NCAA Tournament Tidbits: 03.29.14 Edition
Posted by Griffin Wong on March 29th, 2014March 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
- Though he’s usually not mentioned in the same breath as coaches like Bill Self, Mike Krzyzewski, or Rick Pitino, Florida coach Billy Donovan is working his way towards greatness.
- Much of Florida senior Scottie Wilbekin‘s impact has been made in crunch time. Wilbekin’s emergence as “a closer” will pivotal for Florida down the stretch.
- As the number one overall seed, Florida is looking to avoid being Dayton’s next upset victim.
- Dayton entered the tournament as the team that had a puncher’s chance to take out its in-state rival, but now it is no longer “flying under the radar.”
- Dayton shouldn’t be considered a “giant killer.” The Flyers believe that they should be here.
- Teams that make unlikely NCAA Tournament runs usually have a guy or two that can carry the team, but Dayton is different. With 11+ guys in the rotation, the Flyers have serious depth.
West Region
- Though he has yet to reach a Final Four, Arizona coach Sean Miller is “knocking again” on its doorstep.
- Arizona has size, athleticism, and length, but point guard TJ McConnell was the “final piece to the puzzle.”
- Arizona coach Sean Miller once showed off his dribbling skills as a nine year old at Wisconsin, and now he’s going up against one of the assistants coaches of that team, Bo Ryan, with a trip to the Final Four on the line.
- On his father’s birthday, Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan hopes to honor his late hero by reaching his first Final Four.
- This year’s Wisconsin team has one of the best offenses Madison has ever seen, but can the Badgers break through one of the best defense’s in the country tonight?
- Wisconsin seven-footer Frank Kaminsky’s emergence has been crucial to Wisconsin’s Elite Eight run. Kaminsky went from 4.2 points per game and 1.8 rebounds per game to 13.7 and 6.2 respectively.