March 17th has launched a lot of deep runs in the NCAA Tournament, and while it won’t this year, we’re looking at the Boston Celtics’ games in the biggest tourney of the year at the collegiate level on the date they occurred in their absence.
It was a popular date for the Celtics as well, with five players playing games on this date — most notably former UConn point guard Kemba Walker, though we’ll get to him shortly.
For Semi Ojeleye — who has the unusual distinction of being a national champion who only played one game in the tournament after transferring from a Duke team to SMU earlier in his collegiate career — it was the only NCAA game he’s played in, a 66-65 loss to USC.
Ojeleye would record 24 points and 10 rebounds in the loss.
Such was the luck of rookie forward Grant Williams, whose season would also end as well on this date in 2018.
A day after his Tennessee team had beaten Wright State, his Volunteers fell to Loyola of Illinois 63-62 despite Williams’ 12 points, 4 assists, 3 boards and 2 blocks.
For Duke product Jayson Tatum, March 17, 2017 saw his Blue Devils defeat lowly Troy 87-65, not knowing their own unpleasant surprise awaiting them in their next game.
The Missouri native scored 18 points, 12 rebounds, 4 steals and as many blocks, flashing hints of the player he’d later become.
Former Pitt Panther Brad Wanamaker saw his team defeat UNC-Asheville 74-51 in 2011– though he scored just 6 points and 3 assists.
To be fair, he might still have been reeling from the last-second shot by now-teammate Kemba Walker that sent his Panthers packing in the Big East Tournament a week before.
Speaking of Walker, that had been the warm-up to one of the most impressive postseason runs in NCAA history, which the UConn guard carried the momentum of into the first game of his Huskies’ run to the championship.
They faced Bucknell in the first round of the 2011 tourney, and won 81-52 behind Walker’s 18 points, 8 rebounds and 12 assists. While there’s plenty more of that story to tell in the coming weeks, we’ll save the rest for the game dates they occurred on.
Unless, of course, some NBA basketball were to miraculously fall in our lap.
Be well, all — and stay home if you can.
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