For those not in the Wegs Pool itself, I’ve put in my commentary for the first two rounds of the tournament below.
It has been a crazy 4 days in the greatest tournament the world has ever known. Much apologies for not getting an update in after Round 1. However, I had to attend to a funeral for a death in the family. So, for those new to the Wegs Pool (there have to be some, as the Pool is ginormous this year), I write up the game action before digging into our standings and the famous nicknames.
The first 2 rounds always produces some high blood pressure moments for gamblers and poolsters alike and this year was no different as the field went from 64 to 16.
Here is a recap of the first 4 days of action:
Some general comments: Round 1 we had 12 seed upsets which is a very high number, as over the past 10 years the average is more like 8. Only one 5 seed advanced to the 2nd Round, meaning the 12 seeds dominated. We had the Big Ten go 7-1 in the first round the best outcome of any conference. Plus, the number one seeds all struggled early in their match ups. In fact, for the first time in tournament history, two 16 seeds led at halftime.
Round 2 was another story. The big boys didn’t play, as all the higher seeds prevailed on Saturday and Sunday except for #5 Auburn who really was favored over Kansas. The lowest seed advancing into the Sweet Sixteen is one 12 seed in Oregon. There were mostly one sided match ups, but a few games provided excitement.
East Region
1st Round
Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death
#12 Liberty the Atlantic Sun Champ took on the #5 Mississippi State Bulldogs. Liberty has a very good player in Caleb Homesley who just lit it up from deep making 5 of 11 en route to 30 points. Liberty trailed virtually the whole game until Homesley carried the Flames and his 3 pointer with 2:39 gave Liberty the 69-67 lead, then when Lovell Cabbill, Jr. hit another 3 to take the lead for good. Liberty won their first NCAA tournament win in their history.
Final Score: #12 Liberty 80 #5 Mississippi State 76
Bruins Miss Golden Opportunity
#6 Maryland took on #11 Belmont who won the play-in game on Tuesday night to get their school’s first ever NCAA win. The Bruins looked to continue their run against an underwhelming Terps squad. Belmont continued their torrid shooting in the first half leading by as many as 12 and settled into a 40-34 lead at the half. I’m not sure what Coach Mark Turgeon said at halftime, but the Terps woke up. They began the 2nd on a 14-0 run and had 4 starters in double figures for the game to grab an 8 point lead with 17:16 to play. Then it was a dog fight with Belmont answering with a run of their own and had a 7 point lead with just under 7 to play. Maryland jumped right back to tie the game at 71 with 4:07 to play. In the final minute, the Terps led by 1 point. The Bruins had the ball with 30 seconds to play and inexplicably ran the clock down then turned the ball over with 4 seconds to go. The Terps hit one FT to stretch the lead to 2, and the final heave by Dylan Windler (35 pts, 11 rebounds) was no good to give Maryland the win.
Final Score: #6 Terps 79 #11 Belmont 77
Round 2
Tigers Defy the Odds
#3 LSU faced off against #6 Maryland, and despite the turmoil over their suspended Coach Will Wade, the Tigers showed up. LSU lead by as many as 14 early in the second half behind a balanced attack. The Terps made their run though, and when super forward, Bruno Fernando hit 2 free throws with 8:04 to play to cut the lead to 2, it was game on. Maryland’s Jalen Smith first tied the game, then hit 2 free throws to take a 2 point lead at 57-55 with 5:48 to play. The game went back and forth the in the final minutes until LSU’s Skylar Mays hit a 3 to give them the lead at 67-64 with 40 seconds to go. Then, Smith answered with a triple of his own to tie the game with 28 seconds to go. On the final possession, uber point guard, Tremont Waters, drove the lane with the clock running down for the game winning bucket for LSU advancing them to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2006.
Final Score: #3 LSU 69 #6 Maryland 67
Goliath is Mortal
#1 Duke has arguably the best player in college basketball in Zion Williamson, but #9 UCF has the tallest in Tacko Fall. In this one, could the enormous frontline of the Golden Knights keep up with the fast breaking, dunking Duke Blue Devils? Well, a teaser, they could. Tacko did have a very good game opening up with 3 dunks in the first 5 minutes, but it was UCF’s Aubrey Dawkins, the son of UCF’s Coach Johnny Dawkins. Johnny was a star point guard for Duke back in the 80s and a former Duke coaching assistant. Today, his son honored his dad by simply lighting it up scoring 32 points on 12 of 18 shooting. The Golden Knights erased an 8 point deficit in the second half, and even took a late 4 point lead after a Tacko dunk on an assist from Dawkins with 2:09 to play. Duke’s Cam Reddish hit a triple to cut the lead to 1 with 1:41 to play. Then after BJ Taylor hit 2 FTs for UCF, Duke had one more shot to tie or pull close with the ball down 3 with 33 seconds left. After a Williamson missed 3 pointer, Zion took the ball to the cup, elevated drew contact on Tacko, scoring the bucket and the foul, Tacko’s 5th, which proved to be critical. Zion missed the FT, but Duke’s RJ Barrett grabbed the board and put the ball back in without Tacko to protect the rim and giving Duke the lead 77-76 with 11 seconds left. On the UCF possession, Taylor got a good look, but the bank shot rolled off the rim, and Dawkins had a clean path for the tip in, but the ball somehow squirted off the rim. Duke secured the rebound and the win to survive and advance to the Sweet Sixteen. Dawkins was sublime in this one, but Zion and Barrett made the plays to win this one.
Final Score: #1 Duke 77 #9 UCF 76
West Region
1st Round
JA Rules
#12 Murray State earned their way to the dance by beating Belmont in the OVC title game, and thank god, as we all got a chance to witness JA Morant, the Racers’ exceptional point guard. Most of America has not seen this kid, and he did play with Zion Williamson in AAU. Morant took full advantage of the stage putting on a complete show with a triple double – 17 points (on 9 shots!!), 16 assists and 11 rebounds. #5 Marquette had no answer for him, and despite 26 points from their star Markus Howard, also a future NBA player, Murray lead wire to wire. This is what the tournament is all about seeing that little guy thrive and the lesser known players grab the spotlight.
Final Score: #12 Murray State 83 #5 Marquette 64
Round 2
All the top seeds advanced in this region. Gonzaga the #1 seed had the most trouble as #9 Baylor hung around, but I would not call a 12-point win a close one. All the other teams won by 15 or more. The Sweet Sixteen does have some great match ups in a rematch of Zags-Noles and Tech against Michigan, a defensive battle.
South Region
1st Round
Anteaters Gonna Eat
#13 UC Irvine rolled into the tournament by dominating the Big West all year long. Friday was no different, as the Anteaters took on the #4 Kansas State Wildcats. Now, the Wildcats were down their top guy Dean Wade at forward, but last year K State got to the Elite 8 without him or in limited action. This time, the Anteaters played their game getting to the line 19 times and making 17 of them. They stood toe to toe with their power conference opponents rebounding about evenly and limiting the Wildcats to 37.3% shooting. K State had their chance down 2 with the ball and 46 seconds left, but usually capable point guard, Barry Brown, turned the ball over, allowing the Anteaters to ice the game from the line in back to back trips. UC Irvine got their first NCAA tournament win.
Final Score: #13 UC Irvine 70 #4 K State 64
Hawkeyes Comeback to Win
#10 Iowa has had its issues this season with a suspended Coach McCaffery at one point, but in taking on #7 Cincinnati, they were not afraid. The Bearcats did run out to an early 12 point lead in the first half. However, the Hawkeyes stood tough only trailing by 5 at the half. In the second half, Iowa worked their inside-out game to perfection. Iowa Forward Luka Garza was dominant with 20 points on just 11 shots, the points in the paint paved the way for easier looks against the rugged Cincinnati defense. Iowa ended up shooting a smoking 50% (11-22) from downtown, which was the difference in getting the win over the Bearcats in this one. Iowa was one of 7 Big Ten teams to advance to the 2nd round.
Final Score: #10 Iowa 79 #7 Cincinnati 72
Round 2
Iowa Almost Does It Again
#2 Tennessee came out firing against #10 Iowa. In the first half, the Vols scored 49 points and were just dominating the Hawkeyes by 21 points and led by as many as 25. The second half was completely different. Give Coach McCaffery credit for changing the game by pounding the undersized Vols inside. Tyler Cook and Lukas Garza combined for 24 points in the game, but more importantly got the Vols’ Admiral Schofield in foul trouble who had 17 first half points, putting him on the bench. Iowa worked the ball inside out, and Jordan Bohannon hit some deep ones (18 points) to make Tennessee sweat down the stretch. In fact, Iowa came all the way back to tie the game on a questionable foul call on a Bohannon triple, as he sank all 3 FTs putting the game at 67-67 with 2:39 to play. Now, Iowa also was able to force several turnovers on the Vols and neutralize super forward, Grant Williams. Somebody had to step up for them, and Lamonte Turner hit a huge 3 to give them some breathing room. After another possession and a split free throw, Iowa was down 4 with 58 seconds. Iowa’s Isaiah Moss hit a big jumper and after an ill-advised Schofield 3 point jumper, Iowa’s Joe Wieskamp came up with a huge offensive rebound on a Bohannon jumper and was fouled. Wieskamp nailed the 2 FTs to tie the game with 20 ticks left. The Vols last second shot was off to force OVERTIME!!
In OT, most thought Iowa had all the momentum. However, the Vols regrouped, and behind Grant Williams’ six points, Tennessee survived to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.
Final Score: #2 Tennessee 83 #10 Iowa 77 OT
Midwest Region
1st Round
Just One Shot Away
#5 Auburn just came off the SEC tournament title, but they had to tangle with the #12 Aggies of New Mexico State who return to the Dance for the 3rd consecutive year. The Tigers were able to continue their shooting prowess hitting 12 triples in the game at a 38.7% clip. However, Coach Bruce Pearl’s team either ran out of gas or was worried about a comeback, when up 15 points with just over 7 to play, they started to hold the ball. This played right into the Aggies hands who are the deepest team in the nation playing 13-14 guys every game. In this one, the Aggies continued to pound the glass on missed shots outrebounding Auburn 35 to 19 for the game and getting Auburn into major foul trouble. Auburn led by 7 points with a minute to play and the onslaught began. AJ Harris hit a layup cutting the lead to 5, then an Auburn turnover got 2 free throws for Johnny McCants who split them to get the led to 4 with 45 seconds. Another Auburn turnover led to Trevelin Queen’s deep three point shot to get the lead to 1 with 29 seconds remaining. Auburn was fouled going to the line making 2 free throws for a 3 point lead. Harris was fouled, but split 2 free throws getting the lead to 2. 2 more Auburn free throws seemed to ice the game with 12 seconds left, but Jojo Zamora nailed a triple with 8 seconds to get the lead to 1 again. Auburn’s Samir Doughty split a pair of free throws setting up the final sequence. The Aggies’ point guard drove the lane with 2 seconds to go, but passed up the game tying layup to find Terrell Brown for a game winning three pointer, he missed, but was fouled receiving 3 free throws. He only hit 1 of 3 cutting the lead to 1, but on the last free throw, Auburn knocked the ball out of bounces giving NM State one more chance. The inbounds play was an open look from the deep corner to Trevelin Queen for the win, but no good. Auburn survived the furious comeback.
Final Score: #5 Auburn 78 #12 NM State 77
Round 2
Wildcats Outlast Terriers
#2 Kentucky has big hopes in this tournament, and they took a risk in sitting out their leading scorer, PJ Washington for a 2nd time in facing the #7 Wofford Terriers. Wofford had not lost a game in 2019 rolling through their conference. In this one, Kentucky tried to outmuscle the smaller school squad, but the Terriers stood toe to toe with them almost even on the glass 33-30 for the game. The key to the game was Kentucky’s ability to limit the superior Wofford shooting from behind the arc. Wofford has multiple shooters who can fill it up and their star, Fletcher Magee is the best. In this one, the Wildcats limited Wofford to just 8 of 27 shooting from deep, and Magee was 0 for 12. Despite the poor shooting, Wofford hung around. In the final minute, the Keve Aluma’s tip in pulled them within 2 at 58-56 with 40 ticks left, However, Kentucky hit their final 4 free throws and Wofford came up empty on 2 straight possessions from deep to lose and end their successful season.
Final Score: #2 Kentucky 62 #7 Wofford 56
I’ll dig into the Sweet Sixteen Match Ups later in the Week. So, relax and actually get some work done.
Wegs