Just a quick recap of what I saw in my Sportz Room -- filled with TVs that I can watch all games going on at the same time.
GAME OF THE DAY: Duke vs Texas Tech. There were four games on Thursday. Three of the games saw the underdog take control early and put the better seed on the ropes. Only one of those higher seeds were able to come back and win their game -- Duke. The Blue Devils shot 71% in the second half and asserted themselves on the defensive-minded Texas Tech Red Raiders. A great finish from a team that has a good look at a sixth national championship.
UPSET OF THE DAY: Arkansas vs Gonzaga. The top overall seed goes down in the Sweet 16. Arkansas' defense was superb and did a wonderful job on Andrew Nembhard (2 of 11 shooting) and limited the Bulldogs to 5-of-21 shooting from three.
CONFERENCE OF THE DAY: AAC. Houston is only going to be a member of the AAC for a year or two until they head to the Big 12, but the Cougars are showing again that they are a championship caliber team. They were physical against Arizona, limiting the Wildcats to 33% shooting.
CONFERENCE WITH A BAD DAY: WCC. Four different conferences suffered a loss tonight, but the WCC got the worst of the damage. In the online trolling of Gonzaga, the WCC has been brought up as a prop that helps the Zags get these No. 1 seeds that they've been unable to cash in on. That is an unfair criticism for a conference that got Saint Mary's and San Francisco in as at-large teams, however, perception can be tough to shake ... and it will continue to be until Gonzaga finally wins a ring.
DUD OF THE DAY: Villanova vs Michigan. Once you get to this point, you are splitting hairs with this category. This was the only game where the higher seeded team had control of the game and carried it throughout. Neither team shot well (35.8% from the field; 31% from three).
DOMINANT PERFORMANCE OF THE DAY: Houston vs Arizona. This was looked at as the trendy upset pick today, but I didn't think Houston would shred the Wildcats like they did. Their defense was outstanding against a very talented Arizona offense. The Cougars held the Wildcats to under 34% shooting while they hit 23-of-50 shots on the other end.
UNDERLYING STORYLINE OF THE DAY: Mike Krzyzewski moves on. There are so many storylines during the NCAA tournament, but now that we are halfway through the Big Dance, the narrative of Mike Krzyzewski's final tournament still lives on. The Blue Devils are a win away from his 13th career Final Four and three wins away from his 6th national championship. As we whittled down to an Elite 8, the Coach K run for a title (especially with a lot of the other favorites eliminated) becomes an even larger story. And possibly a reality..
No comments:
Post a Comment