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: San Diego State vs Creighton. A great, physical game that ended with a tough foul (it was a foul and they should have called it). The range of emotions over the final minutes was thrilling (botched inbounds passes, big shots, clutch plays, free throws with the game on the line) with the Aztecs pulling out the win.
UPSET OF THE DAY: Florida Atlantic vs Kansas State. Seeding wise, it certainly was an upset. The Florida Atlantic Owls become the 10th school in the last 10 tournaments to reach the Final Four as a 7th seed or worse. K State took a seven point lead midway through the second half before FAU turned it on and took the lead. The Owls hang on to dismiss the Wildcats, continuing Kansas State's record 8th straight loss in the Elite 8.
CONFERENCE OF THE DAY: ACC. The Atlantic Coast Conference has been maligned all season long (they finished 7th in whatever metrics) yet here they are back in the Final Four. Miami defeated the Midwest's No. 1 seed (Houston), No. 2 seed (Texas) and No. 4 seed (Indiana) to get into the Final Four. The ACC has had three schools in the Final Four over the last two years -- the other power six conference have combined for three -- and this is the 8th ACC team to reach the Final Four over the last eight tournaments. No, the ACC hasn't had those crushingly power teams like they did back in 2019 when they had three No. 1 seeds, but this conference comes through when it counts.
CONFERENCE WITH A BAD DAY: Big 12. The Big 12 had the two favorites on either side of the bracket coming into this weekend and both loss heartbreaking games. Kansas State just couldn't hold off Florida Atlantic and failed to get off a possible game-tying shot at the end. Meanwhile, Texas blew a 13-point lead and struggled to score at the end of their 88-81 loss to Miami. The Big 12 had a good tournament, but they won't threepeat as national champions.
DUD OF THE DAY: UConn vs Gonzaga. Of the four games this weekend, the UConn-Gonzaga game looked to be the best of the Elite 8. UConn has dominated their first three games while Gonzaga has fought off tough TCU and UCLA squads behind Drew Timme's brilliant play. It was all set up for a great game that never happened. UConn jumped all over the Zags from the start and won by 28 points. Ehhhhh.
DOMINANT PERFORMANCE OF THE DAY: UConn vs Gonzaga. Dude, the Huskies rolled the Zags ... just like they've done to everyone else so far. They are giving me that Villanova in 2018 vibes.
UPSET OF THE DAY: Florida Atlantic vs Kansas State. Seeding wise, it certainly was an upset. The Florida Atlantic Owls become the 10th school in the last 10 tournaments to reach the Final Four as a 7th seed or worse. K State took a seven point lead midway through the second half before FAU turned it on and took the lead. The Owls hang on to dismiss the Wildcats, continuing Kansas State's record 8th straight loss in the Elite 8.
CONFERENCE OF THE DAY: ACC. The Atlantic Coast Conference has been maligned all season long (they finished 7th in whatever metrics) yet here they are back in the Final Four. Miami defeated the Midwest's No. 1 seed (Houston), No. 2 seed (Texas) and No. 4 seed (Indiana) to get into the Final Four. The ACC has had three schools in the Final Four over the last two years -- the other power six conference have combined for three -- and this is the 8th ACC team to reach the Final Four over the last eight tournaments. No, the ACC hasn't had those crushingly power teams like they did back in 2019 when they had three No. 1 seeds, but this conference comes through when it counts.
CONFERENCE WITH A BAD DAY: Big 12. The Big 12 had the two favorites on either side of the bracket coming into this weekend and both loss heartbreaking games. Kansas State just couldn't hold off Florida Atlantic and failed to get off a possible game-tying shot at the end. Meanwhile, Texas blew a 13-point lead and struggled to score at the end of their 88-81 loss to Miami. The Big 12 had a good tournament, but they won't threepeat as national champions.
DUD OF THE DAY: UConn vs Gonzaga. Of the four games this weekend, the UConn-Gonzaga game looked to be the best of the Elite 8. UConn has dominated their first three games while Gonzaga has fought off tough TCU and UCLA squads behind Drew Timme's brilliant play. It was all set up for a great game that never happened. UConn jumped all over the Zags from the start and won by 28 points. Ehhhhh.
DOMINANT PERFORMANCE OF THE DAY: UConn vs Gonzaga. Dude, the Huskies rolled the Zags ... just like they've done to everyone else so far. They are giving me that Villanova in 2018 vibes.
UNDERLYING STORYLINE OF THE DAY: New bloods. I've said this in earlier postings, but the one year after we get the bluest of blue blood Final Fours, we get one that sees three schools making their first Final Four appearance. The ACC and Big East are used to sending teams to the tournament's final weekend, but Conference USA and the Mountain West will be represented as well. That's why we love this tournament and despite your buddy who says the Final Four lacks name recognition, it should be really, really fun. Unless you are a hated rival of any of those schools, you should have no problem just enjoying the way the defensively tough San Diego, the slingin' offense of FAU, the great guards of Miami, or the historically dominant UConn will play on Saturday.
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