With Day One in the Books, the 2016 NCAA Tournament is Going to be a Wild Ride
The first night of the 2016 NCAA Tournament is over and it’s proving that this years tournament isn’t going to be one for the faint heart. Upsets have already happened and basketball fans can feel that there are more brewing within the next few days.
The Kentucky Wildcats pulled out the win and will face the Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday
In case you missed it, here is a recap of day one of the 2016 NCAA Tournament:
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- 4 Kentucky vs 13 Stony Brook-At first, this game looked like it was going to be ugly…really ugly. Nothing was falling for either team and rebounds were basically nonexistent. However, once the Kentucky Wildcats put their foot on the gas, the Stony Brook Seawolves had no chance. Tyler Ulis broke John Wall’s record for assists in a single season and the Kentucky Wildcats set a school and NCAA Tournament record with 16 blocked shots in a single game. The Wildcats ultimately picked up the 85-57 win and are slated to take on the Indiana Hoosiers.
- 4 Duke vs 13 UNC Wilmington-UNC Wilmington lead Duke at the half 43-40 and ultimately kept up with the Blue Devils for most of the game. Up until the last few minutes, it looked like the Seahawks could take it down to the wire, but Miles Plume had other ideas and lead the Blue Devils to the 85-93 win.
- 9 Connecticut vs 8 Colorado-Upset city. The Connecticut Huskies squeaked out a 74-67 win against the Colorado Buffalos. The Buffalos held a 36-27 lead at halftime and looked to have the game won, but the Huskies were relentless and snuck out the win. The Huskies are quite scary in March.
- 9 Butler vs 8 Texas Tech-Talk about a bad day to have an off game. The Texas Tech Red Raiders never looked to have much control in the game and the Butler Bulldogs took complete advantage of that. Butler, a team that everyone knows can be a threat in March only led the Red Raiders by two at the half, but pulled out a 71-61 win over Tubby Smith’s team. I really felt a run within the fighting Tubby Smith’s, maybe next year.
- 13 Iona vs 4 Iowa State-Iona gave it all they could, but ultimately the Iowa State Cyclones prevailed with a 94-81 win.
- 12 Yale vs 5 Baylor-Well, well, well, let’s talk about a REAL upset. The Baylor Bears season came to an abrupt end when the Yale Bulldogs took the 79-75 win. The game came down to the wire, but the Bulldogs never backed down and were able to wear down the Bears and march on to the second round.
- 12 Chattanooga vs 5 Indiana-The Indiana Hoosiers started and never looked back. Chattanooga scored 37 points in both halves against the Hoosiers, but the Hoosiers prevailed by scored 46 and 53 for the 74-99. Yogi Ferrell continues to show why he’s a vital part of his Hoosiers team.
- 14 Fresno State vs 3 Utah-Fresno State tried, but the Utah Utes proved to be too much to handle. The Bulldogs fell to the Utes 80-69, sending the Utes to the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
- 12 Arkansas-Little Rock vs 5 Purdue-It makes me sad to even talk about this game. I had faith in the Purdue Boilermakers, especially after them taking the Michigan State Spartans down to the wire in the Big 10 tournament, but the Trojans and their three-point shooting proved to be too much for the Boilermakers to handle. The Trojans, in douvle-overtime, pulled out the close 85-83 win.
- 14 Buffalo vs 3 Miami-This was another upset waiting to happen if the Miami Hurricanes didn’t get themselves together at the end. Ultimately they were able to pull out the 79-72 win against Buffalo. I had big faith in the Miami Hurricanes in my bracket, now I am starting to wonder.
- 16 Hampton vs 1 Virginia-It was a runaway from the beginning. The Virginia Cavaliers ran and never looked back, pulling out the 81-45 win over Hampton.
- 16 Florida Gulf Coast vs 1 North Carolina-It looked like Florida Gulf Coast was going to give the North Carolina Tarheels a run for their money, they kept up with the Tarheels for a majority of the game, but as they wore down, the Tarheels took full advantage and picked up the 83-67 win. However, it did make me feel better about the chance that North Carolina may not make it to the Final Four.
- 16 Austin Peay vs 1 Kansas-Similar to the Virginia game, the Kansas Jayhawks started their ignition and never looked back. Up 20 at the half, the picked up the 105-79 win easily.
- 11 Wichita State vs 6 Arizona-If you had to guess which team wanted this win more, all you had to do was watch a few seconds of the game. The Wichita State shockers sure shocked the Arizona Wildcats when they had a 31-19 lead at the half. After having to play the Vanderbilt Commodores for a chance to play in the NCAA Tournament, the Shockers wanted to prove they more than deserved to be in the tournament. The Wildcats looked like high schoolers on the court, constant turnovers and empty possessions. The Shockers pulled out an easy 65-55 win over the Wildcats.
- 9 Providence vs 8 USC-It took a last second shot, but the Providence Friars picked up the 70-69 win over the USC Trojans. It was a close game for the full 40 minutes but it looked like the Trojans were going to walk away with the win, but the Friars had other plans.
- 11 Gonzaga vs 6 Seton Hall-Gonzaga took the lead and never looked back, they pulled away to win 68-52. They may have struggled some this season, but the Bulldogs have what it takes to make quite a run in the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
I don’t know about you, but am excited for this tournament.