JOURNAL INQUIRER / THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 2021 A11

No. 9 Georgia Tech (17-8) No. 13 Liberty (23-5) MIDWEST REGION: BREAKING IT DOWN Coach: Josh Pastner. Conference: ACC. Bid: Automatic. Coach: Ritchie McKay. Conf.: Atlantic Sun. Bid: Automatic. Tournament History: 23-16, 2 Final Fours in 16 appear- Tournament History: 1-4 in 4 appearances. Lst appear- No. 1 Illinois (23-6) No. 5 Tennessee (18-8) ances. Last appearance: 2010, lost to Ohio St. in the ance: 2019, lost to Virginia Tech in the Second Round. Coach: . Conf.: Big Ten. Bid: Automatic. Coach: Rick Barnes. Conference: SEC. Bid: At-Large. Second Round. Season Stats Tournament History: 40-31, 5 Final Fours in 30 Tournament History: 22-23 in 22 appearances. Season Stats Team Scoring: 74.9 ppg; 49.1 FG pct; 39.1 3-pt pct; 77.7 appearances. Last appearance: 2013, lost to Miami in Last appearance: 2019, lost to Purdue in the Sweet Scoring: 75.5 ppg; 47.4 FG pct; 34.9 3-pt pct; 72.7 FT FT pct. the Second Round. Sixteen. pct. Top Scorers: Darius McGhee 15.6, Chris Parker 10.3. Season Stats Season Stats Top Scorers: Moses Wright 17.4; Jose Alvarado 15.3; Rebounds: Blake Preston 6.4; Avg team margin (plus-3.8). Scoring: 81.1 ppg; 50.0 FG pct; 37.4 3-pt pct; 68.8 FT Scoring: 72.5 ppg; 44.3 FG pct; 33.7 3-pt pct; 74.6 FT Michael Devoe 15.1. /Turnover Ratio: 1.65: Parker (3.5/2.0), 97 assists. pct. pct. Rebounds: Wright 8.0; Devoe 4.3; Avg team margin Last 10 Games: 10-0. Top Scorers: Ayo Dosunmu 20.9; 17.6; Top Scorers: Jaden Springer 12.5; Keon Johnson 11.2; (minus-3.6). Best Win: 84-73 vs. Mississippi St. on Bov. 26. 10.4. Victor Bailey Jr. 11.0. Assist/Turnover Ratio: 1.45: Alvarado (4.1/2.0). Worst Loss: 59-65 at Stetson on Jan. 15. Rebounds: Cockburn 9.6; Dosunmu 6.2; Avg team margin Rebounds: Josiah-Jordan James 6.2; John Fulkerson 5.5; Last 10 Games: 8-2. The Skinny: The Flames have won 12 in a row, the fourth- (plus-10.2). Avg team margin (plus-2.2). Best Win: 80-75 vs. Florida St. on Mar. 13. longest active winning streak in the nation, and became Assist/Turnover Ratio: 1.23: Dosunmu (5.4/3.3), 135 Assist/Turnover Ratio: 1.20) Santiago Vescovi (3.2/1.9), Worst Loss: 120-123 4OT at home to Ga. St. on Nov. 25. the first team in ASUN history to win the regular season assists. 83 assists. The Skinny: Don’t shortchange the Yellow Jackets for the and conference tournament titles in three consecutive Last 10 Games: 9-1. Last 10 Games: 6-4. fact Virginia withdrew from the Atlantic Coast Conference seasons. Coach Ritchie McKay, who left Liberty after set- Best Win: 76-53 at Michigan on Mar. 2. Best Win: 80-61 at home to Kansas on Jan. 30. tournament due to COVID-19 protocols. The ACC champs ting the program’s then-Division I record for wins (23) in Worst Loss: 72-81 at Michigan St. on Feb. 23. Worst Loss: 72-77 at Auburn on Feb. 27. went 2-1 against Florida State and set a conference tour- 2008-09 to join Randy Bennett’s staff at Virginia, went The Skinny: No. 3 Illinois claimed its first Big Ten The Skinny: The Volunteers will be making their third ney record with 15 steals against the Seminoles in the back to Lynchburg after the Flames went 8-24 under Dale Tournament title since 2005 by topping No. 9 Ohio State. straight NCAA Tournament appearance and 23rd all-time championship game. Walking in the footsteps of New York Layer in 2014-15. After going 13-19 in McKay’s first year Illinois has won seven straight, six in a row over top-10 after falling to eventual SEC champion Alabama 73-68. City’s point guards past, Jose Alvarado fills the bill with a back (2015-16), they have won at least 20 games in five foes and 14 of its last 15. The Illini are big, fast, and Tennessee is led by the SEC All-Freshman tandem of 2-to-1 assists to turnover ratio:, an average of just under consecutive seasons. This season, Liberty ranks in the strong and a legitimate national title contender. Kofi Jaden Springer and Keon Johnson, the Vols’ top scorers. three steals per game and seldom comes out of the game top-20 nationally in 11 statistical categories, including Cockburn and Ayo Dosunmu both scored 16 points, both The Vols will be hoping for the return of John Fulkerson, a for rest. scoring defense (59.6, No. 3), fewest turnovers per game grabbed nine rebounds and both made key plays in over- senior forward who started all but one game this season (9.7, No. 5), and scoring margin (plus-15.2, No. 7). time against the Buckeyes. until floored with an elbow to the head in a quarterfinal No. 10 Rutgers (15-11) win over Florida. Coach: Steve Pikiell. Conference: Big Ten. Bid: At-Large. No. 14 Morehead St. (23-7) No. 2 Houston (24-3) Tournament History: 5-7, 1 Final Four in 6 appearances. Coach: Preston Spradlin. Conference: Ohio Valley. Bid: Coach: Kelvin Sampson. Conference: AAC. Bid: Automatic. No. 6 San Diego (23-4) Last appearance: 1991, lost to Arizona State in the First Automatic. Tournament History: 29-26, 5 Final Fours in 21 appear- Coach: Brian Dutcher. Conference: MWC. Bid: Automatic. Round. Tournament History: 6-8 in 7 appearances. Last appear- ances. Last appearance: 2019, lost to Kentucky in the Tournament History: 6-12 in 12 appearances. Last Season Stats ance: 2011, lost to Richmond the Second Round. Sweet Sixteen. appearance: 2018, lost to Houston in the First Round. Scoring: 70.0 ppg; 45.1 FG pct; 31.1 3-pt pct; 63.2 FT Season Stats Season Stats Season Stats pct. Team Scoring: 68.8; ppg; 46.1 FG pct; 35.1 3-pt pct, 68.2 Team Scoring: 77.1 ppg; 43.9 fg pct; 35.7 3-pt pct; 73.9 Team Scoring: 74.1 ppg; 45.5 FG pct; 37.5 3-pt pct; 72.3 Top Scorers: Ron Harper Jr. 15.4; Jacob Young 14.4. FT pct. FT pct. FT pct. Rebounds: Myles Johnson 8.7; Avg tm. margin (minus-1.2). Top Scorers: Johni Broome 13.9; Devon Cooper 12.2. Top Scorers: Quentin Grimes 17.9; Marcus Sasser 13.6; Top Scorers: Matt Mitchell 15.4; Jordan Schakel 14.3 Assist/Turnover Ratio: 1.22: Young (3.5/3.0), 90 assists. Rebounds: Broome 9.0; Avg team margin (plus-6.6). DeJon Jarreau 11.1. Rebounds: Mensah 6.1; Mitchell 5.5; Avg team margin Last 10 Games: 5-5. Assist/Turnover Ratio: 0.83: Ta’lon Cooper (3.6/1.8). Best Win: 91-88 at home to Illinois on Dec. 20. Rebounds: Justin Gorham 9.2; Grimes 6.1; Avg team mar- (plus-4.0). Last 10 Games: 9-1. Worst Loss: 51-72 at Nebraska on Mar. 1. gin (plus-9.3). Assist/Turnover Ratio: 1.23) Tyler Pulliam (3.4/1.5). Best Win: 86-71 vs. Belmont on Mar. 6. Assist/Turnover Ratio: 1.24: Jarreau (4.3/2.4), 107 Last 10 Games: 10-0. The Skinny: With their first NCAA Tournament selection in 30 years, led by former UConn Husky Pikiell, the Knights Worst Loss: 65-69 at home to SIU-Edwardsville on Dec. 18. assists. Best Win: 68-57 vs. Utah St. on Mar. 13. The Skinny: After stumbling to a 4-6 start, the Eagles Last 10 Games: 9-1. Worst Loss: 67-70 at home to Colorado St. on Jan. 2. realize an accomplishment they have been building up to for years. Now, the question turns to whether they can get have won seven in a row and 19 of their last 20 behind 6- Best Win: 64-53 vs. Texas Tech on Nov. 29. The Skinny: The 19th-ranked Aztecs are on a roll after foot-10 freshman Johni Broome, a first-team all-OVC selec- Worst Loss: 73-81 at East Carolina on Feb. 3. their 14th straight win, a 68-57 victory over Utah State in the first tournament win since 1983. During the Big Ten regular season grind, Rutgers demonstrated that it could tion. Morehead State beat back-to-back regular-season The Skinny: With a 91-54 win over Cincinnati in the cham- the Mountain West Tournament championship game. conference, and 2020 tournament champion Belmont in pionship game, the Cougars asserted American Athletic That’s the third-longest active win streak. Tournament play with anyone, most notably a 91-88 win against Illinois in December. But effort will be the key as the Scarlet the finale to snap a nine-game skid against the Bruins Conference dominance after losing to the Bearcats in the MVP Matt Mitchell and all-tournament pick Jordan and then again in the title game. Broome is averaging last two championship games in 2018 and 2019. Quentin Schakel have been part of four conference titles: two reg- Knights were outrebounded 44-19 by the same Illini in their 90-68 loss in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals. 17.7 points, 12.1 rebounds and 2.2 blocks with eight dou- Grimes was the AAC Player of the Year as well as the tour- ular-season and two tournaments. As one would expect, ble-doubles in the last 11 games. nament’s most outstanding player. The AAC Defensive the Aztecs are top 10 in scoring defense. Player of the Year, DeJon Jarreau, had a triple-double in No. 11 Syracuse No. 15 Cleveland St. (19-7) the quarterfinals win against Tulane. Houston has the top No. 7 Clemson (16-7) Coach: Jim Boeheim. Conference: ACC Bid: At-Large field-goal percentage defense in the nation at 37.5%. Tournament History: 64-36, 6 Final Fours, and 1 National Coach: Dennis Gates. Conf.: Horizon. Bid: Automatic. Coach: Brad Brownell. Conference: ACC. Bid: At Large. Championship in 36 appearances. Last appearance: Tournament History: 3-2 in 2 appearances. Last appear- No. 3 West Virginia (18-9) Tournament History: 9-11 in 11 appearances. Last 2019, lost to Baylor in the First Round. ance: 2009, lost to Arizona in the Second Round. appearance: 2018, lost to Kansas in the Sweet Sixteen. Season Stats Season Stats Coach: . Conference: Big 12. Bid: At-Large. Season Stats Scoring: 71.5 ppg; 45.2 FG pct; 31.9 3-pt pct; 66.9 FT Tournament History: 31-29, 2 Final Fours in 29 appear- Scoring: 75.8 ppg; 44.1 FG pct; 33.9 3-pt pct; 78.4 FT Scoring: 65.3 ppg; 42.8 FG pct; 34.6 3-pt pct; 76.5 FT pct. pct. ances. pct. Top Scorers: Torrey Patton 14.9; D’Moi Hodge 10.5. Last appearance: 2018, lost to Villanova in the Sweet Top Scorers: Buddy Boeheim 17.1; Alan Griffin 14.7; Top Scorers: Aamir Simms 13.3; Al-Amir Dawes 9.0;. Quincy Guerrier 14.4. Rebounds: Patton 8.1; Avg team margin (minus-0.3). Sixteen. Rebounds: Simms 6.2; Clyde Trapp 5.4; Avg team margin Assist/Turnover Ratio: 1.08; Craig Beaudion (3.3/2.0), Season Stats Rebounds: Guerrier 8.8; Avg team margin (minus-2.0). (plus-0.2). Assist/Turnover Ratio: 1.37; Joseph Girard III (3.4/2.0). 87 assists. Scoring: 77.3 ppg; 42.8 fg pct; 35.7 3-pt pct; 71.7 FT pct. Assist/Turnover Ratio: 1.04: Simms (2.7/2.5), 62 Last 10 Games: 8-2. Top Scorers: Miles McBride 15.5; Derek Culver 14.6; Taz Last 10 Games: 6-4. assists. Best Win: 72-70 at home to North Carolina on Mar. 1. Best Win: 66-64 at Wright St. Sherman 13.6. Last 10 Games: 7-3. Worst Loss: 68-75 at Fort Wayne. Rebounds: Culver 9.8; Avg team margin (plus-2.5). Worst Loss: 60-63 at home to Pittsburgh on Jan. 6. Best Win: 64-56 vs. Alabama. The Skinny: Cleveland State, which finished tied atop the Assist/Turnover Ratio: 1.14: McBride (4.7/1.8). The Skinny: Syracuse had a chance to take some of the Worst Loss: 64-67 vs. Miami. stress out of Selection Sunday with a win over top-seeded regular-season standings, came into the Horizon League Last 10 Games: 6-4. The Skinny: Historically momentum tends to be important Best Win: 91-79 at home to Kansas Feb. 6. Virginia in the ACC Tournament, but the Cavaliers pre- Tournament as the No. 1 seed and won three games to this time of year. In the midst of the pandemic, it’s hard to vailed 72-69 on Reece Beekman’s 3-pointer at the buzzer. reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2009 Worst Loss: 90-91 at home to Oklahoma Feb. 13. know what the Tigers have going or don’t right now. To The Skinny: Having lost three of its last four to end the Beekman was 0 for 5 from the field prior to that. Buddy when it scored an upset as a 13-seed over Wake Forest. end the season Clemson won three straight, had two can- Boeheim finished with a career-high 31 points against the Torrey Patton had double-doubles in all three tournament season is far from the end of the world, especially in the celed then lost two of its last three. With only one double- stout Big 12. It just could be the Mountaineers need a Cavaliers, a day after he scored 27 in a tournament open- wins and Tre Gomillion had two. Patton, the team’s lead- digit scorer in Aamir Simms, the Tigers are going to need er. The Orange entered conference tournament week near ing scorer, is one of eight JC transfers on the roster. minute to regroup. In WV’s favor is that it enters the tour- more offensive input to make a lasting presence. nament averaging 77.3 points per contest. After hitting an the cut line in most NCAA projections, though a win average of 82 per game in the 2016-17 season that figure No. 8 Loyola (24-4) against North Carolina State helped that case. No. 16 Drexel (12-7) has gone down (79.6, 73.1. 70.3). Coach: . Conference: Mo. Valley. Bid: Coach: Zach Spiker. Conference: Colonial. Bid: Automatic. No. 12 Oregon St. (17-12) Automatic. No. 4 Oklahoma St. (20-8) Tournament History: 13-5, 2 Final Fours, and 1 National Coach: Wayne Tinkle. Conf.: Pac-12. Bid: Automatic. Tournament History: 1-4 in 4 appearances. Coach: Mike Boynton. Conference: Big 12. Bid: At-Large. Championship in 6 appearances. Tournament History: 10-17, 2 Final Fours in 14 appear- Last appearance: 1996, lost to Syracuse in the Second Tournament History: 38-27, 6 Final Fours, and 2 National Last appearance: 2018, lost to Michigan in the Final ances. Last appearance: 2016, lost to VCU in the First Round. Championships in 28 appearances. Last appearance: Four. Round. Season Stats 2017, lost to Michigan in the First Round. Season stats Season Stats Team Scoring: 71.5 ppg; 47.7 FG pct; 37.2 3-pt pct; 77.7 Season Stats Scoring: 71.5 ppg; 50.5 FG pct; 36.8 3-pt pct; 72.3 FT Team Scoring: 70.7 ppg; 43.5 FG pct; 35.3 3-pt pct; 75.8 FT pct. Scoring: 77.1 ppg; 46.7 fg pct; 33.8 3-pt pct; 71.3 FT pct. pct. FT pct. Top Scorers: Camren Wynter 16.8; James Butler 12.9; T.J. Top Scorers: 20.2; Avery Anderson III Top Scorers: Cameron Krutwig 15.0; Lucas Williamson 8.2. Top Scorers: Ethan Thompson 15.3; Jarod Lucas 12.9. Bickerstaff 10.6. 11.7; Kalib Boone 9.8. Marquise Kennedy 8.1. Rebounds: Alatishe 8.5; Avg team margin (plus-0.3). Rebounds: Butler 9.2; Bickerstaff 5.4; Avg team margin Rebounds: Isaac Likekele 6.7; Cunningham 6.3; Avg team Rebounds: Krutwig 6.7; Avg team margin (plus-5.0). Assist/Turnover Ratio: 1.30: Thompson (3.9/2.6), 112 (plus-4.7). margin (plus-3.1). Assist/Turnover Ratio: 1.32 Krutwig (3.0/2.2), 82 assists. Assist/Turnover Ratio: 1.18; Wynter (5.3/2.9), 101 Assist/Turnover Ratio: 0.83: Likeleke (3.7/2.2), 81 assists. Last 10 Games: 7-3. assists. assists. Last 10 Games: 9-1. Best Win: 70-68 vs. Colorado on Mar. 13. Last 10 Games: 7-3. Last 10 Games: 8-2. Best Win: 81-54 at Drake on Feb. 13. Worst Loss: 86-87 OT at home to Portland on Dec. 10. Best Win: 84-78 at James Madison. Best Win: 83-74 vs. Baylor on Mar. 12. Worst Loss: 71-76 at Indiana St. on Jan. 10. The Skinny: Picked to finish last in the Pac-12, Oregon Worst Loss: 64-69 at home to William & Mary. Worst Loss: 76-77 at home to TCU on Dec. 16. The Skinny: The Ramblers return to the tournament for State won three games in three days to become a confer- The Skinny: The sixth-seeded Dragons came into the The Skinny: The Cowboys return to the NCAA Tournament the first time since they and their team chaplain, Sister ence champion for the first time, ending a four-year NCAA Colonial Athletic Association Tournament with a near-.500 for the 29th time with a No. 4 seed, their best since Jean, captivated the nation with their run to the Final Tournament drought. Coach Wayne Tinkle’s team clawed record before winning three games by single digits and 2005, after reaching the Big 12 title game before losing Four. Loyola won the Missouri Valley Conference their way out of a 16-point hole to beat UCLA in an open- making 29 of 51 of their 3-point tries. The Dragons are to Texas 91-86. They are led by freshman conference Tournament to secure a bid, but wouldn’t have needed it er, upended top-seeded Oregon in the semifinals and kept headed to their first NCAA Tournament in 25 years, one of Player of the Year Cade Cunningham, the probable No. 1 after a solid 24-4 season. They’ll bring the nation’s top Colorado from its first tournament title since 2012. It was two Philadelphia-area City 6 schools to do so, along with pick in the next NBA Draft. He’s been an all-everything tal- scoring defense and perhaps also Sister Jean, now 101 the Beavers’ first conference title game in 33 years, mark- Villanova. Tournament most outstanding player Camren ent while guiding the Oklahoma State attack with a team- years old, who has made it clear she wants to come to the ing the first Pac-10/12 team to win the championship Wynter leads Drexel in scoring, shooting 41.6 percent best 20.2 ppg.. dance, too. after being picked to finish last. from 3-point range.