The first weekend of the NCAA Tournament invariably claims big-name victims.
Single-elimination basketball is unpredictable. On a given day, just about any team can shoot lights out. Even the very best teams can go stone cold. Emotions run high at the Big Dance, adding fuel to the momentum shifts within games.
If college games ran 48 minutes in regulation time, like in the NBA, there would not be nearly as many upsets. But 40 minutes can fly by in a hurry.
Time ran out on Kentucky against No. 14 seed Oakland. Time ran out on Auburn against No. 12 seed Yale. This year it was the Southeastern Conference’s turn to feel extra pain.
South Carolina, a No. 6 seed, took a powder in its opener against No. 11 seed Oregon. No, 7 seed Florida fell to No. 10 seed Colorado. Mississippi State, a No, 8 seed, was a no-show against No. 9 seed Michigan State.
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Tipsheet believed Auburn had the depth to power through early adversity in the tournament, but foul trouble and the ejection of Chad Baker-Mazara left the Tigers vulnerable to a stunning defeat.
“You know, it’s tough to reflect on the season when you just go through one of the most disappointing losses in your career,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “This is the biggest upset in NCAA tournament that I think I’ve experienced. I’m glad we lost to a really good team in Yale.
“But Auburn had a historic year. We were picked in the middle of our league, we wound up being one game out of first in the regular season, we got hot late. The last game we lost, I think, was at Tennessee three weeks ago — I mean, four weeks. I mean, this team has done so many great things.
“So I’m very proud of ’em. Like these guys said, they got along really, really well together. They made history. This is the fourth different team at Auburn that has won a championship in the last seven years; two regular season, two tournaments. They represented Auburn really well.”
That’s great, but at Pearl’s level teams are judged by success or failure at the NCAA Tournament. This loss will leave a permanent mark, just as losing to Oakland stained Kentucky coach John Calipari.
Elsewhere in the tournament, injury-depleted Kansas got some help from the officials to avoid losing to No. 13 seed Samford, but the Jayhawks couldn’t get past Gonzaga.
Like Pearl and Calipari, Jayhawks coach Bill Self faces bigger challenges in college basketball’s new competitive environment. Everybody can buy players now, not just programs wedded to sneaker companies working in the shadows, and the unrestricted transfers in today’s game force every team to rebuild every year.
Self knew he didn’t have enough talent this year to make a deep run.
“I think for the last month, I've been thinking about next season, to be honest,” Self said. “Not in the moments during the game, but obviously, we played -- we had eight guys on scholarship, and we play -- I mean, that were healthy there late. Injuries are part of the game. That's not an excuse.
“But we could have done a much better job as a staff of putting more guys out there that we could play, and so that's something that I've thought about for a long time. The thing about it is, in basketball, early on you can play through some things. But the course of a season, there's a grind that goes with it and bodies get run down, injuries occur. It's all part of it. When you don't have as much firepower or that maybe you've had in past years, it certainly showed this year.”
Here were a few more things that stood out:
- Forward Mohamad Diarra never really gained footing under Dennis Gates at Missouri. He transferred to North Carolina State and became a key member of a Sweet 16 team. He averages 7.7 rebounds playing 21.5 minutes per game and he pulled 11 boards Saturday as the Pack outlasted Oakland.
- While Auburn and Kansas lacked the depth to persevere through the first weekend, Illinois looked fresh while reaching the Sweet 16. While coach Brad Underwood leans hard on Terrence Shannon Jr, Marcus Domask and Coleman Hawkins, he was able to expand his player rotation to find 25 minutes for energetic guard Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn as his ninth player in the last three games. That may not seem like much, but coming out of the Big Ten Tournament grind it was meaningful.
- With Big East teams UConn, Creighton and Marquette all rolling to the Sweet 16, the tournament selection committee looks idiotic for stiffing Seton Hall, St. Johns and Providence from that league. “Obviously the mistake was made,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said. “It (sinks).”
- Grand Canyon, another No. 12 seed, picked off Saint Mary’s and took a good run at Alabama before bowing out Sunday. Lopes coach Bryce Drew has earned three NCAA Tournament trips in four years after his unhappy run at Vanderbilt, where he got fired after finishing 9-23 in Year 3 in Nashville. Drew is due for another crack at the major college level – and let’s hope he picks his next destination more carefully.
THE BASKETBALL DIARIES
Here is what folks have been writing about March Madness:
Myron Medcalf, ESPN.com: “In 1986, Underwood got his first taste of coaching as a graduate assistant at Hardin-Simmons, a Division III school in Texas. Then, he climbed the ladder and led Stephen F. Austin and Oklahoma State to the NCAA tournament before taking the top job at Illinois. He has guided the Illini the postseason before, but this is his first trip to the second weekend. This year's group, has been an offensive force, led by Shannon, who's averaging 30.5 PPG during his team's six-game winning streak. Overall, you could make the case that Illinois has played in recent weeks like a 1-seed. Underwood's squad will have a tough test ahead with an Iowa State team that boasts the nation's best defense and a newfound 3-point efficiency. But Illinois will have a chance against any team it sees the rest of the way.”
David Cobb, CBSSports.com: “NC State never won more than four straight games during the regular season. After outlasting No. 14 seed Oakland 79-73 in overtime, the No. 11 seed Wolfpack have won seven in a row during the postseason. The improbable run is moving on to Dallas and next week's Sweet 16 as the Wolfpack make their first appearance in a regional semifinal since 2015. DJ Burns Jr. was the hero yet again as he led a contingent of five NC State players in double figures with 24 points and 11 rebounds. The formidable big man has reached double figures in every game of his team's postseason journey.”
Jeff Borzello, ESPN.com: “This almost didn't happen. The Wolfpack trailed last-place Louisville at halftime of the first game of the ACC tournament, and the temperature under (coach Kevin) Keatts' seat was hotter than ever. But they turned that game around and ended up winning five games in five days to grab the ACC tournament championship and the autobid to the NCAA tournament. Along with that conference tournament title came a contract extension and raise for Keatts. And now two more wins in three days has NC State in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2015. To recap, that's seven wins in 12 days. From the hot seat to the Sweet 16.”
Joe Rexrode, The Athletic: “Imagine the complaints if the Tennessee Volunteers, up 12 in the second half on a team they outplayed in every way that effort, matchups and game planning can dictate, found a way to lose the game and pack it up for the season. It almost happened. It’s happened before. It felt like it was happening again. It didn’t, and Rick Barnes’ Midwest Region No. 2 seed Vols get a Sweet 16 trip to Detroit and Friday date with No. 3 seed Creighton as a result, because this team that suddenly can’t shoot straight got just enough to rattle through the hoop. And saw some on-target Texas Longhorns shots go halfway down and pop out. And summoned poise that these moments make especially elusive at the foul line — Jonas Aidoo, then Dalton Knecht, burying seven combined in the final 48.8 seconds to edge past the No. 7 seed Longhorns 62-58 on Saturday at Spectrum Center. This program that had seven Sweet 16 appearances before Barnes arrived and now has three in his nine seasons.”
Mike Lopresti, NCAA.com: “Any ideas on how to slow down UConn? Anyone? The defending champions are on a roll. The Huskies led their first and second round games by 39 and 30 points and never trailed a second. They had 42 assists and only 16 turnovers in two games. They defended Northwestern star Boo Buie into 2-for-15 shooting Sunday, just like they bothered Stetson’s big scorer Jalen Blackmon into 4-for-17. They went 3-for-22 in 3-point shooting Sunday against the Wildcat and still won 75-58. They have lost once since Dec. 20. They have now won eight consecutive NCAA tournament games by double digits going across last year’s victory march.”
Cameron Salerno, CBSSports.com: “After the opening day of the second round of the NCAA Tournament was filled with blowouts, No. 3 seed Creighton's dramatic 86-73 double-overtime win over No. 10 seed Oregon provided a spark. Creighton stars Steven Ashworth, Baylor Scheierman, and Ryan Kalkbrenner delivered big individual performances to help the Bluejays advance to the Sweet 16. No. 3 seed Creighton's upcoming matchup with Tennessee next week is already one of the best games on the schedule. If Baylor Scheierman misses the game-tying jumper at the end of regulation, then we never get treated to a thrilling finish.”
MEGAPHONE
“That’s what makes March Madness special. It’s games like this.”
Yale center Danny Wolf, after his team shocked Auburn.