The NCAA Tournament is down to a Sweet 16 void of mid-majors for the second straight season
UConn has shooters and slashers, its offense an array of moving parts all in synch. The central cog is big man Tarris Reed Jr. The 6-foot-11, 265-pound senior has been punishing opposing teams at a record rate, giving the Huskies a huge inside advantage that they're more than happy to take advantage of as they climb through the NCAA Tournament bracket.
“This guy's a total monster and today he was a real grizzly bear,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said after Reed opened the NCAA Tournament with 31 points and 27 rebounds against Furman. The NCAA Tournament is down to a Sweet 16 void of mid-majors for the second straight season. NIL and the transfer portal have played significant roles in the recent downturn in March Madness upsets. Being a bully has also helped. One of the biggest advantages power-conference programs have over mid-majors is their heft, and they've been throwing it around a lot more. Power conferences have gone 27-4 against mid-majors in this year's bracket, outscoring them by an average of 7.7 points in the paint. Florida had the largest margin inside, punishing Prairie View A&M by a whopping 64-10 in the paint for a 114-55 win — the second-largest margin of victory in NCAA Tournament history. Arkansas also scored 64 paint points in its opening 97-78 win over Hawaii. Power programs have grabbed 9.3 more rebounds per game against mid-majors, topped by Illinois' 48-25 advantage in its 105-70 blowout of Penn. The bigger programs also are averaging 12.1 offensive rebounds and 13.1 second-chance points against mid-majors. Illinois had 29 second-chance points on 20 offensive rebounds against Penn, and Arizona converted 16 offensive rebounds into 22 second-chance points in its blowout win over Long Island. In other words, the Sweet 16 got big. “I do think you’re seeing more of it,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. “I think the trend will go back to what it’s supposed to be, and that’s a balance between inside and outside.” The perimeter game had been the way to go, thanks to the success of Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors. College basketball often mimics the NBA and the Warriors' run of three titles in four years by virtue of Curry and crew's 3-point shooting trickled down. Based on the notion that three is more than two, college teams started spreading the floor — sometimes with all five players outside the lane — in search of the best shot from the arc. Villanova perfected the style while winning two championships under Jay Wright and Baylor used a similar tactic to win the 2021 title. But spreading the floor and relying on 3-pointers negates some of the size advantage power-conference programs have over mid-majors. One cold shooting night or the opposing team getting hot and that's it in the one-loss-and-done NCAA Tournament — as college basketball fans saw with the rash of March Madness upsets the past few years. Working inside-out creates a dilemma for opposing defenses: play the big man straight up or double team, opening up the perimeter game? “That was kind of the wave for a couple years, teams that sold themselves as playing a ‘pro-style’ offense and spread out, but when you play that way, you allow a lot of volatility to enter the equation,” Florida coach Todd Golden said. “When you have the opportunity to recruit bigger, stronger, faster athletes and play a style that allows you to raise your floor with high two-point field goal percentage and get on the glass, that just gives you a better chance to be consistently successful.” The proof is in the teams still left standing. Midwest No. 1 seed Michigan has 7-3 Aday Mara roaming the paint. West No. 1 seed Arizona likes to get the ball to 7-2 Motiejus Krivas early in games and force teams to make a decision. Illinois has the biggest team in the country, anchored by 7-foot twins Tomislav and Zvonimir Ivisic. UConn won consecutive national championships with 7-2 Donovan Clingan drawing attention inside and Purdue coach Matt Painter rode the massive shoulders of 7-3, 305-pound center Zach Edey into the 2024 national title game. “I think the big men are resurging again,” Izzo said. “Give Matt Painter and that monster credit for that.” Now Izzo has to face another monster, grizzly bear, or whatever you want to call him. Reed joined Wake Forest's Tim Duncan as the only players to have 40 points and 40 rebounds through two games of the NCAA Tournament, so stopping him will be priority No. 1 for Izzo on Friday if the Spartans want to reach the Elite Eight. ___ AP Sports Writer Larry Lage in Detroit contributed to this report. ___ AP March Madness: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
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