Monday Morning Shootaround: Louisville and Pitt Survive Scares As Every Higher Seed Won

Continuing the theme of the entire tournament, Sunday was a day devoid of upsets, as the higher seed won in each and every game. That isn't to say there wasn't some excitement, as #1 seeds Pitt and Louisville survived scares, as did Michigan State and Missouri.

Before we get into today's shootaround, I'd like to take this time to point out that BIAH got 14 of the Sweet 16 teams correct (missing on Arizona - thanks Wake - and Xavier, we took Wisconsin) and still have our entire Elite 8 intact. Between that and predicting the 34 at-large teams correctly, ESPN has to come calling fairly soon, no?

GAME OF THE DAY: Missouri 83, Marquette 79

In the triumphant return of Dominic James from a broken foot, the diminutive point guard had little to no effect on the game, but that didn't change the fact that Marquette had a little extra hop in their step as they jumped out to a 17-11 lead. A 31-9 Tiger run seemingly erased any hope of a Marquette upset, as Mizzou opened a 42-26 lead. Freshman Kim English was the catalyst, as he scored 15 points and hit four threes during the four and a half minute stretch.

Marquette was not about to go away, however. Jerel McNeal and Wesley Matthews (who had 30 and 24 points, respectively) led the Eagles on a 14-4 run that cut the lead to two. The Eagles took the lead a couple of times down the stretch, but the score was tied at 79 with under a minute left. JT Tiller drove and was fouled, setting up what was a strange series of events. Tiller hurt his wrist on the play, and taking advantage of a rule in the college game where you can substitute for an injured player on a free throw, coach Mike Anderson brought English in off the bench, and the freshman knocked down two free throws to give Missouri the lead.

This caused Buzz Williams to lose his mind, as Tiller was back at the scorer's table ready to check in after English hit the second free throw. I'm not exactly sure why he would be mad. Tiller (75.8%) is a better free throw shooter than English (68%), so it isn't exactly like Steve Nash was being brought in to shoot for Ben Wallace. And Tiller is a fantastic defender. So while a wrist injury may hurt your chances from the foul line, it will have little to no effect on your ability to play defense for 5.5 seconds.

(Ed. Note: This happened to my team in college once. We had a center who was a pretty bad free throw shooter, and with about ten seconds left in regulation, he got fouled on a play at the rim. He had broken his nose earlier in the game, and after the play came up holding his face like he had gotten popped again. I still remember seeing him say to the trainer "I'm faking it" and watching her smile while she pretended to check his nose. Anyway, we put in our senior captain that shot about 85% from the line, he hit both free throws to tie the game, and we eventually won in overtime. Our center was right back in the game after the foul shots.)

Marquette's season - gone in six inches.
(photo credit: The Dagger)

So the stage was set for another fantastic finish in Boise for the Tigers (the last time they played here was 1995, when Mizzou was up 74-73 with 4.8 seconds left before Tyus Edney went coast-to-coast). Lazar Hayward takes the ball out of bounds and ... steps over the end line? Yep. Turnover. Missouri ball. Leo Lyons knocked down two free throws to ice the game.

The play kind of embodied the entire first weekend - no real buzzer beaters (unless you count Demetri Goodson), no huge upsets, no cinderellas. No shot to tie for Marquette.

PLAYER OF THE DAY: Cole Aldrich, Kansas

Kansas struggled offensively against the athletic, aggressive defense of the Flyers. They finished the game with just 60 points, but that was more than enough as Dayton shot a woeful 22.2% from the floor, scoring just 43 points. Why did the Flyers struggle so much from the field? The presence of Aldrich at the rim. The big fella, who was playing in front of a hometown crowd in Minneapolis, finished the game with 20 boards and 10 blocks, to go along with 13 points, as he delivered one of the most dominating defensive performances of the season. Dayton is not a team loaded with shooters, and the Flyers, as their nickname would indicate, are a team that survives on penetrating and finishing at the rim. Aldrich made quick work of that.

Aldrich's triple-double was the first in Kansas team history, and just the sixth in the history of the NCAA tournament (keep in mind, steals and blocks were not official stats until 1986, and assists were not until 1984). The last player with a triple-double was D-Wade, back when he was still Dwayne, who had 29 points, 11 boards, and 11 assists in the 2003 regional finals. Shaq was the last player with a triple-double in blocks, as he went for 26 points, 13 boards, and 11 blocks in the 1992 first round.

They were good too:

• Eric Devendorf, Syracuse: Devo had 21 points, including back-to-back threes when ASU cut the lead to five, as the Orange advanced to the Sweet 16.
• Sherron Collins, Kansas: Collins finished with 25 points as Kansas held off Dayton.
• Nic Wise, Arizona: Wise led Arizona with 21 points and 8 assists as the Wildcats advanced to the Sweet 16.
• Sam Young, Pitt: Young had 32 points and 8 boards as Pitt held off OK State.
• Byron Eaton, OK State: Eaton had 15 points, 10 assists, and 5 steals to keep the Cowboys in it against Pitt.
• Jerel McNeal, Marquette: McNeal had 30 points and 4 assists in the Eagle's loss to Missouri.
• Terrence Williams, Louisville: T-Will helped Louisville hold off the Saints with a 24 points, 15 boards, 4 assist and 2 steal performance.
  

TEAM OF THE DAY: Arizona Wildcats

I know what you are thinking. I'm picking the Wildcats because they advanced to the Sweet 16, validating their inclusion into the dance.

Wrong.

Your performance, good or bad, does not have any effect on whether or not you should have been admitted into the tournament. At-large bids are based on performance during the regular season. Performance, or lack there of, in the tournament is a completely separate entity. Think about it like this - Wake Forest lost to Cleveland State in the first round. Does that mean that they shouldn't have been a four-seed, or should not have been an at-large bid at all?

No.

So why should Arizona winning two games have any affect on how the Wildcats are viewed? If anything, it should make their regular season performance seem disappointing.

So why is Arizona the team of the day? Because of what that program has been through the last year and change. Between Lute Olsen's health (both mental and physical), the Kevin O'Neill-Russ Pennell soap opera, the loss of recruits, NBAers, and transfers, and the pending NCAA infractions investigation, fans in Tucson have not had a lot to cheer about recently. Which is a shame, because this team is fun one to watch. Chase Budinger is as talented as any player at his position in the country, and is good for a youtube clip every once in a while. Nic Wise lost a bunch of weight, and has turned himself into the next star at Point Guard U. Jordan Hill has transformed himself from a no name recruit to a potential top three pick (according to Draft Express), and one of only three players (along with Terrence Williams and DeJuan Blair) who permanently have a smile on their face for every second that they are on the court.

That is why the Wildcats are the team of the day. Because this is the payoff that guys like Hill, and Budinger, and Wise, and Pennell get for sticking through the tough times.