- The first game of the day featured the team that has taken over the role of favorite after the surprising early departure of Virginia. That team is Villanova. They would be taking on a young but improving Alabama squad. The Tide hung tough in the first half as the Wildcats had to play most of it without their star player, Jalen Brunson, who got into early foul trouble. Villanova's lead was only 5 after 20 minutes, but they would break this game open right after the break with a barrage of three-pointers. Jay Wright's team is headed to the sweet 16 after taking out Alabama by 23.
- There would be even less drama in the second game. Duke didn't slow down from their 1st round track meet with Iona as they took on Rhode Island. The Blue Devils put up 45 points in the first half and held a 17 point lead at intermission. The Rams would not make Duke sweat at any point during the second half as the Blue Devils moved on with a 25-point rout.
- Did I mention track meets? There was one going on in Boise, Idaho as both Kentucky and Buffalo declined their option to play defense, combining for 93 points before halftime. The confident Bulls kept the game close for a long time, only trailing by 5 with 8 minutes to go. But that is where their Cinderella story would end. The Wildcats kept on scoring and Buffalo's shots stopped falling through the net. The game was closer than the score would indicate, but Kentucky moves on after a 20-point victory.
- Three games down, three victories by the favored team of 20 or more points. That wasn't March Madness. What went down in game #4 was more of what we've grown accustomed to. Loyola-Chicago hit a buzzer-beater to take out Miami in round 1. It didn't look like they would need those dramatics against Tennessee as the Ramblers built a 10-point lead with 4 minutes to go. But then they went full-blown stupid. They stopped running their offense and tried to run off the last 4 minutes on the clock. That pretty much never works. Sure enough, the Volunteers would grab the lead with 21 seconds to go. But Loyola-Chicago has 98-year-old Sister Jean on their side and she said God wanted them to win. That might explain how the Ramblers got a shot to bounce on the rim several times and then fall through with less than 5 seconds remaining. Tennessee had one last chance for the win and they got a good look at the buzzer, but their shot was not Sister Jean-endorsed. Loyola-Chicago escapes again and moves on to the second weekend of play.
- Seton Hall was described as a bad matchup for top seed Kansas, especially if they were going to be playing again without their starting center, Udoka Azubuike. That's because the Pirates were anchored by one of the best big men in America, double-double machine, Angel Delgado. Azubuike would play, but he wouldn't be able to stop Delgado from having a huge game. Delgado would score 24 points and grab 23 rebounds, a rare 20-20 in an NCAA tournament game. It wouldn't be enough though. The Jayhawks held a comfortable lead for most of the second half. Like Bucknell on Friday, Seton Hall would hit some late three-pointers to make the score respectable, but they would also come up 4 points short.
- Don't you hate it when you're running 5 minutes late? Ohio State knows how you feel. They didn't show up for the first 5 minutes of their game against Gonzaga and dug themselves a 15-point deficit before they finally scored. Maybe that made the Zags a bit complacent. The Buckeyes came storming back, grabbing a 5-point lead with six minutes remaining in the game. But the Zags showed their composure in the late stages, hitting several huge threes down the stretch to give them a six-point victory.
- If you've been going to bed early, you've been missing some incredible late games. The last two on Saturday night were particularly good. Florida and Texas Tech kept going back and forth at each other in a game filled with energy from start to finish. Florida held the advantage for most of the first half, the Red Raiders stayed in front for most of the second half. Texas Tech did most of their scoring with slashing drives and high-flying dunks, while the Gators tended to rely on the three-ball. Florida was down three in the closing seconds and got two solid looks at a tying three-pointer, but their strength became a weakness when they needed it most. The Red Raiders had to sweat it out until the final buzzer, but they will live to fight another day.
- I can't say that the final game of the evening was as much fun as that Florida-Texas Tech game. It was a slow, plodding affair between two very good teams, Houston and Michigan. It would have a heck of an ending though! Neither team could go on any sort of run and so the game remained tight throughout. The Cougars had a two-point lead with less than 15 seconds to go, but Michigan had the ball and a chance to tie or take the lead. They slashed to the basket and had an open layup, but it would not fall. The Wolverines were able to tip the rebound back up and that looked good, but somehow that rattled out as well. Houston grabbed the rebound with less than 4 seconds left and it looked like they could pack their bags for the regional in Los Angeles next weekend. The shooter going to the line was 9-10 from the charity stripe on the evening. If he makes both, the game is over. If he makes 1, it still takes a miracle for overtime. Houston missed the first. Then the missed the second. Michigan grabbed the rebound and called timeout. Just 3 seconds to go the length of the court and score. And that is when Houston violated just about every well-known principle when it comes to guarding an end-of-game situation. Did Houston put anyone on the guy throwing the inbounds pass? No! Did they allow one of Michigan's guards to catch the inbounds pass at half-court without any pressure on him? Yes! That player caught the ball, took a dribble, and passed it to his teammate who (to be fair) was guarded very well by a Houston defender. He threw up a desperation 30-foot shot that found the bottom of the net. Michigan's miracle means they move on while Houston is left wondering what could have been.
On to the standings! Luke McLoughlin has company at the top of the main pool as he is now tied with Jen Shields. James Dematteo is two points further back in third. In the gamblers pool, Jim O'Connor continues to stay just ahead of Luke, as he continues to be one point in front. Nick Moreno is in a tie with James for 3rd, both of them two points behind Luke.
The complete standings can be found here.
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