Thoughts on Day 1 of the 1st Round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament

March 22, 2019

On Thursday, March 21st, I watched a slew of basketball games that went on this day in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament, and there were several players that impressed me. Dylan Windler scored 35 points and had 11 rebounds in his team’s narrow loss to Maryland, Ja Morant had a triple-double in his team’s win over Marquette, and Fletcher Magee broke the NCAA’s career 3-point field goals made record in his team’s victory over Seton Hall. Here are my thoughts on how they fared on this day.

Murray State’s sophomore point guard, Ja Morant dominated as he had a triple-double in his team’s blowout win over Marquette. He is a terrific athlete that really excelled at driving to his left to garner scores, and he also threw down a tremendous dunk late in the game. He also can score off of cuts as well as make some three-pointers, and he also made a bevy of magnificent passes to set up scores for his teammates.

He has very good court vision, and he is a strong finisher around the basket. He also played very good defense, as he would pick off passes to get steals, and he also did great work on the boards. The only thing was that he had a little trouble with turnovers, but Morant still had a tremendous game, as he had 17 points, 16 assists, and 11 rebounds to help his team get the victory, and he looks to be a consensus lock to be a top 3 pick in the 2019 draft.

Belmont’s senior forward, Dylan Windler had a tremendous game in his team’s loss to Maryland. He is a really good shooter that did a great job of knocking down threes from beyond the arc, he can make them off the catch, dribble, and he also moves well off the ball to get open for shots. He also showed an adequate ability to score off the dribble, as well as a strong ability to score off cuts and in transition, and Windler also rebounded the ball well. Right now, he may be a solid find for an NBA team in the late first to the second round range of the upcoming draft.

Maryland’s big men, Bruno Fernando and Jalen Smith did a great job of finishing plays around the basket, as they were able to throw down very powerful dunks to help propel their team to a first round win over Belmont. Both of them rebounded well, and Fernando showed a solid ability to block shots to protect the paint for their team. Fernando looks to be a strong candidate to be selected in the first round of the upcoming draft, and Jalen Smith could also be a first round prospect in the near future.

In the Wofford-Seton Hall game, both Fletcher Magee and Myles Powell were making tough shots, as this game was very competitive, much more so than the final score indicated. Wofford’s senior guard, Fletcher Magee was quite impressive in this game, as he showed a flair for making pull-up threes off the dribble, and he has a lot of range on his shot. He is a terrific shooter, and despite not possessing ideal athleticism or playmaking ability, Magee is a gifted scorer that could be a potential second round pick, as he could end up being a microwave type of scorer for a team in the NBA.