by Joseph Landini
High Heat Network
The "second" round of the NCAA Tournament is now complete, here is a look back at the day 2 events.
West Region
(4) Texas 84, (13) Oakland 81- Despite all the hype of how Oakland is an older team, who can make this upset happen, they simply could not get the job done. Keith Benson was tamed by Texas' Tristan Thompson, as the freshmen outplayed him by scoring 17 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and blocking 6 shots. Jordan Hamilton led the longhorns with 19, while Reggie Hamilton led all scorers with 25 for the Golden Grizz.
(8) Michigan 75, (9) Tennessee 45- This may have been coach Bruce Pearl's last game as coach of the Vols. The distractions off the court may have been too much for Tennessee this year as they're roller coaster years comes to a crashing close. Five Wolverines scored in double digits, while only Tobias Harris scored above 6 points with 19.
(5) Arizona 77, (12) Memphis 75- Derrick Williams 22 and Lamont Jones's 18 leads Arizona past the feisty and young Memphis Tigers club. Despite a strong effort and speed by Will and Antonio Barton, Williams was able to block a last second shot to earn the victory in the West region.
(1) Duke 87, (16) Hampton 45- Kyrie Irving scored 14 in his return to the Duke rotation as they blow out Hampton. Seth Curry and Nolan Smith each had quiet afternoon's with 9 each, but the Blue Devils now go on.
Southwest Region
(2) Notre Dame 69, (15) Akron 56- Despite a poor shooting day for one of the Big East's elite players, Ben Hansbrough played a role like Kemba Walker did for UConn last night. He dished the ball and made the right decisions by trusting his teammates. Notre Dame's defense stifled the Zips as only one scorer reached doubled digits. Tim Abromaitis chipped in for Notre Dame with 14.
(10) Florida St 57, (7) Texas A+M 50- Florida State picks up there first tournament win since 1998, as the Seminoles pull off the upset. Derwin Kitchen led them with 15 points to go along with his 7 rebounds. Chris Singleton returned to the Florida State rotation, but struggled in the victory.
(1) Kansas 72, (16) Boston University 53- Boston University could not bring the first 16 seed to beat a 1 as we officially will have to wait another year to see if this can happen. The Morris brothers for Kansas combined for 31 points, while Brady Morningstar chipped in 13. Kansas will play the winner of UNLV/ILL.
(3) Purdue 65, (14) St. Peters 43- Despite a great run in the MAAC to get into the tournament, St. Peters never showed up for it. The experience of E'Twuan Moore and JaJuan Johnson was way too much, as Purdue continues strong tournament play stemming back to last year.
(9) Illinois 73, (8) UNLV 62- No more gambling for Las Vegas Nevada this year. Behind the strong play in the front court by Mike Davis, the Illini succeeds over UNLV. Davis scored 22, while Demetri Mcamey chipped in 17. Next for the Illini, a date with the Morris brothers and KANSAS.
(11) VCU 74, (6) Georgetown 56- VCU deserved to be in the tournament after all. VCU defeats another Big East representative, as Georgetown could not find theyre offense even with guard Chris Wright in the lineup. VCU moves on.
East Region
(8) George Mason 61, (9) Villanova 57- George Mason ends the game on an 13-3 run, as they make the statement that they are back in the NCAA Tournament for a reason. Villanova's season ends in the free fall as they lose their last 6 games of the season. This game was a tale of two halves, as Nova seemed to be rolling in the first half with Corey x2 (Fisher and Stokes) were hitting every shot it seemed like. In the second half they were absent, meaning Villanova goes back to Philadelphia empty handed.
(1) Ohio State 75, (16) UT San Antonio 46- Ohio State dominated through and through. William Buford scored 18 in the winning effort, while Jared Sullinger missed a double double by one rebound (11 points 9 rebounds).
(2) North Carolina 102, (15) Long Island 87- Despite Carolina having the lead the majority of the game, Long Island gave a great fight in this 2/15 match up. Three North Carolina players scored over 20 points in the win (Tyler Zeller 32, John Henson 28, Harrison Barnes 24). For Long Island, Julian Boyd scored 18 points in the losing effort.
(11)Marquette 66, (6) Xavier 55- Marquette makes a statement in this game, as they hold a large lead most of the way. Holding Tu Holloway to 5 points, Marquette played a solid game, and showed the rest of the tournament how good their defense can be. Darius Johnson-Odom scores 19 in the winning effort.
(7) Washington 68, (10) Georgia 65- Despite a very late run by Georgia, Washington continues to fuel the engine as they defeat the Bulldogs. Washington finally wins a tournament game in the state of North Carolina. Bench scoring was a major factor as Georgia did not have a player score off the bench, while Washington dialed in 27. Isiah Thomas stole the show again with 19 points and 7 assists.
(4) Syracuse 77, (14) Indiana State 60- Rick Jackson played like a NBA type front court player tonight in the winning effort. Indiana St stood tall for a while, giving Cuse a run for their money, but the Orange were too much. Syracuse will go on to play fellow Big East rival Marquette in the next round.
Check back tomorrow for a recap on Saturday's action.
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