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 has built an outstanding program, but he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t interested in the NBA.
• Florida is the number one overall seed, but one thing Pittsburgh will not be today is intimidated.
• Coach Shaka Smart was pleased with the effort, but ultimately VCU fell to Stephen F. Austin in the bizarre final moments.
• With a reputation for not getting it done in the NCAA Tournament, UCLA coach Steve Alford has gained some relief after pulling away from the near upset by Tulsa.
• VCU seemingly pulled away, but a four point play from Dezmond Haymon resurrected underdog Stephen F. Austin and brought them to victory.
• Syracuse’s defense is suffocating in the half court, so Dayton will be looking to make today’s game a track meet.
• Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim isn’t convinced that Dayton will be able to get up and down against the Orange. “The pace of the game,” Boeheim said, “is dictated by whoever has the basketball.”
• After scoring a huge win yesterday over New Mexico, Stanford is ready to pull off the upset against a most likely Embiid-less Kansas.
• For the second straight season, New Mexico’s season has ended in disappointing fashion. The Lobos were down 20-4 early, but couldn’t quite come all the way back.
• Kansas did not look good in their opening matchup, but eventually pulled away from Eastern Kentucky behind 19 from freshman sensation Andrew Wiggins.

West Region

• Weber State was with them for a while, but Arizona came to its senses and took down the other Wildcats.
• Potentially bound for the NBA, Oklahoma State sophomore Marcus Smart had his NCAA Tournament hopes crushed by Gonzaga yesterday. In particular, Smart was seemingly “frustrated” by the officials.
• Despite going up against a trendy “upset” pick, Gonzaga never trailed in its victory over Oklahoma State.
• Baylor nearly gave it up late, but the Bears ultimately held tough and took down Nebraska.
• Nebraska was frustrated by Baylor all day, and their struggles carried over to coach Tim Miles as he was ejected midway through the second half.
• Late three point shooting helped Doug McDermott and Creighton survive a scare against UL-Lafayette.
• As an underdog that pulled a huge upset, is North Dakota State “America’s team?”
• Even though San Diego State beat New Mexico State, coach Steve Fisher was angry at the NCAA for its policy of making the losing team fly home after a late-night loss.
• Oregon has reaped major benefits from transfers, but is this model sustainable?
• Wisconsin certainly comes into today’s game as the favorite, but Oregon’s athleticism could give the Badgers problems.

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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 has made three straight Elite Eights, but that’s not going to cut it this year. The Gators are taking an “all or nothing” approach to the NCAA Tournament.
• Coming into its first round game, Colorado is focused on breaking down Pittsburgh’s post defense and double-teams.
• Talib Zanna, Pittsburgh’s much improved senior big man, and his leadership will be “vital” to his team’s postseason success.
• On Selection Sunday, the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks gathered at Fuzzy’s Taco Shop. On Friday, they will begin their quest to go from Fuzzy’s to Cinderella against a similar VCU team.
• VCU’s Melvin Johnson is looking doubtful for Friday’s first round match-up against Stephen F. Austin. Johnson is averaging 10.6 points per game and shoots 39 percent from three-point range.
• Nicknamed “Slo-Mo,” 6’9” UCLA point guard Kyle Anderson is a “nightmare” match-up for opposing guards.
• Dayton head coach Archie Miller and Ohio State coach Thad Matta go way back, and even after asking Matta for desperate advice earlier this season, Miller finds his team going up against his “mentor’s” on Thursday.
• Syracuse fans may be tempted to predict a deep NCAA Tournament run, but advanced metrics only give the Orange “between a 1 and 2 percent chance” of going the distance.
• Stanford must stop New Mexico’s offensive firepower if it is going to have a chance on Friday.
• Joel Embiid won’t be suiting up for at least the first weekend, but Kansas’ small lineup could present other problems for opponents.

West Region

• Losing Brandon Ashley was tough, but Arizona has moved past his injury and looks poised to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament.
• Gonzaga may be the #8 seed, but seemingly no one is giving the Bulldogs a chance against Oklahoma State. Star Canadian guard Kevin Pangos is embracing the Zags’ “underdog status.”
• The Sooners began the season somewhat up and down, but it was a come-from-behind victory against rival Oklahoma State that sparked Oklahoma’s run to a #5 seed.
• North Dakota State’s senior leader Taylor Braun was rejected by Pac-12 schools, but he has since used it motivation to lead the Bison into the NCAA Tournament. Braun has the last laugh, as he will fulfill his dream of competing in the NCAAs while “Oregon State is sitting home.”
• Nebraska is returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1998, but the Cornhuskers hope to remove their label as one of the two Power Six Conference schools without an NCAA Tournament victory.
• Creighton’s Canadian guard Jaheens Manigat is living his dream of playing for the Bluejays with a potential NBA star.
• The BYU Cougars look to “reinvent themselves” as second-leading scorer Kyle Collinsworth is injured. However, behind their leader Tyler Haws, it may not be as difficult as some think.
• Oregon is certainly looking forward to the NCAA Tournament, but its players have just as tough of a task looming ahead of them. Time to hit the books, it’s finals week in Eugene!
• Wisconsin has a lot of productive guys, but freshman Nigel Hayes is looking to give the Badgers a spark off the bench.

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 locked up the number one overall seed with a gutsy SEC Tournament victory over Kentucky. One of the reasons the Gators are favored to go all the way is because they know how to win close games, or in other words, simply don’t know how to lose.
• When Colorado lost its star guard, Spencer Dinwiddie, the Buffs rallied around the movie Seabiscuit to turn things around. They still hold the movie’s message with them as they head into the NCAA Tournament.
  
• Though it’s tempting to look ahead to a potential match-up against Florida, Pittsburgh’s Jamie Dixon is just trying to focus on Colorado.
  
• Having now won 28 games in a row, Stephen F. Austin is a trendy pick to be this year’s Cinderella.
• After winning the Pac-12 Tournament, UCLA is coming into the NCAA Tournament very hot.
• Though Ohio State won’t schedule a road game against in-state rival Dayton, Thad Matta is not about to overlook the Flyers. 
• According to freshman Tyler Ennis, Syracuse needs to “get everybody confident” if the Orange want to make a run in the NCAA Tournament.
• Craig Neal continued New Mexico’s recent domination of the Mountain West Tournament in his first season.
• With his job on the line, Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins finally got over the hump and into the NCAA Tournament.
• In the midst of recent Ohio Valley Conference success in the NCAA Tournament, Eastern Kentucky is looking to score the program’s first ever Tournament victory over Kansas. Though it will be a formidable test, the Colonels are thinking: “why not us?”
• Andrew Wiggins and Kansas think they can do it without freshman center Joel Embiid, but they know that “Jo-Jo” makes them even scarier.

West Region

• Sean Miller has returned Arizona basketball to prominence, and despite the adversity the Wildcats faced in the second half of the season, look for them to be contenders in the final weekend.
• Though Oklahoma State may only be a #9 seed, they have the talent to make some noise. 
• Gonzaga‘s streak of 16 straight NCAA Tournaments isn’t just impressive for a mid-major, it’s impressive for any program.
• Oklahoma is the fifth team Lon Kruger has taken to the NCAA Tournament. He’s been able to do so, in part, because of his “positive attitude.”
• To North Dakota State, the #12 seed is a sign of respect for the program. Now the Bison look to pull the classic #5/#12 upset.
• With only two Mountain West teams making the field of 68, San Diego State certainly got a better deal than New Mexico did.
• Baylor started slowly in Big 12 play, but it hopes to continue its late-season surge into the NCAA Tournament.
• Though the two teams had separate feelings going into Selection Sunday, in-state rivals Nebraska and Creighton are on a third-round “collision course.”
  
• BYU was ecstatic to hear its name called on the Selection Show, and thinks it has a chance to notch an opening round victory over Oregon.
• Though the Ducks got blown out in their Pac-12 Tournament loss to UCLA, don’t expect Oregon to succumb to the same fate against BYU.
• Some experts are loving Wisconsin‘s path in the West Region.

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