by John Walters

All eyes on Duke as the tournament kicks off. pic.twitter.com/9pwVKJuyXG

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 21, 2019

As @TheBenSwain wondered, “Why is Luke Maye on here twice?” 

Day 1

—Ja Rules: Murray State’s Ja Morant goes for 15-10-10 and notches the first triple-double in NCAA tourney since Draymond Green in 2012 as Murray State blows out Marquette.

—Wofford Wollops: The Terriers go on a game-ending 17-2 run to take out yet another Big East school, conference champ Seton Hall. Fletcher Magee becomes the NCAA’s all-time leader in made threes (506) by shooting 7 of 12 from beyond the arc. Love the pogo-stick three, by the way. Wofford’s first ever tourney victory.

Tom Izzo goes after Aaron Henry pretty hard. pic.twitter.com/A4KUMT6XWa

— Jordan Heck (@JordanHeckFF) March 21, 2019

—Izzo Wigs Out: No, Tom Izzo did not actually touch freshman Aaron Henry, but that’s hardly the point (more below).

—Football Conference Power: The B1G and SEC go a combined 9-0 on Day 1. All told, Power 5 conferences went 12-2 with the lone losses coming to other Power 5 schools.

—Gonzaga’s Back: The Zags, who scored 47 in last week’s WCC Championship Game loss to St. Mary’s, posted 53 in half one in routing Fairleigh Dickinson 87-49. The Gaels, meanwhile, fell to Villanova, the lone Big East survivor.

Oh my damn… pic.twitter.com/j20B1qdNya

— Andrew Hammond (@ahammTNT) March 21, 2019

The moment we realized Maryland was going to survive Belmont

—Windler Warrior: Belmont’s Dylan Windler scores 35, high man on Day One, but the Bruins fall by 2 to Maryland. Was Windler’s effort the best thing Scott Van Pelt saw yesterday (in person)?

—NMissU: The Aggies pass up an uncontested layup, down 2 late, for a three-point shot that misses. Get the foul call but shooter misses 2 of 3. Get yet another final-second chance, air ball a three. Yeesh surplus.

—If You Can Beat ‘Em, Join ‘Em: Baylor’s Makai Mason joins a very short list, we assume, of players who lead a team to a tournament victory (the Yale grad transfer scored 21 points in the Bears’ defeat of Syracuse) that he formerly defeated in the tournament (the Bulldogs upset the Waco school in the first round of the 2016 NCAAs).

Daily Barkley

“Chess is really difficult, I heard”

–Charles’ checkers speech

Uncontested Shots

When an announcer says, “Almost a travel” or “almost a carry,” 100% of the time that means it was simply an uncalled travel or carry…We love that the name of the host city is written on the side of every court, even if the glare from the venue’s lights make them difficult to read; Still, good job on that one, NCAA…We’ve got nothing personal against Casey Stern, but the dude who finished runner-up to him for that TBS studio host gig must be a tad non-plussed…Do yourself a favor and keep a tally of how many times the CBS studio dudes, particularly Charles and Kenny, reference something but cannot recall the name of the player or coach or school and then Ernie has to step in to supply the name. Yesterday we noted this on Twitter and moments later Kenny was making an LSU in ’19 comparison to Michigan in ’90 and could not recall the names of Bill Frieder-Steve Fisher…I know I’m an old-timer in terms of rules, but we need to eliminate the tuck-the-ball-under-your-arm drive to the hoop maneuver. Never mind that it can only be accomplished by taking an extra step, which leads me to this question: Why isn’t it a “gather step” when a post player moves his other foot on the low post?…How poetic to see Bill Murray, whose son is a Louisville assistant, rooting once again against the Gophers; you’ve gotta wonder is someone at the Selection Committee set that up, though we wouldn’t give them this much credit. Alas, for the Cardinals, it was not “a Cinderella story”…Tell me you laughed when you saw the “Introduction to Basket Weaving” ad; does the NCAA really want to be calling extra attention to this skill during the tournament?…

H To The Izzo

It’s difficult to opine on the Izzo Incident without, by the very act of mentioning it, making it appear bigger than it was. But we’ll try. Yes, if you watch the video (above) closely, you’ll note that the only humans who actually put hands on other humans here were the Spartan players placing hands on Izzo (to hold him back). So, yes, I gotcha.

But here’s why, for us, it’s so wrong: When a 64 year-old moves toward an 18- or 19- year-old in a threatening manner, he’s unconsciously acknowledging that the only reason he may do so with impunity is that he holds all the cards. He has job security and is financially set for life. The player’s hoops future, meanwhile, rests in his hands. The coach has all the leverage, which is the only reason he can presume that a physical altercation between the two won’t end up with him laying unconscious. Which is how it would end up any other time these two squared off. So by moving toward Henry the way Izzo did, he’s exploiting his position.

Bark at your player all you want. But when you move at him as if you’re going to physically manhandle him, you’re being a bully. Because in the real world you’d be KO’d.

We thought it was telling when Reggie Miller, seated courtside, offered, “I don’t mind the passion and the fire, especially if it’s directed at—with good intent.” Are you paying attention? Reggie was about to say “a freshman” but then caught himself and realized how out-of-touch that would sound. So, deftly, he quickly changed it to “with good intent.” Me, personally, I’m sick of “good intent.” Give me “good results” instead.

Hey Ja!

While only attempting eight shots yesterday afternoon, Murray State sophomore Ja Morant totally controlled the action in the Racers’ runaway win against Marquette. We liked what Kenny the Jet said about him: “He’s quick, but he doesn’t hurry.” So true. There were moments when Morant would grab a defensive board and lead a fast break that led to an assist, but there were just as many when he’d slow the action, wait for a pick to develop, and let the play come to him.

One final pleasure of watching him play? I’d pay just to see him dribble out of half-court double teams.

We’ve been extolling Ja for two months on this site as the only other player in the same galaxy as Zion Williamson. Yesterday, with his first real opportunity, he showed the world why. Zion and Ja (what outstanding and marketable names, by the way) are picks one and two in the NBA draft, in no particular order. Though we think Zion will go first. But no team (Phoenix? New York? Cleveland? Dallas?) is going to mind settling for the second dude in that pair. No team. Different skill sets, but both are WOW! players.

And we like R.J. Barrett as much as you do. He’s just not a human dynamo the way those two are. He’s more of a Tracy McGrady type, which is to say he’s a scorer but he’s not a lead-us-to-the-promised-land level talent.

***

Maybe this is the Snowflake Libtard in us coming out, but we’re a little dubious about Nike’s “Family” warmups, just as we are dubious about constantly being bombarded on Twitter with videos of “soldier returns home after a year away and surprises son/daughter” videos. We appreciate military service; we also understand that military service is voluntary (like Hyman Roth, “this is the business we’ve chosen”) and we’re not really at war with anyone in that a president Congress has to technically declare war. We appreciate the military servicemen, but we appreciate teachers every bit as much. Just as we appreciate family, but there’s no proof (in fact, quite the contrary) that being part of a family makes you a more valuable member of society or a better person.

File the above paragraph under “Unpopular Opinions.” But we’ll stand by it. Meanwhile, the push toward military worship and family above all and law-and-order are all aspects of the same movement. And that is to strip away the freedom and/or the voice of the individual. Pay attention.