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March Madness: Five B1G thoughts after Day 1 of the NCAA Tournament
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Day 1 of the NCAA Tournament was pretty good for the B1G.
Five teams played and five advanced on Thursday, going 5-0 to start March Madness. Not a bad way for a conference to open up the postseason. After watching five games on Thursday, I’ve got a few quick takeaways from Day 1 of the NCAA Tournament.
Suddenly, I like Minnesota’s Sweet 16 chances
This isn’t necessarily to say that Minnesota will beat Michigan State on Saturday, but I don’t expect this to be the same lopsided contest it was during the regular season. Thanks to Gabe Kalscheur and Amir Coffey, the Gophers knocked down 11 three-pointers in the win over Louisville, more than double its season average.
Minnesota didn’t looked gassed at all and played at a high level on Thursday. Obviously, Michigan State presents a greater challenge than Louisville, but the Gophers are more than capable of pulling off another upset if they shoot like they did against the Cardinals. Plus, Michigan State seemed a little winded in its narrow victory over Bradley.
Cassius Winston can’t do everything all tourney long
Speaking of Michigan State, someone else is going to have to step up if the B1G regular season and tournament champions want to make a run at the Final Four. Period.
The Spartans received good contributions from Xavier Tillman (16 points, 11 rebounds) and Matt McQuaid (10 points, 4-of-6 shooting), But Winston was forced to do an awful lot on both ends of the floor, scoring 26 points in a tough battle with Bradley. With depth being such an issue, Michigan State needs more balance on both ends of the floor. Otherwise, Winston is going to run out of fuel.
Michigan looks pretty fresh
Yes, it was Montana, but Michigan didn’t show many signs of fatigue, despite playing in three-straight games in the B1G Tournament less than a week ago. The Wolverines shot 49 percent from the floor and held Montana to just a 33.3 percent clip. Four players reached double figures — led by Charles Matthews — and Zavier Simpson recorded 10 assists.
Michigan looked rested and well-prepared for its first-round matchup against Montana, and is poised for another deep tournament run. Should we have expected anything less from John Beilein?
If Maryland can hit from deep, watch out
My goodness were Maryland’s big men outstanding against Belmont. Sure, the Terrapins had a size advantage inside, but for Bruno Fernando and Jalen Smith to both post double-doubles and combine for 33 points and 25 rebounds is pretty impressive. Their size and strength in the post is a matchup nightmare for a lot of teams.
With Maryland’s inside game as an anchor, the Terrapins could have a surprisingly long stay in the tournament if they can knock down some triples and establish an inside-out game. They didn’t do that against Belmont, shooting just 27.3 percent from deep. If Maryland starts hitting, it could be dangerous.
Purdue still can’t hit the broad side of a barn
Thankfully, Purdue’s defense forced Old Dominion into a lot of bad shots on Thursday night and the Monarchs were even worse from the field than the Boilermakers. Still, the inefficiency is a major concern heading into a game against one of the streakiest teams in the country in Villanova.
Purdue shot 37.7 percent for the game, made just nine of 30 three-point attempts and Carsen Edwards was 7-of-23 from the field. Those aren’t great numbers. The Boilermakers tend to hang around because of their defense, but they better start knocking down some jumpers, and fast.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB