The Indianapolis Region of March Madness advanced a 1-seed and 2-seed to the Sweet 16.
This is so fun; after last year’s issues, two teams that got bounced early, Marquette and Purdue, advance to the second weekend of March Madness. Purdue cruised in its two games as the 1-seed, taking down 16-seed Grambling and 8-seed Utah State. Purdue became one of five teams to score 100+ points, but it was not against the 16-seed. Purdue gave the business to Utah State, winning 106-67. 2-seed On the other hand, Marquette struggled early but ended up winning 87-69 over 15-seed Western Kentucky. Marquette maintained its lead against Colorado, which came back late. This is a massive win for Coach Shaka Smart, who has been known to struggle to make it out of the first round and is now out of the first weekend.
Indianapolis Region Most Outstanding Player
Zach Edey, Purdue
Purdue’s Zach Edey is showing why he was named National Player of the Year for the NCAA. So far, he is averaging a double-double and set a record for having a 30-point and 20-rebound game. Edey is difficult to cover and has worked on his footwork and creating his own space. He continues to grow as a player. Edey hasn’t scratched a “heavy” load yet in the tournament. He joined a couple of stars in his first two tournament games this year. Edey joined Antonio McDyess (1995) and Blake Griffin (2009) as players with 50+ points and 30+ rebounds in the first two rounds of the NCAA since the expansion in 1985. That is some company to be in since both players went on to play in the NBA for 10+ years. Edey is on his way to hitting the goal of being an NBA player.
Indianapolis Region First Team
G: Kameron Jones, Marquette – 2 GP (23.0 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 1.5 APG, 45.0 3P%, 58.6 FG%)
G: KJ Simpson, Colorado – 2 GP (21.5 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 6.0 APG, 1.0 SPG)
G: Tyler Kolek, Marquette – 2 GP (19.5 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 11.0 APG, 1.5 SPG, 62.96 FG%)
G: Tristan Da Silva, Colorado – 2 GP (17.0 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 3.5 APG, 2.0 SPG, 60.0 3p%, 58.0 FG%)
C: Zach Edey, Purdue – 2 GP (26.5 PPG, 17.5 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.0 SPG, 3 BPG 67.85 FG%)
3 Takeaways
#1: Purdue punishes doubter
After two brutal years of being bounced by the lower seed, the Purdue Boilermakers are on a mission this year. Growing more mature, gathering talent, and retaining Edey has set up Purdue for a nice run—three difficult losses to a progressively worse team. In 2021, Purdue lost to, at the time, Conference USA’s tournament champion, North Texas. The 2022 season-ending was just as bad: Purdue loss to the Cinderella team that catapulted Shaheen Holloway into the Seton Hall coaching position and put everyone on notice about the MAAC’s St. Peter’s Peacock After that bone-rattling loss, things could only look up for Matt Painter’s crew, but there is one that tops them all. Purdue Boilermakers lost to the more experienced guards and a solid defensive plan to stop Zach Edey of the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights. The 16-seed FDU ruined the 1-seed Purdue last year. Matt Painter, this year, has already shown this team is on a mission and has all the pieces to win it all.
#2: Shaka Smart breaks the stigma
Since becoming a head coach, Shaka Smart has been a consistent player in the first weekend of the NCAA tournament. In his first season with VCU, the team went on to win the CBI Championship. His tenure with the Rams was capped in his second year when they went on a March Madness run to the Final Four. The team struggled to win more than a game. The Rams won two games in the NCAA Tournament during Smart’s time.
In 2015, Shaka Smart made a change and became the head coach for the Texas Longhorns. While here, his team made it to the tournament three times but never won an NCAA Tournament game. This includes his last year with Texas, where the team won the Big 12 Conference Tournament and fell just short of Abilene Christian. This was Smart’s previous game with the Long Horns as he took the job at Marquette. In his first two seasons, he had won one game in the three the Golden Eagles played in the NCAA tournament. That one game was last year after Marquette was Big East Regular Season champion, Big East Conference Tournament, and the team beat Vermont only to lose to Michigan State in its second game of March Madness.
This year, Shaka Smart has finally done it since 2011, the first time his team has made it to the second weekend of March Madness. The last time he did this, it was the Final Four run with the VCU Rams. With all this team’s talent, could the Golden Eagles make a Final Four run?
#3: Zach Edey continues setting records
Zach Edey set a record in Purdue’s win against Grambling State. He recorded 30 points and 20 rebounds in a game in almost 30 years. The last player to do this was Joe Smith of Maryland in 1995. Edey was impressed with this state line, with 3 points, 20 rebounds, two assists, and three blocks. He was also the first player since the 1980s to win back-to-back National Player of the Year. Unsurprisingly, he is catching the eye of the NBA Scouts. After testing NBA draft waters last year, Edey returned to Purdue, and you can bet that he has increased his draft stock. He has worked on the little things and has become one of the most dominant players in NCAA basketball.
Lookahead for Purdue
Matt Painter gets to play another tenured coach in Mark Few. The Bulldogs succeed in NCAA Tournament play but have never won it all. This is their goal, but unfortunately for 5-seed Gonzaga, Purdue is built for this run. The Bulldogs aren’t the same team. Gonzaga beat the 12-seed McNeese. Gonzaga then beat a KU team without Kevin McCullar. The weapons are more experienced, and Painter’s team is prepared to stifle Gonzaga and put them in difficult situations. From here, Purdue will take on either 3-seed Creighton or 2-seed Tennessee. This is where the Boilermakers face a higher difficulty. These two teams have solid coaching staff and players. I am excited to watch this game this weekend.
Lookahead for Marquette
Shaka Smart has a highly talented team that reminds me of a more talented VCU team. The good news is that this team faces off against 11-seed NC State. It is a game that this team should be able to win with its defense and ball movement. While the Golden Eagles look like the better offensive team, this could be a fun game. The size and talent favor Marquette. If the team were to win this game, it would face 4-seed Duke or 1-seed Houston. While I believe the Golden Eagles could handle Duke, the matchup against Houston would be an actual toss-up. On paper, it looks like Marquette has the edge offensively. In any case, Shaka’s breaking away from the first weekend is quite an accomplishment. This will be Marquette’s first time returning to the Sweet 16 since 2013.