The magic spreadsheet is all set. Don't care about the recap and just want to know who's leading the Main Pool and the Gamblers Pool? So be it. Click the link below and find out. (Also be sure to click on the selections tab if you think I have miscalculated your score. On that tab, you can filter on your name and make sure that I have transferred your picks from Yahoo correctly.)
March Madness always seems to live up to its moniker, but on Friday, for the first time ever, 14 different seeds won basketball games. No lead is safe and no seed is safe in this year's tournament. Here's your daily recap:
The day got started with #7 Florida taking on #10 Virginia Tech, two middle of the pack teams from major conferences. You wouldn't expect much to separate these two teams and it was a fairly tight affair throughout. The Hokies held the early edge, going into the break with a 6 point cushion, but the teams would trade the lead over the last 10 minutes of the second half. Florida looked to have finally vanquished their foe when they grabbed a rebound with 7 seconds left and headed to the free throw line for 2 shots, holding a 3 point lead. But the Gators could not connect on either free throw and Virginia Tech sprinted down the court for a final chance to tie. When their last gasp three went through the net with 1 second to go, I had my first "OOOOOOH!" moment of this year's tourney. (Jenn can confirm). Another game was headed to overtime. In the OT, both teams looked tired, which looks to become a theme in this year's tourney. (All of these teams played abbreviated schedules...why are they so tired?). Florida had a little bit more in the tank than the Hokies did and moved on with a 5 point victory.
There wasn't too much drama in the other 3 games that made up the day's first quartet of action. Colgate showed some early promise, with the 14 seed jumping out to a 14 point first half lead on #3 Arkansas. But the Razorbacks would score the last 17 points of the 1st half before cruising to a 17 point victory. (Yay, math symmetry!). #11 Utah State held the lead at the half in their tilt with #6 Texas Tech, the national runner-up the last time we got to enjoy this tournament. But the Red Raiders dominated in the second half, sending the Aggies home after a 65-53 triumph. The debut of #1 seed in Illinois in this year's Madness was anti-climactic as they completed smothered Drexel, crushing the Dragons by 29.
As with the 1st set of games, there was only one close matchup in the next 4 contests. Baylor followed Illinois's lead by pummeling #16 seed Hartford by 24 points. Sister Jean showed up to root on a former Cinderella and Loyola-Chicago was able to recreate some of that magic by taking down ACC tournament champ Georgia Tech by 11 points in an 8-9 battle. Like Georgia Tech, Oregon State was a surprise winner of a major conference tournament, shocking the field in the PAC-12. Unlike the Yellow Jackets, the Beavers kept their hot streak going in the first round of the NCAAs. The #12 seed dominated #5 seed Tennessee in a 14 point victory that wasn't as close as it might sound.
While those games were being played, the spotlight was on a game that most expected would be a blowout. #2 Ohio State slugged it out all year in the Big 10, the conference that was deemed to be the toughest in the country. Their opponent was Oral Roberts. No really, snicker all you want, but that is actually the name of the school they were playing. The Summit League champs were out to show they would not go down easy. The usual blueprint for an upset involves the underdog getting off to a quick start while the favorite struggles to get into a rhythm. But the Buckeyes weren't cold early as they raced out to an 8 point advantage. That didn't intimidate the Golden Eagles one bit. They had Max Abmas, the leading scorer in the country and he was willing to go shot for shot with Ohio State. By the time the horn sounded for halftime, Oral Roberts held a 3 point lead. That lead would grow to 7 in the second half before the Buckeyes battled back. But everything was a struggle for Ohio State. Even when they made buckets, they were tough shots. Even when they shut down Abmas, the Golden Eagles found a complimentary scorer in Kevin Obanor, who would go for 30 before the day was done. We were tied at 64 as the final seconds wound down and Ohio State had the last chance to put away their pesky foe. But a step back jumper would draw the front of the rim. That's right, more overtime! In the extra period, it was Oral Roberts who had all of the energy, despite the fact that their starters had played almost the entire game. They led by 6 before some closing jitters made the finish a lot closer than it needed to be. After sinking two free throws to get the lead back up to 3, the Golden Eagles had to sweat it out as Ohio State got two clean looks at a tying trey. As the second one clanked off the rim, the buzzer sounded, and the upset was complete. Oral Roberts was moving on to round two.
There wasn't much of a break between the afternoon session and the evening session, so it wasn't long before 4 more games were tipping off. The highlight of the early evening session was seeing the top prospect in the country play as Cade Cunningham led Oklahoma State against Liberty. But for those hoping to see what all they hype was about, they were sorely disappointed. Cunningham managed only one point in the first half, as the Cowboys were lucky to only be trailing by three. Oklahoma State's star player continued to be a non-factor for most of the second half, but the Cowboys clamped down on defense and eventually gained the upper hand against the Flames. Cunningham would end up with 15 points, but most of that was garbage time free throws. Oklahoma State will need more from their much-hyped phenom if they want to go far in this tournament, but he did enough to help the Cowboys beat Liberty by 9.
Two teams that did not need to sweat out their opening games were Houston and Wisconsin. #2 seed Houston was expected to overwhelm Cleveland State and things played out just that way as the Cougars moved on, thrashing the Vikings by 31. The Badgers looked to have a tough matchup with perennial powerhouse North Carolina, but the Tar Heels meekly headed for the exits after Wisconsin pounded them by 23. That left one other Big 10 team to play in the early evening session and that team was Purdue. Purdue actually had something of a home court advantage in this tournament as everyone is playing within the state of Indiana at various sites. If you watched the game, you could hear that the Boilermakers seemed to have a larger crowd than most of the teams. But that didn't help them a whole lot in their matchup with North Texas. The Mean Green came into the game having never won in the NCAA tournament, but they were giving off a very "Oral Roberts" type vibe in the first half. You might have even thought that North Texas was the team from the major conference as they took an 8 point lead into intermission. Purdue clawed back in the second half, eventually tying the game with 24 seconds left. The Mean Green had a final chance to win it, but you know how much we love overtime in March! And after seeing Michigan State's and Ohio State's performances in OT, you probably knew how much energy to expect from the Big 10 team in the extra 5 minute period. The Boilermakers made it to overtime, but the reality of the situation is that their game ended in regulation. Purdue wouldn't score again until there was 28 seconds left in OT, but they had dug themselves an 11 point hole by then. The Mean Green would become the second Cinderella to take down a Big 10 powerhouse as they would win by 9.
Last 4 games of the night and even the announcers were exhausted by this point in the evening. The Madness is great, but you need a good night's sleep to make it through 16 games where anything could (and usually does) happen. Luckily, there were no overtime games in the final session. Coach Bob Huggins would get his 900th victory as #3 West Virginia pulled away from Morehead State. They will play Syracuse in the next round. The Orange always seem to be one of the last teams to make the field of 64 and then become one of the hardest to beat. #6 San Diego State wasn't able to figure out their vaunted zone defense and Syracuse would prevail by 16. Syracuse's former Big East rival, Villanova, has also become a tough out in the NCAA tournament. They were taking on popular upset pick Winthrop. The Eagles were able to hang with the Wildcats for a half, only trailing by a point at the break. But Villanova took control in the second half and weren't threatened late as they would win by 10.
The last game of the night featured what might be the big theme of this year's tournament: teams that haven't tasted NCAA glory for a while. North Texas had never won a game in the NCAA tourney. Drake hadn't won in 50 years before their victory in the First Four. Oral Roberts hadn't won in over 40 years. For Oregon State, it was just under 40 years since they had last won. But none of those stories compared to a tough luck Rutgers team. Rutgers hadn't even played in the tournament in 30 years, but they were about to break that streak last year. You know how that story ended. But despite playing against a ton of tough teams in the Big 10, they qualified for this year's edition. The #10 seed was facing off against #7 Clemson, a game that eerily resembled the Florida/Virginia Tech game that started the day. Two teams from major conferences who probably weren't ranked far above the teams who were left out of this year's dance. The first half was closely contested with the Tigers taking a 3 point lead into the locker room. Things remained tight during the first 10 minutes of the second half, but then the Scarlet Knights went on a run. They opened up an 11 point advantage and New Jersey was ready to party. But as we all know, no lead is safe. Clemson went on a 16-5 run to tie it up. As the clock ticked down, neither team seemed to be able to score, but Rutgers found a basket with 10 seconds left to up their lead to 4 and the drought was over. The Big 10 wouldn't have Michigan State, Ohio State, or Purdue in the second round, but they would have the Scarlet Knights representing them after a 60-56 victory over Clemson.
That's it for the first half of Round 1. More madness to come on Saturday.
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