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 Big Ten Tournament, a tournament with more depth than what we often see in NCAA Regionals.  At least ten teams entered this event with legitimate claims on being worthy of making the Big Dance.  Michigan State was red hot, Wisconsin had surged late to capture the top seed, and teams playing as early as the Second Round, like Michigan and Ohio State, had legitimate Final Four aspirations.  So who would win this tournament?  It is time to find out!

BIG TEN SECOND ROUND

The Second Round of the Big Ten Tournament opened with the 8/9 games between Rutgers and Michigan.  The Scarlet Knights were looking to take any doubt away from their potential inclusion in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1991, while Michigan was looking to remain undefeated all-time against RU.  Although the prior meetings between the teams had been close ones, today’s game was not.  Michigan jumped out to a big lead early and never looked back, cruising to an 84-75 win.  Franz Wagner led the way for the Wolverines with 22 points, and Rutgers was left to wait for the Selection Committee’s decision on Sunday.

In the second game, the Iowa Hawkeyes were looking to improve their seed in the Big Dance while Richard Pitino’s Golden Gophers of Minnesota were looking to keep their season alive.  The later proved to be the stronger motivating factor, as Minnesota held a narrow lead at halftime and extended it in the second half to win by a dozen, 68-56.  Daniel Oturu was named Player of the Game, scoring 14 points and pulling down 13 rebounds.

The third games featured 7-seed Ohio State against 10-seed Purdue.  The Boilermakers knew that a couple of wins in this event would make them an intriguing decision for the Selection Committee, despite potentially having more losses than any team ever to get an at-large bid.  Purdue did what they needed to do today to pick up another very strong win, as the Boilermakers led by 11 at the half and held off the Buckeyes in the second half.  Ohio State actually took a 79-77 lead with 1:07 left thanks to a Kyle Young 3, but Sasha Stefanovic answered with one from beyond the arc of his own.  When the final horn sounded, Purdue has an 81-79 win, and a date in the quarterfinals with Michigan State.

The final game of the second round featured 6-seed Penn State taking on 11-seed Indiana.  A few Bracketologists still claimed that Indiana was on the bubble, so the Hoosiers entered this game knowing that a win might to necessary to lock up a tournament bid.  The game was back and forth throughout, with Indiana taking the lead with 6:30 left to play, and doing just enough to hold off Penn State the rest of the way.  Late free throws made the final score 76-67, and pretty much turned Indiana into a lock to make the NCAA Tournament.  The Hoosiers win also completed a day where all four lower-seeded teams had advanced to the next round.

BIG TEN QUARTERFINALS

Top-seed Wisconsin started its Big Ten tournament run in the quarterfinals against 9-seed Michigan, and the game looked like it would be a battle the entire way when the Wolverines took a 4-point lead into the halftime break.  Michigan held that lead until 6:40 left to play inn the game when Wisconsin’s Kobe King was fouled while making a shot for a 3 point play.   That play seemed to take the heart out of the Wolverines, and Wisconsin dominated the final 6 minutes, winning by a final score of 79-66.  Brad Davison’s 17 points led the way for the Badgers.

12-seed Minnesota had improved to 16-16 overall following their upset of Iowa, and now had a tough Illinois team ahead in the quarterfinals.  The Gophers were set to try to become one of the stories of Championship Week when they built a 40-27 halftime lead on the Illini.  Illinois fought back hard in the second half and tied the game at 68 with just under 2 minutes to play.  However, Brad Underwood’s team was unable to score again, and a jumper by Alihan Demir with 1:06 left proved to be the final margin of victory.  The Gophers dreams stayed alive, winning 70-68 and advancing to take on Wisconsin in the semifinals.  Daniel Oturu was dominant again in this game, scoring 18 points and pulling down 13 boards for the double-double.

The third quarterfinal was pretty much a must-win game for a Purdue Boilermakers team that was looking to sneak into the field despite a high volume of losses.  Their opponent, however, was Michigan State – the preseason #1 team in the nation that had finally started playing like that over the past few weeks.  Purdue gave Sparty all they could ask for and more, but at the end of the day, Michigan State was simply too much.  The Spartans, with four different players scoring in double-figures, got a key 3 late from Kyle Ahrens and hit their free throws to turn a 63-63 tie into a 74-66 win and likely ended up sending Purdue to the NIT.

In the final game of the quarterfinal round, a double-double from Jalen Smith and 19 points from Anthony Cowan helped lead the 3-seed Maryland to an 87-79 win over Indiana.  The  Hoosiers kept the game close for a half, and in fact it was tied at the break, but the Terps proved to be too much for the Hoosiers.  With the win, Maryland advanced to Saturday’s semifinal against Michigan State in a battle of what was arguably the two best teams in the Big Ten this season.

BIG TEN SEMIFINALS

In order for the Minnesota Golden Gophers to make the NCAA Tournament, they would need to win 5 games in 5 days.  With three of those wins down already, the Gophers matched up against top-seed Wisconsin in the first semifinal.  At halftime, Minnesota held a 32-22 lead and it looked like the feat may just be possible.  By the under-12 timeout in the second half, Wisconsin had the lead.  Although the game was close the rest of the way, key free throw shooting down the stretch was enough to end the Cinderella run and give Wisconsin a berth in Sunday’s title game.  Nate Reuvers led the Badgers with 17 points in the 70-65 win.

The 2 vs 3 semifinal of Michigan State and Maryland had all the looks for a great game before it tipped.  The first half even played out that way, with only 2 points separating the teams when they went to the locker rooms.  However, the Spartans took control midway through the second half, eventually opening up a 74-59 lead before cruising in for an 87-78 win and a spot against Wisconsin for the championship on Sunday.  Cassius Winston scored 20 points for the victorious Spartans and Xavier Tillman had a double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds.

BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP

Michigan State was playing like the team picked by many to win the national championship preseason, but in one of the last games to tip before the Field of 68 was announced, it was the Wisconsin Badgers that got to cut down the nets.  Although the game was tied at halftime, Wisconsin clearly had the most gas left in their tanks , as the Badgers pulled away about midway through the second and won the Big Ten championship by a final score of 70-57.  Brad Davison scored 18 points and Nate Reuvers added 17 for the conference champions.  For both teams, however, the work had just begun, as they headed back to their hotels to watch the Selection Show and find out just what their path to a potential Final Four was going to be.

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 Big Sky Tournament.  Although the Big Sky was clearly a single-bid league, its regular season turned out to be a tight three-team race between Eastern Washington, Northern Colorado and Montana.  Which of those three would win the bid, or would another team shock the conference and steal it?  It is time to find out!

BIG SKY QUARTERFINALS

Eastern Washington opened quarterfinal day in the Big Sky with a convincing 84-61 win over Sacramento State, as both Kim Aiken and Mason Peatling scored double-doubles for the Eagles.  5-seed Montana State pulled the mild upset over 4-seed Portland State, as 20 points from Harald Frey paced the Bobcats to an 84-66 win.  Northern Colorado jumped out huge early over 7-seed Southern Utah, leading 40-27 at the half and coasting home for an 87-76 win.

The fourth and final quarterfinal, between 3-seed Montana and 11-seed Idaho State, proved to be the game of the day in the Big Sky.  Idaho State had finished in last place during the regular season, yet had already upset Northern Arizona in the first round.  The Bengals took the lead early over Montana, and held a 4-point lead at the halftime break.  Montana bounced back after halftime, but the game remained tight throughout.  A 3 by Tarik Cool with 10 seconds left cut the Grizzlies’ lead down to only 2, but 2 huge free throws from Sayeed Pridgett (who led his team with 24 points) nailed down the win for Montana and advanced the Grizzlies to the semifinals.

BIG SKY SEMIFINALS

The first semifinal, between 5-seed Montana State and top-seeded Eastern Washington, proved to be a highly entertaining game.  Although the Eagles controlled the first half and built a 7 point lead, the Bobcats came out strong in the second.  A 3-pointer by Montana State’s Ladan Ricketts with 15 seconds left to play tied the game at 70 and sent it into overtime.  The OT period, however, was dominated by Eastern Washington.  The Eagles outscored the Bobcats 13-4 in the extra five minutes and won 83-74 to advance to Saturday’s championship game.

The second semifinal, between 2-seed Northern Colorado and 3-seed Montana, was also close for most of the game.  Northern Colorado led by just a single point at the halftime break, and held the same lead with about 5 minutes left to play.  That is when the Bears went cold, allowing Montana to open up a lead and take the game by a final score of 80-71.  Northern Colorado’s Jonah Radebaugh scored 23 points in a losing effort, while Sayeed Pridgett led the winning Grizzlies with 19.

BIG SKY CHAMPIONSHIP

After a pair of very fun semifinals, the Big Sky title game had all the earmarks of an exciting championship game that could come down to the wire.  Unfortunately, it was not to be.  Eastern Washington took control of this game late in the first half, building a 7-point lead at the break and cruising through the second half en route to an 82-69 win and a trip to the Big Dance.  Mason Peatling scored 19 points and Kim Aiken had a double-double for the victorious Eagles.

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 Big East Conference.  Creighton, Villanova and Seton Hall each entered the conference tournament with an eye on 2 seeds in the NCAA Tournament and even an outside shot at thee #1 line.  Xavier was right on the bubble, and an opening round loss Wednesday night to DePaul did nothing to help the Musketeers cause.  As the conference enters the quarterfinals, the question is which team will win the tournament and make a claim, at least, at the 2 line, and whether a Cinderella story could arise.  It is time to see what would have happened.

BIG EAST QUARTERFINALS

St John’s, playing the Big East Tournament in Madison Square Garden, clearly had the home court advantage over Creighton in the first quarterfinal of the day.  This advantage allowed the Johnnies to jump out to a 38-35 halftime lead, which was extended to 10 points early in the second half.  The Bluejays were not done, however, and made several runs over the next 10 minutes to try to cut into the lead.  An 11-1 run starting with just under 5 minutes left to play finally pushed Creighton over the top and gave them their first lead since the first half with under a minute left to play at 70-68.  Marcellus Earlington tipped in an offensive rebound with 30 seconds left to tie the game for the Red Storm, and neither team was able to score again before the buzzer, sending the game into overtime.  Ty-Shon Alexander scored 5 of the Bluejays’ last 7 points in OT to give his team a 4 point lead, and a couple of missed shots late ended the season for the Red Storm.  Creighton won 84-80 to advance to Friday’s semifinals.

The 4/5 game featured one of the hottest teams in all of college basketball, the Providence Friars, who had moved from a postseason afterthought to a near-lock for the Big Dance when play started this day.  Their opponent was a Butler team that had sputtered down the stretch but was looking to turn it on again in the conference tournament  Providence built a 7 point halftime lead, and was able to counter every run that Butler made at them in the second half.  When the final horn sounded, the Friars were in the semifinals by a final score of 75-70.  David Duke’s 16 points led the way for Providence, while Alpha Diallo added 13 points and 9 rebounds.

The third quarterfinal of the night, between 10-seed DePaul and 2-seed Villanova looked like a mismatch on paper.  However, the game was played on the court, not on paper, and the Blue Demons came out on fire, building a 45-32 halftime lead and causing televisions around the country to suddenly be tuned in to this potential upset.  The Wildcats were not done, however, and came storming back in the second half, taking an 82-80 lead with just over a minute left to play.  That is when things got fun.  DePaul’s Charlie Moore sunk a jumper with 19 seconds left to tie the game.  Villanova then came down the court, and got reserve Cole Swider open from 3 at the top of the key where he sunk what looked like a game-winner with just 2 seconds left, putting the Hoyas up 85-82.  However, Charlie Moore was not done, as his halfcourt prayer at the buzzer found the net, and the game was suddenly tied and heading to overtime!  DePaul may have had a miracle at the end of regulation, but with Villanova up 98-95 and 10 seconds left to play in overtime, Jaylen Butz’s potential game-tying 3 clanked off the rim, and Villanova was celebrating a hard-fought victory.

After an average margin of victory of only 4 points in the first three games at the Garden, one would have thought that we were finally in store for a blowout n the nightcap between 6-seed Marquette and 3-seed Seton Hall.  That most certainly did not happen.  The game was tight throughout, as Markus Howard scored 30 points to keep his Golden Eagles close all the way until the final minute.  Free throw shooting proved to be the key, as Romaro Gill and Jared Rhoden each hit clutch shots from the line to secure an 85-82 win for the Pirates.  Myles Powell and Quincy McKnight each had 19 points for the Hall, who advanced to a semifinal game on Friday against Villanova.

BIG EAST SEMIFINALS

Creighton had captured the top seed in the Big East Tournament, but had to face the conference’s hottest team in the semifinals, Providence.  The Bluejays were somehow able to find a way to cool the Friars down, pulling out to a 7 point halftime lead and winning by a final score of 92-82.  Ty-Shon Alexander was huge for his team again, scoring 22 points and pulling down 8 rebounds.  The win gave Creighton a spot in the conference title game, putting them in good position for a very high seed in the Big Dance.

The late semifinal was billed as one of the top games of the day, as Villanova and Seton Hall, a pair of teams that had each won at the other’s home court during the regular season, squared off on a neutral court to decide which team would truly have the bragging rights against the other this season.  The game easily lived up to its billing, with both teams trading shots back and forth the entire night.  Seton Hall finally started to pull away a bit with 3 minutes left, building a 5 point lead that the Pirates held until the final 10 seconds, when a pair of Villanova 3-pointers by Saddiq Bey and Collin Gillespie pulled the Wildcats to within one point.  Free throws by Myles Powell and Romaro Gill proved to be the difference, and the Pirates were on to the title game, winning 76-74.  Powell led the way with 26 points for the Hall.

BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP

With only one game having a final score differential in double digits so far in the entire Big East Tournament, there was little doubt that the championship game would bring more of the same as 3-seed Seton hall took on top seed Creighton.  The Hall came out strong in the first half, building a 7 point lead at the break and extended the lead to 12 with 10 minutes left to play.  However, Creighton ended up having just a little more juice left in their tanks than the Pirates did.  A 15-4 run over the next 5 minutes cut the lead to one, and Seton Hall seemed to have run out of gas, playing in their third close game in three days.  A Denzel Mahoney jumper gave Creighton the lead 2 minutes later, and the Bluejays made their free throws late to hold on for the title, winning by a final score of 86-81 and cutting down the nets as Big East champions.

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 Atlantic Ten Conference, where the Dayton Flyers were looking to extend an 18-0 regular season into a perfect 21-0 against conference opponents.  Richmond and Rhode Island entered with dreams of at-large bids, and Saint Louis was even still in the bubble talk.  Would the Flyers be perfect?  Would someone else lock up at least an at-large bid?  Could a bid thief like Davidson or St. Bonaventure steal it?  Let’s find out!

ATLANTIC TEN SECOND ROUND

The second round of the Atlantic Ten tournament began with a highly entertaining game between 8-seed UMass and 9-seed VCU, with the Rams holding on for a 69-66 win when Samba Diallo’s potential game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer just barely missed.  The other three games proved to be a lot less exciting.  Although George Mason held a halftime lead, 5-seed St. Bonaventure rolled in the second half and won going away, 78-60.  Davidson’s Kellan Grady scored 28 points to lead his Wildcats to a convincing 79-55 win over La Salle.  And in the nightcap, a double-double from Michael Hughes led the way as Duquesne took down Fordham, 66-58.

ATLANTIC TEN QUARTERFINALS

The Dayton Flyers had gone a perfect 18-0 against Atlantic Ten competition during the regular season, and that perfection continued in their quarterfinal matchup with VCU.  Obi Toppin was once again dominant in this game, scoring 25 points and pulling down 12 rebounds, while teammate Trey Landers had a double-double as well with 12 points and 13 boards.  The Flyers built a 14 point halftime lead and then turned on cruise control, coasting in for an 82-74 win.

The Saint Louis Billikens needed a win in their quarterfinal matchup with 5-seed St. Bonaventure in order to keep their remote at-large bid chances alive and, even more importantly, to set up an Arch-Baron Cup semifinal against Dayton.  Despite St. Louis building a 47-33 halftime advantage, the Bonnies came out on fire in the second period, and halfway through it took a 64-63 lead.  The game was close the rest of the way, and when Bobby Planutis missed a pair of free throws with 30 seconds left, the Billikens had the ball down 2 with a chance to tie or win.  Despite getting two offensive rebounds and three good looks at a tying or winning shot in their final possession, Saint Louis could not get the ball through the net, and the Bonnies pulled off the mild upset, winning 85-83 and advancing to the semifinals.

The excitement continued in the third quarterfinal between 7-seed Davidson and 2-seed Richmond.  The Spiders, a team squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble, absolutely needed this win to keep their at-large bid dreams alive.  The Davidson Wildcats, however, had other plans.  Jon Axel Gudmundsson scored 24 points and Kellan Grady added 17 to lead Davidson to an 88-84 upset victory that would likely send Richmond to the NIT.

The Rhode Island Rams also had at-large bid dreams entering the Atlantic Ten tournament, though they knew that in all likelihood winning the automatic bid may be their only real path to a dance ticket.  The 3-seed got a tough battle from 6-seed Duquesne in a game that was close throughout.  Rhode Island led by 3 at the half and was able to hold on for a 63-56 victory.  The Rams were led by 21 points from Fatts Russell and a double-double by Cyril Langevine.

ATLANTIC TEN SEMIFINALS

The Dayton Flyers had every bubble team in the nation rooting for them to capture the A-10 automatic bid as they entered their semifinal matchup with St. Bonaventure.  Alarm bells started ringing across the nation when the Bonnies played one of their best halves of the season and took a 43-36 lead into the halftime break.  However, Obi Toppin and company proved to be too much for the upstart Bonnies, as they came out on fire in the second half and cruised to a 93-84 victory.  Toppin had another double-double to lead the way, scoring 26 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.

In the second semifinal, the Davidson Wildcats had dreams of making up for a disappointing regular season by capturing a conference tournament title.  Rhode Island was just as hungry, however, trying to make up for a late-season slump that may have cost them an at-large bid.  The game was back and forth most of the way, until the Rams opened up a 10-point lead with 3:30 left to play.  Davidson had one last run left, however, and had a chance to tie the game on a Gundmundsson three with 5 seconds left – but the ball did not go through the net and a free throw by Fatts Russell made the final score 75-71 in favor of Rhode Island.

ATLANTIC TEN CHAMPIONSHIP

The Dayton Flyers entered the Atlantic Ten title game looking to secure a shot at a 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.  The Rhode Island Rams knew that they were a longshot at best for an at-large bid if they could not win today.  The first half of the game proved to be as entertaining as possible, and Rhode Island took a 2-point lead into the break, 43-41.  However, just like in their semifinal matchup with the Bonnies, the Flyers proved that they were the better team in the second half.  A 15-5 run midway through the period proved to be the final punch, and the Flyers cruised in for a 95-79 win to finish Atlantic Ten play at a perfect 21-0.  Obi Toppin was his usual dominant self, taking home conference Most Outstanding Player honors after scoring 25 points and pulling down 10 rebounds in the finals.  Rhode Island was left to wait to see if their name was called during the Selection Show.