What happened in Thursday and Friday's first round

CHARLOTTE — On the same floor seven hours earlier, the athletic, aggressive Mississippi State team that throttled Tennessee last week at the SEC Tournament went down meekly, by 18 points, to middling Michigan State.

On the massive Spectrum Arena video screens high above the Volunteers as they took pregame shots, Kentucky’s desperate and futile fight for its NCAA Tournament life played out for all to see. The crowd let out an “Ohhhhhh” as a long 3-pointer from instant Oakland Golden Grizzlies and American sports legend Jack Gohlke ripped through the net.

Thursday also saw South Carolina lose by 14 to Oregon, making it a bad first full day of NCAA action for the SEC and a good day for Greg Sankey to refrain from telling us how Georgia and Ole Miss deserved opportunities. All these things happened before Rick Barnes’ Vols even had to look into the menacing eyes of the Saint Peter’s mascot, Pete the Peacock.

But this thing isn’t about how your conference does and it isn’t about history, it’s just about how you handle the moment and play. The Midwest Region No. 15 seed Peacocks weren’t capable of giving the No. 2 seed Vols a moment, and the Vols played fine in an 83-49 rout. Two years ago, it was Saint Peter’s that ejected a John Calipari team. That Saint Peter’s team was America’s sweetheart; this one was just Tennessee’s kick-start.

The most important aspect of that was a senior who scored six points. The Vols (25-8) pivot now to No. 7 seed Texas (21-12) on Saturday for a trip to the Sweet 16 in Detroit — after a day of Rick Barnes being asked about his former employer and his mentorship of Texas coach Rodney Terry — and that means an opponent with the size, athleticism and skill to demand Tennessee’s best.

Tennessee’s best requires role players shooting with confidence up and down the lineup. That was the subplot of this game and quickly became the focus, other than not getting anyone hurt — which was jeopardized when both of UT’s centers had scares. Starter Jonas Aidoo went down hard in the first half but returned and was fine. Backup Tobe Awaka had a right leg injury and was listed by UT as “questionable” in the second half, but he returned as well.

Disaster was averted, and neither were guarded by anyone who could match up physically. They weren’t the only Vols who had their way.

Continue reading.

BOCA RATON, Fla. — Dusty May and his assistants carry plates of lasagna to the coaches office on a recent Thursday night. They gather around a conference table to celebrate a win in what’s become a tradition. “Our favorite food,” May says, pausing as assistant Todd Abernathy swings open the refrigerator door, then finishes his buddy’s sentence, “is free.”

The coaches belly up to a conference table and rehash the night’s festivities. Abernathy is required to share what happened to him at UTSA earlier this season. He went to change pregame and realized the slacks he thought he’d packed were shorts. He scrambled to find a pair of pants. Then May found out. This was too good. Abernathy was wearing those shorts. Boss’s orders. The Owls won that night in overtime.

These moments make it feel like not a lot has changed at FAU. May still works out of an office that backs up to a janitor’s closet. Half the time it sounds like a construction zone. “Dental chair,” he says, as some sort of grinding roars on the other side of the wall. Across the parking lot from Baldwin Arena, the players work out in a revamped weight room that used to belong to football. The football team has a state-of-the-art facility down the street that looks straight out of the Power 5. Basketball snuck in there during Christmas break so they could lift together. Before that, they lifted in four different groups in what looks like a closet on the second level of the arena, where a yoga studio used to be.

The Owls still operate like a startup tech company, looking for creative ways to thrive, but a lot has changed. After Florida Atlantic made its miraculous run to the 2023 Final Four, Charles Barkley called it the greatest story in the history of college basketball. “You’ve got Texas Western!” May says. “Obviously, it’s embellished.” But it portended what would come next. Attention. Expectations. Fame. During a 20-game win streak last season, the Owls couldn’t fill their arena. Now, students line up hours before tipoff to get in and there’s tailgating in the parking lot.

This season was supposed to be the fairytale sequel. With transfer portal poachers circling with the lure of NIL dollars, May convinced every eligible player to return. Which he knew would actually be harder than if a few players had bolted.

“(It’d be) much easier for all of us,” he says. “Much safer. Much less risk. There’s a risk for everybody to come back and be expected to be perfect.”

They haven’t been perfect. Outsiders might even label them a slight disappointment. The Owls opened the year ranked No. 10 in the AP poll — and fell out of the rankings last month.

Continue reading.

THE SKIES ABOVE PENNSYLVANIA — After watching four games in Pittsburgh yesterday, I’m off to Brooklyn where, if the travel gods are on my side, I will roll in to Barclays Center in time to catch all four games on Friday and then two more on Sunday, with a side dish of Knicks-Nets in between.

Here’s what I’m looking at from a scouting perspective:

Florida Atlantic vs. Northwestern

My first in-person look at Johnell Davis, who has impressed me when I’ve checked in with the Owls on TV with his potential as an off-ball guard with stellar 51.5/42.5/85.8 shooting splits. He particularly impressed me in the Owls’ win over Arizona, when he scored 35 points, but this would be another data point that his game can scale up against a Power 5 team.

Two other players of interest on FAU are Alijah Martin and Vlad Goldin. Martin is a good athlete who can shoot but is pretty severely undersized for a forward, which is where he plays most of the time; his numbers have also dropped off from a year ago. The media seats at the tournament are a great vantage point to see how much his athleticism pops relative to what he’ll need at the next level.

Goldin is one of the most improved players in college basketball, but that still probably doesn’t add up to his being draftable. He has great hands and NBA size but his questionable mobility at the defensive end and limited explosion on offense will probably make him a two-way or summer league guy. That premise will be tested against Northwestern’s guards.

Finally, Northwestern’s Boo Buie has to be taken at least somewhat seriously as a guard prospect on shooting ability alone. His shooting splits of 44.3 percent on 3s and 85.1 percent from the line demand attention, and they’ve come with him as the main scoring threat. However, teams may be suspicious of a fifth-year player who shot in the mid-30s from 3 before this season.

Connecticut vs. Stetson

Welp, nobody to see here on the 16th-seeded Hatters. Great name, though!

As for UConn, the main event will likely be on Sunday, presuming they advance in a laugher here, but the primary person of interest is Stephon Castle. Because he plays a secondary role as a freshman on a loaded Huskies team, he’s a more difficult scout than some of the other key players in college hoops. Additionally, given the questions about his outside shot, it will be great to see him shoot before the game two more times.

Of course, Connecticut’s entire starting five is draftable. Center Donovan Clingan is a potential lottery pick who might get a relatively fair fight against Goldin on Sunday if FAU advances, and forward Alex Karaban and guards Cam Spencer and Tristen Newton are both worth monitoring as well. Those players are more well-known quantities, however; Castle is the player who has the greatest chance to impact his draft stock for good or bad this weekend.

Duke vs. Vermont

Duke always has multiple prospects and this year is no exception, with big man Kyle Filipowski a possible lottery pick and guard Tyrese Proctor a draftable player either this year or in 2025.

However, the focus of my weekend will be Jared McCain. The combo guard lacks elite size and athleticism, but his shooting could be a difference-maker. The question is whether his splits of 52.3/39.9/86.5 as a freshman are indicative of good shooting talent or special shooting talent; that difference could be the distinction between his being a C.J. McCollum type off-ball guard even at 6-foot-3, and being, as scouts say, “just a guy.”

If Duke gets past the Catamounts on Friday, Filipowski could have a nice test against a big, tough Wisconsin team that has multiple bodies to throw at him. But again, as an upperclassman, there is only so much of an impression that he can make at this point. McCain is the high-variance draft stock here.

Wisconsin vs. James Madison

Finally … yeah. This one is a bit of a scouting black hole. Wisconsin sophomore forward A.J. Storr is the best of a limited crew here, in all likelihood watching him more with a view toward 2025 than the current draft. Seven-footer Steven Crowl is also worth monitoring as a potential third center. The biggest thing from a scouting perspective is that a Wisconsin win would provide a better measuring stick for Duke’s players on Sunday.

There are two Waterford Crystal basketballs, flanked by the 2006 and 2007 NCAA championship trophies, on display at the entrance of Florida’s basketball practice facility. They are conspicuous daily reminders of what the program used to be and what it aspires to be again. Todd Golden, the 38-year-old coach in his second season guiding the Gators, doesn’t hide from that history. He isn’t intimidated by the massive shadow cast over Billy Donovan Court by its namesake.

“The reason I was so excited about this opportunity is when I was playing in college, Florida was winning those back-to-back championships,” Golden says, “and that tradition is something that really resonated with me. It was always a brand that I had a lot of respect for, so when the opportunity to lead this program presented itself, it was a no-brainer for me. Then getting here and understanding the landscape and where the program was, I thought it was really important for us to tie together the success that Billy had, the way his teams were built and the way they played, with what we want to do.”

So one of his first phone calls was to Donovan, who recommended his next call be to Taurean Green, the starting point guard for both of Florida’s national championship teams. After a 14-year professional playing career, Green had gone to work on Donovan’s Chicago Bulls staff. “Billy D talked about how important he was to their team and how good a leader he was,” Golden says. So he hired Green as Florida’s director of player development in 2022.

“If you talk to people about Todd, you’re going to hear a lot of them say, ‘He’s really smart.’ Because he’s really smart, and he really put an emphasis on bringing back somebody from the past,” Green says. “He knows it’s important for the guys to see someone who loves this university and was part of making it great and knows what it takes. … They hear me talk a lot about the winning mentality that gets us back to being Florida basketball.”

What he means by that, what the Gators are trying to recapture, is a rather lofty aspiration. In one 10-season span from 2004-05 to 2013-14, Donovan averaged 28 wins. He won 71.5 percent of his games over 19 years, made 14 NCAA Tournaments, seven Elite Eights, four Final Fours and those two titles.

“That’s a huge part of coming to Florida,” point guard Zyon Pullin says. “Seeing that history, knowing it can be done here, having guys like Taurean on the staff and knowing he’s been there and done that. Everyone is really bought into getting Florida back to what it should be.”

Continue reading.

Charleston vs. Alabama under 173.5 (-110)

Charleston +9.5 (-110) vs. Alabama

College of Charleston has a couple matchup advantages that I think they can expose and slow down this Alabama offense. First, Charleston is a very good offensive rebounding team while Alabama is closer to average. That’s going to help Charleston slow down the fastest team in the country and, well, the best defense against this Alabama offense is not allowing them to have the basketball. Second, Charleston is one of the best at not turning the ball over and Alabama does not have a defense that will turn you over. All this leads to fewer opportunities for Alabama to have the ball and a shorter game.

Worst line to bet: Under 172.5 (-110), +8.5 (-110)

SALT LAKE CITY — Less than two weeks ago, Dayton defeated Virginia Commonweath by overcoming a 17-point deficit. The Flyers never panicked. They defended. They got stops. They stayed composed when things seemed bleak. They made shots when it mattered.

In November, Dayton kicked off the Charleston Classic by defeating LSU. The Flyers trailed by 15 points with nine minutes left. But they defended maniacally down the stretch, started making shots offensively and came back to get one of those nonconference wins the NCAA Tournament selection committee always demands.

The seventh-seeded Flyers seemingly shrugged their collective shoulders after Thursday’s 63-60 first-round win over 10th-seeded Nevada to advance to the round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament. The celebration at the final buzzer was wild. The jubilation of surviving and advancing in the Big Dance was palpable. But, while they stunned almost everyone with the ferocity and audacity of a huge rally, they didn’t surprise themselves.

“In those moments, that’s when we get the closest,” Dayton guard Koby Brea said. “I think we’ve been in those situations a couple of times this year, so when we do get in those situations we are comfortable. When we look at our captain, our coach, we see that he’s not worried. We see that he believes in us and that he believes in everyone from the last player on the bench. In those moments, we believe in each other and we trust each other.”

On a Thursday largely devoid of truly great games, Dayton and Nevada provided perhaps the game of the day not named Kentucky and Oakland. But it wouldn’t have reached that point without the Flyers rising from the proverbial dead. In simple terms, they looked done. They weren’t playing well or making shots. They weren’t getting stops on the other end, leading to Nevada guard Kenan Blackshear getting almost anything he wanted.

With seven minutes remaining, Nevada led 56-39, almost penciling in Saturday’s potential second-round matchup against No. 2 seed Arizona, which defeated Long Beach State earlier in the day. But, in that timeout huddle, Dayton’s players took note of head coach Anthony Grant. While the Delta Center crowd buzzed with Nevada fans, while the Dayton assistants barked instructions, Grant was calm. He drew up what he wanted to run beyond the timeout, and he told his guys to take the game one possession at a time.

What Grant knew was that his star, potential NBA first-round pick DaRon Holmes II, hadn’t played well to that point. What he also knew was that his team wasn’t shooting well and that the law of averages was bound to come to their side at some point. Of course, even by those metrics, not many could foreshadow Dayton scoring 24 of the final 28 points of the game. That part was insane. But Grant and his team knew they were capable of making a run to at least give themselves a chance in the final moments.

Continue reading.

PITTSBURGH — They sat at opposite ends of a cramped locker room, each contemplating the winding path that brought them here. It hasn’t gone the way either expected, but they made peace with that long ago.

Jermaine Couisnard loved South Carolina. He remains close with members of the strength and training staffs and still goes back to campus in the summer to see old friends. He had no intention of leaving the Gamecocks, until Frank Martin was fired in March 2022. Now he’s at Oregon, an Indiana kid in the Pacific Northwest by way of the Southeast.

“Look at the distance,” he said. “Super far. Crazy.”

N’Faly Dante wasn’t supposed to still be here. He was a top-15 recruit nationally in the Class of 2020 who reclassified to 2019, the same class that produced James Wiseman, Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Maxey. All of them are completing their fourth seasons in the NBA, and Edwards has already made two All-Star games. Dante expected to be playing alongside them. He expected to be at Oregon one year, two at the most. He was going to use his NBA money to build his mother a home in his native Mali.

“The way I planned it was not this,” Dante said. “But Allah always provides his own way. Allah made it this way. I trust Allah.”

Dante was on the floor watching Couisnard punish his former team with a career-high 40 points in 11th-seeded Oregon’s 87-73 win over 6th-seeded South Carolina in Thursday’s Midwest Region first round. It was the most points for any Oregon player in an NCAA Tournament game, and it came three weeks after Couisnard scored 39, his previous high, in a loss to Arizona three weeks ago.

There aren’t many players left at South Carolina that Couisnard played with, but Jacobi Wright is one of them. After Wright made an early 3-pointer and shouted “Cash!” Couisnard’s ears perked up.

“That’s what got me going,” Couisnard said. “I’m a competitor, and that’s a guy that I kind of mentored when I was there. So once he hit a 3 and he got to talking … That’s my little brother, though. It was nothing personal.”

Continue reading.

A rare 11-versus-14 matchup awaits on Saturday. And history favors NC State.

OMAHA, Neb. — As the buzzer sounded, the victorious Duquesne Dukes darted toward the press table and hopped on top. They looked out at their contingent of fans, many of whom hadn’t sat for more than a few seconds during the Dukes’ first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1977.

Freshman Jakub Necas, all 6-foot-8 of him, lifted his arms and let out a cathartic yell. The freshman from Blansco, Czech Republic, was exhausted after playing a career-high 30 minutes and scoring a career-best 12 points during the 11th-seeded Dukes’ 71-67 win against sixth-seeded BYU in the NCAA Tournament first round.

Tired legs be damned, the private Catholic school in Pittsburgh had won its first game in the tournament since 1969. Duquesne’s head coach, Keith Dambrot, announced Monday he will retire after the season. They weren’t going to waste a minute of this celebration.

“This was a great gift for the fans,” Necas said. “We wanted to celebrate with them and enjoy the moment. … I am tired. Later, I’ll celebrate by going to bed.”

The Dukes are a roster with players looking for second chances led by Dambrot, who has spent years working toward and hoping to have found his own career redemption. Dambrot was fired from Central Michigan in the early 1990s when he asked his team if he could, and then did, use a racial slur while addressing his team. His players at the time had backed him in a lawsuit against the school and supported him after the university terminated him. But at 34 years old, he was out of coaching.

He ran skills clinics in Akron, Ohio, on Sundays for $1 per person at the Jewish Community Center. There he’d meet a 12-year-old boy, Little Dru as Dambrot still calls Dru Joyce III, who is now the associate head coach at Duquesne.

On Thursday, Joyce stood across the locker room, his arms crossed as he watched these players — who could become his players should he be named the team’s next head coach. He’s as close to Dambrot as anyone. Dambrot would coach Joyce as a high schooler at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, where he was joined by teammate LeBron James. Dambrot credits Joyce and James for helping give him and his career another chance.

Continue reading.

Jamal Shead, Houston: The Big 12 Player of the Year, 13.1 points, 3.8 rebounds and 6.2 assists in his fourth year in Houston. He became the first player in Big 12 history to win both Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season.

Zach Edey, Purdue: Edey, 7-foot-4, averaged 24.4 points, 11.7 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game and is the reigning AP Player of the Year.

Mark Sears, Alabama: The Crimson Tide star was tied for first in scoring in the SEC at 21.1 points per game. When Sears gets going, he can put up big numbers in a hurry like he did in December when he scored 35 on Purdue.

Tristen Newton, UConn: Newton put the nation on notice a year ago when he was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four. His success continued as he was named a First Team All-American with averages of 15.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists.

Ja’Kobe Walter, Baylor: The Big 12 Rookie of the Year has arguably been the most consistent freshman in the country and will be a lottery pick in a few months. Walter averaged 14.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.

No. 8 Florida Atlantic vs. No. 9 Northwestern, 12:15 p.m., CBS (Brooklyn)

No. 3 Baylor vs. No. 14 Colgate, 12:40 p.m., truTV (Memphis)

No. 5 San Diego State vs. No. 12 UAB, 1:45 p.m., TNT (Spokane)

No. 2 Marquette vs. No. 15 Western Kentucky, 2 p.m., TBS (Indianapolis)

No. 1 UConn vs. No. 16 Stetson, 2:45 p.m., CBS (Brooklyn)

No. 6 Clemson vs. No. 11 New Mexico, 3:10 p.m., truTV (Memphis)

No. 4 Auburn vs. No. 13 Yale, 4:15 p.m., TNT (Spokane)

No. 7 Florida vs. No. 10 Colorado, 4:30 p.m., TBS (Indianapolis)

No. 8 Nebraska vs. No. 9 Texas A&M, 6:50 p.m., TNT (Memphis)

No. 4 Duke vs. No. 13 Vermont, 7:10 p.m., TNT (Brooklyn)

No. 1 Purdue vs. No. 16 Grambling, 7:25 p.m., CBS (Indianapolis)

No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 13 Charleston, 7:35 p.m., TBS (Spokane)

No. 1 Houston vs. No. 16 Longwood, 9:20 p.m., TNT (Memphis)

No. 5 Wisconsin vs. No. 12 James Madison, 9:40 p.m., CBS (Brooklyn)

No. 8 Utah State vs. No. 9 TCU, 9:55 p.m., TBS (Indianapolis)

No. 5 Saint Mary’s vs. No. 12 Grand Canyon, 10:05 p.m., truTV (Spokane)

SALT LAKE CITY — Kansas survived an upset bid no one will soon forget, coming in the form of a Samford team and coach that left the court entirely drained and totally dejected.

A controversial late foul call on what appeared to be a clean block by Samford’s AJ Staton-McCray with 14.7 seconds left will forever stay with the Bulldogs. They trailed by two at the time and allowed a run-out against coach Bucky McMillan’s patented pressing defense. Kansas guard Nicolas Timberlake went up for an open layup but was met at the rim by Staton-McCray. The foul call resulted in two free throws and a four-point Kanas lead.

Samford, having come back from a 22-point second-half deficit, couldn’t close the gap all the way. The fourth-seeded Jayhawks survived 93-89 to advance to a second-round date with Gonzaga.

While the controversial call will get the attention, both teams deserve loads of credit. Kansas encountered the brand of game known as Bucky Ball — McMillan’s, swarming, pressing, running, 3-point shooting style — and executed enough to stay alive. The Jayhawks shot 60.3 percent from the field, mostly on dunks and layups. They scored 93 points while only making six 3s. They were dicey all night from the free-throw line, going 17-for-27, but made enough in the closing minutes.

Hunter Dickinson was overwhelming. The senior center scored 19 points, grabbed 20 rebounds, handed out five assists and blocked four shots. KJ Adams added 20, while all five KU starters scored double-figures.

Samford, meanwhile, left nothing in the tank. The pressing defense forced Kansas into 18 turnovers, matching its season-high, on one end, while the Bulldogs made 16 of 37 3s on the other. Achor Achor led Samford with 23 points, including a one-handed dunk in the closing minute that sent Delta Center into a frenzy. Jaden Campbell added 18.

Samford’s style, its grit, and the potential of a blue-blood upset turned Salt Lake City into a western Homewood, Ala. The environment went from sleepy to unhinged in a matter of about 15 minutes as the Bulldogs made their late push.

Kansas and Gonzaga will be a premier matchup in the second round, lining up two schools with a combined 36 Sweet 16 appearances.

Major controversy in the final moments of Kansas-Samford. The Jayhawks were up 90-89 with 15 seconds to go and Nicolas Timberlake went in for a dunk. Samford's A.J. Slaton-McCray came from behind and appeared to block Timberlake cleanly but the referees called a foul. He sank both free throws and clinched the game for Kansas.

The 11 seeds are 3-0 so far: Duquesne, Oregon and NC State. The final 11 seed plays on Friday: New Mexico against No. 6 seed Clemson. And the Lobos are favored to win that one.