The NCAA men’s basketball tournament, known formally as March Madness, is certainly living up to its name.
Fans everywhere have given up on their chance at $1 billion for a perfect bracket and have watched as top seeded teams have been sent home. The Sweet Sixteen bracket has been officially set, and games are scheduled to be played on Thursday, April 28 and Friday, April 29. For now, let’s take a look at some of the big games that happened over the weekend:
1. Kentucky takes down No. 1 seed and undefeated Wichita St
The Wildcats had something to celebrate on Sunday, as Kentucky defeated the Shockers 78-76. Andrew Harrison had 20 points, Aaron Harrison had 19 points, and Julius Randle had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Wildcats (26-10), who now advance to play its bitter rival Louisville in Indianapolis on Friday. The Shockers (35-1) hadn’t lost since last year’s Final Four and were trying to become the first team to finish a perfect season since 1976. Cleanthony Early had 31 points and Ron Baker had 20 points, according to ESPN. Kentucky is the most successful program in Divison I history with eight national titles.
2. Iowa State beat North Carolina in final seconds
Iowa St (28-7) was able to pull out a last second win against UNC, 85-83 to advance to the Sweet Sixteen round to play No. 7 seed Connecticut. The Tar Heels (24-10) have now lost in the tournament’s opening week for the second time in a row under head coach Roy Williams. After officials confirmed that DeAndre Kane’s shot was good and that the game was over, the Cyclones got to celebrate going
to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2000. Kane finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds, and the team played without forward Georges Niang, who broke his foot in Iowa St.’s win against North Carolina Central in the opening round. Big 12 Player of the Year, Melvin Ejim had 19 points and Monte Morris added 13 points for the Cyclones. North Carolina was led by Marcus Paige with 19 points and Kennedy Meeks had 15 points and 13 rebounds, according to ESPN.
3. Arizona returns to the Sweet 16
By overriding Gonzaga with their solid defense, the Arizona Wildcats (32-4) have punched their ticket to the Sweet 16 round, beating the Bulldogs 84-61. This is the third time in four years that the Wildcats will appear in the Sweet 16; they are scheduled to play No. 4 seeded San Diego State. Although Arizona started the tournament shaky, the Wildcats ended the weekend dominate. No. 8 Gonzaga (29-7) turned the ball over 21 times, which the Wildcats converted into 31 points, 15 of those points on steals alone. Arizona’s Aaron Gordon had 18 points, six rebounds, and six assists, Nick Johnson finished with 17 points, and freshman Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had 18 points. “Tonight was one of our season’s best performances,” said Arizona head coach Sean Miller according to ESPN. “Obviously, you want to play well in the NCAA tournament and that’s exactly what our team did tonight.” With Arizona playing like this, many teams in the next round better be ready.
4. Creighton gets rolled by Baylor
After an impressive 85-55 win over Doug McDermott and the Creighton Bluejays (27-8), Baylor University is headed to California for the Sweet 16 round. Baylor (26-11) shut down basketball’s best scorer, holding McDermott to only 15 points; his season average was 27 points. He is ranked fifth on the NCAA career scoring list with 3,150 points. The Bears had five players score in double digits, and they shot 64% in one of their best performances of the tournament. Isaiah Austin and Brady Heslip each scored 17 points for Baylor, leading their team to play No. 2 seeded Wisconsin on Thursday in Anaheim. McDermott was able to carry his team back to the round of 32 for the third time in a row, but Baylor’s defense proved too much to let them go any further. “I’m not sure if it was Baylor being that good or us being that bad,” said Creighton head coach Greg McDermott according to ESPN. “Over the course of the season you’re going to have a few clunkers. We had one at the wrong time.”
