March Madness round one is officially in the books and boy did we have some exciting basketball in this NCAA tournament! Let’s take a look at all the games that took place in the midwest region, shall we?
(1) Virginia (16) Hampton
Going into the tournament, Hampton had a history as one of the teams that were known to upset the higher seeds but that didn’t seem to phase Virginia. Virginia was one of the teams to watch out for to win it all and they did not disappoint in this contest, dismantling Hampton 81-45. Anthony Hill led the way for Virginia with 19 points, 7 boards and 4 assists. Quinton Chievous had a team high 19 points for Hampton.
(8) Butler (9) Texas Tech
This was one game that should have been a bit closer than it ended up being with the final score 71-61 in Butler’s favour. Butler’s second leading scorer Kelan Martin was very quiet in the first half but Kellen Dunham picked up the slack leading Butler in points with 23. Justin Gray was Texas Tech’s best player in this game, with 10 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists.
(5) Purdue (12) Little Rock
This game had everything! From crazy baskets to crazy comebacks. Let’s just skip right to the end. With 3:33 minutes left in regulation, the game basically looked finished. Purdue was up 13 until Little Rock make the gigantic comeback. Josh Hagins nailed a 3 point shot from the edge of the half-court logo with 5 seconds left to send the game to overtime. From then on, all the way into double OT, Little Rock seemed destined to win, which they did. This game was one for the ages and probably the game of the tournament. Little Rock won the game 85-83 in double overtime.
(4) Iowa State (13) Iona
There were people who thought that this was going to be an upset game after Iowa State’s collapse last year, but Iowa State proved them wrong. From beginning to end, this game was never really close. Georges Niang and Monte Morris were almost unstoppable for Iowa State, combining for 48 points. A.J. English and Jordan Washington led the way for Iona with a staggering 54 points and 19 rebounds together, but it was still not enough to knock off Iowa State. The final score was Iowa State 94, Iona 81.
(6) Seton Hall (11) Gonzaga
This game was a very interesting one because of the fact that the lower seed was actually the favourite to win this game and Gonzaga did not disappoint. Gonzaga heavily outplayed Seton Hall in all aspects of the game, shooting 67% from the free throw line compared to Seton Hall’s 38%, making 43% of their field goals compared to Seton Hall’s 32% and 35% from the 3 point line compared to Seton Hall’s 19%. This game couldn’t have ended quicker for Seton Hall. Ouch. Gonzaga went on to win 68-52.
(3) Utah (14) Fresno State
This was another game that people had “upset” all over it but Utah would have none of that. Utah stormed to an 11 point lead at the half. Fresno State tried to claw their way back but Utah kept matching each bucket Fresno drained. There was actually a point in the game where Fresno State scored 10 straight points to take the lead but Utah made sure they did everything to get that lead back. Jakob Poeltl, Utah’s seven foot forward, lead the way with 16 points and a crazy 18 rebounds. Fresno State was not able to contain the animal at all. Marvelle Harris tried to salvage the game with a stat line of 24 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists, but it was not enough. Utah won the game 80-69.
(7) Dayton (10) Syracuse
This was actually one of my favourite games of the day because of how many people doubted Syracuse but I on the other hand had them winning. Whoever doubted Syracuse were put to shame after Syracuse trounced Dayton 70-51. The score after the first half was actually very close with Syracuse being up by only two points. The second half was a completely different story. Syracuse started the half on an incredible 20-5 run to stun Dayton who looked like they had nothing left to play for after the first half. Syracuse’s Malachi Richardson stole the show, draining shot after shot and finishing with 21 points to go along with 4 boards and 3 assists. Syracuse blew the Flyers away by a score of 70-51.
(2) Michigan State (15) Middle Tennessee
Oh boy! This game was a disaster for both Michigan State and most people’s March Madness brackets. Michigan State was picked by many to win the whole tournament but that was not the case. Michigan State did not lead this game for one second. Middle Tennessee stormed out of the gate to start the game on a 15-2 run. Michigan State made the game interesting by cutting the lead to five or less multiple times but it was just not enough to take down Middle Tennessee. MSU’s best player and maybe the best player in the tournament, Denzel Valentine, could not get things going in this one, scoring just 13 points with a porous 38.5 field goal percentage. All five of Middle Tennessee’s starters scored double digits with Reggie Upshaw leading the way with 21 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Middle Tennessee won the game 90-81.
