NCAA Tournament Showcases Three Themes
Sports Editor Will Lyons quickly recaps March Madness broken out in three topics as we approach the Sweet 16.
Experience Matters
With the presence of NIL, the transfer portal and the Covid year we are seeing experience and effort overtaking less experienced talent. As the referees are more selective with their whistle and the defensive schemes are switched on the fly you can see underclassmen struggle. Whether its nerves or a situation you have not seen before navigating the bright lights of March are no joke and the one loss exit format creates a highly entertaining event that has to be incredibly stressful for players and coaches.
We saw numerous players 23 years of age or older in the tournament led by the grandfater of college basketball in 8th year player Seth Towns. These teams are finding success doing the things that get glossed over like boxing out, cutting and being in constant motion on offense. They also understand the physicality and intensity required to fight through screens to keep shooters from getting good looks from deep. Often times highly touted freshmen simply find themselves looking like what they are, freshmen that are playing against grown men.
Title Favorites Looking Dominant
The UCONN Huskies have been a clear favorite to become back to back champions this season and the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament have done nothing but reinforce that sentiment. The Huskies are incredibly balanced with great guard play, shooting and a dominant interior force in Donovan Clingan. Cam Spencer and Tristen Newton bring a number of matchup problems with their experience and the steady improvement of future NBA lottery pick Stephon Castle have been overpowering for the opposition. Add in swingman Alex Karaban and you have a juggernaut of a team with one of the best coaches in America in Dan Hurley. With the unpredictability of March you have to play the field if you are putting your money up but UCONN looks primed to go back to back and you can argue that they are even better than they were last year.
In the regular season and in the NCAAW tourney South Carolina has just looked too talented to take an L. Coach Staley addressed the shooting woes that limited last year’s team and a mix of more minutes/player development have raised the team’s already high ceiling. Players like Kamilla Cardoso, Ashlyn Watkins, Raven Johnson, Bree Hall, Chloe Kitts, and Sania Feagan have stepped into increased minutes/roles and have all elevated their game and their stats along the way. And newcomers Te-Hina Pao Pao, Milaysia Fulwiley, Tessa Johnson have provided two way impact and most importantly outside shooting making this team’s armor seem to have few chinks if any.
NCAAW Tournament Has Been Must See TV
We know that everyone wants to see how far Caitlin Clark can take Iowa. Now that we got that out the way we can discuss the many amazing teams and players that have been making a name for themselves. The generational freshmen class has gifted hoop fans with Juju Watkins, Hannah Hidalgo, Madison Booker, Mikaylah Williams, Audi Crooks and Milaysia Fulwiley. All of these players have become household names in March with dominant performances on the game’s biggest stage. This class is special and had three players win Conference Player of the Year (Juju Watkins, Hannah Hidalgo, Madison Booker) in their respective conferences while rewriting the record books along the way. As incredible as these young players have been we get three more years of watching them write their stories.
The veterans have been more than holding their own as well with players like Caitlin Clark, Rickea Jackson, Paige Bueckers & Aaliyah Edwards, Dyaisha Fair, Georgia Amoore, the Stanford tandem of Cameron Brink and Kiki Iriafen and the dominant roster of the South Carolina Gamecocks. Other teams like Texas, LSU, Syracuse and Colorado keep finding ways to win.
Conclusion
We have been blessed with two rounds of highly entertaining basketball. Hall of Fame coaches, upsets, freshmen phenoms and of course the Cinderellas. Every minute has been a Hoop fans dream and it continues to showcase why March Madness is the best time of the year. Onward to the Sweet 16 and thoughts/prayers to everyone with a bracket that got destroyed like mine did on the first day of the tournament.
