March Madness 2019 - Day 7

Saturday marked the end of the contest I was playing in Vegas.  I was too far back to actually win, but I made a decent run at cashing.  And if two horses didn't get scratched at the gate in the final race, I would have had a chance at bringing home some money from the contest.  Alas, things did not go my way.  But if you are a college basketball fan, things did go your way as you were treated to two solid games that determined half of the field for next weekend's Final Four.

The West region would send the first representative to Minneapolis as Gonzaga and Texas Tech clashed in a true offense vs. defense matchup.  Gonzaga had the most efficient offense in the country, while no one played better defense than Texas Tech, a truth that Michigan learned the hard way on Thursday night.  The game would turn out to be a nice blend of both offense and defense, finding a middle ground between the never stop offense in the Auburn-North Carolina affair and the defensive standoff that was Michigan-Texas Tech.  The first half was a see-saw battle that tilted slightly in Gonzaga's direction when they scored just before the break to go up 2.  The two teams remained evenly matched for most of the second half and, with 5 minutes to go, the score was tied.  The Red Raiders might be known for their defense, but it was their offense that came through down the stretch, as they would go on an 11-4 run to take a 7 point lead with a minute to go.  The Zags were in deep trouble, but they cut the margin to 2 with 12 seconds to play.  And then Josh Perkins made a mistake that would effectively end Gonzaga's season.  As Texas Tech went to inbound the ball, Perkins reached over the line and knocked the ball away from the Red Raiders player.  That's a no-no.   Such a big no-no that you get a technical foul.  Texas Tech's ticket was punched.  After sinking the two free throws for the technical foul and two more for a foul when the ball was actually inbounded, the Red Raiders were up 6 and headed to Minneapolis.  Texas Tech goes to their first Final Four with a 75-69 victory over #1 seed Gonzaga.

Did you like that close offense-defense matchup?  Well, there's more where that came from.  Virginia isn't quite as good defensively as Texas Tech is, but they're pretty darn close.  And Purdue put up 99 in their Sweet 16 win over Tennessee.  Offense vs. defense, round two.  Let's get it on!

Early on it was the Ryan Cline and Carsen Edwards show again as they combined for 5 three-pointers in the first 12 minutes to help Purdue grab an early 9 point lead.  Cline would tail off in this one.  Edwards?  He was just getting started.  He'd score 16 points by halftime, but the Boilermakers lead would only be 1.  In the second half, the Cavs took control, maintaining the momentum they had built up during the final few minutes of the first half.  When Virginia's Ty Jerome knocked down a trey to give 48-40 lead, it was the culmination of a 26-10 run by the Cavs.  But Carsen Edwards was not going to let Purdue leave quietly.  He put the Boilermakers on his back and tried to lead them to the promised land.  16 points in the first half was impressive, but putting up 24 more in the second half is an NCAA performance that will be remembered for years to come.  Edwards had not only dug Purdue out of an 8 point hole, he had put them up three with less than 10 seconds separating them from a berth in the Final Four.

Virginia would need a three to tie, but Purdue smartly fouled them with just under 6 seconds to go, not giving the Cavs an opportunity to tie it from deep.  Ty Jerome made the first free throw to bring Virginia within 2, but he missed the second.  It didn't really look like he missed on purpose, but his errant free throw was a blessing in disguise.  Virginia's Mamadi Diakite was able to slap the missed free throw into the back court.  The Cavs ran down the ball and then threw it back to Diakite as the clock neared zero.  He instantly shot it, just getting it out of his hands before the buzzer.  His shot was pure and Purdue headed to overtime for the second straight game.

There wasn't much scoring in the extra session, so we were headed for some nail-biting moments late again.  Edwards hit his only basket of the OT with 43 seconds left to give Purdue a 1 point edge.  15 seconds later, De'Andre Hunter made a layup to give the lead back to the Cavs.  Everyone on the court knew that the ball would be back in Edwards' hands for the potential game winner, but after making nearly everything all day, his last three pointer would not fall.  Virginia made two free throws on the other end to go up 3.  After a Purdue turnover, the Cavs would sink two more free throws for one of the crazier back door covers of all time.  The Virginia redemption story is still alive as they head to Minneapolis following a remarkable 80-75 victory over Purdue.

I mentioned that I was surprised that my name was amongst the leaders in this year's pools.  I was even more surprised to see it was still up there after my national champion pick (Gonzaga) was eliminated in the Elite Eight.  Not sure how I can win from here, but I'm happy that I was still around this late in the contest.  We have a new leader in the Safety School pool as Will Peerenboom has emerged with a 1 point lead, while I am clinging to a 1 point edge in the other pool.  Here are you leaders with just 5 games to go:

Safety School:

1. Will Peerenboom - 82 points
2. Dave Nichols and Aiden Schweitzer - 81 points

Paid For My Kids SATs:

1. Dave Nichols - 81 points
2. Nate Heffner and James Dematteo - 80 points

For the full standings, click here.

The last two tickets to the Final Four were punched on Sunday.  One more update to go for this weekend!