19 Mar25 - Trickle-Down Hoop-onomics (Cinder-who?) (SWEET SIXTEEN)

Volume XXIII, No. 21 - 19 Mar25: SWEET SIXTEEN Trickle-Down Hoop-onomics (Cinder-who?) When the dust settled at the end of Round Two of the NCAA tournament, things had gone almost entirely according to form. All of the Top 12 seeds made it through (and only two No.4-seeds {the BIG 12's [M4]Kansas and [S4]Kansas State} didn't). Nearly the entire preseason Carousel made it through the first weekend (minus [M4]Kans and [W7]Nevada). Only [S12]Oregon could technically be called a Cinderella team (but the Ducks were Preseason Top 25). (In fact, things went so "chalk" that the NCAA's NET picks are Top-10 in the Hoops Contest!)      That said, the Splashworthy 1BCs all did themselves proud, scoring five first-round wins and no one getting blown out. The ACC parlayed 7 bids into 5 spots in the Sweet 16, going 5-2 in Round One and 5-0 in Round Two. The league's "home" Pod moved south to Columbia,SC this year, but it still did its job, seeing both [E1]@Duke (barely) and [S1]Virginia (comfortably) through the first weekend. The D-Blue Devils thumped [E16a]North Dakota State (@85-62 as cR.J. Barrett[26p14r] starred) but had all they could handle in the "Human Interest" matchup with [E9]UCF (coached by former Duke great Johnny Dawkins), (@77-76 as xZion Williamson[32p11r;GWFG] dueled 32p from coach's son gAubrey Dawkins) - - a missed alley-oop dunk and late-three-pointer may have saved the day for the Dukies. The Cavaliers had an easier go of it, dumping [S16]Gardner-Webb (71-56) and handling [S9]Oklahoma (63-51) thanks to solid defense. Playing in Columbus,OH was no issue for [M1]North Carolina, thumping [M16]Iona (88-73) and dumping [M9]Washington (81-59) as the Tar Heels dominated the boards against both opponents. [W4]Florida State took care of two quality 1BC foes in Hartford,CT, beating [W13]@Vermont (76-@69 despite 16 threes from the V-Catamounts) and thumping [W12]Murray State (90-62 despite 28p4a5r from bJa Morant). [E4]Virginia Tech beat [E13]St. Louis (66-52) and also [E12]Liberty (67-58).      The SEC put 4 of 7 teams into the second week, going 5-2 and 4-1. [M5]Auburn continued its roll from winning the conference tournament, first surviving the upset bid of [M12]New Mexico State (78-77) and then handling [M4]Kansas (89-75 despite 25p10r3a from xDedric Lawson) in the biggest upset of the weekend. "A-OK" as well for the "home" Pod in Jacksonville,FL as both [E3]LSU (barely) and [M2]@Kentucky advanced. The LS-Tigers survived two endplays, first edging [E14]Yale (79-74) and also [E6]Maryland (69-67 on pTremont Waters' game-winner). The K-Wildcats had no trouble with [M15]Abilene Christian, dumping (@79-44 on bKeldon Johnson[25p6r] star turn) and cooled off [M7]Wofford (@62-56 holding all-time three-point-leader Fletcher Magee to 0/12 on threes). [S2]Tennessee didn't have it so easy in Columbus,OH, only beating [S15]Colgate (77-70 despite 15 threes from the C-Raiders and 30p4a from pJordan Burns) and only edging [S10]Iowa in overtime (83-77[OT] after leading by 25 in the first half). In addition, [W10]Florida scored a first-round upset over [W7]Nevada (70-61 as the N-Wolf_Pack only managed 4 assists).      The BIG 10 only managed 3 Sweet 16 teams after going 7-1 in Round One but just 3-4 in Round Two (including one head-to-head knockout). [S3]Purdue took care of business in Hartford,CT, handling [S14]Old Dominion (61-48) and thumping [S6]Villanova (87-61 behind 16 threes) as bCarsen Edwards averaged 34p6r in two games. The "home" Pod in Des Moines,IA served its purpose as both [E2]Michigan State and [W2]Michigan had it easy. The MS-Spartans handled [E15]Bradley (76-65 on gCassius Winston[26p4a]'s star turn) and dumped conferencemate [E10]Minnesota (70-50 dominating the boards 45-19 despite 27p4a from gAmir Coffey). The Wolverines dumped both [W15]Montana (74-55) and [W10]Florida (64-49). In addition, [M11]Ohio State (edging [M6]Iowa State 62-59 in Tulsa,OK), [S10]Iowa (beating [S7]@Cincinnati 79-@72 in Columbus,OH) and [E10]Minnesota (handling [E7]Louisville 86-76 as coach Richard Pitino got some revenge against the school that fired his dad, Rick, last year) all scored first-round upsets. Not to mention [E6]Maryland edging [E11a]Belmont (79-77 despite 35p11r from xDylan Windler) as expected.      The BIG 12 got just 1 team through the first weekend, going 4-2 at first but then only 1-3. The "home" Pod in Tulsa,OK helped [W3]@Texas Tech breeze through two wins, but that was it. The Red Raiders dumped both [W14]Northern Kentucky (@72-57) and [W6]Buffalo (@78-58) as tJarrett Culver averaged 23p6a9r in two games. For good measure, [W9]Baylor beat [W8]Syracuse (78-69 sinking 16-for-34 threes despite 25p3a from gElijah Hughes) and [S9]Oklahoma thumped [S8]Mississippi (95-72 as xKristian Doolittle[19p15r5a] starred) in the first round. Not to mention [M4]Kansas, who dumped [M13]Northeastern (87-53 as xDedric Lawson[25p11r] starred).      The AMERICAN pushed 1 of 4 teams through to the Sweet 16, going (0-1), 2-1 and 1-1. [M3]Houston had two easy wins in Tulsa,OK, dumping both [M14]Georgia State (84-55 as pCorey Davis Jr.[26p6a7r] starred) and [M11]Ohio State (74-59). For good mesure, [E9]UCF dumped [E8]VCU (73-58 as cTacko Fall[13p18r5b] dominated) in the first round for its first-ever NCAA win.      The PACIFIC-12 managed 1 team out of 3 into the second week, going (1-0), 2-1 and 1-1. [S12]Oregon continued its roll from winning the conference tournament, shocking [S5]Wisconsin (72-54) and dumping upstart [S13]@UC-Irvine (73-@54). For good measure, [M9]Washington thumped [M8]Utah St (78-61) in the first round. Don't forget [W11a]Arizona State beat [W11b]St. John's (74-65 despite 25p4a from gShamorie Ponds) in the Play-In game.      The WEST COAST placed 1 team of 2 teams into the Sweet 16, going 1-1 and 1-0. As expected, juggernaut [W1]Gonzaga cruised past [W16b]Fairleigh Dickinson (87-49 controlling the boards 47-30) and [W9]Baylor (83-71 as cBrandon Clarke[36p8r5b;15/18fg] dominated). The Splashworthy 1BCs didn't disappoint, pulling off 5 first-round wins. [S13]@BIGW/UC-Irvine surprised [S4]Kansas State (@70-64) for its first-ever NCAA win. More shocking still, [E12]A-SUN/Liberty edged [E5]Mississippi State (80-76 on Caleb Homesley[30p]'s star turn) also for its first-ever NCAA win. Less shocking perhaps, [W12]{two-bid}OVC/Murray State thumped [W5]Marquette (83-64 on xJa Morant[17p16a11r]'s triple-double despite 26p2a from gMarkus Howard). Strong seeds meant their wins weren't technically upsets, still [M7]SOCON/Wofford came through, thumping [M10]Seton Hall (84-68 despite 27p3a from gMyles Powell) as gFletcher Magee became the all-time NCAA leader in career three-pointers (509). Also, [W6]Buffalo thumped [W11a]Arizona State (91-74 despite 22p8r3a from tZylan Cheatham as Sun Devil coach Bobby Hurley got no joy losing to his former club). Don't forget that [E11a]{two-bid}OVC/Belmont beat [E11b]Temple (81-70 led by gKevin McClain[29p]) in the Play-In game. The disappointing BIG EAST went (0-1), 1-2 and 0-1, only managing [S6]Villanova edging [S11]St. Mary's (61-57) in the first round.      The MISSOURI VALLEY (0-1), IVY LEAGUE (0-1) and ATLANTIC 10 (0-2) all made no impression despite their Mid-Major ratings.      The MOUNTAIN WEST's high-profile standard-bearers both went belly-up, 0-2.      The NORTHEAST got a Play-In win as [W16b]Fairleigh Dickinson "upset" [W16a]SWAC/Prairie View A&M (82-76 as gDarnell Edge[33p] dueled 26p5r from bGary Blackston). The SUMMIT's Play-In was "according to seed" as [E16a]North Dakota State edged [E16b]MEAC/North Carolina Central (78-74 despite 20p16r from cRaasean Davis). - - - - - - In the NIT, 1BC title champs [s8]MEAC/Norfolk State (over [s1]SEC/Alabama, 80-@79[OT] as pDerrik Jamerson[25p7r;GWFTs] starred) and [e6]IVY/Harvard (over [e3]BIGE/Georgetown, 71-@68) both scored road wins at B-Major hosts. [e5]ASUN/Lipscomb did almost as well (beating Mid-Major host [e4]A10/Davidson, 89-@81 despite 31p7r from bKellan Grady). [m6]AMER/Wichita State's road win at touted 1BC [m3]SOCON/Furman (76-@70 despite 27p8r5a from tMatt Rafferty) was a surprise as was [s4]BIGE/Xavier's comfortable home win over B-Major-rated [s6]MAC/Toledo (@78-64 as xNaji Marshall[20p21r6a] dominated). [m5]SEC/Arkansas' road win at [m4]BIGE/Providence (84-@72) was the only other first-round result that didn't follow form. In the second round, only [e5]ASUN/Lipscomb (86-@69 over [e1]SOCON/UNC-Greensboro) and [m6]AMER/Wichita State (63-@55 over [m2]ACC/Clemson) broke through on the road.      In the CBI, Only [wA2]WCC/Loyola Marymount won on the road, edging at still-qualifying [sA1]WAC/{California Baptist}, 56-@55.      In the CIT, SKY/Southern Utah took out favorite MVC/Drake (@80-73[OT]). In specialty events, SUNB/Louisiana-Monroe beat MAC/Kent State to win the LOU HENSON CLASSIC (@87-77 behind MVP Travis Munnings[28p4a9r]); HORIZ/Green Bay won on the road at SOCON/East Tennessee State to win the HUGH DURHAM CLASSIC (102-@94 behind MVP Sandy Cohen III[29p6a]); CUSA/Marshall beat HORIZ/IUPUI to win the JIM PHELAN CLASSIC (@78-73 behind MVP xJon Elmore[22p7a10r]); WAC/Cal State-Bakersfield won on the road at BIGW/Cal State-Fullerton to win the RILEY WALLACE CLASSIC (66-@58 behind MVP cJames Suber); and BIGS/Hampton beat NEC/St. Francis(New York) to win the JOHN McLENDON CLASSIC (@81-72 behind MVP gTrevond Barnes). Also claiming road wins, BIGS/Presbyterian won on the road at WAC/Seattle (73-@68); CUSA/Florida International won on the road at SUNB/Texas State (87-@81 as 5-10 bBrian Beard Jr.[29p3a] countered 27p5r from bTre'Larenz Nottingham); and SWAC/Texas Southern edged in overtime on the road at SLAND/New Orleans (95-@89[OT]). - - - - - - The BIG 12 made up for its 5-5 record in the NCAAs by going 4-0 in the NIT, placing two teams into the quarterfinals after home wins by [w1]TCU (over [w8]Sam Houston State, @82-69; and [w4]Nebraska, @88-72 as tDesmond Bane[30p8r] starred) and [s2]Texas (over [s7]South Dakota State, @79-73 despite 25p11r from xMike Daum; and [s3]Xavier, @78-76[OT] as tKevin Roach[21p6a8r] starred). The BIG EAST's poor NCAA showing was echoed by a mediocre 3-4 performance in the NIT to boot. The Flop-rated ATLANTIC SUN was spectacular, going 4-1 overall on the week, including Liberty's 32-Splash upset of SEC/MissSt in the NCAAs and Lipscomb's two road wins (at A10/David and SOCON/UNCG) to reach the quarterfinals of the NIT; not to mention New Jersey Tech's first-round win in the CIT over MAAC/Quinnipiac (@92-81 as bZach Cooks[34p6r] dueled 29p8r from tCameron Young). Also noteworthy was the Flop BIG SOUTH's 5-2 record, highlighted by Longwood's home win in CBI (over CUSA/Southern Mississippi, @90-68) and four wins in the CIT by Hamp and Presby as well as Charleston Southern (past CUSA/Florida Atlantic, @68-66) [and Presby's second-round road win at Robert Morris (77-@70)].      Hope you caught the last light from the stars of the Naismith Meteor Shower as the likes of cEthan Happ(Wisconsin) saw his college career end before the second week of the NCAAs.     Some of the greatest Off-Broadway stars took their final bow in the NIT: xMike Daum(25p11r in [s7]South Dakota State's 73-@79 loss at [s2]Texas), gChris Clemons(32p1a in [e8]Campbell's 69-@84 loss at [e1]UNC-Greensboro) and bJustin Wright-Foreman(29p5a6r in [e7]Hoftra's 78-@84 loss at [e2]N.C. State). (I've said it before: It's great that the NIT gives automatic bid to regular season title champs; but I wish they'd go one step further and give them home games so that these kind of program legends could have their curtain call in front of the home fans.) - - - - - - [S1]Virginia has looked solid twice and gets a break with "Cinderella" [S12]Oregon up next with hot-and-cold [S2]Tennessee or One-Man-Show [S3]Purdue(bCarsen Edwards) after that. [E1]Duke suddenly looks less than dominant and has a tough-matchup conferencemate [E4]Virginia Tech up first while dominant [E2]Michigan State looms in wait after that. [W1]Gonzaga gets payback from last year up next against [W4]Florida State and then a tougher task getting past [W2]Michigan or easier [W3]Texas Tech after that. [M1]North Carolina won't mind at all running with [M5]Auburn up next but a rematch with much-improved [M2]@Kentucky will be a tough ask as defense-minded [M3]Houston can't keep pace. (Even after seeing two rounds of tournament play, I'm not sure I see a clear favorite. Only [W2]Mich, [M3]Hous and [S12]Ore have had two worry-free blowouts on their way into the Sweet 16. Let's go with [W1]Gonz, [E1]Duke, [S2]Tenn and [M1]UNC. [E1]Duke over [S2]Tenn still looks good to me.)      In the NIT, look for an all B-Major quartet to make it to New York: [e2]ACC/North Carolina State, [m1]BIG10/Indiana, [w1]BIG12/TCU and [s2]BIG12/Texas (but [e5]ASUN/Lipscomb is the only team left besides NCSt that is still worth rating at this point).      In the CBI, "slumming" B-Majors [eA1]BIG12/West Virginia and [mA1]BIGE/DePaul still look like the favorites.      In the CIT, [1x]CUSA/Marshall and [1x]Lousiana-Monroe look good (and both have byes into the quarterfinals, along with [1x]New Jersey Tech). Road Warrior HORIZ/Green Bay was rewarded with a home game (while BIGW/Cal State-Bakersfield, CUSA/Florida International, BIGS/Presbyterian and SWAC/Texas Southern all have to travel again). (Look for Marsh, LA-Mon, GBay and BIGS/Hampton all to advance to the semifinals.) -- Ron

Key games this week:

NCAA

Thursday, Saturday:

SOUTH REGIONAL Semis,Final @LouisvilleKY
• [S1]Virginia v [S12]Oregon
• [S2]Tennessee v [S3]Purdue

WEST REGIONAL Semis,Final @AnaheimCA/HONDA/
• [W1]Gonzaga v [W4]Florida St
• [W2]Michigan v [W3]Texas Tech

Friday, Sunday

EAST REGIONAL Semis,Final @WashingtonDC/C1/
• [E1]Duke v [E4]Virginia Tech
• [E2]Michigan St v [E3]LSU

MIDWEST REGIONAL Semis,Final @KansasCityMO/SPRINT/
• [M1]N Carolina v [M5]Auburn
• [M2]@Kentucky v [M3]Houston

Sat 6 Apr, Mon 8 Apr:

FINAL FOUR,NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP @SanAntonioTX
• {[1/EAST]} v {[4/WEST]}
• {[2/SOUTH]} v {[3/MIDWEST]}

NIT

Monday:

16s on-campus
• @ [s4]Colorado v [s8]Norfolk St

Tuesday:

Qtrs on-campus
• @ [m1]Indiana v [m6]Wichita St
• @ [w1]TCU v [w2]Creighton

Wednesday:

Qtrs on-campus
• @ [e2]NC State v [e5]Lipscomb
• @ [s2]Texas v [s4]Colorado

Tuesday week, Thursday week:

Semis, Finals @NewYorkNY/MSG/
• {[e]NC State} v {[m]/Indiana}
• {[w]/TCU} v {[s]Texas}

CBI

Monday:

Qtrs on-campus
• @ [eA1]WVirginia v [eB1]Co Carolina
• @ [mA1]DePaul v [mB1]Longwood
• @ [sA1]S Florida v [sB1]UT Valley
• @ [wA2]Loyola Marymount v [wB1]Brown

Wednesday,Thursday:

Semis on-campus (re-seeded)

Monday week, Wednesday week, (if necessary: Friday week):

Finals on-campus (Best of 3)

CIT

(Sunday):

16s on-campus (re-seeded)
• Presbyterian 77 @ Robert Morris 70

Monday-Tuesday:

16s on-campus (re-seeded)
• @ So Utah v Cal St-Bakersfield
• @ TX-RG Valley v Texas So
• @ Green Bay v FL International
• @ Hampton v Charleston So

Tuesday-Friday:

Qtrs on-campus (re-seeded) ([1x]Marshall, [1x]LA-Monroe and [1x]NJIT all received byes into the quarterfinals.)
• Presbyterian, ...

Tuesday week:

Semis on-campus (re-seeded)

Thursday week:

Final on-campus