Belmont > UCLA in the battle of Bruins. Belmont with the go ahead bucket on a possession that didn’t quite seem like it was going anywhere...until it turned into a layup.
The wait is over. The regular season, conference tournaments, and Selection Sunday are all behind us. It's tournament time.
Here is the 2021 edition of my tournament guide.
Marcus Santos-Silva was brilliant that last possession. Baylor got the switch, he stayed in front of Akinjo, helped off, then got back to the shooter, challenged, all while not fouling.
UCLA shot 57.6%, committed just 10 turnovers, and held Gonzaga to 7 3PM.
In games this season prior to tonight, teams that shot at least 55%, committed 10 or fewer TO's and held their opponent to 7 or fewer 3PM were 98-1.
Gonzaga’s the first team to score 100 points against a top 5 team away from home (in regulation), since Duke beat Kentucky 118-84 in 2018 Champions Classic.
The Champions Classic has blue blood heavyweights next week, Maui/the Phil Knight are loaded, but the
@VegasMainEvent
Friday/Saturday with UCLA/Illinois, Baylor/UVA will be as good as any MTE out there.
Going back to 2010-11, only 7 of San Diego State’s last 411 opponents have shot above 55% against the Aztecs.
Arizona is sitting at 58.9% w/ 1:26 to go. That would be the highest FG% of any team against SDSU over that time period.
The 2020 NCAA Tournaments tips off 3,360 hours from now! With the start of the season now just 4 days away, I want to share some thoughts on all 353 teams in 280 characters or less. Let me know what you hope to see or are worried about w/ your team.
Coach quarter-zip rankings:
1. The variety Sean Miller has shown with
@XavierMBB
has been A++.
2. Tonight’s
@MSU_Basketball
choice.
3. No one else worthy of mention, that’s how good the first two are.
Quick update to answer the questions from Reddit & the DM’s:
I would say things are right on schedule, just starting up again this morning. Still a few hours away, but it’s coming. I promise.
"But Texas..."
"But UCLA..."
"But Baylor last year..."
"No titles..."
"They play in the WCC..."
I feel bad for those that simply refuse to acknowledge & appreciate Gonzaga. Will they cut down the nets? I don't know, but to think they are not worthy of doing so is just insane.
Eastern Illinois came into this with wins against IUPUI, the Blackburn College Beavers, and the Saint Mary of the Woods (don’t call me
@kenpomeroy
) Pomeroys.
The DEFCON Fran chart will not have an adequate level for this one.
Tournament guide work is well underway. Now that the season is over & the bracket is out, it’s overdrive the rest of today and early tomorrow.
There’s still work to be done, but hopeful to have it ready to go tomorrow.
Florida Atlantic or San Diego State will be playing for a title a week from Monday.
Change the tournament?
Upsets are bad?
Nope and nope. This tournament is perfect and remains perfect.
There are no words to describe those 40 minutes of “basketball.”
GCU is 1st team in NCAAT to have 30+ FTA’s, at least a 10 FT margin and lose the game since Delaware (39, +14) vs. Michigan State in 2014.
In D1/D1 G this year, teams were 84-7 w/ 30+ FTA & +10 FTA margin.
With Duke's loss earlier tonight, it will be the first time since 1982 that neither Duke or Kansas will be playing in a ACC or Big 12/Big 8 semifinal game.
In 1982,
#6
seed Duke lost Wake Forest 88-53 in the ACC QF &
#7
seed Kansas lost 74-62 to K-State in the Big Eight QF.
This inbounds pass didn’t count…but it still has to end up one of the worst plays of the year.
1) didn’t step OOB
2) there wasn’t a S.Carolina player within 75 feet.
Gonzaga has clinched its 17th consecutive 25-win season, extending the longest streak in Division I history.
Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s will meet in the WCC Tournament Finals for the 14th time since Randy Bennett took over at SMC in 2001-02.
Russell Turner & UC Irvine have now beaten a ranked Pac-12 team in consecutive seasons.
By comparison, in the entirety of the Wyking Jones & Mark Fox eras at Cal (6 seasons), the Bears beat 2 ranked Pac-12 teams.
@ContextFreeCBB
YouTube TV’s unlimited DVR space leading to rewatching NCAA Tournament games all year long is its best feature. I am now going to have to throw this one on again later.
OLD DOMINION APPEARS TO BEAT TEXAS STATE FROM HALF COURT AT THE BUZZER … but the clock on the broadcast was six seconds off and the announcers aren’t in the building.
We’re going to overtime in Pensacola.
Was hoping if I didn’t say this the tournament might magically come back, but a big thank you to those that continue to enjoy the binder and all of my college hoops randomness from overnight5’s, Bruin talk, and stat finds. Love interacting with all of my fellow NCABB sickos.
These next ten minutes feel like an eternity.
Flashback to the year the field was released alphabetically. That poor soul who thought that was a good idea.
With Shead on floor, Houston +6:
-Houston FG: 8-19 (42%)
-Duke FG: 4-17 (24%)
W/O Shead on floor, Duke +7:
-Houston FG: 2-10 (20%)
-Duke FG: 4-6 (67%)
------------
Like Marquette missing open shots, sometimes it's the obvious & simple thing that makes the difference.
San Diego State’s defense is elite & has been for far longer than just this season.
What makes SDSU scary though is as Dutcher said when the D provides confidence on the other end.
SDSU shot 50% in 1H. The Aztecs have won 40 straight when they shoot 50%.
The Washington Huskies last played on 3/10, a game they lost.
Since 3/17 no team has had a greater rise in KenPom ranking than those Huskies who have moved up 43 spots. The 7 teams with the great positive movement are all Pac-12 teams.
Efficiency margins loving the madness.
That’s 20 rebounds for Armando Bacot. It’s just the 18th time a player has grabbed 20 or more rebounds in an Elite 8 game. This is just the second time it’s been done since 1976.
Last player to do so: Drew Gooden’s 20 vs. Oregon in 2002.
The last time Kansas did not have either Mitch Lightfoot or Perry Ellis on the roster?
2011-2012, Missouri, yes Missouri, was winning 30 games in a season as a member of the Big 12.
The world needs more broadcasts with Joe Cravens.
I need an alternate Sweet 16, Elite Eight, Final Four feed featuring a roundtable with Cravens, Gillen, & Lappas. Will there be basketball talk? Some. Will there be more Cap'n Crunch & porterhouse diatribes? I can only hope.
Cravens-ism of the night:
“Trying to stay in front of Dejour Reaves is like trying to eat Cap’n Crunch with a canker sore — it’s a painful experience.”
@rushthecourt
If only Turner had a coach who was a 2x champ, made 4 Final Four appearances, and a couple Coach of the Year awards to his name.
Get Jay Wright up on the A crew in studio.
Robbie Hummel rightfully gets tons and tons of praise for his ability as an analyst.
Sean Farnham deserves the same praise. Whether in-studio or on the sideline, Farnham is fantastic every time he’s heard.
10 turnovers for Hunter Maldonado, only 7 players have ever committed more turnovers in an NCAA Tournament game.
The last player with 10: Aaron Holiday in 2018 against St. Bonaventure, also a Tuesday in Dayton.
Mark Schmidt & St. Bonaventure have finished with 10+ A10 W's in each of the past 5 seasons. A top 50 defense which only got better in A10 play.
@BonniesMBB
FR Osun Osunniyi was an All-A10 defender who chipped in 7.5 PPG, 7.6 RPG (3rd in A10), & 2.7 blocks/g (led A10).
Colorado State finishes the 2H 3-of-25, 1-11 3PT, with their final basket coming at the 9:26 mark.
After leading 17-3 just five minutes in & shooting 57% in the 1H, that’s just a painful 2H to swallow.
SDSU @ Viejas; relentless.
Buffalo’s 99 points is the most points West Virginia has allowed in the Bob Huggins era. The previous high was 98 in a triple overtime loss at Pitt in 2010.
Kerr Kriisa in his last 3 NCAA Tournament games: 3-of-24 from the field, 4 assists, 8 turnovers.
That simply does not get it done in the NCAA Tournament.
Northern Illinois lost 3 of its 10 MAC games by 3 points or less last year. Eugene German a 6'0" G decided to come back for his senior year with
@GoHuskiesMBB
. German averaged 20.4 PPG, grabbed 5.2 RPG, & made 87 3's on 41.4% shooting. A real threat to win the MAC West.
How good is this? Well, in the
@collegebb_ref
DB there are only 2 prev. NCAAT instances of 15+ pts, 5+ reb, 5+ blocks, & 2+ 3PM:
-Jason Maxiell, 2005, 22/9/6 2 3PM
-Michael Maddox, 1996, 16/8/5 & 2 3PM
Grant Nelson just had an all-time NCAA Tournament performance:
• 24 points
• 6-9 FG (2-2 3PT)
• 10-13 FT
• 12 rebounds
• 5 (!!) blocks
Nelson had a total of 6 points in Alabama’s 1st 2 games in the NCAA Tournament.
He quadrupled that production tonight.
Tonight's four play-in games delivered in a bunch of ways.
1) The four games were decided by 16 total points, w/ a pair of one point games and an overtime game. The smallest margin across all four games since 2017 when the four games were also decided by 16 points.
Win at home + limit road L's = Top of the MWC you go.
SDSU on the verge of dropping another vs. MWC top 8 on the road. Utah State is the only of the group w/ multiple road W's with a big chance on Sat. @ Viejas.
And work on the 2024 binder is officially underway. No better excuse to throw on an old tournament game or two to get in the tournament spirit.
First up: 2022 first rounder between Murray State and San Francisco.
Yes the S-Curve and seeding principles rule the day, but can we look past that this time and at least agree that with the transition rule oddity of Jax St’s bid, the Gamecocks should play in the 16 seed play-in game.
Kentucky Twitter is some of the best Twitter. Just going to leave some of this here...From 2015-2024:
Avg. KenPom Rk: Baylor: 15.8, UK: 16.9
Top 10 Offenses: BU 8, UK 7
Top 10 Defenses: BU 3, UK 3
Avg. NCAAT Seed: BU 3.5, UK 3.2
To think Drew could not win at UK is CRAZY!
In four halves of basketball across the two play-in games, three of the four halves had the teams separated by two points or less. The lone half that did not: 6 points.
What a way to kick things off.
The largest lead for either team in Mississippi State vs. Pitt:
6 points.
The 2nd half was a 1-possession game for 18 minutes, 5 seconds out of 20 minutes.
The NCAA Tournament is awesome.
With Stanford mauling Arizona today, since the start of the 2020-2021 season, Jerod Haase is now 4-2 against Arizona. Over that same time period, Stanford's 22-34 against the rest of the Pac-12 during conference play.
Jerod Haase makes the most of his P12 wins.
Others To Watch:
-Jack Gohlke: 327 3PA, 8 2PA - Gohlke will let it fly. What if he gets hot vs. lackadaisical UK D?
-Tyrese Hunter: Recently had 30-pts vs. OU, but also has been held to <10-pts, 8x in last 12G. Can he find form that averaged 12.7 PPG in Nov-Dec?
Gonzaga shot 60% in win against Kansas earlier today.
They were the first team to shoot at least 60% against Kansas since November of 2020 when it was again Gonzaga who shot 65% in a 102-90 win.
Another page in the “Mark Few can coach” book.
The absurdity of the size of the center court logo at Haas Pavilion continues to marvel me. Its gone from a normal sized script, to the huge Bear, to this in less than a 10 year span.
TCU’s 0-of-10 from deep while Arkansas Pine Bluff is 11-of-18.
There’s a long way to go, but that certainly is one way to pull off an upset as a 30-point dog.
College football playoff drama was in the forefront, but don't let that distract from chaos on the hardwood as well. A day after
#1
fell, there was more of the unexpected in college hoops today. Here's a
@Rushthecourt
style
#overnight5
to help catch up:
Georgia Tech 72, No. 7 Duke 68
UNC Wilmington 80, No. 12 Kentucky 73
Drexel 57, No. 18 Villanova 55
That's three of the biggest programs in the sport all taking losses today to teams that were ranked outside of the top 125 at KenPom this morning.