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march madness

Maryland, Arizona Advance to Sweet Sixteen from Seattle

by Carl Berman
written by Carl Berman

Seattle, WA –The second round of the NCAA Tournament in Seattle featured matchups betweenNo. 4-seed Maryland vs. No. 12-seed Colorado State followed by No. 5-seed Oregon vs. No. 4-seed Arizona.

In the first game Derik Queen scored on a bank shot from the side of the basket to give Maryland a thrilling 72-71 win over Colorado State. His shot came right after Jalen Lake had given the Rams a one-point lead with four seconds remaining. In the nightcap, Arizona came back from a 15-point first half deficit to beat Oregon 87-83. Caleb Love was outstanding for the Wildcats, finishing with 29 points (5-of-7 3’s) and added nine rebounds and four assists. Jackson Shelstad led the Ducks with 25 points.

Colorado State got off to a good start in the opening game, going on a 16-2 run to pull out to a 22-10 lead. The Rams’ Lake hit his first three shots, including two three-pointers. Queen kept the Terrapins in it, scoring 10 of their first 14 points, including two 3’s. Colorado State maintained the lead through the half led by Nique Clifford’s 12 points, four rebounds and three assists. They went into halftime with a 37-30 lead. Queen had 12 points for Maryland but didn’t see the ball much after he scored his 10 early points. Julian Reese grabbed seven rebounds for the Terrapins.

Maryland came back quickly in the second half and took a 57-54 lead on five quick points from Selton Miquel, a long three-pointer and a basket after a steal. The Rams came right back with six straight points, with a Bowen Born basket on a drive giving them a 60-57 lead. The Terrapins tied the game at 64 after a Rodney Rice lay-in after a nice Queen block at the rim. They then took the lead on two Resse free throws. Maryland extended the run to 9-0 after a short Resse jumper. Clifford ended that run with two free throws, cutting the margin to 68-66 with 1:36 left.  Lake then tied the game at 68 on a jumper. Reese was then fouled after pulling down an offensive rebound, making both free throws to give Maryland a 70-68 lead with 22 seconds remaining. That set the stage for Lake’s three-pointer and then Queen‘s winning shot.

Queen led the Terrapins with 17 points while Reese added 15 points and 11 rebounds. Clifford led the way for Colorado State with 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Lake added 13 points, making 3-of-6 3’s.  Maryland advances to face Florida in the Sweet Sixten on Thursday evening.

In the second game Oregon got off to a hot start, running out to a 19-4 lead and led 24-10, helped by 10 points by Shelstad before Arizona came roaring back.  They were helped by strong offensive rebounding from Tobe Awaka, who had a double-double at halftime. The Wildcats went on a 32-14 run to end the half to take a 42-38 lead into the break.

Arizona extended their lead to 11 points (56-45) before Oregon battled back. A Shelstad jumper cut the lead to 72-70. The Ducks had a chance to tie the game late, but TJ Bamba missed on a shot after penetration. Oregon got within 81-80 on a lay-up by Shelstad but Arizona was perfect at the free throw line, making six in a row to end the game.

The Ducks came into the game with their best free throw shooting team in the past 11 years but that wasn’t the case tonight. They shot only 12-of-22, leaving ten points at the line. That, combined with their poor first half rebounding, was the difference in the game.  Awake finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds for Arizona. Arizona moves on to face Duke on Thursday in the East Regional in New Jersey.

This article was written by Carl Berman, Managing Partner ofr NetScouts Basketball. You can follow us on Facebook, or on twitter.

We are looking for those interested in our basketball scout apprenticeship program. For information contact us and forward your resume.

Oregon and Arizona Head to Showdown on Sunday in Seattle

by Carl Berman
written by Carl Berman

Seattle, WA – The second session of the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Seattle featured matchups between No. 4-seed Arizona vs. No. 13-seed Akron followed by No. 5-seed Oregon vs. No. 12-seed Liberty. Neither game was competitive. Arizona romped over Akron 93-65.  Oregon followed that with an easy 81-52 win over Liberty.  The two teams will face off on Sunday in an anticipated game to determine who gets to the Sweet Sixteen at the East Regional in New Jersey.

In the opening game Arizona scored the first nine points of the game and led 41-31 at halftime. They gradually pulled away in the second half, outscoring the Zips by 52-34 to get the 28-point win. Jalen Bradley led the Wildcats with 19 points, connecting on 3-of-5 3’s, and added six rebounds and three assists. Trey Townsend added 16 points on 7-of-8 from the field with eight rebounds.

Arizona enjoyed a large size disparity of took advantage of it throughout the game. They used Townsend on pick and rolls as Akron didn’t have the size to defend him at his position. Arizona out rebounded Akron 53-22, including 15-4 on the offensive glass. They dominated the paint to a tune of a 48-20 point advantage The Wildcats had 21 assists compared to only six for the Zips. They also shot 12-of-25 on 3’s.  The game would have been even worse for Akron if it weren’t for Arizona’s 17 turnovers.

The second game was similar.  Oregon has had rough starts in quite a few games this season but that wasn’t the case today. The Ducks came out focused and raced out to an 18-2 lead over the Flames.  Jackson Shelstad connected on his first four shots, scoring ten early points. This game was similar in height disparity as well, with Liberty’s tallest starter being 6’8.  That gave Nate Bittle a big advantage in the post. The 7’0 Bittle scored nine points and eight rebounds at the break, as the Ducks took a 44-20 lead into the locker room. Shelstad led Oregon with 15 points, making 3-of-4 3’s, one on the final shot of the half.  The Ducks had a 22-13 rebounding edge at the half.

Liberty came out with a little fire at the start if the second half, scoring the first four points but Oregon came right back, scoring the next six points and the rout was on. The only question was the margin of victory, with the lead being around 30 points for much of the rest of the game. Oregon was able to use their bench more than usual as they were able to get their starters some rest leading into the Arizona game on Sunday.

Shelstad led the Ducks with 17 points, making 3-of-4 3’s, and added four rebounds and three assists. The Ducks enjoyed a 43-27 rebounding edge and shot 10-of-21 on three-pointers.

Oregon has been a very good team in defending the three-point shot this year. They are holding their opponents to 31.7% and are ranked 61st in the country. Liberty came in as the 5th best three-point shooting team in the nation at 39.1%. The Ducks’ defense dominated, holding Liberty to 8-of-37 (21.6%) from deep.

This article was written by Carl Berman, Managing Partner ofr NetScouts Basketball. You can follow us on Facebook, or on twitter.

We are looking for those interested in our basketball scout apprenticeship program. For information contact us and forward your resume.

Colorado State, Maryland Advance at NCAA Tournament in Seattle

by Carl Berman
written by Carl Berman

Seattle, WA –The first round of the NCAA Tournament in Seattle tipped off this afternoon with matchups betweenNo. 5-seed Memphis vs. No. 12-seed Colorado State followed by No.4-seed Maryland vs. No. 13-seed Grand Canyon.  Colorado State and Maryland advanced and will face each other on Saturday afternoon.

In the opening game Colorado State pulled off the upset, outscoring Memphis by 13 points in the second half to get the 78-71 victory.  The Rams won with solid three -point shooting from Kyan Evans, who hit 6-of-9 from deep, while leading the winners with 23 points. Jalen Lake connected on 3-of-7 3’s and added 12 points. Dain Dainja dominated inside for Memphis and finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds.

The two highest rated players of the game, Nique Clifford of Colorado State and PJ Haggerty of Memphis were not at their best. Clifford scored 14 points on 3-of-13 shooting, missing all six three 3-point attempts. He played a solid floor game though with eight rebounds, six assists and no turnovers. Haggerty shot only 7-of 23 (18 points) and missed his first seven three-point attempts before making one in the last minute.  Colby Rogers took up the slack for Memphis scoring 18 points and hitting 4-of-7 three-pointers. Colorado State rebounded better in the second half, cutting Memphis’s edge on the boards to 41-34.

Memphis got off to a good start and led the Rams at halftime 36-31. Dainja dominated inside, scoring 15 first half points and grabbing five rebounds. Colorado State stayed close with solid outside shooting from Evans (12 points on 3-of-4 3’s) and Lake (2-of-3 3’s).  Memphis outrebounded Colorado State 24-13 including 8-4 on the offensive glass. They also dominated the paint with a 20-8 margin. The Rams’ Clifford of only had three points on 1-of-5 shooting, missing his three 3-point attempts. Haggerty shot only 3-of 10 (7 points) but did pull down six rebounds. Rogers helped Memphis out with 12 first half points, hitting 2-of-3 three-pointers.

In the second game Maryland dominated and coasted to an 81-49 win over Grand Canyon. The Terrapins used their size advantage to dominate the boards. They had a 43-33 rebounding advantage with Derik Queen pulling down 15 rebounds and Julian Reese grabbing nine. Maryland dominated the paint to the tune of a 40-14 scoring advantage. Resse led Maryland in scoring with 18 points while Ja’Kobi Gillespie added 16 and Queen contributed 12 points. Tyon Grant-Foster had one of his best games of the year, leading Grand Canyon with 23 points, making 3-of7 3’s. Maryland connected on 7-of-16 3’s compared to 5-of-23 for the Lopes.

After a slow start Maryland came out strong and took a 20-point first half lead. Grant-Foster (16 first half points) hit a last-second three-pointer to cut the Terrapins lead to 42-28 at the break. Reese was tough inside for Maryland, ending the half with 12 points and six rebounds. Gillespie connected on two 3’s and had 11 points at the break. Maryland had a first half 24-6 edge in points in the paint and a +6 rebounding advantage.

This article was written by Carl Berman, Managing Partner ofr NetScouts Basketball. You can follow us on Facebook, or on twitter.

We are looking for those interested in our basketball scout apprenticeship program. For information contact us and forward your resume.