SPOKANE, WA – MARCH 20: Rasheed Sulaimon #0 of the Maryland Terrapins drives to the net against the Hawaii Warriors in the second half during the second round of the 2016 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena on March 20, 2016 in Spokane, Washington.
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(AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File). Utah, which lost to Gonzaga by 23 points in the second round on Saturday, is the only other Pac-12 squad that recorded a win in the NCAA tournament via last week’s first-round victory over Fresno State.
It’s the NCAA tournament schedule equivalent of a mouthful of Smarties. The senior, named ACC Player of the Year and ACC Defensive Player of the Year, helped the Cavaliers finish as one of two teams in the nation to surrender less than 60 points per game, while completing a master’s degree in public policy from one of the university’s most prestigious academic programs. 15. Texas was 5-5 before NCAA play and couldn’t effectively blend center Cam Ridley back into the lineup upon his return from a three-month absence. If you’ve heard these 16 teams described as “chalky” in the past few days, there’s good reason: Their average seed (4.13) is slightly chalkier than the post-1985 mean (4.45).
It has been a while, however, since a team from the “Conference of Champions” came out on top. Wichita State embarrassed Arizona, but then saw the Miami Hurricanes surge past the Shockers. All four games promise (ostensibly) competitive affairs between comprehensively talented, motivated, well-coached college hoops elites.
Gioya Carter’s 12 points led Oklahoma (22-11). Two other “surprises” (No. 6 Notre Dame, No. 7 Wisconsin) both played in last March’s Elite Eight. In regular-season to Kansas State and Texas Tech, the Sooners shot below 28% from the field.
Wright was especially happy for the seniors, including Ryan Arcidiacono, who has played more games than any Villanova basketball player, and Daniel Ochefu, the big senior who towed a gimpy ankle into the South Region for the second-seeded Wildcats. Since the game is being broadcast by CBS, you do NOT have to authenticate with your cable provider in order to watch the game on NCAA March Madness Live.
IN vs. North Carolina, Friday, East Region. There’s a natural enmity that will always surround the Irish, though there is something that would be inherently amusing if the Notre Dame basketball team ended up winning a national championship before the football team did. Five Thirty-Eight, a sports analytics website, called Michigan State’s loss the third most improbable upset in tournament history, giving them only a 5.5% chance of losing. “We only started with five to begin with”, said Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer. Both teams do it well on both sides of the ball.
The Ducks’ two NCAA tournament wins were twice the tally the rest of the league accrued. What the Huskies don’t have in depth (they have none, essentially), they make up for in hustle and in having one of the best pure scorers in the college game in guard Kelsey Plum, who burned the Terps on Monday for 32 points. UConn breezed through its early rounds, while Mississippi State went to the wire to get past Michigan State in the second round. For Oklahoma, it was a familiar face in Buddy Hield who put up a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Villanova outscored Iowa in the paint (36-26), on the break (18-0) and in points off turnovers (14-8).
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Following their 87-68 thrashing of an Iowa team that at one point had been ranked No. 3 in the country Sunday in Brooklyn, the Wildcats took it all in stride.
