I could highlight all the games from Saturday and Sunday, but there was so much action and thrilling basketball being played that I could write a separate post on each one and it wouldn't be enough to capture it all so I'm only going to choose a handful of my favorite games from the round of 32 to highlight here.
Louisville 66 Saint Louis 51
As a current student, this is undoubtedly the hardest game to summarize.
Do I talk about the heartbreak? The moment it was over but I refused to accept it and knew Louisville was gonna choke down the stretch. The moment I knew it was over but was still hanging onto that 16-point rally hope that the Billikens demonstrated on Thursday. The moment I knew it was over, completely. We wouldn't reach the Sweet 16 for a third straight year.
Do I just lay out the facts? Luke Hancock only made 33% of his shots from beyond the arc, but it seemed like he made 12-12 because he hit each right when the Billikens were starting something big. The Billikens, meanwhile, couldn't drain a three to save their season (0-15, a record...). Neither team seemed to be able to hold onto the ball for long with 37 turnovers total (18 for SLU and 19 for U of L). Saint Louis could have won the game. Really, if they had decided to introduce the "Hack-a-Harrell" method earlier as they did in their comeback on Thursday.
Do I simply say a final farewell? Congratulations to the winningest class in Saint Louis University Men's Basketball history. A hell of a year that simply ended too soon, these Billikens will always have played some of the best basketball I have gotten to witness first-hand.
Dayton 55 Syracuse 53
The Flyers of Dayton once again stunned Buffalo and the nation in their game against Syracuse. A total of four players reached double figures in this defensive chess match that, on paper, Dayton should have lost. The Flyers couldn't hang onto the ball adding up to 14 turnovers while only forcing 9 from Syracuse and they shot 55% from the line. But then again, Tyler Ennis launched 21 shots from the field and only managed to find the bottom of the net on 33% of them. The Orange gave the Billikens a run at their no-three streak by missing all 10 of their deep shots. The depth of Dayton (11 players compared to 7 for the Orange) overran the talented core of Syracuse. The Flyers played Daniel, for the second time, putting another Goliath down in a down-to-the-wire thriller in a tournament filled to the brim with thrillers.
Stanford 60 Kansas 57
It seems the early games of this tournament just love to entertain us. Three of the four first games (Dayton, Mercer and now Stanford) ended in shock for one side (and much of the nation) and elation for the other. The Cardinal were only picked to even be in this second round by 38% of ESPN's Tournament Challenge brackets. That faith dropped even further to 4.1% that Stanford would be dancing into the Sweet 16. However, the Cardinal don't tend to follow the nation's expectations and thus stunned the Saint Louis crowd when they went 0-9 from deep yet pulled off a three point upset of a top national title contender. Of course, the Rock Chalk Jayhawk crowd has a valid point when they argue that a big reason they lost was due to the lack of big man Joel Embiid who was forced to sit out both early round games due to back problems. But, that is March and the Cardinal (and 4.1% of brackets) are still dancing big.
Kentucky 78 Wichita State 76
If you don't believe this was one of those "instant classic" games that you would watch again in a heartbeat, you don't know college basketball. From the get-go everyone knew what this game was supposed to be about: freshman talent v senior experience. And, in the final ten minutes of the first half, it looked like the Shockers were going to run away with it, capped by Cleanthony Early's posterizing dunk on Willie Cauley-Stein. However, freshman sensation James Young was having none of it as Kentucky's ensuing shot clock wound down to one and Young launched a stunning three to get the Wildcats back within two possessions at half, 37-31. Out of the break, Early nailed an outside jumper to extend the lead of the Shockers which was answered by a putback dunk by the freshman monster Julius Randle. That dunk ignited a 10-0 run for the Wildcats that spanned most of the first four minutes of the half. The Cats fell behind later in the half and the entire crowd went nuts when Cleanthony Early nailed his third three of the half on a step back, senior-worthy, sideline jumper that made Alex Poythress look out of place. Okay, so enough of the instant replay. Early, as you may have guessed, led all scorers with 31 points while his teammate, Ron Baker, went 4 for 6 from deep for 20 points. However, down the stretch, the Harrison twins, namely Aaron, made their highly-touted recruitment worth it by combining for 39 points and 50% shooting from deep (Aaron was 4-7 himself) and 50% from the field overall. Randle recorded yet another double double (13 points and 10 rebounds with 6 assists).
Take aways? The entire thing. As I rewatched the game, it hurt to skip through a single second of it to find the best looks. I would have been completely comfortable writing an entire game, second-by-second analysis of this classic if I had enough time, sadly, I don't so instead I suggest you go re-watch it for yourself and then re-watch it again.
A few notes about the Round of 32, Sweet 16 teams, and brackets
- So, clock management is usually a coaching term and something players are taught, but can we get the NCAA tournament clock-managers to work those things a bit better to save everyone from yelling at their TV in anguish as the clock doesn't start on time? (In case you missed it)
- The utmost respect goes out to the Shockers who didn't receive half the respect they earned and got quadruple the doubt they had any reason to receive. Hell of a season and career for those seniors
- Thank God for Shabazz Napier, otherwise I would have slept through that UConn-Nova matchup where no one could hit a basket in the first half and on Shabazz seemed to be playing in the second half
- Dayton enters the Sweet 16 with the lowest amount of brackets following them to this round (3.9% of ESPN brackets) and have been picked .8% of the time to reach the Elite Eight.
- The SEC has more teams than the ACC and AAC in the Sweet 16
- We are guaranteed a double digit seed going into the Elite Eight thanks to the 10-11 matchup in the South bracket
- Louisville and Kentucky face off in what might be the best game this year will offer. And we've seen Mercer beat Duke, Kentucky take on Undefeated, Saint Louis come back from 16 down, Tennessee's offense spark over the past two games, and Manhattan put U of L on the ropes and this one will simply be better.
- The Wiggins brothers lost for the first time on the same day of college basketball, ever.
- Okay, that was a low blow considering Andrew is a freshman and Nick just saw a perfect season end.
- A perfect midwest bracket is the main thing holding my bracket above water.
- I officially hate Baylor and their explosive offense and wish I had watched more tape of them before picking them to lose to Creighton
- Here's a link to the bracket that will either be made or be destroyed this week
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