End Second Round Update
Greetings and Salutations, Pool Playas,
I know I say this every year, but I just love this tournament. Sunday’s games were incredibly entertaining. We had buzzer beaters, upsets, and last-minute heroics across the board. Unfortunately, a great day of hoops ended with a snoozer as Alabama absolutely demolished Texas Tech by 25 points to make their fourth-straight Sweet 16.
In the pool, we have a 5-way tied for the lead heading into the Sweet 16. Those five - KF1, Petal Picker, Mayhem, June Dog, and Lady Applejack - have 51 points. We then have 8 players just one back at 50 (Madness Mags, Puddy Loves The Devils, If you ain’t first, you’re me; AnnSki!, Paz, Seal Cat, Theo Cat, and Moe Cat. After that, there are a whopping 15 players just 2 points off the lead at 49 points. The wins are worth 3 points each in the next round when we resume on Thursday. Head to the site for complete standings heading into the Sweet 16.
So much drama on Sunday, but here is just a taste...
Huskers outlast Commodores
For my money, the finish of the Nebraska-Vanderbilt game was one of the most entertaining of the entire tournament so far. It may be my bias, but I love it when they just let the players play (as opposed to calling timeouts every few seconds to plan strategy). The last few minutes were just back-and-forth, throwing punches, and only one time out right at the end. The Huskers’ Sam Hoiberg (the coach’s son - why is it always the coach’s son?) hit a layup in the final seconds to deliver the win. Do yourself a favor and watch the final few minutes. What a game!
Oh Darling, Kansas is out!
Dylan Darling of St. John’s (apparently not related to kids in Peter Pan) picked a darn good time to score his only points of the game, hitting a layup at the buzzer to knock out the Jayhawks. Kansas used some pretty good strategy down the stretch, fouling in the backcourt a few times with just seconds left. But the kid made a play.
And for the coup de grace, Iowa walks it off against defending champs (and yes, you’re darn right I had to look up coup de grace)
I don’t think the Florida Gators will be screening “Field of Dreams” on the flight home, as the Iowa Hawkeyes knocked off the defending champs and #1 seed for our first taste of “March Madness” in this tournament (unless you count High Point). Down 2, the Hawkeyes’ Alvaro Folgueiras hit a 3-pointer from the right corner in the final seconds to upset the champs and send Iowa to the Sweet 16. It’s the first time the Hawkeyes will party in the Sweet 16 since 1999 (kids, ask your parents about Prince).
Amazing stat from the post-game show - 8 of the last 9 national champions have failed to make it to the Sweet 16. Pardon me, I need a moment to process that one.
Vols roll
Tennessee dispatched Virginia to make the Sweet 16 for the fourth year in a row (not an easy feat), led by Ja‘Kobi Gillespie’s 21 points, and making their free throws down the stretch. Free throws are always important, but they really seem to count more in March. Well, they still count for 1, but you know what I mean.
Higher seeds still thriving - but Sunday “market corrected” a bit
Not that you didn’t believe me, but a quick look at the numbers shows how dominant the higher seeds have been in this March “Madness.”
There are 4 teams coming out of each region making the Sweet 16 (no, I wasn’t a math major, thanks for asking). 😉. Here are the seeds advancing from each regional:
East - 1-3-5-6
West 1-2-4-11
South - 2-3-4-9
Midwest - 1-2-4-6
Lots of small numbers in that list above, aren’t there? But we do have an 11 (Texas) and a 9 (Iowa) crashing the party. I don’t really have an opinion on whether that’s a good or bad thing. I like upsets (they’re fun), but I also like blue blood programs with superstars battling it out in the later rounds. There’s no right answer here, just fun March Madness.
OK, enjoy the break, and I’ll be back to you with an update late Thursday night.
Jabin