If you were looking for upsets in your bracket, Thursday was not your day, even though it wasn’t a total loss. Friday, on the other hand, was a little different story. Five double-digit seeds won on the day, and even what could be termed mild upsets were among the day’s results.
What might also be termed upsets in a different sense is the 8-9 games, which were all won by the No. 9 seeds but by double digits. One can reasonably expect those to be close games, but not so on this day.
We’ll start with the lowest seed to win, and that was No. 13 UC Irvine in the South Region. Tied with No. 4 Kansas State at halftime, the Anteaters used a 12-0 run in the second half to take over the game, turning a four-point deficit into an eight-point lead, then held off the Wildcats 70-64 for their first NCAA Tournament win. Kansas State would get within a possession before the Anteaters would hit a big three-pointer to seal it, fitting since they had two straight from deep to get the decisive run going.
With that, UC Irvine is the only school from California remaining in the NCAA Tournament. Kansas State, meanwhile, has a disappointing end to a season where much was expected. The Wildcats were so-so in non-conference, but had a great run in Big 12 play as regular season co-champions with Texas Tech. They were more like most expected them to be. But without Dean Wade, their margin was diminished, and Barry Brown Jr. got into foul trouble, which was a big blow for stretches.
Two No. 12 seeds won on the day, one of them not entirely a shocker. A trendy pick was Oregon to knock off Wisconsin, and sure enough, the Ducks stayed hot thanks largely to a big second half as they beat the Badgers 72-54 for their ninth win in a row and a date with UC Irvine, which also guarantees that a double-digit seed will be in the Sweet 16. Oregon did it at both ends of the floor, shooting almost 55 percent from the field including 7-15 from long range, but their defense might have been the bigger factor as they never let Ethan Happ get going with just 12 points on 5-10 shooting, and he didn’t have an assist, which is far from a minor point as he led the Badgers in that category. Wisconsin shot just 33.3 percent from the field, including 6-30 from long range.
Later on came the other No. 12 seed to win, which was Liberty knocking off Mississippi State 80-76 in the East Region. In a tight game late, Liberty made the big shots, especially Caleb Homesley, who had the game of his life with 30 points on 10-16 shooting, including 5-11 from long range. After the Flames knotted it at 53 just over nine minutes into the second half, the Bulldogs scored ten unanswered points and appeared ready to take over and pull away. They still led 67-59 with six minutes left, when Homesley and the Flames took over.
After two free throws, Homesley went on a personal 8-0 run, sandwiching a dunk between two three-pointers, and that put Liberty on top. Mississippi State would regain the lead, but only briefly, as another big three-pointer – Liberty was 12-25 from deep on the evening – by Lovell Cabbil Jr. put them ahead for good, with stops and free throws helping them seal it.
We also saw milder results like No. 11 Ohio State edging No. 6 Iowa State 62-59 in the Midwest and No. 10 Iowa coming from behind to beat No. 7 Cincinnati 79-72 in the South. Let’s dispense with one thing about the former: it proves nothing regarding Ohio State being in the tournament. It doesn’t prove Ohio State really did belong, just like if Iowa State won it would not prove that Ohio State didn’t belong all along. It’s certainly a disappointing end for Iowa State, especially since they were talked up a lot after they beat Kansas during Big 12 play – a win that, as we would see later, didn’t mean as much as it usually does.
The 8-9 games can always go either way, and this year the No. 9 seeds won all four games. But on Friday, none were close calls. Oklahoma got off to a fast start and rolled over Ole Miss 95-72, Washington shot 10-17 from long range to take care of Utah State 78-61, and UCF built a 21-point lead that was more than enough to sustain a few small rallies by VCU in a 73-58 win. The bottom line results are not surprising in any of these cases, but that none was a close call was a surprise.
And as one final note: how about the Big Ten sending seven teams into the round of 32? That ties a record previously set by the Big East in 2008 and 2011, as the only Big Ten team to lose in the first round was Wisconsin.
In the end, though, we’ve come to understand that days like Friday are not surprises. The only surprise is when we don’t see a few of the results we did on Friday.
Side Dishes
In the end, the No. 1 seeds all advanced comfortably, though a couple of them needed some time to break away. Virginia actually trailed Gardner-Webb at halftime, but took over in the second half en route to a 71-56 win behind 23 points from De’Andre Hunter, who missed last season’s historic loss. Duke pulled away from North Dakota State 85-62 behind 26 points and 14 rebounds from R.J. Barrett, and North Carolina also trailed Iona by five at halftime but broke away a little into the second half en route to an 88-73 win.
Tennessee was the only No. 2 in action on the day, and they needed a few late three-pointers to hold off Colgate 77-70, as the Raiders had come within two with under five minutes left. Jordan Burns, fresh off a terrific Patriot League title game, had another monster game with 32 points on 12-20 shooting, including 8-13 from long range, in the losing effort. Colgate was 15-29 on three-pointers to stay in this one.
Buffalo now officially owns the state of Arizona on the hardwood. The Bulls blew out Arizona last year, and on Friday they handled Arizona State 91-74. Jeremy Harris had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Buffalo out-rebounded the Sun Devils 42-26.
One mild surprise was seeing Houston run away from Georgia State 84-55. It’s not a surprise that the Cougars won, or even convincingly, but this was potentially a pretty good matchup given the respective strengths of the teams. Georgia State shot just 30 percent from the field and Houston had a 51-27 rebounding edge. The other No. 3 in action, Texas Tech in the West, pulled away from Northern Kentucky 72-57 behind 29 points, eight rebounds and seven assists from Jarrett Culver. Virginia Tech fared better than Kansas State as No. 4 seeds go, building a 22-point halftime lead on Saint Louis and cruising to a 66-52 win.
More coaching news came on the day, and it starts in the SEC, where Alabama is negotiating a buyout with Avery Johnson and Vanderbilt is terminating Bryce Drew. Johnson went 75-62 in four seasons at Alabama, but there was promise for much more, especially with some early recruiting. The Crimson Tide actually have a nice class coming in next season, too, at least for now – we’ll see if they all still come to Tuscaloosa in light of the change. The more surprising move is Drew being cut loose at Vanderbilt after three seasons. The Commodores were 40-59 in his three years, and there was a downward trend after an NCAA Tournament appearance in his first season, but one might have thought he would at least get another year to reverse it. The Commodores were never the same team after Darius Garland went down, although they didn’t exactly have the talent of a team that should go winless in SEC play, either, so he doesn’t get a pass for this season with the injury even though that changes the evaluation a bit. Of note, Vanderbilt has a new athletic director, which seems to be a theme – Saint Joseph’s and William & Mary also have new ADs and just fired long-time coaches.
One coach who is staying is Danny Manning, as Wake Forest announced he will return next year. His buyout is thought to be in the eight-figure range, and that is likely a big factor.
News about player movement is coming fast and furious as well and in the form of early departures for the NBA Draft and transfers. The biggest news on that front on Friday is that Tyus Battle is leaving Syracuse for the NBA Draft, which is no small hit to the team from an offensive standpoint.
In the NIT, Creighton beat Memphis 79-67, and Southern Utah beat Drake 80-73 in overtime in the lone CIT game of the night.
Tonight’s Menu
The first half of the Sweet 16 will be set today as the second round gets going.
- In Jacksonville, LSU takes on Maryland (12:10 p.m.) and Kentucky takes on Wofford (2:40 p.m.)
- In Des Moines, the Big Ten takes center stage as Michigan takes on Florida (5:15 p.m.) and Michigan State battles Minnesota (7:45 p.m.)
- In Hartford, Florida State takes on Murray State in a fascinating battle (6:10 p.m.) and Purdue meets Villanova (8:40 p.m.)
- In Salt Lake City, a couple of potentially very good matchups are on tape as Gonzaga battles Baylor (7:10 p.m.) and Kansas plays Auburn (9:40 p.m.)
- A pair of NIT games are also on tap, with Arkansas visiting Indiana (noon) and Lipscomb traveling to UNC Greensboro (2 p.m.)
- There is also a CIT game on tap, with Florida International visiting Texas State (7 p.m.)
