A good year
“I think, overall, we had a good year”, Luke Kennard said. As in? Duke loses in the second round to South Carolina, a team reaching the Sweet16 for the first time ever, and that should be considered a good year? It was quite obvious the Blue Devils were not the dominant force they were supposed to be, but the win in the ACC tournament gave the illusion Duke could figure it out and make it to the Final Four. Kennard saved the day on multiple occasions this season but he was awful in the worst possible moment (1-of-6 from the field against SC, 4-of-18 throughout the tournament). He was outmatched on defense guarding two big guards like Sindarius Thornwell and Duane Notice, who feasted on a Duke defense that allowed the Gamecocks to score 65 points in the second half, an all-time record in the Krzyzewski era.
The perfect storm
South Carolina played an uninspiring first half and there was absolutely no reason to think the Gamecocks could score 65 points in the second part of the game. 23 points, 20 of the last 22 shots clanking off the rim, 3-of-17 3P, 4-of-18 2P and a grand total of 7 made baskets in the first 20 minutes. USC started the second half with a 10-point deficit because of an effective defense that forced Duke to 13 turnovers (18 total for the game). But then, the Gamecocks got into a rhythm and just couldn’t miss (20-of-28).
Michigan’s fairy tale
San Diego State, Oklahoma and Colorado were considered superior to Michigan and did receive more votes in the AP preseason ranking. It was hard to make a clear assessment of the Wolverines. Derrick Walton and Zak Irvin had potential but were wildly inconsistent. DJ Wilson was certainly talented but still raw. Wagner is a German big, but it’s not like every German big is the second coming of Dirk Nowitzki. That lasted until they won the Big Ten for the first time (or the second, but their 1998 win was voided by the Ncaa). And Michigan just rolled past Louisville to reach the Sweet16.
As expected
Louisville ability to close games was criticized throughout the season and the Cardinals were unable to prove their critics wrong, with the team building a 9-point lead in the second half and still losing the game. Nothing gives a better idea of what caused Louisville demise than watching 7-foot center Anas Mahmoud miss on a dunk without any opponent around him to contest his attempt. The only part worth remembering is this flashy finish by Deng Adel, but the Cardinals deserved the loss.
North Carolina survives the scare
UNC built a 17-point lead in the first 15 minutes of play and grabbed 14 offensive rebounds in the first half. The game was over, right? Except Arkansas shook things up, started playing fast, took shots in the first seconds of every possessions and created all sorts of troubles to the Tar Heels with an effective full court press. The Razorbacks, carried by Daryl Macon (19 points) gained a 5 point lead over UNC with 3 minutes left, forcing the Tar Heels to answer with a 12-0 run led by Justin Jackson (15 pts, 8 reb, 5 ast, 5 stl) and Kennedy Meeks (16 pts, 11 reb) to reach the Sweet16.
Lonzo Ball, the problem solver
The match-up against Cincinnati was projected to be a tough one for UCLA and a treat for fans. The Bearcats were leading 33-30 after the first half, but things changed in the second 20 minutes, with UCLA taking the lead for good midway through the second half and eventually winning 79-67. Lonzo Ball was the spark the Bruins needed to turn things around., He had similar performances plenty of times this season: he was quiet in the first half, with just a few flashes of talent, before taking over later in the game to finish with 18 points, 3-for-3 2P, 4-for-7 3P and 9 assists.
Adebayo for the win
Kentucky needed a great performance by Bam Adebayo to survive in a close game against Wichita State. His block on a three point attempt by Landry Shamet (the Shockers top scorer with 20 points) sealed the game (65-62 the final). But there’s more than the block. He impacted the game on the pick&roll in the whole second half, after scoring only 2 points in the first 20 minutes. He finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds and that block remains the flashy play to crown a huge performance.
Mason&Jackson make it easy for Kansas
Kansas PG Frank Mason III scored in double figure for the 33rd this season in the win over Michigan State. The only game where he scored less than 10 point came on November 29th against Long Beach. Also, Michigan State did offer a scholarship to Josh Jackson, who visited the campus together with Cassius Winston and Miles Bridges. Ironically, Jackson was ultimately the cause of the Spartans loss in the tournament. He was crucial in every run the Jayhawks successfully mounted and finished with 23 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks.
