Living with What Might Have Been

Tipoff

Some counterfactuals are obvious. For example, what would have happened if Gordon Hayward’s half-court heave in the waning seconds of the 2010 National Title game went through the hoop instead of hitting just a little too much of the rim? Obviously, that would instantly become the most famous shot and upset of all time. Other scenarios are hard to figure out. For two former head coaches, Chris Mack and Mark Turgeon, thinking about what would have happened if COVID hadn’t canceled March Madness 2020 will forever go unanswered.

The NCAA tournament has no guarantees. That being said, the 2020 tournament would have offered both now-resigned coaches a chance at silencing the critics, if only for a little while longer. The selection committee never released a bracket. However, ESPN’s bracketologist, Joe Lunardi, released his final bracket and had both Maryland and Louisville as 4 seeds. They would have each been favored to reach the Sweet 16 that year. It is hard to imagine a coach with such recent postseason success on the hot seat just two seasons later. Unfortunately, neither coach had the chance.

The resignation of Mack and Turgeon will continue to play out over this summer as both leave premier job openings in their wake. Both Maryland and Louisville have the resources and name recognition to draw some of the top names in coaching. In turn, the newly hired coaches will leave openings of their own, and so the coaching carousel will spin again. The reverberations of what might have been will continue to play out in one long game of what-might-have-been.

The Mixtape 

The Field of 68 team puts out lots of great content each week. Let’s take a look at some of the highlights.

• College basketball needs more bad blood if you ask me. The WWE figured out a long time ago how important a heel can be to driving interest. There was plenty of it Tuesday night in Lubbock, Texas as the Longhorns and former Red Raiders head coach Chris Beard lost to the hometown team and new head coach Mark Adams. On Field of 68: After Dark, Rob Dauster and the Miller Brothers, Archie and Sean, broke down the revenge game as well as the other Tuesday headlines.

• Gonzaga is like that kid that finished all their required and elective courses for the major before their final semester and just needs to tack on a couple more credit hours before finishing their degree. Of course, that final exam is a lot harder than anticipated. It’s a National Title. This specific Zags team had questions about 3-point shooting heading into the season. On the Bulldog Broadcast, Dan Dickau looks into how this team has passed the 3-point shooting test and is poised to ace the final exam.

• Oscar Tshiebwe has displayed a unique skillset in college basketball, a tenacity for rebounds the likes of which the sport has rarely seen. Seriously, he collected more rebounds than the entire Western Kentucky squad! Tod Lanter of the Seat 14 podcast and Jeff Goodman discuss if his rebounding is enough to put him in contention for the National Player of the Year award. Jeff asks BBN to tap the breaks a little, but it is still very impressive to see what Big O has done.

Thursday Superlatives

Each week, we will shine a light on a team and an individual player that has captured the hearts of the world of college basketball.

• Team of the Week: Kentucky

  • Visiting teams do not walk into Allen Field House and come away with an 18-point victory all that often. In over 300 games played under head coach Bill Self, the Jayhawks have only lost 16 times. Junior forward Keion Brooks, Jr. was a hero for the Wildcats, scoring a career-high 27 points in the win.

• Player of the Week: Hunter Maldonado, Wyoming  

  • A good way to win this award is by 1) hitting a game winning shot, and 2) setting a career high in points in one of the best games of the season. Hunter Maldonado of Wyoming did both in the last week. First, he made a full-court layup at Air Force to win at the buzzer. Then on Monday night, he scored a career high 35 points in overtime, including a late bucket to take the lead, to knock off Colorado State. The 5th-year senior certainly put on the show and helped the Cowboys make a case for an at-large bid this March.

Box Score

Basketball can be told through the numbers. We take a look at some of the numbers from the last week of college hoops.

• 133,333. As part of his settlement to leave the team, former Louisville head coach Chris Mack will receive $133,333 per month for the next 4 years for a total of $4.8 million. (Louisville Courier-Journal)

• 43. On Monday night, Duke defeated Notre Dame, 57-43. That scoring total was the fewest points Notre Dame had scored at home since only reaching 42 points in a loss to NC State in 1982. (Bryan Ives)

• 21. Kentucky forward Oscar Tshiebwe has played in 22 games this season and has been the leading rebounder in all but one contest. During one game, against Western Kentucky, he even gathered more rebounds than the entire Hilltoppers team. (Jared Berson, ESPN Stats & Info)

• 8. In the wake of two high-profile job openings at Louisville and Maryland, Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl became a wanted man. Auburn’s Athletic Director, Allen Greene, heard the call and answered the phone by signing Pearl to an 8-year contract extension. (Jeff Goodman, Stadium)

• 2. In what might be one of the most misleading graphics of all time, Illinois men’s basketball proudly boasted about its place among the teams that have won the most games against AP Top 10 teams over the past three years. If you squint, you might notice that Baylor has that #1 spot.

Around the Rim

This section highlights some of the best writing on college basketball to hit the web. Consider these your extra credit assignments for spring semester.

• CBS Sports | Court Report: Ja Morant's frequent trips back to Murray State for epic pickup games helped Racers reclaim mojo

• ESPN | What's the most important remaining game in every college basketball conference?

• Busting Brackets | NCAA Basketball: Buy or sell Alabama, Michigan, UNC, Syracuse and Virginia?