Brandon Huffman
Most years we’re happy to get one Alaskan in the NCAA Tournament, but this year we scored a hat trick.
Three players from the state went dancing – Anchorage’s Brandon Huffman, Palmer’s Patrick McMahon and Wasilla’s Olivia Davies.
All three Alaskans were on the losing end in the first round, but two of them will have a chance to come back.
Huffman wrapped up his college career with a solid 9-point, 7-rebound effort for Jacksonville State in an 80-61 loss to No. 2 seed Auburn in the Midwest Region.
The 6-foot-10 senior became just the fifth Alaska men’s player to appear in three different NCAA Tournaments; the previous two came with North Carolina in 2018 and 2019.
Huffman, of West High fame, went 3-for-7 from the field and added three free throws and one blocked shot.
He spent parts of the game matched up with potential No. 1 NBA draft pick Jabari Smith, a hard-to-guard ready-made-pro who had 20 points and 14 rebounds.
Huffman’s career .608 FG% ranks third all-time among Alaskans at the NCAA Division I level.
In the closing moments of the game, the 6-foot-10 Smith went in for a monster one-handed slam with a full head of steam and Huffman challenged him at the rim.
It didn’t go as planned for Huffman, who got dunked on and was called for the foul, but you got to give him a ton of credit for having the courage to contest the shot.
He didn’t hide from the moment.
Huffman rejuvenated his career at Jacksonville State, where he averaged 9.7 and 6.1 rebounds in 58 games compared to 1.4 points and 1.1 rebounds in 70 games at North Carolina.
Today was his fifth career NCAA Tournament game, and the nine points and seven rebounds were both highs.
His 13 career points at the NCAA Tournament rank sixth among the 21 Alaska men’s players to appear in a game at the Big Dance.
Patrick McMahon
McMahon became the newest member of the club and the first out of Colony High.
The 6-foot-7 freshman had seven points in eight minutes off the bench during a 97-62 loss to No. 3 seed Texas Tech in the West Region.
He even got a plug on TV.
And a 3! pic.twitter.com/C98WF8RVud
— Dave (@DaveReaves_IBEW) March 18, 2022
McMahon went 2-for-2 from the field with a 3-pointer and 2-for-2 from the foul line. He also had one rebound and a blocked shot.
“It was truly an awesome feeling, man,” McMahon said. “Blessed to have experienced that, not many people get to do that.”
The 2021 Gatorade Alaska Player of the Year came into the NCAA Tournament with 35 points in 20 games – then he had seven in the Big Dance.
It was one of the better NCAA Tournament debuts by an Alaskan.
Most Points By Men’s Player From Alaska In NCAA Tournament Debut
16 – Brooks Thompson (Anchorage) Oklahoma State 1993
16 – Carlos Boozer (Juneau-Douglas) Duke 2000
15 – Mario Chalmers (Bartlett) Kansas 2006
11 – Roderick Wilmont (Sitka) Indiana 2006
10 – Trajan Langdon (East) Duke 1997
7 – Patrick McMahon (Colony) Montana State 2022
At the women’s NCAA Tournament, Davies and Hawaii suffered an 89-49 loss to No. 2 seed Baylor in the Waco Region.
The loss snapped Hawaii’s eight-game winning streak.
Olivia Davies
Davies, of Wasilla High fame, started the game and played 31 minutes. She didn’t score, but she never quit shooting, going 0-for-12.
Hey, if you’re going to go out, go out shooting.
Baylor is loaded, so loaded, in fact, the Bears bring a McDonald’s All-American off the bench.
Davies is coming off an all-tournament performance at the Big West Championships. She averaged a career-best 8.3 points per game for a 20-10 Hawaii team that advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016.