The best weekend in college basketball came to an end on Sunday and it sure didn’t disappoint. The first two days of the 2016 NCAA tournament were fantastic and it setup a stage for Cinderella to dance all tournament long. The top seeds shut down the fantasy stories over the last two days of games but there still were some shocking results heading into the Sweet 16.
No.2 Villanova Wildcats DEF No.7 Iowa Hawkeyes 87-68
No. 2 seed Villanova cruised into the regional semifinals by blowing out Iowa for its second comfortable win in this year’s NCAA Tournament. Wildcats guard Ryan Arcidiacono was 5-of-8 from the field and 2-of-3 from 3-point range to finish with 16 points while also adding four assists. Villanova center Daniel Ochefu had a game-high 11 rebounds as well as three assists, three steals and three blocked shots. Four Wildcats players finished in double figures, with guard Josh Hart leading the way at a game-high 19. Five Villanova players had at least three assists, as the team racked up 23 on 32 field goals. Villanova shot 59.3 percent from the field, 10-of-19 from 3-point range and 13-of-17 from the free throw line. Iowa Forward Jarrod Uthoff led the team with 16 points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocked shots. Villanova advanced past the second round for the first time since 2009, when the Wildcats reached the Final Four.
No.6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish DEF No.14 Stephen F. Austin 76-75
A tip-in off with 1.5 seconds left kept Notre Dame alive in the NCAA Tournament and broke the hearts of underdog Stephen F. Austin in a captivating second round game in Brooklyn. The Lumberjacks held the lead for the final 3:30 before Rex Pflueger tipped in the Fighting Irish’s third attempt at a game-winning shot. Fighting Irish forward Zach Auguste hit his first eight field goals, finishing 8-of-9 from the field to score 18 points and added a game-high 16 rebounds. Fighting Irish guard Demetrius Jackson also scored 18 points. No team had a lead larger than 7 points in the game. Pflueger’s game-winning tip was his only basket of the day. The Fighting Irish shot 56.9 percent from the field, but attempted 13 fewer field goals than the Lumberjacks, who shot 45.3 percent. Thomas Walkup led Stephen F. Austin with 21 points, adding five rebounds and five assists. Notre Dame is back in the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive year.
No.2 Oklahoma Sooners DEF No.10 VCU Rams 85-81
By riding the coattails of another incredible second-half performance from its two-time Big 12 Player of the Year and leading candidate for National Player of the Year, Budd Hield, led second-seeded Oklahoma survived a pesky effort from No. 10 seed VCU to advance to the Sweet 16 for the second straight year. The Sooners’ fifth win in six games inched them closer to their first Final Four appearance since 2002 while the Rams failed to move past the Round of 32 for the fifth straight season. After scoring 7 points in the first half, Buddy Hield carried the Sooners in the second half behind 29 points in the final half on his way to 36 points. The Wooden Award finalist finished 11-for-20 from the field and drilled six 3-pointers in his 11th 30-point performance. Hield, who matched a Big 12 record his 13th career 30-point game, scored 27 of Oklahoma’s final 32 points. Sooners guard Jordan Woodard finished with 17 points and a team-best four assists. Rams guard JeQuan Lewis posted 22 points, nine assists and four rebounds for his second straight 20-point performance of the season. After being held to 5 total points in the first half, guard Melvin Johnson and forward Mo Alie-Cox scored 28 points in the Rams’ second-half comeback bid. Oklahoma improved to 16-1 when scoring 80 points.
No.10 Syracuse Orange DEF No.15 Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders 75-50
The Orange knocked out the lowest remaining seed in the tournament in dominating fashion and earned a berth into the Sweet 16 for the first time since reaching the Final Four in 2013. Syracuse guard Michael Gbinije led the team with 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting. Syracuse forward Tyler Lydon blocked six shots, and added 10 points and seven rebounds. Trevor Cooney and Tyler Roberson each added 12 points for Syracuse, with Roberson also grabbing a game-high nine rebounds. Syracuse hit 55.1 percent (27-of-49) from the floor. Middle Tennessee was held to 19-of-64 shooting and hit 8-of-24 from 3-point range. The Blue Raiders had more turnovers (nine) than assists (eight). Forward Darnell Harris was the only Blue Raiders player in double figures, putting up 11 points. After the Blue Raiders briefly took the lead, 33-31, with 18:37 left in the game, Gbinije tied it up with a layup 18 seconds later as Syracuse outscored Middle Tennessee 30-8 over a 12-minute second half span.
No.5 Maryland Terrapins DEF No.13 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors 73-60
After a back-and-forth opening 30 minutes, fifth-seeded Maryland pulled away from upset-minded No. 13 Hawaii to punch its ticket to its first Sweet 16 since 2003. Melo Trimble was phenomenal for the Terrapins with 24 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Maryland center Diamond Stone snapped a two-game single-digit scoring skid with 14 points on 6-for-8 shooting. The sophomore guard finished 13-for-14 from the free-throw line in his 10th straight double-digit scoring effort. The Terrapins improved to 12-0 all-time in the NCAA Tournament against teams seeded 13th or lower. Trimble is 22-for-23 from the free-throw line during Maryland’s opening two NCAA Tournament games. Rainbow Warriors forward Michael Thomas recorded his second double-double of the season with 19 points and 11 rebounds — both team-highs. Both teams struggled from beyond the arc where Hawaii shot 21.1 percent (4-for-19) while holding Maryland to 5.6 percent (1-for-18). The Terrapins improved to 23-2 when scoring 70 points. Maryland offset its 3-point woes by finishing 28-for-31 (90.3 percent) from the free-throw line while Hawaii made 10-of-15.
No.3 Texas A&M Aggies DEF No.11 Northern Iowa Panthers 92-88 in 2OT
The Aggies erased an 11-point lead in the final minute of regulation, then outlasted upset-minded Northern Iowa in two overtime sessions to advance to the Sweet 16 in miracle fashion. Texas A&M guard Alex Caruso played 43 minutes, shot 10-of-16 from the field, and led the Aggies with 25 points and nine rebounds while adding three assists. Aggies guard Danuel House did not score until the 5:14 mark of regulation, but ended the game with 22 points. Texas A&M outscored Northern Iowa 14-2 in the final 33 seconds of regulation. Northern Iowa did not hit a field goal in the second overtime. Jeremy Morgan led Northern Iowa with a career-high 36 points and also had a game-high 12 rebounds. Northern Iowa had 13 turnovers, four of which came in the final 30 seconds of regulation. Panthers leading scorer Wes Washpun finished with 9 points and a game-high 10 assists, but fouled out 1:17 into the first overtime.
This is how you erase a 12-point deficit in 35 seconds. https://t.co/l3eJ83wDDB #MarchMadness
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 21, 2016
No.7 Wisconsin Badgers DEF No.2 Xavier Musketeers 66-63
In a thrilling back-and-forth battle, No. 7 seed Wisconsin used a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to stun second-seeded Xavier and advance to its sixth Sweet 16 in eight years and third in a row. His game-winning 3-pointer was the headline, but Bronson Koenig paced the Badgers with 20 points and seven rebounds. Badgers forward Nigel Hayes, who entered the game averaging a team-best 16.2 points per game, was held to 6 points on 2-for-10 shooting. All six of the guard’s makes came from behind the 3-point line. Oddly enough, Xavier became the first top-two seed to lose on a buzzer-beater since Christian Laettner and Duke beat Kentucky in 1992. Musketeers forward Jalen Reynolds finished with 13 points on 6-for-6 shooting and nine rebounds — both team highs. Both teams struggled from beyond the arc where Xavier shot 31.3 percent (5-for-16) while holding Wisconsin to 29.6 percent (8-for-27). Xavier’s bench, which entered the game averaging 28.7 points per game, was held to 14 points.
No.1 Oregon Ducks DEF No.8 St.Joe’s Hawks 69-64
No. 2 seed Oregon got all it could handle from eighth-seeded Saint Joseph’s late rally but dodged the upset to remain the Pac-12’s last standing squad in the NCAA Tournament. The Ducks tied a school record with their 30th win of the season. Dillon Brooks led the Ducks with a game-high 25 points on 7-for-13 shooting. The forward shot 4-for-7 from behind the 3-point line. Ducks forward Elgin Cook scored 18 points on 6-for-12 shooting and added four of Oregon’s six assists. Hawks forward DeAndre’ Bembry recorded his eighth double-double of the season with 16 points and 12 rebounds — both team highs. Both teams struggled from beyond the arc where Saint Joseph’s shot 26.7 percent (4-for-15) while holding Oregon to 25 percent (6-for-24).
