Day 5

The Sweet 16 includes all of the #1 seeds (Auburn, Florida, Houston, Duke) and 3/4 of the #2 seeds (Michigan St, Alabama, Tennessee). St John's was the #2 that didn't make the second weekend. Only one double-digit seed made the Sweet 16: #10 Arkansas, hardly plucky underdogs (from a power conference, multiple McDonald's All-Americans). 

I'm not mad. Cinderellas are fun but this tourney has been a bit ho-hum because there haven't been that many close games. Did the fact that Maryland was the higher seed make the ending against Colorado State less dramatic? Rhetorical question. Moreover, lower seeded teams not only tend to lose the second weekend, they get waxed. I'm looking for some high quality hoops this weekend to take this tourney to the next level.

The most talked about player so far hasn't been Cooper Flagg. It's his high school teammate Derik Queen. Say what? Yep, Flagg and Queen played for Montverde Academy last year along with current Georgia big man, Asa Newell. You will be shocked to learn that Montverde, the Florida basketball factory, went 33-0 last year and won the national championship, sponsored by Chipotle. There was another teammate at Montverde who I think you'll find interesting. I'm keeping that one in my back pocket for the weekend.

Derik Queen, the hero of the Maryland second round win over CSU, is a 6'10" 250 pound bundle of joy. He's a big man who likes to chew on his mouth guard; when he takes is out it is usually to giggle. Not laugh, giggle. Did I mention that the 20 year old also has braces. Just a big, likable kid.

The quotes. 

Before the final play of the CSU game coach Kevin Willard asked his team "who wants the ball?". Said Queen: "Give me the motherfucking ball!" [Editor's Note: Mrs Notes thinks I am cursing too much this year. Which is funny since we send each other texts when one of us is driving just so we can hear Siri say things like "I can't believe this fucking traffic." (the flat way Siri says the f-word cracks me up every time). Also, these are actual quotes. It's a journalist's job to present the truth, unvarnished and uncensored. That is, if I were actually a journalist. Back to the Notes.]

When asked how he had the confidence to ask for the last shot Queen said, "I'm from Baltimore, that's why".

This week Kevin Willard told a meandering story about how his family doesn't listen to him. The media asked Queen if he listed to his coach. His response was priceless: "He do pay us the money, so we do gotta listen to him.” Willard turned red and buried his face in his hands as the reporters broke into laughter.

Word is that Queen left money on the table when he committed to his hometown school. He just signed a NIL deal with Dairy Queen. Which led to his most recent quote: "DQ. Happy tastes good."

Maryland coach Kevin Willard told his team that he is going to VIllanova. I read it on on Twitter, so it must be true. As I write this, Willard to Nova has not been confirmed. But WIllard is sure acting strangely. He skipped a team dinner this week, which set off the Terp fanbase. It wasn't just the Twitter crazies who were upset; fans in Maryland gear booed Willard as he left the team hotel. At a press conference, Willard was asked about his Maryland NIL complaints, which prompted his AD to state that he would prefer to keep those discussions in house. Willard didn't dodge the question, he answered a completely different question launching into his plans to contain Florida's Walter Clayton. It was weird.

Maryland hung tough with the Gators, only down a bucket at the half. The Terp's Julian Reese played great, particularly early on. He's the son of Angel Webb Reese, who is a member of the UMBC hoops hall of fame. His sister, Angel Reese, who was at the game, is one of the young stars of the WNBA (she led LSU to the NCAA title). Florida started to pull away mid-way through the second. Then Reese was called for a Flagrant 1 (it was a legit hook and hold) with 8 minutes to go. The 4-point trip helped Florida to a 14-point lead. They never looked back, winning 87-71.

Queen ended his college career with 27 points, going 10-10 from the line. 3-pointers aren't his strength at this point. He didn't need to shoot four tonight, although that's not why his team lost. Next stop: the NBA draft, where Queen is projected to be taken 5th by the Nets (behind Flagg, Harper, Bailey and Edgecomb). He is the top rated big in the draft.

Little Richard led Florida with 15. Balanced attack. Martin with 14 and Clayton 13. Six Gators in double figures. Florida's greater depth eventually wore the Terps down.

When the brackets were announced, two former Rutgers teammates texted one another: See you at the Sweet 16. First Alabama's Cliff Omoruyi and BYU's Mawot Mag had to win two games each. They did, with Omoruyi and Mag making significant contributions. Last season, they weren't just on the same team. They were close friends and roomates in an apartment on the Livingston campus. Both spent four years in Piscataway and both were beasts on the defensive end, Mag on the wing and Omoruyi in the post. The current high-profile Rutgers freshmen are both offense-oriented, seemingly a perfect match for Mag and Omoruyi. Both had nice things to say about Rutgers and their former coach. Asked what he missed about New Jersey, Mag mentioned the food, particularly Hansel ‘n Griddle. “Just the culture. The city is close by. Coach Pikes and everything. Everything as a whole I miss.” What could have been.

Omoruyi reportedly made $200,000 in his fourth and final year at Rutgers. He had blossomed into one of the best centers in the Big 10, an elite rim protector. It was time to get paid. Schools offered him seven figures to transfer. Bama offered slightly less than that. Omoruyi chose the Tide because he felt that they also offered the best shot at a title. He left Rutgers with a diploma. He took some of the Bama money and bought his mother a house in his native Nigeria.

No one expected defense on either side of the ball in ths one. Alabama's game plan (apparently): break the NCAA record for 3s taken and 3s made. Mission accomplished.

Richie Saunders led BYU with 24 points. He signed a NIL deal this week. One wonders what took Ore-Ida so long to figure out the marketing possibilities considering Saunder's great-grandfather was Nephi Grigg, who invented the tater tot. Grigg co-founded Ore-Ida, in 1949, with his brother Golden. The Ore-Ida name represents the famous potato region covering eastern Oregon and Idaho. Their main production facility is in Ontario, Oregon on the Idaho border. Tater tots are the compressed leftovers from french fry production.

Ore-Ida changed their name for the duration of the tournament to Ore-Richie. Really? Some advertising company got paid for that.

Well played first half by both teams, especially if you like offense (definitely the theme of the day). The score was tied with less than a minute to go in the half. Kon Knueppel for Duke hit a 3. Zona should have had the last shot. They missed leaving a few seconds on the clock, just enough time for Flagg to nail a logo 3 to end the half. 48-42 Duke. Caleb Love with 14 for the Desert Wildcats; he needs a big game for his team to pull the upset.

Duke were running away with this one in the second, leading by 19 at one point. But Arizona wouldn't quit. They closed to within 5 at the end. Arizona committed some dumb fouls, including a flagrant. Duke hit all the free throws, winning 100-93.

Caleb Love had a huge game, pouring in 35 points. It wasn't enough. Cooper Flagg had 30 and Knueppel 20 for the Blue Devils.

Cooper Flagg had a stat line for the ages: 30 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 blocks, 1 steal. He's 18 years old.

10:10 pm is too late to start a basketball game. On any night, much less a work night. Whining over.

Arkansas is taller and longer than Tech at practically every position. By a lot. The only exception being Tech's JT Toppin, their best player, an athletic 6'9". The Tech point guard is listed at 5'11", which I think is a stretch. He was matched against 6'4" DJ Wagner. That height differential should equal an advantage on the boards, but both teams had 21 rebounds at the half. Arkansas led by 7 at the break because they hit an uncharacteristic seven 3-pointers (their typical average for a game). 

Arkansas led by 13 with under 5 to play but couldn't put Tech away. The Red Raiders, surprisingly, dominated the offensive glass. Arkansas' shooting reverted to the mean, as they went 2-10 on 3s in the second half. Tech came all the way back, tying the game on a 3 with 9.7 to go. Texas Tech on a 16-3 run. Wagner missed a runner at the end. Overtime. It's now 12:30 on Friday.

Back and forth in the overtime, both teams hitting huge shots. Tech with a challenged post up gave them a 2-point lead with 7 seconds to go. Arkansas gave the ball to Wagner, who went one-on-one with the smallest guy on the court. His 15-footer wasn't close. Texas Tech 85-83.

Second largest comeback ever in the Sweet 16.

First overtime in the tournament.

Johnell Davis with 30 in the losing effort.

Toppin, Williams and Anderson all broke 20 for Tech.

Fun game, he writes at 1:00 am.