March Madness 2020: What if...
Duke takes the court in 2018 for a practice for their first-round game at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. (Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press).
While players, coaches, staff, and fans alike are stuck in their houses quarantined for COVID-19, let’s put a white thinking cloud above our heads and ask ourselves, “what if we had March Madness this year?”
Article by Dave Nguyen, AKSM Sports
NEW YORK - This past weekend was supposed to be filled with the sounds of a bouncing ball on the hardwood and the endless squeaks of sneakers as teams would be vying for the automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament by winning their conference championship game. Around 6pm ET, schools and fans across the country would tune into CBS as they announced the 68 teams that made the 2020 NCAA Tournament.
While players, coaches, staff, and fans alike are stuck in their houses quarantined for COVID-19, let’s put a white thinking cloud above our heads and ask ourselves, “what if we had March Madness this year?”
This tournament would have epitomized what March Madness is all about because the 2019-20 season did not have a clear-cut, dominant team that stood out among its competition. So, let’s put on our thinking caps and speculate what could have happened in this year’s NCAA Tournament.
Teams that would have made a splash in the first weekend of the Tournament:
East Tennesse State:
Head Coach Steve Forbes had one of the best Mid-Major teams in the country out of the SoCon. The Bucs would have returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017, when they lost to Florida as a 13 seed. ETSU had five seniors on their roster that would have led an experienced group to a potential upset win in March Madness; Isiah Tisdale-the lone Buc who started all 34 games this season earning the SoCon Tournament MVP, Joe Hugley, Lucas N’Guessan- who led the Bucs with 198 total rebounds, Tray Boyd III- who led the Bucs in scoring with 13.6 ppg despite starting 12 of 34 games, and Jeromy Rodriguez. They won the SoCon for the eighth time in program history, making the big dance for the second time in four years, its 11th overall appearance, and the fourth team in SoCon history to reach 30 wins in a season.
Penn State
Pat Chambers, a disciple of Jay Wright, arguably had his best team since he started his tenure at Happy Valley. The Nittany Lions came under the radar early on in the season with non-confrence wins against Syracuse, Georgetown, Wake Forest, and Alabama. They had Top 25 wins against Maryland, Iowa, Ohio State, and at Michigan State, cracking the Top 10 for the first time since the 1995-96 season. Philadelphia native and Senior leader Lamar Stevens, who accumulated 2,207 points and First Team All-Big-10, would have led Penn State to its first NCAA Tournament in nine years and its 10th overall appearance in the Big Dance.
Vermont
For the third time in four years, the Vermont Catamounts would have made the NCAA Tournament after advancing to its 5th straight America East conference championship game. Senior Guard Anthony Lamb was going to be a name to watch in this year’s tournament, after he was selected to the 2020 Julius Erving Award Watch List, accumulating 1,933 career points, and was going to have the chance to give Vermont its first NCAA tournament win since 2005 when they upset #4 Syracuse as a 13 seed.
Liberty
The Liberty Flames were heading back to the NCAA Tournament after winning back-to-back ASUN Championships for the first time in school history. Head Coach Ritchie McKay led the Flames to four straight 20+ win seasons and had the chance to bust this year’s bracket after they defeated Mississippi State as a 12 seed last year.
BYU
The Cougars were having a great season this year with its marque win against #2 Gonzaga, helping propel them to the 14th ranked team in the country entering conference tournament play. Senior forward Yoeli Childs, who averaged 22 ppg in 9 rpg, and TJ Haws, who lived up to his family lineage in a Cougar uniform while averaging 14.3 ppg for his career, as former assistant coach Mark Pope had a chance to go into the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament in his first year as the Cougars Head Coach.
Teams that Were Final Four Contenders:
Dayton
One of the darlings of the college basketball season, the Dayton Flyers were the real deal in 2019-20. They were led by arguably the best player in college basketball this year in Obi Toppin. A projected lottery pick, the 6’9 redshirt sophomore was on the Karl Malone Award watch list, scoring 20+ points 16 times this season, and averaging 20ppg for a team that was ranked in the top 10 the entire year, as the Flyers only lost two games this season, both in overtime to Kansas and Colorado.
Gonzaga
Mark Few had one of the best teams in the country this season and would have had the chance to give the Bulldogs their first National Championship in program history. Gonzaga had one of the best offences in the country, shooting 39% from three and 51% from the field. Few led his squad to its fourth straight 30+ win season. Gonzaga would have had a berth in the NCAA tournament in every season since Few took over in 1999.
Michigan State
You know how the saying goes around this time of year, “January, February, IZZO, April, May”. Building off its victory against Zion Williamson and Duke last year to go to their eighth Final Four under Head Coach Tom Izzo, the Spartans were in prime position to cut down the nets in Atlanta. Michigan State won its third straight Big Ten regular season title led by Cassius Winston, who will go down as one of the best players in the Big Ten Conference after earning Second Team All American and First Team All-Big 10 Honors. Winston had his best year in the green and white, averaging 18ppg, and was looking to end his senior season with back-to-back Final Four appearances and ultimately, the Spartan’s first National Championship since 2000.
Kansas
Bill Self had one of the best teams in the country this season and arguably the favorites to win this year’s NCAA Tournament. The Jayhawks had one of the best defenses in the country limiting its opponents to 60.7 ppg, and outscored its opponents almost 14 points per contest. Led by All Americans Udoka Azubuike and Devon Dotson, KU was seeking their fourth Final Four appearance under Bill Self and their first National Championship since 2008. Due to COVID 19, they finished as the #1 ranked team in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
Kentucky
Interestingly enough, this was a Kentucky team that did not receive as much national attention compared to other John Calipari coached teams in the past. They were led by SEC Player of the year Immanuel Quickly, SEC All Defensive Team players in guard Ashton Hagans and Forward Nick Richards, the dynamic scoring ability of freshman guard Tyrese Maxey, who earned All SEC Freshman team honors, and Calapari earning SEC coach of the year. With a lot of the attention going towards teams like Kansas and Baylor hovering in the Top 5 of the rankings all season and the amount of Big 10 teams that were going to make the NCAA Tournament, Kentucky was playing its best basketball at the right time, winning nine of its last 10 games.
Florida State
In a down year of the ACC, Leonard Hamilton’s Seminoles won the ACC regular season title for the first time in school history. Hamilton was named ACC coach of the year for the third time in his tenure as Florida State’s head coach. The Seminoles had one of the better three-point shooting teams in the ACC, hitting 37% from behind the arc in conference play, as senior Trent Forrest and sophomore Devin Vassel earned ACC All-Second team, and Patrick Williams was named ACC Sixth Man of the year.
Duke
This year’s Blue Devils squad, depending on the right bracket, could have had a chance to make their 13th Final Four under Mike Krzyzewski. They had some good wins against Kansas, at Michigan State, and the lone matchup against Florida State at home, with some head scratching losses against Stephen F Austin, Clemson, and a 22-point loss at PNC Arena against NC State. They were led by ACC Player of the Year in Sophomore Trey Jones, who helped sweep rival UNC this year and will be remembered for his game tying jumper to force overtime in the Dean E. Smith Center, along with ACC Freshman of the year in center Vernon Carey. Both players also earned ALL ACC First team honors as Coach K would have had the opportunity to make the Final Four for a fifth decade (1980’s, 1990’s, 2000’s, 2010’s, 2020’s).
Baylor
Scott Drew led the Baylor Bears to new heights this season, obtaining the ranking as the number one team in the country a majority of the season. They had big non-conference wins against Top 25 opponents in Villanova, Arizona, and Butler along with Big 12 wins at Kansas and Texas Tech, and a home win against the pressurizing defense of Bob Huggins and West Virginia. One thing for sure is that Scott Drew has transformed the Bears men’s basketball program and now has set a new standard. What we will never know is if Baylor had the capability to make it to Atlanta in 2020.
Maryland
While teams like Michigan State, Penn State, and Rutgers received attention in the Big Ten this season, Mark Turgons’ Terrapins were one of the best teams in the conference and the country, staying ranked in the Top 25 a majority of the season. With six players playing a majority of the minutes, Maryland was led by one of the best guards in the country in Anthony Cowan. The 6’0 senior guard racked up numerous accolades in his career at College Park, including a First Team All-Big Ten selection and a Finalist for the Wooden Award National Player of the Year as one of the 15 best college basketball players this season. The paint was protected by 6’10 sophomore forward Jalen Smith who had numerous awards as well, including All Defensive and First Team Big 10 honors, a semi-finalist for the Naismith Player of the Year, and a Finalist for the Karl Malone Award, given to the nation’s best power forward of the year. If there was another team in the Big Ten other than Michigan State to end the conference’s 20-year drought, Maryland had the best chances to accomplish that feat.
Seton Hall
Kevin Willard arguably had one his best teams in his tenure at Seton Hall, who finished in a three-way tie for the Big East Regular Season title. The Pirates finished with a 21-9 record with close non-conference losses to #3 Michigan State and #11 Oregon before earning a big win at home against #7 Maryland. Seton Hall also had ranked conference wins against Butler twice, and at Villanova. Senior Point Guard Quincy McNight was the distributor of the offense averaging 11 ppg and had 161 assists, but the impact player for the Pirates was his senior backcourt mate Myles Powell. The Trenton, NJ native ended his Pirates career with over 1,900 points, averaging almost 21 ppg in 2019-20, earning the Big East Player of the Year award, All Big East First team selection, a finalist for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year, and was on the ballot for the Wooden Award.
San Diego State
For most of the season, there were two teams that were ranked in the Top Five on the West Coast. While many knew about the reputation of Gonzaga, San Diego State had a 30-2 season, earning the Mountain West Regular Season title and the number one seed in the Mountain West Tournament. Third year head coach Brian Dutcher was named USA Today Sports’ National coach of the year, as the Aztecs had their best regular season record in program history (28-1), led by junior guard Malachai Flynn. The 6’1 Tacoma, Washington native started all 32 games in his second season as an Aztec, averaging 17 points, 5 assists, and four rebounds a game this season, earning second team All-American honors from USA Today and CBS Sports, and First Team All-American Honors by Sports Illustrated. If Gonzaga and San Diego State matched up in the Elite Eight, it had the chances of two 30+ win teams battling for a trip to the Final Four in the West Region Final.