Entering Saturday night’s game between Texas’s third place and Abilene Christian’s fourteenth place, Big 12 was 6-0 in the NCAA tournament and prepared for a perfect first round. But when the Longhorns collapsed against their opponent in the state of the Southland Conference, it began a difficult period for the much-vaunted conference.
Although Baylor No. 1 seed survived Wisconsin No. 9 seed on Sunday, Texas Tech No. 6 seed and West Virginia No. 3 seed each lost, meaning that Big 12 is now only 1-3 in the last four games and has 7 -3 in the Great Dance. With eighth place in Oklahoma facing the challenge of his life on Monday against first-placed general Gonzaga, he may soon be in traditional league skills carrying the league flag.
Baylor is on Sweet 16, and Kansas number 3 has a chance to get there on Monday. The state of Oklahoma with seed number 4 also has a chance to make some noise on Sunday night as it takes over the state of Oregon with the number 12 seeds. But with the Red Raiders, Mountaineers and Longhorns leaving in less than 24 hours, the Big 12 still has a lot of work to do if it leaves the NCAA Tournament as the best conference in the country.
It was another wild day at the NCAA Tournament, so let’s talk about the winners and losers.
Winner: Arkansas is back
The Razorbacks made six starts on Sweet 16 over a period of seven years in the 1990s under coach Nolan Richardson. But they haven’t been back since 1996, at least not until Sunday. Arkansas finally made it past the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament with an exciting 68-66 victory over Texas Tech number 6. It is a remarkable turnaround for coach Eric Musselman’s second season program, and the Razorbacks may not be over yet. They will face the winner of Sunday’s game between 7th place in Florida and 15th place Oral Roberts in Sweet 16 and will enter with the advantage of having already defeated both teams this season.
Winner: Loyola Chicago does it again
CBS analyst Bill Raftery said it is better at the end of the second half of No. 8 seed Loyola Chicago’s 71-58 upset of No. 1 seed Illinois on Sunday. “This is not just a divine intervention,” said Raftery. “This is great basketball.”
It was a perfect summary of Sunday’s action. Although the nation loves the Ramblers for their poignant personality as a darling of the medium-sized who is defended by a spiritual force in the form of 101-year-old Sister Jean, there is nothing thoughtless about the way this team plays. In fact, this team is more regarded by metrics expert Ken Pomeroy than the 2018 team. Still, the Ramblers’ relentless efficiency was somewhat surprising. His only other game against a Big Ten team this season was a 14-point defeat against Wisconsin. But the combination of divine intervention and great basketball was lethal on Sunday, and the Ramblers are heading for Sweet 16.
Loser: Illinois falls short of its potential
The Illini had won 15 of 16 games by entering Sunday’s competition, and their impressive run for the Big Ten Tournament suggested that a run at the NCAA Tournament was something of a foregone conclusion. Maybe the claim about Loyola Chicago deserves better seed is legitimate, and maybe the Illini were hurt by having to play against the Ramblers so soon, but should we really feel sympathy for Illinois because of that? Illinois did not play as the No. 1 seed on Sunday. In fact, it never did. A few more days, an unknown opponent at the Missouri Valley Conference would have been beneficial, but the beauty of this tournament is the unpredictability produced by the single elimination format. You can’t have a poor performance and hope to move forward, and the Illini learned that the hardest thing on Sunday, as their first appearance in the NCAA tournament since 2013, ended bitterly.
Winner: Baylor hits the target
The number 1 3-point shooting team (41.4% beyond the hoop) in the country, Baylor launched an efficient offensive exit – as he usually does – to escape without a scratch against Wisconsin. The Bears won 76-63 after an 8-of-17 distance outing, supported by just four turnovers. Five different players dropped shots beyond the arc as they advanced to Sweet 16 for the fifth time in the program’s history.
Loser: Big Ten’s strong season continues to fail
The reputation of no conference had a greater impact than the Big Ten during the first round of the NCAA Tournament as No. 2 seed Ohio State, No. 4 seed Purdue, No. 11 seed Michigan State all eliminated. The same goes for the start of the second round.
The league was widely known for its first-rate contenders, but top runner Illinois joined runner-up at Ohio State on Sunday, dropping ahead of Sweet 16, with a 53-52 loss to eighth champion Loyola Chicago. Meanwhile, No. 9 Wisconsin seed also left the left stage, dropping 76-63 to No. 1 Baylor seed.
There is still hope that the conference will be redeemed, but it will be difficult. Seed No. 1 Michigan is indefinitely without the star Isaiah Livers because of a foot injury, and seed No. 2 Iowa is in the same region as No. 1 seed Gonzaga overall. If you can’t capitalize this year, it will be difficult to digest since the Big Ten now reach the two-decade mark among the national champions of the conference.
Winner: Syracuse’s defense zone moves Orange forward
Orange confused West Virginia in the first half, while the Mountaineers dug a 14-point hole with 11 turnovers and only 29 points in the first half. Eventually, West Virginia found its coup and took a brief lead. But Syracuse strengthened and closed a 75-72 victory to reach his seventh Sweet 16 in the last 12 NCAA tournaments. There is something about the patented zone of this program that is difficult for opponents to deal with in a short time. With Buddy Boeheim playing 3 points and his father, Jim, distributing the wisdom gained through a life in the sport, this team is exceeding expectations after just sneaking into Big Dance.