Another wild day as the second round of the NCAA Tournament comes to a close..
This is without a doubt one of the best opening weekend for the NCAA Tournament. Thursday’s games were good on the first day of March Madness, then Friday’s games did it’s best to keep the crazy times rolling.
It’s a national event when the Duke Blue Devils take a loss in the NCAA Tournament. Everyone outside of Durham, NC absolutely loses their minds and takes great pleasure in destroying the Dukies. Meanwhile, there were two major upsets and three lower seeds advanced to the round of 32 after yesterday’s match ups.
Check out the games from the second day of March Madness.
#1 Virginia 70, #16 Coastal Carolina 59
Virginia got a good test in this game as Coastal Carolina almost pulled off the biggest upset of all time. The Chanticleers were up six at the half to the top seed Cavaliers, but Virginia got their acts together and escaped from the potential epic loss with a victory. Virginia will face #8 Memphis on Sunday.
#8 Memphis 71, #9 George Washington 66
Memphis took care of business against a tough George Washington squad. Joe Jackson led the Tigers with 15 points and look to make a statement against #1 Virginia on Sunday.
#14 Mercer 78, #3 Duke 71
Welp. Duke took another upsetting loss to a Mercer team that played an excellent game. This game was decided in the final minutes as the Bears went blow for blow with the Blue Devils. Mercer big man Daniel Coursey led the Bears with 17 points and some late baskets. Freshman superstar Jabari Parker may have played his final college game and the Blue Devils are heading home. Mercer guard Kevin Canevari didn’t waste this opportunity to show the world his Nae Nae after the upset victory.
Mercer will face #11 Tennessee on Sunday.
#11 Tennessee 86, #6 UMass 67
It was shocking to see a UMass squad that had a great season come out and get dismantled in their biggest game of the year. It’s never really an upset when an SEC opponent picks up a victory, despite the #11 seeding. Tennessee will face #14 Mercer on Sunday.
#1 Wichita State 64, #16 Cal Poly 37
Wichita State continues to show everyone that they are legit and picked up an expected victory over Cal Poly in a blowout. Cleanthony Early led the Shockers with 23 points and Wichita State will face #8 Kentucky on Sunday.
#8 Kentucky 56, #9 Kansas State 49
Kentucky controlled the the majority of this game and came out with the victory over Kansas State. We will see one of the most anticipated second round match ups as the pre season #1 seed Kentucky Wildcats will face the undefeated #1 Wichita State Shockers on Sunday.
#3 Creighton 76, University of Louisiana Lafayette 66
Creighton got a scare in this one against Louisiana Lafayette, but the likely Wooden Award winner Doug McDermott put the team on his back and finished the game with 30 points and 12 rebounds. Creighton will face #6 Baylor on Sunday.
#6 Baylor 74, #11 Nebraska 60
They wore some highlighted, bright green jerseys that created some eye sores, but Baylor picked up an impressive victory over a tough Nebraska team. Baylor will face #3 Creighton on Sunday.
#10 Stanford 58, #7 New Mexico 53
Who says the Pac-12 can’t hang? Stanford picked up the victory over the higher seed New Mexico State and will face a big test on Sunday against #2 Kansas. We will see what this Stanford team is made of with a Sweet 16 bid on the line.
#2 Kansas 80, #15 Eastern Kentucky 69
#12 Stephen F. Austin 77, #5 VCU 75
Stephen F. Austin erased a double digit deficit against the VCU squad that shocked the world a couple of years ago by advancing to the Final Four. Desmond Haymon was the hero of the day as he knocked down an and-1 three pointer for a rare four point play that forced overtime. VCU shot themselves in the foot with missed free throws and are heading home after a huge upset. The Lumberjacks are putting on their Cinderella shoes and will face #4 UCLA on Sunday.
#4 UCLA 76, #13 Tulsa 59
UCLA picked up an expected victory against Tulsa to advance to the round of 32. They will be fighting destiny against the Cinderella hopeful #12 Stephen F. Austin on Sunday.
#1 Arizona 68, #16 Weber State 59
Arizona picked up an expected win over a tough Weber State squad that made the Wildcats work for the win. This has been one of the most competitive opening rounds in tournament history as even the #16 seeds gave it everything they had for a chance to make history. Arizona will face #8 Gonzaga on Sunday.
#8 Gonzaga 85, #9 Oklahoma State 77
Oklahoma State guard Marcus Smart most likely played his final college game last night in the loss to Gonzaga. The Bulldogs controlled the pace for most of the game as Kevin Pangos scored 26 points in the win. Gonzaga will face #1 Arizona in a huge match up.
#6 North Carolina 79, #11 Providence 77
This was one of the best games of yesterday’s full slate as Providence guard Bryce Cotton put on a show and dropped 36 points in the loss. Another wake up call for the Tar Heels, but all they are concerned about is advancing and surviving. They won’t have too much time to celebrate this victory as they will face their toughest test of the season against a tough #3 Iowa State squad on Sunday.
#3 Iowa State 93, #14 North Carolina Central 75
Iowa State is another team looking to show the tournament field that they have Final Four expectations. They sealed the deal against North Carolina Central as Georges Niang led the way with 24 points. He unfortunately suffered an injury with a broken foot and will be out of the rest of the tournament.
-Patrick Hazel (@pattywack25)
