Here are today's Second Round games based on Ken Pom's Thrill Score. It's a great day of games -- the top four games all have Thrill Scores above 77:
1. (13) Wisconsin v. (17) Brigham Young (6:45 P.M. -- CBS)
2. (2) Houston v. Gonzaga (7:40 P.M. -- TNT)
3. (19) Texas A & M v. (14) Michigan (4:15 P.M. -- CBS)
4. (6) Tennessee v. U.C.L.A. (8:40 P.M. -- TBS)
5. (5) St. John's v. Arkansas (1:40 P.M. -- CBS)
6. Purdue v. McNeese (11:10 A.M. -- CBS)
7. (4) Auburn v. Creighton (6:10 P.M. -- TBS)
8. (9) Texas Tech v. Drake (5:10 P.M. -- TNT)
Purdue rolls to an easy 76-62 win over McNeese. One of the best feelings for a college basketball fan is to be the first team in the Regional Semifinals.
ReplyDeleteAt the half, St. John's trails Arkansas 35-32. Another nervous afternoon for the UK press corps.
ReplyDeleteThe announcers described this game as a "rock fight." The Johnnies are 1-14 from 3-point range. Arkansas is 2-12. Arkansas leads 38-33.
ReplyDeleteD.J. Wagner drives through the whole St. John's defense twice in a row to give Arkansas a 40-33 lead. Pitino calls time with 17:29 left.
ReplyDeleteThe way to beat Cal is to make three's. If you are 1-14 from behind the arc against Cal, you are in trouble. St. John's is 1-14 from behind the arc, and St. John's is in trouble.
ReplyDeleteThe Johnnies come out of the timeout, throw the ball away, and Arkansas gets a layup at the other end. Arkansas now has its biggest lead of the game at 42-33.
ReplyDeleteI'm really happy because I have the Westwood One Radio Broadcast and the CBS Television Broadcast synced up perfectly.
ReplyDeleteSt. John's 36 - 44 Arkansas (15:39 left in 2d)
ReplyDeleteMark Story, who wrote a column in 2009 urging UK to give Billy Gillespie more time, picks Illinois to beat UK tomorrow 84 to 81. I have Illinois winning 90-82.
ReplyDeleteMatt Jones, who is obviously having a long afternoon, tweets that "The athleticism of Arkansas is just more than St. John's has seen all year." I look forward to his tweets explaining how to win basketball games without great athletes.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, is it really true that Arkansas has better athletes than UConn?
DeleteSt. John's 41 - 53 Arkansas (11:58 left in 2d)
ReplyDeleteSt. John's only hope now is that Cal puts the ball into the deep freeze and messes up his own offense.
This game is also a blow to those commentators who claimed that the SEC was overrated.
ReplyDeleteArkansas keeps missing three's, and that has allowed St. John's to get back in this game. After a 7-0 run from the Johnnies, Cal calls time:
ReplyDeleteSt. John's 49 - 55 Arkansas (10:09 left in 2d)
Cal's slowing the ball down, but his guards keep getting to the rim. Razorbacks lead 61 to 53 with 7:57 left.
ReplyDeleteSt. John's makes two FT's, gets a turnover and a goaltending call. Arkansas leads 61-57 with 7 1/2 minutes left, and the crowd in Providence is going nuts.
ReplyDeleteArkansas misses a three. (Razorbacks 0-6 on three's in the second half). Johnnies fouled at the other end. They make one of two. Arkansas leads 61-58 with 6:45 left.
ReplyDeleteThis time, Arkansas does not take the three. Karter Knox drives to the rim and is fouled. The St. John's fans thought it was a clean play and are furious. Matt Jones tweets: "This officiating is absolutely putrid."
ReplyDeleteKnox makes one of two FT's. Arkansas leads 62-58 with 6:22 left.
ReplyDeleteThe Johnnies miss a three-pointer. In the battle for the rebound, Arkansas is called for a foul. St. John's makes them both. Arkansas leads 62-60 with 6:11 left and the crowd is as loud as you'll ever hear it in an NCAA game.
ReplyDeleteWagner gets to the rim and misses. Aidoo gets the rebound and misses. Aidoo battles for the rebound again and loses it out of bounds.
ReplyDeleteSt. John's tries a contested shot and misses. Arkansas rebounds, and Wagner hits Brazile for a layup at the other end. Arkansas leads 64-60.
ReplyDeleteSt. John's comes back and draws a foul.
ReplyDeleteR.J. Luis, Jr. goes to the line for St. John's. He makes both FT's, and Arkansas leads 64-62 with 4:56 left.
ReplyDeleteSt. John's is called for goaltending, but the Johnnies respond with a driving dunk. Arkansas 66-64 with 4 minutes left. This is great, great stuff.
ReplyDeleteWagner misses on a drive. The Johnnies miss a layup. Arkansas hits a jumper. Razorbacks lead 68-64 with 2:51 left. Pitino calls time.
ReplyDeleteSt. John's is 2-16 from behind the arc. If Oakland or St. Peter's had gone 2-16 from behind the arc, Cal would still be at UK.
ReplyDeleteYou can sense all the Arkansas fans next to their keyboards, ready to hammer UK fans with a flood of tweets and posts if their heroes hang on here.
ReplyDeleteBoogie Fland steals the ball and Arkansas can put St. John's away. Wagner holds the ball for the time clock, and then drives to the rim for a basket! Arkansas leads 70-64. St. John's misses a two-point shot and a three-point shot, and Arkansas has a six point lead and the ball with 1:30 left.
ReplyDeleteArkansas runs out the clock and fails to score. The Johnnies miss two more three-pointers before drawing a foul. They miss the first FT. They miss the second. That's going to do it. Arkansas leads 70-64 with 1 minute left.
ReplyDeleteSomeday, I want to watch a game where UK is guarding a six-point lead with 1 minute left in the NCAA Tournament, and the other team misses two three-point shots and two free throws in the same possession.
ReplyDeleteArkansas misses a FT, but St. John's misses another three-pointer. Arkansas then turns the ball over again. Razorbacks lead 70-64 with 28.8 seconds left, as we wait for the Johnnies to miss another three-pointer.
ReplyDeleteMatt Jones tweets: "Calipari owns Pitino. He will enjoy this one as much as any he has ever had." Vaughts' Views tweets: "Man St. John's has just crumbled under the Arkansas pressure."
ReplyDeleteMatt Jones shows us that he bet $200 on Arkansas to win this game, so he won $490. Tyler Thompson tweets: "Some things never change: Cal still owns Rick."
ReplyDeleteArkansas wins 75-66.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteWhen Cal was our coach, I used to say that UK would advance in the tournament until it ran into a team that made a lot of three's. St. John's went 2-22 from behind the arc today. That won't get it done against Cal.
Arkansas:
ReplyDelete2-19 from 3-point range (10.5 percent)
25-44 from 2-point range (56.8 percent)
19-27 from the line (70.4 percent)
St. John's:
2-22 from 3-point range (9.1 percent)
19-53 from 2-point range (35.8 percent)
22-31 from the line (71.0 percent)
Arkansas has had a strange stretch of seasons:
ReplyDelete2021: 25-7, 3 seed, Regional Final
2022: 28-9, 4 seed, Regional Final
2023: 22-14, 8 seed, Regional Semi-Final
2024: 16-17, missed the tournament, CHANGE COACHES
2025: 22-13, 10 seed, just advanced to Regionals
So they have been to four of the last five regional tournaments, despite never winning the SEC and changing coaches.
Now we have another team from the Classic Southwest -- Texas A & M. The Aggies lead Michigan 34-33 with 2:18 left in the 1st.
ReplyDeleteArkansas has moved up to 36 on Ken Pom.
ReplyDeleteKen Pom has Illinois at number 16 and UK at number 17. He thinks the Illini will win tomorrow by a score of 85 to 84. As usual, the Cats' game features the highest Thrill Score of the day.
ReplyDeleteIn baseball, the Vandy Boys come from behind to beat Texas A & M 8-5 and thereby sweep the Aggies. Vandy is now 4-2 in the SEC.
ReplyDeleteTexas A & M 39 - 35 Michigan (Halftime)
ReplyDeleteTexas Tech 12 - 18 Drake (11:08 left in 1st)
Classic Southwest looking good so far:
ReplyDeleteTexas A & M 55 - 45 Michigan (14:17 left in 2d)
Texas Tech 37 - 30 Drake (Halftime)
Jimmy Dykes tweets: "This is John Calipari's best coaching job of his career . . . Tough day for the Cal can't coach crowd."
ReplyDelete03/17/22: Saint Peter's makes 9-17 three-pointers to beat UK in OT
ReplyDelete03/21/24: Oakland makes 15-31 three-pointers to beat UK by four
03/22/25: St. John's makes 2-22 three-pointers; loses to Arkansas
Let's be clear: the Johnnies had open threes. They had a lot of them. They just missed. Saint Peter's and Oakland did not miss.
On March 23, 2019, UK played Wofford in the second round. Wofford had a guy named Fletcher Magee who shot 40 percent from 3-point range. Against UK he went 0-12. Wofford went 8-27 from behind the arc, and lost to UK by six. If Magee had shot like the guys from Saint Peter's and Oakland did, the Cats probably would have lost that game.
ReplyDeleteOn March 17, 2011, UK beat Princeton 59-57 in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament. They were THIS CLOSE to being eliminated, but Princeton went 3-14 from three-point range, and that made the difference. The Cats went to the Final Four.
ReplyDeleteSo UK went through a bunch of trauma, and separated itself from a Hall of Fame Coach, because shots that didn't fall for Princeton and Wofford did fall for Saint Peter's and Oakland.
ReplyDeleteTexas A & M 61 - 57 Michigan (11:35 left in 2d)
ReplyDeleteTexas Tech 37 - 30 Drake (Halftime)
The Cats and the Illini tip off tomorrow at 4:15 P.M. Central on KFVS-TV, Channel 12.
ReplyDeleteAgain, Arkansas has been to the Regionals in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2025. Cats haven't been to a Regional since 2019.
ReplyDeleteBuzz Williams and Dusty May: you knew this game would go down to the wire:
ReplyDeleteTexas A & M 70 - 66 Michigan (7:56 left in 2d)
Texas Tech 37 - 33 Drake (18:35 left in 2d)
Auburn 7 - 6 Creighton (15:32 left in 1st)
Michigan goes on a 9-0 run and leads 75-70 with 4:59 left.
ReplyDeleteWade Taylor IV, who has killed Kentucky many times, is 1-6 from three-point range and 3-7 from two-point range, and his Aggies are going home. Michigan leads 81 to 72 with 3:37 left.
ReplyDeleteTexas Tech 47 - 40 Drake (13:37 left in 2d)
Auburn 19 - 18 Creighton (9:53 left in 1st)
Last year, TAMU beat UK twice. In those two games, Wade Taylor IV went 12-27 from three-point range, scored 63 points (31 in the first game, 32 in the second), and completely wrecked the UK defense.
ReplyDeleteDown 84-79 with 46 seconds left, Wade Taylor IV shoots a three-pointer. It goes halfway down, but then pops out. Michigan gets the rebound, and that's your ballgame.
ReplyDeleteMichigan wins 91 to 79, and Wade Taylor IV's career at TAMU is over.
ReplyDeleteNow Auburn is in trouble:
ReplyDeleteTexas Tech 73 - 58 Drake (1:50 left in 2d)
Auburn 35 - 37 Creighton (Halftime)
Creighton is 9-14 from 3-point range. Of course, this game is at Rupp, and it is apparently fun to shoot the ball at Rupp.
DeleteTexas Tech beats Drake 77-64, and the Red Raiders advance to the West Region, where they will meet Arkansas. Of course, that will be a Classic Southwest rematch.
ReplyDeleteBoth the Classic Big Ten and the Current Big Ten are undefeated in the Tournament so far.
ReplyDeleteAuburn 62 - 54 Creighton (10:50 left in 2d)
ReplyDeleteWisconsin 14 - 23 Brigham Young (11:01 left in 1st)
Auburn 66 - 54 Creighton (7:36 left in 2d)
ReplyDeleteWisconsin 16 - 27 Brigham Young (7:34 left in 1st)
Houston 10 - 2 Gonzaga (15:11 left in 1st)
Auburn 68 - 59 Creighton (4:42 left in 2d)
ReplyDeleteWisconsin 24 - 38 Brigham Young (5:07 left in 1st)
Houston 17 - 8 Gonzaga (11:42 left in 1st)
It occurs to me that in modern basketball, much of your fandom is spent waiting for three-point shots as they soar through the air.
ReplyDeleteAuburn 72 - 62 Creighton (2:57 left in 2d)
ReplyDeleteWisconsin 29 - 38 Brigham Young (3:32 left in 1st)
Houston 21 - 10 Gonzaga (9:27 left in 1st)
Auburn 81 - 70 Creighton (0:30 left in 2d)
ReplyDeleteWisconsin 36 - 44 Brigham Young (0:45 left in 1st)
Houston 31 - 19 Gonzaga (5:07 left in 1st)
Auburn beats Creighton 82 to 70.
ReplyDeleteAuburn advances to play Michigan. That game will be a cracker.
ReplyDeleteWisconsin 36 - 47 Brigham Young (Halftime)
ReplyDeleteHouston 33 - 22 Gonzaga (3:55 left in 1st)
Wisconsin is back in it:
ReplyDeleteWisconsin 48 - 52 Brigham Young (15:53 left in 2d)
Houston 35 - 27 Gonzaga (Halftime)
Wisconsin 54 - 63 Brigham Young (11:47 left in 2d)
ReplyDeleteHouston 48 - 39 Gonzaga (14:44 left in 2d)
Tennessee 4 - 6 U.C.L.A. (16:40 left in 1st)
Wisconsin, despite trailing for hours, has clawed to within two points (91 to 89) with 13 seconds left. Wisconsin has the ball for the last shot.
ReplyDeleteJohn Tonje, who had 37 points for Wisconsin in this game, misses a very tough shot at the buzzer. Wisconsin is eliminated, and BYU advances to the Regional Semifinal.
ReplyDeleteI should note that the UK media have mostly been radio silent since the end of the Arkansas/St. John's game.
ReplyDeleteI, on the other hand, am always happy to see Wisconsin go out.
ReplyDeleteDown by 3 with less than 10 seconds to go, Gonzaga cannot get off a shot, and they are going to be eliminated by Houston.
ReplyDeleteHouston wins 81 to 76. That means the Tennessee/U.C.L.A. game is the last one left tonight.
ReplyDeleteAt the half, Tennessee leads 32-25.
ReplyDeleteThis is the first time Gonzaga has gone out before the Regionals since 2014. They had advanced to the Regionals for nine tournaments in a row.
ReplyDeleteTennessee leads 46-31 with 14:46 left, and the Vols are going to the Regional.
ReplyDeleteI predict that U.C.L.A. will have a new coach within two years -- the fans out there don't want to watch a team that can't score.
ReplyDeleteTennessee rolls, 67 to 58.
ReplyDelete