What happened in the NCAA Men's Tournament Sweet 16

DALLAS — A funny moment during NC State’s open practice Thursday morning. Guard Michael O’Connell banked in a 3-pointer during a drill, which caused the entire NC State team to roar.

Why was this shot so special? Everyone realized it was the same spot on the court where O’Connell banked in a 3 to send the ACC tournament semifinal against Virginia into overtime a few weeks ago.

The Wolfpack weren’t supposed to be here. They wouldn’t have made the NCAA Tournament if not for O’Connell’s prayer and the run of five wins in five days. Now they’re in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2015, having won seven consecutive games after four consecutive losses. Did they just get hot at the right time?

“I don’t think you can win seven games in a row in college basketball if that’s not your identity,” coach Kevin Keatts said. “I think that’s what tells us who we are.”

NC State players were loose and smiling during their Thursday practice. They teased each other and grabbed jerseys. For a team full of transfers, including all five starters, it might have taken more time for everyone to click together, just in time. Keatts pointed to a foreign trip that helped the 2022-23 team bond. This one didn’t have that, so it took more time to come together. At least that’s what the coach says.

“I think it’s always been there,” forward D.J. Burns said. “I don’t think that we treat each other differently now. Everyone is paying attention because we’re winning. That’s what winning does. It’s going to seem like you’re a little closer together when you are winning. Don’t get me wrong, we’re still building great memories, but I think we mixed well from the team we got together. I think by November we had a pretty good chemistry going.”

BOSTON — It’s important for San Diego State to not get hung up on last year’s loss to Connecticut in the national championship game. But not getting hung up is one thing. Not forgetting is something else. And the Aztecs have not forgotten.

“(It’s) definitely a blessing to be here in the Sweet 16 again,” Lamont Butler said. “To be able to play UConn again is great too. They took us down last year, so we definitely want some revenge back a little bit.”

Our staff picks for No. 1 UConn versus No. 5 San Diego State:

• John Hollinger: Connecticut
• Austin Mock: Connecticut
• Joe Rexrode: Connecticut
• Sam Vecenie: Connecticut

It’s taken almost three years for the answer to become apparent.

Rewind the clock that far, back to Hubert Davis’ introductory press conference as North Carolina’s head coach. What stands out? Maybe, even still, the shock of his predecessor’s retirement: Roy Williams abruptly calling it a career only days earlier, on (of all dates) April Fool’s. Or maybe you remember Davis’ crisp plaid suit — or more likely, the small circular pin he wore on the left lapel, black save for three capital, Carolina blue letters: DES, for Dean Edwards Smith, Davis’ college coach. But more than anything? What stood out then, and still endures today, was the guiding philosophy Davis outlined.

“I’ve always wanted to walk the same road, the same path, as Coach Smith and Coach (Bill) Guthridge and Coach Williams,” Davis said then. “I’m so excited and humbled and thankful and appreciative and excited to be able to do it — with my own personality, and in my own shoes.”

The obvious follow-up question, then:

How would Davis do that?

How about like this? Davis, holding his wife Leslie’s hand, exiting Spectrum Center on Saturday, this time in a different baby blue sport coat… but wearing that same DES pin. They hugged the far side of a winding concrete hallway, weaving through throngs of reporters, headed for the team bus back to Chapel Hill — and beyond that, to the Sweet 16 in Los Angeles, where they will play No. 4 seed Alabama in Thursday’s West Regional semifinal. It’s the second time in three seasons Davis has led his alma mater this deep into the NCAA Tournament.

Only three other coaches in UNC’s illustrious history have done that: Smith, the patriarch of the program, who won two national titles and retired as the winningest coach in men’s college hoop history; Guthridge, Smith’s longtime assistant and eventual successor, who — as Davis is attempting to follow — went to two Final Fours in his first three seasons; and Williams, a three-time title-winner and the person who vouched hardest for him to get this position.

Understandably, Davis wanted to follow in their footsteps.

But doing so was always going to be harder than just hoping it happened.

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DALLAS — Little can be gleaned from a 15-minute window into a much longer workout. But if the beginning of Duke’s practice session at American Airlines Center is any indication, the Blue Devils are a pretty loose bunch ahead of their Sweet 16 matchup against top-seeded Houston.

Who knows if this is the norm for No. 4 seed Duke, but amid the light-hearted banter and a couple of over-the-head passes during drills, I lost count of the “Whoo!” and “Ball! Ball!” shouts from freshman guard Jared McCain, a player who has upped his draft stock with his recent play according to our John Hollinger.

Big games are nothing new for Duke as a program; it certainly looks like nerves won’t be an issue against the Cougars, but we'll see.

BOSTON — Even before the season began, people associated with the Connecticut basketball program understood the commuting bonus that would come their way by being the top seed in the tournament: Opening round games at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., which is about a three-hour, 15-minute drive from Storrs, Conn., and the East Regional at Boston’s TD Garden, a drive that can be made in less than two hours.

“We hope the crowd (at TD Garden) can be a Storrs North for us,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said. “Maybe feel a little but like MSG does for us when we play there.

“We’ve earned that by the season that we’ve had. This wasn’t some gift by the committee to try to make it as easy as possible for us. We’ve earned our position.”

There is, of course, one small problem: Games close to home mean more requests for tickets. And more requests for tickets mean needing to say “sorry” to some people.

Who handles that?

“My mom,” Alex Karaban said. “She’s been helping me a lot with the tickets. She’s telling people yes and no.

“She’s got all the power who can come or not.”

DETROIT — The ultimate challenge of preparing for Purdue is looking at anything other than Zach Edey. The 7-foot-4 center is the sun and the moon and the stars.

“He’s an entity that you just don't see,” said Gonzaga coach Mark Few on Thursday.

But at least Few and the Zags, have, in fact, seen Edey and his Boilermakers before. For better or worse, they know exactly what they’re getting into in Friday night’s Sweet 16 matchup. The two powers faced off in each of the last two seasons. The Boilers won 73-63 this season in Hawaii and last season in Portland, 84-66.

Edey was, of course, dominant both times around.

• Nov. 12, 2023 — 33 minutes, 25 points, 8-16 FGs, 9-10 FTs, 14 rebounds (4 offensive), 3 blocks, 0 fouls
• Nov. 25, 2022 — 31 minutes, 23 points, 10-16 FGs, 3-6 FTs, 7 rebounds (3 offensive), 3 blocks, 2 fouls

“I’ve been doing this a long, long, long time, and you just have never dealt with something like Zach, that size but yet that good of a player,” Few said. “He's really developed his touch. His ball goes in now. It's very soft. Great passer if you choose to double-team him. Shoots free throws really, really well. Obviously at that size, really impacts the game on the defensive end.”

The question Few will have to answer, like everyone else encountering Edey, is to send help or to not send help. Edey’s passing ability opens the door for a potential barrage of 3s from the Boiler guards. This is, perhaps, the ultimate difference between this year’s Purdue team and the one already home in West Lafayette, Ind., by this time last year. That team shot 32.2 percent from the perimeter, ranking 276th nationally, and going 5-for-26 on that day of infamy against Fairleigh Dickinson. This year’s Boilers? They lead the country in 3-point shooting at a steamy 40.9 percent. They went 20-for-47 in two NCAA Tournament wins last week in Indianapolis.

“I think they're most dangerous when they're making a bunch of 3s,” Few said.

Gonzaga does not have a player on the roster over 6-foot-10. Graham Ike, at 6-9, will have some primary duties on Edey.

Ike fouled out of three games this season, against Kentucky and twice against Santa Clara, a WCC team trotting out two 7-footers of its own. In postseason games this season, he was whistled for four fouls in both conference tournament games, had a clean sheet in an opening NCAA Tournament matchup with McNeese State and three fouls against Kansas.

Ike’s plan against Edey?

“Just try to stay legal, try to keep the physicality up as much as possible, as much as the refs will allow me to, and meet him early,” Ike said Thursday. “That's about it. Just trust my teammates they'll have my back with good ball pressure, good communication on the floor."

Good luck with that.

East Regional, Thursday, 7:39 p.m., TBS/truTV

Perhaps this seems low for the rematch of last year’s national title game. Though the proud Aztecs will be highly motivated, this season’s team hasn’t been quite as good as last year’s — and UConn appears just as dominant, if not more so. San Diego State has especially struggled to make shots in recent weeks, with the rather notable exception of Sunday’s win over Yale in which they suddenly couldn’t miss against the Ivy boys. It will take something like that to stay close to this Huskies group, which has too many answers everywhere for opponents to just muck things up. All-America big man Jaedon LeDee will be giving up height to Donovan Clingan, but not even Cling Kong can match him in the muscles department. Once the novelty of seeing these two teams on the same floor again wears off, we could well be left watching yet another UConn strangulation. “We’re bulletproof,” Dan Hurley said Sunday night. Sure seems that way.

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Arizona, which beat Long Beach State in the first round, held off Dayton 78-68 to reach the Sweet 16 against Clemson. The Wildcats’ quick pace and defensive length gave the Flyers fits. Caleb Love, the team’s leading scorer, scored 13 points in the first 12 minutes and finished with a team-high 19. Pelle Larsson, Keshad Johnson and Jaden Bradley also reached double figures in scoring.

Seed: 2

Record: 27-8

Games:

No. 15 Long Beach State, 85-65

No. 7 Dayton, 78-68

LOS ANGELES — Caleb Love and North Carolina will be in the same building this week, and that meant cameras and recorders swarming the now-Arizona star during all 30 minutes of open locker room access Thursday.

It also meant coming away somewhat disappointed if you expected Love to talk about a possible Elite Eight matchup with his former team.

“I’m focused on Clemson,” Love said, elaborating no further.

The Pac-12 Player of the Year couldn’t avoid reliving a little bit of his time in Chapel Hill, though he didn’t comment on whether he even had the option to return to North Carolina if he wanted to. He alluded to “a lot of extra stuff I went through that I didn’t deserve” — read: fan criticism — and reiterated how one year in Tucson has, so far, rewritten narratives.

“I can hear with a clean sheet of paper,” Love said. “I’m grateful for (the coaches). They kind of revamped me as a player.”

West Regional, Thursday, 7:09 p.m., CBS

Clemson beat tournament teams Alabama, South Carolina, TCU, UAB and Boise State in nonconference play before having some stumbles in the (apparently pretty good!) ACC. So, yeah, the Tigers are legit and should provide a good test for Arizona. Brad Brownell can stretch the floor with his bigs, which could make for a challenging matchup for Wildcats center Oumar Ballo, who lives in drop coverage. The Tigers should also be very familiar with Caleb Love — both the good and bad versions — from his time at UNC.

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LOS ANGELES — Wednesday marked the fourth anniversary of Nate Oats being named Alabama’s men’s basketball coach. Since, then the Crimson Tide have made the Sweet 16 in every NCAA Tournament they’ve appeared in … except one.

And Oats has not forgotten a big reason why: Cormac Ryan.

“That was not one of our better NCAA Tournament games,” Oats said Wednesday. “He killed us.”

As it happens, Ryan is in a different uniform but standing in the way again on Thursday, as the fourth-leading scorer for No. 1 seed North Carolina. He was with Notre Dame in 2022 when he dropped 29 points on Alabama — including shooting 7-for-9 from 3-point range — and Oats tried the “if we can’t stop him, recruit him” plan by wooing Ryan when he entered the transfer portal last offseason.

“The kid destroys you like that, it would be good to add him to the roster,” Oats said. “He picked another pretty good basketball program, and here we go. We’ve got to try to figure out how to stop him a second time.”

LOS ANGELES — Because he is a walk-on, and because the NCAA Tournament is not always a busy time for walk-ons, Will Kuykendall naturally had some time last weekend to scroll through TikTok. When he did, a familiar but long-lost sound greeted him.

The theme song to the Disney Channel classic “Liv and Maddie.”

The Arizona freshman turned the volume up. His teammates started singing along. Thus Kuykendall decided it: It was time to make a video. The Wildcats, lip-synching to the tune. As of Wednesday afternoon? The video had more than 300,000 likes. For Arizona, this is no longer merely a trip to the West Region semifinals.

It is, in fact, a Sweet 16-a-Rooney.

“It’s crazy,” Kuykendall said, shortly after arriving at Crypto.com Arena with the rest of the Wildcats. “I don’t know if I watched ‘Liv and Maddie,’ but I know my sisters did. But then when (the team) started signing, I was like, I did not know everybody knows ‘Liv and Maddie.’ Especially some of the foreign guys. It’s funny, right?”

It is. It very much is.

For the uninitiated, “Liv and Maddie” ran from 2013-17 and starred Dove Cameron as both titular twins: Liv and Maddie Rooney, the former an actress returning home to life in Stevens Point, Wisc., and the latter a tomboy who stayed home and became — spoiler alert! — a basketball star. Hence the opening lyrics to “Better in Stereo,” the song that opens every episode:

I'm up with the sunshine/

I lace up my high tops/

Slam dunk, ready or not/

Yeah, show me what you got

Arizona mainstays Keshad Johnson, Kylan Boswell and Jaden Bradley are among those who participated in Kuykendall’s project, although as the auteur notes, pretty much everyone in the locker room is at least somewhat familiar with the show. “I’ve seen a couple episodes, but that was all Will’s idea,” Bradley said Wednesday. “He just told us what to say. My part probably took like two or three takes. I wasn’t great at it. But I’m working on it.”

And now thanks to the numbers — “It’s going viral right now,” Bradley said. “Got people texting me with laughing emojis, everything” — the Wildcats have an emboldened would-be influencer and content creator at the end of the bench.

“It’s hilarious to us,” Boswell said. “He’s getting a little clout now. He thinks he’s trying to become like Jared (McCain) or something.”

West Regional, Thursday, approx. 9:40 p.m., CBS

We’d be more excited about this matchup if we weren’t still haunted by the affront to basketball that was the four-overtime disaster these two teams staged in the 2022 Phil Knight Invitational. Or … whatever that Bama-Grand Canyon second-round game was supposed to be. But that’s the Crimson Tide; they play fast, sometimes too fast, and hope the math of their shot selection prevails through the chaos. North Carolina, which showed some impressive spurtability against Michigan State, won’t be afraid to grab and go either. Unless Alabama has a great night shooting 3s — always possible! — the Tar Heels seem to have much more depth … and rationality.

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