Rush the Court will be providing wall-to-wall coverage of each of the NCAA Tournament from each of the 13 sites this year. Follow our NCAA Tourney specific Twitter accounts at @RTCEastregion, @RTCMWregion,@RTCSouthregion and @RTCWestregion.

Three Key Takeaways.

Buddy Hield’s 27 Points Led the Way for the Sooners (USA Today Images)

1. The Sooners are going to have play better going forward. Cal State Bakersfield played well today, but if the Sooners don’t improve they are going to have a difficult time handling VCU. Their defense allowed Aly Ahmed to get open and score 16 in first half, including a three-pointer at the buzzer to keep Bakersfield in the game. However, they made the right adjustments at the half and Ahmed was held scoreless after the break. Cousins and Woodard were able to make up for Oklahoma’s limited offense in the paint, and will have to keep producing going forward to free up Buddy Hield. Khadeem Lattin scored an important six points, and is going to have to step up on offense more if the Sooners have designs on a Final Four or beyond.
2. Bakersfield took advantage of early miscues and cold shooting and wouldn’t go away quietly. Oklahoma started out slow and Bakersfield took full advantage of the lull. They were able to keep pace and hold Hield to mainly transition baskets in the first half, but as they tired and allowed the All-American to get his hands on the ball, he wore them down. He scored 13 of his 16 second half points in the final nine minutes as the defense tired. The Sooners as a team shot 72 percent from three-point range in the second half.
3. Concentrating intently on keeping the ball out of Buddy Hield’s hands seems to have some merit. West Virginia adopted this strategy in the Big 12 Tournament and were able to get past Oklahoma as a result. Bob Huggins said: “All we talked about was, let’s do everything we can possibly do to not let him get his hands on the ball.” Bakersfield had several different defenders on Hield, but it was evident their sole job was to concentrate on him. At one point, Hield was standing in the corner not moving, and the defender didn’t take his eyes off him to look at anything else going on. The majority of Hield’s points were in transition – he had a hard time getting open until the final minutes.

Star of the Game. Buddy Hield, Oklahoma. Hield had a relatively quiet game and was well-defended, but somehow came out with a game-high 27 points. Read the rest of this entry »

Rush the Court will be providing wall-to-wall coverage of each of the NCAA Tournament from each of the 13 sites this year. Follow our NCAA Tourney specific Twitter accounts at @RTCEastregion, @RTCMWregion,@RTCSouthregion and @RTCWestregion.

Three Key Takeaways.

Iowa Escapes to Live Another Day (USA Today Images)

1. Iowa showed great resiliency. Entering this game with five losses in its last six games, it was a positive sign for Iowa to come out strong in the first few minutes. Even more impressive was Iowa’s ability to win this game in overtime after fouling a three-point shooter in the final seconds. When Temple’s Quenton DeCosey hit three free throws to send the game to overtime, the expectation of many was for Iowa to fold and Temple to spring the upset (think: Little Rock). That turned out not to be the case and Iowa now moves on to a Second Round matchup with Villanova. It was gut-check time for the Hawkeyes and they clearly answered the bell.
2. That said, Adam Woodbury pushed off. In real time, it looked like Iowa’s center cleared out considerable space on his game-winning rebound and tip-in. Replay only confirmed this fact. If called properly, Temple would have received free throws on the other end with only a couple of ticks left on the clock. It was a game-changing no-call with the outcome of the game hanging in the balance. Credit Temple coach Fran Dunphy and his players for taking the high road in the postgame press conference.
3. Did Iowa get its mojo back? This question likely won’t be answered until Sunday’s game against Villanova. Head coach Fran McCaffery struck a positive, upbeat tone after the game, no doubt looking for some positive reinforcement after what has been a brutal month. Iowa survived and advanced which has to give it some confidence going forward, but the Hawkeyes only shot 35 percent for the game and were outrebounded by 11. Its saving grace was turnovers as Iowa gave it away only three times in a 45-minute game. That alone is incredibly impressive and a similar result on Sunday should keep Iowa in the game against Villanova.

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Rush the Court will be providing wall-to-wall coverage of each of the NCAA Tournament from each of the 13 sites this year. Follow our NCAA Tourney specific Twitter accounts at @RTCEastregion, @RTCMWregion,@RTCSouthregion and @RTCWestregion.

Three Key Takeaways:

Middle Tennessee State’s Jaqawn Richmond gets the celebration going for his Blue Raiders. (Charlie Riedel/Associated Press)

1. The Blue Raiders’ Hot First-Half Shooting: Middle Tennessee State came into today hitting 38 percent of their three-point attempts while making a little more than seven threes per contest. They must have decided those numbers weren’t adequate for The Big Dance. Four different Blue Raiders combined to hit 8-for-12 from outside which helped them to a six-point halftime lead from which they were able to carry momentum for the rest of the game.
2. The Spartans Didn’t Lay Down: Propelled by Bryn Forbes and Matt Costello combining for 29 second-half points, the Spartans were never completely out of it until the bitter end. Together, they accounted for 10 of Michigan State’s 16 makes in the second half. As close as Michigan State was to taking this game a few times, they never led.
3. MTSU Never Let Up: MTSU made 56 percent of their field goals in the first half so you figured they had to do that again to give themselves a chance to close the game out. The Blue Raiders went ahead and made 57 percent of their shots in the final 20 minutes. They needed most of it to hold off a tried-and-tested blue-blood program with a Hall of Fame coach.

Star of the Game: Let’s give it to Middle Tennessee State’s starting lineup. Darnell Harris, Perrin Buford, Jaquan Raymond, Giddy Potts and Reggie Upshaw accounted for 81 of MTSU’s 90 points, countering every punch Michigan State that offered up. Plus, the whole rarity of a #15 seed beating a #2 seed who legitimately could have been a #1 seed — that team will now board a plane to East Lansing empty-handed. March is cold like that.

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Rush the Court will be providing wall-to-wall coverage of each of the NCAA Tournament from each of the 13 sites this year. Follow our NCAA Tourney specific Twitter accounts at @RTCEastregion, @RTCMWregion,@RTCSouthregion and @RTCWestregion. Kenny Ocker is covering the Spokane pods of the South and West regionals this week.

Three Key Takeaways:

The Magic of March Goes to Hawaii (USA Today Images)

1. Cal really, really missed its starting backcourt: The Golden Bears came to Spokane knowing it would be without its lone senior and leading scorer, point guard Tyrone Wallace, who broke his hand in practice earlier this week. They didn’t account for shooting guard Jabari Bird also being unexpectedly sidelined by back spasms just before the opening tip. And then backup-point-guard-cum-starter Sam Singer and superfreshman Jaylen Brown picked up three fouls apiece in the first half and magnified that problem. Brown ended up fouling out with about eight minutes left in the second half and the Bears still in the game, but they were never able to close it out without him on the court. He finished with a mere four points. Singer had 12 points before fouling out. Cal only had six assists in the game.
2. REF SHOW! Speaking of all those fouls… there were 25 in the first half, which didn’t let the game generate any sort of flow. Singer and Brown had three apiece in the first half. Four of Hawaii’s starters had two fouls by that point. And then the Rainbows’ star center, Stefan Jankovic, picked up his fourth foul less than four minutes into the second half. All told, the game ended with 49 fouls, including disqualifications of Brown and Singer for Cal, and four Hawaii players finishing with four fouls. The tight officiating made it difficult to watch what should have otherwise been an entertaining #13 over #4 upset.
3. Hawaii ignored Cal’s vaunted interior defense: The Bears came into Friday’s game with the nation’s best two-point field goal defense, according to KenPom, giving up a mere 40.9 percent shooting inside the three-point arc. Hawaii did not care. The Warriors made 24-of-38 shots inside the arc (63%), including 6-of-8 inside shooting from guards Quincy Smith and Roderick Bobbitt and 5-of-7 inside shooting from center Stefan Jankovic.

Star of the Game: Hawaii guard Quincy Smith: The slashing senior wing got to the basket at will all game against Cal, hanging up 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including a perfect 4-of-4 in the second half.

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Rush the Court will be providing wall-to-wall coverage of each of the NCAA Tournament from each of the 13 sites this year. Follow our NCAA Tourney specific Twitter accounts at @RTCEastregion, @RTCMWregion,@RTCSouthregion and @RTCWestregion.

Three Key Takeaways.

Mo Alie-Cox was a force to deal with. (Scott K. Brown Photography, Inc.)

1. VCU came out ready to play. The Rams hit the floor in warm-ups and you could tell they were ready to play. Oregon State, on the pother hand, were flat from pre-game warmups and that continued through most of the game. Despite a four minute window in the second half where the Beavers showed some life, VCU’s intensity dominated the game.
2. VCU dominated the inside despite a size disadvantage. Mo Alie-Cox simply took over the paint on both ends. He blocked shots, threw down dunks over Eubanks, and just out-muscled the taller Oregon State players.
3. A balanced attack. VCU effectively spread the court and played well as a team. JeQuan Lewis was consistent throughout and hit some key shots down the stretch, and Melvin Johnson was solid.

Star of the Game. Mo Alie-Cox, VCU. Alie-Cox dominated inside on both there offensive and defensive ends. He had three monster rejections and 20 points to go along with 8 rebounds, 7-of-8 from the field and 6-of-6 from the line. Read the rest of this entry »

Rush the Court will be providing wall-to-wall coverage of each of the NCAA Tournament from each of the 13 sites this year. Follow our NCAA Tourney specific Twitter accounts at @RTCEastregion, @RTCMWregion,@RTCSouthregion and @RTCWestregion.

Three Key Takeaways.

Villanova Easily Handed Its Business Today (USA Today Images)

1. This was a complete and total rout. After a fairly slow start, Villanova broke this game open in the latter stages of the first half. After leading at the break by 14 points, the Wildcats kicked it into overdrive in using a 24-10 run spanning halftime to cement it away. Villanova looked in complete form on both ends of the floor as it shot 58 percent to UNC Asheville’s 37 percent. Five Wildcats scored in double figures and the 86 points represented one of Villanova’s most efficient offensive outings of the season.
   
2. Daniel Ochefu looks healthy. After fighting his way through an ankle injury at last week’s Big East Tournament, Villanova’s senior center looked great today. Ochefu posted 17 points and 10 rebounds on 7-of-9 shooting, his eighth double-double of this season. If his team is to advance to the second weekend for the first time since 2009, Ochefu must play an important role. On a team that’s fairly undersized, he needs to be a force in the middle in order to protect the rim and open up the wings and driving lanes. When Ochefu is playing well and commanding a double team, Villanova’s offense is dynamic and difficult to defend.
3. Villanova effectively tested two styles of play today. In the first half the Wildcats bombed away from three-point range and that allowed UNC Asheville to hang around. Villanova attempted 17 threes before the break but cut that down to only 11 attempts after halftime. In the second half there was more of an emphasis to get the ball inside either through Ochefu or dribble penetration. Villanova has long been criticized for the high volume of three-point shots it takes (24th nationally this year) but it is one of the best teams in two-point percentage as well. If the Wildcats can work the ball inside with Hart’s penetration and Ochefu’s skill set on the low block, they can advance deep in this NCAA Tournament.

Star of the Game: Daniel Ochefu, Villanova. Ochefu has struggled in fighting through an ankle injury since a great performance in a win over Marquette on February 27. He had totaled only 24 points over Villanova’s last five games before today’s 17-point effort, and the senior appeared to have gained back a lot of the mobility lost with the injury, although he still had a large ice pack taped to his ankle after the game. Villanova can’t win a national championship without a healthy Ochefu so his play today is a great sign.

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Rush the Court will be providing wall-to-wall coverage of each of the NCAA Tournament from each of the 13 sites this year. Follow our NCAA Tourney specific Twitter accounts at @RTCEastregion, @RTCMWregion,@RTCSouthregion and @RTCWestregion.

Three Key Takeaways:

Syracuse’s Malachi Richardson attempts a pass down low. (Credit: Syracuse.com)

1. The Potential of Malachi Richardson Is Frightening: At 20 years old, you might not find many freshmen at that age nor will you find many more versatile wings than Richardson. The 6’6″ wing with a 7’0″ wingspan scored 10 points in a variety of ways — mostly drives and spot-up threes — within a span of five minutes early in the first half on his way to becoming the game’s leading scorer with 21 points. It’s easy to see why NBA scouts are digging his skills.
2. Dayton’s Balanced Attack Was Thrown All Out Of Whack: The Flyers came into today’s game with four players averaging in double figures: Charles Cooke (15.7 PPG), Dyshawn Pierre (13.0 PPG), Scoochie Smith (11.7 PPG)) and Kendall Pollard (10.6 PPG). Today, these four combined for only 36 points. The worst stretch had by the Flyers is when they went on a more than five-minute scoring drought in the second half. I couldn’t tell what Archie Miller‘s sweating situation was since he wore his jacket throughout the game, but I can bet he wasn’t dry.
3. Syracuse’s Patented Zone Was Effective: With the aforementioned scoring droughts for the Flyers, we couldn’t really determine just how effective the Orange’s zone was. The Flyers shot 29.6 percent from the floor in the second half when Trevor Cooney started connecting on three-pointers. Zone may be for cowards, some say, but if your team isn’t able to score against it, what does that say about the Flyers?

Quotables: “Anyone that said we don’t deserve to be in the Tournament doesn’t know about basketball.” – Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, on his team’s at-large bid

Sights and Sounds: With 7:38 to go in the game, Malachi Richardson was whistled for a foul. A Dayton fan behind the basket stood up and yelled at a ref, “Yes! Yes! You finally called a foul! I didn’t think you would but you did!”

What’s Next: The Orange will face the winner of the Michigan State-Middle Tennessee State game on Sunday. Time and television designation are to be determined.

Rush the Court will be providing wall-to-wall coverage of each of the NCAA Tournament from each of the 13 sites this year. Follow our NCAA Tourney specific Twitter accounts at @RTCEastregion, @RTCMWregion,@RTCSouthregion and @RTCWestregion.

Three Key Takeaways.

Providence celebrates its last second win over USC. (Photo: Fox Sports)

1. Providence appeared to be in good shape, then it didn’t, but then won anyway. At the half, Ed Cooley had to feel pretty good about things. His star guard Kris Dunn only had three points and one assist before the break, having played only 10 minutes because of foul trouble. USC was hot from outside (four of eight on threes) and the Friars were out-rebounded by five before intermission. Still, Providence only trailed by one point after 20 minutes of action. USC came out strong after the break, however, using a zone to harass the Friars into a bunch of missed jumpers. But Providence was able to hang around until some shots fell and they could finally apply a bit of game pressure to the Trojans. In the last couple of minutes, it appeared that USC’s lack of experience finally came into play. Down the stretch, the Trojans committed bad turnovers and twice missed the front end of a one-and-one. Their final mistake was allowing Providence to execute an out of bounds play for an easy layup in the final seconds — an error that ended their season.
2. Sometimes quality is more important than quantity. We knew going into this one that it would be a battle between Providence’s stars and USC’s balanced attack. The Trojans had six players averaging between 9.8 and 13.4 points per contest. Meanwhile, Providence gets most of its scoring from just three players. Things played out as expected tonight, as the Trojans had six players score at least eight points, while Providence had the game’s three top scorers. Ben Bentil and Kris Dunn combined for 35 points, although it took them 34 shots to reach that total. Dunn did come up big in the clutch, scoring 10 of his 16 points in the game’s final 10 minutes.
3. These teams are polar opposites in regards to three-point shooting. On the season, Providence ranks in the upper half of the nation in three-point attempt percentage, but the Friars only make 32. 1 percent of their shots from deep. Conversely, USC is the 28th most accurate three-point shooting team in the country at 38.5 percent, but the Trojans rank 246th in frequency of long range attempts. In tonight’s contest, both teams played to form – Providence finished with a 9-24 from beyond the arc, while USC made seven of its 13 attempts from behind the arc. With everyone expected back for the Trojans next year, perhaps Andy Enfield should consider hoisting a few more shots from deep, since they obviously are good at making them.

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Rush the Court will be providing wall-to-wall coverage of each of the NCAA Tournament from each of the 13 sites this year. Follow our NCAA Tourney specific Twitter accounts at @RTCEastregion, @RTCMWregion,@RTCSouthregion and @RTCWestregion.

Three Key Takeaways.

Calipari’s Cats Move On (USA Today Images)

1. Stony Brook’s ghastly first half offense really set the tone. There are always going to be some games when a team does not the shoot ball particularly well. However, there aren’t many instances where a team shoots the ball as poorly as Stony Brook did in the first half tonight. The Seawolves shot just 18.9 percent (7-37) during the opening 20 minutes. To make matters even worse, they missed all five of their three-point attempts. Stony Brook did grab 12 rebounds during the opening stanza, but that only led to more missed shots. It was an ugly, ugly half of basketball, and the fact that the Seawolves were only down 14 at the half was a minor miracle.
2. Kentucky’s defense came to play. The Wildcats have received quite a bit of deserved criticism for their inconsistent defense this season. There were no issues on that end tonight against Stony Brook, as the Wildcats applied a great deal of defensive pressure all evening. While Stony Brook does deserve some of the blame for its putrid shooting performance, it’s not like Kentucky made it easy. The Seawolves struggled mightily to find any clean looks; nearly every shot that went up was under some duress. The Wildcats were also quite active in the turnover department, forcing the Seawolves to give it away 14 times. John Calipari’s group is going to need to crank things up against Indiana’s hyper-efficient offense on Saturday, but its sometimes circumspect defense certainly passed its first test tonight.
3. Skal Labissiere was excellent tonight. The Kentucky freshman big man has had some substantial ups-and-downs this season, but you would not know that if you look at how he played in tonight’s first round victory. Labissiere scored 12 points (6-10 shooting), blocked six shots, and grabbed four rebounds in 23 minutes. The big man’s length frustrated Stony Brook all night and his defensive presence was extremely important to the Kentucky winning effort. Labissiere is certainly a player to keep an eye on as the tournament progresses.

Player of the Game. Jamal Murray, Kentucky. When the Wildcats were looking for an offensive spark in the second half to widen its lead, it was Murray that came through with the winning efforts. The freshman guard finished the night with a team-high 19 points to go along with seven rebounds. His two second half three-pointers were instrumental in taking the air completely out of Stony Brook’s sails.

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Rush the Court will be providing wall-to-wall coverage of each of the NCAA Tournament from each of the 13 sites this year. Follow our NCAA Tourney specific Twitter accounts at @RTCEastregion, @RTCMWregion,@RTCSouthregion and @RTCWestregion.

Three Key Takeaways:

Gregg Marshall calls out to his team during its win over Arizona on Thursday. (Credit: AP/Charles Krupa)

1. It’s time to quit talking about if Wichita State deserves to be here. In the lead up to the NCAA Tournament there was an interesting debate about whether the Shockers should be in the field — in large part because the answer would help define how the Selection Committee makes its decisions. Now that they’re here, that debate can end. Wichita State is a very good basketball team (something we already knew), just as capable as nearly any team in the field of making it to Houston. Now the question is whether future committees can start getting seeding right by using metrics as a better arbiter than resume.
2. The Shockers have the best defense in the country. This isn’t that bold of a statement given that Wichita State has the top-ranked defense nationally, according to KenPom, but the Shockers had critics because of their weak league. On Tuesday, Wichita State held Vanderbilt’s top 50 offense to 0.72 points per possession. They then one-upped themselves tonight by completely shutting down an Arizona offense that ranks in the top 15. The Shockers play a stingy man-to-man defense that creates turnovers (23 percent turnover rate, fifth nationally), doesn’t allow offensive boards (23.6 percent, fourth) and protects the paint (41.7 two-point percentage, seventh). If they do make it to Houston in two weeks, their defense will be the reason why.
3. It was a disappointing end to a disappointing season for Arizona. The Wildcats started the year ranked in the top 15 of both the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll before climbing into the top 10 with a 12-1 non-conference record. Unfortunately, Arizona couldn’t get it going away from the McKale Center during Pac-12 play, finishing 12-6 in the conference before bowing out in the conference tournament semifinals. The additions of Allonzo Treier, Kadeem Allen and Ryan Anderson were supposed to result in more than a first round exit for the Wildcats. Sean Miller has is still searching for that elusive first Final Four.

Star of the Game: Sean Miller’s soaked dress shirt captivated Twitter audience after the he sweated completely through it with eight minutes remaining in the first half. It even drew the attention of Gregg Marshall’s son, Kellen, who hollered across the court at Miller to let him know that Men’s Warehouse is having a two-for-one sale tomorrow. On the court, it was the Shockers’ stellar defense that starred more than any one player could.

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