That’s all for now. Thanks as always for following along with us and be sure to check back for further coverage as the tournament marches on.
FINAL: No9 Florida State 67, No8 Missouri 54
The Seminoles are through to the second round – spoiling Michael Porter Jr’s much-anticipated comeback from injury for the Tigers – and the first round of the NCAA tournament is complete.
FINAL: No5 Clemson 79, No12 New Mexico State 68
No5 seed Clemson beat New Mexico State 79-68 in the Midwest regional, ensuring a rare tournament where all four No12 seeds failed to win a single game (for only the second time since 2008). Shelton Mitchell scored a season-high 23 points and Gabe Devoe added 22 as the Tigers advanced to the second round for the first time since 1997.
FINAL: No11 Syracuse 57, No6 TCU 52
The 11th-seeded Orange held TCU to 17% shooting from beyond the arc in a 57-52 win, setting up a second-round showdown with Michigan State on Sunday. Syracuse freshman Marek Dolezaj led the way with a game-high 17 points.
As the dust settles from the biggest upset in NCAA tournament history, there are three games still in play. No11 Syracuse holds a 54-50 lead over No6 TCU in the final minute of regulation; No5 Clemson is up 66-54 over No12 New Mexico State with 7:37 left; and No9 Florida State has cruised into half-time with a 42-20 lead over No8 Missouri.
FINAL: No16 UMBC defeat No1 Virginia, 74-54
Call it what it is: the most improbable upset in NCAA tournament history. The top overall seed is heading home and a No16 seed is into the second round for the first time ever.
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Top overall seed Virginia appear to be on their way to a premature exit in the most shocking upset in NCAA tournament history. Another seven-point spurt by the Retrievers have opened the lead to 61-44 with 3:29 left in regulation. Should they close it out, it will mark the first time a No16 seed has ever defeated a No1 since the field was expanded to 64 teams in 1985.
The Retrievers can’t miss. Virginia are in big trouble. It’s 56-42 and UMBC ball with under five minutes left. High drama in Charlotte.
History could be afoot in Charlotte. KJ Maura’s three-pointer has given UMBC a 50-34 lead over top-seeded Virginia with just over eight minutes to go. The Retrievers are a red-hot 10-for-20 from three-point range tonight. No No16 seed has ever beaten a No1 seed in the NCAA tournament and it’s been quite some time since one’s even come seriously close. Can the Retrievers hold on?
Elsewhere, TCU lead 32-29 over Syracuse early in the second half, while Clemson lead 44-32 over New Mexico State at halftime.
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No1 Virginia are on upset alert. UMBC, the No16 seed in the South, have outscored them 17-3 since half-time and have opened a 38-24 lead with 15:52 remaining in regulation. The 14-point deficit is Virginia’s largest of the season.
A No16 seed has never beaten a No1 in 135 previous tries ... but top-seeded Virginia are deadlocked at 21-all with No16 UMBC at halftime of their first-round tilt. The Cavaliers should break loose in the second half, but it will do little to quell concerns over their ability to generate enough scoring to complement their lockdown defense.
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FINAL: No1 Xavier defeats No16 Texas Southern, 102-83
Xavier’s senior guard tandem of JP Macura and Trevon Bluiett combined for 53 points as the Musketeers lived up their seed line with a stress-free rout of the Southwestern Athletic Conference champions. Next up: a second-round date with the Missouri-Florida State winner.
FINAL: No4 Auburn defeats No13 Charleston, 62-58
The Cougars, playing in their first NCAA tournament in 19 years, gave the No4 seed all they could handle before fading late in San Diego. Mustapha Heron had 16 points and the Tigers hit some key late free throws to hold off Charleston, who led 55-54 with three minutes ago before Auburn’s final push.
FINAL: No3 Michigan State defeats No14 Bucknell, 82-78
Michigan State’s Miles Bridges pumped in a game-high 29 points and the third-seeded Spartans withstood a furious last-gasp rally, including five three-pointers in the last minute and a half, to see off the Patriot League champions and book a place in the second round. They’ll face the winner of tonight’s Detroit nightcap between No6 TCU and No11 Syracuse.
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And that does it for my shift, I now will hand the blog back to Bryan for the conclusion of tonight’s games.
FINAL: No9 Kansas State 69-59 No8 Creighton
Does a No9 beating a No8 count as an upset, really? Well it looks like the closest thing to one that I’ll be liveblogging, especially with Michigan State predictably pulling away from Bucknell.
It doesn’t look like the finale of Kansas State/Creighton is exactly as exciting as it first looked. With 3:16 remaining, Kansas State has a solid 62-48 lead.
Halftime: Texas Southern 37-49 Xavier. And yeah, it’s looking like Xavier’s scare, was just that. A scare. The Musketeers hold a sizable lead over the Tigers at the half.
Michigan State go on a run though, getting a 52-43 lead over Bucknell over the first four minutes of the second half.
Stephen Brown makes a layup for Bucknell immediately as they come back from halftime, to cut the Michigan State lead to 44-42.
Meanwhile, Kansas State have a 44-39 lead over Creighton with 11:12 remaining in the game. Xavier now are up 36-26 on Texas Southern, with 5:25 remaining.
Halftime: College Of Charleston 25-25 Auburn. You know how they put the games they think are least likely to be interesting on TruTV. This is the TruTViest. But it probably will be close!
And now Xavier are up 26-20. Did Texas Southern already hit them with their best shot?
And the second I turn over, Xavier tie up the game 20-20. 10:41 remaining in the first half.
Oh hey, Kansas State and Creighton are out of their timeout. KSU has a 32-28 lead. Auburn has a 17-14 lead over Charleston with 6:36 remaining, not exactly a barn-burner there. Texas Southern actually has an early 20-15 lead over Xavier (already a higher scoring game).
Halftime: Bucknell 40-44 Michigan State. So Michigan State has the lead heading into the half, but there’s a lot more drama here than they would like. There’s a lot of life in these Bucknell Bison, especially thanks to Zach Thomas who has 20 of their 40 points.
…And Michigan State immediately score to make it 29-28 Spartans but still, it’s just a one point game with little over four minutes remaining in the first half.
Meanwhile. Auburn has a 10-8 lead over Charleston with 11:20 to go in the first.
Holy heck, Bucknell has a 28-27 lead over Michigan State here in the first half! Maybe I did jinx them!
Will we have the very first upset by a No16 seed over a No1 seed tonight? Once again I will say: nope, but the Texas Southern Tigers are about to attempt it against the Xavier Musketeers.
Halftime: Kansas City 32-26 Creighton. Creighton have picked things up offensively here, but a halftime buzzer beater extends the Kansas City lead. Should be a solid No8/No9 game here brewing.
And we’re off! Charleston scores the first basket against Auburn!
No13 College of Charleston should be tipping off against No14 Auburn shortly. No16 Texas Southern and No1 Xavier were supposed to tip off earlier than them, but the overtime thriller between Texas & Nevada pushed that one back a bit, we’re now looking at 7:45pm.
Michigan State takes a 10-4 lead early on Creighton. Kansas State holds a 20-14 lead over Creighton with 6;30 remaining in the first half. I’m desperately avoiding the temptation to check the Boston Celtics score. I’m gonna have more than enough scoreboards to follow very quickly here.
And Bucknell and Michigan State have tipped off! Michigan State starts off the scoring, starting off with a 2-0 lead.
I’ll take credit for the fact that the Blue Jays have started to hit some shots. Kansas City 15-9 Creighton with 11:27 left in the first half. Coming up soon, the No14 Bucknell Bison face off Tom Izzo’s formidable No3 Michigan State Spartans, who just don’t lose in the first round.
Did I just jinx them? STAY TUNED.
We’ve got three more games kicking off in the next half hour, so this is a nice time to take a breather because it’s going to get hectic real fast. Although, if you’re the Creighton offense you might want to do the opposite, they’ve still only scored two points in five minutes of game time.
Alright our evening slate has begun! No9 Kansas State is up 10-2 on No8 Creighton with 16:10 remaining in the first half!
"Okay 15.2 seconds on the clock I'm gonna sit here and get ready to send out this final score... and they're looking to see who the ball went off of... yet again." (Lead changes in three other games occur.)
— Hunter Felt (@HunterFelt) March 16, 2018
I predicted this. Also I guess I should add that you can email me at hunter.felt.freelance@theguardian.com or tweet at me at @HunterFelt.
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Final: No12 Murray State 68-86 No5 WVU
WVU easily defeated Murray State and they will be playing Marshall, fresh off their huge upset win earlier today.
Final: No10 Texas 83-87 No7 Nevada (OT)
Kendall Stephens makes both of his free throws, it’s a two possession game. Roach’s three is no good this time and Nevada stay alive
No upset here in the standings, at least, but Nevada had a 14 point deficit at one point during this game. It definitely felt like one. They will play Cincinnati.
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Texas 83-85 Nevada. Hall extends the lead on the free throw line. Texas can’t get anything going so they have to start hacking. Caroline makes one of two free throws and… Roach hits a three to cut it down to two points with 15 seconds left. We’re not over here.
Texas 80-83 Nevada. Back to back threes by Caleb Martin!
Matt Coleman hits a jumper hoping to cut down on the momentum. Well, we get Caleb assisting his brother Cody with a layup that will put Nevada up by four.
But then Cody Martin fouls out with less than a minute left. Coleman’s on the line and he hits one of two free throws.
Texas 77-78 Nevada. And Nevada have the lead after a Caroline dunk and a Caleb Martin three. 2:29 remaining.
Texas 77-73 Nevada. Texas and Nevada start to exchanging buckets. And Roach gets a four-point play opportunity. And he succeeds. 3:13 left in overtime.
Texas 68-68 Nevada. This is Texas’s 8th OT game of the year. They would really, really, really like it if they had Mo Bamba but he will just be a witness here like the rest of us.
WVU is up 76-61 over Murray State, if you were wondering.
Texas and Nevada head to overtime!
Texas 68-68 Nevada. Caleb Martin for three… It’s no good. We’re heading into overtime. This game deserves it.
Texas 68-68 Nevada. Caroline’s first free throw… is no good! His second ties the game. Texas turns it over! Nevada has it with a second!
Texas 68-67 Nevada. Jordan Caroline makes it a one point game again. There’s a foul on Nevada that puts Kerwin Roach II on the line… and he misses! On the other end, Mo Bamba blocks Caroline once and on the second…. HE GETS CALLED FOR A FOUL! He’s out! And Caroline’s on the line with three seconds left on the clock.
Texas 68-65 Nevada. A foul on Coleman, perhaps a phantom one, puts Cody Martin on the line he makes the first free throw but not the second. It’s a one point game. A bit of a wonky possession for Texas, but Bamba gets a second rebound to go.
And Josh Hall makes a layup to make it a one-point game. A minute left…. and Dylan Ostekowski gets fouled. He makes both.
Texas 64-62 Nevada. Jordan Caroline cuts it to two with a three pointer and we come to a TV timeout with 2:50 left.
And meanwhile, WVU has a 64-41 lead over Murray State with 7 minutes left there. If we’re going to get another upset before the evening slate of games, it’s going to be here, it seems.
Texas 64-59 Nevada. Coleman hits a three pointer to increase Texas’s lead but Bamba picks up his fourth foul! Nevada is threatening, but Jericho Sims is keeping the Longhorns ahead. 4:30 to go.
Texas 56-55 Nevada. Nevada pulls to within four after Cody Martin makes a jumper over Bamba. We’re headed to a good finish here. I can feel it.
And Kendall Stephens hits a jumper AND gets the foul. He can make it a one point game at the line. He does! 6:22 remaining.
Texas is the underdog but they do have the most talented player on the court in Mo Bamba who… just picked up his third foul. Nevada can’t convert and Texas lead 54-48 with 8:52 to go.
Meanwhile No5 WVU has a 58-45 lead over No12 Murray State with 11:24 to go. So, that’s a little less of a nailbiter here.
Right now, it’s looking like Texas/Nevada is the matchup to watch, with the Texas Longhorns holding just a 50-44 lead over the Nevada Wolf Pack with 11:07 to go.
Thanks Bryan. This is Hunter checking in for my shift tonight and If you’re looking for upsets… you are probably not in luck because i have the worst possibly luck when it comes to the upsets. They just don’t seem to happen when I’m liveblogging. We’ll see if that continues. A good chance here though.
Hunter Felt will now take over for the next few hours. He’s come along at a good time: only two games on at the moment but each (Murray State-West Virginia and Texas-Nevada) are touch-and-go in the second half.
FINAL: No10 Butler defeats No7 Arkansas, 79-62
Kelan Martin and Kamar Baldwin combined for 51 points to lead the Butler Bulldogs back into the second round with a 79-62 win over Mike Anderson’s resolute Arkansas Razorbacks. It marks the seventh straight first-round win for the Indianapolis school, whose improbable runs to the national title game in 2010 and 2011 are indelibly written in March Madness lore.
West Virginia’s path to the Sweet 16 looks far more inviting with projected second-round opponent Wichita State having crashed out earlier today. But first the fifth-seeded Mountaineers need to take care of business against the No12 seed Murray State Racers. So far, so good. Bob Huggins’ team is leading 38-29 at halftime, though the margin could have been twice that if not for West Virginia’s frigid shooting early on. The winner advances to face No13 Marshall on Sunday for a spot in the second weekend.
Elsewhere, No10 Texas lead 35-26 over No7 Nevada at the break thanks to a game-high 12 points by junior guard Kerwin Roach II.
FINAL: No2 North Carolina defeats No15 Lipscomb, 84-66
The Tar Heels’ national title defense is off to a promising start in Charlotte after a mostly stress-free opener against tournament debutants Lipscomb, the Atlantic Sun Conference champions who led by six midway through the first frame before fading over the next half hour. All five North Carolina starters finished in double figures led by junior guard Kenny Williams, who had a game-high 18 points on 6-for-8 shooting (including 4-for-5 from beyond the arc). The Heels, who improve to 34-1 all-time in NCAA tournament games played in their home state, advance to face seventh-seeded Texas A&M on Sunday for a trip to the Sweet 16.
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Some unfortunate breaking news for Purdue fans. Isaac Haas, the team’s second leading scorer who once ate 40 chicken strips in one sitting, banged his right elbow on the hardwood during the second half of the Boilermakers’ 74-48 win over Cal State Fullerton earlier today. The 7ft 2in senior said immediately afterward that he’d be fine, but the school has just announced that Haas has suffered a broken elbow and will miss the remainder of the tournament. That’s a heartbreaking blow for the all-conference center, whose collegiate career will end with the injury, and for a Purdue program that so many believed were primed to reach the school’s first Final Four since 1980.
ROSTER NOTE: #Purdue center Isaac Haas will miss the remainder of #MarchMadness with a fractured right elbow. pic.twitter.com/1JciT52PGA
— Purdue Men’s Basketball (@BoilerBall) March 16, 2018
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Arkansas’ five-point halftime deficit against Butler sure feels like a moral victory after how flat the Razorbacks looked early on. The No7 seed in the East appeared shell-shocked from the opening bell as the 10th-seeded Bulldogs rattled off 18 unanswered points and led 21-2 at one point. But Mike Anderson’s side responded with a 27-6 run of their own and trail 36-31 at the break.
That wraps up this shift of our liveblog. Bryan Graham will be taking over now.
No. 13 seed Marshall pulling the upset is the obvious story of today’s early games.
In the current games, North Carolina has a 9-point lead over Lipscomb at the half and Arkansas has come back against Butler. The Razorbacks are tied 29-29 with the Bulldogs with three minutes until the half.
Thanks for following along and please stay with us.
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🗣 HELLO!#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/YCVpGk8SZQ
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 16, 2018
FINAL: No2 Cincinnati defeats Georgia State, 68-53
Well, it wasn’t quite the 17.5-point margin Cincinnati averages, but close. The Bearcats move on to play the winner of Nevada-Texas.
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North Carolina and Lipscomb are at the half and the Tar Heels earned themselves some breathing room. It’s 43-34 with North Carolina closing on a 12-1 run.
SHOCKED @GoShockersMBB pic.twitter.com/lvMSoJAii4
— Marshall Men's Hoops (@HerdMBB) March 16, 2018
How can you not root for a 13-seed whose head coach wears a t-shirt and blazer?
FINAL: No13 Marshall has upset Wichita State, 81-75
Marshall hadn’t been to the NCAA tournament since 1987 and they’d never won a game in the tournament. No more.
Jon Elmore will get all the attention – and he was outstanding with 27 points – but this was a full-team effort. Of the seven Thundering Herd players who took the court, four scored in double-digits and Marshall had 12 steals.
They will move on now to play the winner of West Virginia v Murray State.
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Cincinnati’s stifling defense is slowly strangling Georgia State. The Bearcats now have a 12-point lead -- the largest of the game -- thanks to a 15-2 run. There is 2:30 left in regulation with Cincinnati holding a 61-49 lead.
In all the late-game drama, I forgot to tell you that Arkansas vs. Butler tipped. The 10-seed Bulldogs lead the No. 7 Razorbacks, 21-10, halfway through the first half.
Marshall is now up 80-75 with just over 30 seconds remaining after a brilliant inbounds play under the basket led to a dunk. It’s now a two-possession game.
Cincinnati might finally be pulling away from Georgia State. The Bearcats are on a 10-0 run that has given them a 56-47 lead with 6:18 remaining. Georgia State is calling timeout.
Conner Frankamp keeps Wichita State in it with another three. The Shockers now trail just 78-75 with 44 seconds left in regulation. This is one of those games where you feel sorry that one team has to lose.
Frankamp is up to 27 points on the afternoon. That’s a career high.
EVERYTHING IS CLICKING FOR MARSHALL as they take a 78-72 lead with 1:55 to go! 💪#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/pUsUa4GnpN
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 16, 2018
Marshall isn’t the only team working on an upset, though. A much bigger one could be in the works in Georgia State-Cincinnati.
The Bearcats just hit a three to go up 49-47 with 8:30 left in regulation. There have been five lead changes.
Marshall extends to a 78-72 lead on a steal and lay-in. It’s not just Elmore anymore. The whole team is contributing and the Thundering Herd have the 4-seed Shockers on the ropes. Just 1:55 left in regulation.
Wichita State-Marshall is all-offense with open shots all over the place, while Cincinnati-Georgia State is a defensive battle. Something for every taste. Both games are within a point in the second half.
Elmore IS FEELING IT! 🔥🔥🔥#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/9cRwOVDvC0
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 16, 2018
Lipscomb still leading UNC, now a quarter of the way through the game. The Bisons are up 23-20 with less than 10 minutes remaining in the first half. Roy Williams probably doesn’t feel like being cuddly with any babies right now.
After a commercial break in Marshall-Wichita State, Elmore ties it up at 65 with his fourth three of the game. He has 27 points now. There is 6:17 left in the game.
More magic from Elmore and Frankamp is setting up an exciting finish. Elmore now has 23 points, Frankamp 22 and we’ve got a 65-62 Wichita State lead with 7:37 left.
Wichita State edges back ahead, 59-58, with 8:51 remaining.
Marshall is being fueled from long range and by finesse play from Elmore, while the Shockers are getting their successes from inside play and size.
UPSET ALERT! (Maybe. Probably not. But we’ll see.)
Lipscomb is up 12-9 on North Carolina with 15:35 left in the first half. The Bisons are 3-for-5 from three so far.
JON ELMORE FROM THE PARKING LOT #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/hrpXmfDKot
— Sporting News (@sportingnews) March 16, 2018
No. 13 Marshall is hanging tight with Wichita State. With 11:44 left in regulation, Marshall is up 53-52. And Marshall’s Jon Elmore just hit a pure three from about 10-feet beyond the line.
North Carolina vs. Lipscomb is underway.
Well, Roy's relaxed.#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/QND6lkB2rp
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 16, 2018
Wichita State-Marshall is the only game in action right now. The favored Shockers lead 47-44 with 15:52 left in regulation. Cincinnati-Georgia State is at halftime and UNC vs. Lipscomb doesn’t tip for six minutes.
FINAL: Purdue defeats Cal-State Fullerton, 74-48
The No. 2 seed Boilermakers move on to the 2nd Round to face the winner of Arkansas-Butler. Vincent Edwards led the the way for Purdue with 15 points and 7 rebounds.
Cincinnati-Georgia State has been the most intense game of the day so far, and it’s now at the half with the No. 2 Bearcats leading 35-30. Cincinnati went on a sustained run late in the half, but Georgia State stayed close.
One thing the Panthers will need to fix in the second half if they hope to pull off the upset is rebounding. Cincinnati leads 12-4 on the boards.
Purdue vs. Cal-State Fullerton is now in full-on, old timey blowout form. In the NCAA Tournament of 20-plus years ago, high-seeded teams would routinely annihilate their Round 1 opponents. The 2-seed Boilermakers are doing that now. They’re up 73-44 on Cal-State Fullerton ... a 51-28 “run.”
Jarron Cumberland of Cincinnati is taking his own star turn in the Georgia State-Cincy game. He has scored 10 in a row for the Bearcats and 14 of their last 15 to give him 16 on the game.
Cincinnati now leads 28-25 with 3:26 to go in the first half.
In case you want to jump on the D’Marcus Simonds bandwagon now, here’s a highlights package:
With one game in the books, the attention turns to Georgia State-Cincinnati. The Panthers are up 22-21 with 6:28 remaining in the first half. D’Marcus Simonds is the Sun Belt Player of the Year, and he’s treating the Bearcats like another Sun Belt opponent. He as 16 points already.
FINAL: Texas A&M defeats Providence, 73-69
The 7-seed Aggies will now move on to play the winner of UNC-Lipscomb. (So, UNC.)
The SEC remains undefeated in the Tournament so far. They’re also pretty good at football, by the way.
Purdue’s Isaac Haas is now out of the game with a right elbow injury. He fell hard on his back and slammed his elbow off the floor. But he’s moving the arm and it has been reported that he should be able to return.
Texas A&M has all but officially advanced. Trailing 72-61 with 30 seconds left, the Friars are now in the fouling-meekly portion of the contest. The Aggies defense came up with six blocks in the second half to chase the Friars.
Wichita State is finding its stroke. They lead at the half over Marshall, __-__. Conner Frankamp has 14 points and is 3-for-4 from three. The team has a whole has hit on 10 of its last 22 shots.
Remember how I wrote that Cincinnati would handle Georgia State with ease? Ehhhhhh ... I may have spoke too soon.
Georgia State is up 10-7 with more than five minutes gone in the first half.
(15) @GeorgiaStateMBB is feeling it early! 🔥
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 16, 2018
Panthers jump out to an early five-point lead over (2) Cincinnati! #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/zNvGkUQako
Texas A&M is pulling away from Providence. The Aggies are on a 9-2 run over the past four-plus minutes and are up 59-52 with just 3:38 remaining.
Purdue’s Isaac Haas has quite the appetite.
"This is a guy that was eating at one point 40 chicken strips in a sitting." - Ian Eagle with the #MarchMadness info you're hungry for pic.twitter.com/4eKwYcXAmR
— March Madness TV (@MarchMadnessTV) March 16, 2018
Q: How many offensive rebounds do you think Cal-State Fullerton has so far against Purdue with 15:18 left in the game?
A: 1.
If you got the right answer, congratulations. You win ... more liveblog coverage of the NCAA Tournament. (The Boilermakers now lead 43-26.)
And because there is a lot of good still in the world, we now have four games in action: No. 2 Cincinnati vs. No. 15 Georgia State has just tipped off in the West region. The Bearcats outscore opponents by an average of 17.5 points per game. Expect more of the same today.
Texas A&M and Providence are upping the intensity. Both teams are trading baskets, including some ferocious dunks, and the Aggies have a 53-52 lead with just 6:43 remaining.
Cal-State Fullerton’s upset bid seems to be over. The Titans stayed with the Boilermakers through most of the first half. But thanks to a 9-2 run to open the second half, Purdue is now up 39-23 with 17:26 left in the second half. It’s hard to see a way they make up that margin against a much more talented team.
Purdue star Carsen Edwards leads his team with 13 points.
Rodney Bullock of Providence is on friar. Sorry. I won’t do that again. He is on fire. Bullock has a game-high 19 points and is 7-for-11 from the floor. He’s keeping the Friars close to 7-seed Aggies.
Texas A&M leads 50-47 with 9:38 left in regulation.
Wichita State sees today’s early poor shooting and raises with even worse accuracy. The Shockers are 4-of-14 from the field so far, including 1-of-6 from three. And, for good measure, they’ve connected on just 2 of 4 free throws. If this continues, Marshall will pull of a ... well ... shocker.
When Gregg Marshall realizes he's coaching against Marshall. #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/snLf3EvO3v
— Jeff Eisenband (@JeffEisenband) March 16, 2018
Marshall is up early on No. 4 Wichita State and Jon Elmore is off and running from three. The junior sharpshooter carried the Thundering Herd to the conference title from long range and he has made on three already in the early minutes today.
Marshall leads Wichita State 10-9 with 14 minutes left in the first half.
Of course, you don’t need to hit jumpers if you can do this.
Up, up and away! 🚀#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/4Po9U0D76t
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 16, 2018
Providence has hit its last four shots and the game is tied, 37-37, with 15 minutes left.
Cold shooting is the early story today. If you like made shots, you haven’t missed anything so far. Cal-State and Purdue are shooting just 32 and 33% from the field, respectively, at the half. In the Texas A&M-Providence game, the Aggies are at 35% from the floor, while the Friars are 1-of-9 from three.
Welcome to Day 2 of the NCAA Tournament. Arizona fans are probably avoiding anything basketball-related after last night (and the last month), but welcome to all of the rest of you.
We have two games underway so far today and one more about to tip. No. 7 Texas A&M and No. 10 Providence are in a tight one early in the second half; 15-seed Cal-State Fullerton is giving Purdue a bit of a struggle late in the first half; and No. 13 Marshall and No. 4 Wichita State will tip momentarily.
DJ will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s a look at yesterday’s happenings.
