Postgame
If you don’t like March Madness, there’s something wrong with you.
-Charles Barkley, who may have a point.
Upsets galore, including the headliner, Middle Tennessee, a 15th seed ousting a No2 Michigan State. Thirteenth seeded Hawaii’s win over fourth seeded California, and Stephen F Austin’s victory over West Virginia, a 14 over a three, have made this another historic day of March Madness, especially when you thow in Jesperson’s heave-ho to win it for Northern Iowa...an 11th seed ousting the sixth seeded Longhorns.
And there’s likely plenty more where that came from: we’ll have it live. Until then, for all the Guardian team, thanks for following with us.
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Octavius Ellis, at the Buzzer...No Good...Heartbreak https://t.co/Rc6wOd26Mv
— Jamie Shaw (@JamieShaw5) March 19, 2016
No. 9 Cincinnati 76-78 No. 8 St Joeseph’s, Final
Lost in the half-court shuffle are St Joe’s and Cincy where the Bearcats thought they tied it up when Octavius Ellis dunked at the buzzer but it was too late.
PAUL JESPERSON FROM HALF COURT! #MarchMadness https://t.co/kiZW9MSQUe
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 19, 2016
Shaka is out, and the Panthers face Texas A&M next. Still in shock here, and something tells me I’m not alone.
It felt good when it left my hands, but you never know with those shots. I’m just thankful it went in, thankful we can live another day.
-Paul Jesperson, hero
No. 11 Northern Iowa 75-72 No. 6 Texas, Final
Washpun hits one of two! Then Texas’ Isaiah Taylor ties it with just over two ticks remaining with a short jumper.
Now a half court heave from Paul Jesperson - IT’S GOOD! IT’S GOOD! OFF THE GLASS AND IN! FROM HALF COURT! IT’S ALL OVER!
THAT’S AN-ALL TIME MOMENT, AN ALL-TIME SHOT! THAT JUST HAPPENED! WOW!
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Northern Iowa 71-70 Texas, 0:12, 2nd half
Klint Carlson, a fake at the arc, then a drive, all the way through the paint and to the hoop - it’s in! UNI are up!
Texas come back - Taylor misses a jumper - Washpun has it for the Panthers - he’s fouled and will go to the line. Texas call for time!
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Northern Iowa 69-70 Texas, 0:37 2nd half
Taylor from beyond the arc - no good, but Prince Ibeh has the board and is fouled by Matt Bohannon! The Prince hits one of two free-throws. Northern Iowa call for time.
Northern Iowa 69-69 Texas, 1:05 2nd half
Not to be outdone but the events in Brooklyn, we’ve got action in Oklahoma City where UNI and Texas are tied with just over a minute left.
No. 11 Michigan 63-70 No. 6 Notre Dame, Final
Notre Dame stage a comeback victory over Michigan in a fantastic first round game in Brooklyn.
Now we get to find out what happens when Fighting Irish meet Luberjacks. Considering the lack of trees near Barclays, and the amount of Irish in the area, I’d bet on the Irish.
Michigan 63-68 Notre Dame, 0:11, 2nd half
Zak Irvinr fom way downtown - he can’t hit! Colson has it and Michigan foul...
Coulson hits both and it’s a five point game! That will do it!
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Michigan 63-66 Notre Dame, 1:01, 2nd half
Walton, a beautiful interir feed to Mark Donnal for a badly needed field goal.
Then Michigan force a turnover but this time Donnal misses from in-close! What? How did..never mind.
Bonzie Colson comes right back for the Irish to hit a layup before Zak Irwin fights down low to earn a vital deuce on the paint for Michigan!
So it’s a three-point game with just over a minute remaining!
Michigan 58-64 Notre Dame, 3:01, 2nd half
V.J. Beachem pops a little seven footer and now the Irish are up by five!
Beachem has 18, and John Beilein wants to talk it over! Time out on the floor!
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Michigan 58-59 Notre Dame, 4:10, 2nd half
Jackson, in traffic, able to hit down low! Demetrius Jackson, just 6’1”, gives the Irish the lead.
Cincinnati 64-54 St Joeseph’s, 10:29, 2nd half
You flip away for a second and whao! A ST JOE’S BONANZA! How did that happen? They’re up 10!
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Northern Iowa 58-60 Texas, 8:14 2nd half
We’re past the half-way mark in the second half and it’s still tight between the Panthers and Longhorns. Wes Washpun hits both ends of a one-and-one to tie it up. Then Kerwin Roach Jr goes glass, putting Texas up a deuce. I smell late-game heroics here...
Michigan 54-51 Notre Dame, 8:31 2nd half
Quiet. Michigan miss eight straight shots while ND cool down some.
Some three minutes expire between field goals before the Irish break the drought and take their first lead of the night courtesy of a V.J. Beachem three-ball.
Then Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkmancomes right back for the Wolverines and hits from beyond the arc...then Zak Irvin converts from downtown, and, just like that, Michigan are back up!
Say, this is pretty good.
Michigan 48-48 Notre Dame, 11:51 2nd half
An explosion from the Irish! - Their 19-7 second half run is topped off by Matt Ryan’s three-pointer which forces the first tie of this ballgame!
Cincinnati 49-48 St Joeseph’s, 16:41, 2nd half
Cincy and St Joe’s have resumed. Big man Coreontae DeBerry, grabs his own board, puts it back, and one! He drains the free-throw and the Bearcats are up a point.
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Northern Iowa 47-46 Texas, 15:17 2nd half
Demarcus Holland for three, and he HITS! It’s a one-point game, Shaka’s boys are back in business.
Michigan 46-39 Notre Dame, 16:01 2nd half
Up down, up down. Peaks, valleys and runs. It’s Notre Dame’s turn to go on a streak, this of the a 10-2 variety, right out of the second half box to cut the Wolverines lead to four.
Wait - a three-ball from Duncan Robinson...here come Michigan, now back up seven. Is it their turn for a run?
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No. 15 Weber State 53-71 No. 2 Xavier, Final
Well what did you expect, their band didn’t even turn up.
Xavier face high-scoring Wisconsin, a seven seed, in the second round.
The Musketeers had four players in double digits: forward James Farr had 18 points and 15 boards.
Beastly.
Cincinnati 40-41 St Joeseph’s, end 1st half
A reasonably high-scoring affair here with St Joe’s up at the half. That’s worth noting because they have lost just once all season when they’ve enjoyed a lead at the break, going 21-1.
DeAndre’ Bembry has 20 points for the Hawks, mostly because he can do stuff like this:
Two-handed finish by DeAndre Bembry! #MarchMadness https://t.co/yT3gWkMd7H
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 19, 2016
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Weber State 51-64 Xavier, 3:25, 2nd half
Yup, the levee broke.
An 8-0 run by Xavier opens it up. Joel Bolomboy is still playing however: he has a chance to cut it to 12 after a tough basket in the paint...but can’t hit the free-throw.
Northern Iowa 44-36 Texas, end 1st half
Teas are holding for the last shot of the half - Javan Felix drains a three! It’s his first of the game, and despite a rip-roaring first half effort by the Panthers, Texas have survived a 23-2 run, and have to be feeling half decently at the break down by just eight.
Michigan 41-29 Notre Dame, end 1st half
Streaky is as streaky does - the Wolverines lead is at 12 thanks to a 7-0 run to end the half, with the last bucket, hit by Moritz Wagner, being of the toilet bowl variety.
The Brooklyn crowd head up to buy $10 pickles and talk about common-core as they await the second half.
Michigan 34-29 Notre Dame, 1:36, 1st half
But wait, hold everything...a scoring explosion in BK as ND come roaring back - it’s suddenly a five-point game thanks to back-to-back layups from Zach Auguste which close the gap.
Michigan 29-17 Notre Dame, 3:13, 1st half
A blazing first half as Michigan, who arrived in Brooklyn on Thursday morning at 4AM after a BUS TRIP (what?) from Dayton after their defeat of Tulsa, are running the Irish out of the gym in Brooklyn.
Guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman leads Michigan with 12 as a crowd chocked with diaspora cheer on their heroes at Barclays.
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Weber State 41-54 Xavier, 11:23, 2nd half
Farr - a sweet, left-handed jump hook in the paint. He has 14 points and 12 rebounds as Xavier open up the lead to 13.
Weber State 39-46 Xavier, 13:23, 2nd half
McKay Cannon can finger roll, oh yes he can. And this Joel Bolomboy, he can shoot, yes indeed. A big three-ball and it’s a seven-point game!
Probably worth mentioning that Xavier only recently just shot their first two free-throws OF THE GAME. It’s a fact.
Northern Iowa 27-15 Texas, 7:31, 1st half
Whoa Nellie! Northern Iowa were down 7-0, but have ripped off a 23-6 run as the Panthers try to upset Shaka Smart’s Texas team.
Weber State 34-44 Xavier, 15:58, 2nd half
The Musketeers are big all over the floor and look close to overwhelming little Weber State.
Still, the Wildcats are within reach if they can find a way to break through against Xavier, who have distributed the ball well tonight while greasing up for what could be a long tourney run.
Cincinnati 11-11 St Joeseph’s, 13:11, 1st half
And finally, Cincy and St Joe’s have tipped off in Spokane, Washington in an 8/9 game. Farad Cobb feeds Quadri Moore who hits to tie this one up.
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Michigan 9-4 Notre Dame, 14:57, 1st half
Two football schools have descended upon the world’s worst ice hockey arena to play a game of basketball in Brooklyn.
The schedule makers didn’t have the courtesy to schedule the Irish to play a day early on St Patricks day, and so their hangover continues at the start of this match-up. It takes over three minutes for ND to hit, points finally come thanks to Bonzie Colson, who hits a turn around jumper.
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Northern Iowa 9-11 Texas, 13:57, 1st half
The Longhorns are off to a fast start, but N Iowa close in quickly. Klint Carlson’s jumper makes it a two-point game early in Oklahoma City.
Weber State 23-34 Xavier, end of 1st half
J.P. Macura, on one leg, off balance, fading away FOR THREE....YES! A dagger to end the half for Xavier sends the Musketeers into break with a big lead.
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Weber State 20-31 Xavier, 0:53, 1st half
A news promo tempts viewers with a story claiming how “a second breakfast could help control your children’s weight” before the Wildcats and Musketeers return to our screens.
Weber State are really trying to get Xavier’s lead back to seven, but even after a few offensive boards they can’t convert. Then Jaylen Reynolds hits in the paint for Xavier to make it an 11-point game.
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No. 16 Holy Cross 52-91 No. 1 Oregon, Final
The dream is over for Holy Cross as their slightly miraculous berth into the field of 64 ends with a quack. Oregon demos the Crusaders by a whopping 39 points as the Ducks head into their second round game against either St Joe’s or Cincy with a head of steam.
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Weber State 14-23 Xavier, 6:28, 1st half
Meanwhile, in St Louis, Xavier are off to a blazing start.
More interestingly, Weber’s band couldn’t make it out to the game, so Pittsburgh’s band, switched shirts, threw on Wildcat colors and learned their fight song. They’re getting $15 a piece to boot. EZ money.
Kyndahl Hill gets a great entry pass, hits the layup, is fouled and hits the free-throw. Weber State cuts the lead to nine.
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No. 14 Stephen F. Austin 70-56 No. 3 West Virginia, Final
Thomas Walkup hits a three and sticks out his tongue. Twenty seconds later he and his buddies are going to the round of 32. It’s all over in Brooklyn, and the Lumberjacks are already on their way to celebrate at a farm-to-table, ultra organic, hipster kale restaurant.
They’ll play the winner of the Notre Dame Michigan match-up which follows in BK.
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Stephen F. Austin 67-54 West Virginia, 2:01, 2nd half
Three steals and an ally-oop, all in less than a minute for SFA. The minnows from Nacogdoches are rubbing it in down the stretch.
The Lumberjacks are a tick over two minutes away from an upset special.
No. 14 Green Bay 65-92 No. 3 Texas A&M, Final
The team loaded with geographical locations is going home, but to where?
Texas A&M enjoy the widest margarin of victory in their NCAA men’s history. They’ll play the winner of the Northern Iowa v Texas game which will start shortly.
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Are you kidding? Official lets the ball bounce out of bounds, THEN blows his whistle, THEN goes double foul? AND A REVIEW!!!!
— meisterbuerger (@meisterbuerger) March 19, 2016
True story.
Stephen F. Austin 60-49 West Virginia, 5:10, 2nd half
Here’s something - a double foul - Daxter Miles Jr and CJ Williams maul each other under the basket and whistles tweet. The referees are as confused as we are and have to talk it over. It works like a jump ball, and since West Virginia have the arrow, they get possession.
Now WV head coach Bob Huggins, obviosuly annoyed his team are getting whooped by a team with a middle initial, gets teed up for bickering.
Stephen F. Austin 55-47 West Virginia, 7:16, 2nd half
Jared Johnson drains a three from the far corner to extend the Lumberjacks lead. He has five points, all of which have come since I took over from Hunter - coincidence?
Holy Cross 27-54 Oregon, 14:50, 2nd half
It seems like Holy Cross have had 27 points for a long time. Only four of their players have scored tonight. It’s a dud, but regardless, a rare chance to see highlighter green and deep purple face-off.
Stephen F. Austin 52-45 West Virginia, 7:42, 2nd half
That was Jared Johnson from just inside the arc, then Thomas Walkup gets his own rebound for the put-back. SF Austin have a bend but don’t break look to them, and WV are walking down to their bench to talk it over. Timeout on the floor.
Stephen F. Austin 48-45 West Virginia, 9:51, 2nd half
There are three games on at the moment and just one is competitive. West Virginia, a three seed, are down to 14th seeded Stephen F. Austin (please don’t forget the “F” - it’s for Fuller).
The Mountaineers are within three after a pair of free throws from Devin Williams - WV have hit 18 of 19 from the stripe tonight, which is pretty good.
Thank you Hunter. Just flicked on the devices (all four) and we’re ready for the night shift. So far I’ve been highly entertained by the TBS, TNT, CBS, TruTV studio folks openly trying to figure out which US network they’re actually on. An amusing start to the stint.
Stephen F. Austin 45-39 West Virginia, 11:59, 2nd half
And I’m going to hand things over to David Lengel who will be taking you through the rest of the night’s games. Thanks for following along with me this evening….
Stephen F. Austin 41-34 West Virginia, 13:13, 2nd half
So it looks like the game of the moment will be going down as No. 14 Stephen F. Austin looks to continue with its giant-slaying reputation, holding on to a 2nd half lead over No. 3 West Virginia.
Green Bay 41-57 Texas A&M, 11:59, 2nd half
Meanwhile, the Aggies seem to be dealing with the Green Bay Phoenix rather well. That’s a 16 point lead.
Halftime: Holy Cross 25-43 Oregon
Oregon have already scored Pittsburgh’s final total at the half. I think they’ve got this one.
Final: No. 7 Wisconsin 47, No. 10 Pittsburgh 43
Shocker, the Badgers don’t score on their possession. Nigel Hayges misses a three. Robinson misses a jumper for Pittsburgh and then Wisconsin get a few free throws to increase their lead to something closer to respectable. (Although not really.)
Pittsburgh 43-44 Wisconsin, :40, 2nd half
Wisconsin has the ball. And… they take a timeout.
Pittsburgh 43-44 Wisconsin, :40, 2nd half
Jamel Artis with a three for Pittsburgh! It’s a one point game! This is somehow… exciting even though it has a halftime score?
Pittsburgh 40-44 Wisconsin, 1:40, 2nd half
Ethan Happ with a jumper, and he’s fouled! Chance for a three point play! Wisconsin has an outside chance to break 50 points!
Er except he misses the free throw.
Pittsburgh 40-42 Wisconsin, 2:25, 2nd half
VITTO BROWN WITH A BIG TIME THREE! Badgers on top!
Pittsburgh 40-39 Wisconsin, 3:20, 2nd half
James Robinson unbreaks the tie by making one of two free throws.
Stephen F. Austin 33-28 West Virginia, 18:57, 2nd half
And the second half has started in our Rugged Outdoorsmen Battle.
Holy Cross 21-39 Oregon, 3:08, 1st half
Holy Cross do outscore Wisconsin’s first half total. So there’s that.
Pittsburgh 39-39 Wisconsin, 3:55, 2nd half
Nigel Hayes makes a free throw to tie things up and it would be the most hilarious thing ever if THIS ends up going into overtime.
Pittsburgh 39-38 Wisconsin, 4:43, 2nd half
Vitto Brown hits a three pointer to give Wisconsin the lead, and Jamel Artis responds with a three to get the lead right back! That was like a 1/4 of this half’s scoring in the span of like 30 seconds.
Pitt leads 36-35 wtih 5:46 to go. Does it count if a team wins without scoring 50?
— Jerry Palm (@jppalmCBS) March 19, 2016
Holy Cross 16-33 Oregon, 6:01, 1st half
A TV timeout gives us a chance to see if Holy Cross is posing even the remotest of threats to Oregon and they are not, but they are on pace to outscore Wisconsin’s first half offensive output.
Pittsburgh 36-35 Wisconsin, 6:01, 2nd half
Michael Young with a jumper to increase the Pittsburgh lead! Nigel Hayes responds with a layup! We have basketball things!
Pittsburgh 34-33 Wisconsin, 8:13, 2nd half
Nigel Hayes gets to the line and makes two free throws, Wisconsin makes this a one point game! These exclamation marks are probably overselling things a tad!
Pittsburgh 34-31 Wisconsin, 8:30, 2nd half
BRONSON KOENING JUMPER! Badgers within 3! The seal has been broken.
Pittsburgh 34-29 Wisconsin, 9:51, 2nd half
Still no scoring.
Pittsburgh 34-29 Wisconsin, 11:37, 2nd half
Okay so I guess we’re back here then with the Two Actual Basketball Contests in halftime.
Holy Cross 11-25 Oregon, 8:30, 1st half
Ew.
Halftime: Green Bay 33-41 Texas A&M
Aggies add a Tyler Davis free throw to their lead heading into the half.
Halftime: Stephen F. Austin 31-28 West Virginia
Lumberjacks managed to get a three point lead on the Mountaineers heading into the half.
Green Bay 33-40 Texas A&M, 0:34, 1st half
A Tyler Davis layup adds to the A&M lead but Green Bay finally end their scoring drought, but they have to do it on the line as Turner Botz makes two free throws.
Green Bay 31-38 Texas A&M, 1:44, 1st half
Admon Gilder makes a three and the Aggies are starting to run away with this, especially since they’re smothering Green Bay on the defensive end now.
Green Bay 31-35 Texas A&M, 3:05, 1st half
Alex Caruso makes one of two free throws to add to the Texas A&M lead. Then he makes a jumper. That’s four straight points. Four whole points in a span of less than a minute. An embarrassment of riches during this stretch of basketball.
Pittsburgh 24-23 Wisconsin, 16:21, 2nd half
The Badgers have clawed their way back into this game, we might actually have to return to that brick-fest when this game goes to the half.
Green Bay 31-32 Texas A&M, 3:54, 1st half
Kerem Kanter puts Green Bay ahead with a three-pointer but the awesomely named DJ Hogg puts Texas A&M back on top with a layup.
Holy Cross 2-7 Oregon, 15:12, 1st half
Oh and on Tru TV, the No. 16 Holy Cross Crusaders are facing the No. 1 Oregon Ducks. Could we have a 16 beat a 1 here? (Short answer: No. Longer answer: Oh my stars, no.)
Green Bay 28-30 Texas A&M, 5:32, 1st half
How about this the Green Bay Don’t Call Them The Packers are all tied up with Texas A&M. Until Tonny Trocha-Morelos unleashes a monster dunk to take the lead. Green Bay take a timeout.
And oh god it’s the AT&T Girl vs Siri commercial again.
Green Bay 24-23 Texas A&M, 7:50, 1st half
Hopefully it’s happening in this game on TBS where the 14th seeded Green Bay Phoenix are making a game of it against the 3rd seeded Texas A&M Aggies.
Stephen F Austin 19-22 West Virginia, 5:57, 1st half
C.J. Williams misses two straight free throw. DOES ANYONE SCORE ANY MORE? Or is the tournament now suddenly an exercise in deliberate stasis?
Stephen F Austin 19-22 West Virginia, 6:56, 1st half
10 turnovers for West Virigina, which is why Stephen F. Austin are in this game. C.J. Williams misses a three pointer. Okay it looks like everybody stops scoring as soon as I decide to watch.
Crowd so sparse for Stephen F. Austin-West Virginia tonight at Barclays, you'd think the Nets were playing.
— Howard Megdal (@howardmegdal) March 18, 2016
Stephen F Austin 19-22 West Virginia, 7:37, 1st half
The Lumberjacks have a chance to take the lead but the ball doesn’t fall and Esa Ahmad tips in his own missed layup to increase the Mountaineers lead. This is a very rugged matchup as far as nicknames go.
Stephen F Austin 19-20 West Virginia, 8:42, 1st half
This is an actual basketball game! 8-0 run by Stephen F. Austin, which sounds even more impressive if you imagine it’s one dude named Stephen F. Austin playing against an entire team.
Halftime: Pittsburgh 22-16 Wisconsin
You’ll never believe this but neither team could score coming out of the timeout. This is a NCAA Tournament record for fewest points in a 1st half by a team.
Pittsburgh 22-16 Wisconsin, :28, 1st half
Vitto Brown hits a three-pointer! I almost forgot that was possible! Pittsburgh timeout.
Pittsburgh 22-13 Wisconsin, 1:00, 1st half
Chris Jones makes a jumper! Pittsburgh increase their lead! Good god this is the worst basketball game ever. And then there’s an airball/shot clock violation combination on Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh 20-13 Wisconsin, 2:27, 1st half
Nigel Hayes takes a jumper, his sixth shot attempt, and this time he makes it! A good sign! And Pittsburgh turns it over! The Panthers have not been taking advantage here. Hayes gets fouled and makes one of two free throws. That’s close enough for a run in this game.
Pittsburgh 20-10 Wisconsin, 3:53, 1st half
A foul called on Pittsburgh’s James Robinson will take us to an Official Timeout and it’s the AT&T Girl vs Siri once again. March Madness is actually the clinical term for the temporary mental illness caused by seeing the same commercials on repeat for days on end.
Pittsburgh 20-10 Wisconsin, 3:53, 1st half
Sheldon Jeter with a layup for Pittsburgh and Charlie Thomas enters the game for Wisconsin and immediately gets the ball through the hoop, finally putting the Badgers into double digits.
Pittsburgh 18-8 Wisconsin, 6:08, 1st half
Pittsburgh’s Chris Jones makes a jumper. Hey, and then Zak Showalter with a nifty steal and a layup and there’s finally life here for the Badgers!
Stephen F. Austin 3-8 West Virginia, 16:01, 1st half
Meanwhile on CBS, the No. 14 Stephen F Austin Lumberjacks are facing the No. 3 West Virginia Mountaineers. We’ll probably be fully focusing on that game relatively shortly.
Pittsburgh 16-6 Wisconsin, 7:48, 1st half
Happ then makes one of two free throws. And then there’s… about a half-dozen missed shots until Pittsburgh’s Jamel Artis makes a three pointer. There’s a foul called on Pittsburgh and we’re on a TV timeout here. This… This is not… good.
Pittsburgh 13-5 Wisconsin, 10:13, 1st half
Ethan Happ makes a layup! That’s two made baskets for the Badgers! That’s a start!
Pittsburgh 12-3 Wisconsin, 11:35, 1st half
Okay, and we’re heading over to TNT where we have the No. 7 Wisconsin Badgers facing the No. 10 Pittsburgh Panthers here in the first half. That’s um, that’s not great offense from Wisconsin.
FINAL; No. 5 Maryland 79, No. 12 South Dakota State 74
Rasheed Sulaimon fouls Parks in the process of making a three pointer. WHY IS THIS HAPPENING? He makes all three to make it a one possession game. This is headache-y, all of it. South Dakota immediately foul Maryland, Jaylen Brantley makes one of two free throws. South Dakota has a chance to tie it but… Keaton Moffitt loses control of the ball, Sulaimon with the steal and the dunk AND MARYLAND ADVANCES!
South Dakota State 71-76 Maryland, :14, 2nd half
Tevin King gets fouled and makes one of two free throws. Layman yes fouled and makes both, and that’s 27 points total for him.
South Dakota State 70-74 Maryland, :39, 2nd half
Maryland take a time out. This is going to come down to free throws with the star players out of the game and that’s kinda not ideal.
South Dakota State 70-74 Maryland, :39, 2nd half
A FOUL ON GEORGE MARSHALL AND NOW HE HAS FOULED OUT! A tick tacky call there, to be honest. Jake Layman makes two free throws and that might be the game right there.
South Dakota State 70-72 Maryland, 1:03, 2nd half
MELO TREMBLE FOULS OUT! And George Marshall was in the process of making a three pointer! He gets three free throws and HE MAKES ALL THREE. Just a huge, huge mistake from Tremble, you can’t foul out in that situation.
South Dakota State 67-72 Maryland, 1:45, 2nd half
Tremble misses a three and then fouls Parks, who makes both free throws.
South Dakota State 65-72 Maryland, 1:59, 2nd half
Officials blow their whistle at pretty much the exact moment that the game’s within the last 2 minutes. There’s some sort of shot clock issue. College basketball is THE place if you love long uneventful breaks to deal with trivial malfunctions.
South Dakota State 65-72 Maryland, 2:14, 2nd half
Marshall gets called for a foul that puts Tremble on the line and he makes both free throws. Big, big turn here that puts the Terrapins back in position to play this one out.
South Dakota State 65-70 Maryland, 2:33, 2nd half
Parks cuts it down with a three-pointer. It’s an eight point game. George Marshall with a three. IT’S A FIVE POINT GAME! Yes Maryland have indeed make things difficult for themselves. They take another timeout.
Classic Maryland getting ready to make this game more difficult than it needs to be.
— Benjamin Bornstein (@THE_BOOMSTEIN) March 18, 2016
South Dakota State 59-70 Maryland, 4:00, 2nd half
A foul on Tevin King puts Jared Nickens on the line to put the lead back to 11 points and Maryland take a timeout.
South Dakota State 59-68 Maryland, 4:31, 2nd half
Melo Tremble ends that run by making a layup, but Deondre Parks is able to cut back into single digits.
South Dakota State 57-66 Maryland, 5:52, 2nd half
Or maybe they aren’t completely full of it. South Dakota State goes on a 6-0 run
South Dakota State 51-66 Maryland, 6:24, 2nd half
If announcers told the truth:
“How do the Jackrabbits make a last push.”
“They don’t but we have to try to imbue this game with the possibility of drama because it’s our jobs.”
And Robert Carter makes a jumper to increase the Maryland lead.
South Dakota State 51-64 Maryland, 7:07, 2nd half
Another missed three for Maryland. The Jackrabbits are staying in this. And we have a TV timeout, oh hey it’s Target ruining “Genius of Love” once again.
South Dakota State 51-64 Maryland, 8:08 2nd half
Robert Carter makes a jumper. South Dakota State gets to the line, gets some free throws. Oh there’s Melo Trimble… he misses a three pointer. And, on the other end, Tellinghuisen makes one? A turning point? Am I just hoping for drama here because there’s not another game right now to switch to?
South Dakota State 46-62 Maryland, 9:19, 2nd half
Deondre Parks makes a layup, to keep the Jackrabbits sort of in the game but then Jake Layman makes a three pointer. He’s doing it all right now. Reed Tellinghuisen responds with a layup… And then the teams go back forth a few times.
South Dakota State 42-59 Maryland, 11:05, 2nd half
Jake Layman makes two free throws to add to the Maryland lead. And then gets fouled again and makes two more free throws. Okay we have joined this game at the most thrilling possible moment.
South Dakota State 42-55 Maryland, 11:34, 2nd half
And we switch back over to TNT where the Maryland Terrapins have a solid lead on the South Dakota State Jackrabbits. DJ’s already done the Tortoise/Hare reference right? (Checks back.) Yep.
Final: No. 2 Oklahoma 82, No. 15 CSU Bakersfield 62
Final: No. 2 Oklahoma 82, No. 15 CSU Bakersfield 62
Buddy Hield gets a curtain call, he’s collected 27 points in the game. Sooners win, but the Roadrunners did alright for themselves.
Oklahoma 80-65 Cal State, :33, 2nd half
Jordan Woodard makes a three and that’s gonna do it.
Oklahoma 77-65 Cal State, 1:22, 2nd half
Buddy Hield makes a nice block and the referees go to the monitor to see who has possession. Because the last two minutes of every game have to last as long as possible.
Oklahoma 77-65 Cal State, 1:27, 2nd half
Khadeem Lattin tips in an Isaiah Cousins layup and Oklahoma’s lead is back up to 12. It doesn’t look like they’ll be joining Michigan State in Crying Jordan-ville.
Oklahoma 75-65 Cal State, 2:13, 2nd half
Jordan Woodward makes a HUGE three to extend the Sooners’ lead and Buddy Hield adds to that with a three of his own and they might have just snapped the Roadrunners’ necks here.
South Dakota State 30-44 Maryland, 15:01, 2nd half
Meanwhile, South Dakota State and Maryland have resumed play, but we’re going to be sticking with Oklahoma/CSU here.
Oklahoma 69-65 Cal State, 3:32, 2nd half
Buddy Hield misses a jumper and CSU Bakersfield get the rebound. They have possession and are only down four. Could we see yet another No 2 take a fall?
Oklahoma 69-65 Cal State, 3:59, 2nd half
Ryan Spangler goes to the line, makes one of two free throws to make it a 6 point game. Damiyne Durham makes a jumper after an Oklahoma turnover and it’s a four point game! The Roadrunners are on a, well, run.
Oklahoma 68-63 Cal State, 5:18, 2nd half
CSU Bakersfield is sticking around here, despite Buddy Hield (who has added a three pointer to his total) making his presence felt.
But Kevin Mays makes a three pointer of his own to cut it down to five points.
Oklahoma 65-58 Cal State, 7:19, 2nd half
Hey, it’s Hunter Felt here to take you through the early evening games. I am going to pretend to have any authority here whatsoever despite the fact that I too had Michigan State winning this whole thing. You can tweet at me at @HunterFelt or email me at Hunter.Felt@theguardian.com if you feel like contributing to the liveblog for the next few hours.
My time is done here for the night. Hunter Felt will have you for the next three hours, including the finish of another possible 15-over-2 game.
I’ll leave you with these motivational words from Tom Izzo:
Tom Izzo inconsolable saying 'I don't care about next year, I don't care about tomorrow.' #BracketBusted #MTSU https://t.co/Kh4mjx6vQI
— Matt Sabuda (@MattSabuda) March 18, 2016
Oklahoma 61-56 Cal State Bakersfield, 8:00 left in the 2nd half
Buddy Hield now has 17 points, but Bakersfield continues to hang around. If Michigan State is watching this, I wonder who they’re rooting for.
Halftime: Maryland 34-22 South Dakota State
Melo Trimble has 15 points for Maryland, while South Dakota State is only shooting 26.5% from the floor. They shot 45.1% for the season.
Oklahoma 52-46 Cal State Bakersfield, 13:07 left in the 2nd half
Big three just now by Buddy Hield. Obviously still a long way to go, but Michigan State was never able to get any kind of lead like this.
Updated
If you are one of these three people, congrats!
THREE: Number of perfect brackets remaining out of 13 million in ESPN's Tournament Challenge following Iowa's victory (via @ESPNFantasy)
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) March 18, 2016
Cal State Bakersfield 45-45 Oklahoma, 14:40 left in the 2nd half
Here we go again! Maybe the committee seeded everyone backwards.
Final in OT: No. 7 Iowa 72-70 No. 10 Temple
Iowa senior center Adam Woodbury hit a put-back with 0.4 seconds left to win the game for the Hawkeyes. Tough loss for Temple. At least they got to experience the New York subway.
Adam Woodbury wins the game for Iowa on this tip-in at the buzzer https://t.co/gRNvQ3WW9n
— The Cauldron (ICYMI) (@CauldronICYMI) March 18, 2016
The Hawkeyes now advance to play Villanova.
Updated
Oklahoma 45-40 Cal State Bakersfield, 15:52 left in the 2nd half
Another No. 2 seed unable to put away a No. 15. We all knew there was a ton of parity in this year’s field, but I don’t think anyone expected this.
Temple 68-66 Iowa, 2:28 left in OT
The Owls have their first lead since 4:16 left in the first half. As the saying goes: “better late (even in overtime) than never.”
Maryland 26-20 South Dakota State, 3:10 left in the 1st half
The Jackrabbits are shooting 27% from the floor against the Terrapins in a game whose primary purpose is for people to make tortoise and the hare jokes.
End of regulation: Temple 63-63 Iowa
DeCosey hit all three. I believe the March Madness term that applies here is “onions.”
Iowa 63-Temple 60, 2.1 seconds left in the 2nd half
Iowa just fouled Temple’s Quenton DeCosey as he was taking a three. Whoops. DeCosey hit the first two and now Iowa has called timeout to ice him (to get it to 63-62). And also probably to yell at the kid who fouled him.
Updated
Praises be! It’s not the crying Jordan meme!
Because Jordan too good for Michigan State and this foolishness pic.twitter.com/Sx26pM1TWs
— SuperBowl50Cates (@bluestdeuce) March 18, 2016
Iowa 61-58 Temple, 23.3 seconds left
This game got lost in the excitement of Middle Tennessee-Michigan State, but its set up for a fun finish.
Oh, by the way: Iowa finally made a turnover. One turnover. But they have a stat that’s far worse: the Hawkeyes have only hit 1 of their last 17 attempts from three.
Halftime: Oklahoma 41-34 Cal State Bakersfield
After trailing for much of the first half, the Sooners turned it on behind 11 points from Buddy Hield. Still a long way to go, but enjoy the MTSU upset. It will probably be our only 15-over-2 game of the day.
A tale of two tweets:
Final: Middle Tennessee 90, Michigan State 81 #NCAATournament #MarchMadness
— Spartan Basketball (@MSU_Basketball) March 18, 2016
We just broke every bracket in the world. RAIDERS WIN! RAIDERS WIN! RAIDERS WIN! Final Score: MT 90, MSU 81
— MT Basketball (@MT_MBB) March 18, 2016
Final: No. 15 Middle Tennessee 90-81 No. 2 Michigan State
It’s official! Your bracket is busted! (And everyone else’s, so - in a way - your bracket isn’t busted at all.)
Middle Tennessee now advances to play Syracuse, which could have been an NIT game a couple of weeks ago.
Michigan State’s defense got shredded and they got dominated on the boards. Those are supposed to be Michigan State’s strengths. So, yeah, Tom Izzo won’t be sleeping all offseason.
Updated
Middle Tennessee 85-78, 18.2 seconds left in the 2nd half
Blue Raider ball. Game pretty much over. A 15-seed is going to knock of a No. 2 ... and the No. 2 a TON of people picked to win the NCAA Tournament. Including me. Whoopsies!
Middle Tennessee 83-78 Michigan State, 29.7 seconds left in the 2nd half
Ahhhhhhhhhh! #analysis
Middle Tennessee's Jaqawn Raymond reverse layup vs Michigan St https://t.co/Xa0VVjAYzX
— The Cauldron (@TheCauldron) March 18, 2016
Middle Tennessee 79-76 Michigan State, 1:08 left in the 2nd half
MTSU is 55% from the floor in this game ... and 50% from the free throw line.
Middle Tennessee 79-76 Michigan State, 3:06 left in the 2nd half
While Sparty continues to be in big danger, Cal-State Bakersfield is still up by 5 points on No. 2 Oklahoma nine minutes into the game.
The Michigan State floor slaps: they're not working. Spartans have given up 77 points in 37 minutes.
— Pat Forde (@YahooForde) March 18, 2016
If floor slaps aren’t working this year, Duke is going to lose by 70 in their next game.
Middle Tennessee 75-71 Michigan State, 5:01 left in the 2nd half
Matt Costello is keeping the Spartans in the game. Apparently he is unaware that I predicted that Denzell Valentine would win tournament MVP.
Updated
Iowa 44-39 Temple, 16:34 left in the 2nd half
Iowa still has zero turnovers. Looks like another case of some Midwesterners keeping their valuables close on a trip to scary New York City.
CSU Bakersfield 10-6 Oklahoma, 15:38 left in the 1st half
No. 15 seeds beating No. 2 seeds is the new 12 over 5???
Cal fans right now https://t.co/KPKMSCEkFJ
— Tim Bowers (@TimBowers62) March 18, 2016
Final: No. 13 Hawaii 77-67 No. 4 Cal
The Rainbows pull the upset. Now they have to stay in Spokane, Washington, instead of returning to Hawaii. Congrats?
Cal alum Aaron Rodgers was not pleased with the coaching strategy late in the game. And this is a guy who is coached by Mike McCarthy.
You're down 10, how about picking up full court and maybe trapping?
— Aaron Rodgers (@AaronRodgers12) March 18, 2016
Hawaii, which hadn’t been in the Tournament since 2002, moves on to play the Maryland-South Dakota State winner.
Middle Tennessee 60-51 Michigan State, 12:03 left in the 2nd half
Lead extended on a Darnell Harris three. An added awesome part about these small schools playing well is when their state’s big program didn’t even make the tournament. Tennessee, just regular Tennessee, went 15-19 this year.
Middle Tennessee 54-46 Michigan State, 14:55 left in the 2nd half
We’re a quarter of the way into the 2nd half, and the 15-seed has extended its lead. Michigan State fans can feel free to start panicking now.
Halftime: Iowa 38-37 Temple
Temple shot 55% from the floor to Iowa’s 40%.
Temple out-rebounded the Hawkeyes, too.
So why is Iowa winning? They had zero turnovers in the first half.
Middle Tennessee 41-35 Michigan State, 19:30 2nd half
Second half underway. The Spartans got their first shot of the half blocked.
Michigan State has five losses this year and they were trailing at the half in four of them.
Charles Barkley just said @MT_MBB makes 3-4 threes a game. It's nearly 9. Come on Charles!
— MT Basketball (@MT_MBB) March 18, 2016
Hawaii 57-53 Cal, 7:25 left in the 2nd half
The Rainbows and Bears have combined to shoot 4-for-25 from three so far, meaning Steph Curry’s influence hasn’t reached everywhere yet.
We started with 13 million brackets. After the VCU win, #PerfectBracketWatch is down to ... pic.twitter.com/3HHK4u8oD7
— ESPN Fantasy Sports (@ESPNFantasy) March 18, 2016
And one bracket who is 0/19.
— ESPN Fantasy Sports (@ESPNFantasy) March 18, 2016
VCU beat higher-seeded Oregon State and Butler beat higher-seeded Texas Tech last night, but I don’t know of anyone who picked Oregon State or Texas Tech to win because VCU and Butler always win in March.
Final: No. 10 VCU 75-67 No. 7 Oregon State
VCU will now move on to play the winner of Oklahoma vs. Cal State-Bakersfield. Oregon State still has yet to win 20 games in a season or an NCAA Tournament game since they fired Michelle Obama’s brother two years ago.
Halftime: Middle Tennessee 41-35 Michigan State
Michigan State weathered the 15-2 opening by MTSU, then MTSU weathered Michigan State’s 18-6 run. So now we have a good, balanced game. MTSU’s 13-12 halftime rebounding edge suggests Michigan State is going to really have to work to get the win.
VCU 70-60 Oregon State, 2:15 left in the 2nd half
VCU is putting this away late with a 19-9 run of their own after Oregon State and Gary Payton, Jr. went on their 10-0 run to take the lead.
Meanwhile, in Los Angeles ...
"MARCH MADNESS IS NOT FIRING ALFORD" banner flies over UCLA campus pic.twitter.com/jcwdl8hbwz
— Beto Duran (@DuranSports) March 18, 2016
UCLA went 15-17 and lost by 24 points to USC in the Pac-12 tournament.
MTSU 35-26 Michigan State, 5:14 left in the 2nd half
Middle Tennessee has back-to-back threes by Reggie Upshaw to take a nice lead again. They are also beating Michigan State on the boards, which has to be more concerning to Tom Izzo than some hot shooting.
Hawaii 38-32 Cal, 19:00 left in the 2nd half
Second half underway. Jaylen Brown opens for Cal by missing a jumper. He had 2 points and 5 turnovers in the first half.
Temple 4-0 Iowa, 17:02 left in the 1st half
Temple and Iowa are underway in Brooklyn. The NCAA has a lot of negatives, but at least they gave the good people of Brooklyn a chance to watch some decent basketball for a change.
MTSU 20-16 Michigan State, 9:51 left in the 1st half
Sooooooo about that 15-2 start. The Blue Raiders have stopped making every shot they put up and, believe it or not, it’s being reflected on the scoreboard now!
Shawn Kemp would be proud.
Double pump alley-oop pass from Oregon St's Derrick Bruce to Gary Payton II https://t.co/dXjdhedJq0
— The Cauldron (@TheCauldron) March 18, 2016
Oregon State 51-49 VCU, 9:34 left in 2nd half
The Beavers are on a 10-0 run, highlighted by a monster dunk on the break by Gary Payton, Jr.
Gary Payton, Sr. is probably going to start talking trash to the VCU parents soon.
Gary Payton is in the building. pic.twitter.com/LB6VGpX76a
— CBS Sports CBB (@CBSSportsCBB) March 18, 2016
Updated
Thanks, Les.
Middle Tennessee is now up 17-7 on Michigan State. Their only other game against a power conference team this year was Auburn back in early December. MTSU won in OT, but Auburn isn’t exactly Michigan State. They went 11-20 this year.
Who knows what Tom Izzo said here, but it didn’t work.
Final Instructions. #GoGreen #MarchMadness #BringYourGame pic.twitter.com/Uf7aoHkUXf
— Spartan Basketball (@MSU_Basketball) March 18, 2016
It’s time to hand this blog off to the talented D.J. Gallo who will have his hands full with potential upsets in the VCU-Oregon State and Hawaii-Cal games and possibly a huge shocker with Middle Tennessee-Michigan State. Buckle your seatbelts, we’re just getting started.
Middle Tennessee 15-2 Michigan State; 15:29 1st half
Here’s a surprise. Middle Tennessee has started the game 6-for-6 against the team many (me included) has winning the national title. It’s early and Middle Tennessee obviously isn’t going to shoot this well but a 13-point lead is a 13-point lead.
Updated
Hawaii 31-28 Cal: 1:56 1st half
More significant than being able to stop Stefan Jankovic for Cal is the foul trouble the Bears find themselves in. Two starters, Jaylen Brown and Sam Singer have three fouls. Hawaii also has its own foul issues -- six players have two -- but Cal isn’t as deep and cannot afford to lose either Brown or Singer.
Final: no. 2 Villanova 86, No. 12 UNC Asheville 56
For about 10 minutes this looked like it would be close but then Villanova clamped down with a fierce defense, hit a few 3-pointers and ran away with the game. This could have been a tricky game for Villanova and yet they played very composed and avoided that dreaded early upset after being stunned by N.C. State in the round of 32 last year.
If Villanova plays like it did today this might well be a Final Four team.
PHOTOS: @TUMBBHoops opted to take the subway to Barclays for their game #MarchMadness https://t.co/ll1tzyIhKY pic.twitter.com/C0q4vCKyEA
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) March 18, 2016
UNC-Asheville 52-77 Villanova: 2:49 2nd half
Asheville has long conceded this game to Villanova but the final signal might have been the insertion of seldom-used senior John Cannon and four other reserves who will get NCAA Tournament statistics on their career records.
Hawaii 18-15 Cal; 9:11 2nd half
Much like Yale, Cal is dealing with it’s own off-court controversy. This involves assistant basketball coach Yann Hufnagel who was fired this week after allegations of sexual harassment against a female reporter. So far Cal is struggling to contain Hawaii forward Stefan Jankovic who has eight points and two rebounds.
VCU 36-28 Oregon State; Halftime
VCU hasn’t played very well -- they are just 1-9 from 3-point range -- but they are making enough layups and short jumpers while clamping down on Oregon State with a good halfcourt defense. If VCU can hit some outside shots in the second half this could get out of hand quickly.
Final: No. 10 Syracuse 70, No. 7 Dayton 51
We have our first upset of the day! Normally Syracuse beating Dayton by 19 would not seem like a big deal but given the hype for Dayton coming into this tournament and the fact that Syracuse should be in the NIT and not the NCAAs makes this a huge story. Dayton couldn’t hit a shot.
I wish I could say it was our defense but they missed some easy shots...we’ll take it.
-- Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim
A question from reader Dana...
Given the current number of first-round upsets, the second round seems to shaping up to a significant number of lopsided pairings... Is this normal? Will we be watching a predictably tragic second round?
I would say this...it did not look like we were going to see many upsets this morning Syracuse is finishing off Dayton and VCU is beating Oregon State. If that holds up two 1o seeds will beat 7s. I expect Cal-Hawaii to be close as well. We could well have three upsets in the first four games.
VCU 26-22 Oregon State; 3:17 ist half
Gary Payton II does something his father never could. He dunks. Funny, just as they were saying on television this was the one advantage the younger Payton has over the elder, Payton II cut to the baseline, caught a pass, jumped as high as he could and barely pushed the ball through the rim. It wasn’t a huge dunk but a dunk nonetheless.
UNC Asheville 41-54 Villanova; 12:31 2nd half
After a promising start, Asheville has not been able to make a dent in Villanova’s defense. The 3s have started to fall for the Wildcats. So far five Villanova players have hit 3-pointers. Asheville does not have the size to come back in this one.
Syracuse 56-35 Dayton; 6:20 2nd half
This is a terrible performance from Dayton, who has been so good in the tournament in past years. They have scored just seven points in the second half after trailing by just two. This game is over.
VCU 21-20 Oregon State; 7:05 1st half
This is a back-and-forth fight so far but actually pretty entertaining. Oregon State has hit on 3-of-5 3-pointers to hold in against VCU’s half-court defense.
Syracuse 47-33 Dayton; 11:42 2nd half
Syracuse is clobbering Dayton on the boards right now. They have a 32-17 advantage. That, mixed with Dayton’s inability to hit a shot (30 percent) has this game teetering on the verge of a blowout.
VCU 11-5 Oregon State: 14:07 1st half
I don’t like Oregon State’s seed, I think its too high for a team that has struggled for long periods this season. So far VCU is patiently exploiting Oregon State’s soft defense, working the ball for early layups.
Syracuse 39-29 Dayton; 14:56 2nd half
still kind of a sluggish game, especially for Dayton who cannot hit a basket. The Flyers are shooting just 29 percent. Half the shots they’ve hit are 3-pointers otherwise they would really be behind by more. A lot of people -- myself included didn’t think Syracuse should be here -- but the Orange provide a tricky matchup for Dayton who has been outscored 9-1 so far in the second half.
Updated
UNC Asheville 26-40 Villanova; halftime
Villanova’s Ryan Arcidiacono hits a 3-pointer right at the buzzer to blow this one open. The Wildcats tightened their defense in the final minutes of the half, holding Asheville to just one basket in the last 2 minutes. Meanwhile, Villanova has figured out Asheville’s perimeter defense and has started to hit some 3s. The shot at the buzzer was a killer, it’s going to be hard for Asheville to come back from 14 against a team like Villanova.
UNC Asheville 24-26 Villanova: 3:15 1st half
So far The Bulldogs are doing exactly what they do best -- keeping a team from shooting well from the outside. Villanova’s greatest strength is their 3-point shooting. Villanova is only 3-for-12 from 3=point range. This is a significant red flag.
Syracuse 30-28 Dayton; Halftime
Dayton is really struggling with the length of Syracuse and the Orangemen’s zone. Dayton just worked the clock for one last shot, which turned out to be an ill-advised long 3-point attempt by Charles Cooke that was off-mark.
The player of the game so far is Syracuse forward Tyler Roberson who has torn through Dayton’s front court for six points and nine rebounds. If Dayton can’t find a way to control Richardson this might be a long day for them.
UNC-Asheville 12-15 Villanova; 13:01 1st half
I keep saying this... Asheville is going to give Villanova a game today. The Bulldogs (I just learned this) have responded to every run Villanova has put up so far. Attempts by Villanova ro press them early have not worked so far. Asheville’s players are small but they will challenge Villanova’s outside shooters the way most low level Division I teams will not.
Syracuse 28-23 Dayton; 2:37 1st half
The Orange are heating up. Senior Michael Gbinije just hit an NBA-length 3-pointer to help push Syracuse past Dayton for their first real lead of the game. Two things Dayton should be concerned about: they are still not shooting well (34 percent) and are getting out-rebounded by the Syracuse frontcourt
UNC Asheville 7-10 Villanova: 15:54 1st half
Asheville has two players worth watching in freshman Dylan Smith and Dwayne Sutton. Sutton has a nice 3 and Sutton has a basket early as Asheville withstood an early Villanova 10-2 run. Smith and Sutton can play in almost any conference in the country. They will make Villanova work today.
Syracuse 18-2o Dayton; 7:44 1st half
Must be the nets, neither team is shooting well. The score makes this appear to be a defensive struggle but both teams are getting good looks. They’re just missing wide open shots. Dayton is actually shooting better from 3-point range (42.9 than overall 42.1). Syracuse has only made 35 percent of their shots.
Syracuse 8-14 DaytonL 10:56 1st half
CBS is taking credit for saving the St. Louis region. During workouts yesterday, analyst Steve Smith noticed that the nets on the basket were significantly longer than regulation length. This could be an issue for teams who like to get out and run -- the longer net will slow the ball coming through the basket and potentially hold up a fastbreak. Apparently regulation nets were not available inside the Scotttrade Center and arena workers had to scramble around trying to find the proper nets. Apparently they were located at nearby Fontbonne University, a Division III school and installed late last night.
Syracuse 4-6 Dayton; 13:50 1st half
Like most Syracuse teams this one is long and can create some strange matchup issues near the rim. Dayton worried about this and Archie Miller quickly inserted freshman center Steve McElvene who has immediately had an impact on this game with a basket and three rebounds.
Just listened to a little of Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim’s press conference yesterday. He was asked what he learned from his suspension at the start of this year, he said he learned that when he retires he’s going to need a plan. He didn’t have one and was miserable sitting around all day. He said the “plan” was to play golf every day but laughed and said: “It’s hard to go play golf when your team is getting beat by 10-15 points.”
Hello everyone and welcome to Day 2 of our Liveblog of the NCAA Tournament. For those of you who find your brackets intact after Day 1 today is the day that all might change. If you are like me and had your bracket blown up (Baylor to the Final Four) then today is a bright new day.
We have some interesting early first games. Villanova plays UNC Asheville (going to have to remember to get that “e” in there) , Oregon State and VCU promises to be a good game and Cal-Hawaii at 2 eastern has upset written all over it. But first up will be seventh seed Dayton against the No. 12 Syracuse.
It’s strange to see Syracuse seeded so much lower than Dayton. Most years, Syracuse would be no lower than a four seed. But this isn’t a great Syracuse team. I don’t think the Orangemen belonged in the tournament. Still, they are here and that’s all that matters so let’s see what happens...
Les will be here shortly to kick off day two of the NCAA tournament. In the meantime here’s a look at today’s schedule.
- No7 Dayton v No10 Syracuse, 12.15pm, CBS
- No2 Villanova v No15 UNC Asheville, 12.40pm, truTV
- No7 Oregon State v No10 VCU, 1.30pm, TNT
- No4 California v No13 Hawaii, 2pm, TBS
- No2 Michigan State v No15 Middle Tennessee State, 2.45pm, CBS
- No7 Iowa v No10 Temple, 3.10pm, truTV
- No2 Oklahoma v No15 CSU Bakersfield, 4pm, TNT
- No5 Maryland v No12 South Dakota State, 4.30pm, TBS
- No7 Wisconsin v No10 Pittsburgh, 6.50pm, TNT
- No3 West Virginia v No14 Stephen F Austin, 7.10pm, CBS
- No3 Texas A&M v No14 Wisconsin-Green Bay, 7.20pm, TBS
- No1 Oregon v No16 Holy Cross, 7.27pm, truTV
- No2 Xavier v No15 Weber State, 9.20pm, TNT
- No6 Notre Dame v No11 Michigan, 9.40pm, CBS
- No6 Texas v No11 Northern Iowa, 9.50pm, TBS
- No8 Saint Joseph’s v No9 Cincinnati, 9.57pm, truTV
