Andrew Murawa (@amurawa) is the NCAA Tournament’s West Region correspondent. He filed this report after #2 Wisconsin’s 69-52 win over #6 Baylor. RTC will be providing wall-to-wall coverage of the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight. Follow our NCAA Tourney specific Twitter accounts at @RTCeastregion, @RTCMWregion,@RTCsouthregion and @RTCwestregion.

A Wisconsin player scoring at the rim was a familiar sight Thursday night. (Harry How/Getty Images)

Three Key Takeaways.

1. Soft Baylor Zone. Two possessions in, one of the story lines of this game became clear: there was going to be a ton of space in the middle of the Baylor zone for Badger players to operate. On back-to-back plays, Frank Kaminsky caught the ball in the middle of the lane and turned around to find the Baylor defender, only to discover that there was nobody there. On the first, he wheeled to the rim for a layup and on the second, he settled for a jumper (which he missed), but this scenario played out time and time again: Badger catches the ball in the lane only to be surprised by the fact that there was no Baylor player there to defend him. And credit Wisconsin for continuing to take advantage of that. Of their 29 first-half points, 16 came in the paint. The second half was distorted some by free throws, but still 20 of the Badgers 40 second half points came in the paint. And on every possession it seemed that the Badgers made it a priority to get the ball inside first and work inside-out. And it was deadly.
2. Wisconsin Perimeter Defense. Baylor’s offense is predicated on being able to shoot the three well; they take 34% of their field goal attempts from deep and knock in 38.6% of those shots. However, the Badgers’ biggest defensive strength is their ability to limit good looks from deep, allowing the opposition to take just 25.9% of their field goals from three coming into the game. Tonight, those stats played out as Baylor was only able to take 26.3% of their shots behind the three-point line. And many of those were bad looks, resulting in a 2-of-15 night from deep for the Bears.
3. Dunks and Layups. We mentioned Baylor’s awful defense above, but let’s give credit to the Badgers for running great offense. Against a team that plays primarily zone, like Baylor does, it is all too easy to get caught up in launching perimeter jumpers. The Badgers did not settle for that fool’s gold, instead attacking the rim. Of their 26 field goals, 16 were either dunks or layups. And many of the perimeter jumpers they did get (and often make) came as the result of inside-out offense after the ball was worked inside and then back out for a clean look after the Baylor defense collapsed. Really, the whole thing was a clinic for the Badgers. Read the rest of this entry »

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

• Despite a tough non-conference schedule, Florida is calling tonight’s game against UCLA its “toughest test yet.”
• Florida coach Billy Donovan is a proven commodity, and with no real pressure to succeed, he is “enjoying the ride.” However, after those comments, Donovan was sure to offer the disclaimer that he hasn’t lost his drive. Donovan added, “But I think, as I’ve gotten older — we all want to win. But for me, there’s a lot I’ve learned as it relates to life and as it relates to the drama of the NCAA tournament. What are these guys going to take from this experience, and how equipped are these guys to take the next step in their life?”
• With Kyle Anderson and Jordan Adams sharing the backcourt, Norman Powell often flies under the radar. Will that mean Florida won’t be ready for the high-flying, high-intensity guard?
• Despite futile history in the NCAA Tournament, UCLA coach Steve Alford is “all business” this year, barely allowing himself to celebrate his team’s berth in the Sweet Sixteen.
• Stanford’s Dwight Powell considered testing the NBA waters last summer, but stayed to fulfill his promise of graduating to his late mother. Stanford now finds itself just one game from the Elite Eight, and Powell has certainly played a significant part in that run.
• Tonight’s match-up between Stanford and Dayton will be tight, but can the Cardinal gain a huge advantage over the Flyers with all of its size?
• Dayton has accomplished a great deal to be playing in the Sweet Sixteen, but with #10 seed Stanford on deck, the Flyers have a legitimate chance to extend their Cinderella story.
• Dayton had the most wins  in college basketball during the 1950s and 1960s, and the Flyers look to create even more history for themselves tonight.

West Region

• Arizona is hoping big man Kaleb Tarczewski returns to school next season, but he wouldn’t budge when asked. “Zeus,” as they call him in Tucson, commented, “If [they] think I’m ready to go, I’ll go and if not, I’ll come back. Doesn’t matter now.”
• Without Brandon Ashley, Arizona has had to play a bit smaller. However, this has played to its advantage sometimes, particularly when it comes to getting out in transition.
• San Diego State was waiting to see whether it would play Arizona or Gonzaga in the Sweet Sixteen. Upon finding out its next game would be a rematch against Arizona, Aztecs guard Winston Shephard responded, “Gonzaga’s a great team, and no disrespect to them, but we would have much rather played Arizona.”
• San Diego State’s Aqueel Quinn took a huge risk trying to transfer and then walk-on to the team, but it has paid off through his hard work.
• Despite dominating its competition so far, Baylor isn’t getting the respect it deserves. As Dennis Dodd puts it, the Bears are “the best kept secret left in the tournament.”
• Baylor point guard Kenny Chery has been outstanding in his first season with the program, but could his lack of Division I experience end up hurting the Bears as the Tournament moves forward?
• If things get tight on Friday, know that Wisconsin point guard Traevon Jackson is going to want the ball, especially at the free throw line.
• Bo Ryan has coached Wisconsin into one of the most consistent basketball programs in the country; however, what his resume still lacks is a trip to the Final Four.

Read the rest of this entry »

RTC correspondent Sean Moran spent the NCAA Tournament’s opening weekend in Las Vegas taking in all of the action on the Strip.

Memphis’ Michael Dixon Jr. steps to the line for two shots with 0.3 seconds on the clock for the Memphis Tigers. The crowd rises in unison. Screams of “MISS IT” are yelled out by one half of the crowd. The other half mutters and prays “please, please just hit the first one.” As the first of two free throws rips through the net, a loud roar erupts, dancing and hugging ensue. At the same time a look of despair appears from the fans hoping for a miss. A game-winner, you might ask? No, just a meaningless free throw that actually meant a whole lot to the fans gathered in Vegas. If you’re interested in casino games, then you might want to visit online casino sites like 크레이지 타임 to enjoy an exciting casino experience from the comfort of your own home. Trusted online gambling sites like viuviu casino offer a wide range of gaming options, generous bonuses, and the convenience of flexible access, ensuring an uninterrupted and diverse gaming experience. i1Dompet stands out as a leading platform for online gambling, offering endless hours of entertainment.

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The beauty of March Madness in Las Vegas is that the games are always interesting. Sure, the first four days were absolutely insane for the general fan too, with upsets, buzzer-beaters, and overtimes, but add in some gambling and you have March Madness on steroids. The casinos on the Strip open their betting windows early for the rush of college basketball fans streaming in from all over the country. Along with the standing room only sportsbooks, the casinos also offer stadium seating in their oversized auditoriums with big screen projectors to show every game. Fans are cheering, yelling, screaming, cursing, and pleading from 9:00 AM through the final buzzer 12 hours later that night. With overpriced light beers and food galore, everyone tends to get more rowdy as the day wears on.

Thursday started with an upset of Dayton over Ohio State and ended with a bang. Despite the early tip times on the West Coast it was almost impossible to find a seat in the Treasure Island auditorium. The day culminated with three scintillating overtime games in successive fashion along with a Cameron Ridley buzzer-beater for Texas. On day 2 the crowd turned quickly for the underdog right off the bat. Just like Florida Gulf Coast a year ago, the Atlantic Sun conference champion was not backing down against a high-level opponent. Mercer came in as a juicy 13-point underdog, and despite a three-point barrage from Duke, the Bears never backed down. Bold bettors were rewarded with an 8:1 payout on their bet as a few lucky winners cashed a sweet MoneyLine ticket. Even blowouts that the average fan turned away from turned into nail-biting affairs. If you took the “over” in the Baylor-Nebraska game you looked pretty much dead in the water with a 29-16 halftime score. Thanks to 18 fouls from Nebraska and a combined 99 points in the second half, the “over” backers were left shaking their heads in disbelief as the 74-60 final somehow made it past the 130.5 total. If you want to place your bets on your favorite sports teams or casino games, using secure platforms like 필리핀 카지노 노하우 is highly recommended.

Andrew Murawa (@amurawa) is the NCAA Tournament’s West Region correspondent, and Bennet Hayes (@hoopstraveler) is the NCAA Tournament’s South Region correspondent. Make sure to also follow @RTCSouthRegion and @RTCWestRegion for news and analysis from Memphis and Anaheim throughout the weekend.

Tonight we tip off the Sweet Sixteen with games from the South Region in Memphis, TN, and the West Region in Anaheim, CA. Here are the breakdowns for tonight’s games.

#10 Stanford vs. #11 Dayton — South Region Sweet Sixteen (at Memphis, TN) — 7:15 PM ET on CBS

Nobody expected the Flyers or Cardinal to be in this spot, but one of the two teams will be a game away from the Final Four after Thursday night. This battle between party crashers doesn’t figure to be the most entertaining Sweet Sixteen matchup when it comes to talent and overall quality of basketball, but after Stanford knocked off New Mexico and Kansas by a combined eight points, and Dayton defeated Ohio State and Syracuse by a mere three total points, we should at least be able to count on this game being a tight one. KenPom doesn’t disagree, as his predictor foresees a one-point final margin. Stanford is the team on the right side of that predicted final score, and despite displaying maddening amounts of game-to-game inconsistency all season long, I can’t find a way to disagree that it will be the Cardinal advancing to the regional final.

Sweet  Sixteen Participants For The First Time In 30 Years, Dayton Will be Flying High When They Arrive In Memphis On Thursday Night, But Can Their Magical Ride Live On For Another Night?

Both these teams are double-digit seeds that the FedEx Forum could have never seen coming, but the narrative surrounding the two teams this week has pegged Dayton as the truer “Cinderella.” Vegas oddsmakers have also pegged the Flyers as a three-point underdog, and there’s also that three-decade Sweet Sixteen drought that lends itself to the role of plucky little David. But before recognizing that Stanford is hardly akin to Goliath, let’s also take a second to note that this Dayton team is more accomplished than many surprise second-weekend visitors of NCAA Tournaments past. They were the best team in the Atlantic 10 from February on (a league that sent six teams to this Tournament), have gone 12-2 in their last 14 games, and were one point and a late collapse away from beating Baylor in the Maui Invitational (they wound up beating Cal by 18 in the third place game). Their inclusion in this NCAA Tournament hung in the balance all season, but they’ve proven they belonged – both before and after admission was granted.

Read the rest of this entry »

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

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.

Read the rest of this entry »

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.

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.

Read the rest of this entry »

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.

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.

Read the rest of this entry »

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 coach Billy Donovan and UCLA coach Steve Alford had a couple NCAA Tournament battles in the 90s, and they’ll meet again on Thursday.
• “Complete the Climb” is Florida’s motto as it looks to win its first national championship since they repeated in 2007. The Gators have reached three straight Elite Eights, but have been unable to “reach the summit” in all three opportunities.
• Florida big man Will Yeguete is the type of player every really good team has on the roster. He doesn’t necessarily fill up the box score or make flashy plays, but he’s what coach Billy Donovan calls a “dirty work guy.”
• The Gators present a recent adversary for UCLA. The Bruins have lost to Florida in three out of the last eight NCAA Tournaments, but the Bruains feel it’s time to get over the hump.
• UCLA guard Jordan Adams likes to keep things simple. One of the ways he does so is not letting his mind take control of him, even in big moments . “I don’t believe in pressure,” he says.
• After leading Dayton to a Sweet Sixteen, coach Archie Miller landed an extension that will keep him as head coach of the Flyers until 2019.
• The city of Dayton already hosts play-in games every year, so the university hopes that the Flyers’ success can put Dayton basketball even more on the map.
• The emergence of Stanford junior Stefan Nastic has done wonders for the Cardinal, giving it a legitimate post presence inside.
• Behind leading scorer Chasson Randle, the Cardinal is proving that it “belongs” among the Sweet Sixteen.
• Stanford may be an afterthought to advance out of the South Region, but head coach Johnny Dawkins is maintaining high hopes. “I think we all have a chance to compete for a national championship,” Dawkins said. “We have to believe that.”

West Region

• Arizona already defeated San Diego State this season, but this time, the Wildcats will have to prevent the Aztecs from making history. The Aztecs have never made an Elite Eight.
• Arizona’s leading scorer Nick Johnson was named a Naismith Player of the Year Finalist over the weekend.
• San Diego State has suffered a tough loss to Arizona in each of the past two regular seasons. They still hurt, but the Aztecs will at least have an idea of what to expect on Thursday evening.
• Looking to gain an advantage against an Arizona team that defeated the Aztecs in November, Aztecs coach Steve Fisher is “hiding a secret weapon” to unleash on Thursday.
• San Diego State junior Dwayne Polee II didn’t even register a minute in the Aztecs’ meeting with Arizona in November, but Polee has since worked his way into the rotation and has proved to be a big contributor to the Aztecs.
• Baylor was dead set for the NIT after starting 2-8 in Big 12 play, but the Bears finally “connected the dots” and now find themselves in the Sweet Sixteen.
• Read why Rick Gosselin thinks Baylor can make a Final Four run.
• Offensively, Wisconsin is trying to figure out how to score against Baylor’s long, athletic 1-3-1 zone.
• Wisconsin knows it has an athletic Baylor team ahead of it, but the Badgers hope to overcome that through their toughness. As forward Nigel Hayes notes, “Especially here, at Wisconsin, they pride themselves on being tougher than the opponent.”
• The Badgers know how dangerous Baylor is, so coach Bo Ryan has his team figuring out how to attack the more “skilled, athletic squad.”

Read the rest of this entry »

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