Top 10 storylines heading into Sweet 16
MIKE KOREEN
POSTMEDIA NETWORK Postmedia’s Mike Koreen breaks down Week 2 of March Madness.
Gonzaga is making its 19th consecutive tournament appearance. During that stretch, it has been to the Sweet 16 eight times and the Elite Eight twice. St. Catharines, Ont., is expected to join the team next season.
The Michigan Wolverines had taken to dousing John Beilein with water after recent wins. So on Sunday, the western New York native came prepared with a Super Soaker, which he used to spray his players after No. 7 seed Michigan’s upset over No. 2 Louisville.
The Wolverines haven’t lost since the plane they were taking slid off the runway as Michigan attempted to head to the Big Ten tournament in Washington. It was a major scare, but the team avoided serious injuries.
“Once we landed in D.C., we agreed that, ‘Why can’t this be the greatest story ever told?’ ”
Michigan’s Zak Irvin “Everybody had that mentality (of ), ‘Why not us?’ ”
Xavier is attempting to follow the Syracuse model from last year — go from bubble team in early March to the Final Four.
Xavier was on a six-game losing streak from February to early March, putting the Musketeers’ tourney hopes in jeopardy. But it reeled off two wins at the Big East tourney to grab a No. 11 seed and has pulled off upsets of No. 6 Maryland and No. 3 Florida State in the Big Dance.
Now, the Cincinnati school draws No. 2 Arizona, which just happens to be coached by former Xavier bench boss Sean Miller.
Three players with a shot to be picked in the top five in this year’s NBA draft will be playing this week.
UCLA point guard Lonzo Ball, Kansas small forward Josh Jackson and Kentucky point guard De’Aaron Fox will all take the floor in the Sweet 16. What’s more, Ball and Fox will go head to head in Memphis.
Jackson impressed at both ends of the floor on Sunday in a win over Michigan State. TSN analyst Sam Mitchell, a former Raptors and Timberwolves coach, compared Jackson to former Minnesota top pick/ex-Jayhawk/Canadian star Andrew Wiggins.
The Atlantic Coast Conference was earning raves as one of the best divisions in recent NCAA memory for much of the year. So much for that theory.
Of the nine ACC teams to earn berths in the tournament, just one — North Carolina — is still alive.
The Southeastern Conference — better known for football — triples the ACC with three teams left. Also with three apiece are the Pac12 and Big 12.
Kentucky coach John Calipari will coach in Memphis for the first time since he left that school in the Sweet 16. Calipari guided Memphis from 2000-09 before bolting for Kentucky. There still are some hard feelings in Tennessee so it will be interesting to see the kind of reaction Calipari gets as Kentucky faces UCLA.