Madness? This IS MARCH!

Is it possible to love a weekend of sports anymore than this past one? Upsets galore, last second shots failing to sink, Cinderellas born and wiped out, teams coming together in triumph and teams holding it together even after a loss, heartbreak, elation. This is why we love March.

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

Week 2's 4-Point Play

This week, the 4-Point Play will look at several teams that aren't even close to winning their conference due to the domination of other conference foes. Key games ahead will decide the fate of these programs with each having amazing potential to be a dark horse in their respective conferences and give us multiple wins in conference championships and March Madness.

Connecticut Huskies
The Huskies have been an on the bubble team all year when it comes to the AP Top 25. They've had huge success against the likes of Maryland, Indiana, and Florida but then they've also had some really tough losses to Stanford, Houston, and Southern Methodist. UConn showed their real ability when they went into Memphis last week and drummed then #17 Memphis in an 83-73 victory. However, just two days later, they were on the losing end of a 76-64 game against Louisville. However, that loss doesn't shine down as a bad loss for the Huskies and is more of a statement to how good the Cardinals are this year.
There's no doubt this team is going to consistently perform at a high level, it's what we have become accustomed to out of Connecticut teams. However, they will need to get more shots to fall on their first attempt or do a much better job rebounding if they want to stay in big games against Louisville and Cincinnati in the AAC. The Huskies average over 30 rebounds a game but are not even in the top 100 in the country with defensive rebounds per game (23.0) and fall out of the top 230 teams when it comes to offensive rebounds per game (8.7) and grab just over half of the available rebounds. UConn does have one of the most effective teams in the country when it comes to field goal percentage, draining over 46% of their shots which allows them to get away with not crashing the offensive boards nearly as often as other teams.
Player Spotlight: Shabazz Napier, senior guard, is, without a doubt, the leader of this Huskies team. Napier averaging over 17 points a game, six rebounds a game and six assists per game. He's the team leader from the stripe, connecting on 87% of his free throws, and takes the crown for points with 330 points so far this year. He also leads the Huskies' defense with two steals a game.
Toughest Game Left: at Cincinnati on February 6 and at Louisville on March 8
Predicted Finish: 25-6 and third in the AAC

Indiana State Sycamores
Indiana State is a team that is really getting sidelined due to the unnatural but extraordinary success of Wichita State. The Sycamores play in an extremely top heavy Missouri Valley Conference that has started to garner respect from outsiders because of the Shockers' success over the past few years. However the Sycamores deserve respect in their own right. Indiana State had a very big statement win early on when they beat then #23 Notre Dame 83-70 in their third game of the year. The only bad loss came ten days later when they lost to Tulsa in the Great Alaska Shootout in a 63-62 battle. They've also suffered losses against Belmont, who they later beat by 12, Saint Louis, a now top 25 team, and the undefeated #5 Shockers.
With five players averaging double figures, it's no surprise that the Sycamores are one of the top teams in the country in shooting efficiency posting a 47.8 FG% and a 72.6% efficiency from the stripe. The one area that is really hindering the Sycamores is their outside shot with a team average of 39% from beyond the arc. However, they do have effective deep threats in Demetrius Moore and Jake Kitchell who are both shooting at least 50% from downtown. On the defensive side of the ball, Indiana State lacks anyone who can block shots with no players averaging even one block per game.
Player Spotlight: Dawon Cummings, a senior guard for the Sycamores, is an extremely efficient player. He averages just over 11 points per game with two rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Cummings averages a 46.3 FG% and is third on the team in overall points with 211. The only thing Cummings doesn't do is crash the boards, with only 46 rebounds on the year.
Toughest Game Left: home against Wichita State on February 5
Predicted Finish: 26-5 and second in the Missouri Valley Conference

Harvard Crimson
Although the Crimson lack any real signature win which would boost their tournament stock, Harvard also lacks any home, neutral or double-digit loss that would hinder their rise in March. Harvard has only lost three times: at Colorado, at Connecticut and at Florida Atlantic, and 10 of their 14 wins have come by double digits. With only eight teams in the Ivy League, only half of the conference has a winning record right now which severely impacts the weight of any win the Crimson get in conference play, but winning the league would certainly help their case in March (along with assure them some spot in the 68 teams).
The Crimson only have eight players that play consistent minutes (over ten minutes a game). Of those eight, not one of them is averaging 40% from beyond the arc and only three average better than 35% from long range. However, the overall field goal average for these eight players is well over 47%. Only one of them shoots below 70% while two shoot above 80% from the line.
Player Spotlight: Wesley Saunders, a junior Crimson guard/ forward, easily takes the team lead in points, scoring over 15 per game and his defensive quickness shines through his team lead in steals with 35 on the year. Saunders is also in the top three of the Crimson in rebounds (76), assists (53), blocks (14) and FG% (48.2%).
Toughest Game Left: at Columbia on February 14
Predicted Finish: 27-3 and first in the Ivy League

Dayton Flyers
Dayton is the most mixed bag of the week. The Flyers have several quality wins (Gonzaga, California, Murray State, and Ole Miss) thrown into a bag with several weird losses to Illinois State and USC, a quality loss to Baylor and A-10 losses to Richmond, SLU, and VCU. Dayton dropped to 1-3 in conference play last night when they got drubbed by VCU 80-66 at home. The Flyers are seemingly in freefall right now with only one win over their last four games. They do, however, have the potential to be a great team in the A-10 if they can get back on track to the first 15 games of the season. Their schedule doesn't get much easier though, with absolutely no long home stretch the rest of the way. Head coach Archie Miller will need to get his team to perform on the road if they want to make headway in the packed A-10.
The Flyers are one of the most consistent teams out there. However, that consistency isn't always good as the Flyers average just three blocks and six steals per game as opposed to turning the ball over 13 times per game. Although their defense needs work, the Flyers are extremely consistent shooters which allows them to score 80+ when need be. Jordan Sibert provides a much needed outside shot and forwards Devin Oliver and Dyshawn Pierre crash the boards and make half of their combined shots. However, aside from those three starters, only one other player averages even nine points.
Player Spotlight: Devin Oliver, a senior forward for the Flyers, is the team leader in rebounds (133 on the year) and assists (47) and is also in the top three on the team in steals (16), points (224) and FG% (49.7%). Oliver also averages the most minutes per game and is rock solid from the stripe.
Toughest Game Left: at Saint Louis on March 5
Predicted Finish: 21-10 and fifth in the A-10