After four long days of waiting, March Madness has finally returned for the Sweet 16! This round brought us many fun matchups, with the higher seed coming out on top in every game. Let’s jump right into the Midwest Region.
(1) Virginia vs (4) Iowa State
It was a struggle for number four seed Iowa State to score early on in this contest. Virginia jumped out to a quick 19-5 lead just seven minutes into the game, having three triples to that point. Going into halftime, Virginia led 45-31, providing the fans with a very offensive and entertaining first half. Georges Niang, Iowa State’s best offensive player, got into foul trouble late in the first half. This carried over into the second with Niang sitting out for a number of minutes. He was, however, Iowa State’s best player as he normally is, compiling 30 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. It was not enough as his Cyclones ended up getting trounced 84-71. This was probably his last game in a college uniform and he is likely finishing his career as the second leading scorer in Iowa State history. A pretty impressive final performance to go out on. Anthony Gill was the main catalyst for Virginia in this one, compiling a very impressive stat line with 23 points, 8 rebounds, along with 2 steals and a block. Up next for Virginia, a date in the Elite 8 with the pesky Orange crew and their legendary coach from Syracuse.
(10) Syracuse vs (11) Gonzaga
To everyone’s surprise, these two teams made the Sweet 16. Both being lower seeds, they dismantled the two teams that they had played before facing one another. Neither of the teams disappointed in this one, as this was the game of the Sweet 16 and one of the games of the tournament. Gonzaga stormed out of the gate going on an 18-8 run to start the game. Syracuse quickly picked up the pace and found themselves trailing at halftime by only one. Syracuse started right where they left off after the first half, going on a 6-0 run to start the second. Gonzaga took the lead soon after but most of the half was a back and forth affair. Finally, with 22 seconds left in the game, Michael Gbinije made the go ahead shot and Syracuse never looked back. Gbinije was Syracuse’s most efficient player of the night, scoring 20 points while Domantas Sabonis was as good as ever for Gonzaga, scoring 19 points and 17 rebounds in the loss. Most people wrote off Syracuse in this round because of how badly they matched up against Gonzaga’s defense. That did not seem to phase them, as most people had them written off before the tournament even started. They are now on to the Elite 8 where they go on to face their toughest task in Virginia.
