NCAA Tournament Pool - Round 2/Day 2

 

Guess who's back?  Back again!  Well, not Shady, but Your Tournament Host fresh from posting Sunday's analysis.  Now, we are back to being on time, as this post covers yesterday's on-court and in-pool action.

So, based upon yesterday's action here is what we know: (1) Gonzaga is going to be hard to beat; (2) Florida State can DUNK; and (3) the Pac-12 must be really underrated, as they have 4 teams remaining.

That includes Oregon, that ran roughshod over 2nd seeded Iowa.  And, they will face-off with fellow conference member USC, who started strong against Kansas and then coasted to victory, guaranteeing at least one Pac-12 member in the Elite Eight.  UCLA ended Abilene Christian's run, and they will face-off against Alabama who defeated Maryland.  Creighton rounds out the Elite Eight in the left half of the bracket.

Several entries had UCLA making the Sweet Sixteen, but unfortuantely for the pool, Abilene Christian did not qualify as an upset.  The only game that qualified as an upset was Oregon over Iowa, and 16 entries picked the Ducks to win.  Only one of those entrants, Max Macon 3 of Jupiter, Florida, chose the second round matchup as his guarantee.  Congratulations to Max on his 10 bonus points, and on your "Pick of the Day" award.

After Sunday's action, 8 of our 13 champions remained in the NCAA Tournament, but after Monday's games, only 6 made it to the Sweet 16.  Our champions (with remaining teams in bold) are:  Alabama, Baylor, Florida, Florida State, Gonzaga, Houston, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State and Virginia.

Today's tournament history springs from yesterday's (well, actually earlier today's) mention of the 1968 Game of the Century between Houston and UCLA, with the Cougars upsetting the top-ranked and undefeated Bruins.  UCLA's progression into the Sweet Sixteen makes it easy to re-visit that 1968 Championship team.

UCLA, the top-seed in the West region, defeated New Mexico State 58-49, after the Aggies beat Weber State.  UCLA clinched their spot in the Final Four by beating Santa Clara 87-68.  The West All-Region Team included three Bruins, Lew Alcindor, Lucius Allen and Mike Warren (more on him later). 

In the Final Four, UCLA was able to extract some revenge over Houston by annihilating the Cougars 101-69.  All five starters scored in double digits, led by Lew Alcindor, Lucius Allen and Mike Lynn's 19, with Alcindor grabbing 18 rebounds as well and Lucius Allen handing out 12 assists.  Lynn Shackelford added 17 points, and Mike Warren scored 14 with 9 assists.  UCLA won the championship by beating North Carolina 78-55, with Lew Alcindor absolutely dominating the game scoring 34 points and grabbing 16 rebounds.  The Most Outstanding Player was Lew Alcindor, who was joined on the All-Tournament Team by teammates Lucius Allen, Lynn Shackelford and Mike Warren, as well as Larry Miller from North Carolina.

Lew Alcindor, of course, would go on to become Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, one of the all-time greatest NBA players and its all-time leading scorer, as well as someone who busts his buns every night dragging Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes.

Mike Warren would go on to become an actor as well, including his starring role as Officer Bobby Hill on Hill Street Blues.

Stats of the Day

3.  The Oregon-Iowa game was the first game with 100 combined points in a half since 2008 in a first round matchup between North Carolina and Mount St. Mary's.

2.  Speaking of North Carolina, this is the first year North Carolina, Duke, Kentucky and Kansas are all absent from the Sweet Sixteen since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985.

1.  The combined number of seeds remaining in the Sweet Sixteen is 94, the highest number ever topping the 89 from 1986.

Players of the Day (Losing Team Edition)

4.  Austin Reaves, Oklahoma.  Reaves scored 27 points, and was the only Oklahoma player that truly looked comfortable against Gonzaga.

3.  Aaron Wiggins, Maryland.  Wiggins also scored 27 points, but also aded 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.

2.  Javonte Smart, LSU.  Smart scored 27 points, had 9 rebounds and 6 assists.

1.  Luka Garza, Iowa.  The first team All-American ended his collegiate career with a 36 point, 9 rebound effort.

Players of the Day (Winning Team Edition)

5.  Johnny Juzang, UCLA.  Juzang, the Kentucky transfer, scored a game-high 17 points.

4.  Eli Brooks, Michigan.  Brooks scored 21, grabbed 4 rebounds and dished 7 assists.

3.  Anthony Polite, FSU.  Polite scored 22 points.  His previous career high was only 15.

2.  Chris Duarte, Oregon.  Duarte scored 23 points and had 7 rebounds in Oregon's win over Iowa.

1.  Drew Timme, Gonzaga.  Timme scored 30 points on 9-12 shooting from the field, and 12-14 shooting from the free throw line.  He also had 13 rebounds.

Now, on to the scoring.  Please double check and let me know if you think there is a problem.  I will be glad to double-check your bracket.  Later this week I will update the standings to add winners/finalists for the entrants and maybe some other information.

1.  Nancy McInerney - 67

2.  Silas Nichols 2 - 65

     Jeff Plamondon - 65

4.  Colleen Hamilton 4 - 63

5.  Matt Hopps - 62

     Steven Usma 4 - 62

7.  William Pujals - 61

8.   Kingfish Parham - 60

9.  George Walks 2 - 58

     Day Yi 1 - 58

     Justin Yung - 58

12. Brent Bellinger 2 - 57

      Dave Marzouca 1 - 57

      Silas Nichols 1 - 57

15.  Javier Rodriguez - 56

       Steven Usma 1 - 56

17.  Chris Igtiben 1 -  55

18.  Brent Bellinger 1 - 54

       Braeden Helland 3 - 54

       Edy Pecan - 54

       Measha WIlliams - 54

22.  Ashley Poer 1 - 53

       Ashley Poer 3 - 53

       Measha Williams 3 - 53

25.  Pepe Sosa - 52

       Amy Zdrowak - 52

27. Jacey Fowler-Reynolds 2 - 51

      Chris Igtiben 2 - 51

      Karen Katz - 51

      Katie Kollmeyer - 51

      Brittany Sosa - 51

      George Walks 3 - 51

33.  Ty Leatherman - 50

       Brandon Satterwhite - 50

35.  Liz Carew - 49

       Jacey Fowler-Reynolds 1 - 49

       Carey Taylor - 49

38.  Jenna Finkelstein - 48

       Arlene Amo Hopps - 48

       Colonel Kareem Montague - 48

       Rich Samuels 1 - 48

42.  Max Macon 4 - 47

       Steven Usma 2 - 47

       Katie Zdrowak - 47

       Keith Zdrowak - 47

46.  Scott Bieterman - 46

       Steven Usma 3 - 46

48.  Larry Green - 45

       Stephanie Henderson - 45

       Skip Laforte - 45

       Max Macon 2 - 45

52.  Colleen Hamilton 2 - 44

       Eric Inge - 44

       Dan Laishley - 44

       Max Macon 3 - 44

       Kisha Marzouca 2 - 44

       Measha Williams 3 - 44

58.  Braeden Helland - 43

       Guy Hughes - 43

       Joshua Ward - 43

       Ken Ward - 43

62.  Paul Cummings - 42

       Ashley Poer 2 - 42

       Jeremy Spuhler - 42

       Amanda Staudt - 42

       Jonathan Wasaserman - 42

67.  Braeden Helland 2 - 41

       Cheryl Spuhler - 41

       Measha Williams 1 - 41

70.  Colleen Hamilton 1 - 40

       Colleen Hamilton 3 - 40

       Adam Jorgensen 1 - 40

       Greg Lieberman - 40

       Kisha Marzouca 1 - 40

       Sasha Moon - 40

       Jason Spuhler - 40

77.  Adam Jorgensen 2 - 39

       Adam Jorgensen 3 - 39

       Martha Kroesen - 39

       Max Macon 1 - 39

81.  Rachel Bornn - 38

       Carolyn Fowler - 38

       Braeden Helland 4 - 38

       Emily Lawson 2 - 38

85.  Dan Barsky 1 - 37

       Kyle Henderson 1 - 37

       Brian Hinaman - 37

       Marcus Jackson - 37

       Mac Kroesen - 37

       Michael McNally - 37

       Barkley Sosa - 37

       George Walks 1 - 37

       George Walks 4 - 37

94.  Kyle Henderson 2 - 36

       Miles Jackson - 36

       Shane Dogmillionaire Jernigan - 36

       Emily Lawson 1 - 36

       Jane Reynolds - 36

       Rich Samuels 2 - 36

       Hannah Sosa - 36

101.  Quinn Jackson - 35

         Chris Laforte - 35

         Wes Wiggins - 35

         Day Yi - 35

         Biscuit Zdrowak - 35

106.  Luis Briones - 34

         Rich Samuels 3 - 34

108.  Carolyn Fowler & Jane Reynolds - 33

         Dave Marzouca 2 - 33

         Joshua Zdrowak - 33

111.  James Garvin - 32

         Blake Jackson - 32

113.  Dan Barsky 2 - 31

         Sean McInerney - 31

         Brian McMahon - 31

         Jessica Samuels - 31

117.  Alvaro Gonzalez - 30

         Justin Hallack - 30

119.  Shane Dogmillionaire Jernigan - 29

120.  Bubba Zdrowak - 27

NCAA Tournament Pool - Round 2/Day 1

So for everyone to keep up, this post is just an analysis of Round 2/Day 1, which was Sunday's games.  No standings will be included at the bottom, as I have tabulated all of the games through yesterday, and as such, the standings will be current through the following post, which I will also be making today.  So, as far as Sunday goes ....

"Down goes Frazier!  Down goes Frazier!  Down goes Frazier!"  Both figuratively and literally.  In game 1 of the day we lose our first number 1 seed, Illinois, including its starting guard -  who is a local kid (well, local to me) - Trent Frazier.  Loyola jumped out to an early lead, and Illinois never challenged after that.  Loyola has done this recently, as they made the Final Four in 2018, and did have the number 1 ranked defense in the NCAA.  So, some people saw this coming, particularly Brian Hinaman of Parrish, Florida, Ashley Poer 2, of Lake Worth Beach, Florida, and Steven Usma 4 of Miami, Florida.  If you don't see your name listed here and you selected Loyola, don't worry, you will get your mention.

Illinois was not our only champion to have been defeated on Sunday, as the late preacher Oral Roberts gave an important enough a homily that his eponymous university defeated the University of Florida Gators late Sunday.  Seriously, Oral Roberts and Loyola of Chicago both get Sunday games?  How is that fair.  At least Oklahoma State spared us from having to see Liberty play on Sunday also.

As a reminder, we had 13 separate champions selected, and now five have been defeated in the opening weekend.  The champions in our pool (remaining teams in bold) are:  Alabama, Baylor, Florida, Florida State, Gonzaga, Houston, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Virginia.

In addition to the 2 aforementioned upsets, we had 2 additional upsets on Sunday, with Oregon State defeating Oklahoma State and Syracuse beating West Virginia.  Syracuse had its share of fans in our pool, including Silas Nichols 2 of Washington, D.C., Kingfish Parham of Atlanta, Georgia, William Pujals of Charlotte, North Carolina, George Walks 2 of West Palm Beach, Florida, and Day Yi 1 of Forest Hills, New York.  Oregon State's support was even sparser, having been picked by Dave Marzouca 1 of Boynton Beach, Florida.

We did have a few other entrants receive bonus points for picking upsets, and they deserve special mention here as Javier Rodriguez of Coral Gables, Florida guaranteed his selection of Syracuse.  Justin Yung of Chapel Hill, North Carolina earned multiple bonuses by selecting Loyola and Syracuse and Colleen Hamilton of the Greater West Palm Beach, Florida area likewise garnered multiple bonuses by picking Syracuse and Oregon State.

However, none of those entries could keep up with the juggernaut that is first-time entrant Nancy McInerney of Atlantic Beach, Florida.  Nancy selected Loyola, Oregon State AND Syracuse.  For that, Nancy receives the "Pick of the Day" Award.  What was wrong Nancy, you didn't have Oral Roberts?  (Hint:  She didn't.  Nobody had Oral Roberts.)

It would be too easy for me to want to give a historical perspective about Loyola of Chicago in the NCAA Tournament, but I already did that back after day 1 round 1 in 2018, spotlighting Loyola great Alfredrick Hughes.  You can read about that here.

So, for today's history lesson, we will take a look back to legendary Houston Cougar coach Guy Lewis, to honor Houston's run to the Sweet Sixteen. Guy Lewis played collegiately at Houston from 1945-1947, after serving in the army in World War II.  He came back to Houston as an assistant coach in 1953, becoming head coach in 1956.  At Houston, he was one of the first white, Southern coaches to actively recruit African-American players, convincing Elvin Hayes and Don Chaney to attend Houston as its first African-American players in 1964.  Hayes and Chaney led Houston to 2 Final Fours in 1967 and 1968.  In 1968 Houston, behind Hayes and Chaney defeated undefeated and top-ranked UCLA Bruins at the Houston Astrodome in the first nationally televised regular season game and one of the best games in NCAA History.

Under Lewis, Houston had 27 consecutive winning seasons, and 14 trips to the NCAA Tournament, including 3 straight trips to the Final Four from 1982 - 1984, with teams led by Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler.  Houston finished second in 1983, losing to North Carolina State on a last-second rebound/lay-up by Lorenzo Charles on a missed shot by Derek Whittenburg.  In 1984 Houston lost 84-75 to a Georgetown Hoyas team led by Patrick Ewing and coached by legendary John Thompson.

Lewis, who coached through 1986, was a two-time coach of the year (1968, 1983) and entered the College Basketbal Hall of Fame in 2007 and the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.  He died in 2015 at the age of 93.

Stat of the Day

1.  The Illinois-Loyola game is only the third time two teams from the State of Illinois have played each other in the NCAA Tournament.  The1 first was Loyola-Chicago defeating Illinois in 1963, and the second was DePaul beating Illinois State in 1984.

Players of the Day

6.  Buddy Boeheim, Syracuse.  For the second consecutive round the coach's son makes an appearance, scoring 25 points on 6-13 shooting from three point range.

5.  Justin Smith, Arkansas.  Smith scored 20, with 6 rebounds in the Razorbacks victory over Texas Tech.

4.  Quinten Groves, Houston.  Houston coasted past Rutgers in large part thanks to Groves scoring 22 points and grabbing 9 rebounds.

3.  Ethan Thompson, Oregon State.  Oregon State needed to win their conference tournament just to make the NCAA's, and Thompson is taking advantage of that opportunity scoring 26 points with 7 rebounds.

2.  Cameron Krutwig, Loyola.  Krutwig scored 19 points, grabbed 12 rebounds had 5 assists and 4 steals, including 6 points and 1 assist as Loyola went up 9-2 at the start of the game.

1.  Kevin Obanor, Oral Roberts.  Roberts had a monster game, scoring 28 points, grabbing 11 rebounds, and 4 steals, while playing all 40 minutes in Oral Roberts' victory over Florida.  

Best Social Media Post

From both RedditCFB and Rapid Replays:

"Oral Roberts has officially ended Ohio State and Florida's runs, a feat last accomplished by Urban Meyer's health problems"

Standings coming in the next post.