Games I watched (some of):
(11) Michigan 75-63 (6) Colorado State
Man, both teams played so fast! And the refs let them beat on each other. CSU came out hot but they just couldn't sustain and once Michigan got going, they eventually wore them down. I was impressed with CSU's David Roddy, good footwork, good hustle, not so effective from 3, but an interesting prospect going forward (NFL and NBA, for that matter).
(14) Longwood 56-88 (3) Tennessee
(15) St. Peter's 85-79 (OT) (2) Kentucky
Bracket buster! This is why we love the tourney! This game highlighted UK's weakness all season long: 3 point shooting. When the Cats shot well they won and when they didn't (like tonight) they lost. In short, this is how Kentucky was always going to lose--I just didn't think it would happen in the 1st round! St. Peter's did a good job of keeping Tshiebwe and Brooks out of the lane and it was the fact that UK couldn't get their defense in order that led to poor shot selection on the offensive end. That said, it was going 23-35 from the line that doomed UK: even as bad as their defense was and even as bad as their 3-point shooting was, Kentucky still had plenty of opportunities to seal this victory. Throw in that the refs got weird in the 2nd half (I thought they lost the shape of the game and just randomly called contact), which should've benefitted UK and this becomes an even more disappointing L for the Wildcats. It is worth remembering that UK sucked last year and there was no tournament the year before, so even though this was a 'veteran' squad, there was no tournament experience on this team. (As a UK fan, I feel bad for Oscar Tshiebwe, I know the NBA is not excited about the next Andre Drummond, but rebounding is still a part of the game and he's really fuckin' good at it. But, buck up Kentucky fans: Murray State has a legit path to the Sweet 16 now!) Great W for St. Peter's, though to be honest: I don't think they're particularly good, they simply had a game plan perfect for this Kentucky squad.
(10) San Francisco 87-92 (OT) (7) Murray State
Other results:
(13) South Dakota State 57-66 (4) Providence
Close game in the final minute but Providence got it done.
(9) Memphis 64-53 (8) Boise State
Looked like a blowout early on but Boise State cut into the lead late before Memphis iced the game.
(16) Norfolk State 49-85 (1) Baylor
Yeah, sounds about right.
(12) Richmond 67-63 (5) Iowa
Bracket buster! Saw none of this game, wish I had.
(16) Georgia State 72-93 (1) Gonzaga
Keeping an eye on the score throughout the game made this feel like a close game til the last few minutes. Digging into the stats: Gonzaga went 16-30 from the line and that's how a #1 seed keeps a game close. But on the upside for the Zags: Chet Holmgren had 19 pts on 8-13 FGs, 17 boards, 7 blocks, 5:0 asst:to. Nice but let's see how it goes against someone besides a #16 seed.
(9) Marquette 63-95 (8) North Carolina
Dang! Tarheels came to play today. This was a thorough thrashing.
(12) New Mexico State 70-63 (5) Connecticut
*ahem* Didn't bust my bracket. New Mexico State is a good team with some real talent, whereas UConn is coming into the tourney a tad overrated.
(12) Indiana 53-82 (5) St. Mary's
Saw none of this game but as the score was going by Indiana was stuck on 33 for what seemed like forever (about 4.5 minutes of game time, to be exact), while St. Mary's just kept adding points. I was beginning to think the scoreboard was broken!
(9) Creighton 72-69 (OT) (8) San Diego State
Coin flip game, went to OT, sounds about right.
(13) Vermont 71-75 (4) Arkansas
This looks like it was a good one, two feisty squads.
(13) Akron 53-57 (4) UCLA
Akron gave the Bruins a run and while last year's UCLA squad could run up the points, not so sure about this year's version.
(16) Texas Southern 56-83 (1) Kansas
Good opener for the Jayhawks.
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