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.

Midwest Region

Goodness Gracious. (USA Today Images)

• Kentucky expected more out of itself in Thursday night’s win over Hampton. It is possible that the Wildcats need the edge back from last year when they advanced to the national title game as a #8 seed?
• Cincinnati interim coach Larry Davis traces his roots back to Kentucky.
• After earning a thrilling victory over Buffalo on Friday afternoon, West Virginia coach Bob Huggins acknowledged in his postgame remarks that he does not understand ESPN analyst Jay Bilas’ Young Jeezy-inspired Twitter schtick.
• Maryland walk-on defensive specialist Varun Ram saved the day for the Terrapins on Friday when he locked down on Valparaiso guard Keith Carter and produced a turnover as the buzzer sounded to ensure  a 65-62 Maryland win.
• Valparaiso coach Bryce Drew will always have his March Madness memories from his miracle run as a player in 1998, but he was unable to produce new memories as a coach in Friday’s narrow loss to Maryland.
• Butler coach Chris Holtmann acknowledged Friday that junior forward Roosevelt Jones will play Saturday night against Notre Dame after suffering a knee injury in Thursday’s win over Texas.
• Notre Dame coach Mike Brey is expecting senior captain Pat Connaughton to have a big game Saturday night when the Irish take on Butler.
• Indiana showed that it has talent on the perimeter in Friday’s close loss to Wichita State, thus it seems like the next move for the Hoosiers is to find a big man capable of leading the team to greater heights.
• With Friday’s victory over Indiana, Wichita State earned its shot to play Kansas – a shot the program has been craving for years.
• Kansas forward Perry Ellis said his previously injured knee “felt great out there” in Friday’s sizable victory over New Mexico State.

West Region

• Wisconsin guard Bronson Koenig has shown a great deal of confidence since replacing injured starter Traevon Jackson in the Badgers’ starting five.
• During Friday night’s win over Oklahoma State, Oregon proved that it will not beat itself as long as coach Dana Altman is patrolling the sideline.
• After Friday night’s loss to Oregon, Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford announced that junior guard Phil Forte did not practice all week as he was nursing an injured right knee.
• Arkansas star forward Bobby Portis has struggled with his shot in the team’s last three games, but he expects that to change when the Razorbacks battle North Carolina on Saturday.
• North Carolina freshman Theo Pinson has played sparingly since his return from a foot injury that cost him nearly two months. Could he potentially provide the Tar Heels with the spark they will need off the bench Saturday against Arkansas?
• Xavier senior forward Matt Stainbrook spends most of his free time as an Uber driver, but that has not stopped him from being a force in the post for the Musketeers.
• Georgia State guard Ryan Harrow will dress Saturday against Xavier, but he will likely be unable to play due to an injured hamstring.
• Ohio State faces a tall order Saturday when it is tasked with dealing with Arizona’s great height in the post.
• Arizona coach Sean Miller has used ESPN’s “Bad Boys” documentary as a motivation for his team.

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.

Midwest Region

• Unsurprisingly, President Obama went with undefeated Kentucky to win it all this year.
• Facing a tough matchup in Cincinnati, Purdue hopes that its many quasi-elimination games this season will help prepare them for the tournament. “There’s no substitute for the actual thing,” [coach Matt] Painter said. “We have a lot of guys outside of one that hasn’t been here. You still have to play hard. You still have to produce.”
  

  Even POTUS had to go with undefeated Kentucky this year. (ESPN)

• Here’s a heartwarming story of how Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin “indirectly” saved a Minnesota man’s life. After a UC fan saw Coach Cronin take a medical leave for “indescribable” headaches, he was able to diagnose his own illness when the same thing happened to him.
• Everyone is basically penciling Kentucky into the Final Four, but could West Virginia have something to say about it? With a fast pace and a defense that forces a lot of turnovers, the Mountaineers, at the very least, have a puncher’s chance to make a run.
• Perhaps no 12-seed has a better shot at pulling the classic upset than Buffalo. With solid efficiency numbers and MAC Player of the Year Justin Moss, the Bulls are legit.
• After years of frustration, Dez Wells finally has his shot at the NCAA Tournament. Known for his vocal leadership, win or lose, Wells is certain to go out with a bang.
• With a huge front court, headed by 6’9” 285 lbs Cameron Ridley, Texas will look to “bully” Butler down low. “We need to take advantage of it,” Ridley said. “People should be intimidated to come into the paint against us.”
• With this disadvantage on the front line, Butler will most likely rely heavily on three ball to best Texas.
• In what should be a competitive 7-10 game, Indiana and Wichita State will go at each other with the same strength: guard play. While the Hoosiers have Yogi Ferrell, who can absolutely bomb the three ball, the Shockers counter with a trio of Fred Van Fleet, Tekele Cotton, and Ron Baker.
• Unfortunately for Jayhawks, they will be without freshman sensation Cliff Alexander for at least their first two NCAA Tournament games. Alexander is still awaiting a decision from the NCAA as it investigates eligibility concerns.

West Region

Frank Kaminsky might be the most important player in this tournament. (Reuters)

• Wisconsin has played outstanding basketball all season, but do the Badgers have the fire power to challenge Kentucky? Wisconsin may not have the athletes, but it does have Frank Kaminsky, favorite (and voted on by some sources) to win National Player of the Year.
• How does Oregon coach Dana Altman‘s contract correlate with Oregon’s cost of room and board? It’s pretty hefty, if you ask me.
• Arkansas will come in as a favorite against Wofford, but the Razorbacks still aren’t completely familiar with the Terriers. Instead, Mike Anderson has his team focused on themselves. “Coach just always tries to preach we aren’t worried about the other team, like, our team is just worried about what we do,” forward Bobby Portis noted.
• A three-year starter, Spencer Collins is looking to lead Wofford to its first Tourney victory in program history.
• A Duke alumnus, Harvard coach Tommy Amaker is quite familiar with North Carolina.

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‘s seniors have been knocking on the door of the Final Four for their entire careers, but this past weekend they finally sealed the deal. Though it has been a long road, the wait was definitely worth it.
• Having to adjust to injuries and suspensions has only made Florida that much stronger heading into the Final Four.
• Florida has a chance to avenge both of its only two regular season losses with UConn and Wisconsin also in the Final Four.
• The Gators should be well-prepared for this weekend, as it has faced its three Final Four companions a total of five times this season (going 3-2).
• From spectator to manager to walk-on, Florida’s Jacob Kurtz has been an integral part of the Gators because of his prowess on the scout team. However, Kurtz became more that that this season, as he filled in with 19.2 minutes per game in November when the Gators were decimated with injuries and suspensions.
• As the only 1-seed remaining, Florida is now a heavy favorite to go to the distance.

West Region

• Wisconsin can fly under the radar sometimes, but after knocking off Arizona, the Badgers won’t be ignored by anyone this weekend.
• After advancing to the Final Four, Charles Barkley declared that Wisconsin “could beat the Bucks.” That may be a stretch, but either way, the Badgers are playing some outstanding basketball right now.
• Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan kept lessons he learned during his childhood and from his late father in mind as the Badgers reached the Final Four this past weekend.
• Though Wisconsin got the job done against #1 seed Arizona, the Badgers are just trying to take things game by game – or tournament by tournament. Senior Ben Brust described his team’s mentality: “We’re taking this as little tournaments,” he said. “We won Tournament 1 in Milwaukee. We won Tournament 2 in Anaheim. And now we have Tournament 3 out there in Dallas.”
• Though they’ve had a couple close calls, seven-footer Frank “the Tank” Kaminsky is the primary reason why the Badgers are still playing.
• As a result of his stellar play, could Frank Kaminsky be looking more and more like a future NBA player?

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’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 »

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 »

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

• Shooting will fluctuate, but Florida has ridden defense to the Sweet Sixteen and hopefully beyond.
• Florida senior Scottie Wilbekin has had a troubled past in Gainesville, but he was willing to adhere to coach Billy Donovan’s strict rules in order to remain a member of the team. He now finds himself, nearly a year later, willing the Gators to the Sweet Sixteen in the midst of his teammates’ struggles.
• Though he has a shaky history in the NCAA Tournament, UCLA’s first year coach Steve Alford is already beginning to prove his doubters wrong as he led the Bruins to their first Sweet Sixteen appearance since 2008.
• UCLA ended Stephen F. Austin’s Cinderella run last night thanks in large part to the Bruins’ ability to get out and run. “They annihilated us in transition,” coach Brad Underwood added.
• Dayton’s run to the Sweet Sixteen was so thrilling that even the University’s president took part in the postgame celebration.
• Archie Miller was the first Miller to make the Sweet Sixteen after he led Dayton over Syracuse on Saturday, but even CBS’s Greg Gumble got him confused with his older brother, Sean, in an interview yesterday.
• Stanford wasn’t exactly a closely followed team by much of the country until yesterday’s upset over Kansas. However, the Cardinal showed those who were unsure that it was worthy of a Sweet Sixteen appearance.
• Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins used some experience from his playing days at Duke to get his players to fight for their Tournament lives. In recalling a story about a devastated teammate after losing his final game in a Duke uniform, Dawkins urged his players to play like they were all seniors.
• Notably absent from Kansas’s shocking third round defeat, freshman center Joel Embiid has yet to make a decision about his future in Lawrence. Embiid is a sure-fire top-five pick and could even go #1.

West Region

• Arizona blew by Gonzaga yesterday with an impressive array flashy plays, but what many fail to realize is that many those flashy plays are sparked by the Wildcats’ suffocating defense.
• Gonzaga is obviously disappointed about going down to Arizona, but coach Mark Few suggests that there really wasn’t much the Zags could do.
• With the West Regional being hosted in Anaheim, will  San Diego State get a bit of a home court advantage?
• San Diego State played Arizona tight earlier this season, but can the Aztecs hang with the Wildcats we saw last night?
• Baylor ended Creighton All-American Doug McDermott’s illustrious college career last night. Considering his father, Greg, was also his coach, it made for a quite emotional exit from college hoops.
• Baylor routed Creighton behind a barrage of three pointers. We know the Bears are long and athletic, but if they’re shooting the ball like they did last night (11/18, good for 61%), they’re going to be a handful for anyone in their path.
• Without many options out of high school, Baylor guard Kenny Chery resorted to junior college. After struggling through those two years, Chery now finds himself leading Baylor’s charge to the Sweet Sixteen.
• Heading into the Sweet Sixteen, Wisconsin has proven through its first two games that it can get the job done “at any speed.”
• Wisconsin overcame a tough Oregon team thanks to its grit, and the Badgers are going to need more of it if they want to get by a surging Baylor team.

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

• Naturally, the experienced Florida Gators were led by their seniors to a Sweet Sixteen berth.
• After a tough loss to Florida, Pittsburgh now must say goodbye to senior leaders Talib Zanna and Lamar Patterson.
  
• Dayton coach Archie Miller knows his team deserved to win, but even he knows that the Flyers were fortunate to catch Syracuse on an off night.
• In its third round loss to Dayton, Syracuse had a historically awful three-point shooting night.
• Stephen F. Austin’s Desmond Haymon is from a small town in Massachusetts, but made national headlines this week with “the play of the NCAA Tournament.”
• UCLA won a tight game in its second round match-up, and their road isn’t getting any easier with a tough Stephen F. Austin team on the horizon.
• Kansas will once again be without freshman big man Joel Embiid in their game today against Stanford.
• For a team that struggled to get into the NCAA Tournament, Stanford has a chance to make program history if it can score a win over #2 seed Kansas.

West Region

• Today, Gonzaga and #1 seed Arizona will relive a 2003 instant classic.
• Though they’re usually the cream of the mid-major crop, Gonzaga has little pressure on it going into its game against Arizona.
• North Dakota State coach Saul Phillips went as far as crying during his postgame press conference as the Bison’s NCAA journey ended yesterday.
• San Diego State’s Xavier Thames led the Aztecs with 30 points as they took down cinderella North Dakote State.
• Baylor point guard Kenny Chery hopes to lead the Bears past Doug McDermott and Creighton.
• Creighton will have to successfully deal with Baylor’s zone if it wants to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.
• Two-seed Wisconsin needed a furious second half rally to come out on top of Oregon yesterday.
• After blowing a big second half lead, Wisconsin arguably taught Oregon “an NCAA lesson.”

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

• Even though the SEC had an awful year, Florida has emerged as the NCAA Tournament favorite.
• Both Colorado and Pittsburgh have had to overcome injuries to key contributors to find themselves back in the Tournament.
• In just his first season, Stephen F. Austin coach Brad Underwood has taken the Lumberjacks to “new heights.”
• After Coach K criticized the A-10, VCU coach Shaka Smart fired back saying that Krzyzewski’s were “low level.”
• UCLA is known for its outstanding guard play, but watch out if they’re bigs get going.
• Ohio State’s opening game against Dayton has brought attention to the Buckeyes’ non-conference scheduling, particularly against other teams from the state of Ohio. According to Bill Livingston, the Buckeyes have no excuse to “duck” their in-state rivals.
• Syracuse dominated during non-conference play, but struggled to five losses in the ACC. However, coach Jim Boeheim isn’t all that concerned. “I don’t think we played any differently at the end of the year than we played all year,” Boeheim commented on Wednesday.
• Instead of Selection Sunday festivities at The Pit, New Mexico decided to take an easier, more business-like approach to the NCAA Tournament.
• Stanford reserve Robbie Lemons is temporarily stepping away from his academic pursuits after the season in hopes that international basketball can take him on an incredible experience throughout the world.
• He’s not the first option on his team. Or the second or the third and maybe even not the fourth, but forward Perry Ellis is developing into a key, consistent player for Kansas.

West Region

• The Arizona Wildcats can make a deep run into the NCAA Tournament, and their road begins with taking care of the Wildcats of Weber State.
• Oklahoma State has Marcus Smart, Markel Brown, and Le’Bryan Nash, but could the Cowboys’ X-factor prove to be their little 5’11” guard Phil Forte?
• He reached the 1994 Final Four at Florida, but Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger hasn’t come close since. Kruger looks to project his experience on his players in hopes that they can win their first Tournament game since 2009.
• According to the experts’ predictions, North Dakota State is looking like the overwhelming favorite to be the trendy 5/12 upset this year.
• New Mexico State has a tough test ahead of them in San Diego State, but 7’5” giant Sim Bhullar could give the Aztecs some trouble.
• Baylor point guard Kenny Chery has been paramount to the Bears’ success, especially with the loss of Pierre Jackson to graduation.
• For Creighton guard Grant Gibbs‘ relationship with superstar Doug McDermott goes beyond their chemistry on the court. McDermott gave Gibbs his scholarship after Gibbs was given a surprising sixth year of eligibility.
• You may not believe it, given their history as a football school, but Oregon actually won the first ever national championship in basketball in 1939.
• Junior point guard Matt Carlino needs to step up if BYU is going to have a shot at Oregon.
• Wisconsin has a reputation for early exits from the Big Dance. For the Badgers, 2014 is the year that they change their reputation.

Read the rest of this entry »

With the season now finished, this will be our last version of NCAA Tournament Tidbits. Special thanks to contributors Brian Goodman and Walker Carey for putting these together throughout March Madness.

Kentucky

• John Calipari finally won his first National Championship Monday night, which many think will catapult him from being a good coach to being a great coach. No matter your thoughts, it is time to give the coach his due.
• Dan Wolken argues that you cannot blame John Calipari for the one-and-done culture that helped earn Kentucky its title. Wolken notes that Calipari has always been the same coach, but it is Kentucky that has changed to accommodate the coach’s way of recruiting and coaching.
• Doron Lamb, who scored a game-high 22 points for the Wildcats, was so sharp in the team’s afternoon shoot-around that his coach told the sophomore that he expected 25 points from him. Lamb did not get that many buckets, but Calipari isn’t too upset about it.
• All the talk after Monday’s game was about the freshmen and one-and-dones that are being shuffled through the Kentucky program. This talk was unfair to the sophomore Lamb, who was Kentucky’s standout offensive performer in its title victory.
• Marquis Teague helped ignite Kentucky’s scorching start by scoring nine points in the game’s 13 minutes. This fast start and the leadership the freshman provided the Wildcats all night served to illustrate the improvement the guard has made throughout the season.
• Darius Miller, Kentucky’s lone senior contributor, went from playing in the NIT as a freshman to becoming a national champion as a senior.
• Anthony Davis was named Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four despite scoring just six points on 1-10 shooting in the title game. However, Davis contributed in many other ways, as he accumulated 16 rebounds, five assists, six blocks, and three steals.
• Calipari noted after the game that he hopes there are six first-rounders that will come from Kentucky’s roster. The players he meant are Lamb, Teague, Miller, Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, and Terrence Jones.

Kansas 

• In the past several years, the Jayhawks have found themselves despondent after tournament losses to underdogs such as Northern Iowa and Virginia Commonwealth. While KU is undoubtedly disappointed with its loss to Kentucky, this disappointment feels a bit different.
• At the beginning of the season, virtually no one thought Kansas had even the slightest chance to play for the national title. Considering this season’s supposed “rebuilding” year was coupled with the low expectations, this season’s Jayhawk squad has much to be proud of.
• Thomas Robinson is certainly headed to the NBA, as he is a projected lottery pick. With Robinson out of the fold, Kansas will have a tough task in replacing the All-America forward.
• Tyshawn Taylor was often seen as enigmatic throughout his first three seasons at Kansas. However, this season, Taylor put it all together and flourished as the floor general for the Jayhawks. Despite his successes, the ultimate goal of a title proved to be elusive.
• Bill Self said after the game that he did not think his team had lost the game, it was just that Kentucky had won it.
• After Monday night’s defeat, both Elijah Johnson and Jeff Withey vowed they would be returning to Kansas for their senior seasons. With Tyshawn Taylor graduating and Thomas Robinson more than likely gone, the Jayhawks are going to need major contributions from Johnson and Withey next season.

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.

Kansas

• Heading into his second Final Four in four seasons, Kansas head coach Bill Self is the lowest paid of the four coaches who will be in New Orleans this weekend. Of the group, only Self and Louisville head coach Rick Pitino have won titles.
• While Kansas reserve forward Kevin Young’s contributions might not show up in the box score, but Bill Self and Young’s teammates acknowledge the energy Young brings to the court.
• Barry Hinson has served as Kansas’ director of basketball operations for the past four seasons and on Wednesday afternoon, the former Missouri State head coach will be introduced as the new head coach at Southern Illinois.
•  The unorthodox triangle and two defense helped lead KU to its second Final Four in four seasons. In basketball, defense can win championships and Bill Self is well aware of this notion.

Louisville 

• When Louisville meets Kentucky on Saturday, it will be on the fourth anniversary of former longtime Kentucky equipment manager Bill Keightley’s death. Louisville head coach Rick Pitino remained friends with Keightley even after he left Kentucky for the NBA, and later, Louisville.
• Louisville center Gorgui Dieng is not your normal basketball player. Just three years ago, Dieng was an unknown, raw prospect playing soccer with his brothers in their hometown of Kebemer, Senegal.
• When Louisville and Kentucky met on New Year’s Eve, Cardinals senior guard Kyle Kuric was held to a season-low four shot attempts and a season-worst two points. This time around, Kuric hopes to be a much greater contributor.
• Louisville freshman forward Chane Behanan is another player who is looking for some redemption against Kentucky. In the season’s first meeting, Behanan played one of his worst games of the season, fouling out in just 15 minutes of action.