Welcome Back!
Bracket busted? Hope not. It’s a chalky Sweet 16 after some wild upsets in Round 1. Zero brackets across the country were perfect by Saturday, but that’s to be expected. The Women’s Sweet 16 is about to reveal itself today. We’ll have full coverage tomorrow before shifting gears between Weeks 1 and 2 of the Madness.
Let’s recap some hoops, shall we?
Letter Rip!
______________________________________________________________________________________
NCAAM
Sweet Sixteen: The Revenge Tour?
#1 Purdue, #1 UConn & Top Seeds Flex Early; #11 NC State Vies for Lone Cinderella Status
From 64 to 16! Just like that, the Men’s NCAA Tournament delivered 48 games in four days to trim the bracket down to the Sweet Sixteen. We now have a picture of the matchups for Week 2. As you can probably guess, the storylines from 48 games are downright impossible for us to capture in full. What we can tell you is a little bit about who fits Cinderella’s slipper, and some of the top teams through two games. We’ve identified three of the top seeds who came ready to play in March. A few others had some statement wins after recent tourney blunders, but these three obliterated opponents all weekend. It’s a chalk bracket. Let’s dive in.
The Stalwarts: Purdue, UConn & Duke
While 16 teams are still playing into the second weekend, a trio of top teams looked downright dominant in both of their first two opening-weekend games. UConn (56 points) and Duke (55 points) won both of their first two games by a combined margin of 55-plus (27.5 average margin of victory). And while that’s impressive, buckle up. Purdue switched into another gear after two slow starts and blew out both opponents by 67 combined. They paced Grambling on Friday (78-50) and broke the spirits of 8-seed Utah State on Sunday (106-67). No other top teams eclipsed 50 points in total win margin over the first two games. You might remember in 2018 when 1-seed Virginia lost to 16-seed UMBC, then returned to win it all in 2019. Purdue lost to 16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson last year. Is the revenge tour for real?
Revenge Tours: The Boilers aren’t the only team playing with a little bit of a vengeance after recent upsets in the Big Dance. Houston (1-seed), Marquette (2-seed), Arizona (2-seed) and Duke (4-seed) are all top seeds coming off recent tournament turmoil, or at least losses that left a sour taste. North Carolina (1-seed) also failed to make the tourney last year, so they have something to prove. Revenge is everywhere in the Sweet 16.
Fun Fact: Zach Edey, Purdue’s 7-foot-4 reigning National Player of the Year, had 53 points and 35 rebounds in his first two games combined (26.5 ppg / 17.5 rpg). He’s just the third player in NCAA history to record 50+ points and 30+ boards in the first two contests of the tourney (Blake Griffin & Antonio McDyess).
Cinderella: 11-Seed NC State
Despite eight double-digit seeds getting past the first round, only one is still standing in the Sweet 16 — 11-seed NC State. The Wolfpack took down 14-seed Oakland in overtime (79-73, OT) to reach the second weekend. They’re the lone Cinderella bid after two 12s (James Madison & Grand Canyon), a 13 (Yale) and a 14 (Oakland) knocked out some top teams in the first round. The next-lowest remaining seed is 6-seed Clemson. Keep in mind: NC State won five games in five days to win the ACC Tournament and steal an automatic bid.
Thrillers: Overtimes & Great Finishes
Three overtime games brought the drama on Saturday and Sunday with Sweet 16 bids on the line. 3-seed Creighton outlasted 11-seed Oregon (my Cinderella pick) in a double-overtime game for the ages (86-73, 2OT). The Blue Jays exploded in the second overtime after arguably the best game of the opening weekend. We already mentioned NC State’s overtime victory to send Oakland packing. And late last night, 1-seed Houston was put to the test after 9-seed Texas A&M went on a 13-3 run to close regulation and hit a buzzer-beater to force OT (86-all). Houston hung together and pulled away in the extra period (100-95, OT).
Round of 32 Highlights (Sunday)
#1 Houston def. #9 Texas A&M (100-95, OT)
#1 UConn def. #9 Northwestern (75-58)
#1 Purdue def. #8 Utah State (106-67)
#2 Marquette def. #10 Colorado (81-77)
#4 Duke def. #12 James Madison (93-55)
#4 Alabama def. #12 Grand Canyon (72-61)
#5 San Diego State def. #13 Yale (85-57)
#6 Clemson def. #3 Baylor (72-64)
Round of 32 Highlights (Saturday)
#1 N. Carolina def. #9 Michigan State (85-69)
#2 Arizona def. #7 Daytona (78-68)
#2 Iowa State def. #7 Washington State (67-56)
#2 Tennessee def. #7 Texas (62-58)
#3 Illinois def. #11 Duquesne (89-63)
#3 Creighton def. #11 Oregon (86-73, 2OT)
#5 Gonzaga def. #4 Kansas (89-68)
#11 NC State def. #14 Oakland (79-73, OT)
Sweet 16 (Remaining Teams By Seed)
1s (4): UConn, Purdue, UNC, Houston
2s (4): Iowa State, Arizona, Marquette, Tennessee
3s (2): Creighton, Illinois
4s (2): Alabama, Duke
5s (2): Gonzaga, San Diego State
6s (1): Clemson
11s (1): NC State
Men’s NCAA Tournament Schedule
Sweet 16 Games (Thursday-Friday, Mar. 28-29)
Read More
Sporting News: Purdue Steamrolls Into Sweet 16, But Boilers Are Far From Satisfied
B/R: Creighton’s 2OT Win Over Oregon Hyped as Best Game of March Madness
ESPN: Duke Freshman Jared McCain Cans Eight 3s, Sets Team Mark as Duke Rolls
______________________________________________________________________________________
NCAAW
Women’s Tourney: Star Spotlight
Top Seeds Cruise to Women’s Sweet 16 (Half Complete), But 8 More Games on the Way Today
While the Men’s NCAA Tournament got the head start, the women’s bracket will fill out the Sweet 16 after another eight games today. Top seeds are cruising along with the exception of 2-seed Ohio State. The Buckeyes were stunned by sharpshooting 7-seed Duke on Sunday (75-63). Another 2-seed, Stanford, also got a scare from 7-seed Iowa State late last night. The Cardinal needed overtime to outlast the Cyclones (87-81, OT), and Kiki Iriafen (41 points) had the game of the tourney. And before you ask, yes. South Carolina is still perfect. Here’s a look at some of the top stars from Round 2 as well as highlights and today’s schedule.
Star Spotlight
Caitlin Clark (IOWA): 27 pts, 8 rebs, 10 asts
Paige Bueckers (CONN): 28 pts, 11 rebs, 7 asts
Juju Watkins (USC): 23 pts, 5 rebs, 4 blks
Kiki Iriafen (STAN): 41 pts, 16 rebs, 3 blks
Milaysia Fulwiley (SC): 20 pts, 9 rebs, 3 stls
Reigan Richardson (DUKE): 28 pts, 7 rebs
Round of 32 Highlights (Sunday)
#1 S. Carolina def. #8 N. Carolina (88-41)
#1 Texas def. #8 Alabama (65-54)
#2 Stanford def. #7 Iowa State (87-81, OT)
#3 LSU def. #11 Middle Tennessee (83-56)
#3 Oregon State def. #6 Nebraska (61-51)
#5 Colorado def. #4 Kansas State (63-50)
#5 Baylor def. #4 Virginia Tech (75-72)
#7 Duke def. #2 Ohio State (75-63)
Remaining Round of 32 Games (Today)
#7 Ole Miss at #2 Notre Dame (2:00 pm, ESPN)
#6 Tennessee at #3 NC State (4:00 pm, ESPN)
#6 Syracuse at #3 UConn (6:00 pm, ESPN)
#5 Oklahoma at #4 Indiana (6:30 pm, ESPN2)
#8 W. Virginia at #1 Iowa (8:00 pm, ESPN)
#7 Creighton at #2 UCLA (8:30 pm, ESPN2)
#8 Kansas at #1 USC (10:00 pm, ESPN)
#5 Utah at #4 Gonzaga (10:30 pm, ESPN2)
*All Times ET
Women’s NCAA Tournament Bracket
Women’s NCAA Tournament Schedule
Read More
AP: Kiki Iriafen Carries No. 2 Stanford With 41 Points in OT Win Over Iowa State
ESPN: Women’s March Madness: What We Learned As Duke, Baylor, Colorado Win on Road to Reach Sweet 16
______________________________________________________________________________________
SOCCER
Kings of Concacaf
Tyler Adams’ Screamer Sends USA Past Mexico (2-0) to Win 3rd Straight Concacaf Nations League Title
The 2024 Concacaf Nations League came down to North America’s best regional rivalry on Sunday night — USA and Mexico — and it did not disappoint. A somewhat even match was nil-nil just before halftime until Tyler Adams (45’) delivered an absolute heat-seeker from a mile away. Adams hadn’t started for the USMNT in over a yar, but he made his presence felt with one of the greatest goals in U.S. soccer’s recent memory. This thing was a turn-and-launch from beyond 35 yards. The U.S. struck again in the 63rd minute after Christian Pulisic made an end-line run and Gio Reyna blasted a loose ball from the 18. Mexico had a penalty-kick opportunity waived off by VAR for simulation (flopping) down the stretch, but no amount of regrouping could turn the momentum for El Tri. It’s a three-peat for the USA!
The Rivalry: The USMNT outshot Mexico (11-9, 4-2 on target) and out-possessed El Tri (53-47%) in a tightly contested match that came down to two brilliant moments. They’ll play in a pair of friendlies in June before the Copa America competition and Summer Olympics.
Watch: USA def. Mexico (2-0) to Win Concacaf Nations League Title
Read More
Yahoo! Sports: USMNT Defeats Mexico for 3rd Straight Concacaf Nations League Title
NBC Sports: WATCH: Tyler Adams Uncorks Venomous Goal to Give USMNT Lead
CBS Sports: Concacaf Nations League Final Stopped Due to Discriminatory Chanting by Mexico Fans
______________________________________________________________________________________
HIGHLIGHTS
NBA
*Giannis Antetokounmpo (30 pts, 19 rebs)
Timberwolves def. Warriors (114-110)
*GSW Lose 3 of 4, in Danger of Missing Playoffs
*Anthony Davis (36 pts, 16 rebs) Leads Shootout
*BOS Wins 9th Straight Game
*HOU Wins 8th Straight, 1 Game Back of Playoffs
NHL
Avalanche def. Penguins (5-4, OT)
*MacKinnon (1G, 2A), Avs Win 9th Straight
*Sam Reinhard (2G, 1A) Leads FLA
*Timo Meier & Jack Hughes 1G, 1A Each
PGA Tour
Peter Malnati (-12) Wins Valspar Championship
*36-Year-Old Got Huge Rules Break in Final Round, Ends 9-Year Drought Since 1st PGA Tour Win in 2015
Racing
NAS: William Byron Wins at Circuit of the Americas
F1: Carlos Sainz Jr. Takes Australian GP 16 Days After Surgery
______________________________________________________________________________________
NEWS
Titans Acquire CB L’Jarius Sneed From Chiefs for 3rd-Round Pick (CBS Sports)
Michigan Hires Florida Atlantic Coach Dusty May (Yahoo! Sports)
West Virginia to Hire Drake Coach Darian DeVries (B/R)
Referee Removed From NCAA Tournament Game Due to ‘Background Conflict’ (SI)
Patriots ‘Still Open’ to Trade Offers for No. 3 Pick in NFL Draft (ESPN)
ESPN’s Rece Davis Walks Back ‘Risk-Free’ Comment on Sports Gambling Segment (USA Today)
______________________________________________________________________________________
SCHEDULE
Today’s Must-Watch List
Women’s NCAA Tournament
NBA
Celtics at Hawks (7:30 pm ET, NBATV)
76ers at Kings (10:00 pm ET, NBATV)
NHL
Golden Knights at Blues (8:00 pm ET, NHLN)
Kings at Canucks (9:00 pm ET, ESPN+)
©2023 Media Mobilize All rights reserved