2017 March Madness: Grading Sunday's winners; UNC, Kentucky lucky to survive
Duke was not so fortunate
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6 min read
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Well, so much for that quiet, upset-free opening round of the NCAA Tournament. Over the last two days three top-2 seeds have been eliminated -- top-overall seed Villanova on Saturday, then Louisville and Duke, both No. 2 seeds, on Sunday.
So yeah, things arenât going great for the ACC.
In fact, just one ACC team -- North Carolina, who barely edged Arkansas on Sunday -- is still standing. But the Heels are through, and thatâs all that matters. So are 15 others as the Sweet 16 field is set.
Below are grades for all of Sundayâs winners:
East Region
82-78 over (11) USC
The way USC has made a habit of coming back from double-digit deficits, Baylor probably deserves bonus points for sustaining its advantage through the Trojans as-advertised comeback effort. Manu Lecomte converted a four-point play, got a steal and then converted two free throws at the other end to snap a second half Trojans run with six quick points in less than a minute. Those kind of efforts, from all spots in Scott Drewâs rotation, defined a strong weekend for Baylor that has the team back in the Sweet 16 for the fourth time since 2010. Johnathan Motley battled foul trouble throughout the game against USC, but Lecomte, King McClure, Terry Maston all brought their A-game to round out a solid team win. Weâve been focused on Motleyâs dominance inside all season, but Baylor proved in the last two games that its depth, not star-power, is its greatest asset.
88-81 over (2) Duke
When Sindarious Thornwell committed to South Carolina in 2012, he had other options. Four-star prospects coming out of Oak Hill Academy usually do, but Thornwell, a Lancaster, S.C. native, wanted to play college ball in his home state. With 29 points in the comeback win against Marquette and 24 points in Second Round upset win against Duke, heâs etched himself into school history forever as the face of the first NCAA Tournament run in nearly a half-century.
The Gamecocks lost five of their last seven games heading into the postseason but have totally reversed course in one weekend, finishing as the kings of the Greenville, S.C.-based pod, celebrated by local fans and North Carolina neighbors sticking around to cheer against Duke. South Carolina canât take its home court advantage on the road to the Sweet 16, but if it takes its second half shooting theyâll have a good shot to keep this magical run going against Baylor on Friday.
Midwest Region
(1) Kansas: A
90-70 over (9) Michigan State
Close, competitive wins against Kentucky, West Virginia and Baylor planted the seeds for Kansasâ March Madness run. In each of those games, and against against Michigan State on Sunday, the Jayhawks were able to generate an offensive spark that triggered a run to win the game. The Spartans hung around for most of the game and got within a point with under 10 to play -- before Josh Jackson blew the game open, scoring most of his 23 points during a 29-5 run to close the game. What we saw from Kansas is winning basketball in winning time, plain and simple, and itâs the reason they remain a popular pick to win the national title.
(3) Oregon: B
75-72 over (11) Rhode Island
All Tyler Dorsey does these days is hit huge shots. Dorsey hit two three pointers in the final two minutes, finished with a team-high 27 points and was the reason that Oregon is back in the Sweet 16 for a second-straight season, eyeing a Final Four run despite losing Chris Boucher in the conference tournament. Dorsey averages around 13 points per game but has scored 20+ in every postseason appearance (5 games), going 9-for-10 from the field on Sunday night. Oregonâs hopes used to ride and die with Dillon Brooks, but now Dorsey is an equally respectable game-changer for the Ducks and that second option makes them a worthy foe in Kansas City next weekend.
73-69 over Louisville
The greatest sports story of 2017 continues, thanks to another incredible second half. Michigan has made a habit of these phenomenal closing acts, shooting 63 percent after halftime in its wins against Oklahoma State and then Louisville on Sunday. In two weeks since the team plane crashed while trying to leave for the Big Ten tournament, the Wolverines have won six straight games and are starting to establish the habits needed for a real title run. Against the Cowboys, Michigan relied on its school-record 16 three-pointers. Against Louisville, most of the work was done inside by budding superstars D.J. Wilson and Mo Wagner.
South Region
72-65 over Arkansas
Roy Williams will take a win any way it comes, especially when it comes to extending his streak of reaching the second weekend when coaching a 1-seed North Carolina team. The C+ grade is good enough to earn the credit, just like the Tar Heelsâ were good enough for a win, but Arkansas outplayed them for long stretches of Sunday nightâs game. UNC looked shook on offense, didnât shoot the ball well and turned the ball over 17 times. But when it was time to go and win the game they did so with lock-down defense, closing out the final three minutes on a 12-0 run. You can look at this result two ways: Itâs either a warning sign of things to come or the ugly win weâve seen before in so many NCAA Tournament title runs. One thing is for sure, it wasnât UNCâs best performance.
79-67 over (6) Cincinnati
After a wholly uninspiring first half, UCLAâs offense warmed up behind the efforts of, who else, Lonzo Ball. The Bruins shot better than 60 percent after halftime, moved the ball with precision and Ball was the spark for it all, finishing with 18 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. If thereâs a positive takeaway from the early part of the game itâs that UCLA only trailed by three despite getting awful halves from Bryce Alford and T.J. Leaf, mostly because of a keyed-in Cincy defensive effort. Piecing it together works against Cincinnati, but thereâs more consistency required if the Bruins are going to knock off Kentucky for the second time this year on Friday night in the Sweet 16.
65-62 over (10) Wichita State
The Shockers played terrific defense and threw haymakers at Kentucky, but in the narrow win the Wildcats showed their ability to win without Malik Monk shooting the ball well. The key, as Matt Norlander wrote heading into the weekend, is Bam Adebayo. Bamâs 13 points and 10 rebounds made him just the third player in school history to record a double-double in his first two NCAA Tournament games and his last-second block sealed the win on Sunday afternoon. Heâs come on strong here at the end of the year and the fact that Kentucky won when Monk, the SEC Player of the Year, couldnât hit anything from the outside is a great sign heading into the Sweet 16.
