Fully up to date standings! Not much change in the Main Pool as Chubbs continues to try and string out the field. He leads by 3 over Debra Peerenboom, who is 4 points ahead of third place. In the Gamblers Pool, a couple of new faces are tied at the top. Zags Super Fan Matt Brayko is tied with the only person I know with a Providence/Miami connection, Vince Berarducci. Chubbs is just one point behind them. Full standings can be found here.
With Day 2 providing little in the way of upsets, it was hard to find a Cinderella to root for when Friday's winning teams squared off in round two on Sunday. Everyone playing was from a major conference. But there was one amazing story among that group that wasn't receiving a lot of attention. That story and that team will be highlighted in the late Sunday action.
The Saturday and Sunday schedules are always a little weird because they start off with single games and then build into a multi-game crescendo late at night. I'm pretty sure this is so CBS can show some games and then keep their prime time schedule intact. Whatever the reason may be, things can get boring if the early games don't deliver any drama. Spoiler: these early games did not. The first game on the schedule looked to be an evenly matched affair between 4-seed Illinois and 5-seed Houston, but the Cougars controlled this game from start to finish. There were a couple of times when the Illini managed to draw even with Houston, but each time they did, the Cougars swatted them away as if they were an annoying mosquito at a picnic. The last tie was at 40 points apiece, but Houston would pull away with a 28-13 run to end the game. Not a good start to the day for the Big 10 and things were only going to get worse. Houston moves on to play Kansas in the Sweet 16 with a 68-53 victory.
Ohio State would be the next Big 10 team to take the floor, but they fared worse than the Illini. The Buckeyes were facing Big East tournament champ Villanova, a team that has become a force during March Madness after going through a long stretch where they couldn't make it out of the first weekend. Now they seem to be perennial title contenders. Nova hit a three, Ohio State hit a three, and that 3-3 deadlock would be the last time these teams would be tied. Like Houston, Villanova would not fall behind the rest of the day. The Buckeyes were able to get within 2 at one stage of the second half, but the Wildcats would score 11 of the last 14 in this game. The Big 10 falls to 0-2 on Sunday as Villanova advances to play Michigan after a 71-61 win.
The highlight of the Sunday schedule was Duke vs. Michigan State. Coach K was trying to keep his coaching career from careening into a cataclysmic catastrophe (sorry, once the alliteration gets rolling, it's hard to stop), while the Spartans were trying to show that the Big 10 doesn't suck. There was a lot of hype going into this matchup and the game did not disappoint. More than any other game so far this tournament, this contest seemed to have a genuine balance of strong offense and solid defense. There wasn't a lot that came easy for either team, but when one squad began to fall behind, they seemed to buckle down, make a tough basket, and then come up with a stop on the defensive end. More often than not, it was Sparty that was playing catch up, but a late 13-2 run put them in the lead by 5. CBS's camera began frantically shifting over to Coach K and then his wife in the stands. Would this be the end of an era? Not yet. The Blue Devils were the ones hitting contested shots and playing terrific defense in the last 5 minutes, rattling off a 20-6 run to close out the game. Coach K has at least 40 more minutes of scowling left in him. The Big 10 still sucks. Duke wins by a score of 85-76.
Who was this mysterious Cinderella from a major conference that no one was talking about? That would be the Iowa State Cyclones. The 11 seed in the Midwest got into the tournament with a 20-12 record. They finished 7th in the Big 12. They lost by 31 to Texas Tech in their opening game of the Big 12 conference tournament. What the heck was so special about them? Well the Cyclones had made the Big Dance after being one of the absolute worst teams in all of college basketball last year. Like even worse than NC State was this year. Yeah, that bad. Iowa State finished their 2021 season with a record of 2-21, putting up a goose egg in conference play, where they went 0-18. Before this season, they were unanimously picked to finish last in the Big 12, which is just mean. I get it if everyone thinks one team stands above the rest and they get unanimously picked to win a conference. But for everyone to agree that your team is far and away the worst? That's cold. Suffice to say, that poll provided some fuel to this year's Iowa State team. They were still under .500 in the league at 7-11, but going 13-1 outside of the conference schedule was enough to get them an at-large bid. They also got a favorable draw when they faced an LSU team going through turmoil in round one. The task would get much more difficult in round two as they were meeting up with 3-seed Wisconsin and a loud home crowd that willed them past upset-minded Colgate on Friday night. What did the Cyclones have in their favor? Two things. First, Wisconsin was from the Big 10. Second, the Badgers offense was, as Anna Delvey might say, "pua".
After a tight first half where Iowa State led by 1 at the break, the Cyclones put the pedal to the metal early in the second half, going on an 11-2 run to create some breathing room. Wisconsin would not make it a one possession game the rest of the way. Illinois, Ohio State, Michigan State, and now Wisconsin. The Big 10 suckfest rolled on as they were a very 2021 Iowa State-like 0-4 on the day. But the 2022 version of Iowa State men's basketball? There's still living the dream. From 2 wins to a berth in the Sweet 16, the Cyclones will be playing on the second weekend after a 54-49 triumph over Wisconsin.
If it was a surprise that the Big 10 was collapsing after sending 9 teams to this year's tournament, it was downright shocking that a beleaguered ACC was finding success despite only sending 5 teams, one of whom (Virginia Tech) had to steal a bid by making an unexpected run through the conference tournament. And though Virginia Tech was sent off to never-never land in round one, the other 4 teams were all still alive. North Carolina and Duke had punched their tickets to the Sweet 16, with Notre Dame and Miami hoping to join them. The Irish were up first. Still riding high from a double overtime thriller in the First Four and an upset of the Crimson Tide in round one, Notre Dame was now facing one of the best defensive teams in the country in Texas Tech. Yes, that Texas Tech that beat Iowa State by 31 in the Big 12 conference tourney. The Red Raiders would control the action for most of the first half in this one, but the Irish took momentum into the locker room, scoring the last 5 points of the half to only trail by 1. It looked like things were going to play out the same way in the second half. Texas Tech was the better team in the early minutes, establishing a 6 point lead again, but as the half wore on, Notre Dame hit their stride. Would a First Four team make another deep run in the tournament? It sure looked that way as Texas Tech was unable to make a basket over a 7 minute stretch, ceding the lead to the Irish. Notre Dame led by 3 with two minutes to go. The Red Raiders seemed out of options, so they kept pounding the ball inside and drawing fouls. Texas Tech was ice cold with a hand in their faces, but they were pure from the free throw line. They made 8 straight from the charity stripe, while the Irish couldn't generate any offense in their last few possessions. It was a valiant run from Notre Dame, but it is Texas Tech that will be playing Duke next weekend in the Sweet 16. Red Raiders win by a score of 59-53.
One ACC upset thwarted. Could Auburn, a team that held on to the #1 ranking earlier in the season, fend off the last ACC challenge of the weekend, that of the Miami Hurricanes? In a word: no. Like the first two games of the day, one team grabbed the lead early and never let go of it. The Tigers, who were on a bit of a downward trajectory coming into the tournament, were simply outplayed from start to finish. They could not keep up with the intensity of this Miami team, who played like Baylor did in the last 10 minutes of their second half. Except the Hurricanes played like that for 40 minutes. Auburn was able to get within 1 at halftime, but the second half was total domination by Miami. The Hurricanes romp by a score of 79-61, sending home the second #2 seed in this year's tournament.
Say it ain't so. The Big 10 had a fifth team playing on Sunday? Indeed they did. Purdue was the conference's last hope to send a paltry two teams to the Sweet 16. They were facing off against the Texas Longhorns. Like Auburn, Purdue was a team who spent some time (albeit brief) as the #1 ranked squad in the land. This Boilermaker squad had big expectations placed upon them as they were ranked #7 in the preseason. That was actually two notches below Texas, so it was safe to say that both of these teams had underperformed this season. The first half was all about runs. The Longhorns opened with a 14-8 edge before Purdue scored the next 20 points in a row. Texas countered with a 27-12 run that extended into the beginning of the second half. Things settled down for about 10 minutes after that, but the Boilermakers had one last run in them. A 13-4 push late in the game gave Purdue a 9 point lead that Texas was unable to overcome. The Big 10 doesn't suck (completely)! Purdue will try to avoid becoming St. Peter's next victim when they meet up in Philly next weekend. Texas heads home after an 81-71 defeat.
Last game of the weekend and boy was it a doozy! Drama, controversy, big buckets, a messed-up buzzer beater. This game had it all. TCU-Arizona had a little bit of a North Carolina-Baylor feel to it. TCU, like North Carolina, was a considerable underdog, but they had played so well in their first round game that it made you think they had a better shot at the upset than you would have given them a week ago. Arizona, unlike Baylor, was not about to be caught asleep at the wheel. They weren't going to fall behind by 25 to anyone. That being said, TCU was no pushover themselves. These two teams went back-and-forth for the entire first half and about 10 minutes of the second half. That was when the Wildcats went on a run, pushing their lead to 9. The Horned Frogs had put up a good fight, but it felt like this talented Arizona team might be a little too much for them. TCU hadn't scored from the field in almost 6 minutes of play. So what did the Horned Frogs decide to do since they couldn't hit a shot? They crashed the boards like crazy. TCU continued to miss from the field, but they began getting 2-3 shots every possession, eventually turning offensive rebounds into points. They were exerting their will on the #1 seed and Arizona began to look powerless in trying to stop them. The Horned Frogs would score 12 in a row, taking a three point lead with under four minutes left.
At this point, Arizona followed the lead of Kentucky and Illinois from earlier this weekend: they desperately looked to their star player to save them. And Bennedict Mathurin stepped up in that moment. Still down three, he made a dunk to pull Arizona within 1 with about a minute to play. TCU missed at the other end, but they converted yet another offensive rebound into an easy layup. Three point lead, 35 seconds to go. Would the weekend finish up with a monumental upset? Not if Mathurin had any say in the matter. TCU played really tough perimeter defense, but Mathurin found just enough space to rise up and hit a contested three to tie the game. The Horned Frogs would get the last possession though. Or so it seemed. After Arizona called a timeout to set up their defense, TCU brought the ball up the court. After crossing midcourt, the TCU player dribbled it near the sideline before two Arizona defenders converged on him. As he tried to escape, he got perilously close to the midcourt line. And then controversy ensued. One of the Arizona defenders hip-checked the ball handler, sending him and the ball into the back court. Was it a foul? Was it a back court violation? Somehow it was neither. With the TCU player laying on the court and the ball bouncing towards Arizona's hoop, the Wildcats had victory in their sights. There were no TCU players anywhere close to the Arizona's Dalen Terry, who scooped up the ball. He had an open lane to the basket. Just one problem. Excited by the prospect of a game-winning dunk, Terry forgot about the clock. As he went up to dunk the ball, the horn sounded. Whether you thought TCU got screwed or saved, this game was headed to overtime. (They totally got screwed.)
It was a 1 point lead for the Wildcats in the extra session when TCU's strength suddenly became a weakness. Arizona missed a three pointer, but they were the ones who were able to snag an offensive rebound. Then another one. Then another one! Eventually the ball made its way into the hands of Mathurin, who was able to finally put the ball in the hoop. TCU tried to tie the game with a three, but they were off and with Arizona suddenly dominant on the boards, the Horned Frogs were one and done on this offensive trip. Arizona ran clock and left it up to Mathurin to close things out with a three. He missed, but TCU's rebounding prowess was a thing of the past. Arizona's Christian Koloko came gliding through the lane, caught the rebound in mid-air, and thundered home a dunk to seal the victory. For a while there, it looked very bleak for the Wildcats, but it's all about surviving and advancing. Arizona moves on after an 85-80 victory over TCU.
That's it for opening weekend. You'll have to find something to do until Thursday night, when the Sweet 16 begins with the West and South regions. Until then...
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