If you believe in the mantra that defense wins championships, the 2019 NCAA Tournament is not making a liar out of you. The two remaining teams are all about that end of the floor, and also had some similarities in winning on Saturday night aside from that.
The first game will certainly be memorable for how it ended, though the game itself was tremendous. Virginia and Auburn battled, with Auburn playing well in the first half and taking a 31-28 lead into the locker room. Virginia came out in a much better place offensively, getting the ball to De’Andre Hunter and getting results, and regained the lead as a result. Gradually, the Cavaliers would build up a ten-point lead at 57-47 with over five minutes left, and with their ability to control the pace, it seemed likely to hold up.
A couple of Bryce Brown three-pointers helped turn the tide and get it within a possession, then after Danjel Puriofy brought them within one, Brown hit another three-pointer to give them the lead. Two Anfrenee McLemore free throws made it a 14-0 run and a 61-57 lead with 17 seconds left.
Kyle Guy made a tough three-pointer in front of his bench in the corner, then Jared Harper missed the second free throw, which meant Virginia didn’t need a three-pointer to tie it. After two fouls, the second with 1.5 seconds left, Virginia managed to get the ball to Guy in the left corner, and he got off a shot. Samir Doughty fouled him as time appeared to expire (0.6 seconds would later be put back on the clock), and that caused an uproar. Guy made all three free throws, Auburn could not get a good shot off and Virginia had survived in the truest sense of the word, 63-62.
The foul on Doughty was the correct call. A defender must give a shooter space to land, especially when the defender is going towards the shooter as Doughty was. Of more concern was a double dribble missed beforehand, when Ty Jerome (who had game highs of 21 points and six assists) lost the ball off his foot and picked it up with both hands after a defender never touched it. That is part of the double dribble rule that many may not be aware of – admittedly, I was not – but referees like the three doing this game should know that. That said, there were plenty of other calls/non-calls that did not work to Virginia’s benefit, and as Bruce Pearl noted in his TV interview, plenty of other plays which if they were made would have rendered a call or non-call like that moot.
It was a tough act to follow, but Texas Tech and Michigan State sure tried in the nightcap. The first half was a slog, as could be expected, but the Red Raiders got going in the second half while Michigan State didn’t. When Texas Tech built their lead up to 45-33 with over 11 minutes left, you wondered if the Spartans had one more run in them. When Matt Mooney made another three-pointer with 9:41 left to make it 48-35, it would have been easy to think they were on their way.
Michigan State didn’t exactly storm back, but they went on an 8-2 run to get it closer. Then an 8-0 run over more than four minutes got them within 52-51, which is when Jarrett Culver came alive. The Big 12 Player of the Year was quiet, but he hit a jumper to make it a three-point game, a free throw, and then a three-pointer, and with the Spartans coming up empty at the offensive end, the Red Raiders had opened the lead up en route to scoring the final nine points for a 61-51 win.
Mooney, the graduate transfer from South Dakota and Air Force, was the star of the night with 22 points on 8-16 shooting, picking up for Culver, who was 3-12 and scored most of his points in the late run that sealed it. Cassius Winston went cold at the wrong time for Michigan State, as the Big Ten Player of the Year had 16 points but on 4-16 shooting, and he had four turnovers against two assists.
That sets up a national championship game between two teams making their first appearance in the national championship game. This marks the first time that has happened in 40 years, going back to when Michigan State and Indiana State met in 1979. It would be easy to joke that the first to 50 will win, but these are very capable offensive teams as well. There should be little double as to which end of the floor will be the key for both teams.
Ted Sarandis and I talk about all of this and more on our late-night podcast as well.
Side Dishes
One thing to watch heading into Monday will be the health of Texas Tech forward Tariq Owens. The graduate transfer from St. John’s sprained an ankle on Saturday night, and though he returned to the game, he wasn’t the same player and did not play much.
Buffalo has promoted Jim Whitesell, who had been Nate Oats’ top assistant, to be their head coach. Whitesell has been a head coach before, including at Loyola-Chicago, and was at St. John’s before joining Oats’ staff. Another move made on the day is Tennessee Tech hiring Alabama assistant John Pelphrey, who has been a head coach at Arkansas. You can follow these and more coaching changes at our link here.
One head coach who isn’t going anywhere for now is St. John’s head coach Chris Mullin, but there’s no question he’s not exactly on a cool seat in Queens. It got to the point that new athletic director Mike Cragge felt compelled to issue a statement on the matter: “Let me be clear and I said from day the start, Coach Mullin is our head coach and we are not looking for another head coach.” Even in a weakened Big East, the Red Storm went 8-10 in conference play this season and barely made the NCAA Tournament. With Shamorie Ponds leaving and their top assistant also moving on to Nebraska, next season doesn’t exactly shape up as being better.
Duke is conducting an internal investigation into a claim by famed lawyer Michael Avenatti that Nike paid star Zion Williamson’s mother when he was in high school. It is one of many claims Avenatti, who has been charged with attempting to extort more than $20 million from the shoe company, has alleged in recent weeks, with this one coming on Friday night.
Tonight’s Menu
It’s a quiet day ahead of the national championship game on Monday night for the men, but the women have their national championship game at 6 p.m. as Baylor takes on Notre Dame (ESPN). Also, be sure to check out College Basketball Tonight, which will go live late at night and will certainly be live on the site by early Monday morning.
