If you were hoping for some upsets or instant classics, Saturday was by and large a dud. That was especially the case later on, as the two best games of the day were the first two games, and it was all downhill from there. That takes nothing away from those games or the teams that pulled out the wins, but only one even remotely resembled a close call.
And if you were in Jacksonville, you won the lottery for the day, because that was home to the two best games, as Ted Sarandis and I talked about in our podcast.
The opener was a dandy as LSU took on Maryland in an East regional second round game. LSU led by nine at halftime and built the lead up to 46-31 exactly four minutes into the second half. That’s when Maryland came alive, scoring the next eight points as part of a 13-2 run to get right back in it. Another 8-0 run later would give them a 57-55 lead, and after that, they would not trail until the final minute.
They traded three-pointers, with LSU’s Naz Reid hitting the first one, then Tremont Waters drove to the basket and banked in a layup with 1.6 seconds left to give the Tigers a 69-67 win.
After that, Wofford took on a Kentucky team that appeared vulnerable with P.J. Washington still out due to injury. The Wildcats put forth a great defensive effort to harass and shut down the NCAA’s all-time leader in career three-pointers, and escaped with a 62-56 win.
Wofford was right there for most of the game and rebounded from a 13-4 run by Kentucky that broke a 37-37 tie, the kind of run that can sometimes demoralize a team and allow Kentucky to pull away. Wofford got within 58-56 late, but Kentucky sealed it with the game’s final four points.
Fletcher Magee set the NCAA record for made three-pointers in a career on Thursday night, but on Saturday went an astounding 0-12 from long range. It was an amazing contrast from one night to the next, and a tough close to a great college career. The rest of the Terriers were 8-15 from long range on Saturday; this is a little different game if Magee makes just a couple of those shots.
The rest of the day had games decided by double-digits, with the most closely contested ones being Michigan pulling away from Florida in the second half for a 64-49 win and Baylor running out of gas after digging themselves too deep a hole against Gonzaga as the Bulldogs won 83-71. We saw Michigan State pull away from short-handed Minnesota 70-50, Florida State send Murray State home with a 90-62 romp, Purdue run away from Villanova 87-61 behind 42 points from Carsen Edwards and Auburn run Kansas out of the building 89-75 in a game that wasn’t even that close.
The Big Ten has three teams already in the Sweet 16, as does the SEC. The Big East, on the other hand, won’t see a single team get past the first weekend.
Side Dishes
Duke is already quite thin on the bench, but the Blue Devils may be even thinner on Sunday as Jack White is not expected to play due to a hamstring injury that kept him out of Friday’s win over North Dakota State. White is a key reserve and team captain, and while he is expected to dress and see how he feels, the team is not optimistic.
Away from all postseason play, you’ve got to feel for Missouri sophomore Jontay Porter, who re-tore the ACL in his right knee while working out in Denver. After testing the NBA Draft waters last season, Porter opted to return to Missouri but tore the ACL and MCL in his knee in a scrimmage against Southern Illinois, which caused him to miss this season.
In the NIT, Indiana got a double-double from Devonte Green (18 points, 11 rebounds) to edge Arkansas 63-60, and Lipscomb went on the road and pulled away from UNC Greensboro 86-69. The CIT also had a first round game, with Devon Andrews scoring 29 points to lead Florida International past host Texas State 87-81.
Tonight’s Menu
The second half of the Sweet 16 will be set by the end of the day. Don’t forget to check out College Basketball Tonight after it’s all done, as we break down the early rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
- In Columbus, the day opens up with South No. 2 Tennessee taking on No. 10 Iowa (12:10 p.m.), then Midwest No. 1 North Carolina battles No. 9 Washington (2:40 p.m.)
- In Columbia, South Carolina, East No. 1 Duke takes on No. 9 UCF, coached by Blue Devil great Johnny Dawkins (5:15 p.m.), then South No. 1 Virginia takes on No. 9 Oklahoma (7:45 p.m.)
- In Tulsa, a dandy gets things going as West No. 3 Texas Tech battles No. 6 Buffalo (6:10 p.m.) and Midwest No. 3 Houston takes on No. 11 Ohio State (8:40 p.m.)
- Out west in San Jose, East No. 4 Virginia Tech takes on No. 12 Liberty (7:10 p.m.) and South No. 12 Oregon takes on No. 13 UC Irvine (9:40 p.m.)
- Four NIT second round games are on the slate, with Wichita State visiting Clemson (2 p.m.), Texas hosting Xavier (4 p.m.), NC State hosting Harvard (7:30 p.m.) and Nebraska visiting TCU (9:30 p.m.)
- A CIT second round game is also on tap as Robert Morris hosts Presbyterian (1 p.m.)
