Guru’s WBB March Madness - 1: Disaster Strikes Southeastern Conference With Ousters of Tennessee and Kentucky

By Mike Siroky

The toughest conference in America, the Southeastern, lost two of  three in the Round of 32. Only the top seed survived.

After the longest layoff in NCAA history, suddenly it was two games in three days.

Every game is an elimination game.

 Even if most of the league teams are favored in these, opponents are tired or hearing of it. 

The opponents were having none of the legends.

Three more league teams try again today, including the regular-season champ and No. 2 seed, the feisty No. 3 seed and the No. 7 seeded team trying to make history.

All the No. 1 seeds and a No. 2 qualified for the Sweet 16.

 

South Carolina 59, Oregon State 42

As a  No. 1 seed SC now had No. 8 seed Oregon State in the way of anther Sweet 16. 

This unruffled game shows why they are the top SEC seed.

The Gamecocks had to be aware its Pac 12 opponent has been in four straight Sweet 16s.  

Of course, SC is in the business of writing history.

SC’s game starts with 5-9 sophomore feeding guard Zia Cooke (15.9 points per game), 6-5 sophomore center Aliyah Boston (13.7. with 11.7 rebounds and 74 blocks), 5-7 junior guard Destanni Henderson (12.1 with 139 assists), 6-2 junior forward Victaria Saxton (8.7 with 33 steals ) and  6-1 sophomore guard Brea Beal (7.5).

Saxton and Beal have missed only one start. 

Boston is a first team Associated Press All-American and one of four finalists for the Naismith Player of the Year  and for Defensive Player of the Year.

Boston is likely the best player in the SEC. She is a legitimate All-America.

“We’ve gotten better at moving the ball,” Boston said. “Coach had us working on cutting and being aggressive. Coach has really talked to us about doing things when I catch the ball, It was really stagnant.

“Wasn’t V (Saxton) a queen? She did what V does.”

Coach Dawn Staley said, “Victaria concentrates and focuses on making layups. She is one if the players we worked on with that.”

Saxton said the conditions are workable.

‘”It’s not so different because we had a whole season of playing without a lot of fans,” Saxton said.

‘We knew we had  to bring our own energy. Honestly I have to focus.  She (Staley) said we had to keep pushing. To settle down.

“I feel like everyone has to step up, for a team effort. We kept telling each other it’s all mental, to push through. I didn’t really pay attention (to the defenders). It’s what we all did, Play our game.”

But SC had a significant height and even experience advantage because its young players went through the grind of the SEC.

Senior guard, 5-9 Aleah Goodman, leads Oregon Sate scoring (16.5 with 25 3s and 92 assists). 

Taylor Jones, a 6-4 sophomore forward (12.2, 9.1 rebounds),  5-11 freshman guard Talia Von Oelhoffen  (11.8) and 6-1 freshman guard Sasha Goforth (11.8) are the other scorers. 

They were 12-6 overall, 7-6 in conference. 

They lost large to Stanford in conference semifinals and still somehow got a bid by winning five of six down the stretch. 

They erased Florida State by 24 in their opener.

“This team is playing incredible basketball right now,” said coach Scott Rueck. “It felt like we were able to shake the cobwebs off in the first quarter, and then settle in and play like we are capable of. 

The rebounding was a big part of this game – I’m glad we didn’t give them second opportunities. This group competes like crazy and they are just continuing to get better and better.”

Looking at State, Dawn Staley said the guard play fall off in the first half of the opening game just made opportunities on this confident team,.

“If you take one thing away, \you create a mismatch somewhere else.” she said. It opened Victaria up.

“As a coach, you visualize things. You can practice it but the game is something else. This is not Little League.

“There is  no fat in their offense .We have to utilize our speed.

“Our players just want to play.”

As had been usual in these rounds, they each started cautiously, finding lanes, establishing what would work. 

The first quarter was  14-13.

 Then, blammo! a 16-5 lockdown for the Gamecocks and a 16-6 start of the third. Staley’s plan was obviously working.

Boston was 7-of-8 from the line and had scored 15.  Henderson had 10. Beal had 10 rebounds. SC was 21 rebounds ahead. They didn’t need to shoot 3s (1-of-8).

State had no one in double figures. They were hitting 27 percent from the field.

Inside of three minutes, Cooke hit a jumper for 10 points.

The third ended 53-29. State had not a clue how to derail SC. They needed 46 points to hit their season average. 

If everyone played to average, the SEC would finally have someone in the Sweet 16.

State cut the deficit to 20 early in the final quarter of their season. Didn’t matter if SC didn’t attain the average points allowed by 10. if SC coasted with backups and only scored six in the final quarter.

 Try scouting that.

Staley got 10 players into the NCAA record book The top reserve was sophomore forward Lateicia Amihere with eight.

Among the starters, Boston scored 19, 7-of-9 free throws, in only 26 needed minutes. No need for anyone to double. Henderson scored 12, Cooke 10. They only needed one 3.

State tried a lot of substitutions. It did not work. 

A frustrated Jones was allowed 18 minutes and scored 13, which is still better than her average scoring. 

Two other scorers did not score. Alleged star Goodman managed 10, six less than average.

“This is a huge lift off of our shoulders because that was a hard game,” Staley said. “I know the score doesn’t say that. But ... Oregon State is a really good, efficient basketball team. If you allow them to do what they set out to do, they’re very good at it.

“Our players didn’t want to pack and head home,” Staley said. “They wanted to stay a little bit longer. A lot of them, this is their first tournament experience ... and the deeper we go in this tournament, the more experience we have, the better off we’ll be this year as well as in years to come.”

Staley’s plan was to get Jones into foul trouble — and it worked, with Jones limited to 18 minutes.

“We would have been in trouble because she could have erased the lead that we had with just her production,” Staley said.

“We just keep pushing,” Boston said. “We never stop attacking, no matter who it is.”

“They were disruptive all day, closed gaps really quickly defensively,” Oregon State coach Rueck said. “During a key stretch of that second quarter (they) turned us over, turned it into quick points at the other end, which is obviously a staple and a hallmark of what they do. It’s when they’re at their best.”

“They took away what we wanted to do on offense,” Oregon state guard Aleah Goodman said. “We just weren’t really ourselves. It’s a bummer. It’s hard to go out like that.”

Next up for the top seed is No. 5 seed Georgia Tech, coached by former SEC analyst Nell Fortner. Let’s see if she can use her seasons of clownish analysis to her advantage against a team she used to praise.

 

Michigan 70,  Tennessee 55

The third-seeded Lady Vols looked stagnant in the confrontation with No. 6 seed Michigan, the Wolverine’s  highest seed ever making the first Sweet 16 in program history.

The Wolverines have two seniors and matched length with UT, eight players at least 6-0.

 They started ahead and stayed there, a seven-point second-quarter defensive stand holding up. It is the second-fewest Lady Vol points of the season.

For the No.13 Lady Vols, the challenge of the Big Ten harks back to Pat Head who invented the templates. 

During her years, the Big Ten was basically one of those who sent only a conference champ to the NCAAs, even if respectable coaches like former assistant Nancy Darsch (Ohio State) or  former Rutgers coach  Theresa Grentz (Illinois) or contemporary  coach Vivian Stringer (Iowa) popped in from AIAW days.

So it it was a small set of history confronting Harper. 

It is the first time Michigan had opposed them.

Naz Hillman, 6-2 junior forward,  averages 24.6 points per game with 11.5 rebounds. She has not attempted a 3. 

UT will focus on her. Leigh Brown (17.6), 6-1 junior  and 6-0 grad student Akeienreh Johnson (11) are the other scorers.

Kim Barnes Arico had produced eight 20-win seasons leading into this one.

Rennia Davis was trying to finish her Lady Vol career so far with a flourish. 

Davis, a 6-2 senior, had 10 doubles this season, pushing her to  tenth  in career rebounds (940)  and ninth all-time program scoring (1,803). She leads in scoring (17.5), rebounds (9). 

She has 44 assists. She scored and rebounded below her average this day.

At UT, no one sees the top two players are Batman and Robin. They see double Batmen. 

The other is Rea Burrell, a 6-1 junior, carried the Lady Vols early while Davis was finding her balance. 

Burrell averages 17.9 with 38 3s. Tamari Key averages 9.9 rebounds. She established herself as  a 6-5 sophomore. 

Jordan Horston, a 6-2 sophomore, has 103 assists. Kasiyahna Kushkituah averages nine rebounds. The other senior is 6-4. It is easy to see why Harper relies on what she calls her “bigs.”

Preparing for the game, Harper said: “We knew it was a really tough opponent in Michigan. They’ve got great posts, great guards, and the right pieces. They’re obviously coming from a very physical league, and they’ve got good size. 

“One, Naz Hillman is really good; she’s not the player of the year for no reason. She is incredible in how she works to get the ball in scoring position, she’s incredible when she gets the ball to score, and she’s incredible in getting on the boards. 

Leigh Brown, an athletic wing that can put the ball on the floor. She can shoot, she’s aggressive, and she feels really good about her game right now. So, obviously, that’s their 1-2 punch. 

That left the physical work for Key and Kushkituah  to play well.

“We had to be really great for us to establish some post presence offensively and, obviously, on the glass. We have been consistent there. We’ve outrebounded everyone but one this year, and that was in the (SEC) semis against South Carolina. 

“We have to do that, but they are going to make that difficult for us, because they are going to be very physical, and they’re going to have great size. 

“You’re not just going to get rebounds by outjumping people, and you’re not going to get rebounds because you’re bigger. 

“You’re going to have to stick your nose in there and be disciplined when you box out. 

“They’re worried about the same thing; they’re talking about the same thing, and how they are going to keep us off the boards as well. So, at this point, it’s not about a want to. We both want to (win). It’s about execution.”

 “I think our post defense will be critical to this game. Like I said earlier, we’ve got our hands full. 

“We’ll have to see if we can go one-on-one, and we may have to find ways to double team and ways to help them out. 

“But obviously, we don’t play a lot of people in that position, so keeping at least one of the two on the court at all times is going to be important, and they’re going to have to play pretty clean. 

“ We’re not going to keep (Hillmon) scoreless; that’s just not going to happen. Sometimes you’re going to try to slow them down. Sometimes you’re going to try to cover everybody else and make her beat you. 

“There are so many different philosophical ways to look at each game. I can’t say that I have one particular way that I have going into every game. 

“It is different. It’s different, and it’s different based on how we’re playing at the time, how the opponent is playing at the time, what the matchups are, are they favorable in other places? 

“I think as a team, we have to weigh those. If you’ve got to give up something, you’ve got to give up something probably pretty good at this point. I mean, this is a good basketball team.

 “ So, sometimes you’re just playing the numbers, and sometimes you’re playing the feel and how the flow is going in the game.”

 She said the Alamodome itself offers a challenge.

“ I want to check out that depth perception and see what that feels like. At least they’re not walking in there at game time and that being the first time they see it.

“I’d like to take care of the basketball. I’d like to try to take away some easy paint points from them. 

“We’d like to win the battle on the boards. I’d like to shoot about 75 percent tomorrow, that would be great. 

“I think when you’re playing somebody even, I don’t know that there’s one stat that can win this game. I think you’re going to have to execute on both ends of the court, I really do.”

 She said it was very unusual for the program to have not played Michigan before, especially when former Lady Vol All-American Trish Roberts coached there during Pat Head’s time. 

They felt themselves out in the opening quarter, 14-12 Michigan. Davis had one basket. Key and Kushkituah had four each.

In the second, it was more of the same, Michigan only improving the lead to nine. 

No one was in double figures. 

Davis hadn’t score in the quarter, 1-of-8 from the field UT was shooting 27 percent from the floor, no 3s attempted. Seven turnovers, the plague of the Lady Vols, were again in play.

The Wolverines got 11 from senior forward Hailey Brown, 3-of-4 3s. Their 34 percent from the field was still better than UT. Rebounds were even.

Whoever made the better adjustments would win.

Tennessee did not. 

No one has in this tournament, whether it be the stress of the big stage or just the environmental variances of the Covid influences. 

Michigan extended the led easily, 42-27 halfway through the third. If there was going to e a UT run, it had to happen soon.

 Harper  was clearly being outcoached.

Davis was 3-of-11. Neither side scored for two minutes in which UT had three misses. Burrell hit a 3, UT’s only one of the game. 

Then it was a turnover and a  Davis foul.

 Six minutes remained in their season and still the Lady Vols trailed by 14, a second SEC  blowout loss in one day looming . 

Burrell made another jumper. The shooting percentage was up to 33, but with no long-distance baskets it was hard to dismiss the deficit.

Tennessee got it down to 10 with five minutes left, as close as early in the second quarter. 

A Danielle Rauch 3 pushed it back. Kushkituah scored her 10^th points. 

UT needed more stops. 

 Michigan looked more calm than alarmed. Tennessee finally won a quarter but lost the game.

Leigh Brown scored 23, 11-of-11 from the line, Hillmon scored 17 with 15 rebounds and Hailey Brown 14, 64 of 70 points.

 Both Browns were above their scoring averages.

Tennessee had 15 turnovers. Davis (12 points), Burrell (11) and Kushkituah (10) were not enough.

“We rushed some of our shots in the first half and we definitely credit Michigan,” Harper said. “Their physicality on the perimeter affected us. They found ways to frustrate us. 

“Their physicality affected us. We missed 17 layups and you can’t win without finishing.”

The lack of NCAA experience was also a factor,

“Having those experiences is so important to build on. We were in this game with three players with NCAA experience. 

“As a player, I never had that. There is a lot in learning how to win. Even in some of the games we didn’t win, we walked off the court better.

“I have really enjoyed coaching them.

“I’m proud of growth, as women, as a team. I am proud of that. We were a  fun team to watch who played hard.

If she is saying goodbye to her seniors, she said, “It is awful. It is gut-wrenching.

“One of things that cut me as a player and I still remember it to this day is when the returning players would talk about next year after our (final) loss.  It was not meant to be disrespectful. I asked our team not to talk about that now.”

So  Harper ends with two and through, one NCAA win on the Tennessee coaching resume, 18 on the season. 

She can go home and hug her daughters. 

“As a mom, it’s hard. Thank goodness for Facetime, because we can see the kids, and they can send videos. And I talk to them multiple times per day, but it’s hard.

“When your two-year-old looks and you and says, ‘You going to get me in the morning?’ You have to say no. I don’t want to go home, but I’m ready to squeeze them when I get to see them.”

She will work for NCAA home games next year, Imagine if this one were in Knoxville as a three seed.

Davis and Kushkituah can consider the NCAA waiver for an extra season, a decision they have months to decide or can even transfer and play on, though that is unlikely.

Michigan earned the royal road block in top seed Baylor, with several days to prepare. At least there is no travel.

Iowa 86, Kentucky 72

UK was the first SEC team eliminated in this Round of 32.

The challenge was the nation’s leading scorer, All-American freshman Caitlin Clark vs. the Kats’ All-American, Rhyne Howard.

Clark won. It was a blowout from the start.

No. 5 seed Iowa drew and defeated Central Michigan in the first round, earning this shot at the SEC’s No.4 seed. 

This is the closest seedings allowed in the Round of 32.

They were 11-9 in conference, No. 6, with all those Big Ten teams qualifying for the elimination games, showing the rise of the conference.

At  No. 18 nationally, the Kats were led by Howard, averaging more 20 points per game with at least 7.3 rebounds per game, 70 assists and 50 steals.

Iowa, unranked nationally, carried some angst against the Kats, which they saw  as another Selection Committee imbalance which made them the underdogs. 

Out of conference, they did beat state rival Iowa State. 

They average 86, 13 more than UK. They allowed 80, UK 14 less.

The lead Hawkeye is 6-0 freshman All-American Caitlin Clark (26 points with 103 3s and No. 2 nationally in assists, 202).

“I know everyone is talking about the matchup,” UK coach Kyra Elzy said. 

“Caitlin Clark is a freshman phenom and Rhyne Howard is the best player in the game right now. But still, even though those two players are on the court, it's still a five-on-five basketball game. And so those are where your X-factor people have to step up and make plays."  

For Iowa that means  Monika Czinano  (20, a 6-3 junior forward),  Meghan Warnock  (12, with eight rebounds) a 6-1 sophomore forward. 

They got blown out by conference champ and No. 7 Maryland in the league finals but have left that behind. Warnock has three straight doubles.

Senior 5-5 guard Chasity Patterson (12.6 with 63 assists) is the only other double-figure scorer for UK. 

 If Howard  needs help, it has to be Patterson. The bailout demand was large this game.

Dre’una Edwards (9.5) only started 11 games, but played in all of them, averaging 19 minutes, less than a half. 

The 6-2 sophomore emerged big time in a few games. 

Junior guard Robyn Benton , a 6- guard, started never and averaged 18 minutes a game, missing one game. 

KeKe McKinney, a 6-1 senior, started 24 of 25 games, with 74 rebounds. Blair Green, 6-0 junior guard, is in the tradition of UK guards of seasons past, grinding in all 25 games.

“You have to establish the post presence, so Tot (Tatyana Wyatt) or Dre (Edwards) or Olivia Owens inside,” Elzy said.

 “KeKe (McKinney) stretching the floor, so being able to hit open 3s will be key. I think Blair Green coming in, hitting big shots and/or Robyn (Benton). One point of emphasis, Jazmine Massengill. She has to be a scorer, she has to see herself as a scorer, play aggressive off the bounce, get to the rim, finish, hit rhythm shots.

“Rhyne has the ability to take over the game but what makes her special is she also has an unbelievable ability to involve her teammates within the offense,” Elzy said.

 “She's an extremely good passer. There are times when she will have to take over but the other players on the floor can’t stand and watch. She draws so much attention defensively and that’s where you have other players that have to step up and make plays.”

That’s the general game plan, even if Elzy will not unleash a one-person team.

"She is the focal point of our offense," Elzy said. "I would love for her to go out and score 30. 

“But even when she scores 30, you still have to have other players step up to keep the defense honest."

Iowa scored the first 11 points, the final basket a 3 by Clark. UK was 0-for-7 with an offensive foul on a fifth possession.

The first Kat points came on a wild Blair Green jumper five minutes in. 

Iowa kept cruising. 

After more than a minute without anyone coring, Czinano took an inside feed from Wannock for a layin. 

Howard finally got points at the free throw line. Clark scored the last basket of the quarter, just inside of two minutes left.

It was 23-11 after the first quarter. Clark had scored 11, 3-of-5 3s. Edwards, off the bench, had five. Iowa was hitting 60 percent from the floor.

Iowa kept playing its game, pushing the lead to 47-20 inside of two minutes left in the half.

 Clark had 19, 3-of-5 3s. 

ESPN commentators had laughed she was going to be so closely guarded that UK would know what she had for breakfast.

 They stopped saying that.

 Czinano had 10.

The Hawkeyes put several spurts together, breaking loose at will.

Howard had one basket and seven points, 4-of-4 at the line. 

Whatever the Kat game plan was, the reality of the game broke it. 

This looked bad for the SEC, if this was supposed to represent the fifth-best team in the league. Iowa had more balance and energy.

Clark had 24 at half, 6-of-8 3s with four assists. She had outscored the UK team, which scored 11 in each quarter. 

Iowa was even winning rebounds, 22-11. UK is 12-1 this season when they win rebounds.

But any comeback would be legendary. UK had never been down this much in a half. 

There was no pretense it was only Clark.

UK didn’t have it in them, still shooting 28 percent from the field.

 The third ended 70-46. 

Clark finished with 35, six 3s, seven defensive rebounds, six assists.

 It was the best individual performance to that point. 

It is the best Big Ten individual effort ever. Two others were in double figures. 

“It all started on the defensive end,” Clark said. “We got stops and we got points from stops. I knew this is kinda shooter’s gym. Like high school. My shot was feeling nice. I knew I had to be aggressive from the jump . Others were scoring. But it was our defense.” 

Against no defense in junk time, Howard assembled 28 safe points because no one else was allowed to shoot. She had 21 attempts.

It was a hard impact for a first-year coach. 

She declined to make an opening statement, which she usually does after wins.

“Early on we had some good looks and the ball didn’t go in,” said Elzy. “We let them go on a run and let that affect our defense.”

She did not address defensive failures on Clark, despite some pre-game braggadocio by some of her players.

“We tried to rotate fresh bodies on her. She did a great job continuing to move and hit some better shots. She’s a phenomenal scorer.”

The lack of offense also affected the defense.

“I think our offense did affect our defense early,” Elzy said. “We dug ourselves in too deep of a hole.

Iowa played well and we didn’t.”

She refused to criticize Howard, saying, “There are other things happening on the floor.”

Howard kept her attitude even afterwards, daring to compare her own game against the excellence of Clark.

 “When you’re not playing good defense, anyone can score. We definitely got down on ourselves.”

Iowa wins a shot at the awesome legend of top seed UConn, with that other great freshman and the point guard who transferred in from Tennessee.

 UK can watch from home.