RTC is reporting from the South Region in Dallas, Texas this weekend.

Three Key Takeaways

1. This loss will be a tough one for Bill Self and the Jayhawks to swallow. The Jayhawks led by 14 with 6:50 remaining in the second half only to see that lead evaporate thanks to some questionable decision-making on their part and some big shots by Michigan. The story will end up being Trey Burke’s shot, but Mitch McGary deserves a lot of credit for his game-high 25 points and 14 rebounds. McGary came into his senior year of high school as one of the top recruits in the country, but slid down the rankings after some weak performances, which led many to question his impact for the Wolverines this season, but he has stepped up his play in the NCAA Tournament and seems to be getting better with every game.
2. In a NCAA Tournament that has had several memorable moments, Trey Burke may have provided us with the defining moment of the NCAA Tournament so far. His 28-footer with 4 seconds left in regulation seemed to hang in the air forever. From floor level (literally with the raised court) the shot seemed like it would fall short, but it just made it over the front of the rim and dropped in. Whether or not this will propel Michigan into the Final Four remains to be seen, but it is a moment that will last well beyond this year’s One Shining Moment.
   

   Trey Burke’s 28-Footer Will Be Talked About For A Long Time in Ann Arbor (Credit: AP)

3. Given the financial situation of his family it seems like a forgone conclusion that Ben McLemore is headed to the NBA Draft. Honestly, most neutral observers would probably tell him it is a bad decision not to enter the NBA Draft. If this was McLemore’s last game as a Jayhawk, it was certainly a solid one, but like much of McLemore’s freshman campaign it left you wanting more. When McLemore finally ended his NCAA drought with a 3-pointer with 8:48 left in the first half he put together a stretch that reminded you he was the best player on the court and he finished with a team-high 20 points, but McLemore seems to lack that killer instinct where he puts teams away and tends to disappear in big moments. McLemore is still young so perhaps he will outgrow that weakness at some point, but it is something that NBA teams will worry about.

Star of the Game. Mitch McGary, Michigan. Like we said earlier everybody will focus on Burke, but for us it was McGary. He seemed to make plays all night. Despite his disadvantage in height and experience he more than held his own against Jeff Withey. We don’t expect him to put up many more nights like tonight this season, but if Florida advances in the later game tonight the Wolverines will need him again with the limited play of Jordan Morgan.

McGary May Have Not Gotten The National TV Interview, But He Was The Key To The Game

Quotable.

• “We’re right there where we wanted the game, and of course the last three minutes we didn’t do a lot of things right, which will be something we’ll look back on and regret for a long, long time.” – Bill Self
• “We definitely didn’t see fear.  Everybody knew that the game wasn’t over.” -Tim Hardaway Jr. when asked about their thoughts when they were down by 14

Sights & Sounds. With the game being played in front of a strongly pro-Kansas crowd the noise in the cavernous Cowboys Stadium was directly related to how well the Jayhawks were playing. Despite the narrow margin it seemed like the Jayhawks controlled most of the game and the crowd sensed it too. Well at least until they didn’t. After Burke’s three-pointer forced overtime you could sense the anxiety from the fans who became more withdrawn and didn’t even react to big shots by Kansas in overtime.

nvr1983 (1398 Posts)

This entry was posted on Friday, March 29th, 2013 at 8:48 pm by nvr1983 and is filed under 2013 ncaa tournament, Rushed Reactions. Tagged: ben mclemore, kansas, michigan, mitch mcgary, trey burke. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.