March Madness, Day 2: Afternoon edition
I'm sending out three emails today. One, recapping yesterday's games, you've already gotten.
The one you're getting now covers Friday's afternoon games, for both the men's and women's tournament. I'll send one out tonight, after all the games are done, covering the evening games.
That email will also preview the second round games for both Saturday and Sunday. I'll then send out another email Sunday evening recapping the weekend's events.
Why? I'll be spending the weekend with my partner hanging out; we'll be watching games, but I'm a firm believer in being present in the moment with folks, so that's what I'll be doing.
Reminder: the men play on a Thursday/Friday schedule, with second round games on Saturday and Sunday. The women play Friday/Saturday, with second round games on Sunday and Monday.
And I haven't even gotten to the NIT! Those second round games are also happening Saturday and Sunday, and the women's NIT is also happening! Truly, we are awash in post-season college basketball. Don't get me started on the CIT and CBI, folks.
OK, onward with the games, going in the order in which they played.
North Carolina 59, Michigan State 56 (Women's): A classic first round street fight. This game went a bit back and forth, but the Tar Heels held on for the win. I had the Spartans winning this game, so my women's bracket is off to a great start, sigh. North Carolina plays the winner of South Carolina-Presbyterian on Sunday.
Ohio State 80, Maine 57 (Women's): Yeah, this was a blowout. The Buckeyes thoroughly dominated this game from start to finish. South Carolina is the current hegemonic power in women's ball, but Ohio State is a not-quite dark horse to win it, and games like this are evidence why. Maine were game opponents, but they were overmatched.
Baylor 92, Colgate 67 (Men's): This was never close. Baylor aren't the dominant team they were in 2021, but they're still plenty good and could make the Final Four out of the West Region. Colgate's record (25-9) might've lulled you into thinking they had a shot, but they flattered to deceive.
Northwestern 77, Florida Atlantic 65 (OT)(Men's): Northwestern had this game on lock, then they went cold and choked up a double-digit lead before forcing overtime on a drive. Then they roasted the Owls in OT to get the dubious prize of playing UConn on Sunday (assuming the Huskies win, which...c'mon). Anyway, FAU now has an interesting off-season. Lots of their players will return, but will Dusty May be around to coach them? It's hard to imagine that he'll be around next season, given how many major programs are interested in him.
Middle Tennessee State 71, Louisville 69 (W): So much for the Hailey Van Lith Classic! MTSU trailed for much of this game, but came up clutch in the last few minutes of the game to pull off an upset many folks (myself including!) saw coming. Not the greatest game, but it was plenty tense.
South Carolina 91, Presbyterian 39 (W): One reason why folks are tuning into women's hoops is that you don't see brutal wipeouts like this as often. South Carolina simply destroyed Presbyterian; just a profoundly uncompetitive game from start to finish. They'll play North Carolina Sunday.
San Diego State 69, UAB 65 (M): This game got spicy late, after the Aztecs piled up a comfortable lead. Lots of folks picked this as a potential upset, but I wasn't as convinced; SDSU were game in playing UConn in the final last year, and this year's team is solid. The Blazers made it interesting, though, so full credit to them.
Marquette 87, Western Kentucky 69 (M): For about 30 minutes, the Hilltoppers hung tough. They blew Marquette away to close out the first half, and for a moment, you could imagine seeing WKU pulling off an epic 2-15 upset. Then the Golden Eagles started clicking, and that was that.
Duke 72, Richmond 61 (W): Another scrappy game. I picked the Spiders to pull the mild upset, but the Blue Devils played solid ball and won going away. As a long-time Duke antagonist, I was rooting for Richmond, but they never really looked like they were likely to nick this win. Duke will play Ohio State on Sunday.
Texas 82, Drexel 42 (W): The Longhorns got their tournament off to a roaring start here. Drexel was simply overmatched here, and never made the game competitive. I've got Texas on a second-ish tier of title contenders for the NCAA women's crown, along with a few others. Like South Carolina-Presbyterian, this wasn't a game that told you anything about Texas' quality as a team beyond what you already knew.
UConn 91, Stetson 52 (M): The only thing you need to know about this game is that at one point, the Huskies were leading 50-15. UConn will play Northwestern Sunday; they will almost certainly beat the Wildcats, soundly. But, hey, you never know.
On second thought: nah.
Clemson 77, New Mexico 56 (M): Man, I was really pulling for the Lobos, especially after reading this Athletic long-read on them. They're coached by Richard Pitino, Rick's son, who flamed out at Minnesota (low-key a basketball graveyard for coaches). It's such an interesting team. I really thought they had potential to make some noise, because I thought they were under-seeded. Instead, Clemson routed them. The Tigers played smart, and led basically the entire game. They'll play Baylor on Sunday.
Virginia Tech 92, Marshall 49 (W): Another blowout. I thought Marshall had a slight shot here, but the Hokies absolutely boat-raced them. Just an ugly game from start to finish. That's all I got. I think Virginia Tech can make some noise in this tournament, but should they make the Sweet 16, they'll likely be playing Southern Cal, and I don't see them beating USC.
LSU 70, Rice 60 (W): For a long, long minute, I thought Rice was gonna pull off an all-time shocker. But LSU's talent won out, so they'll live another day. But they can be got.
Two excellent games close out the day session.
The last 30 minutes of the day games were about as good as it gets for NCAA tournament games.
Colorado 102, Florida 100 (M): The Buffs got out to a solid lead; they were running away with this one 92-79 with 4:49 left. Then the Gators went on a 21-8 run to tie the game with 11 seconds left, on an ice-cold Walter Clayton, Jr. three. But they left too much time for Colorado; K.J. Simpson nailed a long two with two seconds left, and that was that.
Yale 78, Auburn 76 (M): A complete shocker. Auburn came into this game as a dark-horse Final Four contender, off winning the SEC tournament. No one gave Yale a shot here; I didn't. But the Bulldogs played the Tigers straight up all game long, and eventually, Auburn's weakness at guard told the difference. But man, what a tense finish. Yale will play San Diego State for a shot at the Sweet 16.
OK, see y'all later with the night games.