We say this every year, but there is a good chance that if you had filled out an NCAA Tournament bracket, it is going to be filled with a lot of Xs by now.
Middle Tennessee State was the chief cause of office pools being thrown wide open yesterday; they jumped out to a 15-2 lead against 2nd-seeded Michigan State and never relinquished that lead despite several comeback attempts by the Spartans throughout the game. Michigan State actually shot 55.6% from the field and was 11-24 behind the 3-point arc, but the Blue Raiders also shot about 56% from the field and were even more efficient from outside – they shot 11-19 behind the arc. This is the 4th time in the last 5 seasons that a #2 seed has lost in the 1st round/Round of 64.
The first stunner came in the afternoon in Spokane – Hawai’i led California for much of this game and ended up winning 77-66. It was a disastrous beginning for the Pac-12; they were already reeling from losses by Arizona, Colorado and USC; now California and Oregon State joined the list after losing their respective openers yesterday. Oregon did put an end to the Cinderella run of Holy Cross, however.
The entire afternoon session in St. Louis was upside-down; Syracuse led Dayton by 2 at the half and completely blew the game open in the 2nd half. The Orange beat the Flyers 70-51 and will now get to face Middle Tennessee State in the 2nd round on Sunday. Oklahoma and Maryland struggled a bit in their openers, although the final score didn’t indicate that for the Sooners. Villanova had a relatively easy time with UNC-Asheville, but their moment of truth comes Sunday.
Segue to Villanova’s next opponent – the winner of the Iowa-Temple matchup. Temple looked like they would have momentum going into overtime after Quentin DeCosey was fouled attempting a 3-pointer and hitting all 3 free throws. However, the game was still tied at 70 going into the closing seconds of overtime. Despite a controversial no-call after an Iowa offensive rebound, Adam Woodbury hit the buzzer-beater for Iowa after getting the biggest rebound of the game for the Hawkeyes. Can Iowa extend the recent miseries of Villanova’s recent postseason runs, or will the Wildcats finally get over the hump and into the Sweet 16?
In the evening sessions, only St. Louis had chalk and a lack of buzzer-beaters. Wisconsin ended up beating Pitt 47-43, but it was a game that Pitt lead for much of the way. Only in the final 2 minutes did the Badgers finally take control. Xavier got off to a fast start against Weber State, but the Wildcats did hang around just long enough to keep Musketeer fans nervous for the first 36 minutes of the game. Xavier-Wisconsin is also a rematch from the 2009 NCAA Tournament; that year the Musketeers won in Boise.
In Brooklyn, Stephen F. Austin scored their 2nd upset in 3 years with a surprisingly decisive 70-56 win over West Virginia. Thomas Walkup had a monster game for the Lumberjacks; he had 33 points and 9 rebounds. They’ll face Notre Dame in the 2nd round; the Irish were 70-63 survivors against Michigan.
In Oklahoma City, things were shaping up for a Texas-Texas A&M rematch in Round 2. Texas hit a game-tying shot with 2 seconds remaining in regulation in Northern Iowa, but the Panthers’ Paul Jesperson launched a half-court prayer to ensure that overtime would not be needed. It was the 2nd game in a row that UNI hit a buzzer-beater, and this was almost from the same location of Gordon Hayward’s near-miss in the 2010 championship game. Texas A&M had some early struggles against Green Bay, but they had a relatively easy win and now get to play UNI on Sunday.
In Spokane, Cincinnati seemed to have one more curse remaining in their season. Isaiah Miles hit a go-ahead 3-point shot to give the Hawks a 2-point lead with 9 seconds remaining in regulation. Octavius Ellis appeared to have the game-tying dunk to send the game to overtime, but a 2-minute replay review showed that the ball was just barely in Ellis’s hands as the clock expired and the backboard light had illuminated. The Bearcats had a track record of losing close games all season long, but their final 2 games, quite sadly, were the polar opposite of what Northern Iowa experienced in their last 2 games.
As for today’s games:
(11) WICHITA STATE VS (3) MIAMI (12:10 PM, CBS) – The Shockers’ defense was at its best against Arizona on Thursday night, and they will need to be as equally impressive if they wish to defeat Miami in today’s game. The nation knows about Ron Baker and Fred Van Vleet for the Shockers, but don’t sleep on the Canes’ Angel Rodriguez, either.
(12) YALE VS (4) DUKE (2: 40 PM, CBS) – While Yale was able to ensure that Baylor would be the upset victim for the 2nd year in a row, the Blue Devils survived a scare on Thursday against in-state foe UNC-Wilmington. One can only hope that the court will not be a “tripping hazard” like it was on Thursday when it had a lot of slick spots during the course of the day.
(5) INDIANA VS (4) KENTUCKY (5:15 PM, CBS) – This is by far the spotlight game of the day, and for one day we will be treated to a renewal of this intrastate rivalry in the NCAA Tournament. Kentucky has had a history of dealing Indiana painful losses at NCAA Tournament time (see 1975 and 1983 as historic examples), but could this be the year when Indiana finally returns the favor?
(12) ARKANSAS-LITTLE ROCK VS (4) IOWA STATE (6:10 PM, TNT) – The Trojans had a furious finish to force overtime and eventually beat Purdue in double OT to advance to today’s game against Iowa State. The Cyclones took care of business against Iona, but they will have a slightly taller order against a Little Rock team that has been very consistent all season long.
(9) BUTLER VS (1) VIRGINIA (7:10 PM, TBS) – Only Virginia fans were celebrating louder than Middle Tennessee fans were at the notion of Michigan State making an early exit. However, Butler has their own history of crashing the NCAA Tournament party in March, and we’ve seen at least one #1 seed fall in the Round of 32 for the past 3 years. The Bulldogs struggled against Villanova and Xavier earlier this season, although Virginia has their own distinct style of play that’s not as likely to overwhelm Butler.
(9) CONNECTICUT VS (1) KANSAS (7:45 PM, CBS) – For all of their lack of recent success in the NCAA Tournament, this is the kind of matchup that will have Kansas fans biting their fingernails once again. They should be able to beat UConn tonight, but would an upset by the Huskies really be shocking here? Ask Cincinnati about the perils of letting UConn remain in contention at crunch time.
(11) GONZAGA VS (3) UTAH (8:40 PM, TNT) – This is a nice intrasectional matchup between the Bulldogs and the Utes. The pressure is on Utah to win this one to get back to the Sweet 16 and to salvage some lost pride for the Pac-12 this season. Gonzaga certainly looked a lot more at ease under the crucible of one-and-done play than Seton Hall did on Thursday night, and an upset win here would not be a terrible shock, either.
(9) PROVIDENCE VS (1) NORTH CAROLINA (9:40 PM, TBS) – Only once in their storied history has North Carolina lost a game in their own state in the NCAA Tournament (read: a loss in 1979 to eventual Final Four team Penn), but Providence does have the star power to pull a stunner here. Question is, did the Friars use all 9 lives just to get past USC on Thursday night?
NCAA Tournament Recap and Second Round Rundown: Saturday, March 19
We say this every year, but there is a good chance that if you had filled out an NCAA Tournament bracket, it is going to be filled with a lot of Xs by now.
Middle Tennessee State was the chief cause of office pools being thrown wide open yesterday; they jumped out to a 15-2 lead against 2nd-seeded Michigan State and never relinquished that lead despite several comeback attempts by the Spartans throughout the game. Michigan State actually shot 55.6% from the field and was 11-24 behind the 3-point arc, but the Blue Raiders also shot about 56% from the field and were even more efficient from outside – they shot 11-19 behind the arc. This is the 4th time in the last 5 seasons that a #2 seed has lost in the 1st round/Round of 64.
The first stunner came in the afternoon in Spokane – Hawai’i led California for much of this game and ended up winning 77-66. It was a disastrous beginning for the Pac-12; they were already reeling from losses by Arizona, Colorado and USC; now California and Oregon State joined the list after losing their respective openers yesterday. Oregon did put an end to the Cinderella run of Holy Cross, however.
The entire afternoon session in St. Louis was upside-down; Syracuse led Dayton by 2 at the half and completely blew the game open in the 2nd half. The Orange beat the Flyers 70-51 and will now get to face Middle Tennessee State in the 2nd round on Sunday. Oklahoma and Maryland struggled a bit in their openers, although the final score didn’t indicate that for the Sooners. Villanova had a relatively easy time with UNC-Asheville, but their moment of truth comes Sunday.
Segue to Villanova’s next opponent – the winner of the Iowa-Temple matchup. Temple looked like they would have momentum going into overtime after Quentin DeCosey was fouled attempting a 3-pointer and hitting all 3 free throws. However, the game was still tied at 70 going into the closing seconds of overtime. Despite a controversial no-call after an Iowa offensive rebound, Adam Woodbury hit the buzzer-beater for Iowa after getting the biggest rebound of the game for the Hawkeyes. Can Iowa extend the recent miseries of Villanova’s recent postseason runs, or will the Wildcats finally get over the hump and into the Sweet 16?
In the evening sessions, only St. Louis had chalk and a lack of buzzer-beaters. Wisconsin ended up beating Pitt 47-43, but it was a game that Pitt lead for much of the way. Only in the final 2 minutes did the Badgers finally take control. Xavier got off to a fast start against Weber State, but the Wildcats did hang around just long enough to keep Musketeer fans nervous for the first 36 minutes of the game. Xavier-Wisconsin is also a rematch from the 2009 NCAA Tournament; that year the Musketeers won in Boise.
In Brooklyn, Stephen F. Austin scored their 2nd upset in 3 years with a surprisingly decisive 70-56 win over West Virginia. Thomas Walkup had a monster game for the Lumberjacks; he had 33 points and 9 rebounds. They’ll face Notre Dame in the 2nd round; the Irish were 70-63 survivors against Michigan.
In Oklahoma City, things were shaping up for a Texas-Texas A&M rematch in Round 2. Texas hit a game-tying shot with 2 seconds remaining in regulation in Northern Iowa, but the Panthers’ Paul Jesperson launched a half-court prayer to ensure that overtime would not be needed. It was the 2nd game in a row that UNI hit a buzzer-beater, and this was almost from the same location of Gordon Hayward’s near-miss in the 2010 championship game. Texas A&M had some early struggles against Green Bay, but they had a relatively easy win and now get to play UNI on Sunday.
In Spokane, Cincinnati seemed to have one more curse remaining in their season. Isaiah Miles hit a go-ahead 3-point shot to give the Hawks a 2-point lead with 9 seconds remaining in regulation. Octavius Ellis appeared to have the game-tying dunk to send the game to overtime, but a 2-minute replay review showed that the ball was just barely in Ellis’s hands as the clock expired and the backboard light had illuminated. The Bearcats had a track record of losing close games all season long, but their final 2 games, quite sadly, were the polar opposite of what Northern Iowa experienced in their last 2 games.
As for today’s games:
(11) WICHITA STATE VS (3) MIAMI (12:10 PM, CBS) – The Shockers’ defense was at its best against Arizona on Thursday night, and they will need to be as equally impressive if they wish to defeat Miami in today’s game. The nation knows about Ron Baker and Fred Van Vleet for the Shockers, but don’t sleep on the Canes’ Angel Rodriguez, either.
(12) YALE VS (4) DUKE (2: 40 PM, CBS) – While Yale was able to ensure that Baylor would be the upset victim for the 2nd year in a row, the Blue Devils survived a scare on Thursday against in-state foe UNC-Wilmington. One can only hope that the court will not be a “tripping hazard” like it was on Thursday when it had a lot of slick spots during the course of the day.
(5) INDIANA VS (4) KENTUCKY (5:15 PM, CBS) – This is by far the spotlight game of the day, and for one day we will be treated to a renewal of this intrastate rivalry in the NCAA Tournament. Kentucky has had a history of dealing Indiana painful losses at NCAA Tournament time (see 1975 and 1983 as historic examples), but could this be the year when Indiana finally returns the favor?
(12) ARKANSAS-LITTLE ROCK VS (4) IOWA STATE (6:10 PM, TNT) – The Trojans had a furious finish to force overtime and eventually beat Purdue in double OT to advance to today’s game against Iowa State. The Cyclones took care of business against Iona, but they will have a slightly taller order against a Little Rock team that has been very consistent all season long.
(9) BUTLER VS (1) VIRGINIA (7:10 PM, TBS) – Only Virginia fans were celebrating louder than Middle Tennessee fans were at the notion of Michigan State making an early exit. However, Butler has their own history of crashing the NCAA Tournament party in March, and we’ve seen at least one #1 seed fall in the Round of 32 for the past 3 years. The Bulldogs struggled against Villanova and Xavier earlier this season, although Virginia has their own distinct style of play that’s not as likely to overwhelm Butler.
(9) CONNECTICUT VS (1) KANSAS (7:45 PM, CBS) – For all of their lack of recent success in the NCAA Tournament, this is the kind of matchup that will have Kansas fans biting their fingernails once again. They should be able to beat UConn tonight, but would an upset by the Huskies really be shocking here? Ask Cincinnati about the perils of letting UConn remain in contention at crunch time.
(11) GONZAGA VS (3) UTAH (8:40 PM, TNT) – This is a nice intrasectional matchup between the Bulldogs and the Utes. The pressure is on Utah to win this one to get back to the Sweet 16 and to salvage some lost pride for the Pac-12 this season. Gonzaga certainly looked a lot more at ease under the crucible of one-and-done play than Seton Hall did on Thursday night, and an upset win here would not be a terrible shock, either.
(9) PROVIDENCE VS (1) NORTH CAROLINA (9:40 PM, TBS) – Only once in their storied history has North Carolina lost a game in their own state in the NCAA Tournament (read: a loss in 1979 to eventual Final Four team Penn), but Providence does have the star power to pull a stunner here. Question is, did the Friars use all 9 lives just to get past USC on Thursday night?