Sports As March Madness goes, Day 1 of this three hundred and sixty five days’s NCAA Tournament used to be somewhat tame. There used to be a 12-5 upset when McNeese upended Clemson in spectacular kind and a blow to the SEC when 11th-seeded Drake toppled sixth-seeded Missouri. However all the issues else went form of by the book, even though No. 5 Michigan wished a final-minute jumper from Will Tschetter to stave off UC San Diego in crunch time and No. 3 Texas Tech easiest pulled faraway from UNC Wilmington in the last moments.
The hope for basketball junkies is that somewhat serene seas can easiest last goodbye, that at last the upsets and event magic open up flowing from one area to the following. We will be monitoring the largest storylines and moments of Day 2 all afternoon and evening, exploring one of the larger subjects in precisely a miniature more detail.
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Richard, Rick Pitino change into first father-son duo to receive NCAA Tournament games in same three hundred and sixty five days For obtrusive causes, the first-spherical matchup between No. 7 Marquette and No. 10 New Mexico used to be considered as a showdown between two of potentially the most consuming lead guards in the nation: Kam Jones and Donovan Dent. The prone used to be a first-group All-Sizable East replacement and averaged 19.3 factors per sport with 5.9 assists this season, propelling the Golden Eagles to 23 wins. The latter used to be a first-group All-Mountain West performer and earned the convention’s Player of the three hundred and sixty five days award after averaging 20.6 factors and 6.4 assists per sport, guiding the Lobos, who’re coached by Richard Pitino, the son of St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino, to a 2d consecutive NCAA Tournament look. No first-spherical pairing had more huge name energy at the level guard establish than this one.
Yet for rather a lot of Friday’s sport, Jones and Dent played peripheral roles given right how worthy attention every defense devoted to the replacement group’s huge name. Together, they easiest combined for 20 factors at some stage in the first half-hour of play, ceding the scoring responsibility to their teammates. For Marquette, minute forward David Joplin ignited from 3-level differ (6-for-10) en route to a sport-high 28 factors, his finest output since scoring 30 on Jan. 14. For New Mexico, heart Nelly Junior Joseph owned the paint to the tune of 19 factors and 7 rebounds, making all 5 of his free-throws along the plan in which.
However in a seesaw affair that featured three ties and 10 lead adjustments, the largest moments peaceful boiled down to the largest stars. And when it mattered most — with a berth in the Spherical of 32 on the motorway and a likely matchup with 2d-seeded Michigan Verbalize — it used to be Dent who rose to the occasion. Initiating at the 8:27 impress of the 2d half of, Dent scored 11 factors and dished out three assists in the span of seven minutes to transform a tied sport correct into a double-digit lead for the Lobos. It used to be an explosion of near-flawless execution that Jones couldn’t match, evidenced by two missed jumpers, two personal fouls and one turnover at some stage in that very same stretch — even though he did chip in 5 factors.
The slack-sport flurry from Dent used to be all New Mexico wished to push ahead and never view again, sharpening off the Golden Eagles with a 75-66 receive. There are for sure two Pitinos in the Spherical of 32.
Vanderbilt’s loss to Saint Mary’s puts SEC depth into question The SEC used to be dealt one other blow on Friday afternoon when tenth-seeded Vanderbilt squandered a double-digit lead against seventh-seeded Saint Mary’s and fell, 59-56, in the Spherical of 64. A pair of desperation heaves from 3-level differ by the Commodores both went awry in the last 13 seconds as head coach Sign Byington’s group tried frantically to power time beyond legislation.
The last strive from Devin McGlockton used to be plucked out of the air by Gaels guard Jordan Ross right sooner than the buzzer expired, propelling Saint Mary’s correct into a 2d-spherical matchup with No. 2 Alabama on Sunday. The Crimson Tide barely staved off 15th-seeded Robert Morris earlier in the day.
With Vanderbilt’s loss, the SEC fell to 5-5 on this three hundred and sixty five days’s NCAA Tournament after receiving a fable collection of bids — 14 — that mirrored the replacement committee’s belief in the convention. (Ole Omit held off North Carolina rapidly after, to give the SEC a 6-5 fable.) However as a lot as now, by a day and a half of of games, there used to be miniature to suggest that groups from the league’s middle and backside tiers were any better than the inappropriate-and-file functions from other conferences.
Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Arkansas delight in all developed to the Spherical of 32, but four of these groups were seeded amongst the head 16 groups in the bracket and played favorable opponents. The quintet of SEC groups seeded near the guts of this three hundred and sixty five days’s self-discipline has proven a long way much less a success: Ninth-seeded Georgia, eighth-seeded Mississippi Verbalize, sixth-seeded Missouri, 11th-seeded Texas and the tenth-seeded Commodores all lost, with three of these groups overwhelmed by opponents from commence air the energy conferences (Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s, Drake).
Saint Mary’s turned into the 2d school from the West Soar Convention to oust an SEC opponent, following in the footsteps of Gonzaga on Day 1 of the event. Though the Bulldogs are an 8-seed on this three hundred and sixty five days’s self-discipline, their predictive metrics are per a group ranked amongst the head 10 or 15 overall. KenPom peaceful views Gonzaga because the seventh-most productive group in the nation despite a 26-8 overall fable that, unless head coach Sign Few guides his group to a nationwide title, will enact with the program’s absolute most reasonable single-season loss complete since 2011. In other phrases, that is no longer necessarily a vintage Gonzaga group — and but, the Bulldogs peaceful constructed a 27-3 lead over Georgia to open up Thursday’s sport.
So while it is peaceful too early to diagram any definitive conclusions about the SEC — in particular furious about how many high seeds the league got, all of whom are peaceful alive — questions on the depth are starting up to mount. And at this level, after but one other mid-desk group went down to a minute-convention opponent, these inquiries are bigger than dazzling.
First “upset” of the day belongs to Colorado Verbalize For the 2d time in as many days, the NCAA Tournament produced a favored 12-5 upset with Colorado Verbalize taking down Memphis on Friday afternoon due to an explosive 2d half of, in particular from beyond the arc. Sophomore guard Kyan Evans, who entered the sport shooting 43.1% from 3-level differ, position unusual occupation highs with 23 factors and 6 triples to abet the Rams erase a slim halftime deficit. His first 3-pointer of the 2d half of knotted the sport at 48-48 with 15:02 remaining, and then Evans drilled again-to-again triples a few minutes later as Colorado Verbalize surged in front by 10. At that 2d, the Rams were plus-21 from 3-level differ with Memphis making right three of its first 15 makes an try and finishing 6-for-23 overall — an unexpected vogue for a group that ranked Nineteenth nationally in 3-level shooting at 38% this season.
However the final consequence — a 78-70 victory for Colorado Verbalize — used to be no longer ceaselessly unexpected furious about the conditions surrounding Friday’s sport. The Tigers were without huge name guard Tyrese Hunter (13.7 factors and 3.6 assists per sport) after he suffered a left foot ruin in the convention event, reducing head coach Penny Hardaway’s group to right two scorers averaging bigger than 10.4 factors per sport. That ruin, coupled with a tender time desk in the AAC, left many shocked that Memphis used to be seeded so extremely on Different Sunday, with many bracketologists handing the Tigers a 7- or 8-seed, if no longer decrease. All of that used to be sufficient for oddsmakers to tab Colorado Verbalize, which had won 10 consecutive games coming into the NCAA Tournament, because the having a wager current despite the discrepancy in seeding. Here is the third time in the last four years that head coach Niko Medved has guided the Rams to the Sizable Dance.
And it is slightly likely that the Rams might per chance delight in some staying energy on this three hundred and sixty five days’s event as they put together to face the winner of No. 4 Maryland and No. 13 Mountainous Canyon. Medved’s group is one in all potentially the most balanced in the nation with an offense that ranks fiftieth nationally in effectivity and a defense that ranks 53rd. Four diversified gamers scored at the least 12 factors in Friday’s receive over Memphis, led by Evans’ outburst, and the Rams completed with 14 assists on 24 made self-discipline targets. The defense, in the intervening time, miniature the Tigers to right 34.5% shooting in the 2d half of and easiest committed seven fouls after the ruin.
Colorado Verbalize is now in search of the program’s first Candy 16 look since 1969.
SEC’s struggles proceed as Baylor holds off Mississippi Verbalize What started as a fable-atmosphere week for the SEC, which sent 14 groups to this three hundred and sixty five days’s Sizable Dance, potentially the most in NCAA Tournament history, continued to trail in direction of disappointment on Friday afternoon when No. 8 Mississippi Verbalize fell rapid against No. 9 Baylor in the first sport of Day 2. The Bulldogs’ 75-72 loss dropped the SEC to 4-4 in March Madness and invited questions on the factual strength of the league relative to the the relaxation of school basketball. That No. 2 Alabama barely survived against No. 15 Robert Morris quickly thereafter — with the Crimson Tide easiest pulling away in the last minutes for a 90-81 victory — equipped plan more gas to critics.
Whereas there is nothing inherently catastrophic about shedding an 8 vs. 9 matchup, the personality of Mississippi Verbalize’s defeat to Baylor sounded a few fright bells. The Bulldogs surrendered 15 offensive rebounds, which resulted in 22 2d-chance factors for the Bears, with every extra possession additional deflating Mississippi Verbalize’s motive. This form of obtrusive distinction in physicality between a middle-of-the-pack Sizable 12 squad in Baylor and Mississippi Verbalize, winners of 5 games against fellow SEC groups in the NCAA Tournament, is something to imagine in the arrival days.
On Thursday, the SEC groups produced a somewhat disappointing displaying that began to snatch concerns. The league scored wins over Alabama Verbalize, Kansas, Wofford and Yale — three of which might per chance be from commence air the energy conferences — but suffered losses to Gonzaga, Xavier and Drake, a group that begins four prone Division II gamers below first-three hundred and sixty five days head coach Ben McCollum. The relative ease with which Drake pulled faraway from No. 6 Missouri for a controlled 67-57 victory used to be ogle-catching in the wake of the Tigers’ wins over Florida and Alabama at some stage in the in vogue season.
There might per chance well per chance additionally be several more losses on the horizon for the SEC at some stage in the the relaxation of Friday’s action. Ninth-seeded Oklahoma, which takes on eighth-seeded UConn; tenth-seeded Vanderbilt, which might per chance per chance play seventh-seeded Saint Mary’s; and sixth-seeded Ole Omit, which faces 11th-seeded North Carolina, are all having a wager underdogs in their respective matchups.
Michael Cohen covers school soccer and school basketball for FOX Sports. Follow him on Twitter @Michael_Cohen13 .
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