Most of the NIT’s second round happens tonight, with a little sprinkled in this afternoon, for flavor. You can read about those games here. But there were two games yesterday, in which the A-10 got Roundhouse kicked, and we don’t want to let those wash away amidst our impending Santa Clara basketball-induced euphoria.
Chattanooga 87, Dayton 72
This was another of those games where we said, “Honor Huff is the man,” and, “You can really see it in Collin Mulholland,” then looked at the box score and realized Trey Bonham had the best game of anyone. It’s not even like he doesn’t shoot. He shoots a lot. He’s just easier to miss than Huff out there. I think this is because Huff moves so smoothly that it crosses the territory where you don’t notice him and reenters the territory where you do. The man is basketball’s answer to Trea Turner’s slide.
Anthony Grant’s explosion was surprising and probably warranted, but as a more distant observer, it fit the end of a frustrating season more than it seemed to be about a truly bad day of officiating. Maybe I’m a rube, but I didn’t notice the refs all that much, and Chattanooga won by 15, so even if there were missed calls, the result ultimately lands on Dayton, as I think anyone with Dayton would agree. Dayton’s growing a label as being a perplexing program, but I think the real problem might be their comparisons. Compare them to George Mason and St. Bonaventure, and Dayton should be routinely running this league. Compare them to Butler, Providence, Xavier, and Seton Hall, and their results make more sense. Dayton isn’t a dominant A-10 program. It’s a good one. That’s the same as being a volatile, bottom-half program in the Big East. Dayton is a solid mid-major who could pass as a mediocre high-major.
Chattanooga, on the other hand, is a really good low-major, and they are really, really fun. Shot-makers. Ball-movers. Gunners who protect the ball. They’re not lazy on the defensive end, either. They’re just overmatched. I don’t think we, the viewer, can complain about an overmatched defense. Not when the offense lets us watch Honor Huff.
Bradley 75, George Mason 67
If you look at it one way, this game was decided by a combination of a few Bradley circus shots and a few plays where Jamal Haynes lost control of the ball. Other things happened, but there were a lot of weird little things, and all those things broke in Bradley’s favor. Bradley deserved to win—circus shots are part of how they do business, that is a skill and not luck—but when the ball started moving in unexpected directions, it was bad news for the Patriots. Haynes had a rough day, which was sad given how fun he is. Christian Davis had a great day, as did Corey Thomas.
Thomas’s performance might be a big deal. Darius Hannah went down with what looked like a non-contact knee injury. Sad and gutting. One of the best moments of the first round was Hannah leading Bradley out of the tunnel after reports that he wouldn’t play. To play and then get hurt just makes it more crushing. I don’t know anything about Bradley’s NIL situation, but I hope schools start treating college basketball’s postseason like they’re starting to treat bowl games. Include the tournaments in NIL contracts. Take out insurance policies on everybody’s knees. Hopefully Hannah’s ok and this is a warning shot more than it’s a tragedy.
We’re going to talk more Bradley on tomorrow’s episode of Free Hoops, but the easiest way I’ve found to describe them is that they’re shot-makers more than they’re shooters. Picture a shooter and I, ironically, picture a passer. I think of teams who move the ball smoothly to set up open looks. Bradley doesn’t really do that. Bradley just makes shots.
Peoria will host this quarterfinal, and it’ll be in the early slot on Tuesday. Chattanooga visiting Bradley. Honor Huff against Duke Deen. Could feed families, as the kids say.
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