The Salt Lake City Region of March Madness advances the coaching tree.
It seems fitting that the two coaches advancing to the Sweet 16 are former coworkers but lifelong friends. The storyline of Salt Lake City was that Mark Few’s Gonzaga was playing at the same site as his former assistant, Tommy Lloyd. These two coaches have something to prove. Gonzaga cruised through, beating 12-seed McNeese 86-65 and then taking down McCullar-less 4-seed Kansas 89-68. Gonzaga has a big test in the Sweet 16 as it tries to take down 1-seed Purdue. Arizona, on the other hand, had its struggles in both games. The team got past 10-seed Nevada 63-60 and then separated a bit from 7-seed Dayton 78-68. If this team continues to strengthen, it could be in the final four.
Salt Lake City Region Most Outstanding Player
Caleb Love, Arizona
Caleb Love had a parting of ways last year with North Carolina. After the team struggles, Love has grown into his new position on the Wildcats this year. Being the Pac-12 Player of the Year, he has had continued success in the NCAA Tournament. Love has become someone his teammates can lean on as he is a consistent scorer, sets up his teammates, and helps where he can. He has continued to put up points and keep Arizona in despite his struggles. With his experience, Love has become a leader for his team.
Salt Lake City Region First Team
G: Caleb Love, Arizona – 2 GP (18.5 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 5.0 APG, 1.5 SPG, 1.0 BPG)
F: Anton Watson, Gonzaga – 2 GP (17.0 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 5.0 APG, 1.5 SPG, 1.0 BPG, 63.63 FG%)
F: KJ Adams, Kansas – 2 GP (15.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 3.5 APG 60.0 3p%, 60.0 FG%)
F: Graham Ike, Gonzaga – 2 GP (15.5 PPG, 9.5 RPG 76.47 FG%)
C: Hunter Dickinson, Kansas – 2 GP (17.0 PPG, 12.5 RPG, 4.5 APG, 1.0 SPG, 2.0 BPG, 51.72 FG%)
3 Takeaways
#1: Mark Few dominates the first weekend
Mark Few is a staple of the NCAA Tournament with his Gonzaga squad. Since becoming the head coach in 1999, Few has been to every NCAA Tournament and had eight 30+ win seasons. However, he has not gotten the elusive national title, falling short in 2020-2021 with a 31-1 record. This will be Few’s first time in a few years where he doesn’t have Timme to take over a game. Ike has done an excellent job, but this team is not the one viewers are used to seeing. Nembhard hasn’t lived up to expectations, however, Gonzaga is a well rounded time. The time made it to the Championship and fell short to Saint Mary’s. Gaining more experience, Few’s coaching ability remains impressive as he advances again into the second weekend of March Madness. While seeking a title, and anything can happen, he coaches his team and works to create a cohesive team year after year.
#2: Tommy Lloyd bounces back
After the March Madness Championship run in 2021 with Gonzaga, Mark Few had a job offer to leave but chose to stay. This year, Tommy Lloyd left Gonzaga for a job in Arizona. Lloyd brought the same culture to his team. The Wildcats made it to the Sweet 16 in their first year, the second bounced in the first round by 15-seed Princeton, and they are heading back to the Sweet 16 this year. Lloyd continues to mirror Gonzaga’s success. This Wildcat team is impressive and has all the right pieces. This team has length, talent, and a strong defense. If Lloyd can get his team to focus on its identity and play their game, this team could easily go to the final weekend.
#3: The bracket was overly chalk
The cliche, “I can’t look away. It’s like a train crash,” is part of why so many people watch the March Madness. While most people have a team or two that they root for in college basketball, few want the upsets. On the first day, the upsets included 14-seed Oakland and Gohlke, the 3-point machine. 11-seed Duquesne is taking down BYU, and 11-seed Oregon’s Jermaine Couisnard is dropping 40 points. On day two, 13-seed Yale stunned Auburn, this year’s darling 12-seed James Madison beat Wisconsin, 12-seed Grand Canyon took down the WCC champion Saint Mary’s, and the massive offensive game of 10-seed Colorado beaten 7-seed Florida 102-100. However, we got into the weekend, and the upsets stopped coming one by one. That did not happen in Salt Lake City. The lone “upset” came from Gonzaga beating KU.
Lookahead for Arizona
Arizona gets to face off against an excellent Clemson team. A Clemson team that has beaten New Mexico and Baylor, both teams struggled offensively, especially from 3-point range. This is not where Arizona shines, so they should be able to get past the Tigers team. Tommy Lloyd has the more prominent players, but it will come down to Love and guard play to help open up the big men. If Arizona makes it to the Elite 8, the Wildcats will face off against either Alabama or North Carolina. Both of these teams have their pros and cons. Alabama can light up the scoreboard but has struggled to create stops. The game the NCAA Tournament wants is for Caleb Love to face off against his former team, North Carolina. UNC is a well-rounded team, and it won’t be easy to get past. However, if the Wildcat defense steps up and causes turnovers, it can run away with it. The Wildcats aren’t big on taking 3-pointers, and it could be a big issue if the defensive plans for its opponents involve clogging up the lane. Tommy Lloyd has his work cut out for him.
Lookahead for Gonzaga
Speaking of a difficult road and having his work cut out for him, Mark Few goes up against Matt Painter and Purdue. This game seems to favor Purdue in most aspects. Stopping Zach Edey will be the focus, but doing that will not be enough. The team will face Tennessee or Creighton if the Bulldogs can get past the Boilermakers. Both of these matchups will give the Bulldogs fits. These teams’ guard play and defenses will likely be the end of Gonzaga’s NCAA Tournament run.