NCAA Tournament 2017: Winners and Losers of Day 2
After an entertaining start to the 2017 NCAA tournament, Day 2 provided another round of winners and losers from the First Four in Dayton, Ohio.
The North Carolina Central Eagles and the UC Davis Aggies began Wednesday's action with a tight finish at UD Arena, but N.C. Central's issues from three-point range continued in what could've been a clutch moment. Instead, UC Davis advanced to the round of 64 to face the No. 1-seeded Kansas Jayhawks on Friday.
In the nightcap, the Providence Friars stormed to a 15-point halftime edge. However, they fell apart after the break and watched USC snatch the lead and live to play Friday against the No. 6-seeded SMU Mustangs.
Everything from random facts, individual performances, coaching decisions, game-changing plays and future impact went into determining these winners and losers.
The madness of March picks up significantly Thursday, but the second day in Dayton may help shape a wild opening weekend.
Winner: Chima Moneke
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Aggies forward Chima Moneke wasn't a household name heading into the First Four, but he created a few more supporters while in Ohio.
After starting 4-of-4 in the opening minutes, the junior made his presence felt on the glass. His 11 defensive rebounds helped limit N.C. Central to 12 second-chance points.
Moneke ended the night with a game-high 18 points, as well as 12 total boards and two steals.
"That wasn't our best effort," Moneke said on the truTV broadcast after the win, "but we made key plays at the right times."
While he took time for reflection, he also sent a message to the rest of the field, telling Victor Contreras of the Sacramento Bee, "We respect Kansas, but we fear no one."
Loser: N.C. Central's 3-Point Shooting
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N.C. Central had a major struggle to find the range.
Late in the game, while trying to put together a comeback, the Eagles missed a handful of wide-open looks. With six minutes remaining, they were just 3-of-17.
Rashaun Madison and Dajuan Graf provided a little spark, each knocking down a triple to keep N.C. Central in a one-possession game.
But in the last 30 seconds, Graf misfired on two long-range attempts, and Patrick Cole missed his three-pointer, all shots that would have either tied the game or taken the lead.
The Eagles entered the tilt shooting 34 percent from beyond the arc, but their 5-of-26 mark (19.2 percent) helped end their season.
Winner: LeVelle Moton's Suit Jacket (And Future)
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Yes, the Eagles came up short. But head coach LeVelle Moton made a superb impression on the sideline in two ways.
If games were decided based on style, the seventh-year coach's houndstooth suit jacket would've made N.C. Central a championship contender. Sportswriter Andrew Mason said Moton "should get significant consideration for power-conference jobs on the strength of that blazer alone."
But there's more there than just a joke.
Moton could be a choice for the vacant job at North Carolina State, according to Fox Sports' Aaron Torres. If the coach wanted to go to the ACC, his decisions Wednesday shone favorably on him, especially when he used a 1-3-1 zone defense that heavily disrupted UC Davis' offensive flow in both halves.
If it weren't for N.C. Central's poor shooting, analysts might be spending more time talking about Moton's philosophy than his style.
Loser: UC Davis' Ball Control
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With top-seeded Kansas looming in the round of 64, Wednesday wasn't an encouraging sign for the Aggies offense.
UC Davis committed 18 giveaways, which led to a 20-11 edge for N.C. Central in points off turnovers. The Eagles also had a 19-4 advantage in fast-break points.
And obviously, Kansas—led by Wooden Award finalist Frank Mason III—has even better athletes than the Eagles.
If the Aggies don't clean up their dribbling and their passing by Friday, the Jayhawks might put together a blowout.
(Almost) Winners: Providence Friars
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Providence was so close to falling into the winners category.
The Friars' first half against USC was as impressive a 20-minute period as we've seen in the 2017 NCAA tournament so far. They shot an impressive 50 percent from three-point range and 52 percent from the field, only committing three turnovers. Jalen Lindsey knocked down four triples and entered the locker room with a game-best 15 points.
Kyron Cartwright and Maliek White each dished four assists, picking apart a slow-moving USC defense. Providence deserved every bit of its 44-29 advantage at the break.
Unfortunately for the Friars, the next 20 minutes weren't as friendly.
If there was any concern about Providence's opening half, it was that 56 percent of their field-goal attempts were beyond the arc. Long-range scoring is great, but the key question is sustainability as a team regresses to the mean.
The Friars had no answer to USC's man defense, shooting 1-of-4 from the three-point line after halftime.
Additionally, turnovers became a problem. Providence had six giveaways in the second frame, and those resulted in 12 points for the Trojans.
In a matter of 20 minutes, the Friars went from riding an NCAA tournament high to a painful exit from the Big Dance.
Winner: Chimezie Metu's 2nd Half
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Bennie Boatwright kept USC afloat during the rough start, scoring 14 of the team's 29 points and adding an assist. But Chimezie Metu took over after halftime.
Until that moment, his only points had come at the free-throw line.
One second-half sequence defined his impact. He knocked down the go-ahead jumper to push the Trojans to a 61-60 lead and then swatted a shot off the backboard before throwing down a massive two-handed slam on the other end a few possessions later.
Sportswriter Kyle Kensing called the showing Metu's best second half since he "basically won the Colorado game single-handedly."
The forward finished with 15 points, eight rebounds and two blocks.
Loser: Bench Scoring for the Friars
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Unless a team's starters catch fire and retain that hot streak for about 30 minutes of the game, the bench needs to produce.
Two points isn't going to cut it.
Throughout a combined 35 minutes on the court, Providence's four-man bench of White, Isaiah Jackson, Kalif Young and Ryan Fazekas were 1-of-7 from the floor. White dished four assists, but he only had two minutes in the second half.
Conversely, Nick Rakocevic and Jonah Mathews played integral roles in USC's comeback.
The duo ended the night with 16 total points on 5-of-10 shooting overall, and they were 4-of-4 at the free-throw line after halftime.
The starters and leading scorers get most of the attention, but Providence's bench could have learned a thing or two from the Trojans' reserves.
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