2023 NCAA Tournament: Sweet 16 Day One Live Recap

2023 NCAA Tournament
The 2023 NCAA Tournament moves to the Sweet 16 for the next two days ( March Madness Logo )

After a great first weekend filled with upsets and tons of close games, the 2023 NCAA Tournament moves on to the Sweet 16. We’ve got four great matchups here on day one where four teams will book their spot in the Elite Eight, moving just one game from Houston at the Final Four. 12 of the 16 teams in the Sweet 16 have never won a college basketball title which reflects just how this season has gone with some of the usual faces not quite looking like their usual selves. Let’s recap how the first night of the Sweet 16 in the 2023 NCAA Tournament plays out.

No. 3 Kansas State: 98 vs No. 7 Michigan State: 93

This was a fun one, reminiscent of Gonzaga and UCLA from a couple of years back during the Covid-affected tournament. Just back and forth with both teams making runs and hitting big shots throughout. That game from 2021 went to overtime just as this one did with both games being played in the nineties. This was a high-level game really from the jump with no real lulls. Markquis Nowell was extraordinary, racking up his second double-double of the tournament with points and assists. Nowell set a tournament record with 19 assists and each of them was more important than the other.

Kansas State was a team over the summer that brought in nearly an entirely new roster, returning just two players with new coach Jerome Tang coming in. They were picked to finish last in the Big 12 this fall and now find themselves in the Elite Eight. Nowell is a big reason for that, as is Keyontae Johnson who is back playing and excelling after collapsing on the court back in 2020 with Florida.

They will now get the winner of Tennessee and Florida Atlantic with a Final Four berth on the line, a place they haven’t been since 1964.

No. 4 UConn: 88 vs No. 8 Arkansas: 65

This was complete domination by UConn throughout the entire game. UConn has been the most impressive team in the 2023 NCAA Tournament bar none so far. They completely took this game over from early in the first half and never allowed Arkansas an ounce of daylight to get back into the game. UConn was the best team in the country until the beginning of January before they hit a rough patch and they seem to have found that form at just the right time. Arkansas after a great win vs Kansas last weekend just had their youth and lack of shooting show through and Devo Davis wasn’t there to save them this time.

UConn now gets a shot at UCLA or Gonzaga with a Final Four berth on the line. Either matchup will certainly be a fun one. It wouldn’t be a surprise at this point to see the Huskies on Monday night in April cutting down the nets as they’ve done so many times before over the last 20+ years.

No. 9 Florida Atlantic: 62 vs No. 4 Tennessee: 55

This was a game that early on seemed like Tennessee would be able to control and win comfortably. They may not blow FAU out but they would be able to keep them at an arm’s distance for most of the game. Then the second half began and FAU made their presence known by not only taking a lead but extending it out to double-digits after trailing at halftime. It was impressive, to say the least, and was their best performance to date in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. FAU is in the midst of its best season in school history and they looked poised to continue this dream season into the next round.

Then Tennessee fought back. The Volunteers’ offense isn’t great so it was a slow grind but they were able to get it to within five at the under-four timeout in the second half. They could never quite get over that hump though and FAU showed excellent poise to finish this one out. Dusty May has done an incredible job and will no doubt be one of the hottest candidates on the market after this run. They’ll now face Kansas State Saturday with a trip to Houston on the line.

No. 3 Gonzaga: 79 vs No. 2 UCLA: 76

This was arguably the most anticipated game of the weekend, let alone of night one. For quite awhile it was not living up to the hype. UCLA is good at slowly grinding opponents down and suffocating them defensively while getting good looks on offense. That was the exact gameplan they executed in the first half against Gonzaga to perfection building a 13-point lead at the half. Tyger Campbell and Jaime Jacquez were doing their thing and were simply out-toughing the Zags.

The script completely flipped in the second half. Gonzaga was dominant, especially defensively. They held UCLA without a field goal for over 10 minutes and the injury issues for UCLA really began to show up. Second chance points in the second half were 18 to nothing at one point. Gonzaga’s defense has been oft-criticized throughout the year and has kept people from believing in this team. They went to their bench in Hunter Sallis and Malachi Smith in the second half and they sparked the team on both ends of the court. Drew Timme was dominant as well scoring 36 points and putting the team on his back and dragging them to the Elite Eight.

UCLA simply couldn’t get anything going and the pace was too much for a team who lacked depth with injuries they’ve suffered in recent weeks. Then UCLA’s comeback began. Jacquez got a few and-one opportunities and UCLA made play after play to not only get back in the game but take the lead with under 30 seconds to go. Amari Bailey nailed a three from the wing to give UCLA the lead before Julian Strawther nailed a three of his own to re-take the lead. The three were nearly from the logo and was as pure as it gets. Tyger Campbell had a great look with under a second left that hit the rim but didn’t fall. Gonzaga wins another classic between these two schools and sets up a date with UConn on Saturday night looking to make their third Final Four in seven seasons.

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