Tag: 2022 March Madness

Iowa finishes No. 21 in final USA TODAY Sports Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll

Iowa finishes ranked No. 21 in the final USA TODAY Sports Ferris Mowers Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll.

For the third consecutive season, Iowa ended the season ranked inside the final USA TODAY Sports Ferris Mowers Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll. The Hawkeyes (26-10) ended up ranked No. 21 after losing in the NCAA Tournament’s first round against the 12th-seeded Richmond Spiders, 67-63. The Hawkeyes finished No. 25 in the final poll of the 2019-20 season and No. 13 in the final poll of the 2020-21 season.

Iowa climbed to its season-high ranking of No. 19 after winning the Big Ten tournament title with a 75-66 win over then-No. 9 Purdue. Sophomore standout forward [autotag]Keegan Murray[/autotag] scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the Hawkeyes’ Big Ten tournament championship game victory over the Boilermakers.

After rallying to win over North Carolina, 72-69, to capture the program’s fourth NCAA Tournament championship, Kansas finished ranked No. 1. It’s actually the second time in the past three seasons that the Jayhawks finished atop the rankings. KU finished ranked No. 1 to end the 2019-20 men’s basketball season, but the NCAA Tournament was canceled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

After Kansas, the other three Final Four participants grabbed the next three slots. Despite being outside the poll entering the tournament, North Carolina climbed all the way up to No. 2. Duke was ranked No. 3 and Villanova was No. 4. The rest of the top 10 of the final USA TODAY Sports Ferris Mowers Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll looked like this: Gonzaga No. 5, Arizona No. 6, Houston No. 7, Arkansas No. 8, Baylor No. 9 and Purdue No. 10.

Other Big Ten teams that finished ranked included No. 18 Wisconsin, No. 19 Illinois and No. 25 Michigan. Here’s a look at the full final Ferris Mowers Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll.

Rank Team Record Points Change
1 Kansas 34-6 800 (32) +2
2 North Carolina 29-10 741 +26
3 Duke 32-7 706 +7
4 Villanova 30-8 705 +1
5 Gonzaga 28-4 644 -4
6 Arizona 33-4 619 -4
7 Houston 32-6 540 +8
8 Arkansas 28-9 518 +10
9 Baylor 27-7 499 -5
10 Purdue 29-8 463 -1
11 UCLA 27-8 453 +1
12 Texas Tech 27-10 440 -1
13 Providence 27-6 400 –
14 Auburn 28-6 386 -7
15 Tennessee 27-8 379 -7
16 Miami (Fl) 26-11 264 –
16 Kentucky 26-8 264 -10
18 Wisconsin 25-8 228 -4
19 Illinois 23-10 223 -3
20 Saint Mary’s 26-8 149 -4
21 Iowa 26-10 133 -2
22 Murray State 31-3 115 -2
23 Iowa State 22-13 112 –
24 Saint Peter’s 22-12 111 –
25 Michigan 19-15 108 –

Schools Dropped Out

No. 21 Connecticut; No. 22 Southern California; No. 23 Boise St.; No. 24 Virginia Tech; No. 25 Texas

Others Receiving Votes

Texas 104; Connecticut 59; Southern California 45; Michigan St 35; Virginia Tech 24; Ohio St. 23; Creighton 22; Notre Dame 20; Texas Christian 19; Memphis 15; Xavier 9; Boise St. 9; San Francisco 4; Colorado St. 4; Seton Hall 3; Rutgers 2; Louisiana State 2; Texas A&M 1

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Where Texas basketball lands in ESPN’s way-too-early top 25

Chris Beard appears to have Texas heading in the right direction.

The 2021-22 college basketball season came to an end on Monday night as Kansas cut down the nets after a thriller against North Carolina. Although we are over six months away from a new season of college basketball, it’s always a good time to look ahead to next year.

ESPN’s Jeff Borzello created his way-too-early top 25 rankings for the 2022-23 season. Texas comes in at No. 22 after an up and down season that finished with a loss to Purdue in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Predicting what Texas’ roster will look like at this point is no easy task, the Longhorns roster faces lots of question marks entering the offseason.

Timmy Allen, Marcus Carr, Andrew Jones, Courtney Ramey and Jase Febres are all seniors. Christian Bishop is the only projected returnee who averaged more than 3.7 points per game. But there’s some optimism in Austin. Dylan Disu should be healthier next season up front; he was a double-double threat every night at Vanderbilt, and Chris Beard will be hoping he’ll return to form. The Longhorns are also welcoming two five-star recruits on the perimeter, with playmaking guard Arterio Morris and explosive Dillon Mitchell entering the fold. Mitchell is a legitimate one-and-done prospect who makes his biggest impact defensively and in transition.

The NBA draft, transfer portal and recruiting ranks can drastically change the outlook of the roster. Chris Beard has proven he can build a roster in one offseason and will be tasked to do so again.

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Armando Bacot makes NCAA Tournament history

UNC basketball forward Armando Bacot has made some NCAA Tournament history with another double-double.

It was clear that UNC forward [autotag]Armando Bacot[/autotag] wasn’t 100 percent for Monday’s title game after suffering an ankle injury in the Final Four win over Duke.

As Bacot attempted to rehab with the ankle, time was limited and the forward had to go out and give it his all. And he did just that.

Despite not being fully healthy, Bacot managed to still record a double-double in the first half and in the process he made history. Bacot became the first player in NCAA Tournament history to record a double-double in all six games of a single tournament.

An impressive feat considering how many greats have played in the NCAA Tournament over the years.

While Bacot re-injured that ankle and had to leave the game, he still finished with 15 points and 15 rebounds in the loss.

Now, we have to wonder what could have been if Bacot was healthy for the entire game.

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Clear Play: Inside Kansas epic comeback to beat UNC and win the 2022 NCAA title

The 2022 championship — and the largest comeback in title game history — belong to the Kansas Jayhawks

Clear Play: We’re on the ground after Kansas came back to win the national title in the NCAA Tournament. Find out how they beat the odds to win.
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Reactions to UNC Basketball’s loss to Kansas in title game

Here are some reactions from the UNC Basketball team’s loss to Kansas in the national championship.

Heartbreak. That’s all that describes the feeling for UNC basketball players, coaches and fans after losing the national championship game to Kansas in New Orleans.

The Tar Heels blew a 16-point lead as they watched Kansas storm back in the second half to take a lead late and hold on. In the end, this UNC team achieved a lot in a year where they were on the bubble for the most part ahead of the tournament. But this group fought until the end and even had a chance to win this game and then tie the game at the end as well.

UNC should be proud of their season. They went off the bubble to beating Duke twice and making a run to the Final Four. This is a group that has no reason to hang their heads.

Following the game, many took to social media to react to the game overall and how the UNC season ended.

Let’s see what former players, current players, and others are saying about the Tar Heels season as it comes to an end.

Bill Self’s sweet championship gift to Devon Dotson, whose 2020 season with Kansas was canceled due to COVID

Devon Dotson was in the same recruiting class as Ochai Agbaji and David McCormack.

Kansas coach Bill Self won his second national title, and while celebrating, he made sure to find his former star guard Devon Dotson.

The win over North Carolina was huge, and it represented redemption for the Jayhawks. This was a great team, and they will have the trophy to show that forever. But their roster in the COVD-canceled season of 2020 was arguably even more formidable.

While some on that team (Ochai Agbaji, David McCormack, Christian Braun) were able to play for the title in 2022, others turned pro. One such player was Dotson.

After the game, Dotson was with two-time NBA champion guard Mario Chalmers, who played for coach Self when Kansas won the title in 2008.

Self found Dotson in the crowd and told Dotson that this championship hat should be his. He explained his decision to give Dotson the sweet gift (via NCAA.com):

“This was partially won for them too. I don’t know how you guys feel. It’s partially won for them because I always thought the 2020 team was better, more equipped to do well in the NCAA tournament.”

Before the 2020 season was canceled due to COVID-19, Kansas ranked No. 1 in the AP Top-25 poll, earning an insane 63 of 65 possible first-place votes.

They had the makings of a title team as they were the only squad with a top 10 offense and a top 10 defense, per KenPom. But they never got a chance to prove they were the best team in the nation and earn the trophy.

When I spoke to Dotson during the pre-draft process in 2020, he spoke about how he handled the tough circumstances (via HoopsHype):

“The team we had was special. The pieces fit right. We had all the right pieces to make a deep run and win it all. But it’s bigger than basketball. It was hard at first. I had to come to my senses and realize it was over. I learned from that and I grew from that. It was just a learning experience: things can be taken away from you in a split second.”

However, he told the Miami Herald that this win “fills that hole” left in 2020.

Dotson currently plays for the Windy City Bulls. He has played in 22 NBA games for Chicago since turning pro.

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Watch: 2022 edition of ‘One Shining Moment’

The Irish made it in this year!

Years ago, Nick Shepkowski, our fearless leader at Fighting Irish Wire, confessed to me that he cried whenever “One Shining Moment” came on. I don’t know if he still does, but it sure is nice to know that the tradition is showing no signs of slowing down. With the college basketball season officially in the books, we have the 2022 edition of the annual NCAA Tournament montage. In case you missed it live for whatever reason, we have you covered right here:

With Notre Dame making its first tournament appearance in five years and winning a couple of games, it had some representation in this montage. They were blink-and-you’ll-miss-them moments, but they were there during the first verse. We see Cormac Ryan dribbling and stopping against Alabama, and we see Ryan helping up Dane Goodwin after a big moment. Whether you think that was enough representation or not, it still is nice to know the Irish made it.

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The internet roasted NCAA President Mark Emmert after he incorrectly said “Kansas City Jayhawks” in the trophy presentation

Uhh, that’s not the right name.

The Kansas Jayhawks overcame a 15-point halftime deficit to win the program’s fourth NCAA title in men’s basketball late on Monday night in New Orleans. It was the biggest comeback in a title game, and the Jayhawks used a 47-point second half performance to take down North Carolina, 72-69.

After the final horn sounded and the confetti fell, the Kansas players and coaches gathered to receive their hard-earned trophy from NCAA president Mark Emmert. When presenting the goods, Emmert made one huge mistake.

“The Kansas City Jayhawks…the University of Kansas.”

Oh man. That’s not it. KU is located in Lawrence, Kansas, some 40 miles west of Kansas City.

The internet, unsurprisingly, let Emmert have it.

Kansas beat UNC to win team’s 4th title and Jayhawk nation went wild

THE JAYHAWKS DID IT!

After completing the biggest comeback in NCAA championship game history, Kansas officially has its first title win since 2008!

The Jayhawks bested the North Carolina Tar Heels 72-69, putting together a 16-point comeback during the second half in an absolute dominant show of force against a tough UNC squad. The victory is Kansas’ fourth overall title in team history, breaking a decade-plus long drought for head coach Bill Self’s second title with the Jayhawks.

Monday’s game was one of runs, as both the Jayhawks and the Tar Heels had long stretches of dominance during the game. In the end, Kansas was able to outlast a clearly exhausted North Carolina team en route to a title victory.

Back in Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse, Jayhawks fans were rocking and rolling after the final buzzer.

And here’s the players celebrating with their well-deserved trophy.

What a win for Kansas! Here’s how Jayhawk nation celebrated on Twitter after the historic victory.

NCAA hoops fans had lots of jokes about Hubert Davis’ very enthusiastic in-game interview

Hubert Davis was PUMPED.

Hubert Davis is having himself one hell of a March Madness tournament.

From starting the season with a lackluster12-6 record in his first year with the team, Davis has turned North Carolina around to star in the NCAA title game against Kansas after taking down Mike Krzyzewski and Duke. Not only that, NCAA fans have really taken to Davis during this tournament due to his incredible, emotional story with the Tar Heels.

During Monday night’s title game against Kansas, CBS court side reporter Tracy Wolfson was able to catch Davis for a mid-game interview. And folks, was Davis ever pumped up for this.

What enthusiasm! Usually the mid-game interview falls flat for people due to just how awkward it is, but for some, Davis finally justified it. Not only that, a ton of NCAA hoops fans loved the passion Davis showcased in this interview and made a lot of jokes about it on Twitter.