March Madness Live Blog
Hello! Welcome to our March Madness live blog. Here we will be dissecting all 16 of the games today, as the tournament gets underway. Running this blog will be a variety of Read Basketball writers, who will all contribute to this. Currently one game is in progress, as Duke have an early lead over UNC-Wilmington. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the madness!
SOUTH REGION: Games in Louisville on Thursday:
#1 Kansas vs. #5 Maryland
#2 Villanova vs. #3 Miami
WEST REGION: Games in Anaheim on Thursday:
#1 Oregon vs. #4 Duke
#2 Oklahoma vs. #3 Texas A&M
EAST REGION: Games in Philadelphia on Friday:
#1 North Carolina vs. #5 Indiana
#6 Notre Dame vs. #7 Wisconsin
MIDWEST REGION: Games in Chicago on Friday
#1 Virginia vs. #4 Iowa State
#10 Syracuse vs. #11 Gonzaga
That’s that. 48 great games this weekend done. Thank you so much do everybody that has joined us here on ReadBasketball this week. Hopefully our coverage o fall the games has kept you up to date, informed, and entertained. There will be plenty more on the website regarding the rest of the tournament, so stay tuned: I’ll leave you with one final thing in the next post, the sweet 16 matchups:
Oregon at the line with 9.2 to go. 1 and 1
Misses 2nd
Hits the front end.
1 and 1 on the free throws.
Quick two for St. Joes. They take their final timeout to set up their press. Oregon have one timeout remaining. 26.8 seconds remain.
66-62 Oregon now after two made free throws.
Shot clock violation on St. Joes. Awful possession.
BACK TO BACK THREES FOR OREGON! 64-62 Ducks.
St. Joes 58 Oregon 56. 3:34 to go.
St. Joes 58 Oregon 54. 4:42 to go. Last game of the weekend will not disappoint you.
23-6 RUN FOR ST. JOES!!!!
St. Joes in the bonus now. Expect them to get to the line more and more.
Ducks finally back on the board to retake the lead.
THE GAME IS TIED 45-45!!!!! 10-0 RUN FOR ST. JOES!
Also there is one more game going on right now, the last of the weekend. Oregon lead St. Joes 45-41 with 11:17 to go in the game. We could have another exciting finish…
Next, the final possession. 71-69 lead. Ten seconds left. They get the ball in, but to the corner. The trap comes from A&M. Now, the guy with the ball has a few options. One, just hold on to the ball and wait to get fouled. The clock is running down, eventually they will. Two, just hold on to the ball and maybe see if the clock runs out. Passing isn’t really an option here, but you could just get a tie-up. Northern Iowa had the possession arrow. If both teams have a player holding the ball and they both have equal possession judged by the referee, it goes to the possession arrow. Northern Iowa had the possession arrow. If he had created a tie-up Northern Iowa would have gotten another chance to inbound, reset, and there would only be five seconds left. He does none of the above. He tried to throw it off the Texas A&M player then out of bounds. He fails at that, A&M get the ball, score, force overtime, and you know what happens.
Next, the defense. Sometimes the other team will just make shots with nothing you can do about it, and that’s fine. I’m looking at the amount of wide open shots there were in that last minute. Just pick up your man! The Panthers forgot how to play defense. Also, when they led 71-66 with 18 seconds left that was atrocious. In that situation, you make sure the other team gets two points while taking time off the clock duh. Guard the three point line. When they get inside the arc, just give them the two. You’ll still be up by three with even less time on the clock. Whatever you do, DON’T FOUL!!! Northern Iowa did just that. They fouled, and it gave Texas A&M a layup + free throw. The three point play made it 71-69.
In all seriousness the amount of errors Northern Iowa made in that sequence was ridiculous. First of all, they had three faulty inbounds in a row. THREE. They made a few mistakes on all of them. One, they took it under the basket. That’s a cardinal sin. Never take the ball under the basket. Second, you can run the baseline. Nobody on Northern Iowa seemed to know that. If you have to, run the baseline and find an angle. They had a double-digit lead in the final minutes and didn’t shoot one free throw in that time span. How on Earth can that be justified? Next, nobody got open. Maybe it’s good defense from A&M, but one player needs to get open for one second. That’s it. Five players are out there for five seconds to get the ball in. All that needs to happen is one of them needs to get open for one second. That’s one.
IT’S OVER. IT’S DONE. FINISHED. GONE. DONE. OVER. ANY OTHER WORD YOU CAN THINK OF. Texas A&M beat Northern Iowa 92-89 in double overtime. The Aggies trailed by 12 points with 44 seconds left, and 11 with 38 seconds left, but they force overtime, then force another overtime and win. They are off to the sweet 16….somehow.
Texas A&M 90 Northern Iowa 88. 28.5 to go.
Texas A&M 88 Northern Iowa 86. 1:15 to go…
NO. NO. I CAN’T. MARCH MADNESS. YOU ARE TOO MUCH.
BASKETBALL IS FUN. BASKETBALL IS FUN. MARCH MADNESS IS GREAT. THIS IS AMAZING.
THREEEEEEEEEEE. WISCONSIN WINNNNN. HE MADE A THREEEE ATTTT THEEE BUZZZERRRR. OH MY GOD.
OH MY GOODNESS WISCONSIN
WISCONSIN WIN HE MADE IT OH MY GOD WHAT IS GOING ON WHAT IS LIFE
WISCONSIN WIN
HE MADE IT
HE MADE IT
QHURWAOSDJGKALSDHQOPWITAGHDSKLNZASLDGHQWOPIAGNAKLSD
Timeout Wisconsin. 2 seconds left. Ball at midcourt. Inbound. Time to set up a play.
OFFENSIVE FOUL ON XAVIER. CHARGING. WISCONSIN BALL WITH 4.3 SECONDS LEFT
OK SERIOUSLY DOUBLE OVERTIME IN ONE GAME 11 SECONDS AWAY FROM OVERTIME IN THE OTHER I’M LOSING MY BRAIN PLEASE HELP ME.
OMG HE MADE IT OMG I CAN’T HANDLE THIS I CAN’T HANDLE THIS. WISCONSIN HIT A LONG THREE TO TIE THE GAME WITH 11.7 SECONDS LEFT.
A&M VS. NORTHERN IOWA IS ALSO GOING TO DOUBLE OVERTIME
TWO POINT SHOT GOOD FOR A&M. XAVIER MADE ONE TOO.
1/2 at the line. Texas A&M down 83-81 with the ball and 20 seconds.
Northern Iowa at the foul line with 20 seconds left. two shots.
Timeout Xavier. 52.3 to go. Xavier have 1 timeout left now, Wisconsin 2.
WISCONSIN TURN IT OVER! Still 58.9 to go
Northern Iowa 82 Texas A&M 81, 21 seconds left in OT.
Xavier 61 Wisconsin 60, 1:03 to go in the game.
How? Like how? Seriously. Like how? What? Nahhh. That didn’t happen. My eyes are deceiving me. Did it? Did that happen?
Can someone explain to me what just happened? Please and thank you.
TEXAS A&M DOWN 11 WITH 38 SECONDS LEFT HAVE JUST SENT IT TO OVERTIME. WHAT IS GOING ON??? I DON’T KNOW. HOW???
OVERTIME IT IS!!! ALTHOUGH I’M NOT REALLY SURE HOW.
OH AND THE GAME IS TIED. THE GAME IS TIED. THE GAME IS TIED. A&M GOT A STEAL AND A TYING BUCKET. THE GAME IS TIED.
OHHHH MAN ANOTHER THREE!!! 71-69.
Quick three for A&M. 71-66. 18 seconds to go.
Northern Iowa 71 Texas A&M 63. 22 seconds left. Can they hang on?
JALEN REYNOLDS!!!!! 8-0 run for Xavier, most of that being Reynolds. 57-49 Xavier. Time beginning to run out on last year’s runner-ups Wisconsin.
You know what’s fun? When NCAA Tournament games turn into three-point shooting contests. Wisconsin held a one point lead over Xavier. Then in the space of 30 seconds Xavier hit a go ahead three, Wisconsin hit one back, and then Xavier took the lead again. What next?!?!
The final game of this crazy stretch of 48 basketball games in roughly 84 hours has tipped off. It’s Oregon and St. Joes in Spokane. Game #52 out of 67 in this tournament total including the play-in games in Dayton. Soak it in. This amazing first weekend is almost up.
The SEC is in some serious trouble right now. Kentucky bowed out yesterday to Indiana, and Texas A&M are down 12 at the under eight timeout. Add that into Vanderbilt going out in the first four, and Texas A&M are the only SEC team left. If Northern Iowa complete this upset, the SEC will be the first of the major conferences to have all of their teams knocked out of the NCAA Tournament.
Also halftime in St. Louis with #2 seed Xavier leading #7 seed Wisconsin 33-30.
FINAL: Hawaii 60 Maryland 73. The Terps advance to Louisville where they will play the #1 overall seed Kansas in the sweet 16.
Full commiserations to Hawaii, they gave everything they had. At the end of the day they just didn’t have the necessary talent to win.
How about this for a possible upset? Northern Iowa 35 Texas A&M 22. 19 minutes to go.
Maryland lead 61-51 over Hawaii with 3:02 to go. Can the Terps hang on?
More on Hawaii: This team is such a mish-mash. Players from Sweden, Canada, America, and all over the world. Just all here, playing some great basketball right now. I’ll just say it. LETS GO BOWS
I’m pretty sure Hawaii have gotten every 50/50 ball this entire tournament.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?!?!????!?!!?!?? There is just nothing Hawaii can’t do. They just got FOUR offensive rebounds on one possession, one of them being by a player who was down on the ground when he grabbed the ball, and took the lead on that possession. I love watching this team.
Second half underway in Spokane. Meanwhile in Oklahoma City Northern Iowa lead Texas A&m 15-13 with 11 minutes to go in the first half. Wisconsin and Xavier also tips off in ten minutes.
Syracuse beat Middle Tennessee 75-50, outscoring the Blue Raiders 44-17 in the final 18:40 of the game. Middle Tennessee lead 33-31 with 18:50 to go. Syracuse advance to the sweet 16 in Chicago where they will play Gonzaga.
The final game of the weekend in Oklahoma City has also begun. It is between #3 seed Texas A&M and #11 seed Northern Iowa.
Halftime in Spokane: Maryland 28 Hawaii 27. Interesting score…can the #13 seed make the sweet 16 against all odds?
It’s an 18-2 run for Syracuse who have now completely buried Middle Tennessee. They lead 58-41.
It’s falling apart at the seems for Middle Tennessee. Syracuse are on a 23-8 run since the Blue Raiders took the lead with those back to back threes early in the second half. Just 9:31 to go. Time starting to run out on this fairytale ride…
In St. Louis Syracuse lead 43-39 with 13:45 to go in the game, and in Spokane Hawaii lead Maryland 13-6 with 10:40 to go in the first half.
Hield misses the second free throw but it doesn’t matter, time runs out. Oklahoma survive 85-81 against VCU to advance to the sweet 16 in Anaheim. They will play the winner of Texas A&M vs. Northern Iowa next Thursday. That game is also in Oklahoma City, so it will start in exactly 30 minutes.
Hield makes the first. That’s his 36th point of the night, and it should wrap it up.
Hield fouled with 9.1 seconds to go. He essentially only needs to make one to end this game.
Gilmore puts a two back in after a missed three. 84-81 Oklahoma. Sooners ball. Final 15 seconds. VCU used a timeout to set up their press.
Hield makes the 2nd. Five point game.
Rare miss at the line from Hield.
Second one is also short. Misses both. Buddy Hield to the line now.
Misses the first one short.
Foul on Oklahoma with 27 seconds to go. Two shots for the Rams.
Oklahoma 83 VCU 79. VCU ball, 36 seconds left.
BLUE RAIDERS!!!! Two threes in the first 90 seconds of the second half gives them a 33-31 lead. Surely they won’t win this…will they?
Second half underway in St. Louis. 20 minutes for the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders to keep their dream tournament run alive. Down 31-27.
But wait, Johnson nails a three on the other end. Back to a give point game. 82-77 Oklahoma. 2:00 to go.
BUDDY HIELD!!!! Huge three with just over two minutes to go to give Oklahoma an eight point lead. That might be the dagger.
Tipoff #5 of eight today just happened. It’s #5 seed Maryland against surprising second round entrants #13 seed Hawaii. The winner will play Kansas in Louisville next Thursday in the sweet 16. Do the Rainbow Warriors have another upset of seismic proportions in them?
Back to back turnovers for VCU, although admittedly the officiating there is dicey. A charge and a travel. Either way, Oklahoma are back up six and Buddy Hield has 25 points.
RIGHT ON CUE!!! HIELD FOR THREE!!! Two point Sooner lead.
Under seven minutes to go..VCU up by one on Oklahoma. Time for Buddy Hield to step up.
HALFTIME: Middle Tennessee 27 Syracuse 31.
The Orange controlled most of that first half, but a late surge from the Blue Raiders has kept them in the mix.
TIE GAME!
VCU have had runs of 7-0 and 8-0 in the second half, and Oklahoma fans are a bit nervous now…
THREE POINT GAME IN OKLAHOMA CITY. What’s happened to the Sooners??
Some updates on what’s going on:
Oklahoma lead VCU 51-45. The Rams came out of the locker room with an early run to cut it to six, but haven’t gotten it any closer than that. 15:39 to go in the game.
Syracuse have gone on a bit of a spurt to take an eight-point lead over Middle Tennessee at 24-16 with 6:18 to go in the first half.
Off and running in St. Louis. 9-7 Cuse.
The lowest seeded team remaining in this tournament are in action for their second game now. It’s #15 Middle Tennessee who just upset many people’s title favorites Michigan State. They are playing #10 seed Syracuse in the region. The winner will play Gonzaga next Friday in the sweet 16.
I’d say the Oklahoma Sooners passed that test with flying colors. They led by five when Hield took a seat, and in the ensuing 4:32 to close the first half they outscored VCU 12-4. They lead by thirteen points at 44-31 at halftime.
Critical point in the game here with 4:32 to go in the first half. VCU are only down five, and Buddy Hield will sit for the rest of the first half with two fouls. This might be their best chance of the game to really get back into this or maybe even take the lead before Hield re-enters in the second half.
Buddy Hield not playing too well, but the rest of his team is picking it up. JeQuan Lewis though has 11 of VCU’s 25 points so far, and VCU are on a 18-7 run. They trail by just five now.
As you would expect, Oklahoma behind essentially a home crowd are off to a quick start as they lead 11-5 at the first media timeout.
Game three underway in Oklahoma City. The “home” team Oklahoma are the #2 seed are playing #10 seed VCU. The winner will play the winner of the second game at the house of Kevin Durant between Texas A&M and Northern Iowa.
Notre Dame will play in Philadelphia next Friday against the winner of Wisconsin vs. Xavier tonight in St. Louis.
IRISH WIN!!!!!! SURVIVE AND ADVANCE. THAT’S THIS TOURNAMENT. SURVIVE AND ADVANCE.
NOTRE DAME WIN IT 76-75 WITH A TIP IN WITH 1.5 SECONDS LEFT.
TIP IN IS GOOD. 1.5 SECONDS LEFT.
SFA MISS. nd ball
Jackson goes 2/2. 75-74 SFA.
Jackson hits the first. 75-73 SFA
Jackson takes it to the rim, fouled. 46.5 left. Two free throws.
Notre Dame get a stop, they call timeout with 1:03 to go down 75-72. They have one timeout left, SFA have none.
Stephen F. Austin take their final timeout to set up a play. They have the ball up 75-72 with 1:12 to go.
75-72 now
75-70 Stephen F. Austin, 1:36 to go.
HOW GREAT IS THIS?!?!?!?!?!?!? Back and forth stuff, but SFA lead 73-70. 3:30 to go. Great action. Notre Dame have made six of their last seven field goals, SFA on a similar run. Down the stretch they come..
SFA COME BACK!!! 11-4 RUN!!!! Back-to-back threes, good defense, plus two shanked free throws from Zach Auguste has the game tied at 64 with 6:58 to go.
60-53 Notre Dame now, 9:10 to go. Largest lead of the game for either team.
Tight game here. Very back and forth. Eleven minutes to go and neither team has held a lead of more than five points at any point in the game.
SLAM DUNK!! Huge jam for the Irish who now lead by five.
Second half underway in Brooklyn. Who will advance to the sweet 16?
HALFTIME: Stephen F. Austin 41 Notre Dame 42. Very enjoyable first half in Brooklyn. Back and forth, up and down. Pretty clean game too. Might come down to whoever gets the ball last.
A 10-0 run by Notre Dame is finally halted by four unanswered for Stephen F. Austin. This is a tight game.
Beachem completes the four point play to extend Notre Dame’s run to 7-0.
V.J. BEACHEM!! Hits a three and gets fouled. Free throw after the break. 33-32 Notre Dame.
I can see Zach Auguste being the difference in this game. His post presence on both ends of the court has already been a factor.
This has been a really tight game so far, but Stephen F. Austin are holding their own. They lead 22-21 right now. One thing I think Notre Dame need to do is go inside more with Zach Auguste. They have a huge advantage there, and need to use it.
Game two of the day is underway between Notre Dame and Stephen F. Austin.
Half an hour gap between games, #6 seed Notre Dame and #14 seed Stephen F. Austin set to do battle in Brooklyn.
It’s done in Brooklyn. Villanova 87 Iowa 68. Villanova delivered an early knockout blow to Iowa’s season and never looked back. After year after year of early tournament failures Villanova finally advance to the sweet 16. They will play Miami next Thursday in Louisville.
Well, at least Iowa haven’t quit. They’ve gone on a quick 13-2 spurt to cut their deficit from 34 to 23. Surely too little too late though with just 11 minutes to go.
Been an absolute clinic from Villanova. 65-34 lead right now and showing no signs of slowing down. It’s just ugly for the neutral.
I’ve never seen Villanova play a half of basketball that good. They lead 54-29 over a simply overmatched Iowa team. Villanova forced eight turnovers, played shut down defense, and Iowa only shot two free throws the entire first half. On the offensive end the Wildcats are 7/12 from three-point range and are shooting 60% from the field. It’s a Wildcat domination.
The Villanova contingent that made the short trip up to Brooklyn are loud right now, and they should be. Their team leads Iowa 46-27 right now. They are playing stifling defense and knocking down their shots. An early knockout punch might be coming.
The narrative with Villanova has been the fact that they can’t make it past the second round. That’s what we’ve all been saying. Right now they are up 28-19 on Iowa, and after three straight years being either a #1 or #2 seed losing in the first weekend, they might advance. Hope I didn’t jinx them…
The first game of the day is right now in Brooklyn. It’s #2 Villanova against #7 Iowa. Villanova lead 11-10 after five minutes.
Time for the fourth and final day of the weekend. The rest of the sweet 16 will be determined. Sit back, settle in, and join us for eight more games.
North Carolina 85 Providence 66. North Carolina advance to Philadelphia to play Indiana next Friday. That concludes today’s action; here are today’s results
Miami beat Wichita State, Duke beat Yale, Indiana beat Kentucky, Iowa State beat Arkansas-Little Rock, Virginia beat Butler, Kansas beat UConn, Gonzaga beat Utah, North Carolina beat Providence.
That’s eight of the final 16 teams left this season. The other eight will be determined tomorrow. Stick with us!
I wish I had something exciting to report to you, but I just don’t North Carolina lead Providence 63-50 with 7:23 to go, just like they should be. The one seed are beating the nine seed just like it should be. Pretty dull game here.
Marcus Paige is a good shooter I mean really good. 55-45 UNC.
9-0 run for North Carolina. 50-41 lead. Where’s Kris Dunn?
One more game tonight, it’s North Carolina who lead Providence 41-39 early in the second half. Stick here for live updates.
GONZAGA!!!! Who saw that coming? Gonzaga dominate #3 seed Utah on both sides of the ball to win 82-59. They advance to the sweet 16 in Chicago where they will face the winner of tomorrow’s game between Syracuse and Middle Tennessee in St. Louis.
Only one game left today, It’s North Carolina and Providence.
Halftime North Carolina 34 Providence 30. Tar Heels close the half on a 9-2 run.
North Carolina doing North Carolina things. After falling down 28-25 to Providence, they have gone on a 9-0 run in the final two minutes of the first half. Stealing momentum before the half is so critical, and they are doing just that.
Gonzaga lead by 30 now btw
Just two more games today. Gonzaga vs. Utah and Providence vs. North Carolina. Currently Gonzaga lead by twenty something, I won’t check exactly because it doesn’t matter, that game is salted away, and North Carolina lead 32-28 in the first half.
Kansas take care of Connecticut 73-61 to sew things up in Des Moines. Kansas advance to the sweet 16 in Louisville. They will play the winner of Maryland vs. Hawaii which is tomorrow night in Spokane.
Very professional weekend from the Jayhawks. Trailed for 2 of the 80 minutes they played. That’s a team that could go all the way.
Rock Chalk Jayhawk. Just too much Kansas. Way too much Kansas.
It’s a little too much Kansas right now for UConn. 15 point lead for the Jayhawks with 3:10 to go.
There you go UConn! It’s single digits. 50-41 Kansas. Nice transition offense from the Huskies. Game on…
The last game of the day has tipped off in Raleigh. It’s between #1 seed North Carolina and #9 seed Providence. But more importantly, it’s between standout shooters Marcus Paige of North Carolina and Kris Dunn of Providence. This could become a shootout between those two.
The Huskies are chipping away, but they need a run. They’ve cut that early first half deficit of 24 down to 13, but less then 12 minutes left. If it was a 60 minute game they might win with a gradual comeback like this, but they need to pick up the pace on this comeback. A quick 6-0 spurt or something like that would go a long way to helping them. They need to do a Yale, who scored 13 points in less than four minutes earlier today.
Gonzaga lead Utah 44-29 at the half. Yes you read that right, that’s a #11 seed that is closing in on a sweet 16 appearance. Kansas also lead UConn 48-32 with 14:15 to go in Des Moines.
Out west to Denver where we see the Utah Utes in a world of trouble. They are down 36-25 late in the first half to Gonzaga, and their best player Jakob Poeltl is stuck ob the bench with two fouls.
Virginia survive 77-69. They advance to the sweet 16 in Chicago. They will play Iowa State next Friday. All chalk so far in the Midwest region for sweet 16 teams.
Poor possession by Butler. Didn’t take it inside, bad shot with a missed three pointer, and Virginia are back at the line.
73-69 now though. 28 seconds. Butler ball
Three point game..
This game is interesting. Virginia 72 Butler 68. 36 seconds left.
Kansas should easily be into the sweet 16 as long as they don’t completely screw up the second half. They lead 44-24 at the half over UConn. Kevin Ali is facing his first ever tournament loss as the head coach of the Huskies if he can’t figure things out quickly.
Virginia showing why they are a #1 seed. They’ve stretched their lead to nine points over Butler with 5:06 to go.
Another game underway, the final one in Denver. Gonzaga vs. Utah. Gonzaga are an #11 seed, Utah are a #3.
While the #1 seed Kansas Jayhawks are having no issue at all with the #9 seed they are playing, the same cannot be said for Virginia. They lead 55-53 with just over eight minutes to go. Roosevelt Jones is playing very well to keep Butler in the game right now.
More tight action in Raleigh. Butler and Virginia are tied 42-42 with 13:31 to go in the game.
Well, for anyone that thought the Jayhawks would have some problems with UConn in the second round, you had nothing to fear! An early 16-0 run for Kansas has them up 18-5. UConn must have forgot what time the game started, because they haven’t showed up yet.
FINAL: Iowa State beat Ark-LR 78-61, leading wire to wire. They now advance to the sweet 16 in Chicago. Next Friday they will play the winner of Virginia vs. Butler, which as you know is going on now.
Also, Kansas vs. UConn has just begun as the final game in Des Moines.
Sooo Butler 25 Virginia 23. For the first time this tournament a #1 seed is losing at halftime. Will it stand up through the second half?
Alright, the other games are going on so here’s what is happening with them. Iowa State are dominating Arkansas-Little Rock 59-42 well into the second half. The more compelling game is Virginia vs. Butler. It’s 1 vs. 9 sure, but it has been a great defensive battle. It is tied 17-17 with 3:34 to go in the first half.
73-67. Kentucky are OUT. Indiana are off to the Philadelphia for the sweet 16 next Friday. They’ll play the winner of North Carolina vs. Providence, which is later tonight.
IT’S OVER. INDIANA BEAT KENTUCKY!!!!!!!!!
Murray launches a three wide. 2.9 seconds to go. Stoppage of play.
TWO FOR TWO. THE FRESHMAN GOES 2/2. ICE WATER IN HIS VEINS. Indiana take a TO to set up the defense. They have one left, Kentucky have none. 71-67 Indiana.
Gets the first. Now the 2nd to make it a two possession game.
Bryant to the line again.
Same on the 2nd. 69-67 Indiana. 11.3
Nothing but net on the first.
Foul on Indiana, but Kentucky took a lot of time there. 11.3 seconds. Down four. Two shots.
Rattles in the second one. That is huge. Makes it a two possession game. 69-65 Indiana.
He’s missed the first.
Bryant at the line for Indiana. And this isn’t Kobe Bryant. This is a 69% free throw shooter.
Ulis on the big one….good. 68-65
Indiana take a timeout in an attempt to ice the free throw shooter. This last shot is to make it a one possession game.
Ulis hits the second. 68-64.
Tyler Ulis at the line shooting three. Kentucky down 68-62. Hits the first.
FOUL!!! Three free throws for Kentucky…
That’s a miss for Indiana on the first one. Second good. 1/2 again. 68-62 IU.
Troy Williams goes 1/2 at the line, Ulis hits a quick two. Indiana back to the line now.
Ulis hits a three to keep the Wildcats alive and here is the score with 1:05 to go:
Indiana 66 Kentucky 60.
Another game has begun. #1 seed Virginia vs. #9 seed Butler in the Midwest region. Virginia are the first #1 seed to play in the second round. Will Butler cause another stunning upset in this tournament?
INDIANA!!!!! 12-2 run. Time’s running out Kentucky with a 62-52 deficit.
Don’t blink, or you’ll miss the run. Six points in about 75 seconds puts Indiana up 56-50. Do the Wildcats have a response?
100 points have been scored in Des Moines. Each team has 50 of them. 7:44 to go. Remember about an hour and a half ago when I said I was sure this would be tight and dramatic? Well yeah that’s happening.
Also Iowa State are well in control at halftime against Arkansas Little-Rock with a 40-28 lead in Denver.
Indiana 45, Kentucky 46. Ten minutes to go. You won’t want to miss the end of this one.
He’s not strong enough to walk off the court under his own power. I doubt he will be able to continue. Tough break for Indiana.
Scary moment for Indiana. Juwan Morgan is down and it looks very serious. Three people tending to him. Hope the kid is OK. Still down.
Now Iowa State are up by ten, and I have a better idea of what to think: They are playing well.
Not sure what to make of Iowa State vs. Ark-LR for two reasons.
- I’m watching Indiana-Kentucky, so I don’t know what’s going on.
- Iowa State are up five. Is that good? You’d think they should be up more against a #12 seed, but then again, that #12 just won. Not sure what to think here.
But hang on, back to back transition threes for Kentucky. 38-38.
WOW! 5-0 start to the second half for Indiana. Deep three. Very quick timeout from coach Cal.
Second half underway between Kentucky and Indiana. Who will edge it?
Another game tipped off about 15 minutes ago, Iowa State and Arkansas Little-Rock. Ark-LR are coming off of that double overtime win over Purdue on Thursday, so fatigue could be a factor. Iowa State lead 18-11 early on.
HALFTIME: Indiana 33 Kentucky 32. I don’t know about you but I thoroughly enjoyed that.
Indiana’s guard play is phenomenal. If only they had a frontcourt to match it they’d be much higher then a five seed.
Intensity? Check? Quality play? Check. Great atmosphere? Check. Close game? Check. 27-24 Kentucky at the final media timeout of the first half.
That’s exactly what I mean. More good ball movement and rotation, and a three is drained. Eventually Indiana will start to make these consistently and Kentucky will be in real trouble.
The one thing about this game so far that I’ve noticed is that Indiana are running their offense very well. They are getting open looks for this team, who can shoot better then anyone in the tournament. The shots just aren’t falling. You have to think that eventually Indiana will get them to fall. I like what Indiana’s doing right now. They just need to make the shots.
WOW! I’m enjoying this. What a brisk pace to start. Up and down, a lot of jump shots, Ulis just hit a long three, Farrell had one, stretch passes, dunks, very few fouls. Long stretches of play without a whistle. I’m enjoying this a lot. 18-13 Kentucky right now.
First question of the day for some basketball fans. If you have been to both, tweet us @ReadBasketball with your answer.
Which arena has a better atmosphere to watch a basketball game? Assembly Hall or Rupp Arena?
Off and running in Des Moines but it’s Kentucky doing must of the running. They hold an early 9-4 lead with some nice transition play being the difference so far.
Rivalries like this don’t come often in the tournament. Savor it. Drink it in. They don’t play each other in a regular season series anymore, so who knows when we will see these two titans of the sport on the same court again.
OK IT’S TIME GUYS. INDIANA VS. KENTUCKY!!!! People argue that this might be the best rivalry in college basketball. The teams have 13 National Championships between them (eight for Kentucky, five for Indiana), and some of the best players have come from these two states. You see high school games in these states with higher attendance them some college games. This is the 57th time they have ever played. The last time they played was in 2012, also in the tournament. I was at that game in Atlanta, with an Anthony Davis led Kentucky beating Indiana 102-90. IT’S GAMETIME!!!!
I should also note that Duke are moving on to Anaheim to play the winner of tomorrow’s game between Oregon and Cincinnati. That game will be next Thursday.
Duke 71 Yale 64. Valiant effort from the Bulldogs who trailed by 27 at one point but the team with more quality won. Duke are in the sweet 16. All of America will groan about that. So will I. Ughhhhh
Duke……can you not? I was having fun watching Yale bust some brackets.
Duke will survive 🙁
THREEEEEEEE POOOOINNTT GAME
Yale giving it everything they have. Time running out though. Down six, 1:08 to go.
Yale gave it a whirl but sometimes the other team just has better players. The Bulldogs haven’t gotten any closer then nine.
Yale trailed by 23 at the half. They are down by seven now.
15-0 RUN!!!
Single digits….
Yale have my attention…11-0 run.
You have my attention Yale. Back to back threes after a solid start to the second half and their deficit is down to 16. It probably won’t amount to anything but you have my attention.
Well, the second half is underway. Hope for the best, expecting the worst for Yale.
HALFTIME: Duke 48 Yale 25. Yale are just way overmatched in this game. Duke should coast into the sweet 16.
Oh this is crooked, like really crooked. Duke were on a 34-6 run….
It’s a disturbing scoreline if you like close games, or underdogs, or fun for that matter. Duke lead Yale 38-19 late in the first half…
All Duke now. 28-17 Blue Devils. Greyson Allen and Brandon Ingram are really starting to take control of this game. Yale need to get back in it before this becomes a rout.
Fast paced start, lots of points. 15-13 Duke with 14:08 to go in the first half.
Game two of eight today is underway. It’s Yale vs. Duke, it’s David vs. Goliath. Ivy League school Yale are in the tournament for the first time since 1961. Duke are the defending National Champions. But this is March Madness. Throw all that stuff out.
Thirty minutes from now we will get Duke vs. Yale. Can the Bulldogs get another upset???
It is over!
Miami 65 Wichita State 57. The Miami Hurricanes are off to the sweet 16!!! They will play next Thursday in Louisville against the winner of tomorrow’s game between Villanova and Iowa.
Miami up six with under thirty seconds. Wichita State just can’t hit a basket late.
57-53 Miami, two minutes to go.
Miami respond though. 6-0 run for the Hurricanes. 48-43 lead. This game is so close. Can’t take my eyes off of it.
WICHITA STATE TAKE THE LEAD!!!!!! 37-15 RUN!!!
Jim Larranaga teed up!! He’s been assessed a technical foul for arguing with the official, and that makes it 42-40 Miami, with Wichita state having the ball.
Wichita State on a 31-15 run since going down 27-6. It’s 42-37 Miami now. This is a long way from over…
FIVE POINT GAME!!! WICHITA STATE!!!!
Pretty even second half so far, Miami still hold a 10 point lead. Just waiting for a Wichita State run. Their defense has tightened up in the second half, but the offense needs to match that level of intensity.
Second half underway in Providence. Do Wichita State have a comeback in them?
HALFTIME: Miami 32 Wichita State 19. A dominating first half from the Hurricanes who are 20 minutes away from their second sweet 16 appearance in the space of four years.
Hang on a minute, the Shockers are on a 9-0 run. Granted, they are still down by 12. But there is no quit in Wichita State. This could get a little interesting as things progress.
Miami are shooting 80% from the field. Wichita State are shooting 7%. YES. SEVEN. PERCENT. Enough said.
27-6 Miami!!!!! Angel Rodriguez has 16 points. Wichita State have nine turnovers in 11:32 of gametime. This is going to be an ugly score if Wichita State don’t figure something out quickly.
WOW!!! Are you watching yet? In the first game of the day, Miami have raced out to an 18-4 lead over Wichita State. Angel Rodriguez already has 11 points an assist, and a steal early on. Stick with us all day for coverage of day one of round two.
32 teams remain. We will cover it all on the blog when the second round starts on Saturday afternoon.
Alright, before I go. I will give you the full second round and when the games will be played.
SOUTH REGION:
#1 Kansas vs. #9 UConn (Saturday)
#5 Maryland vs. #13 Hawaii (Sunday)
#3 Miami vs. #11 Wichita State (Saturday)
#2 Villanova vs. #7 Iowa (Sunday)
WEST REGION:
#1 Oregon vs. #8 St. Joes (Sunday)
#4 Duke vs. #12 Yale (Saturday)
#3 Texas A&M vs. #11 Northern Iowa (Sunday)
#2 Oklahoma vs. #10 VCU (Sunday)
EAST REGION:
#1 North Carolina vs. #9 Providence (Saturday)
#4 Kentucky vs. #5 Indiana (Saturday)
#6 Notre Dame vs. #14 Stephen F. Austin (Sunday)
#2 Xavier vs. #7 Wisconsin (Sunday)
MIDWEST REGION:
#1 Virginia vs. #9 Butler (Saturday)
4. Iowa State vs. #12 Arkansas-Little Rock (Saturday)
#3 Utah vs. #11 Gonzaga (Saturday)
#10 Syracuse vs. #15 Middle Tennessee (Sunday)
Ummmmmmmmmm OK. I might have gotten a little bit intense there.
NO. BASKET. IT WAS IN HIS HANDS AT 0.0! St. Joes win!
CINCINNATI HIT A TWO!! Will it count though? Under review. If it’s good, overtime between Cincinnati and St. Joes in the last game of the first round. If it was in his hand with 0.0 left on the clock, St. Joes win.
BUT ST. JOES HIT A THREE ON THE OTHER END TO TAKE THE LEAD OVER CINCINNATI.
IN THE OTHER GAME JACOB EVANS GIVES CINCINNATI THE LEAD WITH 14 SECONDS LEFT. EVERYTHING IS HAPPENING.
DID I JUST WATCH A GUY PLAYING FOR A #11 SEED MAKE A HALFCOURT SHOT AT THE BUZZER?!?!?!?!?!? YES I DID. BECAUSE IT’S MARCH MADNESS.
HE MADE IT. HE MADE IT. HE MADE IT. DID I MENTION HE MADE A HALFCOURT SHOT?
NO WAY HE MADE IT. HE DIDN’T . HE DID. HE MADE IT. NORTHERN IOWA AT THE BUZZER. FROM. HALF. COURT. HE MADE IT. DSFKJALSDFJALKFJSADLFHOAILDJK
GOING CRAZY ON THE KEYBOARD
TEXAS SCORE WITH 2.7 SECONDS LEFT!!! TIE GAME
Goes 1/2 at the line.
71-70. Texas ball. HE MISSES. UNI BALL AND TO THE FOUL LINE.
UNI LEAD!
Northern Iowa take a timeout with 36.5 to go. They have the ball down one.
Goes 1/2. UNI ball.
HE’S MADE IT!!! 41.5%. What a legend.
45.1 seconds to go. Tied at 69. Texas at the free throw line. It is 1 and 1. Prince Ibeh at the line. A 41.5% shooter…
Hmmm, do these players know you can’t take two steps with the ball? BOTH TEAMS have been called for travelling in the last 30 seconds. Come on guys, this isn’t amateur hour, it’s the NCAA Tournament!
Anyway, I’ll let you know what’s going on in the other games. Northern Iowa and Texas have traded leads down the stretch. Right now it belongs to Northern Iowa at 69-67. 2:30 to go.
NOTRE DAME WIN 70-63 LET’S GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The score of the games right now are 66-63, 67-66, and 66-66. Tight and similar.
Still a three point lead. We are shooting free throws with 11 seconds left. It is 1 and 1. I’m stressed. Please just make one of them.
I don’t really care about them but things are happening in that game. I’ll take you there when I’m done here.
Also some stuff is happening in Northern Iowa vs. Texas.
Notre Dame lead 66-63 with one minute to go. I am typing this on a timeout. I am also breathing very heavily right now.
Three warnings for anyone reading this now:
- I am a big Notre Dame fan. I will be watching the end of that. If something interesting happens in Texas vs. Northern Iowa I’m sorry, you will not hear about it till afterwards:
- I will not be blogging a lot. Again, this is my team. I’m nervous, and very tense right now.
- I might go crazy depending on the result. So buckle up.
The same can be said about about Northern Iowa and Texas. Texas lead 60-58 with 8:30 to go as I type this. That could go either way. Two very tight games right now.
Notre Dame hit a three for the lead, but Michigan hit two threes to take the lead back. This is absolutely back and forth with Michigan leading 54-51 with 8:13 to go. Not sure who’s gonna edge it.
Whoa Texas have turned its game on its head! From down eight at halftime to up seven through 6:45 in the second half. Huge 15-3 run.
TEXAS LEAD!!!!!!! Texas and Notre Dame making almost exactly simultaneous 2nd half comebacks.
TIE GAME!!!!!!!!!!! Notre Dame have brought it all the way back.
THREEE FOR TEXAS!! 10-3 run! Down by one.
Notre Dame aren’t the only team that was down at the half and can make a surge early in the second half. Texas have scored the first five points of the second half to cut Northern Iowa’s lead down to three points at 44-41. These games are getting good..
Second half also underway between Northern Iowa and Texas. Also a Notre Dame surge has cut their deficit from 12 to 4 early in the second half.
Two! THREE!! THREEE!!! 8-0 run for Notre Dame out of the locker room.
Meanwhile three halftime scores:
Northern Iowa 44 Texas 36
Cincinnati 40 St. Joes 41
Michigan 41 Notre Dame 29
Michigan-ND restarting now as I type this.
Final score from the final game of the day in St. Louis:
Xavier 71 Weber State 53.
#2 seed Xavier take care of business against the #15 seed Wichita State (not so easy, just ask Michigan State). They had a small wobble early in the second half with their lead going down to seven points, but Weber State never got closer then that. Xavier will play Wisconsin on Sunday.
For whatever it’s worth Weber State are hanging around with Xavier. They are down nine points with 10:21 to go. Granted, they haven’t gotten closer than nine the entire second half. Still, this game is there for the taking.
Oh man Michigan. 8-0 run. Lead Notre Dame 24-13. Bad stuff for our own Alan Cole.
Here’s something distressing to mine and many other brackets, Northern Iowa!!! They are on a 12-2 run, and lead Texas 23-13. That’s an issue for many who thought Shakha Smart’s team would make a tournament run.
Little void in the blog, but let’s update everybody on what’s happened:
In St. Louis Wisconsin won the lowest scoring game in NCAA Tournament history beating Pittsburgh 47-43. Texas A&M dominated Green Bay. #1 seed Oregon had zero problems with Holy Cross, meaning the wait for a #16 seed to beat a #1 seed will have to go on for at least another year. Sigh…
Anyway, there was a huge upset tonight. Stephen F. Austin the the #14 seed played West Virginia the #3 seed…and won!!! SFA dominated from start to finish against the press of West Virginia.
Right now the last four games of the first round are going on. Xavier lead Weber State 34-23 at the half, Texas and Northern Iowa are tied 11-11 eight minutes in, Michigan Lead Notre Dame 9-4, and finally St. Joes vs. Cincinnati is 0-0 inside of the first minute.
TERPS WIN!!!! 79-74. They will play Hawaii in the second round on Sunday.
Maryland 76-74 lead, 12 seconds to go, at the line.
Two free throws for Maryland. 74-70 lead. Timeout Jackrabbits
South Dakota State 70 Maryland 72, 43.1 seconds to go.
Oklahoma win 82-68. They will play VCU on Sunday in Oklahoma City. The only game going on right now is South Dakota State vs. Maryland, with the Terps holding a 12 point lead in the second half.
That’s another version of the #AlanJinx. Oklahoma up 12 now in the final 1:10
Hmmmmm this is getting interesting. Cal State Bakersfield 65 Oklahoma 69. 3:32 to go.
Also Maryland lead South Dakota State by 12 at the half. The Terps have looked very good so far.
10-0 run for Oklahoma. From down one to up nine. That didn’t take long.
That lasted for all of about 20 seconds…#AlanJinx
Whoaaaaaaaa. Do we have another #15 beating a #2? Cal State Bakersfield now LEAD Oklahoma 46-45. 14:26 to go.
Seriously Iowa. Why? Everybody wanted to see Villanova play Temple. But you had to go and ruin it in overtime. Sigh.
IOWA WIN 72-70!! All of America hates them now for ruining Villanova vs. Temple, but congrats to them.
72-70 IOWA!
TIE GAME!
Iowa 70 Temple 68, under a minute to go in OT.
OVERTIME IN BROOKLYN!!!!!!
HE GOES THREE FOR THREE AT THE LINE. THIS GAME IS TIED.
HE WAS FOULED SHOOTING A THREE! Makes the second….needs this one.
Temple at the free throw line. Makes first.
MISSES THE SECOND!
Makes the first
Eight seconds, Iowa to the free throw line.
62-60 Iowa, 11 seconds to go.
Close game in Brooklyn. Iowa 61 Temple 58. Final 90 seconds. Stay tuned on this one.
Wow
MIDDLE TENNESSEE HAVE BEATEN MICHIGAN STATE. A 15 SEED BEATS A 2 SEED. IS THIS REAL LIFE???? WHAT AM I WATCHING???? THIS IS MARCH MADNESS
Valentine hits a three on the other end. MTSU up six, back to the line.
Makes both
BLOCKED SHOT! MTSU BACK TO THE LINE. IS. THIS. HAPPENING?
Makes both
MTSU to the line. Two shots.
There’s an issue with the net, so they have to put it back on. Still a five point lead. Also Maryland vs. south Dakota State has begun in Spokane. Iowa lead Temple by six.
Middle Tennessee 83 Michigan State 78. Under half a minute…
IS THIS REAL LIFE!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!!?!?!?
Middle Tennessee 79, Michigan State 76. 1:06 to go….
Middle Tennessee 77, Michigan State 74 at the under four minute media timeout. Hold on tight…
Oklahoma got off to a very shaky start at home falling down 8-0, but have since gone on a 14-4 run to take a two point lead. Buddy Hield has four points in the early going in Oklahoma City.
Middle Tennessee’s lead down to three points. 8:42 to go. I personally think Michigan State will weather the storm, but this would be quite a story.
GOOD MORNING HAWAII!!!!!! It’s a little after 10 AM in Hawaii right now, but if they are awake they just saw their team STUN #4 seed California. Congrats to Hawaii. What a huge win.
While the #2 seed in one region Michigan State struggle, the #2 seed in another region Oklahoma have just tipped off against California State Bakersfield. It’s essentially a home game for Oklahoma in Oklahoma City. What does Buddy Hield have in store for the tournament?
To those of you that picked Michigan State to win it all on your bracket, how nervous are you right now?
Halftime in Brooklyn, and we have a very compelling game here. Temple 37 Iowa 38.
One word first half analysis from our resident Michigan State fan Joe Hulbert: Scrappy
You may have seen a thing in the paper or online this morning about how California have a lot of NBA talent and be a sleeper in the South region. Forget about that. Hawaii came to play. The Rainbow Warriors lead 64-56 with under six minutes to play. It’s not over yet, but man this is not looking promising for Cal.
There are three kinds of people at the Temple vs. Iowa game right now:
- People who want to see Temple play Villanova in an epic Philadelphia rivalry on Sunday.
- people who picked Iowa on their bracket and want Iowa to win for that reason
- People who want Iowa to win for no reason at all, also known as the people that hate fun.
One other thing worth noting as well for the game in Spokane is that Hawaii have committed ten team fouls in the second half. That means that on every foul, shooting or not, even in the backcourt, California will have two free throws for the rest of the game. If Cal can hit their free throws, all the pressure comes to Hawaii.
When one Pac-12 team loses another one picks it up…or something like that. California are on a 10-1 run to cut Hawaii’s lead to 47-46. This is where Hawaii needs to be strong if they want their upset bid to stay alive.
FINAL: VCU 75 Oregon State 67. A valiant effort from the Beavers, but VCU just hit more shots and executed better down the stretch. They will play the winner of Oklahoma/Cal St. Bakersfield on Sunday. At least Gary Payton gets to go home…
Here’s another halftime score to get your attention: #15 Middle Tennessee 41 #2 Michigan State 35.
I’m not saying a 15 seed will beat a 2 seed, but it’s hard not to at least sit up when you see that score…
I regret to inform most of the readers (unless you picked the Hawkeyes) that Iowa have sprinted out to a ten point lea over Temple. The dream matchup between the Philadelphia schools in the second round is not on track right now.
Did Hawaii have a basketball team before this season? I’ve never heard of them doing anything, but they’ve stretched their lead out over California to eight points in the early stages of the second half. It’s been a very ugly game, which suits the less talented Rainbow Warriors squad.
VCU take a small lead back at 57-52 with under seven minutes to go. Stay locked into this one on OKC, it’s tight. Also Iowa and Temple has tipped off in Brooklyn.
TIE GAME!!! Oregon State have stormed back from a nine point deficit against VCU to make it 49-49 with 10 minutes to go.
Halftime in Spokane and here’s a score that will catch the eye of a few, Hawaii 36 California 30. Can the Rainbow Warriors do it?
15-2!!!! Joe Hulbert is not worried about his team saying “we’ll turn it around”
Very interesting start in St. Louis. Middle Tennessee 12, Michigan State 2
Game five of this crazy day of basketball is about to start, and it’s part two of four in St. Louis. It’s #2 seed and many people’s National Championship picks Michigan State playing against #15 seed Middle Tennessee. Michigan State should be winning this game in a blowout, but you never know, this is march. Michigan State are our very own Joe Hulbert’s team, so we will hear thoughts from him as the game progresses.
Villanova win! They dominate UNC-Asheville 86-56 to advance to the second round. More importantly though, that is 1/2 of a mouth-watering second half game set up. In half an hour Temple and Iowa will play. If Temple can win that, we will have Villanova vs. Temple in the battle of Philadelphia on Sunday. Needless to say, GO TEMPLE! I think everybody wants to see that game on Sunday..
Well Hawaii are certainly getting their money’s worth out of their trip to the mainland. Jalen Brown has two fouls after 11 minutes for California, so he has to sit. Hawaii are getting to the free throw line and shooting well. They lead California 18-15 in the first half. Is there an upset here?
Also, let’s try to figure out something. Gary Payton played for the Seattle SuperSonics. He played very well. The SuperSonics relocated to Oklahoma City one season after he retired. Now, his son is playing in the NCAA Tournament…on the home court of the Oklahoma City Thunder, who used to be the SuperSonics. Is this a happy accident, or a ploy by the NCAA Tournament committee to make Gary Payton angry for some unknown reason. And if so, what is the reason? Tweet us @ReadBasketball if you have an idea.
In Oklahoma City Gary Payton II leads his team with seven points, four assists, and one rebound, but Oregon State trail VCU 36-28 at the half. Villanova lead UNC-Asheville 71-44, and Cal and Hawaii are just getting things going in Spokane.
The first final score of the day….an another lower seed beating a higher one:
#10 seed Syracuse dominate the second half over #7 seed Dayton to win 70-51. They will play the winner of Joe Hulbert’s Michigan State vs. Middle Tennessee, which begins in 30 minutes.
The fourth game of the day has tipped off in Spokane. That’s California and Hawaii. Cal are the #4 seed in the South region, Hawaii the 13. Can the Rainbow Warriors pull an upset?
DAYTON SCORED! I REPEAT. DAYTON HAVE SCORED! After a six and a half minute drought they’ve put the ball in the basket. They are still down 21…
For what feels like the first time in the history of everything, Villanova have a high seed in the tournament, and are on course to win in the first round. I know we’ve been getting used to the annual choking of Villanova, but they have a 16 point lead now. Maybe they will finally win…
It’s all about Syracuse now. They lead 53-33 now! They have outscored Dayton 23-5 in the first 12 minutes of the second half. It’s just not there for Dayton. Shots aren’t falling and their heads are dropping.
19-3 run!!! It’s all Syracuse who now lead 47-33 over Dayton. It’s looking increasingly likely Jim Boeheim’s team will be playing a second round game on Sunday.
Syracuse are back at it in the second half, and they have raced out to a 39-29 lead. Timeout Dayton.
Elsewhere Villanova are taking care of UNC-Asheville, they lead 40-26. Villanova are the two seed in the South region, UNC-Asheville the #15. Also in Oklahoma City Oregon State and VCU just tipped of. Oregon State are led by Gary Payton II, the son of NBA Hall of Famer Gary Payton. That is the 7/10 game in the West region.
We are approaching the end of the first half in Syracuse-Dayton, the New York side lead by two and Malachi Richardson has ten points, four boards and two assists.
At the first media timeout in St. Louis Dayton lead Syracuse 6-4. Very slow shooting start for the Orange.
Hello again! I’m Alan Cole back here for day two of March Madness! We have sixteen more games today, with the first one about to tip-off in St. Louis between Syracuse and Dayton. So sit back, settle in, and enjoy the madness!
Alright, that’s that covered. We’ve gone through sixteen games, seen two 12 seeds win as well as two 11 seeds win. Yale won their first ever tournament game, Arkansas-Little Rock beat Purdue in double overtime, and all of the one seeds romped. About 11 hours from now, we’ll start it all again. Thanks for joining me on the ReadBasketball March Madness live blog, I’ve been Alan Cole, signing off for now.
Oh, and one more thing before I sign off for the day: The schedule of play for Saturday’s second round games has just been released, so here’s a look ahead:
Games are played in four cities on Saturday, with two games on each court. There is a thirty minute break between games on each court for the next teams to warm up:
12:15 PM ET/4:15 PM GMT: Miami vs. Wichita State
30 minutes after that ends: Duke vs. Yale
5:15 PM ET/9:15 PM GMT: Kentucky vs. Indiana
6:10 PM ET/10:10 PM GMT: Iowa State vs. Arkansas-Little Rock
7:10 PM ET/11:10 PM GMT: Virginia vs. Butler
30 minutes after the conclusion of Kentucky vs. Indiana: Kansas vs. UConn
30 minutes after the conclusion of Iowa State vs. Arkansas-Little Rock: Utah vs. Gonzaga
30 minutes after the conclusion of Virginia vs. Butler: North Carolina vs. Providence
So Gonzaga wins, meaning these are the second round matchups that came from today:
SOUTH REGION:
#1 Kansas vs. #9 UConn
#3 Miami vs. #11 Wichita State
EAST REGION
#1 North Carolina vs. #9 Providence
#4 Kentucky vs. #5 Indiana
MIDWEST REGION:
#1 Virginia vs. #9 Butler
#4 Iowa State vs. #12 Arkansas-Little Rock
#3 Utah vs. #11 Gonzaga
WEST REGION:
#4 Duke vs. #12 Yale
Those are half of the second round matchups. You have two in the South, two in the East, three in the Midwest, and one out West. Those 16 teams are half of the teams that will make up the final 32. THe other 16 will be played out in 16 more exciting games on Friday.
More technical issues, but Gonzaga lead 54-46 now with seven minutes to go against Seton Hall. Gonzaga are the #11 seed, and Seton Hall are the #6 seed. It is the final game of the day. Is there a comeback on the cards?
With that, all that’s left today is Seton Hall vs. Gonzaga. Gonzaga lead by nine points with 7:12 to go. Can the Pirates come back?
During the drama in Raleigh, two more games went final:
Wichita State 65 Arizona 55.
Wichita State came up with more hustle, intensity, desire to win, and they played better. Oh and their coach did not sweat through three shirts in the game, and the same cannot be said about the Arizona coach. Wow. That guy has some issues. Anyway, Wichita State will play Miami in the second round on Saturday.
Kentucky 85 Stony Brook 57
Kentucky dominate tournament newbies, as all five starters scored in double figures. Now it gets fun. Kentucky will play INDIANA on Saturday. What a rivalry. One of the most historic rivalries in college basketball will be renewed on Saturday, with a place in the Sweet 16 on the line. I can’t wait for that.
Wow wow wow wow wow wow wow. Rodney Bullock hits a layup in the final two seconds. Providence wins 70 to 69 over USC. Providence will play North Carolina on Saturday.
PROVIDENCE STEAL IT AT THE BUZZER!!!
HE MADE IT!!!!!!
Three seconds left for Providence. Down by one.
DUNN MISSES. OUT OF BOUNDS. PROVIDENCE BALL. THREE SECONDS BALL.
MISSED
OHHHHH MYYY!!!!! JENKINS LOST THE BALL!!!! But he was fouled first. To the line. 1 and 1.
TIE-UP! But the arrow belongs to USC. That was a bit anti-climatic. 14 seconds to go. USC use their last timeout. we’ll go again with the inbound.
USC BALL! Providence have to foul now.
Wait hang on, refs reviewing who it was off of. Huge call here.
Shot! Blocked! Shot! Blocked out of bounds! Still Providence ball. All that did was take some time off the clock, but USC did block two shots.
Stewart misses the FT! It was 1 and 1. Providence ball. Down 69-68. 22.5 seconds. They use their final timeout to draw up a play. Surely the ball is going to Kris Dunn.
Dunn! No! A frenetic thirty seconds puts USC at the free throw line up 69-68 with 27.6 seconds to go. Dunn rushed a shot there, and probably should have gotten a better one.
Hits the second one. 61-60 USC. Providence ball.
Misses the first off the back iron, long.
58.7 seconds to go, USC at the free throw line for two shots.
KRIS DUNN!!!! The Big East player of the year nails the three, his fourth three-pointer of the game, which means USC and Providence are tied at 68 with a little more then a minute to go. Yet again, a close 8/9 game.
DUNN!!!! TIE GAME!!!!
Sean Miller sweated so much he had to change shirts at halftime … then it happened again. https://t.co/1RslA89c9h pic.twitter.com/ASp9C5X90o
— ESPN (@espn) March 18, 2016
Told ya
Quick little 7-0 spurt for Arizona has the Wichita State lead down to 60-51. Surely too little too late though with just 1:36 to go though?
THAT is how you respond. An 8-0 Providence run with their best player on the bench in foul trouble. The Friars are up 61-60 on USC with 5:55 to go. This game still has a few twists and turns in it. Maybe overtime?
Finally some shots are going in for Providence! But now they aren’t getting stops. 60-56 USC, 7:05 to go. Settle in. You’ll get another good one before the night ends.
USC have a five point lead on Providence right now, and it’s about execution. They are running better offensive sets, are moving the ball well, and most of all making shots. Providence aren’t hitting the shots. There is still a lot of time left, but it’s tough to win with a lid on the basket. The Friars are finding that out now.
The blowout is well and truly on in Providence, as Wichita State hold a 24 point lead now. From the city of Providence to the university that hails from that city, Providence and USC are in a much more competitive game down in Raleigh. Currently the Friars lead 46-45 with 13 minutes to go.
Technical foul on Sean Miller for sweating too much.
Joe Hulbert with some analysis on the game going on in Providence right now:
“Sean Miller needs a can of right guard. That amount of sweat is not normal”
Top analysis, and I can’t say he is wrong.
Second halves about to get underway between Stony Brook and Kentucky, as well as Providence and USC. The latter is a much closer game then the former.
Arizona are just missing a leader right now. They are down 14 with 15 minutes to go. Wichita State are not exactly shooting the lights out right now, so they can get back into this. But nobody is in there, getting everybody going. Sean Miller is sweating through his second T-shirt of the night on the sideline, and when your coach shows fear that’s not good. Wichita State are bullying them inside right now. They need to get back into this quickly.
The last of the 16 games on this Thursday marathon of basketball has just tipped off. It’s Gonzaga vs. Seton Hall in Denver. The late start is due to a few factors. Partly the time difference, some of it being that the game in that arena earlier today between Ark-LR and Purdue went to double overtime, and more. Either way, it will be the last game to finish up on this day.
In Des Moines Stony Brook are just overmatched against Kentucky. They fought hard for the first ten minutes but the large gap in quality is beginning to show. It is a 33-19 lead for Kentucky at halftime, and I can see that growing. Stony Brook should be focusing on going one possession at a time in the second half and making a good name for themselves in their first ever tournament game, but they won’t win it.
Wichita State are physically dominating Arizona, and lead 31-19 at the half. That is the lowest point total of the season for Arizona in the first half. Wichita State aren’t even shooting that well, but the looks they are getting in the paint have been great. Almost unmissable! Their defense on the other hand has been stifling as it always is, as they forced the Wildcats into ten turnovers. They are really finding their stride in March…again.
Utah beat Fresno State 80-69 to advance. Fresno State gave them a little scare midway through the second half but the Utes had too much. They will play the winner of Gonzaga vs. Seton Hall in the last game of the night on Saturday.
Some observations early so far from these games:
Wichita State try harder than any team I have ever seen. They dive on every loose ball. Not afraid to make contact.
Stony Brook are the opposite of Indiana. Really good defensive team, but an’t shoot to save their lives.
Ben Bentil is a great basketball player. He has nine early points for Providence as they lead USC.
Two more games underway now. The nightcap in Des Moines between Kentucky and Stony Brook. Stony Brook in their first ever tournament game, Kentucky a blue blood of the field. Also USC and Providence the 8/9 game in the North Carolina region. That is the last game of the day in Raleigh. We have eleven games gone, five to go. Glad you could join us on this opening day of March Madness.
MADNESS IN DENVER……AGAIN! Utah lead Fresno State by 14…Fresno State took a one point lead, and then Utah responded with a 7-0 run! 8:26 to go 54-48 Utah.
Two final scores to report to you:
Chattanooga 74 Indiana 99.
The Hoosiers maybe could have scored one more point to help out those with OCD like myself, but outside of that it was a flawless performance from the Hoosiers who coast into round two. They will play the winner of Kentucky and Stony Brook in the late game.
Florida Gulf Coast 67 North Carolina 83
By far the closest of the three #16 seeds to play today were Florida Gulf Coast. They only trailed by one at the half, but North Carolina’s raw talent was too much. UNC will play the winner of USC vs. Providence on Saturday.
How about this for a stat? Indiana are shooting 67% from the field, and there is 5:16 to go IN THE GAME! They have made two out of every three shots for a 35 minute span. That is just ridiculous. Great for them, and great for the neutral. That is 1/2 of the dream second round matchup between Indiana and Kentucky set up.
‘Canes win! That wasn’t exactly pretty, but Miami defeat Buffalo 79-72 in the ninth game of the day. They were +13 in the rebounding game and the shooting of Angel Rodriguez put them over the line. They’ll play the winner of Arizona vs. Wichita State, which is set to start in 30 minutes.
I regret to inform you that North Carolina are running away with it. They’ve outscored Florida Gulf Coast 18-5 at the start of the second half. Roy Williams wasn’t going to let his team lose to a #16 seed, so he did something about it at halftime. This is going to become the rout we expected now.
Buffalo 64 Miami 70. 3:42 to go.
*So your telling me there’s a chance meme*
WOW! Don’t blink, or you will miss blazing starts from both teams that held halftime leads. Indiana’s lead has been bumped from 9 to 17 behind some great ball movement, and North Carolina are up by 7 now after holding a slim one-point lead at the half. Utah have a very early nine point lead over Fresno State as well.
Second halves are now underway in Raleigh and Des Moines. Indiana with a comfortable lead, North Carolina….not so much.
So Miami was starting to pull away from the MAC Champions Buffalo, but since then Buffalo have put it back to a six point game. I don’t think Miami will cough this up, but you never know. This is March!
Well, well, well. Florida Gulf Coast 40, North Carolina 41. Remember, #16 seeds (what Florida Gulf Coast are) are 0-126 all time against #1 seed (what North Carolina are). I’m just saying it’s worth looking at. Also Indiana lead Chattanooga by nine at the break.
Hmmmmmmmm. I’m not sure what to think of Florida Gulf Coast’s realistic chances of beating North Carolina. They are down five late in the first half. But at that point Kansas and Virginia had already built up large double-digit leads. I think a lot of it depends on the next 3:40. If they can get into the half in striking distance, the fear and doubt creeps into North Carolina, and you never know.
A sleeper thought: Chattanooga. They are down three to Indiana as I type this, but they seem to be able to shoot very well and keep up with their pace. Not sure about them getting stops, but that might be an interesting one to tune into if you can’t decide which game to watch right now.
Another set of close games brewing here. Miami lead Buffalo 35-33 at the half, Indiana lead Chattanooga by four, and the usual blowouts that the 1-16 games are is only a seven point game right now. Fresno State and Utah also tip off in half an hour. Keep it right here for the best March Madness live blog out there.
So now that that is done, there are three other games going on. Here’s what is going on:
#3 seed Miami lead #14 seed Buffalo 29-25 late in the first half. Chattanooga and Indiana are just underway, that is 10-9 Indiana. IU are a #5 seed and Chattanooga are a #12 seed there. And finally, #16 Florida Gulf Coast LEAD #1 North Carolina 11-10. It’s five minutes in. Calm down.
ARKANSAS-LITTLE ROCK WINS!!!!! A huge upset, the 12 seed takes out the 5 seed. Ark-LR will play Iowa State on Saturday for a place in the sweet 16. That was the best game of the tournament so far. Phenomenal!
PURDUE DRIVE, PURDUE MISS!! LITTLE ROCK TO THE FREE THROW LINE. 1.2 SECONDS LEFT.
Misses both!
Misses the first.
Ark-LR to the line. 9.8 to go.
Arkansas-Little Rock 84, Purdue 83. 11 seconds to go. Ark-LR to inbound on their own baseline. They have one timeout, Purdue just used their final one to set up their full court press. Critical free throw misses by both have allowed this game to stay wide open for so long.
80-75 LITTLE ROCK!!! Matt Painter takes a timeout, and boy do Purdue need that. It leaves both teams with one timeout remaining and 2:45 to go in the second overtime session. Some other games are also tipping off now, but I will get to those when this ends.
I should also note that while I was wrapped up in events in Denver, another game started in Providence. Miami are the #3 seed, Buffalo the #14 in the South region. Buffalo the underdogs lead 17-13 at around the midway point of the first half.
Double. Overtime.
75-75. 11 seconds to go. Purdue ball, side out inbound.
So 1:44 to go, Arkansas-Little Rock lead 73-72 in a low scoring overtime. Purdue not playing good offense now, as their lack of an established point guard is really hurting them. COME ON ARK-LR
ARKANSAS LITTLE ROCK HAVE FORCED OVERTIME AFTER BEIND DOWN BY 13. I AM AWARE THAT I AM YELLING. I AM EXCITED. THEY NEDED THE GAME ON A 18-5 RUN.
TIE GAME. TIE GAME. TIE GAME. TIE GAME. TIE GAME.
THE TEAMS TRADE THREES!! Purdue 68, Arkansas-Little Rock 67. 20.9 seconds to go. Purdue ball.
A 10-0 run from the Trojans has Purdue’s lead down to three. 1:16 to go. Keep this interesting….
THREE POINT GAME!!!
63-52 Purdue at the under four timeout. It looks like we’ll be done with half of the games, and I’ll be 6/8 on my bracket. How about you guys?
FINAL: Kansas 105, Austin Peay 79. Duh.
Kansas will move on to play UConn on Saturday night. A matchup between the #1 overall seed this year and the 2014 National Champions. That should be good.
The Kansas Jayhawks become the first team today to hit the century mark, they have 100 points on helpless Austin Peay with 3:26 to go.
Purdue are really starting to take control of their game out in Denver. They lead 45-36 over Arkansas-Little Rock. The sad part is that is the best game right now, as the other game in progress is Kansas doing what one seeds do against Austin Peay.
After the shock of that Baylor result, ESPN says that only 6.7% of remaining brackets are perfect. If you are one of those people, I salute you. Right now we have Kansas drubbing Austin Peay, and Purdue lead Arkansas-Little Rock by three with the second half just getting underway. Small dead period now before the night session with only two games and one close game on now.
How many brackets were busted by that?
YALE WINS!!!!!! 79-75!!! The #12 seed Yale beats #5 seed Baylor. The biggest upset of the day so far! Yale will play Duke on Saturday.
HE LOST THE BALL! HE LOST THE BALL! HE LOST THE BALL! YALE TO THE FT LINE!
1/2 at the line. 6.8 seconds. No timeout for Baylor.
Foul committed with 6.8 seconds left. Yale to the line.
Yale take their final timeout to avoid a trap. 9 seconds left, no timeouts for either team. Yale up 76-75 with the ball.
THREE BAYLOR! ONE POINT GAME
Makai Mason now has 31 points for Yale, and those two free throws give his team a two-possession lead.
Yale 74, Baylor 72. 28 seconds to go, Yale at the free throw line. One timeout left for Yale, none for Baylor, both teams in the double bonus.
CHARGE! It’s a charging foul on Baylor. Four point lead for Yale. Scott Drew’s team might be heading for an early exit.
TWO. POINT. GAME.
Yale 70, Baylor 64. 1:36 to go. A comeback in here?
Final score #5: Virginia 81, Hampton 45.
Duh. The #1 seed Virginia thrash #16 Hampton to move on to the second round. They will play Butler on Saturday, who beat Texas Tech today.
Ohhhhhh it’s getting interesting in Providence. Six point game between Yale and Baylor. If you turned this game off, get back to it. This isn’t quite over.
Virginia are up 35 in the second half, Kansas up 19 late in the first half. 1 seeds doing work.
Also, the eighth game of the day is underway. Purdue and Arkansas-Little Rock. Another one of those #5 vs. #12 games. That is out in Denver, and yes, I did pick Arkansas Little-Rock to get the upset.
I have to be honest. Of all the teams before the season that I thought would possibly bust my bracket come March, I wasn’t exactly putting Yale on the list. Come on Baylor.
BACK TO BACK THREEEEEEES!!! Two threes in two possessions for Yale, who turn a 45-45 tie into a 51-45 lead over Baylor. Now, do the Bears have a response?
If your eyes aren’t on Baylor and Yale right now, I have to ask what are they on? The other two agmes in progress are both 1-16 games that are either blowouts or going to be blowouts. Yale lead Baylor by three right now with 14 minutes to go. That’s where the action is at right now.
Oh wait, back come the Bulldogs! Yale now lead by five. Baylor fans everywhere clutching their brackets and cringing. This Yale team has no quit, and they might do this. Stay tuned…
Scary news in Raleigh where Virginia head coach Tony Bennett collapsed to the floor just before halftime against Hampton. He is quoted as “I just blacked out a little bit, I’m fine.” Let’s hope it’s nothing more than that.
Good start to the second half for Baylor, who are on a 6-0 run to take a 40-39 lead. Elsewhere Kansas are underway, Virginia have extended their lead beyond 20, and Purdue will start in 20 minutes.
Alright, take two on the one seeds. And this is the #1 overall seed. The team most people have picked to win the National Championship. The Kansas Jayhawks will play the Austin Peay Governors. Tipoff #7 today.
Alright, our fourth final score out of 16 games today is in Denver:
Iona 81, Iowa State 94.
The Cyclones get off to a scorching hot start shooting and never looked back. They will play the winner of Arkansas-Little Rock vs. Purdue, which begins in 30 minutes.
In Denver A.J. English has made a boneheaded mistake and picked up a technical foul. The guard had been leading a great Iona really, as they only trail Iowa State by seven now. Apparently “profanity towards the Iowa State coach” was the call, and it might be curtains for Iona.
Yale hold a five point lead over Baylor at the half in Providence. 39-34. Yale playing smart, team basketball. From what I’ve gathered and seen I certainly think Baylor can get back into this game and win, but they need to get going the way Connecticut did.
Time for a debate. Waller-Prince dunks it in for Baylor late in the first half. That’s a technical foul. Should hanging on the rim for a dunk be a technical foul? Comment below or tweet us @ReadBasketball.
Virginia are doing #1 seed things to #16 seeds, they lead Hampton 28-18 late in the first half. Maybe that’s not the blowout you were expecting, but by no means is that bad. They’ll pull away. They should become the 125th straight #1 seed to win in the first round.
FINAL: Connecticut 74, Colorado 67
Free throws were the difference in this one. UConn went 22/23 at the free throw line, while Colorado went 19/30. UConn through to the second round..where the small matter of the #1 overall seed Kansas Jayhawks await (assuming they beat Austin Peay).
If you had to make one free throw to save your bracket, what player would you give it to? Sterling Gibbs of Connecticut is not a bad bet. He just went 6/6 at the line in the final minute to pretty much put the game away.
CHAOS IN DES MOINES!!! Colorado steal it, fail to control, Connecticut get it back, and are at the FT line.
Whoooaaaaa UConn. Playing a little fast and loose with my bracket eh? They had a 12 point lead with 2:30 to go, and now they are up three with a minute to go. Don’t do this to me Huskies.
Makai Mason!! He’s doing some balling for Yale right now (yes, Ivy league schools can ball too), as the Bulldogs are hanging with Baylor. 21-21 in the first half right now.
In other news: Iowa State are still white hot from the field. They are shooting 54.8% from the field and have made ten threes in the game. Iona just can’t keep up. Another Big-12 team playing now is Baylor, who lead Yale 17-15. Look out for Yale. Could be a sneaky upset pick.
This game has absolutely flipped on its head in Des Moines. UConn are on a 24-7 run over Colorado, as they have gone from a nine point deficit to an eight point lead. Colorado have time to get back into this, but it’s going to have to be now.
Also underway now the first one seed to the court. Virginia. #1 seed in the Midwest region, they are playing #16 seed Hampton. #1 seeds are 124-0 all time in this tournament format against #16 seeds. Is this FINALLY the year?
Alright, sorry about that! We had some MAJOR technical difficulties, but we are back, and just in time. Game #5 of the day is tipping off now between Baylor and Yale. The winner will play Duke on Saturday. Elsewhere UConn have come firing back to take a 49-46 lead on Colorado, and Iowa State lead Iona by 12 at the break.
After a really sluggish start, Iona are on an 11-5 run in Denver. They now trail by just eight points against the Iowa State Cyclones. Can they close the gap even more in the final 2:40 of the first half?
Also, not to brag, but I had Duke and Butler. My bracket is a perfect 2/2 so far #RoadToPerfection
Final score #2!
Butler 71, Texas Tech 58.
The Bulldogs pull away late with a great surge to beat Texas Tech. Butler will play Virginia or Hampton (probably Virginia) on Saturday. Virginia/Hampton will begin in 30 minutes.
I give UNC-Wilmington a lot of credit here. They are a #13 seed that was supposed to get whacked, but they they hung in there. Duke has more quality in their team, and they did deserve to win. But they got a win. Your first final score of the day:
UNC-Wilmington 85, Duke 93
Duke advance to the second round to play the winner of Baylor vs. Yale, which will begin in 30 minutes.
THREEEE BUTLER!!! Nine point lead now! Huge run for them!
UNC-Wilmington..yeah…them again. They have surrendered 39 free throws to Duke today. You can’t win like that. You just can’t. You need to get some stops without fouling.
I give credit to UNC-Wilmington for hanging in there, but the thing about basketball is you have to guard all five players on the other team. That is an important element of basketball that they are not doing right now. Also, Butler have extended their lead to seven in the final five minutes. Time running out on the Red Raiders.
There’s ANOTHER Plumlee dunk. Are UNC-Wilmington going to bother guarding him?
OK seriously how many times has Marshall Plumlee dunked in the second half? I feel like every Duke possession he is throwing it down. Anyway, Duke pulling away.
IOWA STATE ON FIRE!!! 5/8 from three-point range, and we are not even through seven minutes! Five threes in 6:56 for the Cyclones, who as you would expect with that are blowing the helpless Iona away. 24-11 to the Big-12 school.
Jones fouls out for Duke, and they are down to six men now. One more foul out and Duke won’t be able to make substitutions for the rest of the game. The Blue Devils need to be really cautious down the stretch.
I should mention that I am watching the UNC-Wilmington vs. Duke game, but for those of you curious, the game in Raleigh is so close right now. Every time I look up at that scoreboard of other games I see Butler and Texas Tech either tied or within one possession of each other. Right now it’t Butler with the small lead, but this will absolutely come down to the final few minutes.
Alright, who else has Colorado throwing a monkey wrench in their bracket? I don’t know too many people that picked Colorado to beat UConn, but they have a 31-22 lead late in the first half. If they win, that’s a handful of brackets dead that had UConn making a run.
Abdel Nader!!! He has eight points in the first 3:15 in Denver, as Iowa State have stormed out to a 11-5 lead.
The 4th game is underway, and it’s a commentating tongue twister, as Iona are playing Iowa State in Denver. Iowa State are the #4 seed in the Midwest region, and Iona are their #13 seed counterparts.
The big thing UNC-Wilmington can take from this is that they might win with some better discipline. C.J. Gettys has just fouled out with 10:08 to go, another player has four fouls, and three more have three. Duke are in the double bonus for the rest of the game with 10:08 to go, so if they can hit their free throws I can’t see UNC-Wilmington winning.
The second half of the other 8/9 game going on today has begun in Raleigh. Can Butler pull it out, or will Texas Tech fight back? Stay tuned for that and so much more here on the ReadBasketball live tournament blog.
The first update out of Des Moines is here, and as you would expect in a game contested between an eight seed and a nine seed, it’s close. Colorado lead 10-8 early. I know a lot of people had the trendy pick of the 2014 champions UConn to play Kansas in the second round, but don’t sleep on the Buffs. Colorado are a good rebounding team that might be able to win this.
If you are a person that likes crazy upsets, I’m afraid I am the bearer of bad news. It’s all Duke right now. I mean like, alllll Duke right now. They are on a 21-9 run right now, and now have a nine point lead. If you picked Duke, good for you. If you like chaos, it might not come here.
This is a dangerous juncture of the game for UNC-Wilmington. Duke are on an 8-0 run early in the second half. This game isn’t lost, but they have to keep it close to set themselves up for a late run. They are also in huge foul trouble, as they have committed five personal fouls in the first four minutes of the second half.
Game three of our 16 game marathon has just tipped off in Des Moines. #9 seed UConn and #8 seed Colorado are doing battle, with the winner (presumably) getting the “honor” of playing #1 overall seed Kansas in the second round. Good for the winner?
The second half in Providence is off and running, as the first major shock of March Madness might be coming. UNC-Wilmington lead 46-42 with 18:52 to go in the game.
That was very entertaining. It wasn’t as high scoring as the Duke vs. UNC-Wilmington game, but Butler and Texas Tech have played a good first half. The chess match between young gun Chris Holtmann, who is coaching in the NCAA Tournament for just the 2nd time in his brief coaching career, and Tubby Smith who has been in the tournament 17 times in his 24 year coaching career. Right now the young guy is on top by two points, with Butler leading Texas Tech 30-28 at the break.
Just like that Butler are back on top for the first time since they held a 7-6 lead in the opening minutes. Texas Tech are in their first tournament game since 2007, but find themselves down to the experienced Butler Bulldogs.
Down in Raleigh where things are starting to get tight. After a slow start Butler are on a quick 8-2 run and are now down 23-21 to Texas Tech. A little more then five minutes to go in the first half.
THREEEE!!! The UNC-Wilmington Seahawks are 6/12 in the first half from beyond the arc. The Seahawks lead the defending champion Duke Blue Devils 43-40 at the half.
Who are these guys? UNC-Wilmington can shoot! Another three ball is drained, their fifth of the first half. They now lead Duke 34-30. Upset alert is absolutely on.
Meanwhile in Raleigh it’s a very fast start for Texas Tech against Butler. Tubby Smith’s team lead 16-9 with five points from Aaron Ross leading the way so far. Still early in the first half.
Right now is a special time for everybody involved in March Madness. It is estimated that 70 million people filled out a bracket. At this exact moment, all of them are perfect. No games have finished yet, but right now everyone in the world has a perfect bracket. Enjoy that guys. For most of you, it won’t last long.
We’re locked in a tight one early in Providence! #13 seed UNC-Wilmington are tied with #4 seed Duke 24-24 in the West region. The Seahawks just went on a 7-0 run against the defending champions. Is a shock on the cards here?
Game two of the day is set to tip off now, as the #8 seed Texas Tech Red Raiders will play the #9 seed Butler Bulldogs in the Midwest region. The winner will presumably take on Virginia on Saturday in round two. For the first time in the tournament, we have two games at once!