Houston and Gonzaga met in a second-round NCAA Match matchup final weekend in Wichita, Kansas, that might as simply have been performed within the Remaining 4, the way in which Kelvin Sampson’s and Mark Few’s groups had performed all through the season.
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The Cougars have been No. 1 in scoring protection, greater than a half-point higher than the next-best workforce. The Bulldogs have been No. 2 in scoring offense, trailing solely Alabama in placing up almost 87 factors per sport.
But one of many greatest causes that Houston was in a position to advance to the Candy 16 with an 81-76 victory over the Bulldogs was its skill to play any model of basketball. Positive, the Cougars managed to carry Gonzaga almost 10 factors under its season common, however additionally they ramped up their very own scoring, proving that they’re greater than only a bunch of defensive stoppers.
“Just win and advance,” Sampson stated afterward. “Do what it takes. That’s all that matters.”
All through the 68-team area, people who have been in a position to survive the primary weekend have been usually people who have been prepared to alter issues up if the second dictated it. The defensive dynamo was in a position to get into transition and pile up factors, or the workforce that loves to attain buckled down on the different finish of the ground, making life tough for its unsuspecting opponent.
That has been the case with Mississippi up to now within the match.
The Rebels rolled into the postseason within the high 50 nationally in scoring, however their protection was middling at greatest: a hundred and seventy fifth out of the 364 groups in males’s Division I basketball. But the identical bunch who scored 98 factors towards Kentucky and 100 towards Oral Roberts within the common season stifled North Carolina in a 71-64 first-round win, then held Iowa State under its season scoring common in a 91-78 victory that pushed Ole Miss into the regional semifinals.
“Their defensive versatility is terrific,” Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger marveled afterward. “Their switch ability — guards on bigs, bigs on guards. They do a great job. Their defense really tries to frustrate you by not allowing the ball to get in the paint, and trying to keep it on one side of the floor. And when they’re at their best, they’re doing that really well.”
It’ll take Ole Miss doing it at their greatest with Michigan State up subsequent; the Spartans are among the many most versatile of any workforce left. They’re high 50 in each scoring and protection, they usually confirmed it off final weekend, placing up 87 factors towards Bryant and holding New Mexico to 63 in a pair of wins.
“We’re just a team that can play multiple ways,” the Spartans’ Jaden Akins stated.
So is Duke, which was fourth nationally in scoring and sixth in scoring protection. And when you’ve gotten that mixture, the ends in the opening weekend weren’t stunning: 93-49 over Mount St. Mary’s and 89-66 over Baylor.
Kentucky was sixth nationally in scoring this season, however coach Mark Pope’s bunch — 315th in scoring protection — performed a extra affected person sport with loads of success in a 76-57 first-round win over Wofford. It wasn’t a shock that Arizona averaged 90 factors in wins over Akron and Oregon, however it could have been that the Wildcats held the Zips to only 65 within the first spherical.
Then there’s Alabama, which seemed each bit just like the nation’s highest-scoring workforce in a tougher-than-expected first-round win over Robert Morris and a second-round blitz of Saint Mary’s. However the Crimson Tide additionally seemed lots like, say, Houston the way in which it defended the Gaels, holding them to only 66 factors in advancing to the Candy 16.
That is the place the Crimson Tide will face BYU, a workforce that performs far more like itself.
“I don’t know that I want to say it’s refreshing to go against somebody that plays like us,” Tide coach Nate Oats stated, “as a result of I feel we’re actually robust to protect, and we’ve led the nation in scoring the final two years. I don’t assume anyone is saying it’s refreshing to play Alabama, whoever is operating the protection for the opposite workforce. I imply, possibly it’s not such a smash-mouth sport like enjoying soccer on the market like a few of these groups, however they’re not straightforward to cowl.
“We’re going to have to really lock in and coaches are going to have to really do a good job getting our guys ready and then our guys are going to have to execute what the plan is, whatever we decide to put in.”
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