Tag: march sadness

BRACKET BUSTER: Twitter reacts to No. 15 Princeton upsetting No. 2 Arizona

Welcome to March Sadness. The No. 15 Princeton Tigers busted everybody’s March Madness brackets by upsetting the No. 2 Arizona Wildcats on Thursday in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

No. 13 Furman beating No. 4 Virginia wasn’t enough madness for Thursday’s opening day of the NCAA Tournament as the No. 15 Princeton Tigers out of the Ivy League upset the No. 2 ranked Arizona Wildcats 59-55.

Coming into the NCAA Tournament, the Wildcats were coming off a Pac-12 championship and were among the popular picks to make a deep run in the tournament to the Final Four and potentially even a National Championship winning run. Now, like most brackets, that idea has been busted.

Princeton came in with a fantastic defensive game plan, not allowing Arizona to get any strong looks from beyond the arc, and played suffocating defense within the perimeter. The Wildcats shot 42.1% from the floor in the game but were just 3-for-16 from three-point range. After averaging over 80 points per game this season, the Wildcats’ 55 points on Thursday was their season low.

The Princeton Tigers will now move on to the Round of 32 to take on the Missouri Tigers on Saturday. Missouri moved on earlier on Thursday with a 76-65 win over the Utah State Aggies.

This of course isn’t the first time that Princeton has found itself in the NCAA Tournament spotlight. The Tigers back in 1996 as a No. 13 seed upset the No. 4 seeded UCLA Bruins in the Round of 64 by a final score of 43-41. The Bruins were at the time the defending national champions.

Notably, current Princeton head coach Mitch Henderson was a starting guard on that 1995-1996 Princeton team.

Finebaum: NCAA president Emmert’s handling of cancellations “inexcusable”

Cancellation was always going to be the safe decision, but the NCAA’s lack of communication left conference leaders in the dark.

Last week, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey appeared on The Paul Finebaum Show to disclose that he learned secondhand of NCAA President Mark Emmert’s decision to cancel spring and winter sports amid COVID-19 concerns.

As per Sankey, he learned of the cancellation from a journalist. He received no prior notification from NCAA officials.

Though it was always going to be the safe decision to make, the communication (or lack thereof) related to the NCAA’s cancellation plans left conference leaders in the dark.

Following Sankey’s revelation, Finebaum, in an appearance on Birmingham’s WJOX, let loose on his perceptions of the issue.

“I know this is the wrong time to make absolute statements but I’m going to make one anyway. That moment was the end of the NCAA as we know it. It may have power in existence for some times but that was an existential moment in the history of the NCAA where knowing the commissioners like we do, they are going to band together at some point, when the storm clears, and are going to say, ‘You know what, we’re not going to take that anymore.’”

Finebaum continued regarding the communication breakdown:

“For Mark Emmert, not to have more consultation with the people that feed the system was inexcusable. And what was interesting is we all praised him on Wednesday afternoon, ‘What a great decision to go ahead and announce that there would be no fans (for the 2020 NCAA Tournament)’ and in the moment it did look good, but once again no consultation with anyone.”

The necessary precautions for the general public’s safety never came into question for Finebaum.

“Quit praising him for making the right call…it wasn’t a difficult call.”

He concluded:

“Let’s not give him too much credit or give anyone too much credit. This was this a domino effect, which we all know was caused by the NBA (being the first major American sporting league to suspend play due to coronavirus concerns).”

For other inquiries into how the global health pandemic affects the world of college sports:

Coronavirus forces NCAA to make big decisions regarding eligibility, recruiting

SEC cancels its men’s basketball tournament due to coronavirus

NCAA grants spring season athletes an extra year of eligibility

Will Georgia football cancel G-Day due to coronavirus?

Georgia football Pro Day postponed amid coronavirus outbreak

Oklahoma basketball coach Lon Kruger addresses the abrupt ending to the NCAA basketball season

“This is uncharted waters,” Kruger told media members Friday evening. “It’s a crazy time, it’s unsettling, it’s a little bit scary.”

After having their entire season cancelled over the course of mere hours, Lon Kruger finally had an opportunity to speak to the media via teleconference to take a peek behind the curtain of the Sooners past 48-72 hours.

“This is uncharted waters,” Kruger told media members Friday evening. “It’s a crazy time, it’s unsettling, it’s a little bit scary.”

Due to the pandemic outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19), the Big 12 and NCAA went from fanless games at their respective tournaments to the full cancellation of the tournaments in less than a day. The Sooners left Kansas City Thursday morning after learning that the Big 12 Tournament cancelled the remainder of the men’s and women’s tournaments less than 24-hours after commissioner Bob Bowlsby made the announcement that the Big 12 would play their tournament games in front of a limited crowd of family and essential personnel. Just hours before the team was supposed to play six-seeded West Virginia, Oklahoma was on their way back to Norman, Okla.

“On the ride home, we learn that the NCAA Tournament was cancelled,” Kruger said Friday. “They handled it well…They totally understand the gravity of the situation and they understand that the primary concern is the health and safety of student-athletes and the staff and the fans.”

Of course, everyone’s season came to an abrupt end but for one Sooner, his entire collegiate career ended under circumstances nobody could have predicted.

Kristian Doolittle, the lone senior on the team, posted a good-bye to Sooners fans via social media after learning that his days of playing in crimson and cream were officially over.

“In Kristian’s case, you compliment him on all he’s accomplished and thank him for all he’s contributed,” Kruger said. “It’s disappointing that he’s not going to be able to finish it with actual participation.”

With all of the uncertainty that lies ahead of not just the Big 12 or the NCAA, but the nation and the entire world, Kruger told media throughout the interview that he believes the decision to cancel all of the post-season for basketball was the right call.

“Of course, there’s a disappointment of not being able to continue to participate, but it pales by comparison in significance of the event,” said Kruger. “What’s going on worldwide is much much much more significant than our disappointment to not being able to play.”

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RELEASE: NCAA Tournament Canceled

The NCAA has announced the news that just days ago seemed impossible – there will be no NCAA Tournament in 2020.

The NCAA has announced the news that just days ago seemed impossible – there will be no NCAA Tournament in 2020.

Release from the NCAA:

Today, NCAA President Mark Emmert and the Board of Governors canceled the Division I men’s and women’s 2020 basketball tournaments, as well as all remaining winter and spring NCAA championships. This decision is based on the evolving COVID-19 public health threat, our ability to ensure the events do not contribute to spread of the pandemic, and the impracticality of hosting such events at any time during this academic year given ongoing decisions by other entities.

After the NBA’s announcement on Wednesday night it seemed like this was the likely next step.  It indeed was as the association released the statement Thursday afternoon.

No NCAA Tournament, men’s or women’s and no championships for any of the remaining winter or spring sports. As expected as this news was it still is a shock to think there is no NCAA Tournament, one of the greatest sporting events in the world this year.

Notre Dame’s Muffet McGraw Wins Twitter on President’s Day

McGraw hasn’t won often in 2019-20, but on social media Monday night she was lights out.

When you think Muffet McGraw you think building a program from a near-nothing to a national powerhouse. You also probably think of a couple of national championship banners that hang in Purcell Pavilion and a bunch more Final Four appearances.

When you think Roy Williams you probably think somewhat the same in terms of men’s basketball as he holds a few national championships himself, is a legend in the game and has guided both Kansas and North Carolina to elite levels on an annual basis.

Except this year.

McGraw’s Notre Dame squad sits just 10-16 on the season and 5-9 in ACC play. Meanwhile Roy’s Tar Heels are an unheard of 3-11 in conference play entering Monday night.

McGraw didn’t shy away from the fact the two former champions are suffering through a couple of trying seasons.

You can call Muffet McGraw many things but perhaps more than anything, she’s self-aware.

Bonus points for mentioning Steve Kerr of the 12-43 Golden State Warriors, too.

McGraw hasn’t won often in 2019-20, but on social media Monday night she was lights out.