Both DePaul and Chicago State had down seasons after the heights of post-season basketball last year. DePaul, after making the Elite 8 went (11-19) on the season. Chicago State went (13-19) so neither program did well, but it was not surprising that neither of hem were able to replicate the same success if they're not recruiting well. The key to these Chicago programs doing well is finding ways to keep regional kids home and getting a few gems. We'll do our best to keep Fernando Fischer at Chicago State since he's an alum for a while, even if they struggle for the next few years.
Is this the year Tulsa finally wins their elusive 3rd national title and get their coach Zac Foley a 2nd ring before his career ends? Will the post-season be wild or full of chalk in the Final Four?
16-seed Charlotte (20-15, CAA) toppled 1-seed Buffalo (30-4, ACC) in the East region. The 49ers were a First Four team that beat SE Missouri State (15-18, OVC) in the opening round.
In the same part of he bracket, 15-seed Montclair State (23-11, AEAST) beat Marquette (26-7, Big East) on a buzzer beater. They faced a 10-seed Ohio State in the 2nd round. (Ohio State advanced)
Some fun stuff, Gonzaga (28-8) was a 5-seed out of the WCC and made it to the Sweet 16 before losing to Clemson, a 9-seed in the West Region. It was the Zags first Sweet 16 appearance (and tourney appearance) in 4 years.
Longtime Tulsa assistant Douglas Greenlaw had only been with the Golden Hurricane and no one else in his 9-year career as a coach, so I went to look for a good program that could use a steady hand and chose Kansas. In his first season with the Jayhawks? They're 27-8 and in the Final Four. Not bad for the Zac Foley coaching tree. For context, Kansas had missed the post-season in each of the last 5 years and 6 of the last 7. Their last Final Four appearances came in 1932-33, so this was a big team taking a team of recruits who hadn't seen a winning season since 1951-52 and dragged them to a Final Four. Huge.
The other Final Four teams are 9-seed Clemson (1st time), 3-seed Coppin State (First Heritage League team to make a Final Four) and 2-seed Oregon (first appearance)
So it'll be full of interesting storylines and no matter what, we'll crown a first-time champion so that's cool. Clemson beat Tulsa in the Elite 8 to get here, btw, depriving them of their 10th Final Four appearance as a program. Would be crazy of Zac Foley assistant wins a title a year after leaving his boss and having as many titles as he does.
Western teams have not faired well in the tournament, which either means they're beating up on each other and we need to invest in them. Only 4 teams west of the Mississippi have won since 1935. Portland (1954) knocked off UCLA in an all-west coast final. And Arizona (1952) won one two years before that. Though besides those two programs, no team west of the Mississippi won a title since Pepperdine (1936) and Stanford (1935) went back to back.
This year will be another season denied as both Kansas and Oregon lost in their Final Four matchups. Clemson toppled Coppin State to claim their first national title.
Code:
1957 OVERALL AWARDS
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Player of the Year:
SR PG Mark Worthington Tulsa 21.9 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 9.7 APG 4.6 SPG, 0.2 BPG
Freshman of the Year:
FR SG Conrad Spangler Purdue 19.8 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 6.2 APG 3.6 SPG, 0.1 BPG
Coach of the Year:
Alejandro Cowley Coppin State 30 - 7 (11 - 3)
All-league 1st Team:
C JR Miguel Angel Campos Providence 17.7 PPG, 13.8 RPG, 2.2 APG, 1.0 SPG, 2.8 BPG
PF SR Shembari Camp Howard 16.4 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 6.0 APG, 2.2 SPG, 0.2 BPG
SF SR Roger Herrera Michigan 23.7 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 6.6 APG, 2.9 SPG, 0.2 BPG
SG JR Kevin Mcdade Tulsa 22.4 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 7.1 APG, 4.5 SPG, 0.1 BPG
PG SR Mark Worthington Tulsa 21.9 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 9.7 APG, 4.6 SPG, 0.2 BPG
All-league 2nd Team:
C SR Joshua Swain Yeshiva 20.7 PPG, 12.9 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.7 SPG, 1.7 BPG
PF SR Keith Esquibel Houston Baptist 13.8 PPG, 9.6 RPG, 4.4 APG, 2.6 SPG, 0.7 BPG
SF SR Mario Funches Portland 14.2 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 5.9 APG, 3.8 SPG, 0.1 BPG
SG JR David Shivers Florida 24.7 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 3.4 APG, 4.9 SPG, 0.1 BPG
PG JR Jeramy Lanier Buffalo 18.7 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 9.0 APG, 3.0 SPG, 0.1 BPG
All-league 3rd Team:
C SR James Brown Harvard 21.5 PPG, 14.4 RPG, 1.8 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.4 BPG
PF SR Xavier Bader Gonzaga 20.6 PPG, 11.2 RPG, 1.6 APG, 1.7 SPG, 0.5 BPG
SF SR Dolan Butler Oklahoma 15.3 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 7.4 APG, 3.7 SPG, 0.3 BPG
SG SR Reagan Moreno Florida A&M 22.9 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 4.5 APG, 3.8 SPG, 0.2 BPG
PG SR Michael Natividad TCU 15.5 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 10.4 APG, 5.4 SPG, 0.2 BPG
All-freshman Team:
C FR Elroy Garner Miami (OH) 15.7 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 1.3 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.2 BPG
PF FR Martins Larkin Ball State 12.4 PPG, 12.0 RPG, 1.6 APG, 0.9 SPG, 0.4 BPG
SF FR LaDavius Mullin San Diego 14.5 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 2.0 APG, 3.4 SPG, 0.0 BPG
SG FR Conrad Spangler Purdue 19.8 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 6.2 APG, 3.6 SPG, 0.1 BPG
PG FR Stephen Gonzalez Washington University 14.4 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 7.4 APG, 3.0 SPG, 0.1 BPG