Last Sunday Memphis beat UAB 84-72 in the AAC tourney title game to earn an automatic bid to this week’s NCAA tournament. The Tigers have now had a winning season for 25 straight years and are heading back to the NCAA tourney for the 3rd time in 4 years. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with Memphis pom team member Bailey Rollins about winning the conference tourney and making the NCAA tourney.
You are from Nashville, TN: what made you choose Memphis? I knew the coach (Carol Lloyd) and had some other friends who enjoyed their experiences up here. I attended a couple clinics and loved the vibe so it drew me in.
You are majoring in exercise sport and movement sciences and minoring in psychology and medical assisting: how did you choose those subjects? When I arrived on campus I was planning to attend nursing school so I did all my prerequisites for that, applied to nursing school, and got accepted…but it is impossible to do both at the same time so I chose to dance on the team for 2 more years. I thought about becoming a Physical Therapist/Physician Assistant, but now I will use my medical assisting minor to go to nursing school at Vanderbilt in August. You are a senior: what is the post-graduate school plan? Nursing school is an accelerated masters program that will last 4 straight semesters. After that I hope to get a job at a hospital, get some experience, and then possibly do some travel nursing.
1 of your hobbies is cooking: what is your specialty? I just love to cook anything in general. I cook almost all my meals after growing up watching my parents/Nana cook.
Last Sunday in the AAC tourney title game the Tigers had a win over UAB to clinch the title: what was the reaction like after the final buzzer went off, and how excited is everyone on campus this week? It was amazing! The whole pom and cheer teams were yelling and it was good to have such a live experience. The energy throughout the arena was crazy and is also good on campus.
Your team has won 20 of its past 22 games: has it reached a point where everyone expects the team to win every time that they step onto the court? We do not “know” they will win…but we do “expect” them to win. They have held their own against the toughest teams and been clutch when needed.
Your basketball team missed the NCAA tourney last year but made it in 2022/2023: did you make it to either of those 2 tourneys? I went to the 1 in 2023, which was very fun. I was not as excited back then because this year the team has a different aspect that makes everything so much more dynamic. I am excited that we have already made it this far.
How does your school decide who gets to go to the NCAA tourney, and what will it mean to you to see your group doing its thing in front of a national TV audience? We took all of our seniors on pom/cheer. We have 6 seniors on pom so that worked out perfectly. It will be a great experience, and to share our talent while supporting the basketball team means the world to me. I would not trade it for anything and it has been 1 of the best experiences of my life.
Does your squad have anything extra-special planned for this week? We will do a send-off tomorrow with our team members who are not going. After we arrive we are attending a couple of special events to support the team. I am sure we will do send-offs every day if we continue to win and we will be their biggest fans on the court.
Any predictions for you game on Friday vs. Colorado State in Seattle? I predict that we will win. It will be tough, as Colorado State has won 10 in a row, but if we play hard then I see no reason why we will not pull it off.
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Kansas State lost to West Virginia 73-69 in the Big 12 women’s tourney quarterfinals but still earned an at-large bid to this week’s NCAA tournament. The Wildcats won just 9 games in 2021 but since then they have had 4 straight winning seasons and are heading back to the NCAA tourney for the 3rd time in 4 years. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with Kansas State SO G Taryn Sides about growing up in a tiny town and making the NCAA tourney.
You are from Phillipsburg, KS (population 2337): what was it like growing up in such a tiny town? My graduating class was about 40, but it was fun because I grew up with a great group of friends and played every sport that you can think of. The community was so supportive and still shows up to see me play home games at Bramlage Coliseum.
What made you choose Kansas State? I grew up a K-State fan so it was always my dream school. Manhattan is a college town where everything revolves around our sports program, and we have a great coaching staff/teammates.
You are 5’6”: do you see your height as an advantage or disadvantage on the court? It can be difficult at times on offense to pass/shoot against a taller defender, but on defense I can be a little pest!
Last year you made the Big 12 Academic All-Rookie Team: how do you balance your work on the court with your work in the classroom? Sometimes it can be tough so the most important thing is to stay on top of everything. I schedule my week in advance to know when I will do homework and when I will be in the gym, which has helped a lot.
This season you are scoring almost 10 PPG despite coming off the bench: what is the secret to being a “super-sub”? I just come in and do what my coach asks of me and what the team needs. I try to be a decoy on some plays but my teammates have confidence in my ability to make shots.
The Big 12 made some big changes this year by adding 4 new teams: how do you feel about conference realignment? I like it! It is cool to play against some other schools. We went to Utah this year and will go to Arizona next year, so it is even more excitement. Your team started this season 19-1 but lost 6 of your final 13 games including a Big 12 tourney loss to West Virginia: are you concerned that your team might have peaked too early? Not at all. We lost our All-American in Ayoka Lee so I think that we did pretty well under the circumstances. It was an adjustment to play without her, but now that she is back I think we are headed in the right direction.
You received an at-large bid to the NCAA tourney: how did it feel to hear your team’s name called on Selection Sunday? It is always a surreal feeling because it is hard to make the NCAA tourney. We were a little disappointed to not play at home as a #4 seed, but now we are excited to play on the road.
Your brother Trey played basketball at Jacksonville, your mother Robin played college volleyball, and your father Keith played college basketball: who is the best athlete in the family? You would have to ask them but it depends on the day.
How do you feel about being a #5 seed, and what do you know about Fairfield? Losing at home last year to Colorado left a sour taste in my mouth. Fairfield is quick and are top-20 in transition offense. They have good shooters so it will be a different matchup for us.
-For starters, if you’d like to enter the BEAT THE PUPPET BRACKET CHALLENGE that Chad Sherwood has cooked up….don’t bother!! You won’t beat me!! It’s not even worth trying!! The only way anyone can beat me is if they cheat!!
SELECTIONS AND SEEDINGS:
-We shared our thoughts on the selections and seedings and then collectively filled out a bracket last night. You can watch us do that on the latest HOOPS HD REPORT – NCAA TOURNAMENT PREVIEW
-In terms of the Selection Committee, it seems as though every year there is a controversial selection and/or omission that has people screaming and yelling and taking to the streets in protest. This year’s selection of North Carolina looks particularly sketch considering that Bubba Cunningham was the committee chairman and is also the Athletic Director at UNC. I’m not going to deny that I don’t understand why the optics of that are questionable.
Having said that, though…
While very few “experts” were projecting UNC to get in, almost all of them had them within the next four teams of making it. Or…first four out. Or…last four out. Or…however they phrase it. They were the next in line!!! As I understand it, a bracketologist who gets a team correct and gets them within one of the actual seedline considers that good for their “score.” Well, had it been a 72 team tournament, all would have had UNC in the field and within one of their actual seedline, and no one would have been complaining. So, it wasn’t as if they selected Seton Hall, or South Carolina, or someone that was so far away from the bubble that they needed a telescope to see it.
Also…
The selection committee has 12 members on it and has a broad range of ties. Conspiracy theorists will always be able to find a conspiracy. The Big Ten had someone on the committee. The Big 12 had someone on the committee. The Big East had someone on the committee. Every team that was on the bubble, whether they were in our out, had ties to someone that was on the committee that would have personally benefited from their selection. So, EVERY YEAR we have these “A HA!!!” moments among the conspiracy theorists. THAT’S why UNC got in and West Virginia didn’t!!!
Something that I think gets lost in all of this is that the selection committee is just that. It’s a COMMITTEE. I think a lot of bracketologists get caught up in looking at team-sheets, and thinking of them as scorecards, and adding up all the different things on there to determine the value of that scorecard, and then ranking the teams that way. I love what bracketologists do. I think they make the sport a lot more exciting for fans and that they make the season a lot easier to put into context as it plays out than it otherwise would be without them. But what they do and how they do it is procedurally not the same as what the committee does. If you’ve ever been on any sort of a committee, be it a hiring committee, a rules committee, a party planning committee, or whatever, you know that committees are not unanimous in their decisions and that no one ever agrees with everything. The Selection Committee really isn’t any different.
And, it’s also worth noting that there are multiple NCAA Staffers in the room throughout the process. I’m not saying they are monitored for 96 straight hours throughout the whole week, but a committee member just can’t brazenly say “Hey! Do me a solid! Select my team!”
After all that, let me say this. I DID NOT agree with all of the selections and seedings. I never do. I thought the inclusion of North Carolina and Texas were a little ridiculous and that West Virginia clearly appeared to have a better team sheet and be better on the court than both of those teams.
I also feel that UC Irvine was/is both better and more deserving than all four teams in the First Four. I didn’t think they’d actually get selected, but had I been on the committee I would have absolutely argued for them. They won 14 true road games and a total of 18 away from home, and while almost none of those were ‘tier 1’ some of them were still games that were very hard to win. I don’t think any of the four bubble teams would have had as good of a record against UC Irvine’s schedule as UC Irvine did.
And, seeding Drake and UC San Diego as low as they did was wrong. Those teams played a lot of games away from home that were not easy to win and should have been seeded better. In fact, for seemingly the 20th straight year, I’m looking at the 12-line and thinking all of these 12 seeds would beat all the teams on the 9, 10, and 11 lines! Sucks for the 5 seeds, I guess! But, those are just my personal thoughts. Someone else who is just as informed may see it entirely differently.
We at Hoops HD replicate the process every year in our mock committee. The final bracket can be seen HERE. I didn’t agree with all of our selections and seedings either. I never do. No one from Hoops HD who participated agreed with everything. They never do. I mean…have you WATCHED our shows?? We start evaluating teams on the first night of the season and have two to three weekly shows throughout the season. We are unanimous on almost nothing!! And neither is the real committee. Almost no type of committee on the planet ever is.
But…
Just because I don’t agree with everything the committee did does not necessarily mean I think they were dishonest or uninformed. Quite frankly, as often as they meet, and as much as they go over, it is impossible for them to not be informed. They are far more informed than most of the media. The media spends well over 90 percent of their time covering less than 10 percent of the teams. The committee literally watches everyone. And I think suggesting that bracketologists take over the process is a silly suggestion. As much as I love what they do, they grade themselves on how close they come to guessing the real committee. Replacing the real committee with a group of people who gauge their success based on how accurate their guesses are is just illogical. It’s like suggesting court room reporters replace the juries. It’s the kind of thing I would suggest as a joke. I love what bracketologists do, but am totally against turning them into administrators.
As far as whether or not the committee is the fairest way to do it?? It’s a fair question. I’m open to other ideas and suggestions. And I totally get how frustrating it can be that the committee changes from year to year, and as the committee changes the points of emphasis change right along with that. Having said that, 31 teams get in via auto-bid. At least another 31 are absolute no brainers. They’d be in regardless of who is on the committee or what the points of emphasis are. That’s 62 out of 68 teams. Every single team, ESPECIALLY those from the nine mutli-bid leagues, has the chance to play their way into being one of those 62 teams. So, while I don’t agree with North Carolina and Texas getting in, I don’t feel THAT sorry for the teams that were left out either. They had chances to be one of the 62 no-brainers.
NIT:
-A lot of fun games tonight! If these games were regular season games we’d be highlighting pretty much all of them. Arkansas State had a great year and gets to host Saint Louis, Cal State Northridge was good in the Big West and gets to go to Stanford, UC Riverside v Santa Clara is another really fun game, Chattanooga was the 1st place team in the SoCon and was really playing well down the stretch and it will be fun to see them play against a Middle Tennessee tea that was also good down the stretch. All the games tonight are good!
NCAA FIRST FOUR:
-Saint Francis and Alabama State finished down the standings in weak conferences, but got hot in the conference tournaments and won the auto-bids. Saint Francis’s win at Central Connecticut in the NEC final may have been one of the biggest upsets during all of championship week. Alabama State finished just 4th in the SWAC, but they were really good in the latter part of the season and that momentum carried over into the SWAC Tournament. I’m actually looking forward to this one!
-San Diego State also squares off against North Carolina, who we now know was the last team into the field and would not have made it at all had UAB beaten Memphis. It could be that in 13 hours this horribly selected team is out of the field!
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It’s the evening after the Selection Show and Chad is joined by a full panel as they go through the selections and seedings and talk about what the committee got right, what they got wrong, and who the biggest snubs were. After that we took a look at the bracket and fill it out on the air as we go through each matchup and preview each team. We also take a quick look at all of the other postseason tournaments, and we close by revealing this year’s AC8 field!!
And, for all you radio lovers, below is an audio only version of the show…
And here is the bracket we filled out on the show:
Conference tournaments are about basketball but also so much more: the fans, parents, bands, cheerleaders, etc. The A-10 Tournament is taking place this week in Washington, DC, and we could not be more excited to be there in person! HoopsHD is covering all the angles so you can look forward to an abundance of access today. Jon Teitel continues our coverage from DC with a recap of the title game on Sunday.
After 3 straight days of chicken tenders/fries it was nice to finally mix things up with a birria bowl/chicken tinga street taco. They brought out a full-court-size American flag for the anthem, and GMU SR F Jalen Haynes sure looked locked in:
The fans for both teams showed up in full force (reminiscent of their 3 CAA tourney title game battles during a 6-year span from 2004-2009), and the mascots were ready to rock:
The 2 coaches were squarely on the bubble and did not want to let the decision of whether this is a 2-bid league come down to the Selection Committee that evening:
Let’s tip it off to see who takes home the trophy, with Kevin Harlan/Dan Bonner on the call for the CBS national broadcast:
GEORGE MASON-VCU Haynes started strong with a layup and a 3 from the top of the key, while his teammate Brayden O’Connor made a 3 and a pull-up J…which is about what I would expect from a guy named O’Connor who is wearing a green jersey on the day before St. Patrick’s Day:
VCU SR F Jack Clark was the best player on the court during the 1st 20 minutes with 13 PTS on a pair of threes, an old-fashioned 3-PT play, and 5-5 FT shooting:
His teammate Phillip Russell was unimpressed with a boring old 3-PT play so he decided to make a super-fancy 4-PT play instead:
SR G Max Shulga scored 22 PTS/4-7 3PM in the Rams’ 70-54 win over GMU 3 weeks ago in Richmond. He did not repeat his 3-PT performance (0-2 in the 1st half), but he did have a huge momentum play after a teammate tipped a REB to him and he was able to make a layup to beat the halftime buzzer and give VCU a 36-28 halftime lead:
I did not have many celebrity sightings at the CAA tourney last weekend, but during halftime I spotted Indianapolis Colts TE Mo-Alie Cox sitting behind the Rams bench. Saturday was the 10-year anniversary of his 13-PT/6-6 FG performance in a 6-PT win over Dayton in the 2015 A-10 tourney title game…but I still think he made the correct career choice:
The tide started to turn in the 2nd half as VCU started turning the ball over and Zach Anderson/Darius Maddox made multiple shots from behind the arc for the Patriots:
However, VCU G Joe Bamisile helped save the day with back-to-back 3-PT plays and finished with 17 PTS in 28 minutes:
Shulga made a couple of threes in the 2nd stanza, Anderson missed a 3-PT shot with 4 seconds left, and that was all she wrote as the Rams hung on for a 68-63 win and an auto-bid to the NCAA tourney. Anderson collapsed to the court right in front of me after the buzzer, but his teammates hustled right over to literally give him the support he needed and show everyone that they had his back:
No postgame press conference but check back tomorrow for my best photos from the postgame celebration…and see below for a sneak preview:
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Vanderbilt lost to South Carolina 84-63 in the SEC women’s tourney quarterfinals but still earned an at-large bid to this week’s NCAA tournament. The Commodores missed the NCAA tourney for 9 straight years from 2015-2023, but have now won 22+ games and made the NCAA tourney for the 2nd year in a row. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with Vanderbilt SR PG Jordyn Oliver about playing for a trio of terrific coaches and making the NCAA tourney.
In the 2017 FIBA Americas U16 Championship you played for Team USA: what did it mean to you to represent your country, and what did it mean to you to win a gold medal? It was a blessing. When I was in high school my dad had me make a list of things I wanted to accomplish, and that was on my bucket list.
In 2019 you were named a McDonald’s All-American: could you tell at the time that your fellow honoree Aliyah Boston was going to become a star? Yes: you could tell right then and there. We knew that she would be great, and even as a freshman at South Carolina her skills did not decline at all.
You spent your 1st few years of college at Baylor/Duke: why did you decide to transfer, and what made you choose Vanderbilt? I had 2 great coaches at my previous schools and made some lifelong friends, but I wanted to find the perfect fit…and thanks to Coach Shea Ralph I did.
You have played for 3 amazing coaches in Kim Mulkey/Kara Lawson/Shea Ralph: what is the most important thing that you learned from any of them? I learned a lot from each of them. Coach Mulkey is in the Hall of Fame and the other 2 are right behind her. The most important thing I learned is that the work you do now will show itself later.
Last month your teammate Mikayla Blakes set a D-1 freshman record with 55 PTS in a 10-PT OT win over Auburn: where does that rank among the most amazing performances that you have ever seen? That is #1. You rarely see a freshman drop 50 PTS twice in a season. She is a great player and a great person.
The SEC received a record 14 bids to this year’s men’s tourney, which further establishes it as the greatest conference in the history of the sport: where does the women’s side of the conference rank among the best in the nation? We are #1 for sure! I have played in 3 conferences now and taken the lay of the land, and I can tell you that the SEC is the best.
During the past few years, you have made the NCAA tourney with 3 different schools and won at least 1 tourney game every single year: what is the key to winning games in March? Just having a sense of urgency. You can be an underdog or a top-4 seed, but you must play with urgency during the entire month.
Your uncle LaTroy Hawkins played in MLB for 21 seasons and your cousin Jared Cunningham played in the NBA: who is the best athlete in the family? If you asked them they would probably say themselves. We are a pretty competitive family…but I would say me!
How do you feel about being a #7 seed, and what do you know about Oregon? I am excited to be a 7-seed and we are grateful to be back in the NCAA tourney. I do not know too much about Oregon but I am VERY familiar with Deja Kelly: we both grew up in the Texas area, and we faced each other in ACC play when she was at UNC and I was at Duke.
If you end up beating the Ducks, then you might have to face your old Blue Devils team: how exciting/weird/fun would that be? It would be fun: I still have a few friends left on the team. I graduated from Duke with a degree in sociology so it is exciting to be going back to Cameron Indoor Stadium…but if we end up playing them it will be my team vs. their team: I will not make it “JO vs. Duke”.
