No magic needed, just an outstanding NCAA draw

By Ken Davis

March 17, 2019

Think back to the days when the NCAA men’s basketball tournament enjoyed its explosive rise on the sporting scene, and Hartford played a steady and significant role.  The Big Dance staged games in Hartford five times from 1983 to 1998 and there were memorable moments.

Not bad for the Nutmeg State. It has taken 21 years for the tournament to return to the Civic Center/XL Center. But Hartford struck it rich. The Selection Show Sunday night revealed that some of the best first- and second-round games – along with some of the game’s brightest stars (players and coaches) -will be playing here Thursday and Saturday.

If you are a college basketball fan (and not just a UConn fan), you will want to jump on this opportunity. The No. 1 seeds – Duke, Virginia, North Carolina, and Gonzaga – are setting up camp in other locations. But the XL Center will welcome the defending national champs from Villanova, the team that upset Gonzaga in conferment tournament play (Saint Mary’s), a national coach of the year candidate (Matt Painter of Purdue), an outstanding matchup of the top two scorers in the country (Markus Howard of Marquette vs. Ja Morant of Murray State), and the top team (with the top coach and top player in New England) in Vermont. Also, there is Old Dominion, and Atlantic Coast Conference power Florida State.

Not bad, huh?

National college basketball writers immediately started gushing over social media, promoting the scoring showdown between Morant and Howard. The spotlight will fall on that game Thursday, a marquee showdown from the West Regional bracket. Morant is projected as the second or third pick in the NBA draft this summer. Murray State hasn’t lost since Jan. 31 and Morant is the top reason why. He averages 24.6 points, 10 assists, 1.8 steals and is making 81 percent of his free throws. His dunks are spectacular. And he knows how to entertain in addition to taking care of business.

Simply said: Morant is the best player in the country who isn’t named Zion (Williamson of Duke).

On the other side, Howard averages 25.1 ppg. ESPN says he is capable of “a Kemba Walker-like stretch” in the NCAA. We’ll have to see about that. Here in Connecticut, we all know that is rarified air.

Purdue led the Big Ten in 3-point shooting and Carsen Edwards is a Wooden Award candidate averaging 23.5 ppg.

If Morant, Howard and Edwards keep trending in that direction, the XL Center will seethe ball flying through the net at an alarming rate. It has been a while since that has happened.

Those opening rounds of the 1998 East Regional in Hartford saw North Carolina defeat Navy, Charlotte defeat Illinois-Chicago, Princeton defeat UNLV, and Michigan State downed Eastern Michigan. North Carolina and Michigan State won second round games to advance to the regional in Greensboro.

At the same time, those of us in Hartford kept an eye on Washington, D.C., where No. 2 seed UConn got past Fairleigh Dickinson and Indiana to move on to Tobacco Road. In Greensboro, the Huskies knocked off No. 11 seed Washington 75-74 on Richard Hamilton’s historic buzzer beater. North Carolina then beat UConn in the regional final 75-64 to advance to the Final Four.

After the game, when UConn coach Jim Calhoun was done complaining about the Tar Heels playing before a home crowd, he went into the locker room and challenged Hamilton, Khalid El-Amin, Jake Voskuhl, Ricky Moore, Kevin Freeman and the others to start preparing immediately for the 1998-99 season. They came back, put together an unforgettable 34-2 season and beat Duke for the Huskies’ first NCAA championship title.

It’s all part of March Madness. For Hartford, the 21-year wait is almost over. Thanks to the NCAA selection committee’s gift on Sunday, the need for patience almost seems worth it.

Here’s the game schedule for Thursday (Games on TBS):

2 p.m. – No. 4 seed Florida State vs. No. 13 Vermont

Following – No. 5 Marquette vs. No. 12 Murray State

7:20 p.m. –  No. 6 Villanova vs. No. 11 Saint Mary’s

Following – No. 3 seed Purdue vs. No. 14 Old Dominion

An early thought on each team:

Purdue (No. 3, South, Big Ten, 23-9):The Boilermakers have been among the top programs in the nation under Painter but they haven’t reached the Final Four since 1980. The last time they played in the championship game was 1969. Painter lost four starters and a ton of production from last season but they came back to share the Big Ten title. Purdue has gone about its business quietly but that could allow the Boilermakers to sneak up on the NCAA field

Florida State (No. 4, West, ACC, 27-7):The Seminoles lost to Duke in the ACC tournament championship game but posted wins over Virginia, Florida, LSU, Purdue, Louisville and Virginia Tech (twice). Florida State is long and athletic, presenting a challenge for opponents trying to score against them inside. Leonard Hamilton has made a few visits to the XL Center during his coaching career. This has been one of his finest seasons.

Marquette (No. 5, West, Big East, 24-9):Howard grabs the headlines and will be the guy to watch against Murray State. But don’t give him all the attention or you will get burned. Sam Hauser, Joey Hauser and Sacar Anim all shoot better than 39 percent from 3-point range and can take advantage of the defensive emphasis on Howard. Turnovers have been a problem in the late stages of the season. The Golden Eagles are one of four Big East teams in the field.

Villanova (No. 6, South, Big East, 25-9): The Wildcats got off a slow start in their rebuilding process after winning a second national title in three seasons. This isn’t Jalen Brunson’s team. Jay Wright had to learn some patience in the early stages of the season after losing Brunson and two other first-round picks from the national champions. Phil Booth and Eric Paschall are the sparkplugs. Villanova won the Big East regular season and tournament titles. Wright has grown more comfortable with this team and that means they will play better than a No. 6 seed.

Saint Mary’s Gaels (No. 11, South, West Coast, 22-11):Nobody gave the Gaels a chance against Gonzaga in the West Coast tournament championship game. But Saint Mary’s put together a solid game plan and executed almost to perfection. The key was forcing the Zags to play a slow, grind-it-out game. That slowed the nation’s highest scoring offense into a 60-47 game, just what the Gaels needed to turn heads. Jordan Hunter and Jordan Ford will lead the Gaels. Coach Randy Bennett doesn’t get enough credit, working in the shadow of Mark Few and Gonzaga. But the man can really coach.

Murray State Racers (No. 12, South, Ohio Valley, 27-4):The Racers eliminated days of speculation regarding their NCAA fate by beating Belmont in the conference championship game. Turns out both teams made the field and they are capable of pulling upsets now, especially with Morant leading the way for Murray State. He had 36 points against Belmont and is capable of winning a game or two on his own in this field. Morant’s presence will add to the attention Hartford generates this week.

Vermont Catamounts (No. 13, West, America East, 27-6):Separate the lack of respect for the America East Conference from the universal understanding that the Catamounts can scare a team like Florida State in the first round. It starts with the overall record, the 14-2 conference mark, coach John Becker, and conference player of the year Anthony Lamb. NBA scouts have started following Lamb around and with good reason. He does a little bit of everything for the Catamounts and when he senses they are in danger he simply puts them on his back. He had 28 points as Vermont beat Maryland-Baltimore County (Virginia remembers them) in the conference title game. Lamb is a joy to watch. And Vermont plays outstanding defense.

Old Dominion Monarchs (No. 14, South, Conference USA, 26-8):Coach Jeff Jones has been around a while and had a 114-58 record in five seasons at ODU heading into this season. Still he found a few tears in his eyes after the Monarchs beat Western Kentucky for automatic bid from C-USA. This is ODU’s first time in the dance since 2011. Before the season, Jones learned he had a recurrence of prostate cancer. Xavier Green and Ahmad Caver led the way against Western Kentucky. Defense is the key as the Monarchs hold opponents to 61,2 points per game. But they struggle to score, winning three conference tournament games by a total of nine points.