Every Single Damn Thing You Need To Know For What Should Be The Single Best Day Of Tournament Games
There are very few better Sweet 16 games than this Xavier/Kansas State game. It's one that still sticks out, one that I will always remember. We need to try and get something like that again today. It should be the best slate of games we've had. Something has to deliver, right? We had Texas Tech/Arkansas go to OT, finally, but we need that game that is just awesome from start to finish. This is why people always say the better seeds advancing should make for better games. I know the Elite Eight is still coming up, but this is the last day with multiple games on at the same time. Savor it, enjoy it, give us good hoops.
Bracket
Every double digit seed is dead, big names are all around. Still think it goes by far too fast. Those first two days a week ago hit you and then next thing you know it's standalone games and fighting for more basketball. We got the West and East set for the Elite Eight and pretty sure it's close to what everyone predicted.
4 Best (Only) Games Today
1. Kentucky vs Tennessee
2. Michigan vs Auburn
3. Ole Miss vs Michigan State
4. Purdue vs Houston
Five Most Electric Players
This isn't about the biggest names as possible. This is about the guys who can be an x-factor, put on a show, put a team on their back, whatever it might be. March brings out different players each year and really each game. You don't know who is going to be the star. You can get a Jacob Pullen vs Jordan Crawford. These are the guys who you should enjoy watching basketball today without the most obvious names listed.
1. Lamont Butler (Kentucky) - He is the most important player to Kentucky. He's the head of the snake on defense which has been way better the last 5 weeks. He's the guy that can apply pressure, needs to be the calming force on offense and frankly play nearly 40 minutes. He's the one guy who can handle pressure and needs to be the lead guard for Kentucky. We know what Lanier and Zeigler can do. Butler has to be the guy for Kentucky.
2. Jojo Tugler (Houston) - Look, you can go with almost any Houston player here. They have 3 elite guards, they can shoot, they defend their ass off, everything we know about Houston. But Jojo Tugler is one of those guys who is out there for 25 minutes or so a game and all of a sudden you see him everywhere. He's not going to get 20, but you'll see him go get 15 rebounds as fast as he can. He's one of those guys who keeps everything alive for them and all the extra possessions Houston gets.
3. Tre Donaldson (Michigan) - Tre Donaldson has turned into one of the most clutch players in March. He's hit a bunch of big shots, including the game-winner against Maryland at the buzzer in the Big 10 Tournament. Now he's playing against his former team Auburn back in Atlanta. Everyone likes to talk about the Danny Wolf/Vlad Goldin combo and rightfully so, it's unique. But Donaldson is the sort of guy who needs to have a big game here. They need their guards to take care of the ball and get some more scoring.
4. Jaylen Murray (Ole Miss) - I'm going to talk about the Ole Miss/Michigan State game later on, but this is for the underdog. Sean Pedulla has turned into probably their best player. Malik Dia is a matchup nightmare. But Jaylen Murray is the microwave guy. He's shooting 37% from three on a heavy amount of attempts. He's the type of player who we've seen in Tournament's get hot, hit a dagger three. Pedulla will draw the attention, Murray is the guy who can win it for Ole Miss.
5. Igor Milicic (Tennessee) - I'm terrified of Igor Milicic. He's a big who can step out and shoot and can provide a different look for Tennessee. Again, you know Lanier/Zeigler, so who can be the third? Milicic tried to will Tennessee back against Kentucky at the game in Knoxville. He's likely going to draw the Andrew Carr matchup. He's the one who worries me as the 3rd star in this game.
Four Storylines/Game Previews
1. Hard to beat a team three times - It's my blog, I'm starting with the game I care about the most. The only conference game to happen in the Sweet 16 and it's Kentucky going for the 3-game sweep. I hate it. I don't want to play any SEC team in the Sweet 16, let alone Tennessee. The two games were weird. Tennessee launched 45 threes in Knoxville, Kentucky flat out beat Tennessee in the game at Rupp. Both times Kentucky wasn't at full strength and had to find different guys to step up. That's the case again here. No Jaxson Robinson means someone like a Collin Chandler needs to keep hitting shots like he did against Illinois.
2. Tom Izzo in March - The bracket is sitting right there for Tom Izzo to make another Final Four trip. Problem is he has to go up against Chris Beard. In fact the whole South region has four coaches who have been to a Final Four. But this is a Tom Izzo team. They aren't full of talent, Richardson is the only guy who looks like a real pro prospect. But everyone has bought in. They don't shoot great, rebound the hell out of the ball and defend.
3. Houston playing a road game - This is mostly so I can bitch about the fact the Sweet 16/Elite Eight is being played in a football stadium. Not even that, it's in like half the football stadium. Play basketball games in basketball arenas. I despise everything about seeing Lucas Oil Stadium here. Houston is also the 1 seed playing in Indy against Purdue. They'll have fans who travel but there's no way it doesn't feel like a road game. I'm also curious to see how much they press Purdue. Everyone knows you can speed up Braden Smith, annoy their guards by defensive pressure. Houston should thrive on that.
4. What Auburn shows up - There was a time not that long ago that this Auburn team was being discussed as a possible all-time team. Instead they lost a bunch down the stretch, looked sloppy, people talking about how they hit their peak. Two more wins and that all goes away. If they are sloppy and playing the way they did down the stretch, then it's made for Michigan to stick around and all Michigan does is win close games.
Picks
17-11 so far in the NCAA Tournament, +5.34 units
Michigan State -3.5
Houston -8.5
Michigan +8.5
