DAY TWO OF THE MADNESS

Moment of the day was Tyler Self's three pointer vs UC Davis (photo credit: kansascity.com)

Well well well! What the what the!?!?!???? 2 days of Madness and two days of the lower seeds winning again. The only 2 upsets were #11 USC beating #6 SMU and #11 Rhode Island beating #6 Creighton. The Rhode Island wasn’t that much of an upset with the Rams coming in hot with Creighton finally pulling the plug just over a month since they lost their star PG.

Some thoughts on the games today:

Michigan vs. Oklahoma State was a great back and forth game. Both sides answered each other’s hoops. Michigan’s PG Derrick Watson was lights out late in the game. There were thoughts that Michigan would be worn out from their plane troubles during the Big Ten Tourney, but they are fo’ real! Especially with the amount of treys they hit today. Michigan is in tough vs. Louisville who looked not as sharp today vs. Jacksonville State, but settled down in the 2^nd half.

Baylor took care of business vs. New Mexico State, as they should have. But they have fizzled vs. Top 25 teams since mid-January so we’ll see how they fare vs. the ultra scrappy USC Trojans with their upset of SMU. SMU was no joke either. F Semi Ojeleye had a great game, but in true USC fashion they won all the 50-50 balls and outhustled their way into the 2^nd round for yet another play-in game team making it into the 2^nd Round. They’re becoming as reliable as a 12 seed win every year.

Arkansas outlasted Seton Hall in a tight game up until the last 2 minutes when Seton Hall played lazy defense and rushed their shots on the other end. The clutch-o-meter was at a low 2.5 for Seton Hall. Arkansas is in real tough vs. #1 seed UNC who looked in true Madness form vs. Texas Southern. UNC should have, as they are the top team of the top ACC conference who were playing the best team of the worst conference in the nation.

Oregon showed that they are back on track from losing star forward Chris “Don’t Call Me Foucher” Boucher. Dylan Brooks was Dylan Brooks as well. Their next game vs. Rhode Island will be a great game as all key players of both teams match up well.

KU was back on track since their 1^st Round exit in the Big 12 Tourney last week. Josh Jackson was his usual athletic self and Frank Mason was his usual Outhet Player of the Year self. Speaking of Self, coach’s son Tyler Self was in the game playing extensive garbage time and hit a rare three that got the bench jumping. The typical Bill Self smirk was a great moment for KU and the Self fam jam.

KU will play a Michigan State team that had their coming out party as they handed the Miami Hurricanes a beating similar to the Canes 2^nd half meltdown at Duke earlier this season. The freshmen-heavy Spartans were clicking with the typical Izzo-type hustle and rebounding that took until todays game to develop.

Just 3 words are needed to be said: January, February, IZZO!!!!

Speaking of Duke! Watch out! They have found their groove. They finally have a steady starting rotation with the most dangerous bench in the nation. Any team that can have Grayson Allen and a top 5 NBA draft pick in Harry Giles coming off the bench is a team that is freaking dangerous. Duke was hot from three today, which always helps as the hustle of post Amile Jefferson who has a limited inside game if the treys aren’t falling.

Duke will be playing a hot South Carolina who I didn’t see play. In flipping through the other 3 games on at the time, every time I tried to look in on the South Carolina vs. Marquette game there was a commercial playing. By the time the game made it through the commercial vortex South Carolina was up by 20. It done matter though, as the Gamecocks will need every cheer from their home crowd of the “neutral” court in Greenville, South Carolina to beat Duke this Sunday. Won’t happen, Duke continues to improve and that’s scary.

Similar commercial vortex issues happened with the Cincinnati/K-State game. There were doubts about Cincy before the Madness, but Mick Cronin is a helluva coach and their disciplined defense will try to slow down the offensive gauntlet that UCLA brought again tonight vs. Kent State. The game was close until UCLA exploded midway through the second half and the final score of 97-80 was not indicative of how tight the game was. UCLA’s defense is still in question. As much as Duke was trying to find their identity all season, the same can be said for the APB UCLA is putting out on their defensive schemes.

Kentucky was also in tight vs. Northern Kentucky tonight. The game was never in doubt but Kentucky showed their inconsistent play with careless turnovers. They have the highest capability out of any team to flip the switch for a quick 12-15 points in 3 minutes just as quickly as the switch can be flipped the other way to forced shots and dopey defense. This bodes well for the organized play of the Wichita State Shockers who dismantled Dayton to a slow demise tonight.

Lotsa chalk in the first round. Second round starts this morning!