Three Key Takeaways.

1. As McDermott goes, so does Creighton. Creighton star Doug McDermott hit a three-pointer with eight minutes to go in the first half, putting the Jays up by four. Then McDermott went scoreless for the next twelve, and Alabama built a 10-point lead. The Jays only got back into the game in the second half when McDermott started finding the basket again.
2. Bama Shot the Lights Out. Alabama is usually one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the nation, but they found a way to hit more than 40% of their deep shots against Creighton. Without this unusual output, the Crimson Tide wouldn’t have been able to stay in the game.
3. Late Game Management is Crucial. Creighton smartly used their foul to give with 4.7 seconds left. But Alabama waited until after they inbounded the ball and ran 2.3 seconds off the clock before calling a timeout. When play resumed, Alabama didn’t have time to get a clean shot off, and the Jays advanced.

Star of the Game. Doug McDermott, Creighton. Though he led all scorers with 16 points, McDermott’s best play may have been grabbing an offensive rebound when Greg Echenique  missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 33 seconds left, up by two points. McDermott didn’t let his mid-game scoring drought affect his later play, and he came up big at the end.

Sights and Sounds. Attendance was sparse for the 1:40 pm tipoff, especially among Alabama fans. However, that made it easier to enjoy the Creighton and Alabama bands trading renditions of pop-punk classics. Alabama’s version of Blink-182’s “All the Small Things” was fun, but it couldn’t beat the breakneck pace of Creighton’s “Blitzkrieg Bop.”

What’s Next? Creighton will likely meet North Carolina playing what amounts to a home game for the Tar Heels, barring something historically unseen. If the Jays can keep hitting from outside, they’ll have a chance.

There were 16 games today with too many heroes and twists to note in one place. After each game, our on-site correspondents wrote up a Rushed Reaction to each game. In case you missed any of those, or just simply want to remind yourself what happened, here’s an entire Thursday’s worth of work. Check back on Friday throughout the day for more RRs, usually published within 30 minutes of a game’s end.

• RR: #6 Murray State 58, #11 Colorado State 41
• RR: #8 Kansas State 70, #9 Southern Mississippi 64
• RR: #4 Louisville 69, #13 Davidson 62
• RR: #4 Wisconsin 73, #13 Montana 49
• RR: #1 Syracuse 72, UNC Asheville 65
• RR: #3 Marquette 88, #14 BYU 68
• RR: #5 New Mexico 75, Long Beach State 68
• RR: #5 Vanderbilt 79, #12 Harvard 70
• RR: #1 Kentucky 81, #16 Western Kentucky 66
• RR: #7 Gonzaga 77, #10 West Virginia 54
• RR: #12 VCU 62, #5 Wichita State 59
• RR: #3 Baylor 68, #14 South Dakota State 60
• RR: #8 Iowa State 77, #9 Connecticut 64
• RR: #4 Indiana 79, #13 New Mexico State 66
• RR: #1 Ohio State 78, #16 Loyola (MD) 59
• RR: #11 Colorado 68, #6 UNLV 64

Three Key Takeaways.

1. Indiana Shredded the NMSU Defense. It was obvious from the opening tip that Indiana was going to get the shots it wanted against the porous New Mexico State defense. What was less clear was whether they’d hit most of them. That question was answered with a blistering 59.3% performance that only got better as the game went on, and was equally effective from both outside (7-13 3FGs) and within the arc (25-41 2FGs). Christian Watford, Cody Zeller, and Will Sheehey each contributed 14 points as the Hoosiers consistently worked the ball to open shooters in the right spots.
2. On the Other Hand… Indiana isn’t known as a very good defensive team, and it showed in this game. NMSU hit for a healthy 55.1% against the Hoosier defense, but they were really hurt by their 17 turnovers and the lack of a team leader on the perimeter. We said during the game at one point in the second half that it felt like Indiana had been ahead by a nine-point margin all game long, and it was because IU was able to itself score almost every time down the court, but NMSU was able to hold its own excepting the miscues. This isn’t something that they Hoosiers are going to want to allow VCU to do on Saturday. If they give up easy and open looks to the Rams, they’re be down 20 points before they know what hit them.
3. Indiana is On Its Way Back. This is no one-hit wonder. The introduction of Cody Zeller to the lineup this season has converted Indiana from a middling Big Ten program to a pretty good one. The Hoosiers are still not a major player on the national level yet, but they’ve taken the first step by getting to the Dance and winning a game. You can tell that their fans, their players, their coaches and everyone associated with the program believes in it. It’s not Hoosier Hysteria, but it’s not hard to envision that it’s coming.

Star of the Game. Jordan Hulls, Indiana. We gave him a hard time at one point in the first half after he dogged it on a loose ball and let a guy 11 inches taller and 50 pounds heavier out-hustle him for a loose ball, but he had a spectacular night otherwise. It only seemed like he hit everything he threw up at the rim, but he actually missed four shots out of the 12 he attempted as he put together a 22-point, three-assist night.

Quotable. “We’re better for it, and we’re just getting started.” – Tom Crean, answering a question about all the rebuilding that he and his players have gone through in the last four years to get Indiana to a place where it can win an NCAA Tournament game.

Sights & Sounds. What’s better than the traditional Indiana candy stripe warm-up pants? Glad to see the Hoosiers back in the Tournament.

What’s Next? Indiana advances to play Shaka Smart’s VCU Rams on Saturday, which will be a much more equally-matched game than their seeds would indicate. Indiana makes a lot of threes and shoots them at a very high percentage, but as we’ve seen, VCU is really good at forcing teams into zones of discomfort. Can’t wait for this one.

Three Key Takeaways.

1. Shaka Smart: Yep, Still Smart. Smart’s system may not always appear to be very organized, but it’s chaotic on purpose and his players execute it very well. The Rams took Wichita State out of its comfort zone for almost the entire night, and they’re instilled with the confidence needed to both take and make shots like the late threes that Troy Daniels and Bradford Burgess nailed when it appeared that the game was slipping away. Joe Ragland did his best down the stretch to bring the Shockers back, but in the end they frustrated a good-shooting Wichita squad into a miserable 37.5% shooting night (and only 5-17 from beyond the arc).
2. Garrett Stutz Was Ineffective. He probably couldn’t have envisioned a worse final game for his career (4/6 on 2-11 FGs). Not only did he get into foul trouble early that clearly affected his game, but at the end of the night when he was back on the floor, a finger-roll attempt came off the rim on him and of course he ended up with the ball for a final shot from three that would have tied the game. In the press conference afterward, Stutz had clearly been crying in the locker room, as his eyes were red and he didn’t have much to say about his rough game.
3. Wichita’s Last Play Was a Disaster. Gregg Marshall called a time out to draw up a play with his team down three points. VCU switched on everything and said later that their objective was to not let Wichita have a three-pointer. It worked exceptionally well, as the Shockers dribbled around and eventually had to bail out by giving it to Stutz at the top of the key with two seconds left and had to take a step back to shoot the three (he was 10-31 on the season). But this was no coincidence — Shaka’s guys knew the objective, and they executed it as well as could be asked.

Star of the Game. Darius Theus, VCU. There was no single player who stood out for the Rams or the Shockers tonight, but Theus’ play at the point guard position was instrumental in giving VCU a chance to win. He had a few turnovers (four), but for the most part he successfully handled the press that Wichita State threw at him and kept his head in the game so that he could make the game-winning shot with a seven-footer coming at him in the paint.

Quotable. “Last year we were able to blow teams out more because we could go on runs with our shooting… but defensively, we’re much tougher. We grind it out better. We get after it a little bit more.” – Shaka Smart, comparing last year’s team to this year’s.

What’s Next? The Shaka Train rolls on to the Round of 32, with VCU advancing to play the winner of #4 Indiana vs. #13 New Mexico State in the nightcap in Portland. You’d have to figure that based on style of play and the coaching abilities of Smart, the Rams will have an excellent shot to get back to the Sweet Sixteen.

Three Key Takeaways.

1. Steve Alford Can Coach. Dan Monson went with some trickery during what could have potentially been the game-winning play down the stretch, using a play called “Iowa” to try to get a late three — it’s named after the Hawkeye State because Monson said in the press conference afterward that he had stolen it from Alford while the Lobo coach was at Iowa. When another coach is stealing your plays and admitting to it, that’s a pretty good indication of coaching acumen alone, but it was also obvious in how New Mexico handled the 1-3-1 zone that Long Beach threw at them. Monson said that they did that because the Lobos hadn’t seen much of it before, but they consistently handled it and found the open man in the creases of the zone (most notably, when Kendall Williams nailed a huge three from the wing to give New Mexico its lead back). 
   
2. New Mexico’s Unsung Heroes. Drew Gordon had the best numbers on the winning team with an 18/13 performance, but it was some of the other Lobos who made the bigger plays down the stretch to ensure that New Mexico advanced to the next round. We’ll discuss Kendall Williams below, but the players who kept making big plays when the Lobos needed them were the unsung guys, also including the freshman Hugh Greenwood (12/4/4 assts) and Demetrius Walker (11/4). For New Mexico to advance any further in this Tournament, they will need to have that sort of consistent performance from players other than Gordon inside.
3. Casper the Ghost. We said at the half when Ware had only scored seven points that we felt he’d need to triple his scoring output for Long Beach State to win the game. He ended up with 17 points on 5-19 from the field, and his last several possessions were an unmitigated disaster. First, he missed a layup on a drive, then he missed a much-needed three from the corner. He then got lucky after a turnover led to a loose ball to put him on the line for two free throws (he made them), but then another missed layup finished his team off in the final 30 seconds. Ware had a tremendous career at LBSU, and you hate to see a guy go out like that, but Dan Monson’s team wasn’t going to win without him playing better.

Star of the Game. Kendall Williams, New Mexico. Williams ended up with 16 points and five assists in the game, but it was his defense on Casper Ware late that really frustrated the talented 49er guard, in addition to some timely buckets on the other end. With just under five minutes to go, Long Beach had just taken a one-point lead and had all the momentum — Williams’ response was to nail a wing three to give his team back the lead. He followed that up with a couple of foul shots a minute later, and a layup in the last 90 seconds that created a four-point cushion when Long Beach was surging again.

Quotable. Williams, when asked about his game-changing three with just under five minutes to go being the biggest shot of his career: “Hopefully I’ll have some bigger ones on Saturday.”

Sights & Sounds. Long Beach State’s Casper Wareshows how much it hurts to walk off the court for the last time in your uniform.

What’s Next? New Mexico advances to face #4 Louisville on Saturday in an interesting matchup that will be played above the rim by both teams. Both teams like to mix up defenses, with the Lobos effectively using a 1-3-1 against Long Beach today. We’d have to believe that this will be a tough, low-scoring affair with the key matchup being Peyton Siva vs. Kendall Williams.

Three Key Takeaways.

1. Davidson Failed to Capitalize. With about 11 minutes to go in the First Half, Louisville head coach Rick Pitino gambled by bringing his center, Gorgui Dieng, already with a couple of nasty blocks but also two fouls, back into the game. Within 30 seconds, Dieng had picked up his third foul and was headed back to the bench for the remainder. At the time, Davidson was within one point (16-15). Yet, even with Dieng’s defensive presence on the bench the remainder of the half, Louisville outscored the Wildcats 17-10 the rest of the way. This was a major missed opportunity for Bob McKillop’s team.
   
2. Davidson Wasn’t Just Cold As Much As the Shots Weren’t There. Davidson came into this game not as an elite three-point shooting team, but the Wildcats were somewhat remarkable in that every starter had hit 34% or better from deep this season. None of the seven players who attempted a trey for the team surpassed that mark today. The team collectively shot 22% from beyond the arc, and it was clear very early on that Louisville’s game plan was to force dribble drives at the three-point line and dominate the paint with Dieng and Behanan inside. The strategy was successful.
3. Louisville’s Lack of Offense Is Clearly Their Fatal Flaw. No secret here, but it’s even more apparent when you see the Cardinals live. They just don’t have consistent scoring options but today there was a general feeling that they’ll just find a way to scrape enough points together to get the win. Louisville hit for only 40% from the field and a ridiculous 1-5 from three-point range. This won’t be a winning formula against more talented teams, perhaps as soon as the next round. And if Rick Pitino’s team comes up against a team that gets a big early lead, we have to believe that it’ll be lights out for the Cards.

Star of the Game. Chane Behanan, Louisville. Peyton Siva was good (17/6 assts), but it was Behanan who saved the day in the first half when Dieng was attached to the bench. In the last 10 minutes of the half, Behanan provided four points, a couple of offensive boards, an assist and a block while acting as a human wrecking ball inside the paint. He ended the game with a very nice dub-dub of 14/11 with six offensive boards and a lot of man-sized defense underneath.

Quotable. Rick Pitino, on an interviewer beginning a question about New Mexico, a possible opponent in the next round. “I know nothing about New Mexico.”

Sights & Sounds. The 10:40 AM PDT local start was not the best way to start a hyped pod of tournament basketball, but this mid-sized city of Portland represented well with a fairly full complement of people by the start of the second half. The early timing kept fans waiting for something on the court to excite them, but this wasn’t necessarily the game to make that happen.

What’s Next? Louisville advances to face the winner of #5 New Mexico and #12 Long Beach State in the next round, and either team would provide an interesting contrast with Davidson in that they are much more athletic and capable of putting points on the board to challenge the stout Cardinal defense.

Rush The Court is back with another edition of One on One: An Interview Series, which we will bring you periodically throughout the year. If you have any specific interview requests or want us to interview you, shoot us an email at rushthecourt@yahoo.com.

Hall of Fame power forward Charles Barkley has become without question one of the most entertaining analysts on sports television. TNT’s Inside the NBA has been must-watch television for over a decade now in large part because of his wit and wisdom, and Barkley’s recent foray into college basketball analysis with Turner Sports has helped pick up what had been a somewhat stuffy studio environment. For the past month, Rush the Court has been providing a weekly column  called What Would Charles Say? on Barkley’s website, and he was gracious enough to allow us to spend some time with him this week for a short Q&A. 

Charles Barkley Will Provide Analysis All March Long for the NCAA Tournament

Rush the Court: Charles, the big news early this week was the news that Fab Melo was ruled ineligible for the NCAA Tournament. I was hoping to get your take on how you feel that impacts the chances for Syracuse and Jim Boeheim to get to the Final Four and win a national championship this year?

Charles Barkley: Well, I think that they probably can’t win the championship, but they’re still deep enough to go deep into the Tournament. But I don’t think they can win it without him… but they’re still the deepest team in the Tournament, honestly, top to bottom.

RTC: So the news has come out that this relates to an academic issue for Melo, and with all the academic services that schools give these guys nowadays, how does that happen? How do you drop the ball so badly that you’re not even eligible for the Tournament?

CB: Well, to me it’s very frustrating, because if you get this deep in the season, you should already have all that stuff squared away. I mean… c’mon man. You’re really letting your team down at this point.

RTC: Certainly. Well let me ask you about last year, there was a little bit of criticism with you, Kenny [Smith], and Ernie [Johnson], as knowledgeable as you guys are about NBA stuff, coming in to the college basketball world and giving your takes with maybe not having watched games the whole season. But that ended very quickly with your take on the Big East — how it wasn’t as good as everybody thought — with nine out of the 11 teams gone by the end of the first weekend. Do you have any early takes this year on maybe a conference or teams that you’re just not buying?

Read the rest of this entry »

RTC Region correspondents Brian Otskey (East), Kevin Doyle (South), and Andrew Murawa (West) contributed to this preview.

#1 Kentucky vs. #16 Western Kentucky – South Region Second Round (at Louisville, KY) – 6:50 PM ET on TBS

The Pressure is Squarely on Calipari This Year

It is all gravy from here on out for Ray Harper and the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. Standing at 9-18 at one point this season, WKU turned things around in a big way as they won the Sun Belt conference tournament to earn the automatic bid to the Big Dance. Trailing Mississippi Valley State by 16 points with less than five minutes remaining in regulation, the Hilltoppers ended the game on a 22-5 run to win by one point. Make no mistake about it, Western Kentucky’s magical run will end against Kentucky, but what a run it was. WKU was at their best against Mississippi Valley when they were pressuring the ball and running in transition, but this will simply not work against the Wildcats. It is senseless to breakdown the match ups as Kentucky is staggeringly better at every position, but don’t be surprised if the ‘Toppers keep it close for a good chunk of the first half as they are playing with house money and in their home state.

The RTC Certified Pick: Kentucky

#5 Wichita State vs. #12 Virginia Commonwealth – South Region Second Round (at Portland, OR) – 7:15 PM ET on CBS

One of the most intriguing games in not just the South Region, but the entire second round as a whole, Wichita State and Virginia Commonwealth proved to be two of the top mid-majors throughout the season. Wichita did it with their high-powered and efficient offense, while VCU with their pressure and relentless defense. The victor in this one will most likely be the team that excels in what they do best better than the opposition. If Joe Ragland is hitting shots from the perimeter and Garrett Stutz is his usual force down on the blocks, the Shockers will be in a good position to advance. However, much of the success Wichita has will hinge on whether they can protect the basketball and not let VCU get out in transition as the Rams force more turnovers better than any team in the country. A half court game certainly favors Wichita State, but Bradford Burgess and Darius Theus will look to push the ball every chance they have. In the end, Stutz on the inside and the slew of exceptional shooters Wichita State will throw at VCU proves to be too much for the Rams to overcome.

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And now it gets really interesting again. With California and Lamar now summarily dismissed from the CoM, we’re down to the traditional group of 64 teams — win six games from this point and you’re the last team standing. Sixteen more schools will be eliminated by just after Midnight ET tonight.

It sure didn’t appear like it would end this way, but Mississippi Valley State and Iona were eliminated in dramatic fashion last night. From 68 to 66, with two more gone after tonight…