Sweet Sixteen Day One Breakdown

The first day of the Sweet Sixteen started just as we left off the first weekend, with a ton of excitement. We saw an upset, a fantastic finish, and two of the favorites showing their might. Here is a short breakdown and my thoughts from the four games last night. Let’s hope Friday night’s action is as good as Thursday’s.

Butler 63 – Syracuse 59

Butler had basically four days to prepare for the Syracuse zone and it showed. Butler remained patient on offense, even when Syracuse made a charge in the second half to take a 54-50 lead with under four minutes to go. Brad Stephens, Butler’s head coach and only 33 years old, did a great job preparing his team for what Syracuse was going to show them and allowed the Bulldogs to overcome a 6-24 shooting performance from three-point range. Butler’s patience paid off as it hit two of those six threes surrounding two layups in the final three minutes to turn a four point deficit into a six point lead and the upset was in the works. Butler’s defense was also fantastic, and it helped that Syracuse center Arinze Onuaku was not able to play after reports early in the week speculated he might be in the line-up. The Bulldogs forced 18 Syracuse turnovers and the Orange looked out of sync all night. Butler was many people’s preseason surprise pick to make a run at the Final Four. After cooling on them in the regular season, I am sure the bandwagon just picked up a ton of passengers once again.

West Virginia 69 – Washington 56

I said to friend before this game when we were talking about wagering, if gambling were legal of course, that this is a great match-up for West Virginia as they have three different guys who can match-up with Washington’s best player Quincy Pondexter and they should have a field day on the offensive glass. Sure enough, the Mountaineers held Pondexter to 7 points, 0 in the first half, and grabbed 19 offensive rebounds. The loss of Truck Bryant was not a factor last night but could become one against Kentucky if West Virginia cannot limit its turnovers, committing 23 against the Huskies. WVU has the size and athletes to compete with Kentucky, but they will have to shoot it better as well. The Mountaineers shot only 40% from the field and 27% from three, which will not get it done against John Wall and company. One side note from this game was the terrible officiating. I praised the refs for doing a great job in the first two rounds, but I thought the officiating in this one was terrible on both sides.

Kentucky 62 – Cornell 45

Kentucky showed why they are the favorite to win the whole thing in the first half of this game, overwhelming Cornell with their size and speed. With the fantastic Kansas State-Xavier game going on at the same time, my focus was not on this second half, but it looked like Kentucky stopped pounding the ball inside and started to settle for jump shots. The Wildcats shot only 2-16 from three point range which is sure to be the talk heading into what could be the best Elite Eight match-up of the bunch against West Virginia. Cornell was able to cut the lead to six at one point in the second half, but Kentucky went right back inside and put the Big Red away for good. Kentucky’s size and athleticism was just too much for Cornell, who shot only 24% (5-21) from three after looking like they could not miss in their first two games.

Kansas State 101 – Xavier 96 2OT

The best game of the tournament so far saw incredible performances from a number of players from both teams and had the added bonus of Gus Johnson on the play-by-bay. Just a fantastic game that words could not do justice. Xavier guards Jordan Crawford and Terrell Holloway combined for 58 points and at times looked like they were playing two-on-five. It did not stop them, however, from hitting big shot, after big shot, after big shot. Crawford’s three to send the game into the second overtime was basically from half court, and there was no doubt the ball was going in the second it left his hand. Crawford and Holloway’s performance was for not, however, as Kansas State was finally able to prevail after seemingly having the game won about three or four different times (and if anyone had money on this game, what a roller coaster ride that was). The Wildcat guards, Denis Clemente and Jacob Pullen, nearly matched the Musketeer guards scoring 53 points of their own. It was the KSU defense and inside presence that was the ultimate difference in the game, however, as the Wildcats front court outscored Xavier’s 45-19 and threw in 11 blocks for good measure. I have to wonder if this game will take something out of Kansas State as they prepare for a very stingy Butler team with a Final Four berth on the line.

The first four games of the Sweet Sixteen are in the books, and what a fantastic four games they were. I will be back Saturday morning to breakdown the four games Friday night. We can only hope for the same suspense we were treated too on Thursday!