[collegesportsfanms]

2020 Postseason

We have 3 feature games out of this years postseason, so let's get to it.

3/17/20- CBI First Round -- (14) Duke (Dean Hoo) @ (3) Tulsa (Will Brown) -- A great game that needed extra time to be settled, but in the end, the Dukies prevailed despite shooting just 52% from the free throw line, and they advance to the CBI Quarterfinals.

Final Score: (14) Duke- 88, (3) Tulsa- 82 (OT)

3/19/20- NCAA South Region First Round -- (11) Davidson (Randolph Childress) vs. (6) Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- A bit of a shocker here, as Davidson forced 16 turnovers and shot 52.5%, as they put an early end to the Spartan's postseason, advancing in the NCAA Tournament.

Final Score: (11) Davidson- 99, (6) Michigan State- 85

3/23/20- CBI Quarterfinals -- (14) Duke (Dean Hoo) @ (11) Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- In a game that quite frankly should be an NCAA Tournament type game every season, the Jayhawks jumped out to a 15 point halftime lead in this one, as they outrebounded Duke 43-31, but had to hang on for the victory, advancing to the CBI Semifinals.

Final Score: (11) Kansas- 86, (14) Duke- 80

Now for the rest of the postseason recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 23-10, 12-4 America East.

3/20/20- NCAA East Region First Round vs. (8) Georgetown (W 73-55).
3/22/20- NCAA East Region Second Round vs. (1) Maryland (L 66-47).

What a season it was for the Hawks, who got a much higher than expected seed in the big dance, and even won a game! Another season or 2 like that, and Coach Ginsberg could get some job offers!

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 18-14, 10-8 American.

3/17/20- CBI First Round vs. (14) Duke- feature game, highlighted above.

Tough finish for the Golden Hurricane, who ran into a team that quite frankly has no business playing in such a low level tournament.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 23-13, 14-4 Atlantic 10.

3/17/20- NCAA First Four vs. Mercer (W 74-66).
3/19/20- NCAA South Region First Round vs. (6) Michigan State- feature game, highlighted above.
3/21/20- NCAA South Region Second Round vs. (3) Iowa State (L 66-57).

A gallant effort for the Wildcats, who got a nice win against Michigan State and actually led Iowa State for part of their game. Expect Coach Childress to have some offers in the offseason.

Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 20-17, 6-12 ACC.

3/17/20- CBI First Round at (3) Tulsa- feature game, highlighted above.
3/23/20- CBI Quarterfinals at (11) Kansas- feature game, highlighted above.

Tough to see the Blue Devils playing in the CBI for goodness sakes. A massive game that the CBI got a treat to be able to have, but it went against Duke who will definitely be looking to improve off this.

Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- 22-14, 9-9 Big 12.

3/18/20- CBI First Round at (6) Pepperdine (W 59-52).
3/23/20- CBI Quarterfinals vs. (14) Duke- feature game, highlighted above.
3/25/20- CBI Semifinals at (1) West Virginia (W 69-66).
3/30/20- CBI Championship Series, Game 1 at (8) Loyola MD (W 77-57).
4/1/20- CBI Championship Series, Game 2 vs. (8) Loyola MD (W 70-67).

What a run for the Jayhawks, who would have much preferred this be an NCAA Tournament run, but if they can use it and build on next season, all will be ok in Lawrence. Also, congrats to Coach Johnson for nabbing the CBI championship!

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 19-15, 9-9 Big 12.

3/18/20- CBI First Round vs. (13) Texas (W 63-58).
3/23/20- CBI Quarterfinals vs. (12) Rutgers (L 80-78).

Great season for the Horned Frogs, who almost got the 20 win plateau, but not quite. Now, Coach Mighty will be expected to duplicate this performance next season.

Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 20-12, 12-6 Big Ten.

3/19/20- NCAA South Region First Round vs. (11) Davidson- feature game, highlighted above.

Tough season for the Spartans, who still improved on last season and won 20 games, but they should be a legit Final Four contender every season.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 18-16, 13-7 MAAC.

3/18/20- CIT First Round at (4) Georgia State (L 74-71).

Tough game for the Hawks, who made their second straight postseason appearance, but actually declined from last season.

UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 27-11, 9-9 Pac 12.

3/19/20- NIT West Region Second Round vs. (8) Coastal Carolina (W 74-45).
3/20/20- NIT West Region Semifinal vs. (4) Northeastern (W 79-55).
3/26/20- NIT West Region Final vs. (3) Samford (W 76-67).
3/31/20- NIT Final Four vs. (4S) Virginia (W 83-77).
4/2/20- NIT Championship vs. (2MW) Buffalo (W 70-59).

Great run for Coach Shepard and the Bruins, who take the NIT with relative ease, although they only had to face 1 school from a power conference. In the history of this dynasty, we've had 2 postseason tournament winners, both in the NIT, and both from the Pac 12.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 23-9, 13-5 SEC.

3/20/20- NCAA East Region First Round vs. (15) Albany (W 86-82).
3/22/20- NCAA East Region Second Round vs. (10) UAB (L 73-64).

Again the Crimson Tide fail to make it out of the first weekend, and we kind of saw some signs of doom against Albany, as they trailed by 5 at halftime in this one. The corner that Alabama needs to turn now is making it to the Sweet Sixteen.

Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 30-7, 14-4 SEC.

3/19/20- NCAA West Region First Round vs. (16) Illinois State (W 87-78).
3/21/20- NCAA West Region Second Round vs. (8) Gonzaga (W 72-66).
3/26/20- NCAA West Region Semifinal vs. (4) UTEP (W 85-55).
3/28/20- NCAA West Region Final vs. (6) Florida State (L 95-78).

For all the dominance the Wildcats have had over the regular season (5 straight SEC titles, although 3 of them have been shared) the postseason has been a different story. Only 1 SEC Tournament title, and while they do have 3 Elite Eight appearances in the NCAA Tournament, only once have they been to the Final Four. It's tough to say about a coach that has won 138 games in 5 seasons, but if Kentucky doesn't reach the Final Four in the next couple seasons, Coach Hutt may be out the door.

That concludes the 2020 regular season. I am getting ready to go out of town for a few days, but when I get back, I will take care of offseason stuff.