All-Time Tournament: Day 9

Day 8 of the All-Time Tournament featured two teams seeded in the 20s pulling off upsets and moving on into the Round of 16. Two more teams seeded in the 20s played on Day 9, but would they be able to pull off upsets of their own?

Let’s take a look at the cluster of games that took place:

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Game 27

The veteran-heavy 1989/90 Bucks had a daunting task of knocking off the second overall seed. The 1971/72 Bucks had all the pressure on them not to fall victim to another upset that has littered the Round of 32. Were they able to dominate like almost all of our pollsters predicted?

Without a doubt. Buoyed by a strong second quarter and Abdul-Jabbar’s 28 point and 20 rebound performance, the 71/72 took care of business and are off to the Round of 16. The 89/90 Bucks had five different players score in double figures, but none of them scored more than 17 points. Alvin Robertson was that player as he added 10 rebounds to his point total. The 71/72 Bucks will take on the winner of our next game.

Game 28

Two teams that sit right next to each other in the history books squared off in our second game of the day. Will this game between the 15 and 18 seeds be as tight as the 60-40 polling split suggests?

It certainly was! The first half was as close as possible, but a very strong third quarter lifted the 78/79 Bucks past their history book neighbor. 24 points from Junior Bridgeman and Marques Johnson’s 18 point and 12 rebound double-double helped the 78/79 squad earn the close victory. A total of eight players scored in double figures for the 77/78 team, but they could not provide enough defense to match their well-round offensive effort. The 78/79 Bucks will face-off with the 71/72 Bucks in the Round of 16.

Game 29

In a clash of 80s teams, the nearly unanimous vote is for the seventh-seeded 1984/85 Bucks to cruise past the 1987/88 Bucks. Was this contest simpler than a walk in the park for the 84/85 team?

It might have been even simpler than the walk! A wire-to-wire win for the 84/85 Bucks launches them into the Round of 16 where they will play the winner of the day’s final game. Paul Pressey and Sidney Moncrief combined for 38 points on 14/32 shooting from the field. The duo also snagged 11 and five rebounds respectively. For the losing side, Ricky Pierce’s 23 points was not enough to overcome the 87/88 Bucks cold, 34 percent overall field goal conversion rate.

Game 30

Today’s finale featured the fan favorite 2000/01 Bucks taking on a team ten years apart from them. The 1990/91 Bucks had to get by the 1991/92 Bucks to reach the Round of 32, but were they be able to avoid being lit up?

They were not. A dominant first quarter was all the 00/01 Bucks needed to take control of the game. Tim Thomas and Ray Allen were electric from three-point range. Thomas went 4/8 and scored 16 points, while Allen went 3/5 and scored 20 points of his own. Glenn Robinson collected a double-double with a 15 point and 18 rebound stat line. Ricky Pierce led the way for the 90/91 Bucks with 21 points, but could not find any help from the rest of his team. The 00/01 Bucks will take on the 84/85 Bucks in the Round of 16.

With 12 of the 16 spots in the Round of 16 filled, let’s take a look at the updated bracket:

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Looking Ahead to Day 10

We finally crept to the double digit tournament days and with that we will see the end of the Round of 32. This round has featured a handful of upsets to this point, but there any more on the horizon with these upcoming games?

Well, let’s take a look at which teams will be playing for the final four spots in the Round of 16:

Game 31

The best coaching job of Jason Kidd’s fart noise of a stint in Milwaukee squeaked by to pull off the upset, 91-87, over the 2005/06 Bucks. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the 2014/15 Bucks with a modest 14 point and 10 rebound performance, but their defense was enough to see them through.

The 1980/81 Bucks were the first post-Kareem team to win 60 games. This team featured four players (soon to be five, hopefully) that have their numbers hanging in the Bradley Center’s The Forum’s rafters. Of course, they were led by the un-retired number eight, Third-year All-Star Marques Johnson (20.3 PTS/6.8 REB/4.6 AST) in his fourth season of action with the Bucks.

Will the third overall seed make quick work of pre-All-Star Giannis?

Game 32

If it were not for a hot shooting fourth quarter, the 1999/2000 Bucks might not have made it out of the Play-in Round against the 2006/07 Bucks. Glenn Robinson dropped a 30 burger while connecting on 60 percent of his shots from three, while Sam Cassell produced a 19 point and 16 assist line in the win.

It took just two full seasons, and winning a coin flip, for the Bucks to make their first playoff appearance. The 1969/70 Bucks won the aforementioned coin flip against the Phoenix Suns and promptly selected Lew Alcindor (28.8/14.5/4.1) first overall in the 1969 Draft and immediately became a 56-win team. Alcindor won the Rookie of the Year award and was named to his first All-Star roster. Flynn Robinson (21.8/3.2/5.5) and Jon McGlocklin (17.6/3.1/3.7) were the perfect prime-aged veterans to surround Alcindor with as the Bucks made it to the Eastern Division Finals.

Can rookie Lew prove dominant enough against the turn of the century Big 3?

Game 33

Strong first and fourth quarters allowed the 1974/75 Bucks to zoom past the 1997/98 Bucks, 107-98. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar tallied 24 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for the probably under-seeded squad.

The 1985/86 Bucks made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals, but could not break through the Boston Celtics-sized wall. The 57-win team had a prime-aged Sidney Moncrief (20.2/4.6/4.9) and Paul Pressey (14.3/5.0/7.8) leading the way while also letting a young Terry Cummings (19.8/8.5/2.4) carry the load.

Will the Eastern Conference runners-up be able to eliminate an Abdul-Jabbar-led squad?

Game 34

In one of the biggest blowouts of the Play-in Round, the 2016/17 Bucks thumped the 2004/05 Bucks by a 115-73 score. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the way with 24 points and found help from the entirety of the roster. Thon Maker was the leading sidekick, scoring 15 points on 3/5 shooting from beyond the arc.

Like the 85/86 team, the 1983/84 Bucks were eliminated in the Eastern Conference Finals by the Boston Celtics. Sidney Moncrief (20.9/6.7/4.5) and Marques Johnson (20.7/6.5/4.5) posted nearly identical stat lines on the year, but Moncrief was the only one of the two to be named to the All-Star roster. These Bucks finished the year 8-2 and relied on their hot hand to get past the Atlanta Hawks and the New Jersey Nets before falling to the Celtics.

Does first-time All-Star Giannis have enough to take down prime-aged Sidney and Marques?