What happened in Thursday and Friday's first round

PITTSBURGH — 14th-seeded Akron look to have Creighton on the ropes, but the Bluejays closed the half on an 8-0 run to lead 39-34 at halftime. Some scouting notes from the first half:

• Ryan Kalkbrenner has to be more physical defending the post. We saw this a year ago when he got destroyed by Arizona’s Oumar Ballo in Maui; today against 6-foot-7 Enrique Freeman he’s still had trouble getting stops one-on-one. Having a 6-foot-7 guy repeatedly back him down for buckets isn’t a great look for his hopes at the next level.

• Baylor Scheierman’s shot is perhaps a little flatter than you’d prefer, but his size and shooting will make him a threat at the next level. Can he do enough other stuff to say on the floor? He’s looked flustered any time he’s had to handle the ball against pressure today; Akron’s ball pressure in general has been a big story. More importantly, can we talk about that haircut?

• Trey Alexander is really comfortable snaking pick-and-rolls and/or keeping his defender in jail to get a pull-up, but you still want to see a little more explosion getting by people and all the way to the cup. He needs to make life easier for himself by adding more layups to his shot mix; he had one clear iso situation this half where he was forced into a difficult jumper.

• Freeman is going to be an interesting summer league/training camp guy for next year, a 6-foot-7 center who can’t possibly play that spot at the next level, but might have enough hidden perimeter skill to get by as a combo forward.

CHARLOTTE — Don’t look now, but here comes the Michigan State team that many had picked in the top-5 back in the preseason. The Spartans didn’t just beat Mississippi State 69-51 on Thursday; Tom Izzo’s team crushed the Bulldogs, leading for the entire 40 minutes and looking as polished as they have at any point this season.

MSU made 10 3-pointers — its most in a game since a Feb. 20 loss to Iowa — and its sensational guard play was a difference all day.

It potentially sets up a fascinating round of 32 matchup with North Carolina, too, assuming the No. 1 seed in the West can take care of No. 16 Wagner. Michigan State assistant Doug Wojcik used to be an assistant at North Carolina, and Doug’s son, Paxson, is a graduate wing for the Tar Heels.

Doug even has the scout on UNC for Saturday’s game. Doug helped recruit current UNC assistant coach Sean May — who won MOP of the 2005 Final Four — back when he was in Chapel Hill, so the connections run deep here.

CHARLOTTE – If this is the Michigan State that’s going to come to play Saturday at Spectrum Center, the Spartans have to be taken seriously in that game.

Presumably, they will be taking on West Region No. 1 seed North Carolina in the round of 32, if North Carolina takes care of No. 16 seed Wagner in a game that starts in a few minutes. The No. 9 seed Spartans handled No. 8 seed Mississippi State impressively in the first game of the round of 64, rolling 69-51 behind 19 points from Tyson Walker and 15 from Jaden Akins.

Those two were 6-for-13 combined from 3-point range on a 10-for-23 day (40.9 percent) for the Spartans. Getting efficient shooting from those two is as much a necessity as anything for this team if it wants to advance. MSU shot 27-for-54 from the field as a team, carving up Chris Jans’ pressuring zone with layups and open corner looks.

And the Spartans actually followed the obvious defensive scouting report in the second half — don’t give Bulldogs freshman star Josh Hubbard an inch of space.

Hubbard kept his team in the game in the first half with 13 points on 5-for-9 shooting. In the second? He was 1-for-9 for two points. And most of those were forces from extra long range with a defender in his face.

This is where Tom Izzo is at his best, the second day of an NCAA Tournament weekend with the short turnaround. The Spartans are 24-7 under Izzo in such games. Izzo is now 56-24 (.700) overall in the NCAA Tournament, third among active coaches in percentage behind John Calipari (48-19, .716) and Bill Self (52-21. 712). He is tops among active coaches in total NCAA wins.

PITTSBURGH — Akron is right in the game, and star forward Enrique Freeman is leading the upset-minded Zips.

At halftime, Creighton leads 39-34. Freeman has 15 points, 8 rebounds, 1 block and 1 steal.

Creighton coach Doug McDermott spoke Wednesday about Freeman's athleticism and ability to attack from different angles, and both have been on display. Though Creighton has a size advantage across the board and a signficant one in the post matchup between Freeman and Creighton center Ryan Kalkenbrenner, Freeman has found space in and out of the paint.

Freeman is 6-foot-7, 206. Kalkenbrenner is 7-foot-1, 270.

These guys have done this before. Kalkenbrenner entered the game with 814 career rebounds and 296 career blocks.

Freeman entered the game with 1,391 career rebounds and 185 blocks. Freeman blocked one of Kalkbrenner's shots early in the game, but later in the half Kalkbrenner used his size to get a pair of scores over Freeman near the rim.

After one of them, Freeman answered right back with a baby hook. Akron took a 33-31 lead on another Freeman hook shot with just over three minutes left in the half.

Freeman won't apologize for banking in a 3-pointer for Akron's first points, nor should he have to. The former walk-on and the national leader in both rebounds and double-doubles introduced himself nicely to a national audience in the first half.

This is a defensive clinic by Duquesne. Getting into BYU's bodies coming off off-ball action. Cougars have no space anywhere. The pressure and physicality has just had them out of sorts all day.

Dan Monson rode shotgun while his wife, Darci, steered the car down I-15 through the deserts that separate Las Vegas from California. Outside his window, the barren wasteland stretched on to the horizon, offering a view to everywhere and nowhere all at once. The irony of that view was not lost on Monson, who suddenly finds himself on a similar road. He is headed to college basketball paradise, to the first round of the NCAA Tournament. He also is no longer employed by the school he will represent once he gets there.

Long Beach State and Monson parted ways after 17 years a week ago Monday; six days later the Beach completed an improbable three-wins-in-three-days run to capture the Big West tournament and the automatic bid that comes with it. No. 15 Long Beach State will play No. 2 Arizona in the first round of the West Region on Thursday in Salt Lake City. “I guess you could say I’m in the middle of nowhere in a lot of respects,” Monson says as he and Darci cut through Barstow, Calif., racing home to prep for the selection show party they’d host for the players in a few hours. “I’m in a desert in my car and in my career.”

It is a bizarre and yet somehow oddly fitting arc for Monson.

Twenty-five years ago, Monson was the hotshot coach after launching a tiny Jesuit school into the national basketball conversation. In 1999, Gonzaga rolled to the Elite Eight, the first step in what would eventually become one of the most impressive building projects in all of college athletics. Monson, though, wasn’t there to see the seeds he planted blossom. Lured into the Icarus draw of college basketball potential, he jumped for a bigger job, taking over a Minnesota team mired in a massive academic scandal. He thought it made sense, figured the run he took at Gonzaga could easily be recreated with the better resources Minnesota offered.

He managed to scrub the Gophers’ image, but not find the success the school wanted. He resigned in 2007, at the start of his eighth season, while Mark Few and Gonzaga made their ninth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance (the streak will reach its 25th season this week). He wound up at Long Beach State which, like Minnesota, needed a clean-up job. The NCAA hit the Beach with three years’ probation for infractions committed by Monson’s predecessor. He found a good life there, stretching his stay to 17 years, a veritable lifetime in a profession that typically has the shelf life of a browning banana.

But nothing lasts forever in college sports. Two years ago, then-athletic director Andy Fee talked about a contract extension, but then Fee left for a position at the University of Washington in August 2022. His replacement, Bobby Smitheran, came aboard this August, while Monson’s contract was nearing its end.

After an 18-9 start, the Beach lost its last five games of the regular season, limping into the conference tournament at 18-14. After the final loss, to UC Davis on March 9, Monson texted Smitheran to set up a meeting. He understood the program might need a new voice, and recognized perhaps a change would do him good, too. He offered to resign after the tournament, but Smitheran said he preferred it happen immediately. Monson said he didn’t want to quit on his team, so they agreed Monson would coach them through the conference tourney, but announce the decision immediately.

Continue reading.

Mississippi State hasn’t led in its game against Michigan State, and it’s on the verge of being blown out and eliminated in the first game of the tournament.

The Spartans’ largest lead is 17 points, and they lead by 16 (66-50) as the game nears the final media timeout of the second half.

With Arizona and Long Beach State tipping off, we've reached the "four games at once" portion of the day.

Enjoy.

OMAHA, Neb. — Chippy moment here as Duquesne and BYU get rolling in the second half. Both players going for the ball, referee ends up in the middle of it.

After review it's a double tech. Both coaches came off the bench to help de-escalate and walk players back.

Our staff picks for No. 2 Arizona vs. No. 15 Long Beach State:

• Nicole Auerbach: Arizona
• John Hollinger: Arizona
• Brendan Marks: Arizona
• Austin Mock: Arizona
• Joe Rexrode: Arizona

No. 2 seed, West Region

Opponent/time/TV: Long Beach State, 2 p.m., TBS

Team in 16 words: The most balanced team in Tommy Lloyd’s tenure. Can score, have a go-to guy, are improved defensively.

Record: 25-8 (15-5 Pac-12)

Coach: Tommy Lloyd (2-2 in NCAA Tournament)

Player to watch: Caleb Love (Pac-12 Player of the Year)

Numbers:

BetMGM title odds: +1200

Sweet 16 projected chance: 64.2 percent

Final Four projected chance: 26.1 percent

Strengths: The Wildcats have been a terrific offensive team in all three seasons under Tommy Lloyd. Caleb Love can be erratic, but he transferred in from North Carolina and filled a major need of a guard who can go get a bucket. Arizona has no shortage of experience, and added another transfer in Keshad Johnson who has Final Four experience from a year ago at San Diego State.

Weaknesses: When point guard Kylan Boswell doesn’t play well, it usually results in a loss for the ‘Cats. In their eight losses, Boswell shot 21 percent from the field and averaged 4.8 points per game. And Arizona doesn’t have another true point guard when Boswell is struggling. There’s also the concern of when Love struggles, he can really struggle.

Outlook: Lloyd has a team capable of getting to the Final Four, but it depends on the guard tandem of Love and Boswell. If they play well, Arizona can beat anyone in the country because Pelle Larsson is a terrific role player, Johnson is a terrific defender and Oumar Ballo is one of the better big men in the country. But it’s truly up to the consistency of Love and Boswell.

— Jeff Goodman

PITTSBURGH — Shot making has been a problem for Akron much of the season. The Zips shot 33 percent from 3 and their 8.1 3s per game ranked 112th in the country.

But they've gotten great looks early against Creighton and have already made five 3s within the game's first nine minutes.

CHARLOTTE — Hello, Jaden Akins! The first poster dunk of the NCAA Tournament — possibly the first highlight of this postseason — belongs to the 6-foot-4 Michigan State guard, who just took off from a few feet outside the paint and absolutely slammed one on Mississippi State’s Josh Hubbard.

Akins has been hugely important for Tom Izzo’s team so far today, with 12 points, four rebounds, and most importantly, two of the Spartans’ six made 3-pointers.

The Bulldogs have broken out a full-court press in the second half at times, which has given AJ Hoggard some issues, but Akins stepping up has negated some of that game pressure. Akins came into today having only scored double-digit points in two of his last six games.

No. 15 seed, West Region

Opponent, time, TV: Arizona, 2 p.m., TBS

Team in 16 words: With their coach already fired, The Beach thrived off turnovers and second chances to sneak in.

Record: 21-14 (10-10 Big West)

Coach: Dan Monson (3-3 in NCAA Tournament)

Player to watch: Marcus Tsohonis (first-team All-Big West)

Numbers:

BetMGM title odds: +100000

Sweet 16 projected chance: 1.4 percent

Final Four projected chance: 0.1 percent

Outlook: Coach Dan Monson, effectively canned just before the Big West Tournament by the school’s athletic director, is laughing last. Soaking up the sunshine, The Beach — with Monson still coaching — played inspired ball and propelled themselves into the Field of 68. Shocking.

Long Beach stands out by applying on-ball pressure and snagging offensive boards. Over the regular season’s final month, The Beach forced a turnover on nearly 19 percent of opponent possessions. They grabbed an offensive rebound nearly 35 percent of the time. The Big West reps hung with San Diego State in November, their only encounter with an NCAA Tournament team this year. Energized by Monson’s dismissal, they could scare a big boy, provided they limit turnover mistakes and continue to generate ample additional opportunities.

— Brad Evans