Post by Commissioner on Mar 14, 2021 5:36:10 GMT -5
Saturday, March 13, 2021
Let's just say that the Big 10 Tournament Final 4 was the NCAA Final 4 and call it a day.
More Champ Week Games
#9 Ohio State 68, #4 Michigan 67. This was a really good game to watch. Behind 19 second half points from Duane Washington, the Bucks went up 11 with just over 3 minutes to play. But the Wolverines came back with an 11-1 run, and got the ball for a final game-winning shot with 29 seconds left. But Michigan's final possession wasn't a good one, and ended with Mike Smith--1-10 to that point from the floor--taking the final shot, a three. It was off the mark and OSU moved on to the final. Is Michigan (20-4), losers of 3 of 5, still a #1 seed?
#3 Illinois 82, #5 Iowa 71. Kofi Cockburn (26 points, 8 rebounds) outdueled Luka Garza (21 points, 12 rebounds). Illinois (22-6) probably clinched a #1 seed, and they certainly looked worthy of it.
#6 Alabama 73, Tennessee 68. With Michigan's loss today, can Alabama (23-6) sneak into a #1 seed by winning the SEC tomorrow? Tennessee (18-8) peaked at a #6 ranking in mid-January, but went 8-7 from then on.
LSU 78, #8 Arkansas 71. LSU (17-8) was probably in, but definitely is now.
#7 Houston 76, Memphis 74. Memphis (16-8) nearly stole someone's bid, coming back from a 12 point half-time deficit to create clawing, scratching match between the Cougars and Tigers over the final 10 minutes. Jordan Gorham scored 6 straight points in the final minute to get Houston (23-3) the win. The difference was free throws: Memphis was a very mediocre 15-27, Houston 18-22.
Cincinnati 60, Wichita State 59. It will be a nerve-wracking 24 hours for Wichita State (16-5). Meanwhile, Cincy (12-10) is poised to steal a bid from someone if they beat Houston to win the AAC on Sunday.
#13 Texas 91, #12 Oklahoma State 86. Jericho Sims had 21 points and 12 rebounds as the Horns (19-7) won the Big 12 title.
Georgia Tech 80. #15 Florida State 75. Nobody expected much from Tech this year, especially after they lost their first two games to Georgia State and Mercer. But tonight Tech (17-8) made all the clutch plays to hold off FSU, win its 9th in a row, and claim the ACC title. They're the Cleveland State of the ACC.
Georgetown 73, #17 Creighton 48. Raise your hand if expected this. I want to know who the liars are.
#19 San Diego State 68, Utah State 57. The Utes (20-8) are another team that is looking at a very nervous Sunday, and cursing the Hoyas under their breath. I'll say that I thought both squads passed the eye test today, even as both struggled to score. Some tough defense.
Oregon State 70, #23 Colorado 68. Oregon State (17-12) stole a bid from someone when the Beavers won the PAC 12 tournament for the first time ever. The Beavers haven't been to the NCAAs, or had a winning record in PAC 12 play, since 1990, the first year after Ralph Miller left and Jim Anderson began destroying a program that had been one of the conference's best.
Ohio U. 84, Buffalo 69. This result surprised me. Buffalo had been playing really well. Jason Preston led Ohio (16-7) with 22 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists.
Iona 60, Fairfield 51. Rick Pitino is back in the NCAAs in year 1 at Iona. This is the 5th school he's taken to the big tournament: BU, Providence, Kentucky, Louisville, and now Iona. Without looking, what school did Pitino coach and fail to take to the tournament?
North Texas 61, Western Kentucky 57 (OT). North Texas stole a bid, but only from Western Kentucky, the regular season CUSA champ. It was a tough one. After opening a 17-0 lead to start the game, the Mean Green fell behind by 7 late in regulation, but scored the last 7 point to force overtime. This was WKU's third consecutive loss in the CUSA title game.
Santa Barbara 79, UC-Irvine 63. Top-seeded UCSB (22-4) won the Big West.
Abilene Christian 79, Nicholls 45. Abilene Christian (23-4) will make its 2d NCAA appearance in four years after routing Nicholls (18-7) to win the Southland.
Eastern Washington 65, Montana State 55. Second seeded Eastern Washington (15-7) won the Big Sky bid.
Grand Canyon 74, New Mexico State 56. Grand Canyon (17-6) will make its first NCAA appearance ever. New Mexico State had won 7 of the prior 8 WAC tournaments.
Hartford 64, UMass-Lowell 50. Hartford will go the NCAA tournament for the first time in its 37 seasons of D-1 ball. The Hawks began as the 4th seed in the America East conference tournament. They have never won the regular season title, never won 20 games in a season, and their 15-8 mark is the best winning percentage in school history. This game was a clangfest; the Hawks (that's Hartford) and River Hawks (that Lowell) shot a combined 10-52 from three point range, and 32.8% from the field.
Norfolk State 71, Morgan State 63. Norfolk State (16-7) is off to the NCAAs. They've been there just once before in 24 seasons of D-1 ball--in 2012, they became one of just eight number 15 seeds to win a first round game by beating third seeded Missouri.
Texas Southern 80, Prairie View 61. Mike Davis's former school will be in the tournament. To get through the SWAC tournament, the Tigers (16-8) had the unusual task of winning back-to-back games against teams that were previously unbeaten in conference play. Jackson State was 11-0 and Prairie View 13-0 in the regular season in conference. Prairie View finishes 16-5 overall, its best record in 44 seasons of D-1 play.
Let's just say that the Big 10 Tournament Final 4 was the NCAA Final 4 and call it a day.
More Champ Week Games
#9 Ohio State 68, #4 Michigan 67. This was a really good game to watch. Behind 19 second half points from Duane Washington, the Bucks went up 11 with just over 3 minutes to play. But the Wolverines came back with an 11-1 run, and got the ball for a final game-winning shot with 29 seconds left. But Michigan's final possession wasn't a good one, and ended with Mike Smith--1-10 to that point from the floor--taking the final shot, a three. It was off the mark and OSU moved on to the final. Is Michigan (20-4), losers of 3 of 5, still a #1 seed?
#3 Illinois 82, #5 Iowa 71. Kofi Cockburn (26 points, 8 rebounds) outdueled Luka Garza (21 points, 12 rebounds). Illinois (22-6) probably clinched a #1 seed, and they certainly looked worthy of it.
#6 Alabama 73, Tennessee 68. With Michigan's loss today, can Alabama (23-6) sneak into a #1 seed by winning the SEC tomorrow? Tennessee (18-8) peaked at a #6 ranking in mid-January, but went 8-7 from then on.
LSU 78, #8 Arkansas 71. LSU (17-8) was probably in, but definitely is now.
#7 Houston 76, Memphis 74. Memphis (16-8) nearly stole someone's bid, coming back from a 12 point half-time deficit to create clawing, scratching match between the Cougars and Tigers over the final 10 minutes. Jordan Gorham scored 6 straight points in the final minute to get Houston (23-3) the win. The difference was free throws: Memphis was a very mediocre 15-27, Houston 18-22.
Cincinnati 60, Wichita State 59. It will be a nerve-wracking 24 hours for Wichita State (16-5). Meanwhile, Cincy (12-10) is poised to steal a bid from someone if they beat Houston to win the AAC on Sunday.
#13 Texas 91, #12 Oklahoma State 86. Jericho Sims had 21 points and 12 rebounds as the Horns (19-7) won the Big 12 title.
Georgia Tech 80. #15 Florida State 75. Nobody expected much from Tech this year, especially after they lost their first two games to Georgia State and Mercer. But tonight Tech (17-8) made all the clutch plays to hold off FSU, win its 9th in a row, and claim the ACC title. They're the Cleveland State of the ACC.
Georgetown 73, #17 Creighton 48. Raise your hand if expected this. I want to know who the liars are.
#19 San Diego State 68, Utah State 57. The Utes (20-8) are another team that is looking at a very nervous Sunday, and cursing the Hoyas under their breath. I'll say that I thought both squads passed the eye test today, even as both struggled to score. Some tough defense.
Oregon State 70, #23 Colorado 68. Oregon State (17-12) stole a bid from someone when the Beavers won the PAC 12 tournament for the first time ever. The Beavers haven't been to the NCAAs, or had a winning record in PAC 12 play, since 1990, the first year after Ralph Miller left and Jim Anderson began destroying a program that had been one of the conference's best.
Ohio U. 84, Buffalo 69. This result surprised me. Buffalo had been playing really well. Jason Preston led Ohio (16-7) with 22 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists.
Iona 60, Fairfield 51. Rick Pitino is back in the NCAAs in year 1 at Iona. This is the 5th school he's taken to the big tournament: BU, Providence, Kentucky, Louisville, and now Iona. Without looking, what school did Pitino coach and fail to take to the tournament?
North Texas 61, Western Kentucky 57 (OT). North Texas stole a bid, but only from Western Kentucky, the regular season CUSA champ. It was a tough one. After opening a 17-0 lead to start the game, the Mean Green fell behind by 7 late in regulation, but scored the last 7 point to force overtime. This was WKU's third consecutive loss in the CUSA title game.
Santa Barbara 79, UC-Irvine 63. Top-seeded UCSB (22-4) won the Big West.
Abilene Christian 79, Nicholls 45. Abilene Christian (23-4) will make its 2d NCAA appearance in four years after routing Nicholls (18-7) to win the Southland.
Eastern Washington 65, Montana State 55. Second seeded Eastern Washington (15-7) won the Big Sky bid.
Grand Canyon 74, New Mexico State 56. Grand Canyon (17-6) will make its first NCAA appearance ever. New Mexico State had won 7 of the prior 8 WAC tournaments.
Hartford 64, UMass-Lowell 50. Hartford will go the NCAA tournament for the first time in its 37 seasons of D-1 ball. The Hawks began as the 4th seed in the America East conference tournament. They have never won the regular season title, never won 20 games in a season, and their 15-8 mark is the best winning percentage in school history. This game was a clangfest; the Hawks (that's Hartford) and River Hawks (that Lowell) shot a combined 10-52 from three point range, and 32.8% from the field.
Norfolk State 71, Morgan State 63. Norfolk State (16-7) is off to the NCAAs. They've been there just once before in 24 seasons of D-1 ball--in 2012, they became one of just eight number 15 seeds to win a first round game by beating third seeded Missouri.
Texas Southern 80, Prairie View 61. Mike Davis's former school will be in the tournament. To get through the SWAC tournament, the Tigers (16-8) had the unusual task of winning back-to-back games against teams that were previously unbeaten in conference play. Jackson State was 11-0 and Prairie View 13-0 in the regular season in conference. Prairie View finishes 16-5 overall, its best record in 44 seasons of D-1 play.