Still Dancing!

03/24/2023

By: Jeff Yoder

Half of Elite 8 Locked as #3 Kansas State, #3 Gonzaga, #4 UConn & #9 Florida Atlantic Advance

Maxed out madness! If you went to bed early, you missed another instant classic UCLA-Gonzaga showdown in March, complete with alternating 3s in the final 12 seconds. That frenetic finish came after K-State and Michigan State needed overtime. UConn throttled Arkansas. Florida Atlantic made history. Half of the Elite 8 is now set, and the other half is soon to follow. Here’s what happened last night:

#3 Kansas State def. #7 Michigan State (98-93, OT)

The first game of the Sweet 16 was nothing short of spectacular, and possibly the game of the tournament thus far. Kansas State and Michigan State lit up the scoreboard with 24 combined 3s, both shooting near or above 50 percent. A late rally by K-State gave the Wildcats a five-point lead down the stretch, but MSU got a tip-in and a layup in the final two possessions to force overtime (82-82). The Spartans led deep into OT (90-88), but K-State scored 10 points in the final two minutes, finishing with a steal and a game-sealing layup by Markquis Nowell (98-93, OT). MSU’s A.J. Hoggard had a game-high 25 points, but Nowell (20 points, 19 assists) broke the NCAA Tournament record for most assists in a game. Keyontae Johnson (22 points) also led a host of six Wildcats in double figures. Kansas State will make their fourth Elite 8 appearance, but they’ve never reached the Final Four. They lost to No. 11 Loyola-Chicago (2018) and No. 5 Butler (2010) in their last two trips to the next round.

#4 UConn def. #8 Arkansas (88-65)

Game 2 on Thursday had a different tone than Game 1. Blistering-hot UConn put Arkansas to bed early thanks to a 19-4 run in the first half. The Huskies led by as much as 29 before emptying the bench late in the game. Arkansas shot below 32 percent while UConn fired at a 57 percent clip. Jordan Hawkins had a game-high 24 points for UConn, and the Huskies have the second-highest average margin of victory of any team left in the tournament behind Alabama (20.6 points per game). Connecticut is making its 11th Elite 8 appearance. And while that seems like a lot, this will be their first in nine years. The last time UConn went this far (2014), they beat Michigan State, Kentucky, and Florida to win it all.

#9 Florida Atlantic def. #4 Tennessee (62-55)

The Owls keep flying! The second game of the night in the East Region featured a second-half comeback by everyone’s favorite sleeper. Florida Atlantic fell behind by as many as nine in the first half to Tennessee, but an 18-2 run over six minutes in the middle of the second half flipped the scoreboard. The Owls took a 10-point lead with just over five minutes to play and didn’t let up. FAU’s Johnell Davis had a game-high 15 points by getting to the free-throw line while the Vols couldn’t buy a bucket in the second half. It’s FAU’s first-ever trip to the Elite 8 in just their second NCAA Tournament appearance. They’ll get K-State on Saturday in a high-octane shootout.

#3 Gonzaga def. #2 UCLA (79-76)

The rematch lived up to the hype! Basketball fans certainly remember that iconic clash in the Final Four from 2021 where Jalen Suggs sunk the Bruins with a bank heave for the win (93-90). In Round 2 on Thursday, it was nothing short of another Gonzaga-UCLA thriller. The Zags erased a 13-point halftime deficit to take control late, but UCLA didn’t go quietly. With Gonzaga leading by 10 with 2:30 to play (72-62), the Bruins scrambled to extend the game and eventually pulled within two (75-73). Amari Bailey knocked down the go-ahead 3 for UCLA with just 12 seconds left (76-75), and it looked like the Bruins might have salvaged revenge. Not so… Gonzaga’s Julian Strawther (16 points, 10 rebounds) pulled up from the logo and buried the shot of the tournament to put Gonzaga in the Elite 8. It’s the Zags’ sixth Elite 8 and fifth in the last eight years. They’ve yet to win it all. Is this the year for Mark Few and company?