The Sweet 16 was riddled with upsets, and that trend continued into the Elite 8. In case you missed them, I’m going to go over what went down in the four games from the Elite 8.
GAME ONE – NOWELL AND KSU FALL TO FAU
This game went back and forth until the last possession. While down in the final minute, KSU chose to foul, and both times they did, it needed up in the hands of FAU senior Michael Forrest. Forrest showed unbelievable poise, nailing all four free throws to retain the three point lead, but KSU still had 6.9 seconds on the clock to make something happen.
I thought for sure that the ball would end up in Markquis Nowell’s hands after Keyontae Johnson fouled out, or at least Nowell would be able to dish to an open man with a good look. Unfortunately, this was not the case:
Nowell, who played all 40 minutes and put up 12 assists to go with his 30 points, said that he “was trying to get [Ismael Massoud] a shot”. He continued, saying: “Coach wanted [Massoud] to set the screen, and I waved it off because I felt like on the right side of the court, that’s where [Massoud] hits most of his shots. And they closed out hard to him, and he didn’t get his shot off.”
Just an unselfish play from the best player on the team. Knowing that and seeing a team unable to get a final chance to tie makes it even more heartbreaking. Hopefully we get to see Markquis Nowell in the NBA. The basketball world is better when he’s playing.
GAME TWO – UCONN LOOKS UNBEATABLE AFTER DOMINATING GONZAGA
As Naismith CBB player of the year front runner Drew Timme exited what was likely his last game for the Zags, one thought ran through my head: This UCONN team is SCARY. They didn’t rely on a single star or luck out by their opponents underperforming. They were simply better.
This game wasn’t even close. The Huskies steamrolled Gonzaga in a 82-54 blowout, derailing Mark Few and his squad from their championship quest. UCONN is also 8-1 all-time in Final 4 games, so expect them to continue this pattern on April 1st when they face off against MIAMI.
GAME THREE – SDSU HEADS TO 1ST FINAL 4 WITH WIN OVER CREIGHTON
While it’s awesome that the Aztecs are headed to the semifinals for the first time in program history, I can’t help but think that were robbed of bonus basketball in this game.
The winning point was a free throw scored by Darrion Trammell with 1.2 seconds remaining on a questionable call. It wasn’t so bad that Creighton fans should condemn the tournament for eternity, but it was enough that if I were a Creighton fan, I wouldn’t have gotten much sleep last night.
Creighton led for most of the game too. They got off to a hot start in the first half, building leads as large as eight, but SDSU managed to stick around. The second half was much tighter. In the last 10 minutes of play there was no lead larger than four, but once the Aztecs got the lead near the six-minute mark, they never gave it up.
GAME FOUR – MIAMI BEATS TEXAS IN COMEBACK WIN
The Hurricanes came out hot, scoring the first seven points of the game, but Texas was quick to respond and had them on the ropes for the majority of the game. This was until Miami went on a massive 9-0 run to take the lead with nearly five minutes remaining.
The Hurricanes played a great team game. Each of their five starters reached 10 points with an average of two assists, but it was Jordan Miller who led the charge. Miller went a perfect 7-7 from the field and 13-13 from the line for 27 points., making him the first player since Laettner to do so.
Miami will have to play a perfect team game like this one to beat the beast that is UCONN in the next round. Similar to their matchup against Houston in the Sweet 16, they will be severe underdogs. Whether they’ll be able to come out on top will be determined in a likely slugfest next Saturday night.