GREAT TEAMS TOURNAMENT

[PointGuard]

Round 4 (Elite 8)

West

#1 UNLV Runnin’ Rebels (1991) vs #6 Loyola Marymount Lions (1990)

Both teams are extremely strong offensively and because of that have been crushing their opponents.

Records thus far:

UNLV (1991)—91, Baylor (2017)—66
UNLV (1991)—96, UCLA (2008)—51
UNLV (1991)—76, Louisville (2013)—57
Loyola Marymount (1990)—114, Kansas State (1988)—82
Loyola Marymount (1990)—102, Michigan State (2000)—73
Loyola Marymount (1990)—104, Arizona (1997)—91

UNLV’s starters: PG Greg Anthony (12.0 ppg, 7.7 apg, 1.0 rpg); SG H. Waldman (11.7 ppg, 2.7 apg, 1.7 rpg); SF Stacey Augmon (15.0 ppg, 3.0 apg, 7.3 rpg) ; PF Larry Johnson (15.7 ppg, 2.0 apg, 12.3 rpg); C Elmore Spencer (9.0 ppg, 0.7 apg, 6.3 rpg)
Loyola Marymount starters: PG Terrell Lowery (8.7 ppg, 14.0 apg, 1.0 rpg); SG Jeff Fryer (13.7 ppg, 1.3 apg, 1.0 rpg); SF Bo Kimble (24.3 ppg, 1.7 apg, 6.7 rpg); PF Chris Scott (5.3 ppg, 0.7 apg, 2.7 rpg); C Hank Gathers (32.0 ppg, 2.3 apg, 7.0 rpg)

This game started out as a game of big men vs big men. But the interior starters for both teams got into early foul trouble. As was expected this was an offensive show throughout the first half with both teams hitting over 50% of their shots. The lead shifted back and forth throughout the half. The Lions hit the final shot of the half to take a 57-56 lead to the locker room.

Loyola Marymount held a small lead for most of the first 7 minutes of the 2nd half, but the Runnin’ Rebels then went on a run to go up 86-77 with 10 minutes remaining. UNLV then kept scoring and held onto a double digit lead the remainder of the game. The Runnin’ Rebels ran away for a 111-96 victory by outshooting the Lions 53% to 46% and going +10 on the boards. UNLV’s bench scored 40 points while Loyola Marymount’s reserves scored just 18 points.

Larry Johnson had a big game for UNLV with 31 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 assists. Greg Anthony scored 15 points and has 14 assists, Stacey Augmon had 13 points and 7 rebounds, and Melvin Love came in off the bench to tally 10 points and pull down 5 boards. Although his playing time was limited due to fouls, the Lions’ Hank Gathers had 30 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals. Bo Kimble had 23 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Terrell Lowery hit for 14 points and dished out 15 assists. Jeff Fryer added 11 points.

UNLV’s Jerry Tarkanian said, “I told my guys at halftime that the first half proved we were in a war and that while we were up against a very strong team, the team that wanted it more was going to win. Then I just left the locker room so they could talk out what they wanted. It took us a while, but then our defense kicked in which allowed us to pull away. L J (Larry Johnson) came up huge when we really needed it.”

[PointGuard]

FINAL FOUR TIME

And it’s going to be:

#2 seed Oklahoma Sooners (1988) vs #1 seed Kentucky Wildcats (1996)

#5 seed UConn Huskies (2004) vs #1 seed UNLV Runnin’ Rebels (1991)

Top Player Stats within the Final Four Teams:

PPG:

Harvey Grant, Oklahoma—20.0
Larry Johnson, UNLV—19.5
Antoine Walker, Kentucky—18.5
Ben Gordon, UConn—18.5
Stacey King, Oklahoma—18.0
Emeka Okafor, UConn—15.0
Mookie Blaylock, Oklahoma—14.5
Stacey Augmon, UNLV—14.5

RPG:

Larry Johnson, UNLV—11.8
Harvey Grant, Oklahoma—9.8
Antoine Walker, Kentucky—9.3
Emeka Okafor, UConn—7.8
Stacey King, Oklahoma—7.5
Stacey Augmon, UNLV—7.3

APG:

Greg Anthony, UNLV—9.3
Anthony Epps, Kentucky—8.0
Taliek Brown, UConn—5.8
Ricky Grace, Oklahoma—4.8
Mookie Blaylock, Oklahoma—3.8
Terrence Mullins, Oklahoma—3.3

Top Player Stats within the Teams Out after 4 Games:

PPG:

Hank Gathers, Loyola Marymount—31.5
Bo Kimble, Loyola Marymount—24.0
Chris Webber, Michigan—17.8
Juan Dixon, Maryland—17.5
Rashad McCants, North Carolina—16.5
Juwan Howard, Michigan—15.5

RPG:

Chris Webber, Michigan—11.0
Chris Wilcox, Maryland—11.0
Sean May, North Carolina—8.3
Hank Gathers, Loyola Marymount—7.3

APG:

Terrell Lowery, Loyola Marymount—14.3
Raymond Felton, North Carolina—6.5
Steve Blake, Maryland—5.0
Tony Walker, Loyola Marymount—4.8
Jalen Rose, Michigan—4.5

[PointGuard]

Round 5 (Final Four)

#2 seed Oklahoma Sooners (1988) vs #1 seed Kentucky Wildcats (1996)

Records thus far:

Oklahoma (1988)—100, Minnesota (2017)—68
Oklahoma (1988)—80, Cincinnati (1993)—59
Oklahoma (1988)—105, Kansas (2008)—99
Oklahoma (1988)—84, Michigan (1993)—83
Kentucky (1996)—83, Texas Christian (2017)—49
Kentucky (1996)—94, Texas (2003)—67
Kentucky (1996)—83, Memphis (2008)—57
Kentucky (1996)—86, North Carolina (2005)—61

Oklahoma starters: PG Ricky Grace (9.8 ppg, 4.8 apg, 0.3 rpg); SG Mookie Blaylock (14.5 ppg, 3.8 apg, 2.0 rpg); SF Andre Wiley (4.5 ppg, 2.0 apg, 6.0 rpg); PF Harvey Grant (20.0 ppg, 1.8 apg, 9.8 rpg); C Stacey King (18.0 ppg, 1.3 apg, 7.5 rpg)
Kentucky starters: PG Anthony Epps (4.5 ppg, 8.0 apg 1.0 rpg); SG Tony Delk (13.3 ppg, 1.5 apg, 3.3 rpg); SF Derek Anderson (10.0 ppg, 1.8 apg, 3.5 rpg); PF Antoine Walker (18.5 ppg, 1.8 apg, 9.3 rpg); C Walter McCarty (8.8 ppg, 1.5 apg, 5.8 rpg)

This game pits offense (Oklahoma is averaging 92.3 ppg) against defense (Kentucky has allowed an average of 58.5 ppg by it’s opponents). But both teams have 3 starters averaging in double figures. Can Kentucky shut down the Sooners’ dynamic inside duo of Harvey Grant and Stacey King? And can Oklahoma keep Antoine Walker who scored 31 points in the Wildcats’ last game from breaking out again?

The first half was close the entire way with 10 lead changes. But Kentucky used the 3, hitting 6 of 9 to hold a small lead for more time and to finish the half ahead 38-34. Both teams spread the scoring amongst 6 players on their roster with no one scoring more than 9 points. Kentucky’s Antoine Walker and Oklahoma’s Andre Wiley were saddled with 3 fouls apiece in the half.

The two teams centers (King and McCarty) led the scoring early in the 2nd half as the score remained close. With 4 minutes to go the score was tied at 61-61. But the Sooner went on an 14-2 run in the next 2-1/2 minutes when Kentucky was simply unable to hit their shots. That forced the Wildcats to foul and Oklahoma came away with an 80-70 victory.

The Sooners outscored Kentucky in the paint by 10 points and also got ot the line 13 more times where they scored 10 more points.

Leading the scoring for Oklahoma was Stacey King with 23 points and he also had 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and 5 blocks. Harvey Grant had 13 points, 6 boards and 3 blocks, Ricky Grace scored 13 plus had 7 assists and 3 steals, and Mookie Blaylock had 10 points, 5 assists, and 6 steals. Tony Martin scored 8 points and grabbed 5 rebounds. Kentucky’s Walter McCarty had 15 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Mark Pope also scored 15 points plus he had 8 boards. Derek Anderson and Antoine Walker both scored 10 points and pulled down 9 rebounds. Walker was limited to just 22 minutes on the floor. Anthony Epps dished out 11 assists for the Wildcats.

“Damn! We’re going to be in the championship game! This here tournament has been one helluva ride. Tonight was a tough battle. I guess as it should have been when you’re going up against Kentucky. I’m just glad Stacy (King) kept his powder dry and fired some well aimed bullets. But let me tell ya, this here win took a real team effort to accomplish and I’m proud of my guys,” said Oklahoma coach Billy Tubbs.

[PointGuard]

Round 5 (Final Four)

#5 seed UConn Huskies (2004) vs #1 seed UNLV Runnin’ Rebels (1991)

Records thus far:
UConn (2004)—76, Navy (2012)--61
UConn (2004)—91, Villanova (2018)—80
UConn (2004)—72, Duke (1992)—66
UConn (2004)—77, Maryland (2002)—59
UNLV (1991)—91, Baylor (2017)—66
UNLV (1991)—96, UCLA (2008)—51
UNLV (1991)—76, Louisville (2013)—57
UNLV (1991)—111, Loyola Marymount (1990)—96

UConn starters: PG Taliek Brown (4.3 ppg, 5.8 apg, 1.5 rpg); SG Ben Gordon (18.5 ppg, 2.8 apg, 3.3 rpg); SF Denham Brown (14.0 ppg, 1.8 apg, 1.8 rpg); PF Charlie Villanueva (10.5 ppg, 1.5 apg, 5.3 rpg); C Emeka Okafor (15.0 ppg, 1.5 apg, 7.8 rpg)
UNLV’s starters: PG Greg Anthony (12.8 ppg, 9.3 apg, 0.8 rpg); SG H. Waldman (10.0 ppg, 2.8 apg, 2.3 rpg); SF Stacey Augmon (14.5 ppg, 2.5 apg, 7.3 rpg) ; PF Larry Johnson (19.5 ppg, 2.3 apg, 11.8 rpg); C Elmore Spencer (8.5 ppg, 0.5 apg, 5.5 rpg)

Both teams have exhibited excellent defense, although the Runnin’ Rebels gave up 96 points in their last game. But that was going up against high-scoring Loyola Marymount. Both teams have 4 starters averaging in double figures.

A surprisingly slow start with UConn up 4-3 after 5 minutes as both teams had trouble finding the mark. But then the Huskies ran off 8 straight points. UNLV closed to within 2 with 8 minutes to go and the two teams kept it close until the Huskies went on a run in the final 4 minutes that gave them a 43-29 halftime advantage. Both teams hit about 35% of their shots, but UConn scored 15 more points than the Runnin’ Rebels at the foul line. Coach Tarkanian rode the refs who called more than twice as many fouls on UNLV and put both Johnson and Waldman on the bench with 3 fouls apiece. The only Husky with more than 1 foul was Villanueva who was tagged with 3 fouls. Ben Gordon scored 12 points for UConn and Stacey Augmon knocked down 13 points for UNLV in the first half.

Defense predominated in the 2nd half. UConn maintained a 15-18 point lead through the first 12 minutes of the half at which point the Runnin’ Rebels cut their deficit to 12. UConn responded by moving out to a 22 point lead before settling for a crushing 77-59 defeat of UNLV. Although the Huskies made an incredible 28 turnovers they offset that by outshooting UNLV 47% to 38%, dominating the boards 42-23, and scoring 18 more points on free throws. [Unusual: the final score (77-59) in this game was exactly the same as UConn’s win over Maryland in the Elite 8.]

Ben Gordon led the Huskies with 24 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks. Emeka Okafor also had a big game with 14 points, 11 rebounds, 3 steals and 7 blocks. Taliek Brown scored 12 points and had 3 boards and 3 assists while both Charlie Villanueva and Denham Brown each scored 8 points and had 5 rebounds. UNLV’s Stacey Augmon finished with 15 points, 5 rebounds and 4 steals, Evric Gray came in off the bench to score 12 and pull down 5 boards, Elmore Spencer had 10 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals and 6 blocks, and Larry Johnson scored 8 and had 6 boards while playing just 18 minutes.

Huskies’ coach Jim Calhoun said, “To be honest I’m amazed that my guys were able to hold a team as talented as UNLV to just 59 points. So…good D. But I believe our control of the boards was even more instrumental in our victory. After moving out to a big lead, my guys were more like bulldogs than huskies the way they refused to let UNLV get back into the game.”

[Wayne23]

U-C-O-N-N! UConn! UConn! UConn!!!

[PointGuard]

Championship Matchup:

#2 Oklahoma Sooners (1988) vs #5 UConn Huskies (2004)


Top Scorers for those who’ve played 5 games (ppg):

Ben Gordon, UConn—19.6
Stacey King, Oklahoma—19.0
Harvey Grant, Oklahoma—18.6
Larry Johnson, UNLV—17.2
Antoine Walker, Kentucky—16.8
Emeka Okafor, UConn—14.8
Stacey Augmon, UNLV—14.6
Mookie Blaylock, Oklahoma—13.6

Top Rebounders for those who’ve played 5 games (rpg):

Larry Johnson, UNLV—10.6
Antoine Walker, Kentucky—9.2
Harvey Grant, Oklahoma—9.0
Emeka Okafor, UConn—8.4
Stacey King, Oklahoma—8.2
Stacey Augmon, UNLV—6.8
Walter McCarty, Kentucky—6.4

Tops in Assists for those who’ve played 5 games (apg):

Greg Anthony, UNLV—9.0
Anthony Epps, Kentucky—8.6
Taliek Brown, UConn—5.2
Ricky Grace, Oklahoma—5.2
Mookie Blaylock, Oklahoma—4.0

[PointGuard]

REAL LIFE SUMMARY ABOUT THE TWO TEAMS IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Stepping away from DDSCB Great Teams mod, here’s a reminder of how the two team that will be in the championship actually performed in real life:

1987-88 Oklahoma Sooners

Coach: Billy Tubbs

Team included 3 future first-round draft picks: Mookie Blaylock, Harvey Grant, and Stacey King. Grant and King earned All-American recognition for the 87-88 season.

Top Players: Stacey King (22.3 ppg, 8.5 rpg); Harvey Grant (20.9 ppg, 9.4 rpg); Mookie Blaylock (16.4 ppg, 5.9 apg); Ricky Grace (14.7 ppg, 7.4 apg)

Season record: 35-4
Big Eight record: 12-2 (1st place)
Champions of the Chaminade Classic Tournament in Honolulu
Champions of the All-College Classic Tournament in Oklahoma City
Champions of the Big Eight Tournament in Kansas City
Ranked 3rd in the Coaches Poll
Ranked 4th in the AP Poll

#1 seed in the Southeast Region of the NCAA Tournament
Beat #16 seed Chattanooga 94-66
Beat #8 seed Auburn 107-87
Beat #5 seed Louisville 108-98 (Sweet 16)
Beat #6 seed Villanova 78-59 (Elite 8)
Beat #2 seed Arizona 86-78 (Final 4)
Lost to #6 seed Kansas 83-79 (Championship game)

2003-04 UConn Huskies

Coach: Jim Calhoun

The team included 6 future first round draft picks: Ben Gordon, Emeka Okafor, Charlie Villanueva, Hilton Armstrong, Marcus Williams, and Josh Boone. Okafor was a 1st team All-American for the 2003-04 season.

Top Players: Ben Gordon (18.5 ppg, 4.5 apg); Emeka Okafor (17.6 ppg, 11.5 rpg); Rashad Anderson (11.2 ppg, 2.9 rpg); Denham Brown (8.9 ppg, 3.9 rpg); Charlie Villanueva (8.9 ppg, 5.3 rpg)

Season record: 33-6
Big East record: 12-4 (2nd place)
Lost in semi-finals of Preseason NIT Tournament but won consolation game in New York
Champions of Big East Conference Tournament in New York
Ranked #7 in AP Poll

#2 seed in West Region of the NCAA Tournament
Beat #15 seed Vermont 70-53
Beat #7 seed DePaul 72-55
Beat #6 seed Vanderbilt 73-53 (Sweet 16)
Beat #8 seed Alabama 87-71 (Elite 8)
Beat #6 seed Duke 79-78 (Final 4)
Beat #3 seed Georgia Tech 82-73 (Championship)

[PointGuard]

Round 6 (Championship)

[And now…Back to the DDSCB Great Teams Mod Tournament!]

64 Great Teams are now down to just these 2:

#2 Oklahoma Sooners (1988) vs #5 UConn Huskies (2004)

Records thus far in this tournament:

Oklahoma (1988)—100, Minnesota (2017)—68
Oklahoma (1988)—80, Cincinnati (1993)—59
Oklahoma (1988)—105, Kansas (2008)—99
Oklahoma (1988)—84, Michigan (1993)—83
Oklahoma (1988)—80, Kentucky (1996)--70

UConn (2004)—76, Navy (2012)--61
UConn (2004)—91, Villanova (2018)—80
UConn (2004)—72, Duke (1992)—66
UConn (2004)—77, Maryland (2002)—59
UConn (2004)—77, UNLV (1991)—59

Oklahoma starters: PG Ricky Grace (10.4 ppg, 5.2 apg, 0.6 rpg); SG Mookie Blaylock (13.6 ppg, 4.0 apg, 1.6 rpg); SF Andre Wiley (4.0 ppg, 2.0 apg, 5.6 rpg); PF Harvey Grant (18.6 ppg, 1.4 apg, 9.0 rpg); C Stacey King (19.0 ppg, 1.4 apg, 8.2 rpg)

UConn starters: PG Taliek Brown (5.8 ppg, 5.2 apg, 1.4 rpg); SG Ben Gordon (19.6 ppg, 3.0 apg, 3.8 rpg); SF Denham Brown (12.8 ppg, 1.8 apg, 2,4 rpg); PF Charlie Villanueva (10. 0 ppg, 1.6 apg, 5.2 rpg); C Emeka Okafor (14.8 ppg, 1.4 apg, 8.4 rpg)

During their 5 games thus far in the tournament Oklahoma has averaged 89.8 ppg while giving up 75.8 ppg to their opponents and UConn has averaged 78.6 ppg while giving up 65.0 ppg to their opponents.

1st Half:

The Huskies have their passes picked on their first two possessions and the Sooners get great outlet passes for streaking dunks on both to go up 4-0 just 47 seconds into the game. King and Grant score 19 of Oklahoma’s first 21 points to give the Sooners a 12 point lead with 11-1/2 minutes left in the half. But the Huskies come back with balanced scoring, cutting the lead to just 1 point at 25-24 with 3 minutes remaining. The Sooners go on their own run in the closing minutes to go up by 8 and then finish the half with a 35-29 advantage. The Huskies dominated the boards but uncharacteristically made a devastatingly high number of turnovers. Coach Calhoun will need to settle the Huskies down during halftime. Stacey King scored 15 points for Oklahoma and Ben Gordon tossed in 9 points to lead UConn in the first half. The Sooners’ PG Ricky Grace has 3 fouls and will likely be on the bench to begin the 2nd half with Terrence Mullins playing the point. Can Taliek Brown take advantage of that?

2nd Half:

Andre Wiley lights it up early in the 2nd half and the Sooners are up by 13 with 13-1/2 minutes remaining. But Oklahoma’s SG Mookie Blaylock and C Stacey King have to sit with 4 fouls apiece. Gordon and Okafor lead UConn back into the game, cutting the lead to 53-48 with 10 minutes left. The Huskies then go scoreless for over 4 minutes and drop behind by 10. After narrowing the lead to 6 points, UConn goes into another scoring drought allowing Oklahoma to pull away and score a 75-61 victory. The Huskies were +8 on the boards but made 29 turnovers, 13 more than the Sooners. Oklahoma took advantage to shoot 14 more FG’s and make 9 more FG’s than UConn.

Top Scorers:

Oklahoma: Stacey King—22 points (plus 3 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 blocks); Andre Wiley—18 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists; Mookie Blaylock—14 points and 4 steals; Harvey Grant—8 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals and 3 blocks.

UConn: Ben Gordon—16 points and 3 rebounds; Emeka Okafor—13 points, 8 boards, and 5 blocks; Charlie Villanueva—8 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks; Denham Brown—8 points and 3 rebounds; Taliek Brown—7 points and 5 assists.

Winning Coach’s Comment:

“We were able to turn the tables on the Huskies by playing some tenacious defense. Our game plan included taking chances defensively and our guys executed it well. Great harassment by our guys. And with UConn threatening, our late game D kept them from getting off good shots. Several of our guys did get into foul trouble though, but fortunately only one (Ricky Grace) fouled out. The Huskies kicked our butts on the boards and made some great comebacks. They never gave in. This was a much tougher game than the final score would indicate,” said Coach Billy Tubbs.

Tournament MVP:

Oklahoma’s C Stacey King—19.5 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 1.3 apg, 2.3 spg, 3.8 bpg

All-Tourney Team:

Stacey King, Oklahoma
Hank Gathers, Loyola Marymount
Ben Gordon, UConn
Greg Anthony, UNLV
Chris Webber, Michigan

[And that concludes the Great Teams Tournament! NCAAhoops Great Teams Mod worked GREAT! It was fun to see players from the past “come to life on the court again” and play pretty darned close to how they actually performed. So, two thumbs UP for this mod!

The mod has been updated and improved since I created this tournament. My intention is to use it to set up and run smaller tournaments and possibly sim a 4-year association with players unable to go to the pros before graduating to see how some of the great past players who left after playing just 1 or 2 seasons develop and perform during an entire 4-year collegiate career.]

[Wayne23]

FIX!!! The refs did it!!!

Great tournament, PG!

[PointGuard]

Have to admit I fell in love with the combo of Hank Gathers and Bo Kimble (and also the assist machine called Terrell Lowery) and the high-scoring Loyola Marymount team.