BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – When the Houston Cougars trudged to the locker room during halftime of their NCAA men’s basketball second-round game, it wasn’t just their shoulders that sagged. So did their national championship hopes.
On Friday night, they watched as Purdue, a No. 1 seed, was knocked down by Fairleigh Dickinson. Earlier Saturday, another No. 1’s title dreams shattered, as Arkansas rallied to oust Kansas, the reigning champion.
And here were the Cougars, trailing by 10 points on Saturday against spirited Auburn, who had a boisterous home crowd behind them. After watching his defense fall apart, Houston coach Kelvin Sampson almost put his feet up at halftime and told his team — especially two of his best players, Marcus Sasser and Jamal Shead — to sort it out.
“Sometimes it’s not always about fussing and name-calling, yelling and yelling,” Sampson said. “I didn’t yell or scream. I just said, ‘If we play our defense, we’ll be back in this game.’”
And so did the Cougars, getting Auburn into a vice grip in the second half and running away to the round of 16.
Their win, and Alabama’s, which followed here—a 73-51 slog over Maryland—provided a rare opportunity for the top two remaining seeds in the tournament to face each other before, if they keep winning, they’re in two weeks to reunite for the Final Four in Houston, where the Cougars could finally enjoy something close to home court advantage.
Alabama and Houston are not unfamiliar with each other, as they played early this season and last (Alabama won both games). But the teams gained more data points simply by keeping their eyes and ears open this weekend. They played and practiced on the same field, answered questions from news reporters on the same podiums, and changed and showered in locker rooms just a few steps apart down the hall.
A big part of men’s tournament basketball is about matchups, getting wins any which way you can and taking your shot when it comes. The transfer portal, the lure of endorsement deals, and an additional year of NCAA eligibility due to the coronavirus pandemic have leveled the playing field somewhat — leading to more runs by low-ranking teams like Oral Roberts and St. Peter’s, but also more produced teams that have a real chance to win it all.
Perhaps the best that can be said about Alabama and Houston is that they played well enough to move on and they have a chance to get better – a chance that Purdue or Kansas won’t be offered.
UCLA, pissed off not getting the No. 1 seed, felt equally fortunate after surviving Northwestern and injuries to two starters, Adem Bona and David Singleton. It is unclear how much they can contribute in a game against Texas Christian or Gonzaga on Thursday.
It will be the type of wide open tournament that many thought was possible. This is only the second time since 2004 that only two No. 1 seeds have survived the first weekend. Princeton, a number 15 seed, is in the round of 16 and very much looks like it wasn’t an accident. The Tigers will be joined there by another Jersey wonderworker, Fairleigh Dickinson, of Florida Atlantic. It seems that everyone has a chance to move on.
Arkansas to the Final Four? Gonzaga? Texas? Tennessee? Indiana? Marquette? Who says no?
“It doesn’t really matter what your seed is,” said Houston guard Tramon Mark, who had 26 points on Saturday and took the Cougars past Auburn in the second half, which Sasser and Shead spent mostly on the bench on four offenses. “It only matters if you are ready to play and play hard. Anyone can be beaten in this tournament.”
It doesn’t seem to hurt if you’re from New Jersey.
After a run through St. Peter’s to the East regional finals last year as the 15th seed, Princeton is one win (against Baylor or Creighton) away from doing the same. And so will Fairleigh Dickinson, if it becomes the first 16th seed to advance to the second weekend.
Jahvon Quinerly, Alabama’s crafty point guard from Jersey City, NJ, shrugged when asked about Houston. But when asked about the state of basketball in his home state, his eyes lit up as if a pork sandwich had been placed in front of him.
“Man, that’s a good question,” said Quinerly, who often wears a “Basketball Meets Jersey” T-shirt. He noted that he grew up not far from St. Peter’s and FDU, and that one of his former teammates at Hudson Catholic High School, Daniel Rodriguez, plays for FDU.
“Jersey is just different in March,” he added.
Quinerly has had a quixotic journey since leaving Hudson Catholic. He was fired from Arizona after documents in an FBI basketball corruption investigation suggested he took $15,000 in bribes from an assistant coach. He signed with Villanova but left after a year as he struggled to play in the demanding system. He tore a knee ligament in Alabama’s first-round loss to Notre Dame last season, and at least thought for a while that his student career was over.
Quinerly was Alabama’s leading player on Saturday night with a whopping 22 points, 3 steals and 2 assists — hurting Maryland coach Kevin Willard, who had offered Quinerly a college scholarship in ninth grade while coaching at Seton Hall.
Willard knew on Saturday that his team had a tough job playing Alabama at home away from home, so he hoped that Auburn could upset Houston and that his fans would be so excited that they would stick around to play against their own team to root. rival, the Crimson Tide, in a second-round nightcap.
The enemy of his enemy, Willard hoped, would be his team’s friend.
But if Auburn didn’t win?
“Then at 9:40 p.m., knowing Auburn fans, they’re probably going to the bar,” Willard said Friday.
As it turned out, Maryland was more on its own than it had hoped, as Auburn fans sneaked out of Legacy Arena after their team dwindled. And while the Terrapins got off to a promising start, they were cooked when center Julian Reese made three quick errors in the first half.
Maryland, which had lost its last nine road games, trailed 28-23 at the halfway point, but Alabama slowly and inexorably pulled back. Willard said the foul trouble disrupted his team’s game plan.
“We would pound it inside, pound it inside,” he said. “That’s what we’ve been doing for the last two months of the season.”
It was a reasonable strategy. One way to beat Alabama is to attack Charles Bediako, an elite shot blocker but a work in progress as a post defender. Willard thought if his team could play through Reese, they could slow the pace, get good shots, and have a chance.
Perhaps there are others in the tournament who can, Willard noted. One of them shared the same building on Saturday night.