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: Dayton vs Nevada. With about seven minutes left in this game, Dayton had a 0.5% chance of winning. They were down 17 points and were struggling to score. Then they went beserk and went on a 24-4 run to end the game. Wow.
UPSET OF THE DAY: Oakland vs Kentucky. Kentucky has now lost to a double digit seed in two of the last three tournaments and hasn't gotten out of the first weekend since 2019. This isn't the Kentucky basketball we are used to. John Calipari's freshmen clearly looked like the stage was too big and seemed to feel the pressure as Oakland was either up or close to the lead all game.
CONFERENCE OF THE DAY: PAC 12. The Pac-12's final hurrah has gotten off to a great start. Not only did Colorado win their First Four game on Wednesday, but Arizona, Washington State and Oregon all won on Thursday -- with the Ducks being an upset. All four teams the league got in has won so far.
CONFERENCE WITH A BAD DAY: SEC. The SEC really had an off day. Kentucky has a lot of hard questions after their dud against Oakland. Mississippi State were spanked by Michigan State in an 8-9 game. Then South Carolina loses to 11-seed Oregon. Tennessee did blow out St. Peter's, but that wasn't anything to ... peacock ... about.
DUD OF THE DAY: Gonzaga vs McNeese. McNeese was a lot of people's pick for an upset in the first round. Gonzaga isn't the power they normally are and the Cowboys had the look of a Cinderella. Then they got on the court and the Zags jumped all over them. Not the game we thought we were getting.
DOMINANT PERFORMANCE OF THE DAY: Tennessee vs St. Peter's. Tennessee looked like a national champion by dismantling the darling of the 2022 tournament, St. Peter's. This wasn't the same Peacocks team that reached the Elite 8 a couple years ago, but this also wasn't the Volunteers team that looked bad in the SEC tournament last week.
UPSET OF THE DAY: Oakland vs Kentucky. Kentucky has now lost to a double digit seed in two of the last three tournaments and hasn't gotten out of the first weekend since 2019. This isn't the Kentucky basketball we are used to. John Calipari's freshmen clearly looked like the stage was too big and seemed to feel the pressure as Oakland was either up or close to the lead all game.
CONFERENCE OF THE DAY: PAC 12. The Pac-12's final hurrah has gotten off to a great start. Not only did Colorado win their First Four game on Wednesday, but Arizona, Washington State and Oregon all won on Thursday -- with the Ducks being an upset. All four teams the league got in has won so far.
CONFERENCE WITH A BAD DAY: SEC. The SEC really had an off day. Kentucky has a lot of hard questions after their dud against Oakland. Mississippi State were spanked by Michigan State in an 8-9 game. Then South Carolina loses to 11-seed Oregon. Tennessee did blow out St. Peter's, but that wasn't anything to ... peacock ... about.
DUD OF THE DAY: Gonzaga vs McNeese. McNeese was a lot of people's pick for an upset in the first round. Gonzaga isn't the power they normally are and the Cowboys had the look of a Cinderella. Then they got on the court and the Zags jumped all over them. Not the game we thought we were getting.
DOMINANT PERFORMANCE OF THE DAY: Tennessee vs St. Peter's. Tennessee looked like a national champion by dismantling the darling of the 2022 tournament, St. Peter's. This wasn't the same Peacocks team that reached the Elite 8 a couple years ago, but this also wasn't the Volunteers team that looked bad in the SEC tournament last week.
UNDERLYING STORYLINE OF THE DAY: Kentucky's recent swoon. From 2010 to 2015 ... John Calipari's first six seasons at Kentucky ... the Wildcats reached four Final Fours, two national championship games and won the 2012 title. In 2015, they were also two wins away from becoming the first team to go undefeated since the 1976 Indiana Hoosiers. Who knew that would the last time Kentucky would reach the tournament's final weekend? The last four seasons has seen the Wildcats lose in the first round of the NCAA tournament twice (to a 15 and 14 seed), miss the tournament altogether in 2021 and lost in the second round in 2023. Coach Cal has been 1-3 over the last four NCAA tournaments and 1-4 over the last four SEC tournaments. Let's be real -- Calipari won't be fired. He'd have to agree to leave and he's not doing that. But in a state that has showered him with love for most of his time in Lexington, he's getting quite a bit of heat right now. Something has to change, but what? Calipari has swag and loves to flex when things are going great ... so he's going to have to hear the noise when things aren't. It will be interesting to see what his approach will be heading into the next season.
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