of the
tournament" turned out to be the "flame of the tournament".
Michigan came out on fire, and played fantastically during this game. It was
the best I had seen Michigan play all season, and possibly as good a game as
they could play.
Arizona
showing up ready to play with blowout wins in the first two games was a little
surprising. Arizona has been one of those teams that have been up and down all
year long. They haven't played consistent offense or defense, and did not
impress anyone in many of the games they played. They have come into the
tournament and beaten two teams (granted they were 11 and 14 seeds) by 17 and
23 points respectively. They have impressed as much as any other team in the
tournament.
3 Biggest
Disappointments
Andrew – The Wisconsin Badgers were
brutal. The Big Ten has proven its dominance in the tourney going 10-3 and
representing a quarter of the Sweet 16. But Wisconsin sucked! I don’t
understand how a week ago they beat Michigan and Indiana on back-to-back days,
nearly beat Ohio State as well, but then came out and lost to an iffy Ole Miss
team from the SEC. They looked like a high school team on offense. They were a
Big Ten team I thought was a lock to win at least a game. I had them in my
Elite 8, and they became my only Elite 8 team that lost.
The
Mountain West’s struggles shocked me. I thought this was a great league all
throughout the year. But they have no Sweet 16 team, and two teams (New Mexico
and UNLV) were upset victims in the Round of 64. Boise State also lost in their
first game (First Four), and after looking good in the first games they played,
SD State and Colorado State looked terrible in their second games. Their record
was 2-5 but they were favored in every game but one.
I
now hate the replay system! I can’t stand how the referees take forever to
replay potential flagrant fouls. It should be obvious watching if it was
flagrant or not. If it wasn’t obvious, then it shouldn’t be called. In fact, I
now hate flagrant fouls in general. I grew up playing and it was okay to foul
hard. Now they don’t seemingly allow hard fouls without calling flagrants. If I’m
going for the ball and I accidently hit you in the head or draw contact with my
elbow, it shouldn’t matter. It’s wussy basketball now! On the other hand, replaying stuff should be
allowed in other areas. I like the 2 vs. 3-pointer replay, but they should be
allowed to replay out of bounds calls in the last few minutes as well. The most
controversial call of the tourney was NOT the Aaron Craft block/charge call
(that call happens 10 times a game and it’s up to the official and how they
viewed it)… The worst was the out of bounds call at the end of the
Miami/Illinois game. Illinois was down two and had a chance to tie or take the
lead with little time left. After missing, the rebound clearly went off Miami,
yet the official called it off Illinois. It took away their chance to tie or
take the lead again. It quite simply took away Illinois’s chances at winning.
That should be reviewable. Not stupid flagrant fouls!
Greg - New Mexico was
disappointing. They came into the tournament with great expectations and a high
seed, only to lose to Harvard. The Lobos were a trendy final four pick out of a
weak West Region that saw 4 of the top 5 seeds bow out in the first weekend. It
was a classic example of a highly seeded team not being prepared to play a
game.
Wisconsin…
wow! Nearly won the Big Ten tournament and almost shared the Big Ten regular
season title, and lost to an Ole Miss team that wouldn't have finished in the
top 10 in the Big Ten regular season. This was a disappointing end of the
season for the Badgers.
And
obviously Georgetown… For the 4th time in the last 5 seasons, the Hoyas are out
of the tournament in the first weekend, having been embarrassed by a 15 seed.
Otto Porter Jr.'s National POY candidacy is over, and it’s time everyone
realized that maybe the lower echelons of college basketball teams are much
more talented than we give them credit for. The perceived "talent
gap" is quite small.
That’s all until tomorrow. Thanks!
By: The Sports Guys
