By Andrew Koob | National Desk After a three-day break, March Madness is back with Sweet 16 basketball. With Thursday's games in the books, here's what stood out the most from an action-packed night in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.: 1. Marquette took note of the scouting report The Golden Eagles did their homework on Miami's offensive tendencies, and...
By Andrew Koob | National Desk
Marquette guard Vander Blue (13) celebrates with center Chris Otule (42), Jamil Wilson (0) and guard Trent Lockett (22) after their 71-61 win over Miami in an East Regional semifinal in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Thursday, March 28, 2013, in Washington. Blue scored 14 points, and Wilson led all scorers with 16 points. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
After a three-day break, March Madness is back with Sweet 16 basketball.
With Thursday's games in the books, here's what stood out the most from an action-packed night in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.:
1. Marquette took note of the scouting report
The Golden Eagles did their homework on Miami's offensive tendencies, and the attention to detail paid off quickly as Marquette jumped out to a 12-4 lead
just eight minutes into the eventual 71-61 win. In one sequence of many that illustrated Marquette's defensive dominance, the Golden Eagles emphatically repelled Miami on back-to-back possessions. After Marquette guard Vander Blue took a steal the length of the court for an emphatic dunk, Miami was forced to use the entire shot clock on their ensuing possession only to have Marquette forward Jamil Wilson block a Durand Scott shot that went back the Golden Eagles’ way.
2. Brad Stevens to UCLA?
A report from ESPN’s Andy Katz and Peter Yoon came in during the Marquette-Miami game, saying that Butler coach Brad Stevens is at the top of UCLA’s list to replace the recently fired Ben Howland. While the article didn't initially indicate if there is mutual interest between the two, it would certainly be a fascinating marriage. The Bruins look like they’ll lose Shabazz Muhammad, Larry Drew II and Kyle Anderson to the upcoming NBA draft, so a complete overhaul looks to be in order. Stevens, in his only head coaching job, has done a fantastic job, but inherited a 29-7 team that reached the Sweet 16 before former coach Todd Lickliter took the head coaching job at Iowa. It’ll be interesting, if this deal actually happens, to see Stevens’ presence on the recruiting trail in a new environment.
3. Miami misses you, Reggie Johnson
With the Hurricanes’ best big man shelved for the remainder of the tournament, Miami suffered heavily in the first half against Marquette, shooting just 21.4 percent and only scoring four of its 16 first-half points in the paint. The Golden Eagles' first man off the bench, forward Jamil Wilson, torched Miami with 16 points, eight rebounds and three blocks, playing inside and outside. Without the presence of Johnson, Miami didn’t get to enjoy the nation’s capital for very long.
4. March Madness commercials
Okay, after six days of watching March Madness, I think I’ve seen the same four commercials run on repeat at least a hundred times and it’s finally become annoying. We can only listen to preschoolers talk about the difference between fast and slow so many times, AT&T.
Ohio State's LaQuinton Ross, left, and Deshaun Thomas celebrate the team's 73-70 win over Arizona in a West Regional semifinal in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament, Thursday, March 28, 2013, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
5. Deshaun Thomas is legit
Currently listed as the 62nd best prospect by DraftExpress (a ranking that would leave him undrafted), Thomas has been dominant for Ohio State in the tournament. The junior forward recorded his third 20-point game of the tournament in Thursday's 73-30 win over Arizona, and has converted better than 50 percent of his field-goal attempts in each of those games. Thomas is the key to the Buckeyes' success and should be keeping opposing coaches up at night.
6. Ohio State loves the drama
First it was Aaron Craft knocking out Iowa State in the final seconds, then it was LaQuinton Ross with an NBA-range 3-pointer that sent Arizona home. With so many options to take that final shot, Ohio State is must-watch TV. But, after two wins off of last second 3-pointers, the Buckeyes will be looking for a less dramatic win on Saturday against La Salle/Wichita State to get to Atlanta.
7. Indiana fails to impress
For the vast majority of their near-defeat against Temple and throughout the first half of Thursday's 61-50 loss at the hands of Syracuse, Indiana struggled mightily to figure out their opponent's defense. Before hitting their last three shots from the field to end the game against Temple, Indiana was shooting 10 percentage points less than their season average. For the first 14 minutes against Syracuse, the Hoosiers had more turnovers (10) than points (9) and seemed to be unable to make offensive adjustments. Indiana made a comeback early in the second half against the Orange, but couldn't make that final push as Syracuse continued to have its way in the paint.
8. Lack of Zack hurts La Salle
In their last three games, the Explorers had been able to lean on the play of their guards en route to the Sweet 16 berth. But, with those same guards starting out an abysmal 1-of-7 from the field and Jerrell Wright (the Explorers’ only frontcourt player receiving ample playing time) getting abused by the Shockers’ Carl Hall, who was 5-of-5 with 10 points in the first five minutes, it quickly became clear how much La Salle missed hobbled starting center Steve Zack. The center was available for limited duty in Thursday's 72-58 loss to Wichita State, but hadn’t played due to a foot injury since March 2 and never got off the bench.
Syracuse guard Brandon Triche (20) elevates toward the basket as Indiana forwards Will Sheehey (0) and Cody Zeller (40) watch during the second half of an East Regional semifinal in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Thursday, March 28, 2013, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
9. Are Syracuse and Indiana color-blind?
It sure looked like it on Thursday, as there was a stretch that lasted less than a minute early in the second half when the teams combined for four turnovers on four consecutive possessions (two for each team). It didn't get much better from there, as the two teams combined for 32 turnovers in the game. The combined season average for both teams coming into the game was 25.5 (12.6 for Syracuse, 12.9 for Indiana).
10. Little La Salle shows grit
Swagger and confidence helped propel the Explorers into the Sweet 16, but it seemed to be lost in the first 25 minutes against Wichita State. Down 22 points (thanks to two 3-pointers by the Shockers to start the second half), La Salle went on a 10-0 run in just over two minutes to make things interesting, trying to regain that momentum. While the run didn't translate to a win, credit Dr. John Giannini's squad for not giving up, even in the face of such a daunting deficit.