Cleveland State falls to Xavier in season finale--HoriZone Roundtable
March Madness cinderella stories: Cleveland State pulls off historic run as first 14 seed in Sweet 16--Mid-Major Madness
Cleveland State men’s basketball ends season with 72-68 loss to Xavier in NIT opening round--Cleveland Plain Dealer
Men’s Basketball drops heartbreaker to Xavier in opening round of NIT--csuvikings.prestosports.com
Titans Open The Basketball Classic At FGCU--detroittitans.com
Green Bay Hosts Second WNIT Game in Program History, Welcomes Minnesota Thursday--greenbayphoenix.com
IUPUI women get 2nd chance to make 1st NCAA impression--Associated Press
First Round Game Previews: South Region--Three Man Weave
1. Arizona vs. 16. Bryant/Wright St.
Key Background/Matchup Notes
- Please give me Arizona vs. Bryant, because it will be a track meet and Arizona will win by 40
- Kerr Kriisa will not be playing – have you seen that guy’s ankle?
- Arizona was 3-1-1 ATS when laying 20+ in the non-conference, as they will be in this one
Arizona Has the Ball
- Arizona LOVES to push the tempo – 1st nationally in average possession length
- Bryant’s transition defense is not great – they are easy to run on
- Both Bryant and Wright State will struggle with Arizona’s positional size – they’re big everywhere, and the high-low can shred Bryant’s zone + dominate the offensive glass
- Wright State might stand more of a chance on D – Arizona is not terribly reliant on dribble drives, Wright’s biggest weakness
- Wright State also slightly better in preventing transition
Bryant/Wright St. Has the Ball
- Bryant is all about transition attacks and drive-and-kick in the half court. They are a big-time “rim and three” offense.
- Arizona forces a huge allotment of mid-range jumpers – 12th-most nationally, per Hoop-Math
- Wright State, meanwhile, is a big post up team, consistently playing through Grant Basile and Tanner Holden against mismatches
- Good luck against Koloko, Tubelis, Ballo
- Either way, both teams are in a lot of trouble here because Arizona eliminates the rim – both attempts (38th nationally in fewest) and makes (39th in FG% at the rim) – both stats via Hoop-Math
Final Thoughts
- Arizona is likely laying 22-23ish against either team, though the PIG spread indicates the Bryant number would be higher
- I will take Arizona if it’s against Bryant – the Bulldogs lost by 67 to Houston, high-level size and talent just obliterates them
- Still a lean to Arizona against Wright State, but significantly less strongly
Picks: TBD
Ranking All 68 Men’s NCAA Tournament Teams, From Gonzaga to Texas A&M-CC--Sports Illustrated
62. Wright State: Scott Nagy has had better teams that didn’t make the NCAA tournament, so this might be karma paying him back for some Horizon League tourney heartache. The Raiders rallied from 17 down in the second half to beat Northern Kentucky for the bid, a year after blowing a 24-point lead in the league quarterfinals. Nagy has steadily developed this team’s trio of leaders: leading scorer Tanner Holden (19.8 points, 7.1 rebounds), big man Grant Basile (18.5 points, 8.6 rebounds) and point guard Trey Calvin (14.3 points, 3.3 assists). The Raiders are eternally skilled and solid, but athletic deficiencies make this a shaky defensive team.
The Breakfast Buffet — March Madness Edition--College Hoops Today
Things To Sample
Bryant/Wright State could be the best First Four game ever between 16 seeds
Star power? Check. A team playing near its campus? Check. A full crowd in the stands? You better believe it. Tonight’s First Four showdown between Bryant and Wright State could be the most compelling First Four matchup featuring 16 seeds since the event’s inception. The Bulldogs are led by the nation’s leading scorer in Peter Kiss (25.1 points) while Wright State is literally playing just minutes away from its campus. Sounds delicious, right?
March Madness 2022: Analyzing statistical trends for each first-round matchup--Heat Check CBB
South Region
(1) Arizona vs. (16) Wright State/Bryant
Arizona will await the winner of Wright State vs. Bryant for its first-round matchup. The Wildcats posted a tremendous season in their first under head coach Tommy Lloyd and are among the favorites to win the national title. Arizona won all 22 games this season when turning the ball over on fewer than 19 percent of its offensive possessions, going 9-3 in its other games.
With starting point guard Kerr Kriisa potentially sidelined due to a sprained ankle, how well Arizona takes care of the ball without him could be critical. Kriisa has missed three games this year, and the Wildcats exhibited a worse turnover rate in each of those games (24.7, 18.8 and 21.9 percent) than their season average (18.0).
As far as how this pertains to their first-round game, Wright State forces more turnovers on a per-possession basis (18.5 percent, 161st nationally) than Bryant does (16.4 percent, 293rd).
Hottest hand in the land: Kiss leads Bryant into First Four--Associated Press
Wright State, Bryant take similar routes to First Four--Dayton Daily News
Former Raider great Grote pleased with program’s growth, believes future is bright--Dayton Daily News
Wright State vs. Bryant University: What you need to know about Wednesday’s game--Dayton Daily News
Men face Morgan State--Mahoning Valley Tribune Chronicle
Women host Kent State in WNIT opener--Mahoning Valley Tribune Chronicle
No comments:
Post a Comment