Don't Buy the SEC is Overrated Talk Quite Yet
There was quite a bit of chatter about this during the afternoon, especially after Georgia fell behind 27-3 to Gonzaga. After day one the league teams went 4-2 thank you very much. The higher seeds went 3-1. The two lower seeds split.
Friday looks like a tougher day although Kentucky, Alabama, and Florida are overwhelming favorites to advance. Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, and Oklahoma will be involved in dogfights. At the least of possibilities the league will get seven out of 13 teams to the weekend. That is 22% of the field in a worst case scenario. So don't buy the hype that the Southeastern Conference's strength was much adieu about nothing.
Still, each game on Thursday was a story of it's own, and there was plenty to take away from each one.
Coach Cal Gets Through Game One
It was just the second time in six years. It came as a ten-seed after a regular season that looked like for a long part there would not be a tournament in their future. Calipari's answer to the Saint Peter's and Oakland's of the world may be to come in as a low seed and play his way up. This was the first time in Calipari's 24 trips to the Big Dance that he entered as a double-digit seed.
Arkansas is as talented of a 10-seed as one will ever see. With Boogie Fland back in the rotation, the Hogs have eight players that every serious fan in the SEC is familiar with. But the player who really stood out was Jonas Aidoo. The 6-foot-11 center had 22 points and 5 rebounds. He displayed a beautiful floater in the middle of the paint. He played at Tennessee the last three years. If the Vols have a weakness it is that they can't go through the post offensively. If Rick Barnes could have kept an Aidoo who played anything close to this he would have had a one-seed this season.
Now the bullseye goes to Bill Self. The legendary Kansas coach has some similarities to Calipari. Both coaches used to go to Final Four's like they were falling out of bed, but each one has slid since they have gotten into their 60's. Self is 21-17 in the Big 12 the last two years, and he is no longer the bully on the block. You obviously can't take away a National Championship, nor should you. However, the 2022 title is the lone bright spot in the past seven seasons. The Jayhawks have that title between the latest early exit, and 2018 when they last got to the second weekend. This was his first Round of 64 defeat since 2006.
UGA Was UGLY
I don't have an NCAA Tournament history log in front of me, but I can't imagine there have been many other starts in years that were that ugly. Gonzaga led 13-0 before Georgia ever scored. The lead was extended to 27-3 at the 11:44 mark. The Dawgs lost by 21 despite 20 points from Asa Newell. The Zags dominated every statistical category. But when you go just 5 of 26 from three-point range, and give up 25 points off turnovers you are not going to win.
The question is where does Mike White go from here. This was the program's first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2015. That was under current Kentucky assistant, Mark Fox, who also made it in 2011. They still haven't gotten out of the first round since 2002 when Jim Harrick was the coach. This wasn't the way they wanted to go out, but Georgia has improved each of the three years under White. Now, his goal will be to get to the Round of 32 next season, but that will be anything but a given in the rough and tumble SEC. You have to make hay when you have the opportunity. White certainly hopes it isn't another decade before Georgia gets a chance to advance.
Missouri Caps Off A Bad Month of Play
The 15th ranked Tigers were 20-6 on February 19 after they scored 110 points and defeated Alabama. From there they lost four of five, and six of eight including the 67-57 loss to Drake. The recent collapse is one reason Drake was a darling among bracketologists this week looking for a Cinderella.
The Tigers shot only 33.3% from the field, and had 17 turnovers to boot. This game resembled Kentucky's trip to Columbia for the last regular season game. Missouri struggled to score, and then made a late second half charge to make it respectable. Earlier in the month they only had 30 points with 17:57 left to go in the game, and trailed by 13.
Just as Gonzaga was drastically under-seeded, Missouri was seeded too high at No. 6. This was one time that the respect of the SEC worked against them. The Tigers would have slumped down the stretch no matter which league they were in, and would have had a lower seed. The bottom line is this was not an upset.
Aggie Yell Over Yale
Drake wasn't the only popular double-digit seed among those filling out brackets. Yale knocked out Auburn in the first round last season, and they were looking to pick off another ranked Southeastern squad this time around. Texas A&M didn't give them a chance, and it wasn't done in the manner that you might think.
The Aggies scored 80 points, shot 51.7% overall, and were unstoppable in the paint. They scored 48 points inside the lane, and were an automatic 71.4% from two-point range.
As I type this Michigan is handling San Diego. A Saturday matchup between the Aggies and Wolverines would be intriguing because they are so different. But the comparison are the strong front lines. The war of attrition between the physical Buzz Williams coached team and the Michigan frontline of Danny Wolf and Vladislav Goldin won't be for the faint of heart.
Tennessee Beats Down a Mid-Major
Rick Barnes takes some teasing because of his record in March, but give him his due. His strong, muscled-up teams are not going to get beaten by lesser ones. Those type of teams just can't hold up to the rough and tumble physicality.
Wofford shot 41.8%, and Tennessee went to the foul line 13 more times. However, this Tennessee squad can be different if they are making some outside shots. They hit 10 three's Thursday, and Chaz Lanier is giving them a scoring punch. The guard hit six trifectas himself, and had 29 points.
Kentucky fans are watching this region closely. If things go according to chalk the two arch-rivals will meet by this time next week in the Sweet 16. If that does indeed happen it would be the first time in 242 meetings that the Cats and Vols have met in the Big Dance.
Auburn Rebounds if You Want to Call It That
Bruce Pearl didn't like it last week when he was questioned about losing three of four. The running joke is that SEC teams have to get into the NCAA Tournament before the schedule softens up. Alabama State certainly wasn't an Alabama, Tennessee, or Texas A&M.
Auburn never looked in synch last week in Nashville, and they really didn't get in their usual groove despite winning 83-63. They didn't have to, and they may be able to play their B or C game against Creighton and get by. But Michigan or Texas A&M will await in the Round of 16.
It is interesting that there is the possibility of a Vanderbilt/Alabama matchup in the second round on Sunday, and two SEC pairings in the Sweet 16: Kentucky/Tennessee and Auburn/Texas A&M.
If Kentucky can advance it brings back memories of Eddie Sutton's first team in 1986 that made it to the Elite Eight. That version of the Wildcats played Alabama for the fourth time that year in the Sweet 16. They won 68-63, and advanced to the finals of the Southeast Regional against LSU. They also had to knock off the Tigers for the fourth time as well to make it to the Final Four. Unfortunately it was not to be as they fell just short 59-57.
The proposition of having to go 8-0 against Wimp Sanderson and Dale Brown in back to back games to get to the Final Four doesn't even sound reasonable.
No Cardiac Cards
Somebody would call me out if I failed to mention Louisville's 89-75 loss to Creighton in Rupp Arena. The Cardinals never got out of the starting gate. They trailed by as much as 20 points in the first half.
Their fans could gloat that they finished tied for second in the ACC, and finished with a 27-8 record. There is no doubt that Pat Kelsey did a magnificent job in year number one at the helm, but they were in an awful league. It showed on Thursday. It is just difficult to that many bad teams game after game and then be ready for Creighton who always wins in the tournament. Just ask Clemson who lost to a much more athletic McNeese State bunch as awkward as that sounds.
The analytics were pretty clear that Louisville would not have fared nearly as well in the SEC. KenPom would have put them ninth in the league according to his efficiency ratings.
But I think both Kentucky and Louisville have found their coaches. Both programs' best basketball is front of them. This rivalry should be electric for the next decade.
