Red Raiders Defense Overwhelms Bulldogs
The 1 seed Gonzaga Bulldogs came in as the favorite to win the 2019 NCAA Tournament according to many experts, and they ranked #1 in offensive efficiency this season. However, there has continually been a concern their defense was not up to par. That showed against 3 seed Texas Tech. The Red Raiders offense was rated 31st coming into the game, and the Bulldog’s defense was unable to prevent them from putting up 75 points.
This game had a great back and forth to begin the first half. Texas Tech averaged seven threes a game coming into this contest and put up that in the first frame alone. The Red Raiders were at times sloppy on defense and while both teams shot well, Tech caused a number of turnovers causing the Bulldogs to match their season average in turnovers, 10. Gonzaga would finish the game with 16 turnovers.
Texas Tech came out in the second half with the same defensive tenacity they had in the first. As the game continued to go back and forth, there were some more than questionable calls, including the one below that changed the game completely when Tariq Owens blocked a shot and seemingly saved it inbounds:
How do you miss this call??? You have replay but it can’t be used to get this obvious wrong call corrected? pic.twitter.com/BS8pgLwLTm
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) March 31, 2019
Texas Tech would go on to score after this play and the momentum completely changed. Gonzaga would answer back a few times, and even bring the gap to within two points with 12 seconds to go. Davide Moretti would go on to make two free throws after a technical foul on Josh Perkins for making contact with the inbound passer out of bounds, followed by two free throws from Jarrett Culver on the granted possession.
“Instinctively I reached at it. Bonehead play. Something I’ll think about forever.”
Gonzaga guard Josh Perkins explains his technical foul on the Texas Tech inbounds play. pic.twitter.com/6XiilBI5ZV
— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) March 31, 2019
Jarrett Culver had a game. The guard put up 19 points, brought down five rebounds, and had three steals. Matt Mooney helped the Red Raiders by putting up 17 points, dished out five dimes, and had three steals himself. Texas Tech was able to shoot 39.1% from three after averaging 36.8% on the season. The most amazing stat has to be the fact that they were OUTREBOUNDED 37-29 and still found a way to win the game.
Gonzaga’s Rui Hachimura had a game-high 22 points and was able to grab six rebounds in the game. Brandon Clarke was a rebounding machine, grabbing 12 boards and putting up 18 points. However, Clarke had a game-high six turnovers by himself. Even with a rebound advantage of eight, Gonzaga only took one more shot than Texas Tech. Their bench was also outscored 14-3 by the Raiders. Coach Mark Few moves to a 1-2 record in Regional Finals, dropping this game to Texas Tech and Chris Beard, 75-69.
Cavaliers outlast Boilermakers in Overtime
In unequivocally the best game of the tournament so far, the Virginia Cavaliers were able to beat the Purdue Boilermakers, 80-75. The first half was electric, absolutely wild! Threes were flying and Carsen Edwards defined the game from the beginning. Purdue was holding their own and were able to take a 30-29 point lead heading into the second half.
It seemed that Purdue’s 4th ranked offense would win the day. The only thing is, while they play slow and are not very exciting, Virginia is 2nd in KenPom’s efficiency ratings in offense, a rating system the NCAA Tournament Selection uses to help seed teams. They also boast the 5th rated defense in those same ratings. The Cavaliers were able to go punch for punch with the Boilermakers, led by Carsen Edwards, all through the second half. Kyle Guy, with a taped up ankle, was trading shots with Edwards all throughout the half.
Carsen Edwards and Kyle Guy making it rain from 3?? pic.twitter.com/V3MoekJU7s
— Def Pen Sports (@DefPenSports) March 31, 2019
Virginia’s Ty Jerome stepped to the line, down three points, with 5.9 seconds left. He had hit all five of his free throw attempts up to that point and had posted 21 points at that time. Jerome stepped up to the line for the one-and-one and sunk the first shot. 70-68, Purdue in the lead. Then bricked the back end of the bonus situation…but Mamadi Diakite would have a huge tip rebound towards the halfcourt line. Kehei Clark chased the ball all the way to Purdue’s side of the court. He passed it ahead to Diakite and the rest is history.
DIAKITE BUZZER-BEATER FALLS
OVERTIME WITH A TRIP TO THE FINAL FOUR ON THE LINE pic.twitter.com/3Zf7f8dkSV
— Def Pen Sports (@DefPenSports) March 31, 2019
We got to see free basketball in what was already the most amazing game of the tournament up to this point. Carsen Edwards had posted 42 points, the only Boilermaker to score in double-digits, and of course, Edwards was going to get the ball in the final seconds, down 78-75. The ball was inbounded with just over five seconds to go, Carsen Edwards drove into the frontcourt ready to make tournament history, create his One Shining Moment…and turned the ball over. Absolute heartbreak in overtime.
Oh noooooooooo
Late turnover from Carsen Edwards and Purdue ? pic.twitter.com/2rukqDKmTO
— Def Pen Sports (@DefPenSports) March 31, 2019
The Boilermakers would foul Kihei Clark before the end of overtime. Clark was able to make the two free throws that would put the Cavaliers ahead by two possessions and seal the win for the Cavaliers. With this win, it is fair to say that Virginia and Tony Bennett have avenged their historic loss to 16 seed UMBC from last season’s tournament.
Carsen Edwards was remarkable in this game. He posted 42 points, en route to passing Steph Curry for most three-pointers made in the NCAA Tournament in a player’s career. Edwards hit 10-19 three-pointers, 14-25 field goals, and was a perfect 4-4 from the free throw line. The Boilermakers’ bench put up 13 points and grabbed 16 rebounds of the team’s 31 total rebounds. They were truly impressive and gave Purdue a chance to win. Edwards was named Most Outstanding Player of the South Region, the first player to win that award on a losing team since Steph Curry.
Virginia was led by Kyle Guy and Ty Jerome, as they have been all season. The duo combined for 49 of Virginia’s 80 points, pulled down 14 rebounds, and Jerome dished 7 assists. The difference in this game was the ability of Virginia to get to the free throw line and make them. They were 17-20 from the charity stripe compared to Purdue’s 7-10. They also had 10 more field goal attempts (65), but still made only 27 shots from the field, the same as Purdue.
The 2019 NCAA Tournament continues Sunday, March 31 with games between the Duke Blue Devils and Michigan State, as well as the Kentucky Wildcats and Auburn Tigers. Kentucky vs Auburn starts the duo of games at 2:20 PM EST.
