Sportz' NCAA Tournament Recap - Elite 8

 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: Villanova vs Houston. North Carolina and Kansas ran away in their games, while Duke didn't seem to be seriously threatened by Arkansas. The Nova-Houston game wasn't a classic, but both teams slugged it out as they struggled to find ways to score. Again, no one is hanging this in a museum, but it was the best regional final we had.

UPSET OF THE DAY: Villanova vs Houston.  All four higher seeds won, so there wasn't really any upsets. However, Houston was looked at as a championship favorite of sorts and they just couldn't get anything going on offense. The Cougars shot 1-of-20 from three and under 30% overall.

CONFERENCE OF THE DAY: ACC. A conference that was maligned all year has two teams in the Final Four. And not just two teams ... THE two ACC teams. North Carolina and Duke will not only play in the Final Four but will play each other in what will be one of the most anticipated games in college basketball history.

CONFERENCE WITH A BAD DAY: SEC. It's really hard to say that any league had a bad Elite 8, but I'm giving it to the SEC on a technicality. The ACC (Miami) had a losing team, but had two winning teams; the AAC (Houston) didn't play well in their loss to Villanova; and who can bag on the MAAC (St. Peter's) when they reached the league's first regional final. But the SEC fancied itself as a conference to be reckoned with in this tournament and they fell a bit flat. Now, Arkansas had a fantastic season, played Duke really tough and they don't deserve to be the team to face the wrath of the league's shortcomings in the 2022 tournament. But the SEC (who's final team lost to an ACC team) has to be disappointed with its showing. 

DUD OF THE DAY: North Carolina vs St. Peter's. In any other moment, no one would be surprised to see North Carolina jump out to an early lead and beating the Peacocks by 20. Even leading up to this game, the Tar Heels were a healthy favorite. But everyone outside of Chapel Hill wanted to see St. Peter's continue their Cinderella run reach the final weekend. Carolina leapt to a 24-7 lead and never looked back. The plucky Peacocks came down to earth as they struggled to slow down the Heels and struggled even more to get their offense going. What a story they've been.

DOMINANT PERFORMANCE OF THE DAY: Kansas vs Miami. Miami had a six point halftime lead, and then it all Kansas in the second half. That second half may be the most impressive stretch any of the Final Four teams have played all tournament. The Jayhawks outscored the Hurricanes 45-17 in the second half. 

UNDERLYING STORYLINE OF THE DAY: Blue blood Final Four. We have a Final Four consisting of Kansas, Villanova, Duke and North Carolina. Four blue bloods. The first Final Four where each program has won multiple championships ... and each of these have won at least three. And we finally get Duke-North Carolina in the NCAA tournament with a spot in the national championship on the line. 

Sportz' NCAA Tournament Recap - Sweet 16, Day 2

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: St. Peter's vs Purdue. How are they doing this? This plucky program from Jersey City now finds itself as the first No. 15 seed to ever make the Elite 8. Shaheen Holloway has outcoached everyone he faced in the tournament thus far, with his guards defending at a high level and being poised as if they are supposed to be here. Well ... they are supposed to be here.

UPSET OF THE DAY: St. Peter's vs Purdue.  Amazing that a No. 15 seed has made it to the Elite 8. Even more amazing that they did so despite not having an outstanding offensive performance. The Peacocks rely on their defensive pressure and the ability to seem like there are seven players out there. I was big on Purdue early on in the season and must say was very surprised that they fell in this game.

CONFERENCE OF THE DAY: ACC. With North Carolina and Miami winning, the ACC has placed three teams in the Elite 8. Amazing that a league that looked like it was on its downswing in the lone conference who placed multiple teams in the regional finals ... and three schools at that.

CONFERENCE WITH A BAD DAY: Big Ten. With Purdue gone, the Big Ten is gone. They still haven't won a national championship since 2000 despite placing nine teams in the field this year. Nine teams and none lasted past the Sweet 16. 

DUD OF THE DAY: Miami vs Iowa State. In a game featuring two double-digit seeds, this one wasn't close. Kameron McGusty had a huge game (27 points) and the Canes held the Cyclones to 32% shooting for the game and pulled away late for the 70-56 win and Miami's first regional finals appearance.

DOMINANT PERFORMANCE OF THE DAY: Miami vs Iowa State. Miami wasn't completely dominant, but in a night with three close games, the Hurricanes' 14-point win looks that way. 

UNDERLYING STORYLINE OF THE DAY: St. Peter's. Sorry for continuing to harp on this, but St. Peter's has become one of the biggest Cinderella's in the history of the tournament. If they find a way to beat North Carolina on Sunday afternoon, they likely head to the top of the list. 

Sportz' NCAA Tournament Recap - Sweet 16, Day 1

 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.. 

Sportz' NCAA Tournament Recap - Second Round, Day 2

Just a quick recap of what I saw in my Sportz Room -- filled with TVs that I can watch all four games going on at the same time.

GAME OF THE DAY: Arizona vs TCU. What a back and forth game down the stretch! The only overtime game of the day We had poster dunks, huge shots, huge rebounds and one of the national championship favorites hang on for dear life in San Diego. TCU fought hard to erase a 9-point lead late and had small leads in the closing moments but couldn't finish it off. Ben Mathurin poured in 30 while Christian Koloko added 28. They carried the Wildcats.

UPSET OF THE DAY: Iowa State vs Wisconsin.  Iowa State was 2-22 last year ... and just went into Milwaukee and upset 3-seed Wisconsin.  More on this game in a bit.

CONFERENCE OF THE DAY: ACC. The Big 12 had a mix bag with Iowa State and Texas Tech winning ... but Texas and TCU losing. The ACC saw Duke continue the Coach K retirement party while Miami took down the biggest seed on the day. Sure, Notre Dame ... a First Four team ... lost, but the Irish were in it until the very end. The ACC joins the Big 12 with three schools in the Sweet 16. Not bad for a league having a down year.

CONFERENCE WITH A BAD DAY: Big Ten. The Big Ten has woefully under-performed again. Four Big Ten teams lost today, led by Wisconsin's shocking loss ... in Milwaukee ... to Iowa State (who went 2-22 last year). Illinois was handled rather easily by Houston, while Michigan State blew a late lead by giving up a 20-6 run to end the game. Ohio State was game against Villanova, but ultimately fell, 70-60. 

DUD OF THE DAY: Iowa State vs Wisconsin. We actually were treated to eight really competitive games. The Cyclones win over the Badgers takes this spot because, well, the game really wasn't fun to watch. Final scores of 54-49 don't really capture the audience. Iowa State shot 34.5% for the game. Wisconsin shot 29.8%. The BADgers missed 20 of their 22 three point attempts (the Cyclones missed 11 of their 14 threes).

DOMINANT PERFORMANCE OF THE DAY: Miami vs Auburn. The Hurricanes led the entire way against Auburn, pulling away over the first 10 minutes of the second half. Isaiah Wong dunked on lottery pick Jabari Smith. Walker Kessler, for whatever reason, only played 13 ineffective minutes. 

UNDERLYING STORYLINE OF THE DAY: Big Ten's failure. I know it seems like I'm beating a dead horse, but it is rather amazing to see the Big Ten struggle yet again in the NCAA tournament. Last year, the Big Ten had a number of teams who had a good look at winning a national championship and they were picked off fairly early. The 2022 Big Ten lacked true title contenders, but had teams who could make a run at ending their 21 year championship drought. They still have Purdue (who is the top seed remaining in the East) and Michigan still alive, so they can still end that streak, but there can't be much confidence in the league come March.. 

Sportz' NCAA Tournament Recap - Second Round, Day 1

 Just a quick recap of what I saw in my Sportz Room -- filled with TVs that I can watch all four games going on at the same time.

GAME OF THE DAY: North Carolina vs Baylor. What a game! North Carolina was stunning the world when they ran up a 25 point lead on the defending national champions and the East Region's top seed. Then Brady Manek's elbow got him tossed and the Bears ended regulation on a 38-13 run. The Tar Heels tried everything they could to give Baylor the game, but UNC regrouped in overtime and were able to reassert themselves and pull off the win.

UPSET OF THE DAY: St. Peter's vs Murray State.  Sure, beating Murray State seems to be light work after dispatching Kentucky, but the fact that this tiny school from New Jersey will be playing in the Sweet 16 next week in Philly (alongside blue bloods UCLA and North Carolina) is amazing. Murray State was 31-2 heading into this game and hadn't lost since before Christmas ... and that was to Auburn. Looking forward to seeing more Peacocks next week.  

CONFERENCE OF THE DAY: MAAC. Eight winners from eight different conferences. So let's celebrate the MAAC's St. Peter's. They looked dominant for most of their game against a really, really good Murray State team on Saturday. With a lot of power leagues (and the WCC) moving teams along, it's cool to see a team from the MAAC playing on.

CONFERENCE WITH A BAD DAY: SEC. Arkansas held on for dear life to beat New Mexico State, but the SEC's bad moment came when their conference tournament champion lost to Michigan. In a tough, back and forth battle, the Volunteers once again come up short in the NCAA tournament. With Kentucky already out, the SEC's best title shot comes from Auburn (no offense Razorbacks fans).   

DUD OF THE DAY: Providence vs Richmond. Of the eight games on Saturday, this was the only one that wasn't competitive.

DOMINANT PERFORMANCE OF THE DAY: Providence vs Richmond. I know that I'm guilty of overlooking Providence even though they were Big East regular season champs, and I'm wrong for that. The Friars tossed aside Cinderella favorite South Dakota State in the first round and routed Richmond, 79-51, on Saturday.

UNDERLYING STORYLINE OF THE DAY: East region is broken. #1 Baylor is gone. #2 Kentucky is gone. There is a #15 seed still playing. Two blue bloods will face off in one Sweet 16 matchup and we could see a big surprise reaching the Final Four. .  .

Sportz' NCAA Tournament Recap - First Round, Day 2

Just a quick recap of what I saw in my Sportz Room -- filled with TVs that I can watch all four games going on at the same time.

GAME OF THE DAY: Illinois vs Chattanooga. If you were looking for an upset, Chattanooga nearly pulled it off. The Mocs led virtually the entire game and frustrated Illini star Kofi Cockburn all day. But in the big moments down the stretch, Illinois made the plays to take and hold on to the lead. For those who root for the Cinderella, this was heartbreaking. For Illini fans, it was heart pounding.

UPSET OF THE DAY: Miami vs USC.  There weren't the kind of upsets that Thursday produced, but Miami-USC was a bit of a stunner. The Trojans had one of their best regular seasons ever while Miami came into their meeting just 4-3 in their last seven games. Isaiah Wong poured in 22 points and the Hurricanes' Charlie Moore hit two free throws with three seconds left to ice the win. Again, nothing earth shaking.  

CONFERENCE OF THE DAY: Big 12. The Big 12 went 4-0 on the day with Texas Tech, Texas, Iowa State and TCU all winning on Friday. They join Kansas and Baylor in the second round for a perfect 6-0 record.

CONFERENCE WITH A BAD DAY: SEC. The SEC has been one of the most competitive conferences all year long, but they took a hit on Friday. After Kentucky's stunning loss on Thursday, Alabama and LSU were both upset on Friday. Of course, LSU has had a really tough week with sanctions coming soon and their head coach dismissed this week, but the Tigers and Crimson Tide's roller coaster seasons ended in the inconsistent fashion they've played all season. Auburn also struggled to shake Jacksonville State for a while.   

DUD OF THE DAY: Ohio State vs Loyola Chicago. Loyola Chicago a chic pick for an upset in this game. After all, this is the last hurrah for the last of the guys who were on that 2018 Final Four team ... plus Ohio State had an embarrassing loss to Oral Roberts in last year's tournament. We got an ugly game filled with turnovers and missed shots ... with a final score of 54-41. Ugh.

DOMINANT PERFORMANCE OF THE DAY: TCU vs Seton Hall. Another 8-9 game that wasn't close at all. The Pirates shot an abysmal 28% and were never in the game against the Horned Frogs. 

UNDERLYING STORYLINE OF THE DAY: Power teams move on. If Thursday was about the mid-majors, then Friday showed the power conferences flexing their muscle. The winners? Notre Dame, Texas Tech, Duke, Michigan State, Texas, Purdue, Arizona, TCU, Illinois, Houston, Villanova, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Iowa State, Auburn and Miami. Only Houston doesn't play in a "power five" league ... and they're a Final Four team that will be joining the Big 12 in a few years. 

Sportz' NCAA Tournament Recap - First Round, Day 1

 Just a quick recap of what I saw in my Sportz Room -- filled with TVs that I can watch all four games going on at the same time.

GAME OF THE DAY: Creighton vs San Diego State. While people were glued to St. Peter's upsetting Kentucky (more on that in a second), Creighton and San Diego State were battling it out in Fort Worth. The Blue Jays mounted a spirited comeback and needed a missed free throw by the Aztecs late to send the game into overtime ... then making the big plays on both ends of the floor for the win. Freshman Trey Alexander was huge down the stretch.

UPSET OF THE DAY: St. Peter's vs Kentucky.  Kentucky followed up what may be the worst season in its proud program's history with possibly their worst loss in tournament history. This wasn't the typically dominant Wildcats team from a talent standpoint ... even though they may have the national player of the year. It isn't just that they lost to St. Peter's, but that they looked shaken while the Peacocks looked the the program that has won eight national championships.  

CONFERENCE OF THE DAY: Big 12. Baylor an Kansas were looked at as the weakest of the top seeds, but they flexed their muscle in their first round matchups. No conference really dominated (the West Coast Conference looked good before San Francisco fell to Murray State in overtime) but the Big 12 did what they were supposed to do.

CONFERENCE WITH A BAD DAY: Mountain West. The Big East also had a tough day with UConn getting upset and Marquette getting spanked, and the Big Ten took a bigger hit as Indiana got completely rolled by Saint Mary's while Iowa ... the Big Ten tournament champion and buzz pick to win their region ... lost to Richmond.  But the Mountain West really stunk. Boise State, San Diego State and Colorado State were all beaten by lower seeds today. Couple that with Wyoming's loss to Indiana in the First Four and the Mountain West went 0-4 in the 2022 NCAA tournament and are all gone.   

DUD OF THE DAY: North Carolina vs Marquette. This was the biggest blowout in an 8-9 game ever and it was almost instantly a dud. The Tar Heels had been so up and down all season that you really didn't know what you were going to get. Marquette's press defense did nothing to phase Carolina and their offense couldn't get anything going.

DOMINANT PERFORMANCE OF THE DAY: Saint Mary's vs Indiana. Indiana had a tough task of winning a First Four game in Dayton and then flying out to Portland to face a tough Saint Mary's team, The Gaels, who soundly beat Gonzaga a few weeks ago, just trounced the Hoosiers and quickly turned this game into a laughter. When Indiana's best moment was a cheerleader getting the ball down off the backboard, you've had a bad day.

UNDERLYING STORYLINE OF THE DAY: Mid majors. Today was a great day for the mid-majors. Not only did St. Peter's, Richmond and New Mexico State pull off upsets, but Vermont and San Francisco performed nicely in losses. Gonzaga and Saint Mary's ended up winning handily and Murray State continues on with their magical season.  .