Welcome back to our coverage of the 2016 NCAA Tournament. Here’s a recap of how the second round played out in the East region.
PNC Arena, Raleigh, North Carolina
No 9 Providence 66 No 1 North Carolina 85
After a close first half, UNC used a strong second half to advance to the sweet 16 for the 33rd time. National Player of the Year candidate Brice Johnson netted 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. recording his 21st double-double of the season. UNC improved to 53-10 as a No.1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. UNC Guard Joel Berry 11 netted 15 points. Providence duo Kris Dunn and Ben Bentil combined for 50 points. Only one other Providence player scored more than 2 points. The Tar Heels finished 19-of-21 from the free throw line.
Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa
No 4 Kentucky 67 No 5 Indiana 73
In what could be the best game in the second round of the 2016 NCAA tournament, Indiana escaped the Kentucky Wildcats. It was Indiana’s seventh win in eight games. The wildcats failed to reach the sweet 16 for the first time since 2008. The victory moved the Hoosiers within one win from their first Elite Eight appearance since 2002. The loss was Kentucky coach John Calipari first in the round of 32 at Kentucky. Indiana improved to 17-1 when holding their opponents to fewer than 70 points. Jamal Murray and Tyler Ulis combined for 43 points while going 17-for-38 shooting. Hoosiers guard Yogi Ferrell netted 18 points, grabbed five rebounds. It was his 21st double-digit scoring effort in the last 22 games. The Hoosiers improved to 2-3 all-time in the NCAA Tournament vs Kentucky.
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.
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.
