Yet again, we were gifted another great night of basketball this past evening. The first four games of the Sweet 16 were played last night, and the only game that didn’t end up being sweaty was UCONN vs Arkansas. Now, let’s get into what went down in every game and take a first look at the East and West Elite 8 matchups that were solidified last night.
GAME ONE – MICHIGAN STATE FALLS TO KANSAS STATE
Kansas state guard Markquis Nowell broke the NCAA Tournament assist record with 19 in a huge win over Tom Izzo and his Spartans. Izzo, who has led Michigan State to 25 straight tournaments and six Final Fours, seemed a little salty after the loss. When asked about the the game, he said KSU “made some big plays. But some of those big plays weren’t big plays, they were lucky plays”. I wouldn’t call this luck:
Markquis Nowell just placed himself at the top of my list of favorite players left in the tournament. As a Celtics fan who adored Isaiah Thomas, I can’t help but love a small guard that balls out and carries his team to wins.
Even though I had Michigan State winning, KSU pulled me over to their side after last night’s performance. I can’t wait for their matchup against FAU tomorrow night.
GAME TWO – UCONN BLOWS BY ARKANSAS
The UCONN Huskies look so good right now. Ending the first half up 17, they didn’t slow down when the second rolled around. Jordan Hawkins ended the game with 24 points on 6/13 shooting and he didn’t miss any of his nine attempts from the line.
As a team, the Huskies dominated the Hogs in shooting percentage. UCONN ended up shooting 57.4% compared to Arkansas’ 31.7%. What really separated the teams though was their performance from beyond the arc. UCONN went 9/20 (45%) while Arkansas went 5/16 (31.2%).
Long story short: Even though the Hogs shot nine more shots than the Huskies, their shots just weren’t falling and they couldn’t get an offensive rebound to save their lives. That is not a good recipe for winning against this UCONN team, especially when they have a shooting performance like they did in the game last night.
GAME THREE – FAU TRUMPS TENNESSEE TO GO TO THE ELITE 8
This all-time upset was the greatest win in Florida Atlantic’s school history. Nick Boyd, a guard for the Owls who put up 12 points and 8 boards, put it best: “We’re just a scrappy group,” Boyd said. “Unbreakable.”
Unbreakable is what FAU or any team needed to get past this bruising Tennessee group. When asked about how they’d prepare to face such a physical team, FAU head coach Dusty May jokingly said that they were “going to study Australian rugby rules”. While it was a joke, I don’t think the Volounteers got the memo:
I said in my last blog that the game might be determined by how the refs call it, but I was wrong. Sure, Tennessee received four more fouls and the only tech of the game, but FAU won by playing a complete team game and not giving into the physicality Tennessee brought.
GAME FOUR – UCLA CHOKES IN LOSS TO GONZAGA
What a game. Drew Timme looked like the best player in the tournament, going 36-13-4 in the Zags win last night, but it was the Bruins that shot themselves in the foot to lose.
After the first half, UCLA led by 13 and looked phenomenal. But, as the second half rolled around, something changed. It just seemed like they couldn’t get anything going on offense, even going on an 11 minute scoring drought deep into the second half. This allowed the Zags to come storming back, but UCLA’s Amari Bailey drilled a three with 12.7 seconds left to go back up. The only problem: too much time left on the clock.
These are moments that are forever engraved in the brains of fans worldwide. While it was the same play that Villanova used to win the title at the buzzer in 2016, all I could think about was Jalen Sugg’s buzzer beater to beat the Bruins to go to the 2021 finals a couple of years back. Drew Timme seemed to think the same thing, noting: “It’s just like that Jalen Shot, man”.
NOW, A QUICK LOOK AT THE EAST AND WEST ELITE 8 MATCHUPS
In the East, we have FAU facing off against KSU to decide who heads to Houston. After watching the games last night, my money is on Kansas State. Then again, my picks have been pretty terrible this tournament, so that right there could be a free fade opportunity. I just love this KSU team and can’t wait to see Markquis Nowell dish dimes once more.
In the West, we have UCONN pitted against Gonzaga. This game should be one for the history books. Will Drew Timme continue his quest for a national championship that was denied by Baylor back in 2021? Will this Huskies team roll over the Zags like they have rolled over all of their previous opponents? All questions will be answered tomorrow night, but one thing is for sure, I will not miss this game for the world.