While Baylor's gasping, thrashing, flailing, fouling attempt at perhaps the tournament's greatest ever comeback ultimately fell short, their valiance down the stretch in the noon game felt like a warning shot to the remaining 14 teams yet to play on Saturday.
This is the type of day it's going to be. You'd better bring it for all 40 minutes, maybe even more. No lead is safe. No seed is safe. Forget what you think you know about this sport.
The Greatest Four Games of Saturday
(8) UNC 93 (1) Baylor 86, Overtime
I had a friend text me reminding of back when we were in college, how we used to debate exactly how big of a lead a team needed to have to be absolutely certain that they were going to win. We settled on 27 or 28 points, so by our old logic, UNC's win still wasn't quite a sure thing even though they were up 67-42 with ten minutes left.
Because if you're only up by 25, someone like Jeremy Sochan, operating from the Dennis Rodman school of trolling, can still do just enough agitating to turn the game on its head. Sochan first baited Carolina star Brady Manek into an elbow throwing ejection--Baylor immediately goes on an 11-0 run and suddenly it feels a little bit like a game again.
Then Sochan executed a perfect Dennis Rodman/Karl Malone leg entanglement to bait Carolina's other star Armando Bacot into a technical. Baylor got it within ten.
For Sochan's final act, he banked in a three from just off center in the final thirty seconds to cut it to three, and now Carolina pulling the collapse of the century indeed became a true possibility. Carolina missed two free throws, and an and-one drive from Baylor completes the 25-point comeback and forces overtime.
You have to hand it to North Carolina for somehow calming down from a meltdown of power plant proportions and playing a clean overtime period. Baylor's legs seemed completely dead by that point, evidenced by shooting 1-11 in the extra frame. Carolina survives.
(1) Kansas 79 (9) Creighton 72
With an up-close view Baylor's demise, revival, but eventual elimination from the tunnels of Fort Worth's Dickies Arena, the Kansas Jayhawks heeded that lesson wisely. Against an outmatched but locked in Creighton team, Kansas struggled early, and even after finding its rhythm, couldn't get much separation from the mid-major Bluejays until late in the second half.
Even then, Creighton wouldn't leave them alone, chipping a nine-point deficit down to one and dribbling up the floor with a chance at the lead as the final minute approached. With the game in the balance, Kansas star Ochai Agbaji made the play of the game with a steal near half-court and lefty dunk on the ensuing break. Creighton wouldn't score again, and one seeded Kansas survived.
(11) Michigan 76 (3) Tennessee 68
[Photo credit: Associated Press]
Remember how I said Michigan's win over Colorado State on Thursday really didn't feel like an upset? Well, Saturday's shock over the orange hot SEC Tournament champs from Rocky Top certainly fits the bill.
Tennessee came into the game winners of 11 out their last 12, a top ten team in both the rankings and advanced metrics, with legitimate aims at a trip to the Final Four and beyond. Michigan snuck into the tournament behind a brutal schedule and some solid wins down the stretch, but hadn't even strung back-to-back wins together in over a month.
What reason should anyone have to think Michigan's inexperienced and shorthanded team could match the Vols' athleticism and defensive intensity for 40 minutes?
Because this is the type of day it's going to be. Forget what you think you know about this sport.
(1) Gonzaga 82 (9) Memphis 78
As soon as the bracket was released, this one was going to be a premier matchup of the opening weekend. We had the number one overall seed going in Gonzaga against a talented and hyper-athletic Memphis team that's on a tear and finding their peak at just the right time.
The final game of the night didn't disappoint--well, it did disappoint me, since I picked a Memphis upset. In terms of great basketball though, it was a welcome antidote to whatever the hell was going on in that monstrosity of a New Mexico State-Arkansas game in the other game.
I didn't catch the first half, which was the wrong viewing choice, but right or wrong I was invested in the Arkansas game. Memphis stormed the beaches though and led by ten at halftime over last year's tournament finalist. By the time I flipped it over, Drew Timme had started his second half tear and the Zags had already erased the lead.
If Memphis could hit a few threes and stay out of foul trouble this would have been a true heavyweight clash to the very end; as it played out, Gonzaga (Timme and Nembhard specifically) was just too steady, taking the lead for good with five minutes left and staying a half-step ahead the rest of the way.
Saturday Recap
- Madness Level: 9.5 out of 10
- The final ten minutes of Baylor-North Carolina pushes the madness level to at least a 7 on its own, and there were still seven more games to be played. An ejection, a modern-day Rodman imitator, a 25-point comeback, and the defending champions are done dancing at the hands of an 8 seed.
- Top overall seed Gonzaga getting everything they can handle from a 9 seed but outlasts Memphis behind a huge second half from Drew Timme.
- Michigan gets it done over Tennessee and soars into the Sweet 16 as an 11 seed.
- Arkansas and New Mexico State were tied 30-30 with under 9 minutes left in a hideously poor offensive game.
- 15 seed St. Peters is the story of the tournament and now going to the Sweet 16. Turns out that sudden legend Doug Edert of the Peacocks has an uncle that works on the CBS Sports production team. Is this thing rigged? Does the Edert family have that type of clout?
- Buzzer Beater Chances: 0 out of 1
- After their 25-point meltdown, Carolina still had one final possession in regulation. A poor offensive set devolved into a rushed step-back three that came up short and never really looked like it had a chance. UNC showed some resilience to come through in OT, but couldn't break the seal on this year's buzzer beater drought.
- Status of My Bracket: At least I have Arizona (for now)
- 4 correct picks, 2 miss, 2 no contest
- Another of my Elite 8 picks (Baylor) is gone; that makes four.
- Called Michigan over Tennessee, but I don't have them going any further.
- I called for the Memphis over Gonzaga upset, which was looking pretty good for a half but wasn't meant to be.
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