NCAA Weekend Reactions

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.

One of my favorites has to be Florida Gulf Coast vs. Georgetown. It is arguably the upset of the tourney, and it was simply fun to watch. The alley-oop with two minutes left to basically ice the game was the most exciting moment of the tournament thus far. If you liked that game, watch this rap video: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/24/dunk-city-rap-florida-gulf-coast-university-video_n_2944700.html?utm_hp_ref=sports

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