Archives for April 2020

The only matchup between two non-Power 5 teams, 9^th seeded Boise State faced off against 8^th seeded Memphis.  Both teams entered the game with matching 12-1 records with their one loss coming in upsets; Temple knocking off Memphis and BYU beating Boise State.  In this first year of the new 12 team format, both schools felt a lot of pressure to show that the non-Power 5 programs deserved to be included.

Boise State got on the board first with a passing touchdown by quarterback Hank Bachmeier on the opening drive of the game.  After a couple stalled drives by both teams, Bachmeier hit leading receiver John Hightower for a 60 yard touchdown to put Boise up 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter started with both teams struggling to get anything going on offense but Memphis took advantage of a better punting game to win the field position battle and midway through the second quarter, the Tigers started a drive at midfield and quickly took advantage thanks to a 6 play drive that ended with quarterback Brady White finding receiver Kedarian Jones in the corner of the endzone to make it a 14-7 game.  Boise State’s offense couldn’t do anything on their next drive but their defense came up big, intercepting a Tiger pass to give the Broncos the ball deep in Memphis territory.  However the Bronco’s offense could only manage one first down and they had to settle for a field goal to give themselves a 17-7 lead.  Boise State looked like they had the chance to score again late in the half but Bachmeier was intercepted and Memphis took advantage, putting together an excellent final two minutes that culminated in Brady White hitting leading receiver Damonte Coxie for a 27 yard touchdown right before half.  Both teams headed into the locker room with Boise State up 17-14.

Memphis received the kickoff to start the second half and a nice 30 yard return set them up in good field position.  The Tigers continued their momentum from the end of the first half, putting together a nice drive that culminated with running back Kenny Gainwell punching it into the endzone from the 2-yard line to give the Tiger’s their first lead of the game, 21-17.  The teams exchanged punts before Gainwell once again showed off, this time breaking a few tackles to turn a short pass into a 60 yard gain and a 1^st and goal at the 4.  After an incomplete pass by White, Gainwell finished the drive himself with a 4-yard scamper to extend the Memphis lead to 28-17.

Boise State was on the ropes and after a three and out, Memphis landed what looked like the knock out punch as White and Gainwell teamed up for what would be the third touchdown of the day for each of them, giving the Tigers a 35-17 lead to start the fourth quarter.  The Broncos weren’t done though, keeping calm despite the large deficit, they put together an efficient mix of running and passing plays that ended with Bachmeier’s third passing td of the day to make it a 35-24 game with 8 minutes to go.  Momentum seemed to be swinging the Broncos way as they forced a three and out and then quickly moved the ball into Tiger territory.  The clock was becoming an issue though, forcing Boise to abandon their running game and rely on the passing game, which had been hit or miss all season.  This time it missed as Bachmeier threw his second interception of the game, ending the Broncos drive.  Memphis managed to burn a few minutes off the clock, ending the Broncos hopes and coming away with a 35-24 win to advance to the second round.

Memphis quarterback Brady White and running back Kenny Gainwell were the stars of the game.  White had 325 yards passing and 3 touchdowns, with only 1 interception, while Gainwell ran for 2 touchdowns and caught one other.

It’s the final #6 CFP and winners of 3 straight as well as PAC12 champions taking on winners of 7 straight and winners of their fourth straight Sun Belt Conference title, finishing the season 20th in the final committee poll.

Both teams combined only lost 3 games all season and present a pretty good challenge for each other with their high scoring offenses and conference MVP’s in tow. Justin Herbert and Darrynton Evans put on a good show for everyone.

Justin Herbert gave himself some more publicity for the 2020 NFL draft finishing the game 18 of 21 for 242 yards, 4 TD’s and no INT’s.

Darrynton Evans finished the game with 26 carries for 154 yards and three scores but it wasn’t enough as the Ducks stopped a late drive to defeat the Mountaineers 35-28 to move on to round two.

They await their fate until the rest of the first round is finished. Stay Tuned!

Dominating run by National POTY runner-up Udoka Azubuike against the national POTY Obi Toppin propels Jayhawks to title.

1 Kansas vs. 1 Dayton- Udoka Azubuke continued his “disappointed he did not win the NPOTY award” tour and wasted little time taking down Obin Toppin and the Flyers.

Azubuke accounted for all but two of the Jayhawks points through the first ten minutes of the game but held Toppin in check on the big stage. Devon Dotson had another remarkable game from the free throw line and matched Azubuke in scoring as they both finished with 19 a piece.

The Jayhawks continued their destruction of other teams offense and held Dayton to their lowest point total of the season with 61 and Toppin with 15 points and 6 turnovers. Kansas moves on to their 12th NCAA final(5-6) 79-61.

1 Gonzaga vs. 3 Michigan St.- Cassius Winston and Xavier Tillman took on Filip Petrusev, Corey Kispert and Killian Tillie in a showdown for the ages.

Both teams already knew the winner would get Kansas but did not want to spend everything they had on this victory. They traded punches early and often and Xavier Tillman hits a three at the buzzer to end Gonzaga’s season.

The Spartans move on to take on Kansas in the title game and not with many fresh legs after several OT’s to get there. MSU 98-95 3OT.

Championship Game:

1 Kansas vs. 3 Michigan St.- The Spartans and Jayhwaks have faced each other 14 times in historic fashion. The series is tied 7-7 with the last win coming for the Jayhwaks in 2018 via 92-87.

This rivalry is one that can go either way every-time the two teams meet(kansas leads in scoring 1125-1118) and the match up between two future HOF coaches in Bill Self and Tom Izzo is one to enjoy.

It also provided us fans with a one on one match-up between Udoka Azubuke and Cassius Winston and neither player backed down.

Regulation would not be enough and the Spartans had no answer for Azubuke in OT as the Jayhawks made everything in the extra period and MSU couldn’t make anything. Kansas wins their 6th overall title 89-81 in OT

Final Four Matchups:

1 Kansas vs. 1 Dayton-Dayton 86-80: Dayton takes down Kansas in a back and fourth matchup that featured a few ESPN top 10 Obi Toppin Dunks.

1 Gonzaga vs. 3 Michigan St.- Michigan St 79-75 (OT): Cassius Winston and Xavier Tillman provide 50 of the 79 points scored to lead MSU to the title game.

Championship Game:

1 Dayton vs. 3 Michigan St.- Michigan St 81-79: Tom Izzo captures his first National Title since 2000 behind All American Cassius Winston.

I just wanted to say thank you to all of you who have voted on the polls and have followed along with us on the site!

Welcome back to the South Region! Today we have the final 4 teams battling it out where 2 will make it to the Elite 8 of the Tournament. Will 2 B1G teams make it out of this Region? Who will be the South Regions Final 4 representative? Below are the matchups with the final results:

• 1 Baylor vs. 5 Ohio State: Ohio State 78-77-Ohio State keeps the magic alive and pulls the upset over the #1 seeded Baylor. 3 pt shooting and just enough defense get the job done.
• 3 Michigan State vs. 2 Creighton: Michigan State 75-68- Michigan State ends the Creighton run with the more tournament experienced lineup. Izzo back to the Elite 8 (has to be some kind of record right?)

To go to the Final 4:

• 5 Ohio State vs. 3 Michigan State: Michigan State 81-75- Unfortunately Ohio State’s run comes to an end here to the more experienced team . The Buckeyes only trailed by 3 and needed a stop to potentially tie the game. Cassius Winston hit a dagger 3 at the end of the shot clock to put the game out of reach in the final seconds.

South Region Final 4 team: 3 Michigan State

Tune in Next week as we send 2 teams to the championship game and as usual we would love your feedback!

Dayton was one of the country’s biggest surprises this basketball season. And it continued that not-really-a-Cinderella story in the Pretend March Madness as Obi Toppin was simply unstoppable in the Sweet 16 and Elite 8.

No. 1 Dayton 101, No. 12 Richmond 75 The only reason Richmond scored that much was because Dayton played most of its subs late and the Spiders scored a ton of garbage buckets. Toppin scored 41 points and Jalen Crutcher added 25 and 14 assists for the Flyers. Everyone on the UD roster played and everyone scored at least one basket. Dayton began the game on a 21-1 run and led 61-20 at halftime. Blake Francis scored 22 for the Spiders.

No. 2 Florida State 67, No. 3 Villanova 60 Villanova gave Dayton a blueprint for slowing down the athletic Seminoles by displaying a patient offense and zone defense that was tough to penetrate. But Florida State found just enough offense to win while the Wildcats struggled down the stretch. Trent Forrest scored 17 points for the Seminoles, while Justin Moore had 14 for the Wildcats.
Just like the committee drew it up, the two seeds advanced to the East Region final.

No. 1 Dayton 77, No. 2 Florida State 72 Madison Square Garden was transformed into the University of Dayton Arena East as Flyer Faithful packed the place. And they weren’t disappointed. With 10 seconds left and Dayton leading by three, Toppin grabbed a loose ball and led a fast break that ended with an emphatic 360-degree dunk, sealing the Flyers first trip to the Final Four since 1967. Toppin finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds and five posterizing dunks, earning a standing ovation from dunkmasters Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins, who were in attendance. After playing to a 32-32 first-half tie, Dayton opened a 10-point lead midway through the second half. But Forrest led the Seminoles back, tying the game with a three pointer with four minutes left. The teams seemingly traded makes and misses until Trey Landers made a three pointer to give Dayton a 75-72 lead with 30 seconds left.