I. Renko is an RTC correspondent. He filed this report from Dayton after Friday’s Second Round game between #8 North Carolina State and #9 Temple. Follow him on Twitter @IRenkoHoops.
Three Key Takeaways:
NC State Finishes Off a Disappointing Season
A Microcosm of N.C. State’s Season — There was some reasonable talk that an 8 seed was a bit low for N.C. State, but this game proved to be a microcosm of N.C. State’s inconsistent and, ultimately, underachieving season. The Wolfpack came out flat, with the offense looked tentative and sluggish, and the defense indifferent, en route to a 38-22 halftime deficit. They coughed up the ball 10 times in the first half against a Temple defense that ranks outside the top 300 in the nation in causing turnovers. And despite their size and athleticism advantage, their frontcourt trio of C.J. Leslie, Richard Howell, and T.J. Warren began the game settling for missed jumpers. They woke up in the second half, outscoring Temple 50-38, but it proved to be too little, too late.
Temple Slowed the Wolfpack’s Transition Game Just Enough — Before the game, N.C. State’s players talked about the importance of getting out in transition. In the first half, Temple largely shut down this part of the Wolfpack’s offense, holding them to just five fast break points. It helps that the Owls take very good care of the ball (just five turnovers the entire game), minimizing transition opportunities. The Wolfpack pressed the issue in the second half, scoring 19 points on the break, allowing them to make this a competitive game. But the hole they dug themselves over the first 20 minutes with a stagnant offense was too deep to escape.
The Charity Stripe Saved Temple From Collapse — With the Owls’ halfcourt offense out of rhythm in the second half, and their once formidable 17-point lead dwindling, they needed to scratch out any points that they could. After shooting just two free throws in the first half, the Owls managed 31 trips to the charity stripe in in the second half. They didn’t make it easy on themselves, shooting just 63.6 percent from the line, but they scraped together enough freebies to hold off N.C. State’s charge. Indeed, 20 out of the Owls’ 38 second-half points came from the free throw line.
Star of the Game: For much of the year, Temple has relied heavily — at times, too heavily — on point guard Khalif Wyatt, who takes almost 30 percent of the team’s shots. But graduate transfer Jake O’Brien‘s role as a complementary offensive piece increased over the season. He’s been getting more minutes, scoring more points, and given Temple a big man who can stretch the defense with his shooting. Today, he showed how valuable he is by scoring 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting (4-of-6 from three-point range). Though Wyatt finished with a team-high 31 points, that total came on 22 shots and was inflated by some late free throws. O’Brien’s efficient scoring is what fueled Temple’s first-half offensive surge.
The NCAA Tournament is here and there’s more news, commentary and analysis than any of us can possibly keep up with. To make things a little easier, we’ll bring you a list of daily links gathered about teams in each of the four regions all the way through the Final Four.
Midwest Region
After easily dispatching North Carolina A&T in its Round of 64 game Thursday evening, Louisville coach Rick Pitino knows that his team must move on quickly to get ready for its Round of 32 matchup with Colorado State on Saturday.
Oregon put together an impressive performance in its upset victory over Oklahoma State on Thursday. The Ducks are looking for their strong play to continue when they face fourth-seeded Saint Louis on Saturday.
Oklahoma State freshman standout Marcus Smart struggled a bit in Thursday’s loss to Oregon – shot just 5-of-13 from the field and committed five turnovers – but that did not stop him from making a strong impression on Oregon coach Dana Altman.
Saint Louis forward Cory Remekun missed a dunk near the end of the first half in Thursday’s victory, but that did not phase the senior as he went on to finish the afternoon with a solid 11 points and six rebounds.
Michigan State big man Derrick Nix has had his fair share of struggles during his time in East Lansing – academic and obedience issues as a sophomore and an arrest for impaired driving and marijuana possession last spring – but instead of dumping Nix from the program, Tom Izzo gave him a second chance that is now paying off for the Spartans.
Creighton star junior Doug McDermott has yet to decide if he will return to school next season. It is possible that his decision has been made even more complicated due to the fact that the Blue Jays will begin play in the Big East next season.
Cincinnati seriously struggled offensively at some points during the regular season. Bearcats leading-scorer Sean Kilpatrick is hoping that a better flow offensively will lead to more open shots and more scoring.
Duke assistant coach Chris Collins has been mentioned as a top candidate for the vacant head coaching position at Northwestern. On Thursday, Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewskimade very supportive comments in endorsing Collins (and the rest of his staff) for potential openings.
West Region
Gonzaga survived a serious scare from 16-seed Southern on Thursday. After the game, Bulldogs coach Mark Few says the team shouldn’t let the close call affect its play for the remainder of its run in the tournament.
Southern put forth a spirited effort in its attempt to pull a historic upset over Gonzaga. While the upset bid fell short, it was the relentless defense of the Jaguars that helped give them a chance.
Sports can certainly be cruel sometimes. This video shows Pittsburgh senior point guard Tray Woodallbreaking down following the Panthers’ loss to Wichita State on Thursday. In his last collegiate game, Woodall turned in one of the worst performances of his career – just two points on 1-of-12 shooting.
Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan got a little testy Thursday when he was asked about the Badgers’ “plodding” or “boring” style of offense.
Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy is not worried about his team’s preparedness as it makes his first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2002.
When Kansas State watched La Salle top Boise State on Wednesday night, the Wildcats were intrigued with the Explorers’ style of play because it reminded them of themselves.
Arizona doubters are quick to dismiss the strong bond that exists between Arizona point guard Mark Lyons and Wildcats coach Sean Miller, but it is that bond that has helped both flourish at certain times over the season.
Notre Dame guard Pat Connaughton is also a member of the Irish baseball team and this has resulted him in having to find a way to balance the two sports in the most effective way as possible.
Brian Goodman is an RTC correspondent. He filed this report from the Kansas City pod of the West Region.
Three Key Takeaways:
Henderson Runs Ice Cold Before Contributing In Win: Ole Miss’ enigmatic star had the ultimate half to forget, with a bagel on 11 shot attempts before intermission. He came alive in the second half, hitting buckets, grabbing a few loose balls and icing the game with late free throws. He finished with 19 points on 21 shots, but the bigger takeaway is that it was easy to see the Rebels gain confidence once Henderson got going. While Ole Miss held it together with Henderson missing, the Rebels played a little looser once he got going in the second half.
Uncharacteristic Afternoon For Wisconsin. The Badgers put on a very unusual performance, committing several mental miscues, hitting just 25.4% of their shots and letting up offensive boards by the bushel in the first half. Ole Miss’s zone especially frustrated Wisconsin, and the miscues allowed the Rebels to stay in the game despite Henderson’s arctic first half shooting.
Badger Seniors Go Out With A Whimper: Jared Berggren, Mike Bruesewitz and Ryan Evans had very good careers under Bo Ryan, but vanished Friday afternoon, shooting a combined 5-22 on Ole Miss’ defense. Bruesewitz also committed four costly turnovers and Berggren just never got going offensively. While experience is a vital part of March Madness, the best player on the court for Wisconsin was freshman Sam Dekker.
Star Of The Game:Reginald Buckner: His polarizing teammate outscored him by ten points, but the burly Buckner was terrific inside for the Rebels, scoring nine points to go along with a game-high 12 rebounds. Wisconsin had no answer for him as he continually backed down Wisconsin’s interior defense and was perhaps the biggest reason why Ole Miss was able to stay close and ultimately pull ahead. Not to be forgotten is Buckner’s frontcourt complement, Murphy Holloway, who chipped in ten points and nine boards of his own.
Brian Otskey (@botskey) is in Philadelphia for today’s Second Round NCAA Tournament games and filed this report after the Duke-Albany game.
Three key takeaways:
Duke Outlasted Albany Friday Afternoon
Duke made a concerted effort to get the ball inside. Going up against an Albany squad that really lacks any kind of major inside presence, Duke was determined to get the ball to Mason Plumlee and operate through him. Plumlee scored 23 points on 9 of 11 shooting, dominating the Great Danes in the paint. Despite being one of the better players in the country, Plumlee averages just 10.4 field goal attempts per game. Although he only had 11 today, you could see just how much his success impacts the game. Duke is better off when it plays through Plumlee which also allows its shooters to get free for solid looks. Duke was better off because of it today, especially given the matchup. Duke kept Albany at arm’s length for the majority of the game but anytime the Great Danes challenged, Plumlee had an answer around the rim.
Albany’s defense was terrible. Duke made 8 of its first 10 shots right out of the gate and never really let up. Part of that was Duke executing well offensively but Albany really didn’t challenge Duke all that much. Without an inside presence it’s hard to contain Plumlee and even Kelly cutting to the basket but the Great Danes allowed Seth Curry to get into a groove right away. Albany was slow to close out on Duke jump shooters an offered very little resistance in the paint. Duke dominated the game with 36 points in the paint to Albany’s 20. That was expected but the margin had to be a lot closer if the Great Danes were going to pull the upset.
Duke’s senior leaders carried the team. Duke’s leading scorers, Curry and Plumlee, combined for 49 points and the senior duo shot a lights out 19 for 25 (76%) amongst themselves. Curry had it going right from the start, making five of his first six shots and finishing at 10 of 14 for the game. It’s going to be up to those two players, plus fellow senior Ryan Kelly, to carry the Blue Devils through this NCAA Tournament. Duke’s scoring depth is of some concern because Curry and Plumlee are not going to have days like this each and every night. Duke didn’t need them today, but underclassmen Quinn Cook and Rasheed Sulaimon also have to shoulder some of the scoring load as the Blue Devils drive deeper into March Madness.
Star of the Game: Mason Plumlee, Duke. Picking Seth Curry in this spot wouldn’t have been a bad choice either but I went with Plumlee because he was too much for Albany to handle inside and had the answer whenever the Great Danes tried to make a run and get back in the game. Plumlee scored 16 of his 23 points in the second half, most coming at key times when Albany was trying to get something going. Albany had no answer on either end of the floor for the Duke big man.
Day One of the Round of 64 wasn’t as wild and woolly as some previous years have been, but the result is always the same — 16 teams removed from the Circle of March. There are now 48 teams left dreaming for a shot at the ultimate glory. Enjoy Day Two of March Madness…
Teams Eliminated From National Title Contention (03.21.13)
#2 Duke vs. #15 Albany – Midwest Region Second Round (at Philadelphia) – 12:15 PM ET on CBS
Day two of the second round of the NCAA Tournament kicks off in Philadelphia, where #2 seeded Duke will hope to exorcise the demons of a year ago. Fortunately for the Blue Devils, CJ McCollum will not be walking through those Wells Fargo Center doors. This year, making an appearance on the #15 seed line opposite Duke are the Great Danes of Albany. The America East Champs are a middle-of-the-road team on both ends of the floor in regard to overall efficiency, but do have strengths that could prove useful versus the Dookies. The Danes are deep (10 players average 9+ minutes a game), have good size for a low-major, and shoot the three-ball pretty well, hitting 36.4% as a team. All are nice ingredients when preparing for an upset, but Albany’s middling paper resume also makes them appear to be the least dangerous #15 seed in the field. Really though, does it even matter how good the Danes are? After last year’s embarrassing second-round exit, a part of me feels like you could put Louisville as Duke’s #15 seed and there would be no way that Coach K’s team makes that same early departure. Mason Plumlee will be an interior nightmare for Albany, and with Ryan Kelly fully healthy and stretching the floor alongside Seth Curry and Quinn Cook, expect Duke to come out fast, leaving no doubts about their Sunday afternoon plans this time around.
Seth Curry And Duke Are Looking To Avoid Another Monumental Upset As They Begin Their NCAA Tournament
The RTC Certified Pick: Duke
#5 Wisconsin vs. #12 Ole Miss – West Regional Second Round (at Kansas City, MO) – 12:40 PM ET on TruTV
When Mississippi completed their run to the SEC title on Sunday with an upset win over Florida, college hoops fans everywhere were rewarded with – or doomed to, depending on your viewpoint – an NCAA Tournament with a Marshall Henderson appearance. The polarizing junior shooting guard of the Rebels has either thrilled or infuriated spectators this season with his brash demeanor and freewheeling style. And who did the Selection Committee reward Ole Miss with as a second round opponent? None other than a Wisconsin team, where brash and freewheeling hotshots go to die. For the second time in as many years (and the fifth time in the last decade), the Badgers are a top-ten team in defensive efficiency, this year third in the nation. Not coincidentally, the Badgers are also holding teams below 30% three-point shooting for the second time in as many seasons, meaning Henderson and Ole Miss are going to find points hard to come by. However, this is also the least efficient Wisconsin offense in the KenPom era, meaning even if the Badgers go out of their way to turn off the water for Henderson, Ole Miss will still likely be within shouting distance deep into the second half. If Andy Kennedy can suck in the Wisconsin defenders with scoring from interior guys like Murphy Holloway and Reginald Buckner, maybe they can hang around long enough to steal one late. More likely, Wisconsin uglies this one up and advances by a comfortable margin.
Chris Johnson is an RTC Columnist. He can be reached @ChrisDJohnsonn.
Tonight’s Lede. Tournament Commencement. Day one of the NCAA Tournament proper, the field of 64, is officially in the books. Games were won, upsets were wrought, careers ended and through it all, bracket hope springs eternal for those who survived their first big test. The second half of “second round” competition will tip off in just a few hours, followed by a weekend of further elimination and refinement. There is no mistaking it: the NCAA Tournament is here and we’ve only barely scratched the surface of the drama to come in later rounds.
Your Watercooler Moment. What? Harvard?
The most shocking result of the day came as an almost unthinkable late-night surprise (Getty Images).
Next year was going to be the year I picked Harvard to not only win its opening round game, but – depending on how the matchups shook out – quite possibly rip off a sweet-16 or even Elite 8 run. The Crimson get seniors Brandyn Curry and Kyle Casey, snagged this offseason in a sweeping academic scandal, back for 2013-14, along with another solid recruiting class and a promising young backcourt in Siyani Chambers and Wesley Saunders. The Crimson have all the pieces to crash the field next season. It is from this backdrop that you can understand why what Harvard pulled off Thursday night at EnergySolutions Arena was a year ahead of schedule. The Crimson downed three-seed New Mexico in the biggest upset of the Tournament’s first day. It was also Harvard’s first ever NCAA Tournament win, and it came thanks to a depleted roster holding one of the nation’s best backcourt duos, Tony Snell and Kendall Williams, to a combined 17 points and two assists. The Lobos were a trendy Final Four pick. They had size and experience and a skilled seven-foot big man to anchor their offensive attack. They had the considerable weight of being the Mountain West’s Tournament entrepreneur. Harvard has its first Tournament win in school history and maybe the most remarkable upset we’ll see this March.
Also Worth Chatting About. A12-5 Upset Double. You Saw it Coming.
A seeding mismatch left Oklahoma State with a brutal first-round matchup (AP Photo).
Because there was so little immediate uproar about teams actually getting in/left out of the Tournament, people channeled their anger towards the bracket itself. Two of the biggest points of contention within were Oregon’s mystifying 12 seed following a Pac-12 conference Tournament championship and Cal’s comfy opening-round location (San Jose). The Ducks deserved more respect than a 12-seed and the Bears, for all their success in conference play, did not deserve the benefit of playing so close to their Berkeley Campus. Oregon’s underseed wasn’t just a slight to Dana Altman’s team, it was a menacing first-round predicament for Oklahoma State, a five-seed criminally burdened with a Ducks team that was in contention for a Pac-12 regular season crown for much of the season. Oregon dominated Marcus Smart and company from start to finish; an innocent observer would have suggested Oregon was the five seed, and OSU the 12. A few hours later, fellow Pac-12 12-seed Cal did not disappoint the hometown crowd in avenging a regular season home loss to UNLV. Neither of these P-12 squads belonged in their respective bracket locations. Oregon is not a 12 seed; it’s just not! And the Rebels, with their putative seeding advantage, never should have had to play what amounted to a road game in their opening-round matchup. None of it was very fair, and all of it confirmed what most instinctively believed upon bracket reveal Sunday afternoon: the committee screwed up.
Tonigh’s Quick Hits…
Two One Seeds. Two Totally Different Stories. There are big expectations for Gonzaga this season. The questions aren’t about the Zags’ worthiness as a No. 1 seed so much as they are what follows: can Mark Few’s team finally break through into the deep rounds? Judging by their-opening round game against 16-seed Southern, the answer is an emphatic no. The Jaguars pushed Gonzaga to the brink in Salt Lake City, and were it not for a couple of clutch deep jumpers from point guard Kevin Pangos, Thursday may have brought the first-ever 16-1 toppling. Phew. Louisville’s first-round game was far less interesting. The Cardinals whipped North Carolina A&T, holding the Aggies to 48 points and validating their overall No. 1 seed in every which way.
Memphis! Whenever Josh Pastner’s name cropped up in conversation, the impulsive reaction was to spew out the following statistic: 0. As in, tournament wins since Pastner took over the Tigers’ head coaching job in 2009. No longer will Pastner be juxtaposed with Tournament ignominy so immediately – Memphis fans will very much want another win or two before Pastner is off the hook – not after the Tigers fought off Matthew Dellavadova and Saint Mary’s in a highly anticipated 6-11 matchup Thursday. With Memphis headlong into a round-of-32 date with Michigan State this weekend, Pastner’s Tournament run is probably over. But the first one is always the toughest, or so they say, and Pastner and his team managed to accomplish that much in a year where first-round failure would have triggered an unrelenting stream of local fan venom throughout the long offseason.
…and Misses.
Three Trendy Upset Picks Fall Short. In any given year, there are a few matchups where you feel confident enough, matchup-wise, to pull the trigger on a brave and courageous high seed victory. I heard a wide selection of suggested first-round knock offs in the lead up to Thursday, and three of the most frequent were (11) Bucknell over (6) Butler, (14) Davidson over (3) Marquette and (11) Belmont over (6) Arizona. All of which seemed very reasonable for different reasons: Mike Muscala can really work the paint; Davidson boasts one of the better frontlines in the country along with an elite in-game coach; Belmont is almost perennially Tournament-worthy under Rick Byrd. I wouldn’t have been shocked in the least to see any of those dominoes fall. None of them did, only Davidson really came close and now those doubted favorites (Butler, Marquette, Arizona) can press forward without the burden of potential first-round upset embarrassment.
Not So Efficient Now, Pitt. According to Ken Pomeroy’s win prediction formula, Pittsburgh went into Thursday’s 8-9 game against Wichita State with a 73 percent chance of advancing. Pomeroy’s efficiency ranks have recommended the Panthers all season (they ranked eighth as of Thursday in his per-possession database), and many data-savvy bracketeerists took that as a cue to simply and heedlessly push Pitt on through to a third-round matchup with Gonzaga, where Jamie Dixon’s team would give the Zags all kinds of physicality matchup issues. The only problem? The Shockers, ranked 34th in Pomeroy’s system, were more efficient than Pitt in every conceivable way throughout their 40-minute second-round tussle, and after an 18-point win it is Wichita, not the Panthers, who will get a clean shot at dropping the Zags this weekend.
The Point Guard Duel That Wasn’t. More than a genuine interest in seeing whether South Dakota State could pull off an unlikely upset of three-seed Michigan Thursday night, there was considerable buzz about what Nate Wolters – a semi-nationally known lead guard with an alluring all-around game – could conjure up against consensus First Team All-American and projected first-round draft pick Trey Burke. Fans were expecting a back-and-forth, individual, put-the-team-on-my-back kind of PG battle; this was Wolters’ night. It never materialized. Burke finished with just six points on 2-of-12 shooting and Wolters dropped 10 while making just three of 14 field goal attempts. The game itself was competitive going into the half, but without Wolters doing crazy, Wolters-like, 53-point things, the Jackrabbits never really stood a chance. The point guard battle of the Tournament was a dud and the game wasn’t much better.
Game-Winner of the Night. Everyone’s confident Davidson upset pick looked really convincing for about 35 minutes. Then Marquette shifted gears, found its three-point stroke late and Vander Blue did the rest.
Derrick Nix, Michigan State (NPOY) – The first game on Thursday was not what anyone would call competitive: Nix poured in 23 points and 15 rebounds as the Spartans controlled Valpo throughout.
Dwayne Evans, Saint Louis – A lot of people like Saint Louis as an Elite 8-Final Four-range team. Evans (24 points, six rebounds) gave you no reason to reconsider in Thursday’s stomping of New Mexico State.
Arsalan Kazemi, Oregon – Scoring touch aside, Kazemi affects the game exclusively with his defense and rebounding more than perhaps any other player in this Tournament. His 11-17 double-double Thursday is standard issue evidence.
Dorian Green, Colorado State – Not all of the Mountain West flopped Thursday. UNLV and New Mexico are good as gone, but CSU, thanks in part to Green’s 26 points against Missouri, are gearing up for an intriguing third-round fixure with Louisville.
Kelly Olynyk, Gonzaga – I can’t ignore Olynyk’s 21 points and 10 rebounds – Olynyk has been consistently awesome all season. Whether he can lift the Zags to a win Saturday over Wichita State, I’m not so sure.
Tweet of the night. Beating a rugged three-seed like New Mexico, who many believed actually merited deserved a two-seed, is a huge feat in the moment. It’s even bigger for Harvard in a historical context.
New Mexico just became the Land of Disenchantment. And brackets implode nationwide. Like everybody else on Twitter right now #Harvard
Andrew Murawa is an RTC correspondent. He filed this report after the Round of 64 NCAA Tournament game between #3 New Mexico and #14 Harvard in Salt Lake City.
Three Key Takeaways.
The Great Equalizer. For a program with no NCAA Tournament wins in their history, you need a special performance to get your first. And if you ain’t got great size and athleticism, there’s one thing you can do make up for your weaknesses: knock down threes. And Harvard did that in abundance tonight, getting five threes from Laurent Rivard and three from Christian Webster, mostly all on drive-and-kick opportunities. But eight threes isn’t enough to pull off an upset of this size and the Crimson did plenty of other things to get themselves over the top. Perhaps it was in part due to the fact that some early threes opened things up inside for them, but as it turns out, Harvard wound up shooting 14-of-24 from inside the three-point arc, getting scoring from Wesley Saunders, Kenyatta Smith and Siyani Chambers inside. The three-point shooting will get the pub, but the Crimson played a complete game.
Harvard players run off the bench and celebrate after beating New Mexico during a second round game in the NCAA college basketball tournament in Salt Lake City Thursday. (AP)
Inconsistent Scoring From Guards. I’ve harped on it all season long, but these New Mexico guards are awful hard to trust. When things are going good for them, the trio of Kendall Williams, Tony Snell and Hugh Greenwood are about as fine of a trio as you’ll find in college basketball. But when things aren’t going well, they can get hard to notice. Take Williams for example. You probably remember Williams going for 46, or maybe you remember him sending in a 360 dunk to seal the Lobos Mountain West tournament title game against UNLV. Or even an inexplicable MW Player of the Year award. Tonight he was nearly invisible en route to just eight points, along with no assists. And Snell? He was much better than Williams, but after the Mountain West tournament he was the toast of the town. Tonight just 4-of-12 shooting and 1-of-6 from deep for nine points. All told, the three New Mexico guards combined for 17 points on 21 field goal attempts with just four assists.
Mountain West Gone South. We’ve heard all about how the Mountain West is one of the best conference’s in the country, second in the RPI, deep and talented and with several teams capable of making runs in March. Well, to put it nicely, today was not a good day for the conference. The teams with arguably the best chances of making deep runs – New Mexico and UNLV – bowed out. Coupled with Boise State’s loss last night, the conference’s only bit of good news was Colorado State’s win over Missouri today. San Diego State plays tomorrow, but for a conference with an abysmal record in NCAA Tournament play, this has been a terribly depressing couple of days for the conference.
Star of the Game. Kenyatta Smith, Harvard. On a team built around a quick point guard and a bunch of three-point shooters, you need someone to do the dirty work, especially against a team with as much size inside as New Mexico features. And tonight, Smith did that dirty work with pride, standing up to Alex Kirk and Cameron Bairstow time and time again as the Lobos repeatedly tried to take advantage of the undersized Crimson inside. Kirk and Bairstow got their points, although not often in the 19 minutes Smith played, and Smith made them work for it. And, despite picking up his fourth foul early in the second half, Smith stuck around long enough to make some key plays down the stretch.
RTC is providing game-by-game coverage throughout Thursday from the San Jose pod.
Three Key Takeaways.
So, Yeah. Every now and again the NCAA Tournament gives us a complete and utter mismatch, and tonight’s Syracuse-Montana game was exactly that with no question about it. Not only did Syracuse’s size and athleticism dwarf the Grizzlies, but the expression on their faces (we’re playing Syracuse? THE Syracuse?) said all that anyone needed to know. For the majority of the game, Montana was well below the point-per-minute threshold. In fact, they never even got close to it after the opening couple of minutes, because the Grizzlies finished with an astounding 34 points for the game. Montana had a really nice season, but they were not in the right frame of mind for this one tonight.
What Can You Take Away From a Game Like This? Not terribly much other than what was written above, but it does give a glimpse as to why Syracuse is such a scary team when all its cylinders are firing. Among the eight teams that played in this pod today, no other team has the combination of size, length and athleticism that the Orange bring to bear. They have the runway-model look of a #1 seed, but too many Jekyll-and-Hyde performances dropped Jim Boeheim’s team down to a #4 seed. But goodness — that’s a #4 seed that nobody wants to face when they’re holding NCAA Tournament competition to a 20% shooting night.
Michael Carter-Williams Has Some Russell Westbrook In Him. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who has watched the talented sophomore at times this year, but even in this blowout game where he notched four points, eight rebounds and nine assists, there were still a few times where he simply tried to do things that nobody with his talent at the point guard slot should ever be doing. Passes that had no chance at getting caught by a teammate; over-penetrations that got him in trouble; that kind of stuff. The young man has major talent, but if he really wants to maximize his abilities on his way to the highest level of basketball, he needs to find a way to improve his decision-making.
Star of the Game. Brandon Triche, Syracuse. Among a number of stars for Syracuse tonight, Triche stood out the most. His 20 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field, four assists, and four steals set the tone for his team and paced the Orange to the easy victory.
Will Tucker is a RTC correspondent. He filed this report after the Round of 64 NCAA Tournament game between #6 VCU and #12 Akron from Auburn Hills. You can also find him on Twitter @blrdswag.
Three Key Takeaways:
As if there was any doubt, VCU proved it’s back in Tournament form. After losing a tough Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament championship to Saint Louis, the Rams showed no semblance of a hangover. They mercilessly inflicted their havoc system on Akron for 40 minutes, generating 34 points off of 22 Akron turnovers, 20 of which came on fast breaks. A Zips player told reporters after the game, “We used so much energy trying to get the ball up the court that we couldn’t guard them.” After shooting below 34% and hitting 3-of-18 three-point attempts against SLU, the Rams found their range in their NCAA opener, draining 8-of-16 from beyond the arc and shooting 54% overall.
Shaka Smart and his fiest VCU squad jumped all over Akron Thursday night. (Getty)
Lack of size didn’t hamper the Rams against the bigger Zips and 7’ senior Zeke Marshall. There were concerns that VCU’s undersized frontcourt would be a significant liability in the Tournament, but in their first game the Rams used a collaborative effort to defend and rebound inside. 6’9″, 235-pound Juvonte Reddic, the team’s biggest starter, scored 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting and grabbed five boards. His teammates did the rest, as five of them grabbed three or more rebounds, helping to build advantages of 36 to 29 in rebounding and 40 to 28 in points in the paint.
The game was essentially over after VCU doubled up on Akron 50-25 at halftime, but Shaka Smart didn’t let up. The Rams again doubled Akron’s scoring in the second half, led by 48 with 6 minutes left, and their 46-point margin of victory was apparently the largest ever in a 6/12 seeding matchup. This was particularly uncomfortable because Smart and Akron coach Keith Dambrot are close friends, but the Zips coach said it wasn’t a disrespectful gesture. “He’s got a job to do. His job is to prepare his team to win the next game, and I don’t take any offense to it,” Dambrot said. For his part, Shaka insisted the Zips were victims of circumstance and a poor matchup, and that he called off his trap with nine minutes left and his press with seven remaining. “There was a lot of time on the clock. We’re not just going to fall back in a zone, that’s not what we do,” Smart said.
Star of the Game. Troy Daniels edged Reddic for this one after scoring 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting, hit 6-of-11 threes, and grabbed five rebounds in 21 minutes. Most importantly, the 6’4″ senior guard atoned for a scoreless performance in 17 minutes against SLU.
