Does anyone know what day it is? It's been fairly impossible to track since the pandemic began, but with March Madness altering their schedule this year, things have gotten really confusing. A Saturday through Tuesday schedule for the second weekend? I guess that means it is Sunday as we wind down the Sweet 16.
But first, as always, I give you the Magic Spreadsheet:
The Main Pool is by far the more interesting of the two pools at this point. Aiden and Nate S are still tied for the lead, but folks went in a variety of different directions in terms of who they selected as the overall champion, so this pool still has a long way to go in terms of playing out. Less drama in the Gamblers Pool. Scott B has kept the field at arms length for much of this year's tournament and the vast majority of the entries selected Gonzaga as their champion. That means the pool winner will likely be crowned before the Final Four. Keep an eye out for Dave H though, as he now has the bracket with the highest potential number of points.
Sunday's games started with the #1 seeds taking the floor first. The #1 overall seed, Gonzaga, kicked things off and they were big favorites to remain undefeated as they took on Creighton. And as much as I'd like to build up some drama with this recap, there really wasn't any to mention. Gonzaga has only had one game this year where they won by less than double-digits, so Creighton had plenty of company in the "couldn't make the Zags sweat" category. Gonzaga just never looks like they are under any stress at all, moving fluidly around the court, scoring during most trips down the floor, and gradually extending their lead. The Bluejays were only down 10 at the break, which wasn't terrible, but you got the impression that the Zags were simply halfway to a 20 point win rather than in a game where their opponent might threaten them late. Gonzaga would actually see their lead balloon up to 27 at one stage in the second half. Some of these games are like watching an NFL team with a strong running back just ram the ball down the throat of a team with an exhausted defensive line. Creighton knew what was coming, they simply could not stop it as the game wore on. Will any team be able to slow down the Gonzaga freight train? We'll see in the Elite Eight as Gonzaga moves on to the regional final after an easy 83-65 win.
Michigan is one of the few teams that college basketball analysts believe could give Gonzaga some trouble. They play solid defense, they can score a bunch of points, and they have some versatile big men. Aren't a lot of college teams that can check all of those boxes. Speaking of big men, the Wolverines would be seeing a lot of them in this game as Florida State boasted the tallest lineup in college basketball. The Seminoles were the last team standing for the ACC, which surprisingly had a really down year. (NC State is one ACC team that had a down year, but that's never a surprise). You would think that Michigan might need to be hot from beyond the arc due to the Seminoles size, but it was actually the Wolverines who ruled the paint in this one. Michigan jumped out to a 19-8 advantage in the early minutes and held that 11 point edge as the teams went to the locker room for intermission. Florida State would make one run in the second half, getting within 5, but the Wolverines would score the next seven points to end any momentum the Seminoles might have had. Both #1 seeds on this side of the bracket looked really strong in the Sweet Sixteen as Michigan turns out the lights on the ACC after a 76-58 victory over Florida State.
The best game on Saturday was the third one on the schedule and the best game on Sunday would also fall into slot #3 on the docket. Alabama simply could not miss in round two as they lit up the scoreboard against Maryland. UCLA had survived against Michigan State, overwhelmed BYU, and then basically gotten a bye versus Abilene Christian to make their way to the Sweet Sixteen. Did they have enough in the tank to keep up with the Crimson Tide? There were some wild swings early on in this one. UCLA scored 7 of the game's first 8 points, but then the Crimson Tide scored 13 in a row. But once that run ended, it was the Bruins that dominated the rest of the half. The 11 seed would hold an 11 point lead at the break. Alabama came out of the locker room fired up, scoring 11 straight to tie the game. And from there on out, this one would be a nailbiter. Back and forth, the teams would trade the lead. As the clock ticked under 2 minutes, the Crimson Tide led by 1 and had the ball. A UCLA defender knocked the ball out of bounds through the legs of Alabama's John Petty Jr., but the Bruins claimed the ball went out off of Petty. Since there was less than 2 minutes left, the officials could go to the replay. In super slo-mo, it appeared that the ball might have grazed the shorts of Petty as it passed through his legs. The refs overturned the call, gave the ball to UCLA, and Shorts-Gate was born. (It really wasn't much of a controversy, as the Bruins came down, missed a shot, and Alabama got the ball back. Ball don't lie.). Alabama was down one and had the ball in the waning seconds and they were fouled as they attempted to take back the lead. Most teams would probably be thrilled to have 2 free throws to take the lead with only 6 seconds to go, but a big reason this game was so tight was because the Crimson Tide was horrible from the charity stripe. They had missed 10 of their 21 free throws in the game, so it was no sure thing that they were going to make these two. First one was no good. Second one was no good. Make that 12 misses from the free throw line. When UCLA corralled the rebound, was fouled with 4 seconds to go, and sank two free throws on their end, it looked like this one was over. The announcers on the broadcast even pointed out how UCLA's coach loves to foul in this situation, preventing the other team from getting the opportunity to tie the game with a three. But as was the case in the Oral Roberts-Arkansas game, the defensive scheme drawn up for the final seconds was dubious at best. UCLA allowed Alabama to throw the pass to half court to begin the play. Two defenders began to converge, possibly to foul, but then backed off. While they were in no man's land, Alabama's Alex Reese was open on the edge of the logo. He received the ball just in time to throw up a prayer. And the prayer was answered. The Crimson Tide were clearly missing free throws because those shots were too close to the basket. We were headed to overtime. One would think Alabama might ride the momentum from the buzzer beater to a spot in the Elite Eight. But it was the Bruins who were brimming with energy in the extra session. They scored the first 7 points and would never allow Alabama to get within 4 the rest of the way. PAC-12 dominance continues on in this tournament as UCLA takes down the #2 seed in the East. 88-78.
As hot as the PAC-12 was, they would be taking an L in the nightcap. Of course, that was because both teams playing for the final spot in the Elite Eight were from the PAC-12. Oregon and USC essentially shared the PAC-12 title this season with Oregon going 14-4 and USC going 15-5. Technically the Ducks were the champs based on percentage points, but the Trojans got the better of Oregon in their only meeting during the year. Both these teams blew out higher seeded opponents in round two and all signs pointed to a high octane game with plenty of scoring. For 12 minutes, this game was fairly competitive, but USC certainly knows how to close out a first half. After scoring the last 11 points of the first half in their last game to open up a 19 point lead against Kansas, the Trojans went on a 20-7 run here to take a 15 point advantage into the half. Oregon wasn't able to make a dent into that lead in the second half, as USC held a safe 20 point margin the rest of the way. Some garbage time points made the final score respectable, but the Trojans haven't been challenged through 3 games in the tournament thus far. The 82-68 winners have a date on Tuesday with another team that hasn't been challenged yet, Gonzaga. Should make for an interesting game.
The Madness has been a roller coaster ride this year, but it's time to get serious. Who's going to the Final Four? The first two berths will be determined on Monday night as the Midwest and South region champs are crowned.
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