The second weekend of March Madness kicked off with two absolute nail-biters and some more top schools going down to underdogs to being the 2017 Sweet 16. The Michigan Wolverines matched up with the Oregon Ducks as they looked to continue their impressive tournament run. It was truly a game that went wire-to-wire and included 21 lead changes and eight ties. As time ran down, Derrick Walton Jr. took a deep jumper but fell a little short as Oregon advances to their second consecutive Elite Eight. Tyler Dorsey continued his hot play, scoring 20 points including the go-ahead bucket with just over a minute left. Jordan Bell added 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Ducks. In their final games as Wolverines, Walton Jr. and Zak Irvin each had a great showing. Walton Jr. scored 20 points while grabbing five boards and dishing out eight assists. Zak Irvin put up 19 points and eight boards in the loss.
In a defensive grudge match, the Gonzaga Bulldogs and West Virginia Musketeers fought right through the final buzzer. West Virginia played their usual pesky defense but was unable to get going on the other end. The Musketeers shot just 16/60 (26.7 percent) from the floor and just 5/23 (21.7 percent) from deep. After Gonzaga’s Jordan Mathews had hit a go-ahead three with 50 seconds remaining, Gonzaga came up with a key stop. Silas Nelson hit a free throw to make it a three-point game. The final 38 seconds of the game were a mess for West Virginia. Junior guard Jevon Carter missed a pair of three’s, and after an offensive rebound, he was unable to get up a shot before the buzzer. However, Carter finished with 21 points and seven rebounds. Gonzaga had balanced scoring with Przemek Karnowski, Johnathan Williams and Jordan Mathews all scoring 13 points each.
Kansas vs. Purdue wasn’t quite as entertaining as the first two games… except for Jayhawks fans. After an evenly fought 25 minutes of play, Kansas led 58-54 with 14:45 remaining. From that point on, the Jayhawks erupted and outscored Purdue 40-12 to run away with a Sweet Sixteen victory. Frank Mason III and Devonte’ Graham each scored 26 points and Josh Jackson added 15 of his own. Mason III, in particular, had a fantastic overall game. His 26 points came on 9/11 shooting with 4/5 from three, to go along with seven rebounds and seven assists. This game showed just how dangerous Kansas could be when they are at the top of their game.
The last game was the almost undoubtedly the game of the night. After Xavier had routed Florida State in the Second Round, they battled the Arizona Wildcats in an absolute thriller. Through the first 35 minutes, the largest lead was just six, when Arizona led 10-4. With just under four minutes left, a pair of free throws put the Wildcats on top by eight and look as if they were on their way to the Elite Eight. The Xavier Musketeers ended the game on a 12-2 run to secure the upset. Trevon Bluiett scored a game-high 25 points, and Malcolm Bernard added 15 to continue the Musketeers Cinderella run. The overall play by Xavier junior, J.P. Macura (14 points, seven rebounds and five assists) was extremely key in the team’s victory, coming up with multiple clutch plays to keep the team in the game.
Day 1 of the Sweet Sixteen certainly didn’t disappoint, with three nail-biters and an incredible upset, the madness continued.
