UTR Postseason News, Notes and Highlighted Games – Tuesday, March 26

Posted on March 26, 2019 by John Stalica

For last night’s Hoops HD Report podcast recapping and previewing the NCAA Tournament – CLICK HERE

For Jon Teitel’s interview with Western Michigan Academic All-American Seth Dugan – CLICK HERE

In their second round NIT game last night, Colorado wasted little time jumping out to a 20-point lead at halftime and ended up holding off a brief Norfolk State challenge before easily winning 76-60 to advance to the NIT Quarterfinal round at Texas on Wednesday. Tyler Bey led the Buffaloes with 17 points and 9 rebounds.

The CBI also resumed last night – West Virginia had to have been playing like they wished to be anywhere else in the world last night. The Mountaineers gave up a school-record 109 points at home in an eighteen-point loss to Coastal Carolina. Four players scored in double figures for the Chanticleers; they were led by a 34-point performance from Devante Jones. Their reward will be a trip to DePaul on Wednesday night in the first CBI semifinal; the Blue Demons punched their ticket with a 97-89 victory against Longwood.

Home cooking also paved the way for South Florida to beat Utah Valley and Loyola Marymount to beat Brown as well. LMU will travel across the country to play at South Florida in the second semifinal matchup on Thursday.

There were also a pair of road wins in the CIT last night; Texas Southern ended up winning at UTRGV and Cal State-Bakersfield won their second road game in a row with their victory at Southern Utah.

NIT

(6) WICHITA STATE AT (1) INDIANA (7:00 PM, ESPN) – The first quarterfinal matchup of the NIT pairs up a Wichita State team that pulled off some clutch road wins at Furman and Clemson against an Indiana team that has been able to win both of their home games in the NIT without the services of Romeo Langford.

(2) CREIGHTON AT (1) TCU (9:00 PM, ESPN) – This is the only matchup in the NIT where both of the top two teams advanced in their region. TCU won comfortably against Sam Houston State and Nebraska, whereas Creighton will go on the road for the first time in the NIT after home wins against Loyola-Chicago and Memphis.

CIT

CHARLESTON SOUTHERN AT HAMPTON (7:00 PM, WatchCIT.com, 2nd Round) – Hampton will live to host another game after their 81-72 victory at home against Saint Francis-Brooklyn in the John McLendon Classic last week. Charleston Southern had a closer game against Florida Atlantic last week, but still ended up with a 2-point win.

FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL AT GREEN BAY (8:00 PM, WatchCIT.com, 2nd Round) – FIU earned their first ever postseason victory last week with an 87-81 win at Texas State last week. Green Bay had the most surprising win in the CIT thus far with an 8-point victory at East Tennessee State in the Hugh Durham Classic.

PRESBYTERIAN AT MARSHALL (7:00 PM, WatchCIT.com, Quarterfinal) – In an odd scheduling quirk, Marshall was one of three teams (along with NJIT and Louisiana-Monroe) that got a bye into the quarterfinal round based on their performance in the first round where they beat IUPUI 78-73 in the Jim Phelan Classic. Presbyterian finds itself playing its third road game in seven days after wins at Seattle and Robert Morris.

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The Hoops HD Report: Sweet Sixteen/Elite Eight Edition

Posted on March 25, 2019 by David Griggs

The panel looks back at all the games from the first two rounds of the tournament, and discuss how three #12 seeds got out of the Round of 64, three of the four #1 seeds trailed at halftime to #16 seeds, but at the end of the day 14 of the 16 teams in the Sweet Sixteen are protected seeds.  UCF lost a thriller/heartbreaker to Duke, Houston is in their first Sweet Sixteen since 1984, Uncle Buzz’s Virginia Tech team is in the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 1967, and after a rough season Oregon is in the Sweet Sixteen for the third time in four years.  All that, and so much more…

 

And for all you radio lovers, below is an audio only version of the show…

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Basketball and brains: HoopsHD interviews Western Michigan Academic All-American Seth Dugan

Posted on March 25, 2019 by Jon Teitel

If Seth Dugan were not 7′ tall he would still be a great student, and if he did not have a 3.97 GPA he would still be a great basketball player: the fact that he is both that tall AND that smart means he is an Academic All-American. After a great high school career in Otsego he traveled 15 miles south to college in Kalamazoo, while his journey on the court saw him go from a bench player last year to a double-double machine this year. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Seth about facing Buffalo earlier this season and his legacy at Western Michigan.

You went to high school in Michigan: what made you choose the Broncos? It is close to home, which is a big factor for me. I love the coaching staff and a lot of my family went here as well.

You play for Coach Steve Hawkins: what makes him such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from him? He knows the game and learned from the best in Coach John Wooden. He cares about us not only as players but as students/people. He wants us to succeed in life and teaches us valuable lessons.

In the season opener last November you had 32 PTS/22 REB/6 AST in a win over Detroit: where does that rank among the best all-around games of your career? That is up there, probably the best that I have ever played. It was a lot of fun.

You played several NCAA tourney-caliber teams this year in non-conference play (including Cincinnati/Michigan/Mississippi): which of them impressed you the most, and why? Definitely Michigan. They are so well-coached and well-balanced: they have 5-6 guys who can score 20 PPG and they share the ball very well.

In January you scored 15 PTS/6-9 FG in a 9-PT loss to Buffalo: what makes the Bulls so good, and what did you think of their NCAA tourney run? They are also really well-coached and have great depth. They have a lot of seniors who know the system really well and constantly push the ball. They had a tough loss to a very good Texas Tech team but represented the MAC so well.

After averaging 5 PPG/4 RPG as a junior you had 16 PPG/10 RPG as a senior: how were you able to make such a huge leap from last year to this year? Honestly, I just got healthy! My junior year was tough: I had a stress fracture that kept me out but I did a lot of hard work this offseason. My teammates also deserve a lot of credit for finding me when I am open.

How do you think that your team will do next year after losing you/Josh Davis but returning almost everyone else? I think they are going to be really good. We have 3 guys coming back who were out this year and some really good recruits. I think that they will be fighting for a league championship.

Earlier this month you were named 1st-team Academic All-American: how do you balance your work on the court with your work in the classroom? It is all about time-management and being responsible. I do not do a lot besides books and basketball. I pride myself in being a student-athlete so it was an incredible honor.

You have a 3.97 GPA as a 7’ tall Finance major: what is the post-college plan? I will hang up the basketball shoes but have been applying for jobs in southwest Michigan. I am excited for the next chapter of my life as I begin my business career.

When people look back on your college career, how do you want to be remembered the most? I hope they say that I gave it my all and was a great team guy. I cared about my teammates/community and tried to make the university proud as a man of character.

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NCAA Tournament Review – Monday, March 25

Posted on March 25, 2019 by John Stalica

For today’s UTR Postseason News, Notes and Highlighted Games – CLICK HERE

Yesterday turned out to be a rare day where all the higher seeded teams ended up winning their games, but there was a lot more drama involved compared to Saturday’s games that started with a bang and ended with a pop.

Note: Also be on the lookout later tonight for our Sweet 16 Podcast from the Hoops HD panel.

Columbus

The opening game between Tennessee and Iowa looked like it was going to be the game of the weekend; the Vols raced to a 20-point lead before Iowa mounted a furious 2nd-half comeback to tie the game with three minutes remaining. Vol fans were having flashbacks to their Sweet 16 collapse against Ohio State, but never trailed the Hawkeyes despite the game going to overtime. Grant Williams led the Vols with 19 points and 7 rebounds; they move on to meet Purdue in Louisville in the South Region.

North Carolina played like they were scared straight against Iona; they methodically took an 8-point lead at halftime and shifted into overdrive in the 2nd half as they outscored the Huskies by 16 points en route to an 81-59 victory. They will face Auburn in the Midwest Region in their next game.

Columbia

It is said that most national title contenders have to survive either one subpar outing on their end or a stellar outing from the opposing team – Duke was definitely facing survival mode after falling behind by 4 points with under 2 minutes remaining against Central Florida. Once they cut the deficit to 3, Duke managed to parlay a layup by Zion Williamson into an offensive rebound (off of a missed FT) and subsequent layup by RJ Barrett. UCF had a couple of point-blank looks at the basket in the closing seconds, but Duke escaped and will now move on to the East Region in Washington, DC.

Virginia also went on a late run in the first half to take control of their game against Oklahoma; they had a stress-free 2nd half and ended up beating the Sooners 63-51. They are in the Sweet 16 for the first time in three years and will be aiming for their first Final Four appearance since 1984.

Tulsa

Texas Tech is the lone team remaining in the NCAA Tournament out of the rough-and-tumble Big 12, but they had no difficulty in blasting Buffalo out of the tournament with an easy 78-58 victory. This is the first time in school history that the Red Raiders will appear in back-to-back Sweet 16s; they will face Michigan in the West Region.

There was a bit of a dust-up between Houston and Ohio State as the Cougars took an 8-point lead at halftime, but no hard feelings really lingered as Houston rolled to a comfortable 74-59 victory over the Buckeyes for their first Sweet 16 appearance since 1984. They will play Kentucky in the Midwest Region.

San Jose

Liberty made a gallant run for a 2nd straight upset bid, but it was not meant to be as Virginia Tech survived a late run by the Flames; the Hokies ended up winning 67-58 to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1967. It was also Buzz Williams’ 100th victory with the Hokies; their reward will be a matchup with Duke in the East Region.

In the nightcap, what looked like an Oregon blowout suddenly turned into a potential Cinderella story as UC-Irvine started the 2nd half with a 14-0 run to take a 2-point lead. Oregon did have an answer with a 15-3 to retake control of the game and ended up winning 73-54. The Ducks will now move on to the South Region where they will be matched up with Virginia.

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UTR Postseason News, Notes and Highlighted Games – Monday, March 25

Posted on March 25, 2019 by John Stalica

For the second round in a row, Wichita State found itself on the road in South Carolina – this time the Shockers came up victorious at Clemson with a 63-55 victory against the Tigers. Jaime Echenique led the Shockers with 18 points; Markis McDuffie also added 16 points. They will move on the NIT quarterfinals with only a game at Indiana standing in the way on Tuesday for what would be Wichita State’s 2nd trip to the NIT Final Four at Madison Square Garden under Gregg Marshall.

The second game between Xavier and Texas was exciting, but at the same time a microcosm of how both teams ended up in the NIT to begin with. Kerwin Roach II committed a foul with 2.6 remaining in regulation, but Xavier was only able to hit one of two free throws and ended up extending the game to overtime instead. Texas got ahead by as much as five points in the ensuing overtime, but Xavier ended up missing a pair of potential game-tying shots in the closing seconds (one of which was after a held-ball call) and Texas will play one more game at home this season against either Colorado or Norfolk State on Wednesday.

NC State had another close game at home, but were able to run out the final 2.7 seconds of the clock after Harvard cut NC State’s lead to a single point late in the game. CJ Bryce led the Wolfpack with 16 points and 7 rebounds; they will host road warrior Lipscomb in the NIT Quarterfinal round on Wednesday.

The finale of the night saw TCU beat Nebraska fairly comfortably by an 88-72 margin. Desmond Bane scored 30 points for the Horned Frogs; they will host Creighton on Tuesday for the right to advance to the NIT Final Four at Madison Square Garden.

In the CIT, Robert Morris had all the momentum in the 1st half and hit a 3-point shot to take a 13-point lead at halftime against Presbyterian. The 2nd half was a completely different story – Presby outscored the Colonials by 20 to come from behind to win 77-70. Both Francois Lewis and Adam Flagler scored 19 points apiece for the Blue Hose to lead the comeback.

There was one more vacancy that was added to the 2019 Coaching Carousel – Wyking Jones was dismissed from California after two subpar seasons in Berkeley. Avery Johnson’s dismissal from Alabama also became a formality yesterday as well.

NIT

(8) NORFOLK STATE AT (4) COLORADO (9:00 PM, ESPN2) – This is the last of the eight quarterfinal games for the NIT – the Norfolk State Spartans pulled off the biggest stunner of the tournament so far with an overtime win against Alabama last Wednesday night. They will now go on the road to take on a Colorado team that was victorious against Dayton in their opener. Tonight’s winner will travel to Texas on Wednesday night.

CBI

COASTAL CAROLINA AT WEST VIRGINIA (7:00 PM) – Coastal Carolina was victorious in their home opener against Howard in the first round, but must now hit the road to take on a West Virginia team that is quietly improving in March. They had a notable win against Texas Tech in the Big 12 Tournament and also beat Grand Canyon in their CBI opener.

UTAH VALLEY AT SOUTH FLORIDA (7:00 PM) – While Utah Valley had a relatively comfortable win at home against Cal State-Northridge in their opener, South Florida came back from a 22-point hole in the first half of their game to beat Stony Brook in overtime last week.

LONGWOOD AT DEPAUL (8:00 PM) – For the second game in a row, DePaul will be playing in their cozy on-campus gym (McGrath-Phillips Arena) due to a booking conflict with Wintrust Arena. They beat Central Michigan in their opener; Longwood also won their opener at home against Southern Miss.

BROWN AT LOYOLA MARYMOUNT (10:00 PM) – While Brown was beating UAB at home to advance to the second round, Loyola Marymount got a road win in the closing seconds against Cal Baptist. This time around, the Lions will host a CBI game for the first time this year.

CIT

TEXAS SOUTHERN AT TEXAS-RIO GRANDE VALLEY (8:00 PM, WatchCIT.com) – Fresh off of their first-ever postseason victory against Grambling, the Vaqueros of UTRGV will host another team out of the SWAC. Texas Southern will be a bigger challenge for them than Grambling, however – the Tigers are coming off of an overtime road win at New Orleans.

CAL STATE-BAKERSFIELD AT SOUTHERN UTAH (8:30 PM, WatchCIT.com) – The Thunderbirds got a thrilling overtime victory in their opener against a Drake team that won a share of the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title. Cal State-Bakersfield won the Riley Wallace Classic in Round 1 against in-state foe Cal State-Fullerton.

 

 

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NCAA Tournament Review and Preview – Sunday, March 24

Posted on March 24, 2019 by John Stalica

For today’s UTR Postseason News, Notes and Highlighted Games – CLICK HERE

Yesterday’s games started with a flourish in the two afternoon games, but almost all six games in the evening sessions were for the most part chalky and noncompetitive. As described below:

Jacksonville

LSU and Maryland tipped off the festivities to see who would punch the first ticket into the Sweet 16. LSU controlled most of the game, but both the Tigers and Terrapins traded 3-point shots in the final minute of the game. At the end of the day, the ball ended up in Tremont Waters’ hands and he hit the game-winner with 1.9 seconds remaining to send the Tigers to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2006; that team featuring Glen “Big Baby” Davis would also go on to the Final Four later that season.

The second game featured a defensive clinic by Kentucky on how to defend Wofford star Fletcher Magee. Amazingly enough, despite shooting 0-for-12 from 3-point land, the Terriers remained in the game for a full 40 minutes before Kentucky iced the game at the free throw line for a 62-56 victory.

Des Moines

The first 18 minutes of the game saw Michigan claw their way to a 1-point lead against Florida, but a 14-0 run sandwiched around halftime saw the Wolverines take control and eventually move on to a 64-49 victory against the Gators. Jordan Poole led Michigan with 19 points.

The second game of the doubleheader saw Michigan State knock out Minnesota without much difficulty at all. Xavier Tillman had 14 points and 6 rebounds to lead the Spartans to a 70-50 victory against the Golden Gophers; their reward will be a trip to the East Regional and a game against LSU next weekend.

Hartford

Unfortunately for the fans of Hartford, they were treated to the least set of competitive games yesterday. Florida State brought down the curtain on the Ja Morant show and Murray State; the Noles hammered Murray State 90-62. While Morant had 28 points for Murray, Mfiondu Kabengele scored 22 points and 7 rebounds off the bench for Florida State.

In what seems to be the annual make-or-break round for Villanova, they were emphatically dethroned by Purdue 87-61 in the nightcap. Carsen Edwards had 42 points for the Boilermakers; Purdue made their third straight Sweet 16 appearance for the first time since 1998-2000 under Gene Keady.

Salt Lake City

By yesterday evening’s standards, there was at least some intrigue in the game between Gonzaga and Baylor. The Zags raced out to an 18-point lead in the first half, but the Bears were able to close the deficit to 8 points with 7 minutes remaining in the game. Gonzaga outscored Baylor 19-15 the rest of the way to set up a Gonzaga-Florida State Sweet 16 rematch from last season.

Last year, Auburn was getting blasted by 31 points against Clemson. This year, the Tigers completely flipped the script and took a 25-point halftime lead against Kansas in the nightcap. While Auburn didn’t completely blast the Jayhawks in the end, they still won fairly comfortably and will face either North Carolina or Washington in the Sweet 16 in the Midwest Region.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

(10) IOWA VS (2) TENNESSEE (12:10 PM, CBS, Columbus) – The Hawkeyes came back from an early 16-5 hole to knock out Cincinnati in the first round of the NCAA Tournament; Tennessee also had a scare against Colgate on Friday before eventually salting away their victory.

(9) WASHINGTON VS (1) NORTH CAROLINA (approx. 2:40 PM, CBS, Columbus) – North Carolina was one of three #1 seeds that struggled in the first half against a #16 seeded opponent, but they wasted no time in putting away Iona in their opening game. Washington also used a late run against Utah State to roll to a 17-point win in their opener on Friday night.

(9) CENTRAL FLORIDA VS (1) DUKE (5:15 PM, CBS, Columbia) – This will be the third time that Mike Krzyzewski will go up against either a former player or coach in the NCAA Tournament; he won the previous 2 such meetings (2001 against Quinn Snyder/Missouri; 2002 against Mike Brey/Notre Dame). While Duke pulled away against North Dakota State in the 2nd half of their game, UCF beat VCU without too much difficulty for their first ever NCAA Tournament win.

(6) BUFFALO VS (3) TEXAS TECH (6:10 PM, TNT, Tulsa) – Fresh off of a dominant win against Arizona State and former head coach Bobby Hurley, Buffalo will be looking for their first-ever Sweet 16 bid against a Texas Tech team that will be looking for back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances themselves for the first time in program history.

(12) LIBERTY VS (4) VIRGINIA TECH (7:10 PM, TBS, San Jose) – Liberty erased a 10-point deficit en route to their first ever NCAA Tournament victory against Mississippi State on Friday; Virginia Tech will be looking for their first Sweet 16 appearance since 1967 with a win tonight.

(9) OKLAHOMA VS (1) VIRGINIA (approx. 7:45 PM, TruTV, Columbia) – According to NCAA statistician David Worlock, Oklahoma’s 23-point win against Ole Miss tied for the 3rd biggest victory by a 9-seed in the first round (the biggest being a 29-point win by Pitt against Colorado in 2014). They will have their hands full against a Virginia team that did have to come back from an early 12-point deficit against Gardner-Webb in their opener.

(11) OHIO STATE VS (3) HOUSTON (approx. 8:40 PM, TNT, Tulsa) – While the Buckeyes held on for a narrow 3-point victory against Iowa State in their opening game, Houston was enjoying their biggest NCAA Tournament margin of victory against Georgia State on Friday. A win by Houston would launch the Cougars into the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1984.

(13) UC-IRVINE VS (12) OREGON (approx. 9:40 PM, TBS, San Jose) – A week ago at this time, we were talking about the real possibility of the Pac-12 getting only one bid into the NCAA Tournament. Now, a red-hot Oregon will be the home team against a white-hot UC-Irvine team that has won 17 straight games since a surprising loss at home to Long Beach State in the Black and Blue rivalry in the Big West.

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