On the other, you have a school that won their first NCAA Tournament game ever just hours ago. It will face Iowa State on Friday.
Advertisement
As for Hawaii, its three stars all played well.
-Eddie Pells reporting from Denver. It will face Iowa State (23-11) on Friday in the Midwest Regional semifinals in Chicago. According to nERD, which measures the number of points a team would win by against average one on a neutral court, Butler ranks 30th among all college hoops teams with an 11.66 rating.
Matt Costello scored a game-high 22 points for Michigan State. The Virginia Cavaliers ran and never looked back, pulling out the 81-45 win over Hampton.
Pittsburgh had a chance to take the lead, but James Robinson missed a driving layup in heavy traffic and Happ was fouled on the rebounding action with 2.0 seconds remaining.
Bettors also believed Oklahoma would open its bid for a national title with a big game. UConn split a pair of league games against the Mustangs, with the home team winning each game. When we talk about perception and feel, this one certainly feels like a bigger upset, when it comes to the team knocked off.
In sports books across the city, fans drank and gambled in what has been a growing tradition in recent years.
Again, it’s been yet another wild and wacky NCAA Tournament, where the unexpected has become the expected. How did your NCAA Basketball Tournament bracket fair?
– Tim Booth reporting from Spokane, Washington.
So much for easing into things.
Wichita State had 10 turnovers and is shooting a paltry 24 percent (7 for 29).
Just like the one the Shockers had, and same with Yale and Little Rock in advancing as 12-seeds.
Keep the calculators handy.
There were many who felt Syracuse didn’t belong in the tournament.
The curmudgeonly coach at least did so with a smile. The Bulldogs fell to the Utes 80-69, sending the Utes to the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
“We’ve been enjoying the tournament”. And that’s really what we told our guys during the year.
– Dave Skretta reporting from St. Louis.
So where do all these upsets leave the NCAA Tournament? Both players stayed down on the floor for about a minute, but were able to make it to their bench under their own power.
Virginia shot 73 percent after halftime, hitting 14 of its first 16 shots of the second half, and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second time in three years.
PNC Arena was about three-quarters full for the first game of the day, an 8-9 game between Butler and Texas Tech.
Eleventh-seeded George Mason had already validated its heavily criticized at-large selection by dispatching of Michigan State, North Carolina and Wichita State, but the juggernaut awaiting the Patriots in the Elite Eight was more formidable than any previous opponent. He also grabbed nine rebounds and had four assists.
Next up for IN is top-seeded North Carolina. On one hand, you have a school decorated with NCAA Tournament success and victories. Ja’Quan Newton had a slam dunk to put Miami back on top, and McClellan then scored eight straight points.
Grayson Allen had 29 points, including five 3-pointers, to help Duke fend off a furious rally by Yale and advance to the Sweet 16. UNC Wilmington is playing in the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time.
DES MOINES, Iowa – The Colorado Buffaloes have been here before. Up 20 at the half, the picked up the 105-79 win easily. “It’s going to be something after this weekend, and everyone is going to have a great, great moment”.
– Luke Meredith reporting from Des Moines, Iowa.
Friday capped off a record first round of upsets in the NCAA tournament.
Fans are streaming into Dunkin’ Donuts Center for the first of four games.
Advertisement
– John Kekis reporting from Providence, R.I. But there can be little doubt things have been rough for the past few days, starting with the dismissal of assistant coach Yann Hufnagel on Monday over sexual harassment allegations and concluding when junior guard Jabari Bird pulled himself from the lineup before game time with what Martin described as back spasms.
