Big Ten crashes and sweet mustaches
5 thoughts on the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament
With a wild weekend of NCAA Tournament games under our belts and everyone’s brackets busted, here are six thoughts on the start of March Madness.
1. Behold the Big Flop:
Everyone is seeking answers to the Big Ten flop.
Despite a record nine bids to the NCAA Tournament, only Michigan advanced to the Sweet 16, while top-seeded Illinois, No. 2 seeds Ohio State and Iowa and No. 4 seed Purdue all suffered humbling losses.
The most widespread theory seems to be the one advanced by Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell, who argued that the Big Ten teams beat each other up in conference play and thus weakened the group by the start of the tournament.
That’s possible, but my theory is most of their coaches were simply outcoached, including Pikiell, whose Scarlet Knights blew a 10-point lead in the final minutes of Sunday’s loss to Houston.
The most glaring example was the pantsing of Illinois coach Brad Underwood by Loyola’s Porter Moser in Sunday’s secondround game, though Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann was a close second, losing to No. 15 seed Oral Roberts.
The Big Ten teams obviously were overseeded, particularly Purdue, which lost to No. 13 seed North Texas. Even 11th-seeded Michigan State, which fortunately was bounced by UCLA in a play-in game, was given a shot only because it was Michigan State and had a famous coach in Tom Izzo.
Yes, the Spartans beat highly ranked Illinois, Ohio State and
Michigan over their final six games, but they were promptly beaten by Maryland in their conference tournament opener. A couple of good weeks shouldn’t negate an otherwise disappointing season and give you a chance to win the NCAA Tournament, even as a play-in team.
Wisconsin, Rutgers and Maryland also should’ve been relegated to the NIT, but the overwhelming Big Ten hype gave everyone a shot. Hopefully the selection committee doesn’t make the same mistake next year.
2. Pumpkin time arrived early:
Everyone loves a Cinderella, but the problem with Cinderellas is they often turn into pumpkins and ruin things for the rest of the tournament.
North Texas, Ohio and Abilene Christian were all uncompetitive in their second-round games, and 11 of the 16 second-round games were won by 10 points or more, including Loyola’s 71-58 victory over the Illini. Monday’s games were all double-digit wins except for Michigan’s eight-point victory over LSU. There were no buzzer-beaters
in the first two rounds.
Next weekend should bring more evenly matched games — and perhaps a Bryce Drew moment or two for the “One Shining Moment” video.
3. Time for new stars to shine:
Who is the biggest name left in the tournament now that Ayo Dosunmu, Kofi Cockburn, Luka Garza and Cade Cunningham are all gone?
Kevin Obanor of Oral Roberts is the top remaining scorer at 29 points per game, while his teammate Max Abmas is tied for second at 27.5 after two rounds.
But because almost no one saw Oral Roberts play before the tournament, they’re still fresh faces.
Syracuse’s Buddy Boeheim is averaging 27.5 points and has name recognition thanks to his dad, Orange coach Jim Boeheim, and a “Hoosiers”-style nickname. Buddy’s real name is Jackson, by the way, and his mother also calls his brother, Jimmy, “J.J.,” and his sister, Jamie, “Sissy.” (A Boeheim family reality show on TruTV seems likely.)
Gonzaga’s Corey Kispert and Jalen Suggs are first-team All-Americans on the nation’s top-ranked team, but they can’t come close to the Twitter recognition teammate Drew Timme gets for his classic, 1970s-style handlebar mustache. His mom told sideline reporter Lauren Shehadi that Drew had to shave it if Gonzaga got to the Sweet 16. But after a 30-point, 13-rebound game in Monday’s win over Oklahoma, Timme said, “I think after this game, she’ll be OK if I keep it.”
Michigan and Baylor also have talented players and USC center Evan Mobley is the likely No. 2 NBA draft pick after Cunningham, but our pick to click is Loyola’s Cameron Krutwig, a starter on the 2018 Final Four team and the undisputed leader of the Ramblers.
Like Timme, Krutwig has a recognizable mustache Loyola fans refer to as the “Krut-stache.”
He doesn’t get as much air time as Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, the team’s 101-year-old chaplain, but who does?
But Krutwig is one of the main reasons Loyola has reached the big time, and his stellar play against Cockburn on Sunday was a star turn.
4. Loyola on the move?
One of the latest rumors is Loyola could soon be invited to join the Atlantic 10 Conference, which would be an upgrade from the Missouri Valley Conference, in which the Ramblers have to win the conference tournament most years to be assured of an invitation to March Madness.
The internet is never wrong, but let’s pray this is idle speculation. Switching to the Atlantic 10 from the MVC would be like upgrading from a window seat in Row 20 to an aisle seat in Row 11.
If Loyola really wants to make an upward move, it should hold out for an invitation to the Big East, in which the Ramblers would have natural rivalries against DePaul and Marquette.
It would be more difficult to win the conference, of course, but with the added TV coverage, recruiting big-name talent would be easier for Moser. Having another Chicago team in the mix would benefit the Big East as well. Just do it.
5.A‘Hoosiers’ending needs a Hoosier venue:
Hinkle Fieldhouse is a perfect venue for the Indiana bubble. Although the crowds are much smaller than at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, the Indiana Pacers’ home, the size of Hinkle made the fans seem louder.
Nothing says “Hoosiers” like Hinkle Fieldhouse, where the climactic ending of the iconic movie was filmed.
It’s a shame the Final Four and championship game will be held in cavernous Lucas Oil Stadium, the home of the Indianapolis Colts, instead of a real shrine like Hinkle, which is known as Indiana’s basketball cathedral.
When the afternoon sun comes through the windows of Hinkle and onto the court, it creates a surreal atmosphere that reeks of basketball. Moving the semifinal games at least should be easy enough, leaving the title game to Lucas Oil.
As Lily says in those incessant AT&T commercials: “It’s not complicated.”