2021 NCAA Tournament First Round Day One Recap

2021 NCAA Tournament
Oral Roberts shocked the Buckeyes. Mike Dinovo/USA TODAY Sports

After a one-year hiatus, the 2021 NCAA Tournament is here! Finally, the most exciting event in sports is back. There are lots of usual teams missing from the action. Kentucky, Louisville, and Duke are the most notable. However, if the first day of the first round is any indication…this March will be Madness. There were close calls, scares, easy wins, and upsets, with plenty of great plays and drama to watch over and over again.

10 Virginia Tech vs 7 Florida

The classic 10-seed/7-seed matchup. These games can provide great entertainment, as both teams are usually able to be competitive with one another. Virginia Tech had an up-and-down season and would finish on a down. The Florida Gators advanced with a 75-70 win over the Hokies in overtime.

Nahiem Alleyne tried his hardest to get his team the win, but in the end, he couldn’t do it alone. With 28 points in 38 minutes, Alleyne scored 10 more than any other Hokie. Tyrece Radford would score 18 points and play a game-high 45 minutes. Tree Mann put up 14 points and 4 assists including the dagger to end the game.

14 Colgate vs 3 Arkansas

The battle of the Colgate Raiders and the Arkansas Razorbacks was a good one. For most of the game, the Raiders would not leave Arkansas alone. After a 36-33 halftime score in favor of the Razorbacks, it looked like it would be a close one.

Led by four players in double digits, Nelly Cummings was the leading scorer for the 14-seed. Jordan Burns scored 13 while Jack Ferguson and Jeff Woodward had 11 each. Arkansas was led by Justin Smith who played all 40 minutes of the game. Smith had 29 points and 13 rebounds. Arkansas wins 85-68.

16 Drexel vs 1 Illinois

No surprises here. The Fighting Illini came out looking like the team everyone thought they were. Drexel was only able to get 49 points up the entire game. Meanwhile, Illinois had four players in double digits with two others scoring 8 points apiece. Ayo Dosunmu put up a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds with 6 assists on the side. Final 78-49.

11 Utah State vs 6 Texas Tech

Chris Beard and his Texas Tech Red Raiders are off to a good start. They beat a good Utah State squad with a force of a player in Neemias Queta. With 20 wins on the season, I thought the Aggies might make the upset today. However, Mac McClung had other plans. He led all scorers with 16 points, leading four Red Raiders in double figures.

After taking a 26-23 lead at the half, the Aggies weren’t able to keep up the defense as Texas Tech woke up their offense. Tech wins 65-53.

15 Oral Roberts vs 2 Ohio State

Perhaps the most exciting game of the first day of the first-round game when Oral Roberts took on Ohio State. In the second overtime game of the day, Kevin Obanor and Max Abmas showed out for the Golden Eagles. Obanor finished with 30 points and 11 rebounds while Abmas had 29 points and 5 rebounds. Four of the seven Golden Eagles that saw action played over 42 minutes.

Ohio State was led by EJ Liddell and Duane Washington Jr. Liddell had 23 points and 14 rebounds. Washington Jr. finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds. CJ Walker was the only other double-digit scorer with 12 points. While the effort was great for the Buckeyes, Oral Roberts would come out on top. They outscored Ohio State 11-8 in overtime. 75-72 Golden Eagles.

March Madness is back!

16 Hartford vs 1 Baylor

Another No. 1 seed and another chalk game. Hartford didn’t have much chance against the Baylor Bears. The Hawks were led by Austin Williams who put up 19 points and 7 rebounds. Traci Carter was the only other double-digit scorer for Hartford with 11 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists.

MaCio Teague led the way for the Bears with 22 points. There were four Bears in double figures as they cruised to a smooth 79-55 win in the first round.

9 Georgia Tech vs 8 Loyola Chicago

In one of the best games all day, the Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech took on Sister Jean’s Ramblers. Loyola Chicago, always a tournament favorite battled it out hard with Tech. Jordan Usher, Michael Devoe, and Jose Alvarado had 15, 14, and 13 points respectively for Georgia Tech.

Lucas Williamson and Braden Norris were great for Loyola all game. Williamson had 21 points with 6 rebounds. Norris put up 16 points and 8 assists. This game never seemed like it was over until the end. 30-25 point halftime score led to a 71-60 final score. Loyola put up 41 points in the second half to push them to the end. Georgia Tech was caught with an underrated team and paid the price for it, unfortunately.

Loyola Chicago will take on Illinois in the Round of 32.

12 Oregon State vs 5 Tennessee

Well, it seemed inevitable. There always seems to be a 12-seed over 5-seed upset. This season it came at the expense of the Tennessee Volunteers. The Oregon State Beavers led by as many as twenty points in the second half. The Vols were unable to answer the offensive output by State in the first half. They fell down 33-19 at halftime. From there it was pretty much over. The Beavers had four scorers in double figures led by Roman Silva’s 16 points.

Tennessee shot poorly as a team overall. They only connected on 33.3% of field goals and 19.2% of three-point shots. Keon Johnson led the team with 14 points, but only two other Vols scored in double-digits. Tennessee and Oregon State both put up 37 points in the second half. Beavers win 70-56.

13 Liberty vs 4 Oklahoma State

It was not the best night for Cade Cunningham. The potential No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft had a rough go of things in his first NCAA tournament game. While he would finish with double digits (15 points), it was a struggle to get there. He was only able to hit 3-14 shots. Luckily for the Cowboys Avery Anderson III put up 21 points to push the team to a victory over Liberty.

Led by Elijah Cuffee, Liberty put up a great game against OK State. They led by three at halftime, but would not be able to contain Cunningham the entire game. The Flames shot 38.9% from the field. OK State only had 5 assists during the game and will more than likely need a better performance in the next round if they want to advance again. Cowboys win by nine 69-60.

9 Wisconsin vs 8 North Carolina

Truly this has been a history-making tournament already. The Wisconsin Badgers took on the North Carolina Tar Heels in a mid-seed battle. Usually, this type of matchup would feature these teams as a 3-seed or better. However, both have had lackluster seasons. Wisconsin came out hot on the offensive side of the ball. In the first half, they put up 40 points. They would finish the game with 13 made threes on 27 attempts.

The Tar Heels were unable to keep up with the pace that the Badgers had established. With a mere 24 points in the first half, UNC was in trouble from the start. They wouldn’t be able to catch back up and ultimately lost 85-62. This is the first time Roy Williams has lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament. He was 29-0 before tonight. The players from the high school class of 2017 are the only Tar Heels class under Williams to not make an Elite Eight in their careers as well.

15 Cleveland State vs 2 Houston

In another game featuring a top seed, another blowout. The Houston Cougars led by Quentin Grimes did not let Cleveland State hang around long. The Vikings were able to keep it within single digits through the first half. After the 37-29 lead into the break, Houston decided to really pour it on in the second.

The Cougars went on to score 50 points in the second half, beating the Vikings down 87-56. Six Houston players found themselves scoring 10 or more points. They hit 47.5% of their shots and pulled down 16 offensive rebounds in the game.

13 North Texas vs 4 Purdue

This was another fun game on day one of the 2021 NCAA Tournament. Both teams were battling back and forth all night. Purdue was caught flat-footed by the Mean Green of North Texas in the first half. The Boilermakers fell down 32-24 at the break. In the second half, they really turned up the offense. Purdue would put up 37 points in the second half.

Just as the game was coming down to the final seconds, a familiar feeling started creeping up. Overtime. For the third time on the night, we had an overtime game. Javion Hamlet of North Texas was hitting as many shots as he could. He would finish with 24 points and the guard pulled in 12 rebounds to lead his team. Purdue’s Jaden Ivey, a freshman, led his team in scoring. He would finish with 26 points in 42 minutes played. Ivey was much of the reason why Purdue was able to send the game to overtime.

Trevion Williams had something to say on behalf of the Boilermakers.

The Mean Green got to extra minutes and decided enough was enough. North Texas would go on to outscore Purdue, 17-8 in the final frame. Final score, Mean Green 78, Boilermakers 69.

10 Rutgers vs 7 Clemson

This one came down to the wire. The Scarlet Knights of Rutgers took on the Clemson Tigers in a late-night game. Caleb McConnell and Jacob Young scored in double digits to help Rutgers in their efforts. Rutgers guard Geo Baker made news this week by seemingly starting the small #NotNCAAProperty social media movement. Baker was able to put up 11 points against the Tigers.

Clemson gave it their best, but Clyde Trapp and company just didn’t have it in them. Rutgers outlasted Clemson in the last few minutes, pushing the limit. It was the first NCAA Tournament win for Rutgers since 1983. A low-scoring affair, this game fit the Clemson style of play more so than Rutgers but were unable to finish things off. The final score, 60-56.

11 Syracuse vs 6 San Diego State

Jim Boeheim is known for overperforming in the tournament. It seems that any time Syracuse is a double-digit seed, they are good for an upset or two before being bounced. Against the higher-seeded San Diego State Aztecs, the Orange looked like those stereotypes. The best part, Buddy Boeheim put up over 30 points in the win over the Aztecs. The coach’s son has been the leading scorer all season with 17.1 points a game.

San Diego State just had no answer for the offensive firepower of Boeheim. Matt Mitchell and Jordan Schakel tried, combining for almost 40 points. However, they just couldn’t hit enough shots. They finished shooting under 35%, almost 20% worse than the Orange. Syracuse had 8 blocks in their 78-62 win.

12 Winthrop vs 5 Villanova

This was a game that had a lot of eyes on it for upset potential. As a late-night tip, this game stayed interesting most of the way.  The Winthrop Eagles put up a fight in the first half, heading into the locker room down by one. DJ Burns showed out as well as Chandler Vaudrin. Vaudrin was a point shy of a double-double.

Jay Wright and Villanova would prove too disciplined and strong in the last few minutes. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl was great, posting a 22 point, 12 rebound performance. Justin Moore threw in 15 points for the Wildcats. Villanova wins 73-63 to put away the upset hopes.

14 Morehead State vs 3 West Virginia

The final game of the first night was interesting. Morehead State, the only team from Kentucky to make the tournament this season, took on West Virginia. Bob Huggins came into the game with 899 career wins. The Mountaineers took a 7 point 38-31 lead going into the half. Then Morehead State made things interesting.

De’Von Cooper had 21 points for the Eagles followed by Skyelar Potter with 18. Unfortunately, the 14 seed from the OVC couldn’t get things done. WVU turned out to be too talented. Miles McBride put up a 30 piece and three other Mountaineers scored in double figures. The team shot 50.8%, which was lower than Morehead State’s 52% clip. Turnovers were the real story as the Eagles let the ball go 18 times compared to just 6. Bob Huggins won his 900th game as a head coach, 84-67 bringing a close to the first day of the 2021 NCAA Tournament.

That is all for the first day of the Round of 64. The 2021 NCAA Tournament has been just about all we missed about March Madness. Three overtime games, Roy Williams first-ever loss in the Round of 64, winning droughts broken, first-ever NCAA tournament games won (shoutout North Texas), and more. That’s just day one.

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