HoopsHD continues its simulation of what would have happened in TTTW (The Tournament That Wasn’t). Up next it is time to continue with the First and Second rounds of the NCAA Tournament with a look at the second of four pods in the South Region. Tampa, Florida was the site of games involving two of the more popular Cinderella picks in the field as 12-seed Liberty had a shot at 5-seed Auburn and 13-seed Belmont was matched up with a red-hot 4-seed Wisconsin team that had just won the Big Ten Tournament. Would the seeds hold or could a major upset be in store? It is time to find out!
FIRST ROUND – SOUTH REGION – TAMPA, FLORIDA
(5) Auburn vs (12) Liberty
The Auburn Tigers entered the Tournament with 27 wins, the most of any SEC team. Yet the lack of a single road win against an NCAA Tournament team had many questioning just how good this team was this season. Their first round opponent was a tough Liberty team that had the majority of its roster back from a team that had upset another SEC team, Mississippi State, in last year’s tournament. This matchup clearly had all the ingredients for a classic 5-12 first round upset.
Sometimes games that appear prime for an upset on paper play out nothing like that in reality. Other times, they turn out exactly how predicted. Today’s Auburn-Liberty game was clearly the later as the Flames put together a 15-5 run to end the first half and turn a 4-point lead into a 48-34 advantage at the break. The Tigers didn’t even seem to show up for the second half of the game, and Liberty rolled to a fairly easy 90-63 upset win and a return to the Round of 32. Caleb Homesley led the way for the Flames with 28 points in the victory.
Final Score: (12) Liberty 90, (5) Auburn 63
(4) Wisconsin vs (13) Belmont
One of the hottest teams entering the NCAA Tournament was the Wisconsin Badgers. The Badgers, early in the season, looked like a team that might not even make the NCAA Tournament. By the end of the year, they had captured a share of the Big Ten regular season title and followed that up with a Big Ten Tournament championship, landing them all the way up on the 4-seed line in the Big Dance. The Badgers’ first round opponent was the champions of the Ohio Valley Conference, the Belmont Bruins. Belmont had similarly come from a few games back in their conference standings to capture a share of the OVC regular season title and followed that up with a conference tournament title. The Bruins certainly had the heart to win this game – but they would need more than just that to pull off the upset.
Belmont came out early and showed that they were not afraid of Wisconsin. The Bruins played tough and were able to build a 7-point lead halfway through the first period. However, Wisconsin fought back and, when halftime came, it was down to a one-point Belmont lead, 39-38. The second half was close the whole way, with neither team building a lead larger than five. With the upset in their sights and a minute left to play, Belmont was up 71-67. A Nate Reuvers jumper cut the lead to 2, and after a defensive stand by Wisconsin, Aleem Ford nailed a shot to tie the game at 71. Nick Muszynski’s attempt to win the game at the buzzer for Belmont missed long, and the game went into overtime. Belmont’s defense proved to be the difference in the extra 5 minutes, holding Wisconsin to only 5 points and getting some key free throw shooting together with a clutch 3-pointer from Tyler Scanlon. The overtime upset shocker was in the books, 81-76. Nick Muszynski was the standout star of the game, scoring 22 points for the OVC champions and leading his team to an unlikely 12 vs 13 second round game against Liberty.
Final Score: (13) Belmont 81, (4) Wisconsin 76 (OT)
SECOND ROUND – SOUTH REGION – TAMPA, FLORIDA
(12) Liberty vs (13) Belmont
A double-digit seed was bound for the Sweet 16 when Atlantic Sun champion and 12-seed Liberty took on Ohio Valley champion and 13-seed Belmont in the South Region second round in Tampa, Florida. The winner of this game would be off to the South Regional semifinals in Houston and a date with the tournament’s top-seed, Kansas. Before either team got to think of taking their shot at the top dog, however, they had to get past each other.
The game started out about as close as possible, with each team trading baskets and neither school opening a lead of more than 4 points in the entire first half. Liberty held a narrow 41-40 advantage at the break, and it looked like we were going to be in for another amazing finish. A 7-0 run for the Flames to open the second half proved to be the key, as the Flames built out their lead and never let Belmont make any serious run the rest of the way. The final score was 85-61 Liberty, with Elijah Cuffee’s 18 points and Caleb Homesley’s 17 leading the Flames to the Sweet 16. Belmont’s Cinderella run was over, but Liberty was moving on for a shot at the nation’s #1 team.
Final Score: (12) Liberty 81, (13) Belmont 65
