Day Four Recap of The 2016 NCAA MBB Tournament

Sunday, March 20th, 2016

Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York

.No 7 Iowa 68

.No 2 Villanova 87

Villanova cruised to a second round victory. Iowa was knocked out in the second round for the second consecutive year. Four Villanova players finished with double figures. Guard Josh Hart led the way with a game-high 19 points. The Wildcats shot 59.3 percent from the field and 10-of-19 from 3-point range. Iowa forward Jarrod Uthoff netted 16 points in the loss. The Wildcats advanced past the second round for the first time since 2009.

Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York

.No 14 Stephen F. Austin 75

.No 6   Notre Dame 76

Notre Dame guard Rex Pflueger scored a game-winning tip-in shot with 1.5 seconds left in the game to keep The Fighting Irish in the NCAA Tournament. Pflueger’s basket was his only one of the day. Thomas Walkup netted 21 points and grabbed five rebounds. Notre Dame shot 56.9 percent from the field. The Fighting Irish is back in the sweet 16 for the second consecutive year.

Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

.No 10 VCU 81

.No 2 Oklahoma 85

.No 2 seed Oklahoma survived a gritty effort by VCU. VDU failed to move past the second round for the fifth straight season. Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield scored just seven points in the first half but finished the game with 36 points. He netted six 3-pointers on route to his 11th 30-point performance. VCU guard netted 22 points and grabbed four rebounds in the loss. Six of VCU’s last eight losses in the NCAA tournament have been by 5 points or fewer.

Scottrade Center, St. Louis, Missouri

.No 15 Middle Tennessee 50

.No 10 Syracuse 75

Syracuse knocked out the lowest remaining seed in the tournament. The Orange has earned a spot in the sweet 16 for the first time since reaching the Final Four in 2013. Syracuse guard Michael Gbinije led the team with 23 points while shooting 10-of-24 from the field. The Orange shot 55.1 percent from the field. Syracuse committed only nine fouls. Only one Middle Tennessee player scored in double figures. Syracuse outscored Middle Tennessee 30-8 over a 12-minute second-half span.

Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, Spokane, Washington

.No 13 Hawaii 60

.No 5   Maryland 73

Maryland advanced to the sweet 16 for the first time since 2003 with the win. Hawaii was trying to become the first Big West team to reach the sweet 16 since 1992. Maryland guard Melo Trimble netted 24 points, grabbed eight rebounds and finished 13-for-14 from the free-throw line. Maryland improved to 12-0 all-time in the NCAA tournament against teamed seeded 13th or lower. Hawaii forward Michael Thomas netted 19 points and 11 rebounds in the loss.

Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

.No 11 UNI 88

.No 3 Texas A&M 92

It took two overtimes to get the job done, but Texas A&M edged upset-minded UNI. A&M guard Danuel House netted 22 points in the win. Jeremy Morgan led UNI with a Career-high 36 points and grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds. Northern Iowa had 13 turnovers in the game. House’s bank shot with 55 seconds left in the second overtime was the final field goal for either team.

Scott Trade Center, St. Louis, Missouri

.No 2 Xavier 63

.No 7 Wisconsin 66

Wisconsin stunned.No 2 seed Xavier on a buzzer-beating 3-point shot by Bronson Koenig. The guard finished the game with 20 points and six 3-pointers. Wisconsin improved to 7-3 in the second round since 2005. Of Xavier’s last seven NCAA tournament losses, five have come by five points or fewer. Badgers leading scorer Nigel Hayes finished with just six points and 2-of-10 from the field. Xavier forward Jalen Reynolds netted 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds.

Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, Spokane, Washington

.No 8 Saint Joseph’s 64

.No 1 Oregon 69

The Ducks held off a fight from the eight-seed Saint Joe’s. Oregon is the Pac-12’s last standing team in the tournament. The Ducks tied a school record with their 30th win of the season. Ducks Forward Dillon Brooks netted a game-high 25 points while going 7-of-13 from the field. Forward Elgin Cook netted 18 points for the Ducks.

Day Two of the 2016 NCAA MBB Tournament

Syracuse 70, Dayton 51

After a close first half, the 10th-seeded Syracuse ran away with the game in the second half. Syracuse began the second half on a 26-5 run. Dayton was held to just 32.1 percent shooting. Tyler Landon netted 14 points off the bench for Syracuse. Malachi Richardson led Syracuse with 21 points while shooting 5-of-12 from the field and 8-of-9 at the free-throw line. Syracuse will play Middle Tennessee State in the second round.

Villanova 86, UNC Asheville 56

Villanova made bracket owners day a little easier. Villanova ended the first-half on a 16-4 run and outscored the Bulldogs 46-30 in the second half. Villanova were 13-of-29 from 3-point range. Daniel Ochefu had a double-double for the wildcats. He netted 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Villanova will face Iowa in the second round.

VCU 75, Oregon State 67

Oregon States first NCAA tournament appearance since 1990 was short lived. VCU snapped a three-game losing streak in the tournament. Lewis led VCU with 21 points and grabbed seven rebounds. He also had a team-high eight assists in the win. Aloe-Cox also netted 20 points for VCU.

Hawaii 77, California 66

The Warriors earned their first-ever NCAA Tournament victory. Hawaii guard Roderick Bobbitt led Hawaii with seven rebounds and netted 17 points. California committed 16 turnovers in the game. Golden Bears guard Jordan Matthews had a game-high 23 points. Forward Ivan Rabb had a double-double.

Middle Tennessee 90, Michigan State 81

In perhaps one of the biggest upsets in NCAA tournament history, Middle Tennessee stunned.No 2 seed Michigan State. Middle Tennessee became just the eight 15 seed to defeat a two seed. It was the first NCAA tournament win since 1989 for the Blue Raiders. Reggie Upshaw led Middle Tennessee with 21 points and shot 8-of-14 from the field. Blue Raider starters all scored in the double figures. Middle Tennessee will play Syracuse in the next round.

Iowa 72, Temple 70

A last-second tip in by the Hawkeyes gave the .No. 7 seed Iowa an overtime win. It was the second game in the tournament to go into overtime. Iowa forward Jarrod Uthoff led the team with 23 points. He was just 7-of-21 from the field but netted 7-of-8 free throws. Peter Jok netted  16 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Iowa will play Villanova in the second round.

Oklahoma 82, CSU Bakersfield 82

The Sooners survived a scare. Bakersfield held a lead in the second half but hit only one of their last 10 field goals. Oklahoma guard Buddy Hield netted a game-high 27 points and hit 8-of-14 field goals. The Sooners finished the game with a 13-3 run. Oklahoma will play VCU in the next round.

Maryland 79, South Dakota St. 74

SDSU gave Maryland a scare. Maryland didn’t seal the game until the final seconds. South Dakota State outscored Maryland 28-15 in the final 8:49 but still came up short. Terrapins forward Jake Layman netted 27 points, hitting 7-of-11 field goals. He was also 8-of-8 from the free throw line. Maryland has won its first round game in 12 consecutive NCAA trips. Maryland will play Hawaii in the second round.

Wisconsin 47, Pittsburgh 43

In what possibly be the lowest scoring game of the tournament. .No 7 Wisconsin escaped.No 10 Pittsburgh. Badger forward Ethan Happ led all scorers with 15 points and grabbed 9 rebounds. He was 6-of-8 from the field. Both teams shot less than 40 percent from the field. Pittsburgh had a chance to take the lead in closing seconds.

Stephen F. Austin 70, West Virginia 56

It’s been the day of upsets, and Stephen F. Austin didn’t disappoint. SFA Guard/Forward Thomas Walkup had a game for the ages. He netted 33 points. He was just 6-of-15 from the field but was 19-20 from the free throw line. SFA was 29-of-39 from the free thrown line. Forward Clide Geffrard netted 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds.

Texas A & M 92, Green Bay 65

The Aggies was dominant in the second half to put away.No 14 Green Bay. Daniel House netted 20 points and was 8-of-12 from the field. A & M spoiled Green Bay’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1996.  The Aggies shot 56.1 percent from the field. A & M outrebounded Green Bay by a 45-25 margin.

Oregon 91, Holy Cross 52

Oregon crushed their way to victory. Duck forward Chris Boucher led Oregon with 20 points and was 8-of-12 from the field. Four Oregon players scored double figures. The Shot an amazing 55.7 from the field. They also outrebounded Holy Cross 42-26. Holy Cross guard Robert Champion had 22 points and was 8-of-14 from the field in the loss.

Xavier 71, Weber State 53

The win allows the Musketeers to move within one game of their sixth sweet sixteen appearances since 2008. Xavier is 9-3 in opening round NCAA tournament games since 2002. X forward James Farr scored 18 points off the bench and grabbed 15 rebounds. Xavier shot 50 percent (7-of14) from beyond the arc.

UNI 75, Texas 72

UNI stunned Texas on a half court shot that Northern Iowa’s Paul Jespersen banked in as time expired. Both teams combined 43 3-point shots, hitting 17.  Five UNI players finished in double figures, guard Wes Washpan led the way with 17. Jeremy Morgan added 16. UNI has won back-to-back games on last-second shots.

Notre Dame 70, Michigan 63

Notre Dame bounced back in the second half to hold of the wolverines. Michigan failed to advance beyond the first round for just the fifth time in 26 appearances. V.J. Beachem led the Fighting Irish with 18 points on 7-of-7 shooting. The Irish snapped a 13-game losing streak while trailing at halftime in the NCAA Tournament. Notre Dame forward recorded his 20th double-double of the season.

Saint Joe’s 78, Cincinnati 76

In what was one of the greatest games of the 1st round, The Hawks fended off.No 8 seed Cincinnati. The Bearcats appeared to hit a buzzer-beating dunk to send the game into overtime, but upon review, the dunk did not count. Hawks Forward DeAndre Bembry netted 25 points, six rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals. Cincinnati forward Jacob Evans netted a career-high 26 points. He was 10-of-20 from the field while going 5-of-9 from beyond the arc.

Day Two 2016 Tournament schedule