What a run by the Wolfpack
On Saturday, the NCAA delivered some wonderful basketball. Dayton and Arizona had a back-and-forth battle before the Wildcats - notably not the Kentucky version - moved on 78-68. Iowa State got by Washington State 67-56, Tennessee nipped Texas 62-58, Illinois sent Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot into retirement 89-63, Creighton took out Oregon in double OT 86-73, Gonzaga destroyed Kansas in the second half 89-68, UNC handled Michigan State 85-69 and NC State...oh, NC State.
It was a glorious evening for the Wolfpack as State survived a remarkable Oakland team in overtime, 79-73.
Oakland is one gutty team. State just couldn’t quite put them away in regulation, but in overtime the Pack really took control. State outscored Oakland in overtime 13-7 and did so after losing both Mohamad Diarra and Ben Middlebrooks to fouls.
DJ Burns continues to build a legend at NC State. He had 24 points and 11 boards and again was nearly impossible to stop. He also had four assists.
State has now played and won seven games in 12 days. It’s an incredible accomplishment and more and more the Pack is reminding people of 1983’s miracle.
UNC had an interesting game as well: Michigan State shot out to an early 12 point lead before UNC grabbed the game by the throat, ripping off a stunning 17-0 run.
It was a weird season for the Spartans but they played hard and honorably. UNC was just better.
As exciting as State’s win over Oakland was, Creighton’s win over Oregon might have been better. Gregg McDermott, not a big hype guy, called it an “[e]pic game. Not sure I’ve been part of one quite like it in 35 years.”
Jermaine Cousinard, who had 40 against South Carolina Thursday, racked up 32 here for a two-day total of 72 points. That’s tremendous. And teammate N’Faly Dante had 28 points and 20 rebounds, which is even better.
Fans in Pittsburgh got their money’s worth with three overtimes in two games.
Kansas’s Bill Self said after the game that he knew his team was gassed and confessed that he had already started thinking about next season.
It was pretty obvious though: his team had minimal depth due to injuries, and Samford wore Kansas out on Thursday with their relentless pressing.
And this was at Salt Lake City’s elevation, mind, which just adds one more level of difficulty. Kansas simply couldn’t overcome it.
For their part, Gonzaga is now 27-7 and is 9-2 since February 3rd. People treated them like they weren’t good enough to be in the field but pretty clearly, they are. Don’t get carried away with a win over a crippled team - Kansas had serious problems. But there’s no question that Gonzaga belongs.
Iowa State took some time to figure out Washington State but ultimately the Cyclones did, winning by 11. Iowa State forced 13 turnovers by the Cougars and ultimately pulled away.
The Dayton-Arizona game was highly entertaining. In the first half, it looked as if the Wildcats would blow the Flyers out. But Dayton fought back, cutting the lead to 52-49 with 11:40 left.
Then Arizona took control again. The game had some wonderful plays and some great athleticism on display. It was a lot of fun to watch.
You can’t really say that about Tennessee’s win over Texas. Rick Barnes wins, but his style is basically bully ball. It’s rarely aesthetically pleasing.
He does win though and a win over Texas, where he wore out his welcome, is bound to be satisfying.
On Sunday, Colorado gets Marquette, Utah State goes after Purdue, Clemson plays Baylor, Grand Canyon challenges Alabama, the Northwestern Wildcats run up against UConn, Texas A&M and Houston revive an old Southwest Conference rivalry and Yale gets San Diego State.
We’ll take Colorado, Purdue, Clemson, Alabama, UConn, Houston and San Diego State.
We didn't list Duke and James Madison but as we often say, we don’t bet against Duke. That said, Madison looked great against Wisconsin. They were the aggressors throughout and that’s a big, strong team. It’s going to be a war.
