Best singing job
Alauren Harris, a 7-year-old from Indianapolis, belted out a stirring rendition of the national anthem before the Michigan State-Iowa semifinal. Do they give scholarships for that?
Best fan support
During Indiana’s quarterfinal victory over Wisconsin, the Hoosiers’ Marco Killingsworth found himself with the chance for a wide-open three-point shot. Instantly, a murmur of “no, no, no, no” emerged from Indiana fans. Killingsworth, a 20 percent three-point shooter (4 of 20 this season), passed the ball.
Best performance by a future
Ivy League graduate
Minnesota forward Zach Puchtel, who had three points and 15 rebounds in the Gophers’ first-round upset of Michigan. Puchtel will return to Harvard to complete his degree in psychology next year after transferring to Minnesota so he could play as a walk-on.
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Worst performance by a team
on the NCAA tournament bubble
Michigan came in seeded seventh and needing at least one win to have a shot at the NCAAs. The Wolverines bowed out to No. 10 Minnesota in the first round.
Worst performance by a team
on the NIT bubble
Northwestern showed bad timing by picking the conference tournament to play its worst game of the season, a 60-42 loss to Penn State.
Best job of taking advantage
of opportunity
Michigan State came in as the No. 6 seed and showed again why its always dangerous in March, winning two games.
Best job of dealing with
sleep deprivation
Iowa beat Michigan State in a semifinal that tipped off just 16 1/2 hours after the Hawkeyes’ quarterfinal victory over Minnesota.
Worst job of dealing with
sleep deprivation
Michigan State, which lost to Iowa in a semifinal that tipped off just 14 hours after the Spartans’ quarterfinal victory over Illinois.
Best performance by
a lame-duck coach
Indiana’s Mike Davis guided the Hoosiers past Wisconsin in the quarterfinals. Only two missed shots in the final seconds of the semifinal against Ohio State kept the Hoosiers from the title game.
Best heady play
Michigan State’s Shannon Brown threw an inbounds pass off the back of Illinois guard Chester Frazier and picked up the loose ball as the Spartans held off the Illini in the quarterfinals.
Best job of going AWOL in a loss
Michigan center Courtney Sims, who came in averaging 11.9 points and 6.3 rebounds, had four points and five rebounds in the first-round loss to Minnesota, ending the Wolverines’ NCAA tournament hopes.
Best job of going AWOL in a win
Ohio State guard Je’Kel Foster, who came in averaging 13 points per game, scored just two points (free throws) and was 0-for-11 from the field, including 0-for-9 on three-pointers in the Buckeyes’ semifinal win over Indiana.
Best showing by a Proviso East
graduate named Brown
Michigan State’s Shannon Brown scored 14 points in the quarterfinal victory over Illinois.
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Worst showing by a Proviso East
graduate named Brown
Illinois’ Dee Brown scored just five points on 2-for-10 shooting in the Illini’s quarterfinal loss to Michigan State.
Best highlight-film game
Minnesota’s Vincent Grier scored 29 in the quarterfinal loss to Iowa on an array of one-on-one moves and dunks.
Best shot
David Jackson of Penn State launched a jump shot that bounced off the back of the rim, went straight up about 15 feet, and swished through against Northwestern.
Worst shot
Any of a dozen or so air balls thrown up by teams so familiar with each other’s offenses that nobody could shoot straight.