The RTC Podcast: Sweet Sixteen Preview Edition

Posted by rtmsf on March 26th, 2014

Happy Sweet Sixteen, everybody. We hope that you’ve had some time to rest up from a crazy opening weekend and are starting to digest the match-ups heading our way on Thursday and Friday nights. These eight games look to be outstanding in different ways, both storyline and basketball, and to get you ready for this the Sweet Sixteen, the RTC Podcast crew invited all four of our regional correspondents back to break down each region in a bite-sized segment of this week’s edition. We welcome back Brian Otskey (East), Bennet Hayes (South), Walker Carey (Midwest) and Drew Murawa (West) to discuss what to watch for with this week’s games. There might even be some predictions. We’ll try to do an Elite Eight preview edition that will drop on Friday night/Saturday morning, so keep an eye out for that. This edition’s full rundown is below.

  • 0:00-3:54 – Louisville-Kentucky Headlines Super Sweet Sixteen Schedule
  • 3:54-8:09 – Other Sweet Sixteen Highlights
  • 8:09-20:04 – Previewing Midwest Region with Walker Carey
  • 20:04-36:17 – Previewing South Region with Bennet Hayes
  • 36:17-48:03 – Previewing West Region with Andrew Murawa
  • 48:03-59:40 – Previewing East Region with Brian Otskey
  • 59:40-1:09:33 Revised Final Four Picks
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NCAA Tournament Tidbits: 03.26.14 Edition

Posted by Griffin Wong on March 26th, 2014

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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.

South Region

  • Florida’s offense did anything but impress in its first two games, but senior point guard Scottie Wilbekin kept them afloat.
  • Florida is as versatile of a team as there is left in the Tourney. With no one averaging more the 14 points per game, anyone can pick up the slack offensively, and defense is rarely a question.
  • UCLA may be one of the toughest teams to defend in the country, but the Bruins’ defense is the reason they’re still playing.
  • Air Force veteran and UCLA assistant coach David Grace did not go the traditional route, but he still will find himself on the bench in the Sweet Sixteen.
  • For Dayton, the “continuity” of its coaching staff has been paramount to its success.
  • Brothers Sean and Dayton coach Archie Miller are excited to both be in the Sweet Sixteen. However, the two find themselves in very different positions. Sean has Arizona looking like a title contender, and had this to say about his brother’s team: “With Dayton right now, it’s like icing on the cake every time he wins one. It’s really fun, and the program is just exploding right now.”
  • Stanford has a good shot to make the Elite Eight and maybe the Final Four, but coach Johnny Dawkins needs the Cardinal to keep its head down. “We have to ignore the noise,” Dawkins said. “Everyone around us is going to be happy that we’ve had some success and we’re still moving on, but we can’t focus on that. We have to focus on the task at hand.”
  • With programs like Kentucky and Kansas — which Stanford beat in the round of 32 — riding “1-and-dones,” the Cardinal has done it the old fashioned way, with five juniors and five seniors on its roster.

West Region

  • Is Arizona already getting ahead of itself? The school’s bookstore is already selling Elite Eight shirts.
  • To quote Greg Hansen, Arizona looked “national championship good” this weekend.
  • He’s been their leader all season, and Xavier Thames’ big time play is the reason San Diego State has advanced through two tough games thus far.
  • Aztecs coach Steve Fisher has had success at each of his stops as a coach, and has built San Diego State’s program from the ground up. On Thursday, he’ll have a chance to lead the Aztecs to their first Elite Eight appearance in school history.
  • Very few people knew before two months ago, but Baylor center Isaiah Austin has been blind in his right eye since middle school. He has overcome this injury, and has gone from being unsure about his basketball future to playing in the Sweet Sixteen.
  • Though you probably wouldn’t think so from general perception of the program, Baylor has actually been one of the best NCAA Tournament teams in terms of record since 2008.
  • After really thinking about it, Wisconsin sophomore Sam Dekker realized how great of an accomplishment the Sweet Sixteen is. “You kind of throw around the term ‘Sweet Sixteen’ as just a cliché term,” Dekker said. “When you really think about it, only 16 teams are actually left. That’s not a big number in comparison to the 68 and then however many hundred are in regular D-I basketball.” The Badgers hope to reach the Elite Eight as they take on Baylor on Thursday.
  • With a three-point specialist, athletic big men who can stretch the floor and a suffocating zone defense, Baylor plays like a team Wisconsin just hasn’t faced this year.

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NCAA Regional Reset: East Region

Posted by Brian Otskey on March 26th, 2014

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Brian Otskey (@botskey) is the NCAA Tournament’s East Region correspondent, which begins Friday night at Madison Square Garden in New York City with Iowa State vs. Connecticut followed by Virginia vs. Michigan State. The South Regional Reset and the West Regional Reset published yesterday, and the Midwest Regional Reset earlier today. Make sure to also follow @RTCEastRegion for news and analysis from New York throughout the weekend.

Madison Square Garden will host the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1961.

Madison Square Garden will host the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1961.

New Favorite: #1 Virginia. You can conceivably make an argument for any of the four teams to come out of this region and advance to Arlington but I picked Virginia as the favorite when the brackets came out so there is no reason I should change at this point. Could the Cavaliers lose to Michigan State? Of course they could. But they have been the better team this year and earned that #1 seed for a reason. The Wahoos got the top seed jitters out of their system in a closer-than-expected opening round encounter with Coastal Carolina and proceeded to dispatch Memphis in methodical yet impressive fashion on Sunday night. With a stifling defense and an offense better than most observers give it credit for, top-seeded Virginia remains the team to beat in this region.

Horse of Darkness: #7 Connecticut. The Huskies survived St. Joe’s and dismantled Villanova in the second half on Saturday night thanks in large part to the Shabazz Napier Show (25 points). Connecticut is back at Madison Square Garden for the first time since winning the 2KSports Classic this past November, a place where it has been highly successful over previous years in the Big East. This team may very well have the biggest fan presence of the four teams in this region given the school’s proximity to New York and history of success in the building. It is never wise to count out a team with a star player and intangibles going in its favor, despite being the lowest seeded team remaining in the region.

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NCAA Regional Reset: Midwest Region

Posted by Walker Carey on March 26th, 2014

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Walker Carey (@walkerRcarey) is the NCAA Tournament’s Midwest Region correspondent, which begins Friday night at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis with Tennessee vs. Michigan followed by Louisville vs. Kentucky. The South Regional Reset and the West Regional Reset published yesterday, and the East Regional Reset will release later today. Make sure to also follow @RTCMWRegion for news and analysis from Indy throughout the week.

New Favorite: #4 Louisville. The new favorite is the old favorite, but after the first four days of Tournament action, determining a favorite was not an easy task. Louisville was pushed to the brink by #13 seed Manhattan in its first game before needing a late flurry Saturday to race by #5 Saint Louis. The Cardinals still appear to be the best team in this region, but they are going to need to be sharper in Indianapolis than they were in Orlando if they want to advance to their third consecutive Final Four. To be sharper, Rick Pitino’s squad is going to need guard Russ Smith to elevate his play. The senior has struggled thus far, shooting just 6-of-19 from the field and committing 13 turnovers over the first two games.

The intensity in Indy Friday evening should be at an all-time high.

The intensity in Indy Friday evening should be at an all-time high.

Horse of Darkness: #11 Tennessee. For the third time in the four years of the First Four, a team has won three games to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. Tennessee will arrive in Indianapolis after a win over Iowa in Dayton and wins over #6 Massachusetts and #14 Mercer in Raleigh. The Volunteers showed during those three wins that they are a very tenacious defensive team and possess a bruising tandem in the post with forwards Jeronne Maymon and Jarnell Stokes. The most amazing part of Tennessee’s run to the second weekend might be that Volunteers head coach Cuonzo Martin had been viewed as someone on the hot seat late in the regular season. There was even a faction of the Volunteers fan base that banded together to try to get the school to fire Martin and hire former coach Bruce Pearl. You have to wonder what those fans are thinking now, as the team is headed to the Sweet Sixteen, now with Martin at the controls.

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NCAA Tournament Tidbits: 03.25.14 Edition

Posted by Griffin Wong on March 25th, 2014

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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.

South Region

West Region

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The RTC Podcast: NCAA First Weekend Review Edition

Posted by rtmsf on March 25th, 2014

It was a whirlwind of a four-day weekend, but the guys survived along with 16 schools still vying for a national championship, and found some time on Monday evening to review the weekend’s events. From Iowa State and North Carolina trading punches in an instant classic to Wichita State and Kentucky doing same, and everything else in between, Shane Connolly (@sconnolly114) walks us through all of the best action from over the weekend. Keep in mind that on Wednesday we will release our Sweet Sixteen preview pod featuring our correspondents who will be reporting from each of the four sites this weekend. The full rundown is below.

Be sure to add the podcast to your lineup on iTunes so that you’ll get all of our ongoing coverage throughout the NCAA Tournament.

  • 0:00-8:39 – Iowa State Comes Up With Crazy Win Over North Carolina
  • 8:39-13:07 – Baylor Brings Doug McDermott’s Career to a Premature End
  • 13:07-13:50 – Less Than Exciting Orlando Games
  • 13:50-21:34 – Kentucky Hands Wichita Its First Loss
  • 21:34-28:50 – Wiggins and Kansas Go Out With a Whimper
  • 28:50-31:26 – Dayton Downs Syracuse
  • 31:26-34:40 – UConn Beats Former Conference Foe Villanova And What It Means for Both Conferences
  • 34:40-36:14 – Top Teams Cruise
  • 36:14-39:15 – Tennessee “Cinderella” Run as a Double Digit Seed
  • 39:15-45:48 – Best Moments of the First Weekend
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NCAA Regional Reset: West Region

Posted by Andrew Murawa (@amurawa) on March 25th, 2014

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Andrew Murawa (@amurawa) is the NCAA Tournament’s West Region correspondent, which begins Thursday night at Honda Center in Anaheim with Baylor vs. Wisconsin followed by San Diego State vs. Arizona. The South Regional Reset published earlier today and the East and Midwest Resets will release tomorrow. Make sure to also follow @RTCWestRegion for news and analysis from Anaheim throughout the week.

New Favorite: Arizona, #1, 32-4. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. The Wildcats looked a little shaky in what turned into just a nine-point win in their round of 64 game against Weber State, but they really did little this weekend to change the popular notion that the Wildcats are not only the strong favorite in this region, but a legitimate contender for the national championship.

Arizona Did Little In The First Weekend To Make Us Second Guess Their Status As National Championship Contenders (Christian Petersen, Getty Images)

Arizona Did Little In The First Weekend To Make Us Second Guess Their Status As National Championship Contenders. (Christian Petersen, Getty Images)

Horse of Darkness:  Wisconsin, #2, 28-7. The Badgers took a 12-point deficit into the half against Oregon in the round of 32, getting lit up to the tune of somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.48 points per possession by a great offensive team for 20 minutes. But coming out of the locker room, they made a commitment to getting the ball inside on offense and getting back and challenging jump shooters on the defensive end. The adjustment turned into less than a point per possession in the second half for the Ducks, while the high-scoring Badgers were the one that turned in 1.5 points per possession. The Badgers have proven their ability to score in bunches this season, but if they can play defense like they did in the second half against Oregon, they’re going to be a real tough out.

Biggest Surprise (1st Weekend): Creighton Getting Demolished. The simple fact that Baylor advanced over Creighton isn’t all that shocking. But the manner in which it happened was stunning. Creighton shoots five-of-24 from three against the Baylor zone? A sketchy Baylor defense hold the nation’s best offensive team below a point per possession? Doug McDermott’s college career ends with just a 15-point performance? Stunning.

Completely Expected (1st Weekend): Mostly Chalk. Three of the top four seeds advanced to the Sweet Sixteen, and the one upset based on seed-line probably isn’t that much of an upset at all, as Baylor crushed Creighton to earn its 12th win in the last 14 games.

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NCAA Regional Reset: South Region

Posted by Bennet Hayes on March 25th, 2014

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Bennet Hayes (@hoopstraveler) is the NCAA Tournament’s South Region correspondent, which begins Thursday night at FedEx Forum in Memphis with Dayton vs. Stanford followed by UCLA vs. Florida. Look out for the West Regional Reset later today and the East and Midwest Resets tomorrow. Make sure to also follow @RTCSouthRegion for news and analysis from Memphis throughout the week.

As usual, Billy Donovan has his Gators right in the thick of the title chase. (Getty)

Billy Donovan Is On The Verge Of Orchestrating Yet Another Florida Final Four Appearance. Is There A Team Remaining In This South Region That Can Disrupt The Gators’ March To Dallas? (Getty)

New Favorite: #1 Florida. Nothing has changed on this front. The Gators looked as overwhelming as ever in their third round defeat of Pittsburgh, and with only one other top-nine seed remaining in the region, the NCAA Tournament’s #1 overall seed is in fantastic shape to make its way to Dallas. The Sweet Sixteen match-up with UCLA won’t be easy, but more on that later – the Gators are still the South region’s clear favorite.

Horse of Darkness: #11 Dayton. This quadrant offered plenty of candidates for the honor, but with apologies to Stephen F. Austin (only one win) and Stanford (too familiar a brand), the Dayton Flyers advancing to their first Sweet Sixteen since 1984 makes for the South Region’s best Cinderella story. We make loyal Flyer fans pretend like the First Four is a big deal annually – and their love of basketball prevents them from failing in this pursuit – so it’s only fair that they finally get something to cheer about from their own team. On February 1, Archie Miller’s club (1-5 in the Atlantic 10 at the time) wasn’t even one of the top eight teams in their own conference, but after a late-season surge and this unexpected Tourney run, the Flyers will play on Thursday for a chance to be one of the final eight teams left standing in all of college basketball. What. A. Turnaround.

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Circle of March: Sweet Sixteen Edition

Posted by rtmsf on March 24th, 2014

From 340 eligible D-I teams to the wide swaths of empty space we now have on the Circle of March, 16 hopefuls remain standing. And this group might be more notable for the teams that are already gone than those remaining — Duke, North Carolina, Syracuse, Villanova, Kansas, Ohio State — all looking ahead to next year. Of the 16 teams remaining, 14 are from basketball power conferences, while two — San Diego State and Dayton — come from the high-mid hoops leagues, the Mountain West and Atlantic 10, respectively. There are three double-digit seeds remaining — Stanford, Dayton and Tennesssee — although KenPom gives the Volunteers the fifth-best odds to cut down the nets in Arlington two weeks from today. And despite a fair number of upsets over the weekend, 10 of the 16 slots in this week’s bracket held to seed, with the East and West regions (three each) going most chalky. Enjoy the break for a few days. Games will be back soon enough.

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Eliminated From National Title Contention (03.24.14)

  • Stephen F. Austin
  • Kansas
  • Creighton
  • North Carolina
  • Gonzaga
  • Memphis
  • Wichita State
  • Mercer
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NCAA Tournament Tidbits: 03.24.14 Edition

Posted by Griffin Wong on March 24th, 2014

RTC_tourneycoverage

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.

South Region

West Region

Read the rest of this entry »

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