Auburn-ed

Another notch in the SEC's no-so-great tournament. But for Yale and the Ivy League? This is getting to be normal. Plus, two 12 seeds win, Purdue shakes off the first-round jitters, and we had plenty of offense, including two historic results.

Author

Mike Miller
March 23, 2024

Well, how’s your bracket? We haven’t had so much NCAA Tournament carnage that everything’s in shambles quite yet (apologies to Kentucky and Auburn backers). But there’s still time.

Let's get to Friday’s news.

The tournament’s just fine, thanks

NCAA Tournament expansion might seem inevitable, but a note for folks who pull the levers: People love the Big Dance. Tourney viewership across TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV for Thursday’s opening round had its best viewership since 2015, averaging 8.5 million viewers.

But sure. Mess with the format. I’m sure it can only be improved. The SEC and Mountain West might not mind.

  • The SEC is 3-5 thus far, and was on the wrong end of the biggest upsets thus far.

  • After 6 bids, Utah State and San Diego State are the only MWC teams still around, a continuation of the league’s struggles. It’s just 12-25 since 2013, and five of those came during the Aztecs’ run to the 2023 title game.

Maybe they should study what Ivy teams are doing. Its teams are now 8-12 in the Big Dance since 2010, all coming against teams ranked seven or more seeds higher. The latest was Friday’s biggest upset.

East Region: Yale keeps its cool in Auburn stunner

UConn Dan Hurley wasn’t happy with his team’s performance at halftime — when it led Stetson 52-19. One can only imagine what he would’ve said about Auburn.

Biggest upset: Yale 78, Auburn 76

Where to begin? With John Poulakidas, who hit 6 3-pointers and scored 28 points, including a massive bucket with just over two minutes left? Should I mention the game-altering flagrant 2 foul called on Auburn’s Chad Baker-Mazara (which coach Bruce Pearl said was the correct call)?

Why don’t I just keep it simple and note that Yale (23-9) not only rallied from 10 points down — hit those free throws! — it gave the Ivy League a team in the second round for the second-straight year. For it to happen, Auburn (27-8) missed four shots and three free throws in the final 30 seconds. The final possession was a frenzy.

"This has nothing to do with us not taking them seriously,” Bruce Pearl said. “They outplayed us."

Best game: Northwestern 77, FAU 65 (OT)

The Wildcats (22-11) led by as many as nine in the second half until FAU (25-9) held them scoreless for nearly the final five minutes of regulation (not to mention some help from a flagrant foul). Johnell Davis (18 points) put the Owls ahead with a driving basket, but Brooks Barnhizer finally ended the scoring drought. Davis had a chance to win it, until he decided to ease up on the gas.

Northwestern owned OT, and improved to 3-0 in its opening game of the NCAA tourney, all since 2017 under coach Chris Collins.

Star turn: Does the name Ryan Langborg sound familiar? A year after he averaged 18.6 ppg in Princeton’s Sweet 16 run, his sweet shooting boosted a different program to a win. Northwestern’s 6-4 senior guard scored a career-high 27 points, including 12 in OT. “Man, he was balling today,” said teammate Boo Buie. Langborg’s just the second player to score at least 25 points for different schools.

Scores

  • (1) UConn 91, (16) Stetson 52

  • (5) San Diego State 69, (12) UAB 65

  • (9) Northwestern 77, (8) FAU 65 (OT)

  • (13) Yale 78, (4) Auburn 76

They said it: “If I didn’t give [Jaedon LeDee] the ball, I wouldn’t be a very good coach. Sometimes coaching is easier than it looks.”

SDSU coach Brian Dutcher, on LeDee’s 32 points and 8 rebounds.

What’s next: After playing in the 2023 championship game, UConn and SDSU might be on a collision course in the Sweet 16. But Sunday’s Round of 32 is first. The Huskies (32-3) have to play Northwestern (22-11), while SDSU (25-10) plays Yale (23-9).

Midwest Region: Purdue exhales in relief

Utah State salvaged some Mountain West respect by running away from TCU, but this is the rare time a 1-seed’s seed was the top storyline.

Most notable result: Purdue 78, Grambling 50

If Zach Edey’s gonna play like this, the Boilermakers won’t be going home for a while.

Purdue’s senior big man — and likely two-time NPOY — went for 30 points, 21 rebounds and 3 blocks in a 78-50 win over 16-seed Grambling. If you think Purdue was thinking about what happened last season, you’d be right. But they put those first-round demons to bed with a dominant game.

“Anytime you have adversity, it can make you stronger. I think [last year] made us more mentally tough as a team,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “We’ve been challenged. We’ve been playing. But we know this is what we get judged on.”

Purdue played through Edey all game. Its other starters were a combined 14-of-30 from the field, though Braden Smith finished with more assists (11) than field-goal attempts (10).

Star turn: Who else? Edey became the first player with 30 points and 20 rebounds in an NCAA tourney game since Joe Smith in 1995. This also marks the second consecutive tourney game where he had at least 21 and 15 since Antonio McDyess … in the same year as Smith. (Huh.)

“He never takes a possession off. Ever. If he doesn’t have the ball, he’s working for an offensive rebound. If he doesn’t have it, he’s working to seal. If you double him, he spins away from the double to score. He is incredibly competitive. … He’s one of the greatest college basketball players to ever play the game.”

Jay Wright, talking about Zach Edey on the postgame show.

Scores

  • (1) Purdue 78, (16) Grambling 50

  • (8) Utah State 88, (9) TCU 72

What’s next: The Boilermakers (30-4) will face Utah State on Sunday. They’ll need to bring the defense, too. The Aggies (28-6) hit 55% of their shots and scored 1.24 points per possession.

South Region: The game of the tournament?

Most days, a Duke win would be the most notable result of a region. And hey, the Devils (25-8) did win their eighth consecutive first-round game by handling Vermont. Or maybe Houston, which notched its largest margin of victory in its NCAA tourney appearances. But I can’t shake the Colorado-Florida masterpiece.

Best game: Colorado 102, Florida 100

Most people will probably think of Oakland’s win over Kentucky as the moment from the first two days. But there wasn’t a more entertaining game than watching the Buffs hold off Florida, the first NCAA tourney game where both teams topped 100 points since 2005. It looked like Colorado (26-10) would run away with the game. It shot 63% from the field, and was unstoppable in the second half. This 10-minute stretch of 18 possessions was nuts.

And then Florida’s Walter Clayton went nuts. Florida (24-12) trailed by 13 with 4:28 to play and Clayton scored the Gators’ final 16 points. He finished with a career-high 33 points, five of which came in the final 37 seconds. Except it was too much time for Colorado and KJ Simpson, who says Zyon Pullin slipped on the final shot.

“I thought to myself at halftime, if we don’t start guarding better ... we’ve got to score 100 to win tonight,” Colorado coach Tad Boyle said. “And we needed 102. Actually we only needed 101, but we got 102.”

Biggest upset: James Madison 72, Wisconsin 61

Guess most people saw this coming as it was the most popular 12-5 upset pick of the tournament. That doesn’t fully capture how dominant the Dukes (32-3) were as they led from start to finish. They never trailed, they dominated the boards, had fewer turnovers, and were the most physically dominant team, holding Wisconsin to just .83 ppp.

That was essential because while the Dukes controlled the pace and the boards, it was just 41.1% from the field. But given how consistent they’ve been all year, the result didn’t surprise coach Mark Byington.

“We kinda heard some things about our schedule not being tough, and who we are. We knew we belonged. We know we’re good. We know we can compete. They showed that today,” he said. “From start to finish.”

Maybe JMU’s ready for a move to the Big Ten? It’s now 2-0 against league schools this season.

Star turn: Kam Jones remains on a heater. He dropped 28 points on Western Kentucky (18 in the second half), and is averaging 23.8 ppg over his last 10 games.

Scores

  • (1) Houston 86, (16) Longwood 46

  • (2) Marquette 87, (15) Western Kentucky 69

  • (4) Duke 64, (13) Vermont 47

  • (9) Texas A&M 98, (8) Nebraska 83

  • (10) Colorado 102, (7) Florida 100

  • (12) James Madison 72, (5) Wisconsin 61

“We need to find a cleaners in Memphis because they’re wet after every game, and I’m making everybody wear the same thing over and over, which I’ve never done. But I’m not saying there’s causation, and that’s why we’re winning. But in case there is, that’s what I’ll wear on Sunday.”

Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams on his sweat-soaked clothes.

What’s next: Texas A&M (21-14) gets a rematch with Houston (31-4) with a Sweet 16 berth on the line. The Coogs won their Dec. 16 game, 70-66. Colorado will try to become the first team from the First Four to reach the second weekend since 2021 as it faces Marquette (26-9). Meanwhile, James Madison faces Duke.

West Region

The last game of the Round of 64 was the perfect cap to a tournament with 7 notable upsets thus far.

Biggest upset: Grand Canyon 75, Saint Mary’s 66

The Lopes (30-4) earned the first NCAA Tournament win in school history, and looked good doing it, too. They were the more athletic, more physical (they had nine blocks), more impressive team. Time after time, they found seams to the basket or got out and ran for a rousing dunk.

It’s their third trip to the NCAAs — Grand Canyon’s only been a D-I school since 2017 — and had lost twice before as a 15 and 14.

"It’s cool to see the world seeing what we’re capable of, what GCU is capable of,” Gabe McGlothan said.

The upset that wasn’t: Clemson 77, New Mexico 56

The Tigers (22-11) weren’t just the 6 seed, they were the underdogs against New Mexico. It didn’t look like. Their size up front overwhelmed New Mexico (PJ Hall and Ian Schieffelin combined for 30 points and 15 boards), while holding the Lobos to just 29.7% shooting and .78 ppp.

Eye-popping score: Alabama 109, Charleston 96

This didn’t have the drama of Colorado-Florida, but just as much offense. mark Sears scored 30 points as Alabama (22-11) hit 60% of its shots, while Charleston (27-8) notched a rare feat: It was the third team to score 95+ points and lose a Round of 64 game by 10+ points, which hadn’t happened since 1994.

Scores

  • (3) Baylor 92, (14) Colgate 67

  • (4) Alabama 109, (12) Charleston 96

  • (6) Clemson 77, (11) New Mexico 56

  • (12) Grand Canyon 75, (5) Saint Mary’s 66

“Hopefully, we saved a couple of made 3s for the next game because 16 for 30 is pretty efficient.

Baylor coach Scott Drew on his team’s shooting performance.

What’s next: We’ll see if the Bears (24-10) do have any 3s left in the holster. They’ll need them to hang with Clemson (22-11), which held New Mexico to its lowest-scoring game of the season. Meanwhile, the Alabama-Grand Canyon will be one of Sunday’s most intriguing games. The Lopes have better athletes, but can they get some stops?

Familiar faces hit the court early

Know how you maintain strong ratings? You fill your solo game slots with big names: Arizona, Kansas, Gonzaga, Michigan State and North Carolina all tip-off before dinnertime. (Dayton too, but the Flyers don’t have the same national cachet as the other five. They have a massive draw in their area, though.)

And if you’re looking for Oakland and Jack Gohlke, that’s a 7:10 pm ET tip on TBS.

Justice for the ACC

The ACC is rolling. Clemson, NC State, UNC and Duke all won by double digits. Do we need to include Virginia in this conversation since it was just the First Four? The After Dark crew discusses.

Links as you get ready for Caitlin Clark’s game today at 2 pm ET.

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