Kings Report – 3/26

The Sacramento Kings are still hanging on to their spot as the fourth-worst team in the league. This week, they managed to beat the third-worst team in the league, the Brooklyn Nets. I haven’t been following the Nets, but the Kings were favored to win this game by 6.5, so that tells you everything you need to know. The Kings did, of course, almost lose the game by giving up a seven-point run in the final two minutes. And sure, wins don’t matter at this point, but to lose a game that you controlled the entire time still would have hurt. Luckily for us, we aren’t contending this year because we have a whopping 11 players on the injury report. Malik Monk has made it back to the starting lineup, not because he dropped 32 points against Brooklyn, but because there is literally no one else. The Kings suited up just eight players against the Charlotte Hornets last week, allowed the Hornets to score 26 three-pointers, and lost by 44 points. Ouch. Well, there are only nine games left in the season, so let’s pivot back into March Madness.

Tournament favorite, Duke, surprised everyone in the first round by almost losing to the No. 16 seed Siena, who were up by 11 at halftime. Cameron Boozer didn’t lose his cool, though, and the Duke Blue Devils still managed to pull out the win, phew! In the second round game against TCU, Boozer really turned it on in the 2nd half, scoring 17 of his 19 points (a very Kings thing to do, making us sweat).

The man at the top of most draft boards, AJ Dybantsa, looked amazing in his first and last game of the NCAA tournament. That’s right, BYU lost in the first round to Texas. But Dybansta put on a show, scoring 35 points with 10 rebounds, and showed us what all the hype is about.

Things didn't go quite as well for Darryn Peterson and the Kansas Jayhawks. While Peterson did score 29 points in the first game against the California Baptist Lancers, they almost blew a 20-point lead in the second half. The Jayhawks went on to lose the second round game against the St. John’s Red Storm on a buzzer beater, giving the Red Storm their first Sweet 16 appearance since 1999, and the Jayhawks Head Coach of 23 years will reportedly be announcing his retirement. Rough. St. John’s will take on Duke in the Sweet 16; that game will take place on Friday, March 27, at 4:10 PM.

Today, Thursday, March 26, at 7:05 PM, check out Kingston Fleming and Houston and take on Keaton Wagler and Illinois, both of whom won their first two games handily. I’ve heard Wagler compared to a Tyrese Haliburton, who you all know I love, so I’m looking forward to seeing him match up against Houston’s strong defense. The Elite Eight will take place on March 28-29, the Final Four and the Championship will be next week, and then the Kings’ season will wrap up the week after that. Let’s enjoy all this basketball while we still can!