The top teams in the NCAA tournament are rewarded for their good play throughout the season by receiving seeds so that they avoid playing the other top teams until the second weekend of the tournament. If a top team loses, they probably blew it somehow. Teams seeded 5 and lower are almost never going to overwhelm the opposition with unbeatable play.
The lower-seeded teams don’t have this luxury. Sometimes they run into buzzsaws like Kansas or North Carolina, teams they just do not have the talent to compete against. These lower seeds “blew it” earlier in the season by losing games and forfeiting the opportunity to get a high seed.
What I am trying to say is that losing in the first two rounds of the NCAAs can usually be attributed to a shortcoming in some area. Losing is traceable to mistakes, errors, deficiencies. If a team loses in the first two rounds, they almost certainly would have lost in one of the next four.
I have examined the 48 carcasses left littered across the country from the last four days of play. Here are the reasons they won’t be playing next week:
Georgia lost because the three guards on their bench combined for 0 pts on 0-4 shooting, 0 rebounds, 1 assist, and 4 fouls in 23 minutes.
Portland State lost because they allowed Kansas to shoot 54%.
Temple lost because star guard Dionte Christmas was 0 of 8 shooting threes.
Kentucky lost because Derrick Jasper scored 0 points in 40 minutes.
Kent State lost because they scored 10 points in the first half.
Oral Roberts lost because they missed 15 of their first 16 two-point shots.
Baylor lost because they gave up 90 points to low-scoring Purdue.
Cornell lost for a lot of reasons, including being outscored 44-16 in the paint.
USC lost because they were overpowered inside by Kansas State’s freshman forward duo of Michael Beasley and Bill Walker, who combined for 45 points on 24 shots.
Belmont lost because Shane Dansby, averaging 13.4 pts per game on the season, went scoreless in 30 minutes.
Winthrop lost because star player Michael Jenkins scored just 2 points on 1-9 shooting.
BYU lost because defensive-minded Texas A&M shot 54% from the field, including 8-16 on threes.
George Mason lost because their 9 players not named Will Thomas combined to shoot 9 for 43 from the field.
Cal State Fullerton lost because their bench combined for 0 pts, 2 rebounds, 0 assists, 8 fouls, and 3 turnovers in 53 minutes and 9 shots.
Arizona lost because West Virginia went 11-19 on 3-pointers.
Mississippi Valley State lost because they scored 29 points on 19.7% shooting.
American lost because they had 21 turnovers.
Gonzaga lost because they had 18 turnovers, Austin Daye shot 3-13, and Davidson’s Stephen Curry went 8-10 on threes.
Saint Mary’s lost because they went 12-23 on free throws and Miami’s Jack McClinton scored 32 second half points.
Drake lost because Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year Adam Emmenecker shot 0-10 from the field.
South Alabama lost because they couldn’t defend Butler reserve forward Pete Campbell, who went 8-10 on 3-pointers and because they went 13-27 from the foul line.
UMBC lost because they went 7 minutes in the first half without a point.
Austin Peay l
ost because…"When we play somebody of this caliber, as I told the guys, I sometimes lay awake at night worrying about how we're going to score against people that are that size," Austin Peay coach Dave Loos said.
UConn lost because starting point guard A.J. Price tore his ACL in the first half, and because they couldn’t find a way to stop San Diego’s Gyno Pomare, who shot 10 for 12.
Mount St. Mary’s lost because they were outrebounded 48-22.
Saint Joseph’s lost because star Pat Calathes made only 2 of 11 shots.
Vanderbilt lost because they allowed Siena to shoot 56%, including a 6-6 behind-the arc effort from backup guard Tay Fisher.
Oregon lost because they went 9 for 38 from three point land.
Indiana lost because star freshman guard Eric Gordon made just 3 of 15 shots.
Boise State lost because they had 18 turnovers, managed just 4-17 on three pointers despite shooting them at a 40% rate for the season, because they made just 5 of 12 foul shots, and because Louisville made 12 of 24 three pointers.
Clemson lost because their players not named Demontez Stitt went a combined 5 for 29 from downtown.
UT-Arlington lost because they were outrebounded 39-29.
Duke lost because they missed 15 straight 3-pointers in the second half.
Kansas State lost because they went 0-13 from three point range.
Purdue lost because they were outshot 54% to 38%.
Notre Dame lost because they shot 24.5% from the field.
Marquette lost because they couldn’t stop Brook Lopez down low, who scored 28 points after halftime.
UNLV lost because they were outshot 58% to 26% (mostly because Kansas has 6-7 potential NBA players and UNLV has zero).
Pitt lost because they went 2-17 beyond the arc; guards Ronald Ramon, Keith Benjamin, and Gilbert Brown combined for 8 pts, 3-17 shooting, 8 rebounds and 2 assists in 85 minutes.
Texas A&M lost because they had only two threes (on ten shots), made just three free throws (on seven shots), and had just two steals.
Siena lost because they were outrebounded, outassisted, and outshot 54% to 36%.
Miami lost because they were outrebounded 54-32.
Butler lost because star senior guard Mike Green (a 44% shooter for the season) went just 4-17.
Georgetown lost because they made 16 fewer free throws than their opponent and lost the turnover battle 20-4.
San Diego lost because they had no defensive answer for Western Kentucky’s Courtney Lee, who scored 19 points in the first half on 8-11 shooting.
Mississippi State lost because Barry Stewart shot 1 for 12.
Oklahoma lost because of many reasons; we’ll highlight their 18 turnovers and inability to get star Blake Griffin a shot until twelve minutes had elapsed.
Arkansas lost because North Carolina made 68% of their field goals.
Every team has deficiencies. Every team gets bad games from top performers. The teams I like to win two more games next weekend and advance to the Final Four are the teams that have the ability to overcome off-games from key players. Namely:
UCLA. If UCLA had wound up in the mortuary, their autopsy would have read like this: UCLA lost because second leading scorer Josh Shipp scored 0 points in 37 minutes, and third leading scorer Russell Westbrook scored 5 points on 2-9 shooting in 39 minutes. But UCLA didn’t lose despite these horrific offensive efforts from their wings. They got excelle
nt games from superstars Kevin Love and Darren Collison, and they play the best defense in the land.
Kansas. The Jayhawks, as mentioned before, have 6-7 players who will see time in the NBA. They have superb backup perimeter and post players who can bail out a starter having a bad day. The only question is, will Bill Self recognize –EV situations from his star players and make the appropriate adjustments?
Memphis. Like Kansas, Memphis is loaded with NBA talent large and small, plays solid defense, and runs past less athletic teams. They have ten excellent players and can easily afford a bad game from one of them.
Louisville. The Cardinals also play a lot of guys of different size, can shoot 3s or get points in the paint, and like the other three teams I mentioned, play fantastic defense.
Playing great defense is the most important attribute after the first round of the tournament. It keeps teams having difficulties in the game, both by preventing scoring from the opposition and by creating easy offensive opportunities. Most of the cadavers listed above were unable to get those easy buckets when times got tough, and that’s why they won’t be returning next week.
