Day 3

I anxiously examined the Friday games, hoping in vain to find a compelling matchup. I figured there would be some upsets and, indeed, McNeese and Colorado State kept the 5-12 upset tradition alive. Otherwise, chalk.

All of the top 4 seeds are still dancing. That's 16 games of chalk right there. Worse, the average margin of victory was over 22-points. There weren't a lot of interesting games on Friday.

Only five double-digit seeds made it out of the first round. All of the 13-16-seeds lost.

Maybe this is a one year blip, but my guess is that we are seeing the emergence of a truly two-tiered system. Mid-majors can't keep the players they develop (see Johni Broome and Walter Clayton, Jr), whereas teams from the power conferences can pay to keep marginal players at the next level (see Johni Broome and Walter Clayton, Jr) out of the pros. I'll have more to say about this as the tourney progresses. But let me be clear: I am not complaining. The players are getting paid and the quality of play is absolutely outstanding. Little surprise that the NCAA fought for decades to preserve a system that was killing the sport. These are supposed to be quick hitters, how did I get off on a mini-rant? Back to the Notes.

Cooper Flagg's ankle seems fine. 

Norfolk State had a surprising 11-point run against Florida in the first half. The Gators ended up winning by 26. Those guys are playing beautiful basketball. Next up, the defending champions. To my UConn friends: that run was fun while it lasted.

Akiva was offended that I failed to mention that his Terps blew out Grand Canyon. Not much in the way of story lines there, my friend! Except this: Maryland is playing some really good ball and no one is talking talking about it. We definitely need to talk about this whole "Crab Five" nickname thing.

Bryant, which played Michigan State close for a half, is coached by Phil Martelli, Jr. His Dad was the longtime coach of Philly's St. Joseph's. I have no idea what a Bryant is and I'm not looking it up.

The brisket and ribs turned out nicely. Thanks for asking.

Two Italian-Americans with slicked back hair sporting $3,000 suits. Both former coaches at Kentucky. Both with chips on their shoulders after so many years of success. The clip below is from 1996, before Kentucky met UMass in the Final Four. It's hilarious how difficult it is for them to list anything they have in common.

Calipari and Pitino first met at the famed 5-star basketball camp held annually in the Poconos outside Scranton, PA. Rick, who is six years older, was a counselor and John a camper. A few years later, John was a counselor and Rick was an invired speaker. Everyone agrees that they liked and respected one another in those early years. Their fraternal rivalry appears to have originated, incredibly, from a job recommendation. Pitino played for UMass (a 6 foot point guard) and the administration later reached out to him (in 1988) for his advice on replacing their recently fired basketball coach. Rick suggested they go after a promising assistant, specifically New Mexico's Larry Shyatt. He also endorsed Calipari, then an assistant at Pitt. UMass went with Cal. Pitino took credit for getting him the job, which Calipari resented. There are some giant egos in this game, and those two fit the bill.

Bizarre to see Pitino and Calipari coaching with neither wearing blue. 

St. John's was bothered by Arkansas' length and athleticism. They missed a bunch of challenged layups and a few where they were wide open (like double digits). The Johnnies can't shoot 3s and got in foul trouble. Things couldn't have gone much worse in the first half. But the defense was solid and Arkansas couldn't get much separation.

The Hogs bigs picked up two fouls each and Cal went to Big Z. St John's went right at him and reeled off a 14-5 run. Then Arkansas did the same, finishing the half 7-0 including a sweet half hook by Z. Arkansas by 3 at the break. Not ideal for the team from Queens, but St. John's is a second half team.

It was a war inside because there was no perimeter game. The teams combined to shoot 3-25 from deep in the first. It didn't get better in the second. Arkansas hit 2-19 3s, St John's 2-22. That's below 10% collectively. Ugly. The teams combined to miss 90 shots. 90. Hideous.

Zuby Ejiofor was a beast inside for St John's, drawing 8 fouls. He scored 23 and pulled down 12 boards. [Editor's Note: When I met Andrea I drove an old Subaru, which she called Zuby. Never heard of a human with that name.] Zuby was great, but he was the only one who showed up for Coach Pitino. All-American RJ Luis was terrible: 9 points on 3 for 17 shooting. Shockingly, Pitino benched Luis down the stretch and left him there.

Arkansas' athletes finished at the rim and that was the difference. I thought Wagner played pretty well in real time (he didn't turn it over against the press and got past his man a few times for easy layups) but the box score says he shot 4-16 from the field. It was a team effort for the Hogs, with Knox, Davis and Richmond getting double figures.

Knox and Richmond, both freshmen, came to play. Both are legacies. Billy Richmond's Dad, Billy II, played for Calipari at Memphis. One of Billy II teamates was Almamy Thiero, father of current Arkansas forward Adou Thiero. Karter Knox' brother, Kevin, played for Cal at Kentucky. Kevin Knox was drafted 9th by the Knicks in 2018; he's currently in the G-League.

This was not a well played game. But give Calipari credit. He could have easily lost this team after the 0-5 SEC start and injuries to Fland and Thiero. This is Cal's first trip to the Sweet 16 since 2019.

It was the end of the road for the anti-Kendricks, as Drake could not pull off the upset over Texas Tech, losing by 13. Could have been worse. Serena Williams did not crip-walk at half court after the buzzer sounded. 

The Drake and Texas Tech coaches are buddies, taking hunting and fishing trips together in the offseason. 

JT Toppin was a beast, with 25 and 12 for the Red Raiders. Last season, Toppin played for New Mexico. Pitino Jr's team might be a contender if he stuck around in Albuquerque.

The Texas A&M Fighting Swinford-Jacksons were up 10 in the second and appeared to be cruising to a victory. Appearances can be deceiving. Michigan stormed back to win going away, behind a career high 26 from reserve Roddy Gayle (21 in the second half). 

A phenomenal turnaround for the Wolverines, who lost 24 games last season under former Fab Fiver Juwon Howard. They got a quality replacement coach in Dusty May, who took Florida Atlantic to the Final Four in 2023. Vladislav Goldin, who followed May from FAU, was terrific today with 23 and 12. 

The Wolverines, fresh off an unexpected Big 10 tournament victory, have won five games in the last nine days. The Aggies were the fresher team, but abruptly hit a wall in the second half. Maybe it was the Denver elevation?

In an ode to the NIL era, BYU starts from scratch and glides into the Sweet 16. John Tonje had the game of the tournament for Wisconsin, pouring in 37 points. BYU was in control the whole game but let Wisconsin back in at the end. The Badgers pulled to within a bucket with seconds remaining. Everyone in the building knew Wisconsin was giving the ball to Tonje. He got a shot off from the right side of the lane under pressure, which drew nothing but air. BYU moves on to their first Sweet 16 in 16 years.

My team poached BYU's coach, Mark Pope, this time last year. Pope took the best BYU player, Jaxon Robinson, with him to Kentucky. The Cougars hired Kevin Young, whose main experience was coaching in the G League ultimately moving up to Associate Head Coach for the Phoenix Suns. Widely respected in the league, Young was considered for multiple NBA head coaching jobs. So why BYU? His last name may have played a role. Like Mark Pope, Kevin Young is Mormon. In fact, he is the great-great-great-great-grandson of Lorenzo Young, the brother of Brigham Young.

As mentioned in the preview, BYU signed the top prep player for next season. A team to watch.

Pour one out for Tina Louise, Ginger from Gilligan's Island, who died this week. She was the last surviving cast member from a show that played on an after-school loop with the Brady Bunch when I was a youngster. In the original theme song, Ginger's character was referenced as "a movie star" followed by "and the rest" - meaning the Professor and Mary Ann. Evidently I was not the only one to have sympathy for this snub as these two were added to the theme in the second season. However, in the spirit of the Gilligan theme, the other games are relegated to "and the rest..."

[Editor's Note: Team Mary Ann, without question.]

Creighton led by a bucket at the half over Auburn. Didn't last. The Tigers locked down on D after the break and won going away. This was the last college game for Creighton All-American big man Ryan Kalkbrenner. His NBA draft status is murky. Kalkbrenner put his name in the draft last summer but ultimately returned to college. A $2 million NIL will do that. Kalkbrenner worked on his outside shot this season, getting his 3-point percentage over 30. But few think he will stick in the NBA (he's projected as a second rounder). Still, a quality college center; glad he made some coin this season.

Houston and Gonzaga had never met before tonight. I thought Gonzaga would give the Cougars a game. They did, but it took long enough. Houston was on cruise control, leading by double digits throughout. In the last two minutes of the game, the Zags hit a bunch of free throws to cut the lead to a point. Houston blocked a 3-pointer at the end to seal the win. This is the ninth straight Sweet 16 for Houston and their excellent coach, Kelvin Sampson (who is consoling a player from the other team below).