Hoops HD

HoopsHD continues its series leading up to Selection Sunday and March Madness, as we simulate what would have happened in TTTW (The Tournament That Wasn’t).  Up next is the SWAC, a conference whose automatic bid winner was likely headed to the First Four in Dayton.  After dominating the conference in 2018-19 and winning the the automatic bid, Prairie View A&M was once again the top seed and entered the semifinal round in Birmingham as the favorite to repeat.  Would they do it?  Could perennial power Texas Southern reclaim the crown?  Would Southern or Jackson State surprise?  It is time to find out!

SWAC SEMIFINALS

The Prairie View A&M Panthers won their second straight SWAC regular season championship this year and were looking to return to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season and third time in school history.  First, they had to get by the conference’s 4-seed, Jackson State.  Despite entering the game with a sub-.500 overall record, Jackson State showed up ready to play, jumping out early and building a 13-point advantage at the half.  The Panthers spent the entire second half trying to fight back, and had a shot when Lenell Henry drained a 3 with 7 seconds left to cut the Jackson State lead to 74-71 and then watched the Tigers miss a pair of free throws.  Without any timeouts left, however, all the Panthers could muster was a ¾ court shot at the buzzer, which did not come close, and the upset was officially in the books.  Jackson State advanced to the SWAC title game while Prairie View was off to the NIT.

The second semifinal saw the 2-seed Southern University taking on Johnny Jones’ 3-seed Texas Southern Tigers.  Much like the first game of the night, the lower seeded team jumped out to a decent-sized lead at the half, this time 49-40 in favor of the Tigers.  The Southern University Jaguars, unlike Prairie View earlier, did not have a second half run in them.  Instead, the Tigers kept their foot on the gas pedal and coasted home with a 92-67 win and a chance to make the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in the last seven years.  Tyrik Armstrong led the way for Texas Southern with 19 points in the victory.

SWAC CHAMPIONSHIP

It had been 13 years since Jackson State last made the Big Dance, but thanks to their upset win in the semifinals over Prairie View, they had a chance this season.  Unfortunately for JSU fans, one upset was all the team had in them.  Texas Southern built an 8-point lead in the first half and did just enough to hold Jackson State off in the second, despite a game-high 25 points from Jackson State’s Tristan Jarrett, winning by a final score of 86-76.  Yahuza Ross had a double-double for the champions, scoring 10 points while pulling down 14 rebounds.  Texas Southern was back in the Dance, and was likely getting ready for a trip to the First Four in Dayton.

HoopsHD continues its series leading up to Selection Sunday and March Madness, as we simulate what would have happened in TTTW (The Tournament That Wasn’t).  Up next is the Southland Conference Tournament.  Stephen F. Austin had an incredible regular season, losing only 1 league game and winning at Duke in one of the biggest upsets of the season.  The Lumberjacks needed only two wins to make the Big Dance.  Could they get them?  It is time to find out!

SOUTHLAND QUARTERFINALS

Top seeds Stephen F. Austin and Abilene Christian had byes to the semifinal round, but there were still a pair of quarterfinals to be played to determine their opponents.  In the first game of the night, 4-seed Sam Houston State took on 5-seed Northwestern State.  The Bearkats, led by 20 points from RJ Smith, had all the answers in this one, opening up a lead early in the second half and winning by a final score of 86-77.  The second game saw the Nicholls State Colonels jump out to a 16-point lead at the half only to have Lamar fight and claw their way back in the second.  However, despite closing it down to as few as 4 points, time ran out on Lamar and Nicholls was on to the semifinals, 82-75.

SOUTHLAND SEMIFINALS

The best rivalry in the Southland for years has been the one between Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston State.  These two teams met in the first semifinal, in a game that the Lumberjacks, who had won at Duke this season, were heavily favored to win.  However, records and odds need to be thrown away when two rivals meet.  Sam Houston State jumped out to an early lead in a high-scoring affair, taking a 51-42 advantage into the halftime break.  SFA fought and clawed the entire second half, finally closing the gap to 2 with just under a minute left to play.  After the Lumberjacks held defensively, they had the ball and a chance to tie or win with 16 seconds on the clock.  Gavin Kensmil got open from 8 feet out, but could not get the shot to fall.  The 90-88 upset was complete, and Sam Houston State, behind 23 points from Kai Mitchell, was off to the Southland championship game.

In the second semifinal, defending conference tournament champion Abilene Christian was matched up with 3-seed Nicholls State.  Abilene dominated the first half, building a 13-point lead at the break.  Nicholls made several runs in the second period, and was able to pull within one point with 15 seconds left to play.  After Abilene made only one of two free throws, Kevin Johnson tried to play hero and win the game on a 3-pointer with 3 seconds left to play.  The shot missed badly, the Wildcats snagged the rebound, and after a pair of free throws, the game was over, with Nicholls falling to Abilene Christian by a final score of 71-67.

SOUTHLAND CHAMPIONSHIP

Sam Houston State had finished the Southland regular season 8 games behind Stephen F. Austin and 4 games behind Abilene Christian in the standings.  But on Saturday evening, the Bearkats were playing for the league’s automatic bad and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.  The first half was back and forth, but the Wildcats were able to build a 5-point advantage at the break, 39-34.  That lead lasted all of 2 minutes into the second half before Sam Houston tied it and then went ahead.  The game remained close the rest of the way, but the Bearkats opened it up to 7 with 30 seconds left and were able to hold on by a final score of 75-69.  Zach Nutall led the way for the champions with 21 points.  For the first time since 2010, Sam Houston State was on its way to the Big Dance.

HoopsHD continues its series leading up to Selection Sunday and March Madness, as we simulate what would have happened in TTTW (The Tournament That Wasn’t).  Up next is the SEC Tournament, with Kentucky entering as the top seed, and Auburn, Florida and LSU all looking strong for NCAA bids.  However, several other teams needed wins to make their case led by a Mississippi State team that was squarely on the bubble.  Who would have won it and who would have punched dance tickets?  It is time to find out!

SEC SECOND ROUND

Second round play got underway in the SEC with 8-seed Tennessee taking on 9-seed Alabama.  Both of these teams had dreams of an at-large bid well into February, but probably entered the conference tournament needing to win it all to advance.  The Crimson Tide built a 10-point halftime lead that they extended out to 14 early in the second period.  Tennessee was not done, however, and came fighting back to take the lead with just under 6 minutes left to play.  Alabama seemed to run out of gas at that point, as the Vols built the lead as high as 9 and held on to win 83-79 (a 3 from the Tide at the buzzer made the final score a lot closer than it really was).  Santiago Vescovi was the star for the Volunteers, scoring 25 points in the win.

The second game of the day matched up 5-seed Florida and 13-seed Georgia.  The Gators had been up and down all season, and could really use a run in the SEC Tournament to improve their position in March Madness.  Today, the Gators were nothing but business as the built an early lead and cruised home for an 80-65 win, despite a strong 19-point effort from Georgia’s Anthony Edwards.  Keyontae Johnson led the way for Florida with 21 points as his team moved on to the quarterfinals where 4-seed Mississippi State was waiting.

The evening session began with the 7 vs 10 battle between Texas A&M and Missouri.  The Aggies had been one of the most surprising teams in the SEC this season under new head coach Buzz Williams, but that season was set to end today.  Mizzou took control of the game early and was able to cruise to a convincing 67-46 win, as staunch defense held A&M to under 30% shooting from the floor.  The Missouri Tigers advanced to the quarterfinals and a Friday matchup against 2-seed Auburn.

The day ended with 6-seed South Carolina taking on 11-seed Arkansas.  Despite their finish in the lower division, the Razorbacks had done enough out-of-conference to still be on most people’s Bubble Watch lists heading into this tournament.  Two hours after tip, the Razorbacks were gone from those lists.  Despite Arkansas being back near full-strength, the Gamecocks handled them fairly easily, cruising to an 81-63 win as five different players scored in double-figures led by 15 each from Kayshawn Bryant and Jair Bolden.  Arkansas’ dream of an NCAA Tournament bid was pretty much over, while South Carolina moved on to a date with 3-seed LSU.

SEC QUARTERFINALS

On March 3, the Tennessee Volunteers had gone to Lexington and shocked Kentucky by a score of 81-73.  With that win still fresh in their memories, the Vols knew they had the ability to beat UK again in the first quarterfinal of the day.  Tennessee held a one-point lead at the half, and the game remained tight throughout the second period as well.  The game actually came down to free throw shooting, and Kentucky went 10-for-12 from the line in the final two minutes to hang on for a hard-fought 88-84 win and a berth in the semifinals, despite an impressive 30-point effort from Tennessee’s Jordan Bowden.

In the second quarterfinal, 5-seed Florida was favored to take down 4-seed Mississippi State, but the Bulldogs knew an NCAA Tournament bid would likely require at least a win in this game.  Ben Howland’s team may have needed the win more than Mike White’s Gators, but the Gators proved to clearly be the better team.  Florida held an 11-point lead at the half and held off every run that State made in the second half, winning by a final score of 85-75.   Noah Locke led the way for Florida with 19 points as the Gators advanced to the semifinals and a date with top-seed Kentucky.  Mississippi State was left to see what their fate would be when the Selection Committee announced the field.

10^th seeded Missouri took on Bruce Pearl’s 2^nd seeded Auburn team in the third quarterfinal of the day.  Despite having 25 wins already on the season, there were some who questioned whether this Auburn team was nearly as good as their national top 20 ranking.  Missouri played tough for the first half and had the game tied at the break, but Auburn had just enough to pull away in the final minutes of the game, winning by a final score of 84-74 in a game that was much closer throughout than the final 10-point margin.  Austin Wiley’s 16 points led the way for the victorious Tigers from Auburn.

South Carolina and LSU were up next in the final quarterfinal game.  The Gamecocks knew that they were still quite a distance away from an NCAA Tournament at-large bid, but that a run to the SEC finals could get them there, even if they did not capture the automatic berth.  LSU also had something to prove, notably that the Bayou Bengals were worthy of a solid seed in the Big Dance.  And it was LSU that came out strong in this game, building a 50-33 halftime lead and cruising home for a 91-73 win.  Ja’vonte Smart scored 21 points and Skylar Mays had a double-double to lead the Tigers to a semifinal matchup against Auburn.

SEC SEMIFINALS

The Kentucky Wildcats were two wins away from capturing the double – the SEC regular season and tournament championships, and potentially having a shot to finish as high as a 2-seed in the NCAA Tournament.  First, they needed to get past a Florida Gators team that wanted to prove they were the preseason top national 10 team and not the team that had sputtered and faltered throughout the regular season.  The Gators played this game like the former, building a 33-22 halftime lead and holding off every second half run that the Wildcats through at them.  When the game ended, Florida had a 79-71 win and a berth in the championship game.  Keyontae Jackson (18 points, 10 rebounds) and Kerry Blackshear (10 points, 10 rebounds) both notched double-doubles for Florida.  For Kentucky, it was time to return to Lexington and wait to see where the Selection Committee would send them in the Big Dance.

After taking down the Missouri Tigers in the quarterfinals, Bruce Pearl’s Auburn Tigers had another group of Tigers waiting in the semifinals, the Bayou ones from LSU.  Both teams had a lot to prove heading into this game and the bigger tournament that would follow.  The game itself proved to be one of the best in the SEC Tournament so far, as both teams seemed to choose not to play any defense at all.  When the dust settled, Auburn was walking off the floor with a 108-96 win, though the game was closer than that for pretty much the first 35 minutes.  Six different Auburn players ended the game in double-digits on the scoreboard, led by 24 points from Samir Doughty and a 16-point, 16-rebound double-double from Austin Wiley.

SEC CHAMPIONSHIP

The SEC title game matched up 2-seed Auburn and 5-seed Florida.  Both teams were easily confident that their names would be called later that day by the Selection Committee, but this was one last chance to impress with a quality win.  Even more importantly, however, it was a chance to cut down the nets and win a championship.  Mike White’s Gators were playing their fourth game in four days, so despite building a 7-point halftime lead, the question was if and when this team would finally run out of gas.  If that was going to happen, it wouldn’t be until the ride home, as the Gators held off several Auburn runs in the second half and locked down a 79-70 win and an SEC Tournament championship for the first time since 2014.  Keyontae Jackson was again the top player for the Gators, scoring 21 points in leading his team to the championship.

HoopsHD continues its series leading up to Selection Sunday and March Madness, as we simulate what would have happened in TTTW (The Tournament That Wasn’t).  Up next is the much-anticipated Pac-12 Tournament where Oregon entered as the top seed, and teams like UCLA, USC and Arizona State were looking to cement tournament bids and move up the seed list.  What would have happened in this conference tourney?  It is time to find out!

PAC-12 QUARTERFINALS

The Oregon Ducks entered the Pac-12 Tournament looking to secure a high seed in the Big Dance.  Their rivals, the Oregon State Beavers, were playing for their postseason lives after knocking off Utah the night before in the 8/9 game.  The Beavers slowed the game down and were able to keep it tied at halftime, with each team only having scored 24 points.  That same strategy failed, however, in the second half, as the Ducks pulled away to coast to a 64-52 win.  Payton Pritchard was the game’s leading scorer with 17 points for Oregon.

The second quarterfinal presented an intriguing matchup of two teams that looked to be in solid shape for NCAA Tournament bids – 4-seed USC and 5-seed Arizona.  The game may have looked good on paper, but on the court it was not much of a contest.  Arizona built a halftime lead and kept extending it out in the second period, winning by a final score of 81-61.  Nico Mannion led the way with 23 points for the Wildcats, who now had a date with Oregon in the semifinal round.

The evening session began with the 10-seed Cal taking on 2-seed UCLA.  Despite being the 2-seed, UCLA was not an NCAA Tournament lock, and a loss to a non-tournament caliber Cal team could put the Bruins on the outside looking-in on Selection Sunday.  Mick Cronin’s team instead took care of business, pulling out to a 6-point lead at halftime and winning by a final score of 67-57.  Jalen Hill had a double-double for UCLA, scoring 11 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.

The final game of the day matched up 3-seed Arizona State against the surprising 11-seed Washington State Cougars who were fresh off an upset the night before over Colorado.  Wazzu’s win over Colorado had turned a few heads, but their win over Bobby Hurley’s Sun Devils on this night had the college basketball world suddenly paying attention.  Isaac Bonton led the Cougars with 17 points as they built a 7-point halftime lead and refused to let off the gas, winning 75-66 and advancing to the semifinals against UCLA.

PAC-12 SEMIFINALS

The semifinals of the Pac-12 Tournament began with a matchup of two teams, Oregon and Arizona, that had at times each played like the best team in the conference this season.  The experts predicted a tight battle, but the Ducks had other plans once again.  Oregon pulled away late in the first half to build a 16-point halftime lead and never let the Wildcats make any serious runs in the second.  The final score was 89-78 in favor of the Ducks, as five different players scored in double-digits led by 20 from Payton Pritchard.

The late game saw everyone asking if Washington State’s Cinderella run could continue, especially given that they were facing a UCLA team that had quite a few head-scratching losses on their profile.  Washington State came ready to play, taking a 43-42 lead into the halftime break.  The second half was back-and-forth the entire way until Chris Smith nailed a 3-pointer for the Bruins with just over a minute left to play to extend a 2 point lead out to 5.  Washington State couldn’t get the clutch shots to fall in the final minute, and when the game ended, UCLA was off to the title game by a final score of 79-74.

PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIP

The Pac-12 title game saw a matchup of an Oregon team that had to beat their top rivals and then get by a very good Arizona team taking on a UCLA squad that benefited from upset victories by Cal and Washington State to have a much easier (at least in terms of seeds) path to the finals.   The fact that they failed to beat an NCAA Tournament-caliber opponent along the way still had the naysayers doubting whether UCLA even deserved an at-large bid.  The Bruins decided to take matters into their own hands.  Despite trailing by 5 at the halftime break, UCLA fought hard throughout the second half and opened up an 8-point lead late.  Oregon had one last run left and cut the lead to 2 on a Chris Duarte 3-pointer with just over a minute left to play.  However, despite a pair of defensive stops in the final minute, the Ducks missed on three separate chances to tie the game and the UCLA Bruins were Pac-12 Tournament champions, 73-71.