lunes, 22 de marzo de 2021

5 takeaways from the first day of the NCAA Tournament’s second round

Oral Roberts players celebrate at the end of a college basketball game against Florida in the second round of the NCAA tournament at Indiana Farmers Coliseum, Sunday, March 21, 2021 in Indianapolis. Oral Roberts won 81-78. | AJ Mast, Associated Press

Half of the Sweet Sixteen field is set at the NCAA Tournament, following the first day of games in the Round of 32.

Sunday was full of more upsets at the men’s basketball tournament, including a 15 seed rallying for a win, double-digit seeds having good days and the Pac-12 staying unbeaten.

AJ Mast, Associated Press
Oral Roberts forward Kevin Obanor (0) shoots over Florida forward Colin Castleton (12) during the second half of a college basketball game in the second round of the NCAA tournament at Indiana Farmers Coliseum, Sunday, March 21, 2021 in Indianapolis.

Oral Roberts keeps the magic alive

No. 15 seed Oral Roberts trailed 7-seed Florida by double-digits in the second half, but that didn’t stop the Golden Eagles from joining an elite club.

By rallying to knock off the Gators 81-78, Oral Roberts became just the second 15 seed to reach the Sweet Sixteen — joining 2013’s Florida Gulf Coast in accomplishing the feat.

“As I told the guys, we’re not going to let somebody put a number in front of our name and tell us that that’s our worth, or that’s our value,’’ Oral Roberts coach Paul Mills said, per ESPN. “We’re not capitulating to anybody here.’’

Kevin Obanor (28 points) and Max Abmas (26) led the comeback effort for Oral Roberts, as the Golden Eagles closed the game on a 25-11 run, after Florida led by 11 with under 10 minutes to play.

Oral Roberts will now try to become the first No. 15 seed advance to the Elite 8 when they face No. 3 seed Arkansas next Saturday.

Paul Sancya, Associated Press
Loyola Chicago center Cameron Krutwig (25) drives on Illinois center Kofi Cockburn (21) during the second half of a men’s college basketball game in the second round of the NCAA tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Sunday, March 21, 2021.

A No. 1 seed is eliminated

For the first time in this year’s tournament, a No. 1 seed was eliminated when 8 seed Loyola Chicago knocked off Illinois 71-58.

Loyola’s “upset,” though, wasn’t a fluke. The Ramblers, ranked No. 17 in the final Associated Press poll of the season, put on a clinic in fundamental basketball. They used a stellar defensive effort and an aggressive, fast start to put the Fighting Illini behind the 8 ball early in the game.

Loyola Chicago forced Illinois into 17 turnovers and held the Illini to 44.9% shooting, including 38.4% in the first half, as the Ramblers built a 14-point lead in the first half and were in control throughout the game.

It was the kind of day that reminded NCAA basketball expert Andy Katz of former Utah great Rick Majerus.

Darron Cummings, Associated Press
Syracuse’s Buddy Boeheim (35) is fouled by West Virginia’s Kedrian Johnson (0) during the second half of a second-round game in the NCAA men’s college basketball tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Sunday, March 21, 2021, in Indianapolis. Syracuse defeated Syracuse 75-72.

Double-digit seeds (mostly) deliver drama

Five double-digit seeds played on Sunday, and of those, three were victorious in what has been an upset-filled NCAA Tournament so far.

In addition to Oral Roberts knocking off Florida, No. 11 seed Syracuse upset No. 3 West Virginia 75-72 and 12 seed Oregon State beat No. 4 Oklahoma State 80-70 (more on that in a minute). The only double-digit seed to get blown out was No. 13 North Texas, which lost 84-61 to 5 seed Villanova.

The Orange, who’ve made it a habit to make tournament runs after average regular seasons under head coach Jim Boeheim, delivered again in the postseason Sunday. A 10-0 run after the game was 60-59 helped Syracuse topple the Mountaineers. It’s the 20th time a Boeheim-led Syracuse team is headed to the Sweet Sixteen.

No. 10 Rutgers looked destined for an upset of No. 2 Houston after leading by as many as 10 points with under nine minutes to play, but a late-game collapse cost them the chance to advance. The Cougars outscored the Scarlet Kings 14-2 to end the game, and that included an and-1 with 24 seconds to play that put Houston ahead for good. Rutgers, meanwhile, had two costly turnovers in the final minute.

Paul Sancya, Associated Press
Oregon State guard Ethan Thompson (5) and head coach Wayne Tinkle celebrate beating Oklahoma State 80-70 after a men’s college basketball game in the second round of the NCAA tournament at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Monday, March 22, 2021.

Oregon State’s improbable run lives on

The Beavers, who were picked to finish last in the Pac-12, continue to be the league’s most improbable success story. They won the Pac-12 Tournament as the 5 seed, and with the win over Oklahoma State, Oregon State is on a five-game win streak heading into its Sweet Sixteen matchup with Loyola Chicago.

The Beavers, who beat Tennessee convincingly in the first round, again showed their success is no fluke, as they led by as many as 18 before having to fight off a Cowboys rally. Oklahoma State cut the Oregon State lead to 70-67 with 3:39 to play, but the Beavers scored eight straight to seal the upset win. Ethan Thompson, who had six points in that decisive run, scored a game-high 26 points, while Jarod Lucas and Maurice Calloo each had 15.

It keeps the Pac-12’s perfect NCAA Tournament record intact, as the league’s five teams in the tourney all advanced in the first round. The four other conference teams will play in the second round Monday as Oregon faces Iowa (10:10 a.m. MDT), UCLA takes on Abilene Christian (3:15 p.m.), Colorado plays Florida State (5:45 p.m.) and USC faces Kansas (7:40 p.m.).

Michael Conroy, Associated Press
Arkansas forward Justin Smith (0) gets a dunk in front of Texas Tech forward Marcus Santos-Silva (14) in the second half of a second-round game in the NCAA men’s college basketball tournament at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Sunday, March 21, 2021.

A tight game behind close seeds

The game between No. 3 seed Arkansas and No. 6 Texas Tech was the closest-seeded matchup of the day, and it gave us a classic. The Razorbacks led by 13 with nine minutes to play, but the Red Raiders used an 11-0 run to make it a tight game down the stretch.

Arkansas never relinquished its lead, though, despite scoring just one point in the final 2:46. Texas Tech had a chance to tie it or win on the game’s final possession, but Kyler Edwards’ layup attempt was off the mark, and the Razorbacks held on to advance.

In the other game of the day, No. 1 seed Baylor showed off why it’s a top national title contender, keeping No. 9 Wisconsin at bay for much of the day before posting a solid 76-63 win.



from Deseret News https://ift.tt/3c9Ukj6
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