Well, Dayton was a blast.
First ever All-First Four Awards, sponsored by no one
Because the First Four was so entertaining, here are our picks for the best performances from the first four games in Dayton.
Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Ole Miss' Stefan Moody took over a game by himself and won the hearts of short dudes everywhere. Tyler Haws set the nets on fire and passed Jimmer Fredette on BYU's all-time scoring list and finished his career in the top 20 in NCAA history. Oh, and Ozzie the Osprey became the heavyweight champ of mid-major mascots.
So here’s our picks for the All-First Four Team. Sponsored by no one:
First-Team All-First Four
G - Stefan Moody, 5’11, Ole Miss
G - Tyler Haws, 6’5, BYU
G - Chase Fischer, 6’3, BYU
G/F - Lucky Jones, 6’6, Robert Morris
F - Beau Beech, 6’8, North Florida
Moody
Not only did he win the hearts of every short baller in America, he became the second coming of Marshall Henderson and another gunning guard for Ole Miss, went 10-for-18 while hitting five triples and scored 26 points to lead Ole Miss to a comeback win. Sounds like a top performance if I ever heard of one.
Haws
Haws dropped 33 points, the most of any player in the First Four section of the NCAA Tournament, and passed the prolific scoring Fredette to move into an elite club of scorers in NCAA history. Though his team lost by four and its postseason and his career is over, Haws controlled the first half, scoring 19 of the Cougars' 49 points.
Fischer
Only one other player hit as many triples as Fischer during the First Four in Dayton. Six of his seven field goals were threes on his way to a 23-point, five-rebound performance. He was BYU's second option against Ole Miss when Kyle Collinsworth was having a rough night.
Jones
Jones and Beech went at it when Robert Morris battled North Florida on Wednesday night. Jones possibly had the best stat line of the entire First Four, dialing up 21 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, five steals and eight free throws. Oh yeah, he did all of this from the bench.
Beech
Beech was the only player to match Fischer with six three-pointers. He also had the second-highest scoring output in Dayton with 28 points, though the Ospreys couldn’t seal the deal. He contributed seven boards.
Second-Team All-First Four
G - Derrick Marks, 6’3, Boise State (Marks was the main source of offense for Boise State, scoring 23 of its 55 points)
G - Jalen Nesbitt, 6’6, North Florida (had a line of 14/9/3 and was the second-best Osprey all night)
G - Quinton Chievous, 6’6, Hampton (15 points and 13 rebounds before an injury and dunked on basically everyone)
F - Kendall Pollard, 6’6, Dayton (17 points and six rebounds, an efficient scoring day in a win for Dayton)
F - MJ Rhett, 6’8, Ole Miss (dunked the most in Dayton)
Honorable Mention
Thanks, Dayton, until next year.
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