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11 Tickets Punched So Far for March Madness 2021

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BY MATT DE SARLE

We know about Gonzaga’s dominance.

So let’s talk about tickets 7, 8, 9, and 10 punched for March Madness 2021.

Cleveland State Rides Emotion And Adrenaline into March Madness

If you like teams with even the equipment guy on the sidelines efforting energy forces that can force turnovers on defense, then Cleveland State is your team. They look like the best, most active and supportive bench in college basketball. It took a lot of tough defensive possessions to stop the momentum that 8 seed Milwaukee was riding into its semifinal championship game (on the heels of the triumphant comeback win against #2 seed Wright State). This Horizon League 1 Seed lost its first three games of the regular season before finishing 19-7 before the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. The team plays with a lot of effort. The Vikings do not have a center on its roster and have a balanced scoring distribution among mostly guards. Tre Gomillion is a fun player to watch, as he plays larger than his 6-4 frame. He averages about 50 percent from the field with 10 points, five rebounds and two assists, although as a guard he is not much of a three point threat.

Mount St. Mary’s Mounts a Defensive Effort to Bounce Bryant’s Potent Offense

As this championship game introduced both teams to America, ESPN’s TV crew built it as a battle between defense and offense. And defense won. Mount St. Mary’s controlled the defensive glass. And they stopped the nation’s highest scoring offense from getting in any type of rhythm. This team has some respectable size in the post, and lots of strength as is evidence of its NEC Championship performance. Mount St. Mary’s basketball roster fills out with a bunch of 6-7, 6-8 and 6-9 guys. In past NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament brackets, the NEC teams have won the 16 seed “play in game,” but have never won a game in the round of 64. They had some close calls, including a tight game that saw 15 seed battle 2 seed Villanova in 1994. The NEC also had some NIT successes, including Nerlens Noel’s Kentucky team losing at Robert Morris.

Oral Roberts Brings Nation’s Leading Scorer to the Big Dance

If you love leading scorers from 15 seeds like CJ McCollum going off for life-altering landmark performances in March Madness, Oral Roberts could be your team. Max Abmas is a 6-1 combo guard who leads the country in scoring at 24-and-change per game. He went over 40 twice this season. He might not have the NBA skill of a CJ McCollum, but his chance for one shining moment is as good as any mid-teen seed.

Oral Roberts shot under 30 percent in the second half of its tournament title game as it allowed 3 seed North Dakota State to battle back into the game.

Drexel Clutch Against 8 Seed Elon

The Drexel Dragons extinguished Elon’s Cinderella hopes. The 6 seed was clutch in hitting its free throws down the stretch to enter the Big Dance.

Click here to see observations about the first 6 tickets punched for March Madness 2021.

About the First Six Tickets Punched for March Madness 2021

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BY MATT DE SARLE

The first six tickets punched for the 2021 Men’s Basketball “March Madness” are revealed by their play on national TV. And I would argue that the “first four in” are more important than the “last four” bubble teams. The first four teams in were Loyola Chicago, Winthrop, Morehead State, and Liberty, followed by App State and UNC Greensboro. Liberty has won an NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament game in recent years, and the teams whose tickets that proceeded theirs are passing the eye test in a major way. Let’s recap.

Loyola Chicago Ramblers Return to March Madness

The Loyola Chicago Ramblers got a fortunate draw with their MVC Championship Tournament layout, but any team will be unlucky to face them in the NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament. Loyola made it look easy at times against this year’s bitter in-conference rival, Drake. Unfortunately for college basketball fans, Drake finished the season without its leading scorer and without its starting point guard. And so Drake put up a fight in this championship game, but Loyola Chicago capitizaed on every mistake that Drake did make. And so now Cameron Krutwig and a small handful of holdovers from the 2018 Final Four team returns to March Madness to defend its Rambling reputation. One of those hold-overs is of course coach Porter Mosier, who did not entertain the major conference inquiries that of course would follow his Cinderella run in 2018. This team is actually better on paper than the 2018 Final Four team.

Winthrop Men’s Basketball Marching in 2021

For college basketball fans nationally, this Winthrop Eagles team has already been a celebrated mid-major focus of fascination. And they didn’t let anyone down during their conference tournament. Center DJ Burns looked like a vintage Zach Randolph, rolling around his defender down low and dropping left handed hook shots easily. In a COVID-19 shortened season, Burns’ minutes and his production had both decreased slightly as compared to the 2019-2020 season. And so it was a great sign to see Burns especially carry Winthrop in the first half. However, this program is not about one individual. In fact, this team literally plays in shifts as head coach Pat Kelsey likes to exhaust his players before quickly giving them full relief with a substitution of 4 or 5 guys. Winthrop has a 6-7 point guard who can operate, a freshman big man who can vault onto the national stage, and wings who can defend, rebound, and finish. Watch more eye test analysis of this team on YouTube where I interview super fan Michael Covil.

Morehead State Dominates Mid-Major Darling Belmont Bruins

When it comes to mid-major teams that college basketball fans were eager to see entering the tournament, Belmont and Winthrop probably entered Championship neck-and-neck. But Belmont’s conference tournament championship game was not neck-and-neck. Morehead State dominated from start to finish. Its guards took advantage of loose perimeter defense to begin the game. And Morehead State’s freshman big man star Johni Broome got some back-breaking put backs and dagger baskets down the stretch. He came into the game averaging about 12 points and 9 rebounds. The two Coopers on the perimeter are not brothers, but their point production brings a family of trouble to defenders. Ta’lon and DeVon average 8 and 12 points respectively. They garnered the respect from Bruin defenders after knocking down some early threes, and so their rim runs late caused problems. I can see this team being a 15 seed with similarities to recent successful 15 seeds in Florida Gulf Coast and Middle Tennessee State. Like them, this will not be a 15 seed that lacks size and lives-or-dies from three point land.

Liberty Re-appears in March Madness Two Years Later with Totally New Look

Credit Liberty for returning to March Madness for a consecutive tournament, but this team looks a lot different from the 2019 team that beat Mississippi State. This year, it’s star is 5-9 guard Darius McGhee. He played only 12 minutes two years ago when the 12 seed knocked off the 5 seed. That team featured current G League player Caleb Homesley and do-it-all power forward Scottie James. This Liberty team also defended a North Alabama team that was a 5 seed in its own conference and ineligible to play in March Madness because its program hasn’t aged into the Division 1 circuit quite yet, according to another mind-numbing protocol by the NCAA. And so Liberty shouldn’t scare a high seed the way it should have two years ago, but this program has to be respected at this point.

App State Knocks Off Talented Georgia State To Enter March Madness

If you are looking for a super duper super sleeper in March Madness, App State is your ticket. They had a senior shooting guard absolutely go off against a talented Georgia State team, whose roster is laced with transfers from bigger schools. This championship game featured crisp play from both ends, with a freshness you would not expect for a fourth game in four nights. Both teams looked efficient on offense. App State’s Michael Almonacy, a former Division 2 player who missed (not just COVID-19 related) all of last season, scored 32 points in the win.

UNCG Spartans Make March Madness Old Hat

It seems like yesterday UNC Greensboro and head coach Wes Miller gave #1 seed Gonzaga a scare in 2018. Now Miller and his star player Isaiah Miller (no relation) return to March Madness. The 7 seed in-conference, Mercer, showed some fight, but Miller was too strong down the stretch both on the defensive and offensive end. Miller is the lone holdover from that 2018 bunch. His senior night of sorts for this championship game was fun to watch, while his mother was masked-up in attendance and looking to enjoy every moment of it!

Eye Test Analysis for Every Tourney Team

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Bradley 
Bradley beat the 7 seed in its conference to win the Missouri Valley Championship.  While its win against Valpairaso was impressive, you could see the 7 seed ran out of gas in its third game in 3 days.  Bradley senior Darrell Brown is the perfect point guard to run circles around you if you are on your heels.  And junior forward Elijah Childs is a prolific finisher and ambidextrous.  I just question if some of the athleticism they put on display during Arch Madness would look as impressive against a March Madness opponent.

East Tennessee State 
Returning only 1 of 5 starters from last season, head coach Steve Forbes deserves all the credit in the world for returning ETSU to March Madness after a one year hiatus.  Many people expected ETSU to be in the tourney in 2019.  This version of the Buccaneers plays similarly to the other dangerous squads Forbes has overseen.  They stretch the floor both by the perimeter and by the way of how they can penetrate.  The Bucs shot 42% from 3PT to polish off Wofford in its championship game.  But, when you watched, they also gave up some decent looks for Wofford around their perimeter.  Luckily, Wofford only hit 6 of 25.  The Bucs also lost the turnover battle, being victim to dig outs and surrendering 13.  This is a team of runs.  In its champ week win against Wofford, it came out hot leading 11-2, then got tied around half, before building a 5 or 6 possession lead early in the second half.  In its most high profile game of the season, it suffered a 5:12 minute scoring drought against LSU in the first half.  Then the Bucs went nuts.  They finished the first half on a 16-7 run and built a 21 point cushion in the second half.  (Editor’s note:  LSU has been known to have defensive lapses from the perimeter itself this season).  The Bucs are a team that can blow a high major team out of the gym.  It’s also a team that can suffer from its streakiness.  In its last lost, it jacked up 22 threes against Mercer, only hitting three in an otherwise close game (also shot 44% from FT).  Buckle up for the Bucs, it will be interesting either way.  Their pace of play won’t register high on analytics, in part because of its sound defensive metrics, but it can get hot and excite a neutral crowd.

Hofstra
For a second consecutive year, Hofstra held conference rival Northeastern’s (7th ranked in the nation) scorer Jordan Roland to 11 points in the title game.  So there’s that.  Hofstra plays like a street ball team.  When someone gets hot, they ride the hot hand.  They play four guards most of the time, and do thrive on one-on-one creation for shots.  The Hofstra Pride can also get creative in the transition game.  But heaven help Hofstra if Isaac Kante gets into foul trouble.  The 6’7″ junior serves as their lone big man for the most part.

Liberty
You will hear between now and the Thursday of March Madness dozens of times that Liberty beat Mississippi State last year as the 12 seed versus a 5 matchup.  That Liberty team lost to a very good Virginia Tech squad.  This year’s Liberty team is better.  Caleb Homesley is a red-shirt senior who looks like the Atlantic Sun version of Tracy McGrady.  He never looks like he is in a rush, but when he accelerates, it’s normally to finish with ease.  Power forward Scottie James is an enforcer, Darius McGhee is a high jumper at point guard, and Elijah Cuffee is a shooting guard adding scoring contributions at the right time.  This team looks like the 2005-2006 George Mason team.  There will be a few of us that believe that, as an 11 or 12 seed, that this team could make a Final Four run.  But those who do believe may be rewarded.

Caleb Homesley courtesy Liberty Mens Basketball

Photo courtesy: Liberty Flames Men’s Basketball/Twitter

Northern Kentucky
Jalen Tate is the straw that stirs the drink for the Norse.  He may qualify as their third guard, but he plays like a forward in the way he can get into the paint (then operate).  Northern Kentucky, and its three guards, love to shoot the three.  What they lack in efficiency, they make up for in shot attempts.  Conversely, they have shown some defensive lapses in both guarding the three point line and defending deep post position.  This is a team that can probably get embarrassed by a bigger team, but could also upset a smaller at-large if the Norse get hot from deep.  ‘

Robert Morris
It’s tough to balance the judgement of Robert Morris after an electric, athletic, energy-filled creciendo of their season with an emphatic conference championship win at home against St. Francis PA.  The Colonials share the ball really well.  It’s ironic they have two brothers from Akron on the squad, given the brotherly sharing.  Robert Morris runs a lot of down screens around the elbow and free throw line, getting action and open shots on the perimeter.  They shoot 36% from three, which is top 50 (43rd) in the country.  Junior AJ Bramah is a double-double waiting to happen.  He crashes the boards for a threat on the offensive glass.  This team does not look like a 16 seed.

Utah State
Utah State is a team that looked like it leaped over a hurdle in its win against San Diego State in the Mountain West Tournament.  Big man Neemias Queta, who missed the first month of the season, was too much for the Aztecs to handle in the closing stanza of this game.  And that’s really what the tournament is about.  Teams take their advantage and ram it down your throat.  Utah State has no shortage of heady perimeter players.  Queta is the perfect compliment and the key to a deep run.  23-year-old senior guard Sam Merrill played all 40 minutes, dropped 27 points, and hit the game winning three.  And its was the presence of Queta that kept the Aztecs on its heels.  This experience on the perimeter and high low combo could make Utah State very dangerous.

Winthrop
The best thing I can say about the Winthrop Eagles is that they can take a punch.  Hampton had them down 22-9 in their house after one quarter of play in the Big South Championship game.  D.J. Burns is a big with girth and left-handed banger who can produce in a traditional post game.  But, at 6’9″, will that size translate on a national stage in the Big Dance?  Winthrop’s top scorer is another left-handed shooter, combo guard Hunter Hale.