1.Goodbye Grayson Allen
Grayson Allen has played his last game as a Duke Blue Devil. In the closing seconds with the game tied he had a chance to win it, to send Duke to the Final Four, you all know what happened after that. He missed and Duke went on to lose in overtime. In fact Allen had been off all game connecting on only three of thirteen shots including two of nine from three (one of his only threes and his only make in overtime was a meaningless shot when Kansas had all but secured the win). Normally if a senior goes out with a terrible performance in their last game I would feel sympathy, because you know that that memory will define a disproportionately large part of their college experience. A player in that situation will never be able to get that shot back, never be able to make it up next year. But with Allen I find it hard to be sympathetic.
Grayson Allen was an excellent college player without whom Duke possibly does not win the 2015 National Championship. However, I will probably remember Allen for the tripping and the temper tantrums more than any basket he scored. During his sophomore and junior seasons he became something of a tripping connoisseur, never tripping opponents in the same ways twice. Grayson Allen is gone from the game of college basketball and I cannot say that I will miss him.
2.Loyola and Sister Jean head to San Antonio
Only four 11 seeds have ever reached the Final Four: 1986 LSU, 2006 George Mason, 2011 VCU, and this years Loyola-Chicago Ramblers. Compared to past years Loyola does not seem particularly surprising. As noted last week they are one of the best passing teams in the country and they play a smart, low fouling, and effective brand of defense (11th best opponent foul rate per sports-reference.com and 19th most efficient defense per Kenpom). What has been suprising is the ways they have won, with almost every game coming down to the final seconds and the last shots. Since Kenpom started tracking efficiency stats in 2002 no championship winning team has ever finished with a defensive efficiency ranked lower than 21st. So do not be surprised if the Ramblers are cutting down the nets on Monday night. It would actually be more unprecedented for Kansas, with a 40th ranked defense, to win than Loyola.
3.Villanova and Michigan finding ways to win
Against Texas Tech last Sunday Villanova could not make a basket. In three of Michigan’s first four games they also struggled to score, and yet both teams are in the Final Four. In years past an off shooting night from either of these teams was sure to send them home (see Villanova vs. NC State 2015) but this year excellent defense has allowed them to keep dancing. A Villanova team that is averaging 40% from three this season shot only 4 of 24 against Texas Tech. However, Texas Teach made only 5 of the 20 threes they shot and Villanova was able to get 20 of their own misses. This dominance on the boards and excellent defense (14th per Kenpom) makes Villanova the favorite to win the National Championship. Most Michigan teams in the past few years have been offensively excellent but defensively challenged. This year’s team is just the opposite ranking 30th in offensive efficiency and 4th defensively. They have the best remaining defense in the tournament and hope to ride the defense to another National Title for the Michigan Wolverines.
4.KU beating the zone
Last week I discussed how three-seeded Michigan St struggled to score on Syracuse’s zone defense and how this lead to a Syracuse upset victory. Against Duke Bill Self and his Kansas Jayhawks found themselves facing a zone as well. However, KU’s players handled very differently. They attacked the zone finding its holes and exploiting them. It seemed as though KU players were able to get open looks form three on nearly every possession. A zone is usually designed to prevent wide open looks form beyond the arc but KU was able to get the ball into the middle of the zone and warp it forcing Duke players out of position. I am no fan of watching zone teams play (the Syracuse Duke game in the sweet sixteen was physically harmful for me to watch) and to see Duke’s fail on the biggest stage was satisfying.