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

4 Point Play: March Madness

Although the 4-Point Play pinpointed multiple quality low-mid-majors that made the tournament (New Mexico, New Mexico State, Delaware, Dayton, George Washington, Mercer, North Carolina Central and Gonzaga), this year's field looks ready to be dominated by the Big 6 Conference members. This will be an opportunity to look at teams across the board before the first tip of March Madness tonight. Three teams have doubters questioning how far they could possibly get in the tournament even with their top-half seeding. The 4 Point Play will also take a look at all 16 seeds and the top team at each seed from the lowly 16 seeds to the top of the line number one seed.

Welcome to March Madness.

A Look at the Doubter-Followed Teams
1. Wichita State- One Seed (34-0)
If you were surprised to see the Shockers on this list, you clearly haven't seen much when it comes to the fan bases across Big 6 Conference Country. I can't tell you how many people have asked me "are the Shockers for real?" "Come on, the *insert favorite team here* could easily do that in the MVC, wait till they play someone good." And frankly, I'm tired of this doubt. Especially when it comes from students at another mid-major school who are having a record setting season themselves.
The Shockers have done something that hasn't been done by Michigan, Kentucky (ok, they did back in 1954 but they didn't go to the tourney), Florida, Syracuse, Saint Louis, Arizona, or even Coach K's Duke Blue Devils. They have gone through the most games ever without a single loss (34-0 as they enter March Madness), only '91 UNLV has had as many wins but they got 4 of those in the tourney. It's not a statement to how bad the MVC is (did you even watch that championship game?) so much as it is a statement to how good this post-Final Four appearance team is this year. They have experience, talent and determination. Is it their fault their neighbor Kansas won't play them? Or any other Big 6 team for that matter. No. They played their schedule and beat their opponents.
But they haven't played anyone yet. They'll get smashed by the first quality opponent they see!
What? So three top 50 RPI teams are nobody? One Saint Louis team that plays their damn best basketball on their home floor is nobody? Five tournament-quality teams count as chump teams? You just don't want to admit that this is a quality team who just happens to come from a smaller conference. Did you know that these Shockers went to the Final Four last year? And they lost to Louisville, the eventual champs, by four. They returned most of their team from last year and have only built on that success. So they know pressure and they know how to win close games.
Tournament Road: Can the vendetta against Wichita State get anymore obvious? The selection committee gave them the spot they deserved (#1) yet set them up with the biggest buzzsaw of eight seeds this year in Kentucky (a team that deserved a six seed) and then either reigning champs Louisville or the stingiest club in the field in Saint Louis. And if the Shockers can upset that half of the bracket they are left with an incredibly talented Michigan team or the star-led Blue Devils.

2. Saint Louis- Fifth Seed (26-6)
I mentioned these guys before. The Billikens, Bills, Saints, whatever, (I mean come on, what even IS a Billiken?) these guys can flat out play. You want a middle of the pack team that can go deep in the tournament? Follow through with these guys. One of the most experienced teams in the field, Saint Louis has been waiting for four years to get to the Sweet Sixteen and over that Round of 32 hump. This group of five starting seniors, the winningest in school history, are hungry and you never want to face an hungry Billiken, much less five of them.
The Bills play solid shutdown defense that forces turnovers and thus fast break points. If they can keep teams in the 50-70 point range, Saint Louis is easily the hardest team to trump in the field. Their offense, led by A-10 Player of the Year Jordair Jett and all-around man Dwayne Evans, is deadly in close games and they have three outside shot threats in seniors Jake Barnett and Mike McCall Jr. and sophomore Austin McBroom. Their big man, Rob Loe, is a force to be reckoned with from the perimeter shot all the way to inside the key and off the boards.
Although an end of season slide ended a school record winning streak of 19 games, the Bills aren't in danger of slowing down now. Before that three game skid, Saint Louis had lost to exactly two teams all season: Wichita State (undefeated) and Wisconsin (AP Top 15 finish). They also beat the other five A-10 tourney reps at least once this season.
Tournament Road: A tough test lies ahead for the Billikens if they can make it past the first round against the winner of tonight's Xavier-North Carolina State play-in. That test comes in the form of Louisville (the most under-seeded team in the field this year) who can simply outman this Saint Louis defense inside and can hamper the already inconsistent Bills offense. (But Louisville isn't invincible and Saint Louis, if clicking, could bring this giant tumbling down)

3. New Mexico- Seventh Seed (27-6)
In the fifth week of 4 Point Play, we took a look at these then second place Lobos. The Lobos split their season series with fourth-seeded San Diego State but did so by a plus 11 margin against one of the stingiest defenses in the league before taking the Mountain West tournament championship over the Aztecs 64-58. New Mexico enters the tournament with a 4-4 record against tourney teams with their best out of conference win coming against fifth-seeded Cincinnati in early December. Their four losses came at the hands of UMass (6 seed), Kansas (2 seed), New Mexico State (13 seed), and San Diego State (4 seed).
The Lobos crash the defensive boards. There's no two ways about it with this crew grabbing 27 defensive rebounds and limiting second chance points. Their offense is nothing flashy but can put up 75-80 when called upon (which they will be in order to survive). New Mexico's offensive power rides on the shoulders of Cameron Bairstow who averages over 20 points per game and shoots over 55% from the field. Bairstow's deadly accuracy forces opponents to put an extra man in his area at all times which opens up the floor for Kendall Williams and Alex Kirk to down the ball (shooting 43% and 49% respectively). Williams, the only real three point threat the Lobos have, is an ace on the perimeter (40% from beyond the arc) and yet still averages over three boards and five assists per game. However, beyond these top three starters the offense drops off considerably and the defense is considerably lax.
Tournament Road: As the seventh seed in the East bracket, New Mexico has a tough battle in the first (second) round against tenth-seeded Stanford, but should be able to take care of business on the glass and from the floor. Next up is the Kansas Jayhawk crew that could get upended if New Mexico can slow Wiggins and can get lucky enough to have Joel Embiid still out with the back injury.


The Best Teams of Each Seed
#16 Coastal Carolina
Why They Win: Because it's about damn time a 16 seed toppled a high and mighty 1 seed. Although no one in their right mind is making this pick, the Chanticleers have possibly the best matchup this year in the 1-16 game. If they can out rebound the Cavaliers, we could be looking at history. But once again, don't expect a miracle.
Runner Up: Mount Saint Mary's

#15 Eastern Kentucky
Why They Win: They matchup well with Kansas. That is, they would matchup well if this game was played out on paper and Andrew Wiggins was only a fictional character. But then again, the tide has turned in the favor of Cinderella 15 seeds three times over the past two years (Lehigh, FGC or Norfolk State ring any bells?). Kansas was upset by an Iowa State team that could shoot the ball well, which is exactly what the Colonels have been doing over their seven game winning streak.
Runner Up: American

#14 Mercer
Why They Win: Duke can lose an opening round game, it's been done before and recently (2012 Lehigh) and this time Mercer is looking for that underdog mojo to come into play for them. The Bears are one of the deepest teams in the entire field this year with 12 players having played at least 9 minutes in 30 games this season. Rebounds are key to the outcome of this game. If the Bears limit Jabari Parker and Co. to one and done (which they can as they average 26 defensive rebounds), the explosive Blue Devil offense is vulnerable.
Runner Up: North Carolina Central

#13 New Mexico State
Why They Win: Defense beat their last five opponents and will be the key to the Aggies run in the tournament. That's great news considering the lack of shotmaking ability the Aztecs have shown recently. Daniel Mullings v Xavier Thames will be the main matchup to watch on the outside but how well Sim Bhullar handles the inside will decide the outcome here.
Runner Up: Delaware

#12 Stephen F Austin
Why They Win: VCU's havoc defense only works against teams that don't pass the ball well, SFA does the exact opposite of that and their potent offense has been known to run the score up into the 80s (something VCU rarely sees). Their own quality defense, allowing 62.6 ppg while stealing the ball eight times and forcing over 16 turnovers per game, has the Lumberjacks looking at a very good script for Cinderella 2014.
Runner Up: Harvard

#11 Dayton
Why They Win: Three point shooting. The Flyers bury the rock from downtown better than most teams and that ability allows them to stay in, get back in and go ahead in any game. As a team, Dayton shoots over 46% from the field and over 37% from beyond the arc. However, Dayton needs that potency on offense as their defense is less than stellar. A series of late season wins propelled the Flyers into the field and that string has the ability to hold up when Dayton takes on Ohio State.
Runner Up: Providence

#10 Saint Joes
Why They Win: Their momentum from the A-10 tournament success, beating Dayton, St. Bonaventure and VCU in back to back to back days, will be key to pushing the Hawks past the Shabazz Napier-led Connecticut Huskies. The seniors are the backbone of this team that shoots well from across the floor yet bury less than 65% of their free throw attempts. Langston Galloway will need to contain Napier if the Hawks have any hope of tasting upset nectar.
Runner Up: Arizona State

#9 Oklahoma State
Why They Win: Marcus Smart can lead this team past Gonzaga and into an open challenge with Arizona. The offense can put up points from four different positions and their defense, which strips the ball, blocks shots and rebounds off the defensive glass well, can contain most scoring threats across the board.
Runner Up: Pittsburgh

#8 Kentucky
Why They Win: Freshman led by sophomores who get calmed by a senior because of a quality coach. Oh, and the Cats will need to decide they want to win in order to have any chance of beating anyone in this field. Just like they decided to turn it on in the second half of the second half of the SEC title game on Sunday, the Cats have the ability to shut down everyone, force turnovers and dominate in all aspects of the game, if they so choose. Julius Randle and Willie Cauley Stein can handle the inside before pitching out to the Harrison twins or James Young. Jarrod Polson, Dakari Johnson, and Alex Poythress round out the top eight players at Calipari's disposal.
Runner Up: Gonzaga

#7 New Mexico
Why They Win: Check up top.
Runner Up: Connecticut

#6 Ohio State
Why They Win: Aaron Craft will make sure to wipe off all traces of butter from his hands before the final shot. Or the defense will simply clamp down on Dayton and the non-potent offense will score just enough to get by. The game will be decided by how well Dayton handles the ball and, thus, how fast Craft's hands are on the ball all game long. The only legitimate weapons for the Buckeyes on the offense are LaQuinton Ross and Lenzelle Smith Jr who combine to score 26 of the 69 points OSU puts up each game.
Runner Up: North Carolina

#5 Oklahoma
Why They Win: Offense trumps lackluster defense for the Sooners. A blazing 82 points per game saves the porous defense (76 ppg). Four players average double digits while almost everyone that gets into games consistently grabs at least one rebound (with five players grabbing at least 3).
Runner Up: Cincinnati

#4 Louisville
Why They Win: Because they got the lowest seed the selection committee could possibly justify and so they need to prove to the selection (ACC) committee chair that the Cardinals can play like a three or two seed. All around skill makes this year's Cardinals team just as worthy of a title defense as last year's team was of winning it all. Top offense will lead the Cardinals away from defense minded SLU and quality defense has the ability to steer Kentucky, Wichita State, Michigan and Duke away from the Final Four.
Runner Up: UCLA


For the top 3 seeds I'm not going to explain why each is the top seed seeing as ESPN, Sports Illustrated, SB Nation and countless other sites have already analyzed these teams to death. If I were going to analyze them it would look something like this:

#3 Duke
Why They Win: Jabari Parker actually has teammates who know how to play basketball too
Runner Up: Iowa State

#2 Michigan
Why They Win: Nik Stauskas, Big 10 regular season champions and the fact they went 9-6 against the field already this year.
Runner Up: Kansas

#1 Florida
Why They Win: Defense, Patrick Young, Casey Prather, Scottie Wilbekin, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Billy Donovan
Runner Up: Arizona