This NCAA Tournament continues to be incredible theater! UCLA and Syracuse, 2 elite programs, are now both in the Sweet 16. Nothing crazy about that, right? Well, what if I told you they were both 11-seeds entering the tournament?

Meanwhile, the Pac-12 has 4 teams in the Sweet 16. The Big Ten has 1. The SEC placed its 2 best teams this year — Alabama and Arkansas — into the Sweet 16, too.

So, what should we take away from Monday’s games? (And how weird was it to have games on a Monday, right?) Let’s break down both SEC contests and some other notable results from Indiana:

SEC notes

Michigan 86, LSU 78

LSU’s inability to get defensive stops came back to haunt it in this game. The Tigers were outscored 26-15 in the final 10 minutes of a game they controlled for most of the first 30 minutes.

This was perhaps the last game in a Tiger uniform for star freshman Cam Thomas, but he went out in style. He scored 30 points and started out hot. At one point, he had 12 points when Michigan as a team only had 12 points:

https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1374140081590571011

It might also have been the final games for Trendon Watford, Darius Days and Javonte Smart. They’ll have big decisions to make this offseason.

The big thing coach Will Wade needs to focus on will be finding a way to get more out of his team defensively in 2021-22. If this team can’t figure out how to get some stops in key situations, there will be a limit to how far it can go in the postseason.

Alabama 96, Maryland 77

I’ve said for weeks, and coach Nate Oats has, too, that Alabama doesn’t need to be hot from beyond the 3-point arc to win basketball games. In fact, the Tide have won more games this year because of their defense than their hot shooting.

But, on Monday night against an overmatched Maryland team, the Tide looked more like the team that made an SEC-record 23 3s against LSU earlier this year. Alabama absolutely dominated from opening tipoff to final buzzer in this one.

Against the Terps, the Tide made 16 of their 33 attempts from long range, setting a school record for most 3s in an NCAA Tournament game. Jaden Shackelford (21 points) and John Petty Jr. (20 points) combined for 9 of those 3s as they snapped out of their shooting slumps.

But, Jahvon Quinerly was the start once again for the Tide. He posted 14 points and 11 assists off the bench. He also had 2 3s, including this one late that drew a technical foul for his trash talking:

Still, though, even Maryland coach Mark Turgeon knew that Quinerly was the key to Alabama’s offense on Monday night:

You need a great point guard to win the NCAA Tournament. Quinerly is showing, thus far, that he’s up to that task. Now, we’ll see if he can keep it going.

The Tide play against UCLA, an 11-seed (but still a dangerous team) on Sunday in the Sweet 16. Alabama will need to stay hot from the floor to advance to the Elite 8.

Other notes

B1G woes continue

The Big Ten is sending 1 measly team to the Sweet 16. This comes after the conference got 9 teams into the field of 68 teams. But, after Iowa and Maryland lost on Monday, Michigan is the lone wolf from the B1G to make the Sweet 16.

Here’s a breakdown of how each Big Ten team has fared:

  • 1-seed Michigan (advanced to Sweet 16)
  • 1-seed Illinois (lost to Loyola-Chicago in Round 2)
  • 2-seed Ohio State (lost to 15-seed Oral Roberts in Round 1)
  • 2-seed Iowa (lost to 7-seed Oregon in Round 2)
  • 4-seed Purdue (lost to 13-seed North Texas in Round 1)
  • 9-seed Wisconsin (lost to 1-seed Baylor in Round 2)
  • 10-seed Maryland (lost to 2-seed Alabama in Round 2)
  • 10-seed Rutgers (lost to 2-seed Houston in Round 2)
  • 11-seed Michigan State (lost to 11-seed UCLA in First Four)

Ouch. That’s not a good showing for a conference many called the best in college basketball this season. One team in the Sweet 16? That’s, frankly, flat-out embarrassing. Meanwhile, the Pac-12 put 4 of its 5 tournament teams in the Sweet 16.

Gonzaga 87, Oklahoma 71

The No. 1 seed in the tournament looked the part on Monday, improving to a perfect 28-0 on the season. Oklahoma held a lead in the first half, but then the Bulldogs methodically squeezed the life out of the Sooners.

Big man Drew Timme had a big game, scoring a career-high 30 points to go with 13 rebounds. He is an incredible talent in the post:

His footwork is just so clean in the post. He was absolutely dominant on Monday. The Bulldogs are so dangerous because they can beat you so many different ways.

If Timme is off one night, Jalen Suggs can take over. Corey Kispert is one of the best shooters in the nation. Andrew Nembhard, a Florida transfer, is becoming the best version of himself.

What does this mean? Well, if this tournament is any indication, that just means they’ll lose to Creighton in the Sweet 16.

I don’t think that will happen with this elite Gonzaga team, but this March Madness tournament has certainly lived up to its name!

USC 85, Kansas 51

I mean … wow. The Trojans absolutely embarrassed the Jayhawks on Monday night in the final game of Round 2. That’s a 34-point loss for the Jayhawks, if my math is correct.

As a Mizzou fan, watching Kansas lose in the first weekend of the tournament is about all I have to look forward to after the Tigers lose in the first round. This year, the Jayhawks didn’t disappoint!

Bill Self has now lost 5 times in the Round of 32 and twice in Round 1 of the NCAA Tournament in 18 years at Kansas. Of course, he’s also made 3 Final Fours and won a national title, but we don’t need to focus on that right now, do we?