Sheer joy

The Paladins are dancing for the first time in over 40 years; Louisiana also punched its ticket, No. 1 seeds fell, awards were announced and more

Author

Mike Miller
March 07, 2023

Take a minute. This might be one of the last days you aren't inundated with wall-to-wall college hoops coverage. If you have errands or work projects, get 'em done now. Focusing on anything else might be tough for the next two weeks.

Let's get to the news.

1. Furman finally punches its ticket

For every glorious March Madness moment, there's an equal amount of March sadness. We celebrate the wins (rightfully so), but the losses can hurt.

They also can provide fuel.

Last season, with the NCAA Tournament in sight, Furman was on the other end of a buzzer-beater. This season, it left no doubt in the SoCon title game.

Jalen Slawson scored 20 points, including three baskets in an 18-0 run that gave the Paladins (27-7) a massive lead early in the game. And Mike Bothwell (16 points) kept hitting free throws down the stretch (12-of-13 overall) to hold on for an 88-79 victory over Chattanooga, a bit of storybook revenge for last season.

It made for an elated Furman squad. Not only did it bury demons from a year ago, but it also captured its first NCAA Tournament bid since 1980. As coach Bob Richey told AFTER DARK, it was the culmination of several things, not the least of which was ensuring Slawson and Bothwell returned to Furman rather than try to find success elsewhere.

"You realize, 'I gotta pull pressure off these guys. I gotta change the story,'" he told the Field of 68 AFTER DARK. "I know what everybody's gonna write about. What I did, was I told them, 'We're not playing to redeem a year ago. We're playing for tomorrow. A year ago has already been redeemed. Yesterday when we won the semifinal, it was our 26th win of the season. That's never been done in the history of the school. This today was our 10th nationally televised game of the season. At this level, that's insane."

By comparison, Louisiana's NCAA Tournament drought is only nine years, but the berth is just as sweet.

Themus Fulks scored a career-high 23 points, Jordan Brown added 13 points and 16 rebounds and the Ragin' Cajuns did just enough late to hold off South Alabama, 71-66, in the Sun Belt Conference Championship game.

It looked like South Alabama (19-16) was going to push for overtime, but Owen White's 3-pointer just missed, and Louisiana sealed it with two free throws. Isaiah Moore scored a career-high 33 points in the loss.

It's the Ragin' Cajuns' first NCAA tourney berth since 2014 and 11th overall.

2. Oh, you're a top seed? Watch out

It's been a tough week for most No. 1 seeds in conference tournaments. Of the 13 conference tournaments that have begun, six top seeds have already lost. Only two (Kennesaw State and UNC Asheville) won their automatic bids. 

That's not much consolation for Hofstra and Youngstown State, two No. 1 seeds that lost on Monday. But the context is important for the challenges they faced in their tournaments.

The Pride controlled much of the first half against UNC Wilmington before a scoring lull swung things just before halftime. The Seahawks (24-9) kept applying pressure and led by seven with just over seven minutes left when Hofstra (24-9) finally managed a few defensive stops and pulled even with just under five minutes left.

Both teams tightened up from there, with just one made basket in those five minutes, a Donovan Newby 3-point that gave UNC Wilmington a 71-68 lead. Tyler Thomas tied it a few minutes later when he hit three free throws with 19 seconds left, but that was as close as the Pride would get. 

The Seahawks' defense did their job in overtime, holding Hofstra to just two points and no made field goals en route to a 79-73 win. They will now face the College of Charleston in the CAA title game tonight.

Youngstown State, after gutting out a win against Antoine Davis and Detroit Mercy on Thursday, started slow and couldn't overcome a huge deficit in its 75-63 loss to Northern Kentucky. 

The Penguins (24-9), who boast one of the sport's most efficient offenses, had only nine points midway through the first half and trailed by 22 just a few minutes into the second half. Adrian Nelson (17 points) and Dwayne Cohill (16) helped spark a surge that cut Northern Kentucky's lead to four points with 4:44 remaining. (Cohill picked up two quick fouls during that surge and didn't play in the final 5:40.)

But Marques Warrick stopped that momentum in its track with six straight points. He finished with a game-high 22 points and will try to help the Norse (21-12) win their fourth Horizon League title; they also won in 2017, 2019 and 2020.

Other results to know: 

No. 9 Gonzaga 84, San Francisco 73An unexpected scoring threat helped the Zags (27-5) back to an expected place. Anton Watson's season-high 20 points enabled the Bulldogs to hold off San Francisco (20-14), setting up a showdown against league-rival Saint Mary's in tonight's WCC title game. Drew Timme added 17 as Gonzaga reached its 26th straight (!) conference championship game.

“We kind of have a respected hatred for each other,” Timme said. “We all play hard, and it brings out the best in all of us, and that’s what the game is all about. It’s kind of like a controlled rage. It happens between the two programs, and there’s no love lost, but at the end of the day, we respect each other.”

No. 16 Saint Mary's 76, BYU 69The Gaels (26-6) started fast, opening up a double-digit lead in the first half, and led by as many as 26 in the second half before BYU (19-15) started to make them sweat. And then they really sweated. Whether it was BYU's defense or Saint Mary's getting tight, the Cougars cut the lead to just four points on Dallin Hall's 3-pointer with 54 seconds remaining. But the Gaels answered with a basket of their own, then hit free throws down the stretch to cement the victory.

“I think we lost focus a little bit,” Saint Mary's coach Randy Bennett said. “They got some momentum, and (that) gave them some hope. We were really good for 25 minutes. We need to get a lot better at closing out things.”

Charleston 77, Towson 72Reyne Smith scored 20 points as the Cougars (30-3) pulled away in the second half for their third win over Towson (21-12) this season. It's their first CAA title game appearance since 2018 and the most wins in program history since it jumped to D-I in 1991.

Cleveland State 93, Milwaukee 80The Vikings (21-12) are back in the Horizon League title game for the second time in three seasons after holding off the Panthers (21-11). Tristan Enaruna led the way with 24 points and could reach his fourth straight NCAA Tournament — with three different teams; he played for Kansas and Iowa State previously — with a win tonight against Northern Kentucky.

More conference tournament results:

Big Sky: Montana 83, Idaho State 74; Weber State 70, Sacramento State 64Southland: McNeese State 77, Nicholls State 71; New Orleans 82, SE Louisiana 78Summit: Oral Roberts 70, St. Thomas-Minnesota 65; North Dakota State 89, South Dakota State 79

3. The Field of 68's All-America teams, POY and more

Here's a little something that'll go at the top of every player's Wikipedia page: The Field of 68's All-America teams, Player of the Year, Coach of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.

For those who didn't watch the video (and for those who didn't, c'mon. Dauster spent at least 35 minutes on it), the Field of 68 crew (analysts, hosts, writers) all submitted votes and the tallies resulted in:

Player of the Year: Zach EdeyCoach of the Year: Shaka Smart, MarquetteFreshman of the Year: Brandon Miller, AlabamaDefensive Player of Year: Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton

FIRST TEAM

Tyler Kolek, guard, MarquetteBrandon Miller, wing, AlabamaJalen Wilson, wing, KansasTrayce Jackson-Davis, center, IndianaZach Edey, center, Purdue

SECOND TEAM

Jalen Pickett, guard, Penn StateMarcus Sasser, guard, HoustonJamie Jaquez Jr., forward, UCLAAzuolas Tubelis, forward, ArizonaDrew Timme, center, Gonzaga

THIRD TEAM

Markquis Nowell, guard, Kansas StateKendric Davis, guard, MemphisSouley Boum, guard, XavierKeyontae Johnson, wing, Kansas StateKyle Filipowski, forward, Duke

These are 15 of the sport's best players and are a grouping of players that'll look very similar to the consensus teams once everything's said and done. 

For coaches, SIDs and players who read this and want to circulate the news, we'll also post the video on Twitter, and thread each team. For Instagram, we made graphics. So spread the news, and soak it all in. 

4. ACC, SEC, Big West hand out hardware

What's this? More awards, even though we already showcased the Field of 68's All-America teams, Player of the Year, Coach of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year? Yeah ... felt we had to show who the ACC and SEC thought were their best players. 

I know. It's a little incongruous, but the leagues insisted on their own awards. Dunno why the SEC insisted on eight players on their first and second teams (just have three teams and make it 15!), but anyway.

Player of Year: Isaiah Wong, Miami COY: Jeff Capel, PittsburghROY: Kyle Flipowski, DukeDPOY: Reece Beekman, Virginia First Team: Isaiah Wong, Miami; Armando Bacot, UNC; Tyree Appleby, Wake Forest; Hunter Tyson, Clemson; Jamarius Burton, Pitt

 Player of Year: Brandon Miller, Alabama COY: Buzz Williams, Texas A&M & Jerry Stackhouse, Vanderbilt FOY: Brandon Miller, Alabama DPOY Liam Robbins, VanderbiltFirst Team: Brandon Miller, Alabama; Colin Castleton, Florida; Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky; Tolu Smith, Miss State; Kobe Brown, Missouri; Santiago Vescovi, Tennessee; Wade Taylor IV, Texas A&M; Liam Robbins, Vanderbilt

The award train will continue this week, so expect to more of the same before conference tournaments hit full steam on Thursday.

Player of year: Ajay Mitchell, UC Santa BarbaraFOY: Lachlan Olbrich, UC RiversideCOY: Mike Magpayo, UC RiversideFirst team: DJ Davis, UC Irvine, Ajay Mitchell, UC Santa Barbara, Elijah Pepper, UC Davis, Zyon Pullin, UC Riverside, Lassina Traore, Long Beach State, Latrell Wrightsell Jr, Cal State Fullerton.

5. Where your squad?

My son has this book, “Where’s the Wookie?” It’s basically “Where’s Waldo?” but for a Star Wars fan. Pretty fun. And there’s one guy we can never spot, which makes me think the publisher made an error because we can never find the thing.

That might feel familiar to fans of bubble teams (UNC?) searching for their team in the latest bracket from our Fielding the 68 show. 

Can't find it? Maybe you'll have more like when the next show rolls around on Thursday at 5 pm ET.

Moment of truth

Biggest West Coast Conference title game in years? Biggest West Coast Conference title game in years. It almost doesn't need any extra build-up from me, but I'll set the stage: second-seeded Gonzaga (27-5) seeks its fourth consecutive WCC tourney title and possibly a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Top-seeded Saint Mary's (26-6) was the last team to beat the Zags, winning it in 2019. This season, a title could get them a Top 4 seed. So yeah, big game. (9 pm ET, ESPN)

Other games to watch (All times ET)

  • CAA Championship: UNC Wilmington (24-9) vs. College of Charleston (30-3), 7 pm, CBS Sports Network

  • Horizon Championship: Northern Kentucky (21-12) vs. Cleveland State (21-12) 7 pm, ESPN

  • Northeast Championship: Fairleigh Dickinson (19-14) vs. Merrimack (17-16), 7 pm, ESPN2

  • Summit Championship: North Dakota State (16-16) vs. Oral Roberts (29-4), 9 pm, ESPN2

Conn-quest?

Here's the deal. UConn is 24-7, is beloved by pretty much every statistical site and has won eight of its last nine games. Jordan Hawkins is scoring like a pro, the defense is forcing turnovers, and the Huskies seem to have recaptured that early-season mojo.

But if they make the Final Four — or possibly win it all — can the world handle an insufferable Rob Dauster? Yeesh. Bring on Cordyceps if that happens.

Subscribe to The Field of 68 on YouTube here and subscribe here to the DTF podcast.

Links as you hop off that eBike.

Thanks for reading The Field of 68 Daily! If you have a news tip or feedback, email us at [email protected].

And don't forget to listen to The Field of 68 AFTER DARK every night at 11 pm ET on Sirius XM radio, or watch it on YouTube and Twitter.