Day one of the NCAA tournament was exciting but day 2 wasn’t exactly filled with upsets.
(15) New Mexico State 56 (2) Kansas 75
Frank Mason III had a team-high 17 points for the Jayhawks who shot 9-for-13 from the three-point line. Kansas is now 5-0 in NCAA Tournament games in Omaha.
(10) Georgia 63 (7) Michigan State 70
Travis Trice scored or assisted on 20 of the Spartans’ 35 first half points and Denzel Valentine went 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the final 30 seconds of the game to clinch the win for Michigan State.
(12) Wyoming 54 (5) Northern Iowa 71
Northern Iowa had a 16-8 advantage in transition points including a 41-2 advantage in bench points to win their 20th game out of their last 21. The win gives UNI a school-record 31 wins on the season and their first NCAA Tournament win since 2010 when they upset no. 1 seed Kansas in the round of 32.
Wyoming’s Derek Cooke, Jr. had one of the big highlights of the day early in the game, although it was called as an offensive foul. It’s still worth it:
(12) Buffalo 62 (5) West Virginia 68
Tarik Phillip hit a three-pointer with 28 seconds left in regulation and the shot clock winding down (see below) to help clinch the win for the Mountaineers. The win for West Virginia meant that every no. 5 seed in the tournament advanced past their first round match up since 2007.
(10) Indiana 76 (7) Wichita State 81
Wichita State outscored Indiana 44-24 in the paint and scored a season-high 29 points from the free throw line. Fred VanVleet tied his career-high with 27 points in the win for the Shockers.
(15) Belmont 67 (2) Virginia 79
Despite making it a one-possession game multiple times after trailing by as many as 14 in the second half, Belmont never had the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead. Virginia shot 17-for-20 from the free throw line in the last 10 minutes of the game.
(13) UC Irvine 55 (4) Louisville 57
UC Irvine’s 7-foot-6 center Mamadou Ndiaye (12 points, 5 rebounds) gave Louisville all they could handle, but the big man committed his fourth foul with 2:26 left which helped Wayne Blackshear make a play at the rim to help seal the win for the Cardinals.
Some worthy sightings of Ndiaye:
(13) Valparaiso 62 (4) Maryland 65
Valparaiso shot 12-for-27 from the three-point line and came close to brewing upset magic. But Louisville senior Varun Ram, who’d only played 55 minutes going into the game, checked in for a final possession and swiped the ball away with the Cardinals up by three to help seal the win.
(9) Oklahoma State 73 (8) Oregon 79
Joseph Young had a game-high 27 points for the Ducks and outscored Oklahoma State by himself during an 11-minute stretch that ran from the first half into the second half. Oregon will take on no. 1 seed Wisconsin on Sunday.
(16) Robert Morris 56 (1) Duke 85
Quinn Cook scored 22 points along with 21 points from Jahlil Okafor, the most by a Duke freshman in their NCAA Tournament debut, to help Duke storm past Robert Morris.
When showboating goes awry, featuring Jahlil Okafor:
(10) Davidson 52 (7) Iowa 83
Aaron White scored 17 of his 26 points in the second half and Iowa’s 31-point win became the largest win margin in a 7-10 game in NCAA Tournament history.
(14) Albany 60 (3) Oklahoma 69
TaShawn Thomas (18 points) and Buddy Hield (15 points) led the Sooners in a grind-out game in which they never gave up the lead.
(16) Coastal Carolina 72 (1) Wisconsin 86
Frank Kaminsky had 27 points and 12 rebounds and Wisconsin outscored Coastal Carolina 40-22 in the paint to advance to the round of 32.
(9) St. John’s 64 (8) San Diego State 76
San Diego State outscored St. John’s 24-0 in bench points and were led by JJ O’Brien’s 18 points.
(15) North Dakota State 76 (2) Gonzaga 86
Kyle Wiltjer scored 23 points and the Zags outscored the Bison 24-5 in points off turnovers.
(11) Dayton 66 (6) Providence 53
In the only upset of day two, Dayton got 20 points from Dyshawn Pierre and Flyers head coach Archie Miller moved to 5-1 in NCAA Tournament games — all as an 11-seed.
