Loading ...#1 Kansas, #2 Michigan State Survive Scary Night
#1 Kansas and #2 Michigan State appeared to have easy tasks on Tuesday night. Looking at Memphis and Gonzaga on paper, was a lot nicer in pregame that it has been over the last few seasons, when both teams were championship contenders.
What we ended up learning during the two slugfests ended up being less about #1 and #2, and more about unranked Memphis and Gonzaga. Both teams lost, but both played brilliantly and had a chance to win in the final minute.
The Spartans turned the ball over 20 times, and were saved by an incredible Kalin Lucas layup in the final seconds, but somehow found a way to survive. Kansas also turned the ball over 20 times, and won more than likely by completely controlling the boards.
All in all, that’s 40 combined turnovers by the nation’s top two ranked teams. On the other hand, the underdogs only turned it over 23 times. Of course, Memphis and Gonzaga were also outrebounded by a total of 27 in the two games.
Maybe things just went well for the Tigers and Bulldogs tonight. Maybe #1 and #2 were just off their games. Maybe Memphis and Gonzaga are unranked teams that should be ranked, and deserve to be ranked. Maybe this was just one bright spot for each team, where each played above their level and got a little help from turnovers, and now both will fall back into the team we thought they were.
In next week’s OSF Top 25D both teams might be ranked. Right now, both look like they deserve a spot in my bracketology.
