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Recap – Buffalo
The first round began in earnest with Notre Dame matching up against Princeton. The Irish led this one for most of the way, but a potential game-winning 3 by Princeton was missed and the Irish escaped with a 60-58 victory. They will face West Virginia on Saturday – the Mountaineers were able to keep Bucknell from seriously threatening in the 2nd half and ended up winning 86-80. In the nightcap, it took Villanova over 5 minutes to get on the scoreboard but they trailed for the first 17 minutes of the game against Mount St. Mary’s before taking control in the 2nd half en route to a 76-56 victory. They will get a dangerous Wisconsin team in the 2nd round – the Badgers beat Virginia Tech 84-74 in the nightcap.
Recap – Orlando
The opener looked like it would not only be an upset by UNC-Wilmington over Virginia, it looked like it was going to be a spanking after the Seahawks jumped out to a 26-11 lead. From there, the Hoos closed the half on a 19-3 run and ended up winning 76-71. They will face a Florida team that had little trouble in beating East Tennessee State 80-65. Xavier looked again like they may have peaked in the 1st half against Maryland after giving up an 11-0 run wrapped around the end of the 1st half. After Malcolm Bernard hit a 3 to get Xavier on the board in the 2nd half, they never looked back and ended up beating the Terps 76-65. Florida State did get a scare against Florida Gulf Coast for most of the game, but they ended up winning 86-80 and will face Xavier in the 2nd round tomorrow night.
Recap – Milwaukee
At least one upset was expected at the Bradley Center today, and Middle Tennessee (who was actually a favorite on some betting lines) delivered for the 2nd year in a row with an 81-72 victory over the Gophers. Their reward is a 2nd-round matchup against Butler – the Bulldogs pulled away with a 76-64 win against a game Winthrop team. In the nighttime doubleheader, Purdue would trail Vermont early but ensured that lightning would not strike for a 2nd year in a row after they came back for an 80-70 win. Iowa State did not have the same letdown from 2 years ago after winning the Big 12 tournament – they jumped out to a 13-point halftime lead and beat Nevada 84-73.
Recap – Salt Lake City
I think it’s fair to say that two of the most entertaining games of the day as a whole took place out west. Gonzaga also struggled with South Dakota State but cruised in the 2nd half en route to a 66-46 victory. They will face Northwestern – the Wildcats held off a late Vandy comeback and hit 2 free throws to take the lead for good with under 20 seconds to play. Vandy inexplicably fouled in the backcourt prior to the 2 foul shots, but missed a go-ahead 3 of their own to seal the win for Northwestern. In the nightcap, Saint Mary’s built a 15-point lead in the 2nd half against VCU before a late Rams comeback whittled the deficit to 2 points. The Gaels didn’t blink and ended up winning 85-77 to advance to the 2nd round. Arizona was never seriously challenged and beat North Dakota 100-82 to set up a 2nd round match against the “other” WCC superpower in Saint Mary’s.
FRIDAY’S MATCHUPS
(10) OKLAHOMA STATE vs. (7) MICHIGAN (12:15 PM, Indianapolis – CBS). The Wolverines are coming off an incredible 5-day stretch that began with a plane crash prior to takeoff in Detroit. After they were able to fly to DC the following morning, they won 4 games in 4 days to claim the Big 10 Championship for the first time since 1998. They will take on an equally resilient Oklahoma State team that started 0-6 in the Big 12 regular season before a late-season turnaround that saw them win 10 out of their last 14 games.
(14) NEW MEXICO STATE vs. (3) BAYLOR (12:40 PM, Tulsa – TruTV). Baylor will attempt to exorcise their recent ghosts in NCAA Tournament play (including losses in 2015 to Georgia State and 2016 to Yale). New Mexico State comes in to the tournament with a win over Cal-State Bakersfield in the WAC and will attempt to become the 4th team out of the WAC to win their postseason opener.
(9) SETON HALL vs. (8) ARKANSAS (1:30 PM, Greenville – TNT). The NCAA Tournament makes its triumphant return to South Carolina for the first time in 15 years with a pair of teams that had head-scratching mid-season slumps but appear to have righted their respective ships. The Pirates narrowly missed a golden opportunity to upset Villanova in the Big East tournament, and the Razorbacks had a nice run to the SEC championship game before falling to Kentucky.
(14) IONA vs. (3) OREGON (2:00 PM, Sacramento – TBS). The brand-new Golden 1 Center will host NCAA Tournament games for the first time this season. Oregon comes into the game wounded thanks to Boucher’s injury, and they will face an Iona team that is appearing in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season after winning the MAAC tournament.
(15) JACKSONVILLE STATE vs. (2) LOUISVILLE (2:45 PM, Indianapolis – CBS). Jacksonville State will be making their NCAA Tournament debut after winning the OVC championship for the first time. Louisville should not have trouble in what should be a partisan crowd for the afternoon session.
(11) USC vs. (6) SMU (3:10 PM, Tulsa – TruTV). Thanks to USC’s comeback win against Providence on Wednesday night, they will get a rematch against SMU in the first round. The Mustangs will be looking for revenge themselves since they lost at USC back in November. Write off the Trojans at your own peril – they have come back from 10-point deficits to win an astounding 12 game this season.
(16) TEXAS SOUTHERN vs. (1) NORTH CAROLINA (4:00 PM, Greenville – TNT). While Texas Southern is in the SWAC’s customary 16-seed, they are no strangers to the NCAA Tournament – this is their 3rd appearance in 4 seasons under Mike Davis. They are fighting way out of their weight class against North Carolina, however.
(11) RHODE ISLAND vs. (6) CREIGHTON (4:30 PM, Sacramento – TBS). While there was a lot of momentum in place for Rhody to get an at-large bid to the NCAAs, they erased all doubt with a win over VCU in the A-10 Championship last Sunday. Their reward is a matchup against a Creighton team that won a pair of games in the Big East tournament against two NCAA Tournament teams (Providence and Xavier).
(16) UC-DAVIS vs. (1) KANSAS (6:50 PM, Tulsa – TNT). After an unexpected hiccup against TCU in the Big 12 Tournament, Kansas should be well-rested for their opener against a UC-Davis team coming in on short rest after beating North Carolina Central in the opening round on Wednesday night.
(10) WICHITA STATE vs. (7) DAYTON (7:10 PM, Indianapolis – CBS). This is potentially the best 1st-round matchup of the tournament. While Dayton has lost momentum since clinching the A-10 regular season tournament outright, they should have a number of fans in the crowd making the short drive from Dayton to Indy. It may not be enough against a Shocker team that hasn’t lost a game since January’s loss at Illinois State.
(15) TROY vs. (2) DUKE (7:20 PM, Greenville – TBS). Duke is coming off a very impressive run of 4 wins in the ACC Tournament where they won the championship against Notre Dame last Saturday. Troy will be making their first appearance since 2003 thanks to their Sun Belt championship and it is likely to be a brief one.
(11) KANSAS STATE vs. (6) CINCINNATI (7:27 PM, Sacramento – TruTV). While K-State and Cincinnati don’t have a rivalry per se, these schools were Bob Huggins’ prior coaching stops before he moved on to West Virginia. Cincinnati is a team capable of making a deep run in the tournament, but also capable of laying an egg in Round 1.
(9) MICHIGAN STATE vs. (8) MIAMI (9:20 PM, Tulsa – TNT). The Spartans struggled all season long to gain any semblance of consistency, but they’ve held the ship intact. They will be playing a Miami team that was supposed to be reloading this year, but have managed a few key wins of their own in the ACC this year. (No truth to the rumor that anti-Syracuse folks sent the Hurricanes gift baskets after they knocked out the Orange in the ACC Tournament.)
(15) NORTHERN KENTUCKY vs. (2) KENTUCKY (9:40 PM, Indianapolis – CBS). It’s already been a dream season for the Norse – they earned their first NCAA Tournament bid in their first year of eligibility in Division I after winning the Horizon League tournament. Kentucky has looked dominant themselves after a mid-season swoon in the SEC that saw a loss to Tennessee and deceptively hard wins against Georgia.
(10) MARQUETTE vs. (7) SOUTH CAROLINA (9:50 PM, Greenville – TBS). Both teams have been absent from the NCAA Tournament in recent memory, although both teams are going in different directions right now. Marquette got some late-season wins of note in the Big East while the Gamecocks stumbled for most of February and March. They will have the homestate crowd advantage against Marquette, though.
(14) KENT STATE vs. (3) UCLA (9:57 PM, Sacramento – TruTV). The last game of the day features a potential contender for the national crown and another team that came off an emotional victory against arch-rival Akron in the MAC championship last Saturday. UCLA should not have too much trouble in front of what will be a partisan crowd.