March Madness – Saturday. A #1 falls and the Double Dicks do it again!

The St. Peter’s Peacocks, the team I call the Double Dicks, are going to the sweet sixteen. After their upset of Kentucky, they followed up with a win over Murray State, another team from Kentucky, which came into the game with a 31-2 record and a 21-game winning streak. This is only the third time in history that a #15 seed has made it to the round of 16.


Baylor became the first #1 to fall.

As you undoubtedly know, they are the defending national champions and started this year with fifteen consecutive wins and a number one standing in the polls. They seemed on their way to defending their title, but it all fell apart when they made a road trip to Kansas, where they were absolutely humbled, scoring only 21 in the first half on their way to an 83-59 curb-stomping. They have not been the same since. They failed to lead the conference in the regular season, then failed again in the post-season conference tournament.

They almost pulled off today’s game against eighth-seeded North Carolina by overcoming a massive deficit, only to fall in overtime, but they were outplayed. They were out-rebounded 47-38, and shot only 35% from the field, including only 24% from beyond the pale. Baylor did force an absolute shit-ton of UNC turnovers, which created plenty of opportunities, but they typically sped down the court and missed the shots. It’s astounding that they were able to create 81 shots, compared to only 57 for UNC, but games are won by making shots, not taking them. Basketball is a complex and demanding game that requires quick thinking, a variety of great athletic abilities and great team strategy, but none of that does any good if you can’t get the ball in that hole.


#3 Tennessee was overwhelmed by a tremendous second half rally by #11 Michigan. Michigan started this tournament with a mediocre 18-14 record, the worst W-L record in the tournament, but as Sagarin points out, they play the toughest schedule in America, so they are no strangers to the kind of stiff competition encountered in March Madness. This marks the fifth consecutive year in which they have made the Sweet Sixteen. No team has a longer streak.


#1 Gonzaga looked very vulnerable when they took a ten-point halftime deficit to the locker room, but they came back to defeat #9 Memphis.

Saturday’s scoreboard here.