NCAA Tournament Tidbits: 03.18.15 Edition
Posted by Griffin Wong on March 18th, 2015
March Madness is finally upon us, and we here at RTC are here to make everything a little bit easier for you. From the First Four until One Shining Moment, we’ll be dropping daily tidbits of knowledge regarding the teams in each region.
Midwest Region
Karl-Anthony Towns Was Named an All-American. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
- Kentucky freshman Karl-Anthony Towns was named a freshman All-American by the USBWA. Despite playing just over 20 minutes per game for the undefeated Wildcats, Towns averaged 9.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game. Crazy numbers on a per-40 basis.
- Cincinnati has been a mainstay in the NCAA Tournament but is it a basketball school or a football school? You decide.
- This may be Buffalo‘s first time in the NCAA Tourney, but don’t tell their fans that. The Bulls’ faithful have responded to their team’s success – Buffalo will “definitely sell out” its allotment, according to associate athletic director Todd Garzarelli.
- In Valparaiso, the Drews are “more than just basketball royalty, they are the first family.” Having already won three regular season Horizon League championships, coach Bryce Drew loves being a part of the program that has family – including himself – has given so much to over the years.
- With Seinfeld creator Larry David and Google co-founder Sergey Brin on its roster, Maryland took home a title in a March Madness bracket determined by each school’s alumni.
- Butler loves to recruit players who can shoot, so how has junior Roosevelt Jones only attempted three jump shots over the past three years? Jones may not be able to shoot, but he’s found a way to make his “floater” game work.
- Now that Texas is in the Big Dance, it sees its adversity this season as a positive. “That’s one of the advantages we have,” [sophomore Kendal] Yancy said. “We’ve seen everything that can possibly come to us.”
- According to stat guru Ken Pomeroy, Notre Dame has the second-best offense in the country. That’s great, but will its defense leave the Irish susceptible to an early round exit this March?
- New Mexico State coach Marvin Menzies is confident about his team, but he’s being realistic about facing a blue-blood program in Kansas. “They’re a big-time team, obviously a big-time program,” Menzies said of Kansas. “Great coaching, great coaching staff; it’s an honor to be able to play in this environment.”
- The Jayhawks may not have landed a #1 seed this year, but they did come in as the second most valuable college basketball program, according to Forbes. Kansas basketball is worth $35.4 Million, ranking behind only Louisville.
West Region
- After being out for the past two months with a broken foot, Wisconsin point guard Traevon Jackson is finally practicing. It’s unclear whether Jackson will regain his starting spot from sophomore Bronson Koenig – who has played very well in Jackson’s absence – but regardless, adding quality depth never hurts.
- Oklahoma State may have gotten a little complacent this season, according to its star Le’Bryan Nash, and the key to success in the coming weeks will be regaining that chip on their shoulder. “I mean, sometimes when people are always picked low, they get excited for their success and don’t know how to handle success. Sometimes, we didn’t know how to handle it,” Nash said.
- Wofford has never won a game in NCAA Tournament, but having been there four out of the last six years, the Terriers just might be due. According to coach Mike Young, “We’ve got a team that’s done it. That’s been there. That’s not going to be in awe of the moment. They will know what they’ve got to do to put themselves in position to win. We’ll be in a much better frame of mind this time around, I feel certain.”
- Though North Carolina will go as Marcus Paige goes, the emergence of freshmen Joel Berry and Justin Jackson will be critical to the Tar Heels’ success.
- For Harvard’s freshman guard Zach Yoshor, balancing basketball and his devout Jewish faith has been tough. Though he observes the Jewish Sabbath, he bends the rules when he has to travel for basketball. “It was a really rough decision. I just decided it was something I wanted to do,” Yoshor explained by telephone on Monday. “I knew if I wanted to play, I’d have to travel on Shabbat.”
- Down 17 at the half, Ole Miss pulled off a stunning comeback in the First Four on Tuesday night. Behind transfers Stefan Moody and MJ Rhett, the Rebels will, somehow, live to fight another day.
- As Xavier looks to make a run in the Tourney, its seniors are especially driven. “Like Dee [Davis] was telling me the other day, we only have one more loss in us. It’s one loss and you’re done,” [Matt] Stainbrook said. “So we’re trying to win as many games as we can.”
- While John Heard and Austin Mills found their way to the Baylor basketball program in different ways, the two walk-ons were fortunate to be rewarded with scholarships for this semester.
- Ohio State coach Thad Matta may be the all time winningest coach in Buckeyes history, but this season has been a rough one. However, Matta and his team will have a chance to turn it around when they face VCU on Thursday.
- Arizona hasn’t lost since February 7, and much of the Wildcats’ success has been because of junior forward Brandon Ashley. During the Pac-12 Tournament, Ashley averaged nearly 20 points and six rebounds per game. And as we head into the home stretch of the season, Ashley’s contributions will be necessary for the Wildcats’ success.
