Friday was a frenzied first-round in the 2021 NCAA Tournament with six better-seeded teams falling, three games hitting overtime and a No. 15 seed topping a No. 2 seed. But Saturday, the madness machine that is March gave us a rather chalky afternoon.
No. 3 seed Kansas got a good first-half scare from No. 14 seed Eastern Washington, No. 4 seed Florida State had its back against the wall before ousting No. 14 seed UNC Greensboro and No. 5 Creighton needed a fortunate late-game break to survive an upset bid from No. 12 seed UC Santa Barbara. But higher-seeded teams prevailed in the first eight games. So after Friday's wild slate, your bracket thanks you for this brief, unexpected normalcy. Even if it's only temporary.
Speaking of brief and unexpected, Rick Pitino's stay in the Big Dance was exactly that. His 15th-seeded Iona Gaels did well to earn a spot in the tourney after a COVID-disrupted season that saw them play only 13 regular-season games, but No. 2 seed Alabama won 68-55 to send them homebound.
Plus, the Pac-12 continues to thrive in the postseason as USC and Colorado joined Oregon Sate in advancing to the second round. The conference could get a fourth team to advance if UCLA beats BYU later on Saturday.
Here is a rundown of the winners and losers as we put a final bow on first-round action.
Winner: Colorado's 3-point shooting
Colorado nearly tied a season-high for 3-pointers made against Georgetown ... in the first half. The Buffaloes, who crushed the Hoyas 96-73, went 11-of-17 from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes of action, the third most by a team in any half during the tournament in the last decade. They trail only Villanova in the 2018 Final Four and Auburn in the 2019 Sweet 16. The Buffaloes finished with a season-high 16 3-pointers made on 25 attempts, which is the second-most they've made in a game in at least the last 10 years, according to College Basketball Reference.
Loser: Georgetown crashes out
Georgetown won the Big East Tournament and stormed into the NCAAs as a trendy No. 12 seed capable of pulling an upset. But just as the Hoyas were hitting their best stride under coach Patrick Ewing, a red-hot Colorado team that couldn't miss wound up molly-whopping them. Their 23-point defeat marks the largest NCAA Tournament loss since falling by 24 points to UMass in the East Regional Final in 1996.
"We just didn't get it done both offensively and defensively," Ewing said. "We struggled to score, we struggled to get stops when we needed to. We tried to trap to get the blood flowing a little bit, and that worked a little bit in the second half but the lead was just that big that we couldn't overcome it."
Winner: Leonard Hamilton, FSU's toughness
Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton battled through a ruptured Achilles tendon on Saturday as he led the Seminoles, in a walking boot, to a 64-54 first round win over UNC Greensboro. For a septuagenarian, it's a total boss move. But it was also emblematic of FSU's toughness as they held the Spartans to just one made field goal over the final five minutes and advanced despite going 0-of-9 from 3-point range in the game. They are the first team to win a tournament game without making a triple since Kentucky in 2018.
Winner: No. 1 seed Michigan cruises to second round
There was -- and still is -- real concern about how high Michigan's postseason ceiling is so long as star 3-and-D specialist Isaiah Livers is out with a foot injury. But that was quelled at least for the moment on Saturday when the Wolverines blasted No. 16 seed Texas Southern 82-66 in its tournament-opener.
Michigan was expected to cruise, so let's not order the Final Four shirts just yet. Still, it got a balanced effort from Mike Smith, Hunter Dickinson, Franz Wagner and Eli Brooks to build some confidence entering Round 2.
Winner: LSU looks strong in opener
Defense has been an issue for LSU this season, but the No. 8 seed Tigers put the clamps on St. Bonaventure in a 76-61 victory. LSU held the Bonnies to just 33.3% shooting. The Tigers get No. 1 seed Michigan on Monday in the second round. If this team is ready to start taking defense seriously, watch out, because the offense is no problem for LSU. Cam Thomas might be the nation's most underrated freshman, and he proved his game translates to the big stage Saturday by leading all scorers with 27 points. He accounted for 20 of LSU's 45 in the second half. But defense is what set the tone for LSU as St. Bonaventure scored just 22 points in the first half.
Loser: Gauchos miss out on history
UC-Santa Barbara came within a rimmed out lay-up of potentially knocking off No. 5 seed Creighton. The Gauchos were seeking their first NCAA Tournament victory since 1990 and will probably feel like they should have gotten it done against the BlueJays. UCSB looked like the better team for much of the second half before Creighton gritted out some clutch buckets after falling behind 58-52. Still, Amadou Sow had the best look you could ask for with the game on the line, and when the ball rolled off the rim, the Gauchos' hopes of making a run fell with it.
Winner: Eastern Washington's Groves brothers
Look out, Klay and Steph, the splash bros of college hoops are coming -- and they are actually brothers.
The Eastern Washington duo of Tanner Groves and Jacob Groves lit up No. 3 seed Kansas on Saturday, as Tanner went for 35 points and Jacob for 23. While the Eagles fell 93-84, they put a good scare into the shorthanded Jayhawks by leading for more than 20 minutes of game action. Eastern Washington took a double-digit lead in the second half before Kansas mounted its comeback.
Nonetheless, the Groves' one-and-done tourney showing won't soon be forgotten. Their 58 combined points is the second most by brothers in an NCAA Tournament game since 1953, when John and Ed O'Brien from Seattle teamed up to score 63 points.
Winner: Alabama proves again it can win ugly
The Nate Oats-coached Crimson Tide play fast on offense, launch 3s at an incredible rate and get into your grill on defense -- the three-piece recipe to their SEC regular-season and postseason championships. But this Alabama team is uniquely equipped in that it can live by the 3, but not necessarily die by it. The Tide went 5-of-16 from beyond the arc against Iona in a 68-55 win. But they overcame the relative poor shooting by holding the Gaels to 23 second-half points and playing suffocating defense to help mask some inefficiencies on offense.
Alabama's best days are as good as any team in college hoops because of how well -- and frequently -- it shoots the 3. So to scoot to a comfortable win while struggling to shoot from distance is a positive sign for its tourney prospects.
Loser: Drake's dream season ends with loss to USC
Drake and its dream season met an end Saturday in the first round when it fell to No. 6 seed USC, 72-56. The Bulldogs end the season 26-5 overall, tying for the second-most wins in program history. After dealing with injuries over the last month, their Final Four hopes looked to be on thin ice, so no shame in falling to a superiorly-talented USC team. But it's a bummer this mid-major monster couldn't cobble together a second weekend run like it was capable of. Nonetheless, a tip of the cap to Darian DeVries and the Drake Bulldogs for a brilliant season that'll go down as one of its best of the modern era.
https://ift.tt/3tAxDKQ
Sports
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "NCAA Tournament scores, winners and losers: Pac-12 makes statement in first round as favorites survive scares - CBS Sports"
Post a Comment