Despite the shocking upsets sustained by Missouri and Duke at the hands of Norfolk St. and Lehigh in the first round, many of the top seeds were able to survive and advance onto the sweet 16. For the first time since 2009, all four number 1 seeds have reached the regional semifinals, as two years ago number 1 overall seed Kansas fell to Northern Iowa in the second round and last year top seeded Pittsburgh lost to Butler in the round of 32.
However, many of the top seeds may face problems in their sweet 16 match-ups because of a lack of depth.
By now everybody has seen Christian Watford's three point shot at the buzzer to knock off the top ranked Kentucky Wildcats at Assembly Hall during the regular season. Before Watford's incredible shot in the final seconds was even possible, the Hoosiers did a lot of other small things to put them in that position and one of them was exploiting Kentucky's lack of depth.
Aside from Darius Miller, who is a spectacular 6th man for the Wildcats, Kentucky doesn't play any other bench player significant minutes. In fact, only 7 Wildcats average at least 7 minutes per game. In comparison, Indiana has 10 guys who play at least 8 minutes per game.
In their loss to Indiana, Anthony Davis wasn't a huge factor on either end of the court because the Hoosiers tried to force the ball inside to Cody Zeller so that they could get the SEC player of the year into foul trouble. Davis played just 24 minutes in the loss and Kentucky severely struggled without him on the floor, as they were outscored by 12 points when Davis was on the bench. After his third foul with 17:35 remaining in the second half, Davis looked tentative because he didn't want to foul out. From the 17:35 mark until the end of the game, Davis was held scoreless and grabbed just 3 rebounds.
Although Davis can have games where he looks great offensively by grabbing offensive rebounds and getting alley-up passes from Marquis Teague and others, Kentucky can hold the fort without him on the offensive end of the floor. The Wildcats have many other offensive threats, as Doron Lamb and Darius Miller can stroke the three ball as well as slash into the lane, while Terrence Jones and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist provide scoring in the paint.
The Wildcats really miss Davis's presence on the defensive end of the floor. Davis is a terrific rebounder and he holds Kentucky's single-season shot blocking record and he will likely break Jarvis Varnado's SEC single-season shot blocking record by the end of the season. Without Davis blocking or changing shots, the Wildcats sometimes struggle to get stops defensively when Eloy Vargas, Kyle Wiltjer, or a smaller line-up is on the floor.
Indiana will try and pound the post and get Davis into early foul trouble because the Wildcats are so much less effective without him on the floor.
With North Carolina's 87-73 victory over Creighton in the third round, the Tar Heels were one step closer to reaching their ultimate goal of winning a National Championship, which would be Carolina's 6th in program history and 3rd since 2005. However, the Tar Heels actually took a step backward rather than a step forward from their victory because of the injury sustained in the second half by their phenomenal point guard Kendall Marshall. Roy Williams reiterated that point by saying, "When you go to the Sweet 16, it's supposed to be a lot more fun than this."
With a little under 11 minutes remaining in the game, Marshall was driving into the lane when he was fouled by Creighton's Ethan Wragge. Marshall hit the floor hard on his non-shooting right hand. Although Marshall stayed in the game and continued to play, Tar Heel fans got horrible news following the victory. Marshall fractured a bone in his right wrist on that play and he had surgery on the injured wrist on Monday. Roy Williams said that Carolina is preparing "100 percent" to play without their starting point guard and Bob Cousy Award finalist.
If Marshall is unable to play against Ohio, it will be a huge loss for the Tar Heels. The second-team All-ACC selection is Carolina's most important player and is the leader of their offense. Marshall, who set the ACC single season assist record this season, is the facilitator of the Tar Heels high-powered attack.
There isn't a better college basketball team at getting out on the fastbreak after a turnover or a missed field goal attempt than Carolina and that transition is always led by Marshall. He has terrific court vision and is the best point guard in the nation at getting the ball up the floor to open players. Marshall's ability to see the floor leads to easy buckets for the Tar Heels, especially for Tyler Zeller, who has formed a terrific connection with Marshall, as he runs the court incredibly well. Marshall is also terrific at dribble penetration, which opens up jump shots and three pointers for Reggie Bullock, P.J. Hairston, and Harrison Barnes. Marshall is extremely smart on the floor and is always conscious of getting Harrison Barnes and John Henson involved in the flow of the offense.
Carolina has also needed Marshall's scoring ability recently. In the Tar Heels last 6 outings, Marshall is averaging just under 15 points a game and Carolina is 5-1 in that stretch with their only loss coming in a tight ACC championship game against Florida St.. Carolina will miss the scoring threat that Marshall can pose when he is attacking the rim and his ability to get into the lane and finish.
Earlier in the year, Carolina may have been much more adept to deal with an injury to Marshall. However, Dexter Strickland, who could also run the point, suffered a season ending injury against Virginia Tech when he tore his ACL in that game. The Tar Heels lost his much-needed ball handling ability for the rest of the year. Had Strickland been available for Carolina, he would have been able to step in nicely for the injured Marshall.
Carolina now has to play without Marshall and with uncertainty in their backcourt. Marshall leads the Tar Heels in minutes and he played at least 30 minutes in every ACC game, which shows not only his importance to the team, but also the lack of playing time and experience that other Tar Heels have had at the point guard position.
Stilman White is one option for Roy Williams at the point position. However, White has played springily throughout the season and is just a freshman. White could also have some problems on the defensive end of the floor guarding Ohio's quick backcourt players like their two leading scorer D.J. Copper and Walter Offutt.
Williams could also try to move Justin Watts over from shooting guard to point guard. Watts, who is a senior, is a long 6-5 guard that could be very disruptive on the defensive end of the floor against Ohio's guards.
Williams is trying to stress to White and Watts, "One thing I'm trying to get them to understand is, you can help us by not hurting us. Don't try to be Kendall Marshall; be what you are. Secure the basketball, don't put the ball in jeopardy, and move the ball up the floor as quick as you can dribble or pass. Make the easiest play... I think it will be kind of like a quarterback in football. We've got other good players, don't you try to be the dominating factor in the game; get the ball to those other guys and let them make plays."
The Tar Heels are going to greatly miss Kendall Marshall. He is Carolina's floor general and they are not nearly the same team without him on the floor.
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