The NCAA Tournament is just that a tournament. No guarantees or series. The best teams may or may not win. In a year where parity has reigned supreme, the resulting Final Four is definitely par for the course for this crazy season.
Bracket Busters,
The Elite Eight is the point of the tournament and pool that really cuts the field down to only a few teams and contenders. This win or go home format can be depressing, but in the process, we get more clarity.
East Region
Owls Hoot, Hoot
#9 Florida Atlantic had literally never won a single tournament game before last week. Yet, Coach Dusty Maye knew he had a squad. All he had to do was figure out a way to contain #3 Kansas State’s Markquis Nowell. One thing people do not know about FAU is that they do have size for a “mid-major” team, and that became evident on Saturday, as 7’1” Vladislav Goldin (14 points, 13 rebounds – including 6 Offensive boards) played to his size. He was a force in the paint in two ways: 1) he definitely protected the rim and altered shots including several by K State’s Nowell and 2) he dominated the glass. With Goldin taking care of the paint, that allowed the 4 guard lineup to flourish en route to a scorching 42 points in the first half. Now, Nowell was still great, bum ankle and all, but still the Wildcats trailed at the half 42-38.
In the second half, it was a battle. K State was able to get things going, and when Nae’Qwan Tomlin (14 points, 6 rebounds) finished at the rim with an assist by Nowell with 12:03 to play, the Wildcats had a 57-50 lead with momentum. Then, the Owls turned back to Goldin to get some buckets mixed in with triples from Bryan Greenlee (16 points, 4 of 6 from deep) and Brandon Weatherspoon (7 points) to cut the lead to 1, and finally Goldin’s dunk with 6:12 remaining gave the Owls the lead back at 64-63. One key factor in the second half was K State’s Keyontae Johnson (9 points in 18 minutes) was in foul trouble, so during the FAU comeback, the Wildcats really lacked scoring outside of Nowell. As the momentum swung back to FAU who got their lead up to as much as 8 with 2:44 to remaining on Alijah Martin’s (17 points) 2 free throws. It was time for Nowell to take over. First two free throws by Ismael Massoud, then a three by Nowell (30 points, 12 assists) cut the lead to 3 with 1:49 left. On the ensuing possession, FAU got not one by two offensive rebounds that led to a Johnell Davis (13 points, 8 rebounds) layup with 1:19 to get the lead back to 5. Nowell hits 2 free throws on a drive, and FAU’s Nicholas Boyd split a pair to push the lead to 75-71 with 30 ticks on the clock. On the miss, Wildcat’s Cam Carter hit a triple to get within one at 75-74 with 24 seconds. On the inbounds, Nowell fouled Michael Forrest (6 points), who hit both free throws with 18 seconds. Then, Nowell found Tomlin again on a layup with 9 seconds left to get it back to one again, 77-76. Forrest calmly hit 2 more free throws with 7 seconds to set up the final K State possession. Without Johnson on the floor, Nowell tried to get the ball to Massoud, but Massoud tried to take a dribble and was stripped and unable to get the shot off. The Owls have done the improbable from no wins in the NCAA to the school’s first Final Four. Incredible!
#9 FAU 79 #3 Kansas State 76
West Region
Huskies Love the West Region
#4 UConn has had a weird year. The Huskies went undefeated in the non-conference before the Big East started where they charted 8 losses in league play and the Big East Tournament. However, apparently non-Big East opponents have no answer for this team. #3 Gonzaga was riding high after that thrilling victory Thursday night, but the magic was about to end. In the first half, neither team played very well offensively. In fact, these high-powered teams combined for only 30 points in the first 10 minutes of the game. The refs were determined to call Zags’ F Drew Timme for traveling after all the social media scrutiny from Thursday, and he was called for not one but two in the first half. UConn couldn’t get any jump shots to fall, so what most thought would be a track meet turned into a wrestling match to start. UConn finally got some shots to fall, and the Zags’ hero from Thursday, Julian Strawther (11 points, 6 rebounds) was able to provide another scorer besides Timme. The Huskies led 39-32 at the half.
Now, hindsight is always 20-20, but it seemed to me that UConn was primed for a run given how they have played their other tournament games. The Zags hadn’t played well either, but Timme was not going off like he had in the previous 2 games. So, when UConn came out with a quick start of 5 points, then Timme (12 points, 10 rebounds) picked up 2 quick fouls for 4 on the game with 17:39 to play, the Zags were in trouble. Then, the Huskies went nuclear for a 16-3 run over the next 3 minutes and 22 seconds, and the score was 60-37. The Zags scoring drought continued from the field, and UConn was able to stretch the lead to as many as 33 points. The Huskies’ machine was in full force with 9 guys scoring in the game – 11 made threes, and 21 assists on 30 made baskets. With the ever changing landscape of this tournament, the Huskies seem like one of the only reliable group. Plus, if you look at the past UConn has won out of the West Region in 3 of 4 championships.
#4 UConn 82 #3 Zags 54
South Region
It Came Down to A Finger Tip
#5 San Diego State and #6 Creighton have never been to the Final Four. So, like FAU, there will be another debutante in Houston from this game. The Aztecs D has been their hallmark for several seasons, but this team has been able to score a little more to get to this point. Meanwhile, the Bluejays like to play fast with scorers at nearly every position and enough D to keep teams honest. Plus, these teams played in the 2022 tournament that went to overtime after the Aztecs blew a 9 point lead late in the game. The first half was about as suspected, a tightly contested game. The Aztecs’ Lamont Butler paced the scoring with 9 points (18 on the game) with Creighton closing the half on a 5-0 run to grab the lead, 33-28.
In the second half, San Diego State did what they do – tightened the screws forcing Creighton to miss their first 10 three point shots. The Aztecs able to grind their way into the lead on Darrion Trammell’s (12 points, 5 rebounds) jumper with 6:44 to play at 46-45. From there, it was a nip tuck game to the end. With 3:03 left, San Diego State’s Aguek Arop (6 points) hit his 2nd straight bucket to build a 4-point led, but Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner (17 points, 6 rebounds) followed with 2 buckets of his own to tie the game at 54-54. On the next possession, Aztec big man, Nathan Mensah hit short jumper to give them the lead 56-54 with 97 seconds left. Both teams missed jumpers with furious scrambles to grab the defensive rebounds. Then with 34.2 seconds, the Bluejays forced another time out when the Aztecs couldn’t get the ball inbounds. On the next attempt, Creighton’s Baylor Scheierman (12 pts, 9 boards, 4 assists) stole the ball and hit a lay up to tie the game at 56-56. Creighton took a foul that they had to give on the next San Diego State possession to bring the clock down to 6.7 seconds. Back-to-back timeouts led to the tension of the game. Then, the Aztecs had one more shot to win the game in regulation. After a shaky inbounds pass, San Diego State got the ball to Trammell who drove on Ryan Nembhard with a floater as time expired, shot was short, but they called a foul for 2 free throws. However, the officials put 1.2 seconds back on the clock. Trammell went to the line to determine the Aztec’s fate. He missed the first one, likely feeling the pressure. Then, he hit the second with one last time for Creighton to win it. Scheierman threw a pass the full length of the court, and it was apparently tipped by San Diego State as regulation expired out of bounds (again). The officials reviewed the play again as if there was additional time and who touched it last. They had to take out a stopwatch to see if the touch and ball out of bounds took the full 1.2 seconds, and they determined it did and the game was over. The Aztecs defy the odds to get to their first Final Four ever.
#5 San Diego State 57 #6 Creighton 56
Midwest Region
The Canes Make History
#5 Miami mainly flew under the radar this season in a weaker than normal ACC, but Coach Larranaga’s bunch has guards and a style that no everyone can match. #2 Texas was rolling with big win in the Big 12 and in the early rounds of the tournament, but the styles are not completely aligned. In the first half, the offenses were on point making big shot after big shot from both squads. The Hurricanes drove the lane hard early and often Jordan Miller leading the charge with 13 points. The Longhorns were hitting 3s at a crazy clip and had several players contributing with Timmy Allen putting in 10 points (16 points on the game). Texas led at half 45-37.
In the second half, Texas continued to score at ease against the Canes’ D. The Longhorns’ Tyrese Hunter (9 points, 5 assists) hit a jumper with 13:30 to go in the game extending the lead to 64-51. At that point, the U had to turn the tide or go back to Corral Gables. Besides a Wooga Popular (16 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists) dunk for Miami both teams went basically scoreless for nearly 3 minutes. Still, Miami scratched and clawed their way back possession by possession. After Texas’s Sir’Jabari Rice’s (15 points) free throws at 8:07, they led by 8, but Miami went on a 9-0 run with Popular, Isaiah Wong (14 points), Nijel Pack (15 points) and Norchad Omier (11 points, 9 rebounds) all scored buckets with Omier completing a 3 point play to take the lead, 73-72 with 5:26 to play. Hunter hit a 3 to answer and grab the lead back, 75-73, but Wong hit a jumper and after a Texas miss, Jordan Miller (27 points, 13 of 13 from the line) hit 2 free throws to take the lead back at 77-75. Rice drove to the cup for a layup to answer with 3:26 remaining. In the final minutes, the Texas guards imploded a bit with turnovers and bad shots, and the Canes just hit all their free throws – 9 of 10 (28 of 32 in the game) over the final in the final minute to ice the game without hitting a single 3 in the second half. Miami reaches their first Final Four in school history, and Coach Larranaga takes his 2nd team to the Final Four.
#5 Miami 88 #2 Texas 81
On to our Pool, for the first time in my 20 years running this pool, we only have 2 people with champions after the Elite 8. With no #1, #2 or #3 Seeds left in the Dance, it has been an incredible run for some of these teams.
Standings After the Elite 8
Time for a few days of rest. We will see history on Saturday.
Da Commish Wegs