NCAA Tournament – Week One Recap

Wednesday, 25 March 2009 20:48

NCAA Tournament – Week One Recap by: Casual C

This is my favorite time of the year. I get to sit on my rear end for four straight days and watch game after game until my eyes go square. Call me strange but that’s my kind of fun.

For the most part this year’s field has played to form as 14 of the top 16 seeded schools advanced to the ‘Sweet Sixteen’, leaving only Wake Forest and Washington to watch from the sidelines. Arizona, the only double digit seed left standing in this year’s tournament, is hardly what you’d call a Cinderella school, making the tournament for the last 25 years and winning it all back in 1997.

Below is a recap of rounds 1 and 2 starting with four players from each round worthy of an honorable mention, regardless of whether their team won or lost.

Round 1

Ben Woodside – North Dakota State Bison
vs. Kansas Jayhawks | 37 points, 2 assists, 2 steals

This guard, playing for a school that’s in its first year of ‘Division 1’ eligibility, was quite exciting to watch. With a quick first step he was able to blow by any Kansas defender while having the ability to finish strong at the rim. Woodside showed good range shooting 3 for 7 from behind the arc.

Marcus Thornton – LSU Tigers
vs. Butler Bulldogs | 30 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals

What an unbelievable performance this guard had against the Butler Bulldogs! He did it all - scoring, rebounding, set up plays, making key steals. In one great play towards the end of the game, Thornton scored a tough basket then raced down the floor and made a crucial steal.

Roburt Sallie – Memphis Tigers
vs. Cal State Northridge Matadors | 35 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals

This reserve sophomore guard, who averages just under five points per game, saved the Memphis season, scoring the points his higher profiled teammates couldn’t. Sallie shot an unbelievable 10 for 15 from beyond the 3-point line.

Taj Gibson – USC Trojans
vs. Boston College Eagles | 24 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks

Wow! I guess we can call him Mr. Perfect after going 10 for 10 from the field. Gibson’s athletic, above the rim play was no match against the Boston College big men. His perfect shooting performance tied him for second best in NCAA tournament history, behind Kentucky forward Kenny Walker’s 11 for 11 shooting display in 1986.

Round 2

Blake Griffin – Oklahoma Sooners
vs. Michigan Wolverines | 33 points, 17 rebounds, 3 assists

Big 12 conference player of the year and the frontrunner for national player of the year overwhelmed his Michigan opponents despite taking another physical beating. An All-American, Griffin shot 14 for 20 from the floor while picking up eight offensive rebounds.

JaJuan Johnson – Purdue Boilermakers
vs. Washington Huskies | 22 points, 6 rebounds, 4 blocks

Purdue’s basket bouncer, the 6’ 10” sophomore forward/center stood strongest when his team needed him the most, blocking two shots in the final 65 seconds of a tight game, helping secure a spot for his team in this year’s ‘Sweet Sixteen’.

Sam Young – Pittsburgh Panthers
vs. Oklahoma State Cowboys | 32 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks

This 6’ 6” forward was one point shy of his career game high and came out of the gates quickly, scoring 23 first half points. He shot 12 for 20 from the floor while going 4 for 10 from beyond the arc. Young matched Oklahoma State’s entire roster by registering five offensive rebounds.

Terrence Williams – Louisville Cardinals
vs. Siena Saints | 24 points, 15 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals

The Louisville Cardinals needed every bit of their 6’ 6” senior forward if they wanted to advance against this quick Siena team. Shooting 9 -14 from the floor and 4 – 6 behind the arc, Williams took over the game late helping his team advance to the next round.

The biggest upset in this year’s NCAA tournament goes to….

Cleveland State Vikings (13) over Wake Forest Demon Deacons (4)

Wake Forest, one of my ‘Final Four’ predictions and a team with potentially five NBA players on its current roster was left for dead as the Cleveland State Vikings pulled off the biggest upset of this year’s tournament, winning 84-69. Coming into the contest with the nation’s fifth best scoring average at just over 81 points a game, Wake Forest’s offense struggled mightily, seeming to disappear for long stretches at a time. Heavily undersized but starting three experienced seniors, Cleveland State definitely looked like the team with more poise, playing with the kind of swagger a team needs if it plans to make a deep run in the tournament.
The Vikings never trailed and at one point held a 17 point lead over the largely favored fourth seeded Deacons. Ironically the Viking last tournament appearance came 23 years ago when they upset another fourth seeded team, the Indiana Hoosiers.
Wake Forest’s star sophomore guard, Jeff Teague was held to just 10 points, exactly half of his regular season’s scoring average, while the Vikings’ two guards, Norris Cole with 22 points and Cedric Jackson with 19, each scored nine points more than their season average.

Two great games with even better endings:

ROUND 1

• UCLA Bruins 65 vs. VCU Rams 64

VCU had exactly what they wanted, a chance to win the game with the ball in the hands of their best player. Down by one and with less than 30 seconds left to play, VCU desperately needed a defensive stop. Rams forward Larry Saunders blocked Bruins point guard Darren Collison but UCLA retained the ball only to receive a shot clock violation seconds later. Coming out of a timeout and with only 12 seconds remaining, everyone in the Wachovia Center knew where the ball was going to, VCU’s star guard Eric Maynard. Closely guarded by Collison, Maynard missed a 14 foot fade-away jumper, sending UCLA to the second round and VCU home.

ROUND 2

• Gonzaga Bulldogs 83 vs. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers 81

This was the kind of ending that makes the NCAA tournament so exciting. Gonzaga was up by two with just under 10 seconds remaining. Western Kentucky’s Steffphon Pettigrew tipped in a missed three point jumper, tying the score 81-81. The Bulldog’s reserve point guard, freshman Demetri Goodson sprinted the length of the court unimpeded, making a running bank shot with only .9 seconds left on the clock, sealing the Hilltoppers’s fate and sending Gonzaga to the ‘Sweet Sixteen’.