2022 Final Four & Championship

Games I watched:

(8) North Carolina 81-77 (2) Duke

Ohhhhhhhhh! What a pleasure to watch! Hell, yeah, I even left my house and went to the local Regal Beagle because I had to see this one. I'm a total sports nerd, watch sports of some kind just about every day, but it's been a while since I've felt this level of anticipation for a game. And the Tarheels did not let me down. I come not to praise Coach K but to bury him. (*) I would've preferred watching him lose to Kentucky, but, hey, a 2-game losing streak to UNC when he's got a team of 5 lottery picks was schadenfreude enough for me. As for this game, it was tight all the way through, Duke had moments when it looked like they might pull away but that never lasted long. UNC had a nice run right at the beginning of the 2nd half and though they weren't able to build a lead and hold it, it was enough to sustain them down to the final minute. And in the end, well, UNC got hot and Duke went cold. So long, Coach K, glad to see ya go (**). 

Other results:

(2) Villanova 65-81 (1) Kansas

Kansas scored the first 10 points and that was pretty much it, they carried a double digit lead for most of the rest of the game. When Villanova almost kinda came close to making a run, KU shut 'em down and closed it out. This Kansas team is strange: there is nothing dominant about them at all, this is not one of the more talented Jayhawk squads and there's cloud hanging over them (re: they're not likely to be allowed into next year's tourney). But they play good team defense and shoot well and they persevere, which has carried them all the way to the Final where they are the favorite (and were my pick to win it all). Nova made a good run, but this was not a classic Nova team by any means, either. Weird year in college b-ball, kinda makes sense that the semifinal was blue bloods, I reckon. 

The Final:

(8) North Carolina 69-72 (1) Kansas

Kinda bittersweet as a Kentucky fan: the Wildcats whomped the shit out of both of these teams this year, but they're here and the Wildcats aren't. To be fair: UNC is a totally different team now and KU just had a bad shooting night. (Oh, and on the Ladies' side, dominant champion South Carolina suffered only two losses all year long, the last one being to Kentucky...damn, so close and yet neither the boys nor the girls went deep this year)

Despite a 15 point lead at the half, the Tarheels could not keep the momentum going and the Jayhawks steadily pounded away and finished it off even after some dubious play down the stretch. Hey, I picked 'em to win so I can't be shocked that Kansas finished the tourney strong, but I still think this is one of the weirder champions after one of the weirder seasons that I can remember. 

(*) Blogspot wouldn't let me publish this post initially. Yes, I expressed my lifelong disdain for Duke but I wasn't in any way advocating any harm to anything Duke-related. But, well, I did perhaps go a little far in expressing a similar disdain for Bobby Knight and, yes, well, there was an anecdote that was probably worthy of being excised (all the darlings come and go). So, a coupla days later, I gotta say kudos to you, Blogspot. You were (probably) right and I was (probably) wrong but hey, man, college sports just brings it out of me in ways that the rest of planet Earth does not. Thank you, Blogspot, for curbing my weaker tendencies.

(**) Here's how I will always remember Coach K and his dukies. 

2022 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight

Games I watched (some of): 

(10) Miami 50-76 (1) Kansas

Kansas had trouble scoring early on and Miami used a nice mix of fast break points and 3-point shooting to control the 1st half. But in the 2nd half, Miami just stopped working for good shots, they settled, went cold and Kansas just flew past them. Miami had a nice run but they just weren't equipped to go 40 minutes in an Elite Eight game. This Kansas team is not a deeply talented team but they've got a good work ethic, they play good defense and they can score in bunches. Not a great team but an effective one and one that can still win it all. 

(15) St. Peter's 49-69 (8) North Carolina

Yeah, this one just wasn't happening. St. Peter's, which had looked so confident and tough so far, came out flat, while North Carolina came out on mission and this game was long over by halftime. St. Peter's came out confident and scored enough early on in their first three games to be able to implement their game plan and hang around beat teams, but that did not happen in this game. The Tarheels had a so-so year (though a W at Cameron Indoor is always positive) but they're in line to play Duke in the tourney for the first time ever--and it will be monstrous! UNC beat Kryschevasky in his final home game as the Duke coach and personally I would love to see them get the W in his last final four. We'll see.

Other results:

(5) Houston 44-50 (2) Villanova

Wow, super low scoring match. Villanova is a gut check kinda team, they don't falter. This doesn't seem like one of their more talented teams but they can hang. I was in on Houston but it seems like they just couldn't get buckets in this game. Can Villanova beat Kansas? Oh yeah, I'd say that game is a coin flip between two blue bloods that have gone further than they should have, 

(4) Arkansas 69-78 (2) Duke

Duke wore Arkansas down and the Razorbacks couldn't get their 3-point shooting going. Arkansas had a nice season, made a good run in the tourney and already picked up some big recruits for next year, so things are look in Fayetteville. Duke isn't a particularly deep team but their starting five (I'm a big fan of Jeremy Roach!) is really good, but really young. It seems fated for Coach K to win one on his way out the door, but I wouldn't start etching the plaque just yet. Good squad, but still has to win two more big games. 

2022 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16

Games I watched (some of):

(4) Arkansas 74-68 (1) Gonzaga

Well, the refs didn't do Gonzaga any favors (I thought all three 2nd half fouls on Chet Holmgren were lame and they missed a bunch of calls on the Razorbacks), but really it was Arkansas's scrappy defensive guard play that kept Gonzaga off balance all night. They took too long to get Drew Timme going and he just couldn't get it done by himself. I watched JD Notae a bit this year and that guy can get hot from downtown, didn't even think he was that great against Gonzaga (meaning Duke better watch out). Tough L for the Zags but they had their chances. Great W for the Razorbacks, they've got size and shooting, a great combo this time of year. 

(3) Texas Tech 73-78 (2) Duke

Good back and forth action but Duke made the shots down the stretch (man, Roach is that classic PG that was built for the tourney--shades of Mateen Cleeves) and Tech just couldn't hang. But until the last TV timeout, this was a really competitive game. Williams came up big for Duke and Banchero had some nice moments, too. On the Tech side, they played well just didn't hit the shots down the stretch and couldn't stop Roach from taking over (shades of Mateen Cleaves!). Also, I kinda loved Obanor, the guy plays with a lot of grit and does a little bit of everything, I haven't noticed him in any mock drafts, but I wouldn't be at all surprised to see that guy blowing up at Summer League this year. As for Banchero: oh, I get it, his game is Cade Cunningham....but I think Cade has more upside and is already better, suggesting to me that the 2022 draft isn't gonna be as good at the top as last year; we'll see. Tech played well but couldn't seal it, Duke tightened up when need be and that's a bad sign for everyone else. 

(15) St. Peter's 67-61 (3) Purdue

Frankly I thought Purdue kinda sucked. Back and forth 1st half, Purdue snatched the lead late and then went on a nice run early in the 2nd half. But that was pretty much it for the Boilermakers. Once St. Peter's got their offense going, I thought they cruised to the finish. The magnificent run of St. Peter's is still going and the lesson is clear: hey, man, the big schools are often times not as good as you think they are. (Also: Jaden Ivey (Purdue) is a concensus top 5 pick in the draft, some mocks have him #1 overall, but I gotta say....I don't see it. With, say, Trae Young a few years back, I doubted his ability to translate his game to the next level; but with Ivey, I don't see any mastery of any part of the game, he's got nice shoulder and a nice handle on the ball, but so what? I don't see him as a playmaker or a finisher or a dominant defender, so what does he do? He's a Moneyball-er: he looks like he ought to be a pro but that doesn't mean he has skills. We'll see)

(8) North Carolina 73-66 (4) UCLA

Fun game! I thought UCLA was the better team, the more complete team, but their scoring dried up in the 2nd half. Then when Caleb Love went off in the 2nd half, the Bruins kinda got buried. Oh well, we've seen this Tarheel team beat Duke this year, but I really thought UCLA was better built to give the Dukies a for-real match. We'll see.

Other results:

(11) Michigan 63-55 (2) Villanova

Sounds about right. I thought Michigan was playing a bit above themselves lately and Villanova was ready for a convincing win. 

(5) Houston 72-60 (1) Arizona

I think Houston is one to keep an eye on. This was an interesting season in that there were no great teams at the top (unless you thought Gonzaga was the real deal) and Arizona struck me as suspect the whole time. Likewise, there were a bunch of 2nd tier teams that could win it all if they get hot at the right time and it looks like the Cougars are one of those squads. 

(4) Providence 61-66 (1) Kansas

Low scoring affair early on, kinda ballooned up some points down the stretch. Kansas seemed to control throughout.

(11) Iowa State 56-70 (10) Miami

Miami was up at halftime, kinda dominated the 2nd half. Two nice teams, feels like Miami just had the better/deeper talent.

2022 NCAA Tournament (Day One)

Games I watched (some of):

(11) Michigan 75-63 (6) Colorado State

Man, both teams played so fast! And the refs let them beat on each other. CSU came out hot but they just couldn't sustain and once Michigan got going, they eventually wore them down. I was impressed with CSU's David Roddy, good footwork, good hustle, not so effective from 3, but an interesting prospect going forward (NFL and NBA, for that matter). 

(14) Longwood 56-88 (3) Tennessee

Not much to say on this one: Tennessee is good and Longwood just couldn't hang. This game was over pretty quick. Michigan up next, feels like UT is better, but we'll see. 

(15) St. Peter's 85-79 (OT) (2) Kentucky

Bracket buster! This is why we love the tourney! This game highlighted UK's weakness all season long: 3 point shooting. When the Cats shot well they won and when they didn't (like tonight) they lost. In short, this is how Kentucky was always going to lose--I just didn't think it would happen in the 1st round! St. Peter's did a good job of keeping Tshiebwe and Brooks out of the lane and it was the fact that UK couldn't get their defense in order that led to poor shot selection on the offensive end. That said, it was going 23-35 from the line that doomed UK: even as bad as their defense was and even as bad as their 3-point shooting was, Kentucky still had plenty of opportunities to seal this victory. Throw in that the refs got weird in the 2nd half (I thought they lost the shape of the game and just randomly called contact), which should've benefitted UK and this becomes an even more disappointing L for the Wildcats. It is worth remembering that UK sucked last year and there was no tournament the year before, so even though this was a 'veteran' squad, there was no tournament experience on this team. (As a UK fan, I feel bad for Oscar Tshiebwe, I know the NBA is not excited about the next Andre Drummond, but rebounding is still a part of the game and he's really fuckin' good at it. But, buck up Kentucky fans: Murray State has a legit path to the Sweet 16 now!) Great W for St. Peter's, though to be honest: I don't think they're particularly good, they simply had a game plan perfect for this Kentucky squad. 

(10) San Francisco 87-92 (OT) (7) Murray State

Back and forth action, neither team could ever quite get the upper hand. Murray hit the big shots down the stretch and that was the difference. 

Other results:

(13) South Dakota State 57-66 (4) Providence

Close game in the final minute but Providence got it done.

(9) Memphis 64-53 (8) Boise State

Looked like a blowout early on but Boise State cut into the lead late before Memphis iced the game. 

(16) Norfolk State 49-85 (1) Baylor

Yeah, sounds about right.

(12) Richmond 67-63 (5) Iowa

Bracket buster! Saw none of this game, wish I had.  

(16) Georgia State 72-93 (1) Gonzaga

Keeping an eye on the score throughout the game made this feel like a close game til the last few minutes. Digging into the stats: Gonzaga went 16-30 from the line and that's how a #1 seed keeps a game close. But on the upside for the Zags: Chet Holmgren had 19 pts on 8-13 FGs, 17 boards, 7 blocks, 5:0 asst:to. Nice but let's see how it goes against someone besides a #16 seed. 

(9) Marquette 63-95 (8) North Carolina

Dang! Tarheels came to play today. This was a thorough thrashing. 

(12) New Mexico State 70-63 (5) Connecticut

*ahem* Didn't bust my bracket. New Mexico State is a good team with some real talent, whereas UConn is coming into the tourney a tad overrated. 

(12) Indiana 53-82 (5) St. Mary's

Saw none of this game but as the score was going by Indiana was stuck on 33 for what seemed like forever (about 4.5 minutes of game time, to be exact), while St. Mary's just kept adding points. I was beginning to think the scoreboard was broken!

(9) Creighton 72-69 (OT) (8) San Diego State

Coin flip game, went to OT, sounds about right. 

(13) Vermont 71-75 (4) Arkansas

This looks like it was a good one, two feisty squads. 

(13) Akron 53-57 (4) UCLA

Akron gave the Bruins a run and while last year's UCLA squad could run up the points, not so sure about this year's version. 

(16) Texas Southern 56-83 (1) Kansas

Good opener for the Jayhawks. 

2021 NCAA Final Four (the after)

(2) Houston 59-78 (1) Baylor

Houston started slow, Baylor just kept hitting shots. Not a bad game, Baylor took control quickly and kinda squelched out Houston. Good run for Houston, good season, they dominated most everyone they played til the Final Four, that's not bad. 

Baylor is good, man, I'm really beginning to appreciate what good on-ball defenders they are and what good shooters they are. They're a surprisingly deep squad, too. 

(11) UCLA 90-93 (OT) (1) Gonzaga

Amazing game! Back and forth, buzzer beater finish, two good scoring squads just wailin' on each other for 45 mins. Everyone played well, everyone shot well, every possession was fascinating. A great game, a great watch. UCLA caps a long strange trip just missing a shot at the Championship. 

Gonzaga shows all the doubters that they can hang with anyone, that being pushed won't destroy them. 

(1) Baylor 86-70 (1) Gonzaga

Going in, I thought Baylor would be the toughest team Gonzaga has seen all season (perhaps in many seasons), a team that would not shrink from the undefeated #1 team, everyone's pick to win it all, and would score enough to hang no matter how well Gonzaga executed. I wouldn't have been shocked by Baylor stealing it late, but I figured Gonzaga would control throughout, even if the game felt tighter than anything they've had in a while. I still felt Gonzaga would handle Baylor and (most likely) outscore them. Gonzaga really is good; Baylor has a lot of good athletes; but I figured Gonzaga's ball movement would create more quick shots and Gonzaga would win on volume and free throws. 

Yeah, it took about two minutes to chuck the pre-game forecast out. Baylor came to play. That on-ball defense shook Gonzaga and the way Baylor was drilling 3's and getting offensive rebounds, it felt like Gonzaga was outmanned and in for a struggle. With about 8 mins to go in the 1st half, Baylor was up 38-19. 

From there, Gonzaga had a decent run before halftime, whittled the lead down to 10 and showed the path for a way back into the game: patient offense, quit turning the ball over, lure Baylor into fouls, hit your FT's, get every rebound, pray Baylor stops nailing these 3's. Baylor shot too well, played too hard in the 1st half, in the 2nd half they'd wither, fall into foul trouble and Gonzaga would make up the deficit to steal the W.

And for Baylor the game plan was also clear: keep hitting 3's (and get ready for the trophy presentation). 

Gonzaga had a chance to salvage the season, go out strong and smart and steal back the Championship they thought they'd already earned. But they couldn't keep their roll going after halftime: Gonzaga missed FT's, Baylor kept hitting 3's, that was ball game. 

Baylor came to play, then lapsed a little before halftime, then clamped down in the 2nd half.  Nice W for Baylor, really a smooth game from them from the jump, they were all great, everyone was hitting shots, everyone made plays on defense, they avoided foul trouble in the 2nd half, which just heightened the advantage they already possessed in bench depth. So outside of a lull before halftime, Baylor straight dominated this game in every way. All hail, they were really good all year long and flat took this tournament for themselves, a fun team to watch, and by the Final they were really humming.(*)  Good work.

(*) Reminded me of the 2019 NCAA football championship when Clemson dusted off Alabama. 

Bama had been #1 all year long, everyone assumed they would crush every other team, except possibly Clemson. You knew Clemson had talent but their schedule is just not as interesting as Alabama's, so you couldn't tell how good they actually were. They were the only team that even had a shot at hanging with the Tide, so...could they? Answer was 'yes', Clemson straight f'n flayed Alabama, while we all just gaped and went 'oh shit...'. Not necessarily a shock that Clemson won the game, but the ease with which they controlled every second of the game (while slicing and dicing the consensus favorite) was jarring and impressive.

Everyone knew Baylor was good and they were ballin' in the tourney, but until you actually saw them out there with Gonzaga, it was real easy to think Gonzaga was the better team. Actually, they were both really good teams, but head to head Baylor's defense just kept Gonzaga from getting anything going and the way Baylor drilled 3's....looking back on it, the fact that Baylor only won by 16 seems kinda weird and just highlights Baylor's dominance: Gonzaga actually shot the ball pretty well and were still never in the game.

2021 NCAA Final Four (the before)

(2) Houston - (1) Baylor (-4) (o/u 132.5)

Just noticed that Houston has only played double digit seeds ((15) Cleveland St, (10) Rutgers, (11) Syracuse, (12) Oregon St), feasting off the upsets that got handed to them. I like Houston, I think they're a nice team, I think on any given night they can be a really great team and maybe they have that in them. But they haven't seen anyone nearly as good as Baylor in many weeks now and I gotta think that catches up to them. Baylor is a really good team and they have the weakness of some really good teams: they got overconfident and slow down before the game is won. I can see a scenario where Houston gets hot late and steals it. But I think Baylor makes FT's and wins going away. I'll say Baylor 71-60 (Baylor and the under)

(11) UCLA - (1) Gonzaga (-13.5) (o/u 135.5)

Frankly, UCLA should've lost to Alabama and Michigan, Abilene Christian was a gift, BYU is nice but not an overly impressive win and Michigan St was as bad as they've been in years, so UCLA's run has been pretty lucky so far. Gonzaga doesn't win with luck, they win by being better at every position and every phase of the game. So...yeah, I can see UCLA putting up points to keep it from being a blowout, but I'm expecting Gonzaga to be in control throughout. I'll say Gonzaga 78-66 (UCLA and the over)

2021 Sweet 16 (Day Two)

(5) Creighton 65-83 (1) Gonzaga

Creighton was nice, had a coupla nice scoring spurts. But Gonzaga is good at every position and disciplined and they're gonna outscore most every team they play. Southern Cal is a curveball.   

(4) Florida State 58-76 (1) Michigan

I thought the refs did the Seminoles no favor early on, lot of 50/50 calls that just put FSU on the backfoot right off the bat. Michigan took advantage and throttled them throughout. (Meh, I don't usually blame the refs, but I thought here they inserted themselves a little over much that early in the game) Michigan is tough and they got a bunch of good scorers, they're a tough out, and I'd say they're clearly better than UCLA.

(11) UCLA 88-78 (ot) (2) Alabama

Fun game, back and forth, felt like Bama would finally get the upper hand after Juzang fouled out but it kinda flipped on them. Anyway, nice Bama buzzer beater to tie it up but UCLA got all point-happy in OT and salted it away. Good W for UCLA, overcame adversity against a top notch opponent. Michigan is rolling right now but the Bruins might give them a scare. 

(7) Oregon 82-68 (6) Southern Cal

I didn't see any of this one. Seems like USC got hotter quicker and piled on as Oregon faltered. Southern Cal is probably the weirdest, most dangerous side Gonzaga has played all year, this is probably the most logical upset if Gonzaga is gonna stumble. 

PS -- Oh yeah, I hate replay. I hate it. I have never liked it, never needed it and the more intrusive it becomes, the less I like it or need it. Shit, they still get the calls wrong, so why are they wasting so much time? I hate replay. Hate it in all sports. (*)

(*) Replay works in one sport: tennis. First, there's only one thing to look at: in or out, nothing much else to even considering. And second, they show the replay in the stadium, the players pause, and the audience all watches the replay together and sees the definitive result and then we move on. Every other sport it's annoying pain in the ass, in tennis its actually kinda fun and helpful. But in no other sport is replay worth as much time as it gets. 

2021 Sweet 16 (Day One)

(12) Oregon State 65-58 (8) Loyola-Chicago

I stand by how great Loyola actually is because of this stat: 5-23 from 3. Jeez, if anyone even gets kinda hot at any point, this is an entirely different game--look how bad Loyola had to shoot to lose this game! Loyola's D was frustrating the Beavers at first but eventually Loyola's lack of offense more or less evened things out and Oregon State was able to get a firm grasp on the game. Check out my man Krutwig's offensive line: 12 FGA, 2 FTA, 4 offensive rebounds, 4 assists....zero turnovers, zero personal fouls; but this shows how the giant Silva was able to keep Krutwig in check: he should've taken a lot more shots, had a lot more assists and a lot more turnovers. You can see that Oregon State was successful at keeping Krutwig bottled up, whereas he was the center of the offense in the previous round. Oh well, Cameron Krutwig had a great tournament--better than will ever be noticed by humanity--but Sweet 16 is as far as it took him. Oregon State continues on a great run lately, I definitely give them a puncher's chance against Houston.

(5) Villanova 51-62 (1) Baylor

Baylor is just better than Villanova and that depth won out. Close game for 30 mins or so, Baylor rose up and stifled Villanova in the last 10 mins and as Villanova piled up turnovers, Baylor sealed the victory. 

(15) Oral Roberts 70-72 (3) Arkansas

Fun match, back and forth at the end, Oral Roberts had the lead for a long stretch of this game, then Arkansas came back and stole it late. Really impressive run for Oral Roberts (Abmas and Obanor--yipes!) but Arkansas is a nice team and they did what needed to be done. Baylor has the depth, can Arkansas keep up? 

(11) Syracuse 46-62 (2) Houston

The Orangemen did not get hot from the outside and basically flailed from beginning to end. Houston casually dominated the game, which still gives little suggestion of who they really are. Oh well, Houston keeps winning, can't front on that. But Oregon State has been beating good teams without a second thought for the last month or so. 

2021 NCAA Tournament (Day Four)

 Games I saw (some of):

(7) Oregon 95-80 (2) Iowa

Oregon shot well, got a nice early lead, and played at a pace that Iowa couldn't keep up with. Iowa was a nice team but bland and probably overperformed, all in all. I don't mean to bust on Garza, he's really one of the greats, but he's kind of an empty calories numbers guy; he put up 36/9 and that made no difference whatsoever. Oregon plays hard and fast, if they knock down shots, they can keep winning. 

(8) Oklahoma 71-87 (1) Gonzaga

I figured Gonzaga would mostly buffalo over the competition and Okla is just the latest victim. Sooners were okay, they weren't bad at anything and it felt like Reaves was capable of some big moments. But Gonzaga is good at pretty much every phase of the game. Gonzaga isn't unbeatable but they'd have to play pretty bad for most teams to catch them on any given night. 

(8) LSU 78-86 (1) Michigan

Michigan started slow but they were just better than LSU. LSU feasted off sloppy Wolverine TO's but once UM stopped turning it over than the natural weight of offensive efficiency took over. Tigers still made it a fun game late but Michigan is looking pretty good right now.

(6) Southern Cal 85-51 (3) Kansas

Not much to say about this one: Southern Cal just kept making shots and Kansas never got any scoring going at all. This one was over quick, so quick it's hard to tell how good USC actually is. The Pac-12 is looking good, though, much stronger showing than I was anticipating. 

Games I saw (pretty much) none of:

(14) Abilene Christian 47-67 (11) UCLA

Not as much of a blowout as I would've thought. This looked to me like a match of the most underrated #11 seed of all time and the most overrated #14 seed, seriously thought UCLA would win by 40. 

(13) Ohio 58-72 (5) Creighton

(5) Colorado 53-71 (4) Florida St

(10) Maryland 77-96 (2) Alabama

Day #4 MVP: Hmmmm....no individual players really stood out, this was a day of good team efforts throttling weak team efforts. 

2021 NCAA Tourney (Day Two)

 Games I saw (some of):

(12) Georgetown 73-96 (5) Colorado

G-town has a lot of nice looking athletes, they pass the bus test, but none of these guys can ball and there's little cohesion to them on either end. The buzz is that they're moving in the right direction, I'll have to take their word for it. As for Colorado, their PG controls the action, which carries forward into the next round, but G-town gave them so many wide open 3's that its hard to tell how well Colorado will adapt to their next opponent. Colorado was fine but really G-town just didn't offer much opposition.

(16) Texas Southern 66-82 (1) Michigan

In a normal year a veteran underdog like Texas Southern might've made some noise, but here they matched up with another veteran squad that came ready to play. I was impressed that the Wolverines went full court press from the beginning: Michigan is stumbling into the tourney after a really good regular season, they need to take every possession seriously. Tough defense leads to valuable offense and they scored well inside and out throughout the game. Felt bad for Texas Southern, they really balled out in the 2nd half, good showing but Michigan was not a good draw for them. Michigan suddenly looks dangerous again (after Ohio State and Purdue falter). 

(10) Maryland 63-54 (7) Connecticut

Frankly I thought UConn was the better team, the more complete team, but they didn't knock down shots and Maryland did. The Terps built a nice lead out of halftime and held it up. Maryland was okay, if they shoot like this again, they can hang with anyone.  I'd give the Terps a puncher's chance against Bama.

(13) Ohio 62-58 (4) Virginia

I picked this up after the last TV timeout: 3:40 mins to go, OU up 49-44. From then on, OU just straight housed 'em. UVA was getting buckets even, didn't matter, OU was getting shots or FTs, controlling the attack, eating up clock. They were fucking brilliant down the stretch, I was impressed by Ohio PG Preston (currently a high 2nd rd draft prospect, expect him to jump into the teens), he held it down in a very Jason Kidd-like way that was a joy to watch. UVA's natural dominance is also their weakness: they play for a low scoring game but against a slow down opponent their chances decrease and they've got nowhere to go. That said, they're always good, so I expect they'll be a #1 seed next year. As for OU: aw, hell yeah, they can beat Creighton. 

(11) UCLA 73-62 (6) BYU

Johnny Juzang! Dang, that kid was everywhere, making plays, knocking down jumpers, frisky on defense, man of the match. BYU marked Juzang out of the game for a while and went on a little roll but UCLA was the better squad throughout. BYU wasn't bad, they played physical and disciplined, if they'd had a stretch of raining 3's, they might've snuck a W. With a big time scorer like Juzang, UCLA can keep winning (not sure Alabama beats this team). 

Games I saw (pretty much) none of:

(10) VCU - (7) Oregon (VCU DQ'd for Covid)

(13) UNC Greensboro 54-64 (4) Florida St

UNCG kept the game close throughout but FSU's depth eventually led to reliable buckets down low. Are the Seminoles good enough to keep winning? Maybe, but this is one of those games where the deeper team just needed time to eventually win out, not sure that's gonna work in the next round. But Colorado (dangerous wings) v Florida State (dangerous down low) should be a fun match.

(14) Eastern Washington 84-93 (3) Kansas

Eastern Washington had a big crazy mountain man kid down low that was getting buckets when he wanted. Kansas just has too much depth, outlasted them but EW gave 'em a good game. 

(9) St. Bonaventure 61-76 (8) LSU

(12) UC Santa Barbara 62-63 (5) Creighton 

UCSB missed a tough one in the lane at the buzzer. Tough loss, this was a very even match, neither team was ever in control.  

(15) Iona 55-68 (2) Alabama

(11) Drake 56-72 (6) Southern Cal

(15) Grand Canyon 74-86 (2) Iowa

(9) Missouri 68-72 (8) Oklahoma

(16) Norfolk St 55-98 (1) Gonzaga

(14) Abilene Christian 53-52 (3) Texas

Great box score. Abilene had 20 offensive rebounds (only 19 defensive rebounds--not sure I've ever seen more off than def rebounds before); add in that Texas had 22 TO's and it leads to Abilene outshooting Texas 67-40 FGA. (Holy crap!) That said, Abilene shot 17-49 on 2pt FG's. (Holy crap!) My point is: Abilene Christian pulled out the good W, but they didn't even play particularly well. Texas really reached deep inside themselves to lose this game. Texas hit a long cold stretch late, took the lead right at the end but lost it on late FT's. Good W for Abilene Christian (but, uh....hmmmm...I think UCLA is gonna slice and dice this squad).  (And...oh yeah...I had Texas in the Final Four...bracket shattered). 

Day #2: Pac-12 (4-0), ACC (1-1), SEC (2-1), Big 10 (3-0), Big 12 (2-1)

Day #2 MVP: Johnny Juzang (UCLA) all over the place and getting it done; Luke Garza (Iowa) put up tasty numbers all across the box score; Jason Preston (Ohio) looks like the guy to keep an eye on for the rest of the tourney. 

2021 NCAA Tourney (Day One)

 Games I saw (some of): 

(15) Oral Roberts 75-72 (OT) (2) Ohio State

Hey, if you watched the game, this was not a surprising result, Oral Roberts really was the better team throughout. Max Abmas (29 pts) was a fuckin' badass (like a little Lou Williams out there) and Obanor filled it up and hit big shots, while the rest of the crew made plays (would've been a blowout if they'd made more jumpers). For the Buckeyes, I was impressed with Liddle and Walker, but for some reason all the offense ran through Washington, who was not getting buckets down the stretch (7-21 FGs in 43 mins). If Oral Roberts has anything left in the tank then Florida is in trouble because these guys can score and control the game. (Yeah, I had the Buckeyes in my Final Four, so....yeah...bracket is shot)

(9) Wisconsin 85-62 (8) North Carolina

The Tarheels just had no offense at all, while the Badgers were their usual selves: a solid D and an offense that makes no mistakes. Wisconsin probably shot a little better than usual, not sure they were actually this much better than UNC.

(10) Va Tech 70-75 (OT) (7) Florida

I generally thought Va Tech was the better team.  About 10 mins left, Fla finally got Castelton going down low and Tech didn't have an answer for him. That turned the momentum and Florida should've won in regulation, but Tech did well to get the game to OT. But in OT, Tech just ran out of gas. Florida is fine, but nothing superior--Oral Roberts is gonna give them a match.

(13) North Texas 78-69 (OT) (4) Purdue

I only caught the last few minutes of regulation and all of the OT. Purdue, as happens to the 'big boys' in this tourney, just thought they could coast on how they've played all year long, instead of adapting to a new challenge. North Texas plodded along down low and controlled the tempo late to hold off the Boilermakers (who were basically playing a home game). 

(13) Liberty 60-69 (4) Oklahoma St

I kept waiting for OSU to take off but they never really did. Liberty hung around and kept the Cowboys nervous throughout. Concensus #1 pick Cade Cunningham did virtually nothing until the last 10 mins, then he finally appeared, but even then Liberty did not go quietly. Not sure what to make of their next match with Oregon St (can they blitz Ok St the way the blitzed Tennessee?).

Games I saw (pretty much) none of:

(16) Drexel 49-78 (1) Illinois

(16) Hartford 55-79 (1) Baylor

(15) Cleveland St 56-87 (2) Houston

(14) Colgate 68-85 (3) Arkansas

Score was much closer throughout the game, Arkansas must've run away with it late. 

(14) Morehead St 67-84 (3) West Virginia

(11) Syracuse 78-62 (6) San Diego St

Never close. Syracuse piled on points all the way through.

(9) Georgia Tech 60-71 (8) Loyola-Chicago

(12) Winthrop 63-73 (5) Villanova

(11) Utah St 53-65 (6) Texas Tech

(12) Oregon St 70-56 (5) Tennessee

Oregon State got out to a big lead and held it throughout/ 

(10) Rutgers 60-56 (7) Clemson

Day #1: Big-12 (4-0) looking like the dominant conference, while the strongest regular season conference, the Big-10 (3-2) was only so-so impressive. ACC (0-4) got smoked, SEC (2-1) plodded along and the Pac-12 (1-0) hasn't gotten started yet.  

Day #1 MVP: Max Abmas (Oral Roberts)