Classic March moment

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A frantic final few seconds? Sounds like March

March Madness has delivered some phenomenal late-game sequences and shot making over the years, but the end of No. 10 Santa Clara vs. No. 7 Kentucky might just take the cake.

The Otega Oweh shot was unreal, and Kentucky coach Mark Pope mentioned postgame that Oweh said “that’s a bucket” as he let it go. But as great as the shot was, Brandon Garrison was the hero in the overtime frame, blocking back-to-back shots out on the perimeter to seal an 89-84 win for the Wildcats.

We can only wonder what would’ve happened if Herb Sendek’s timeout call was granted before Oweh’s shot in regulation. He wasn’t very happy about that in the postgame presser. (Not to mention those unhappy with the clock start and stoppage.)

Oweh’s performance was historic. He became one of four players all-time with 35+ points, 8+ rebounds and 7+ assists in an NCAA Tournament game, joining Oscar Robertson, Bill Bradley and Larry Bird. Not bad company to hold.

But … that was it for last-second drama on Friday. The betting favorites went 16-0, and the last time that happened in a single day in the Round of 64 was March 19, 1992.

1. East Region: Two individual performances stand out

The East was deemed the toughest region before the madness began, and all of the top seeds in action on Friday advanced. We’re in for some great games moving forward.

Star turn: UConn’s Tarris Reed Jr. had 31 points and 27 rebounds against Furman, becoming just the third player since 1960 to have 30+ points and 25+ rebounds in an NCAA Tournament game. He also outrebounded Furman on his own, as the Paladins grabbed 23 boards. Simply remarkable.

Scores:

• (2) UConn 82, (15) Furman 71: The Paladins (22-13) were in striking distance the whole game until UConn (30-5) went on a 12-4 run late. The Huskies probably don’t win this game without Reed’s domination. With the late ending, Dan Hurley was snoring in his presser, and he also said he’ll “see how it goes” in terms of the status of starting point guard Silas Demary Jr. and bench wing Jaylin Stewart for Sunday.

• (4) Kansas 68, (13) Cal Baptist 60: Kansas (24-10) led by as much as 26 points, but Cal Baptist (25-9) refused to go away. An 18-2 Lancer run made it a six point game with 1:20 remaining, but Cal Baptist couldn’t muster another basket. Darryn Peterson ended up being the story, dropping 28 points, the most by a Kansas freshman in an NCAA Tournament game.

• (5) St. John’s 79, (12) Northern Iowa 53: St. John’s (29-6) grabbed a 20-3 lead from the jump, and Rick Pitino still wasn’t happy with his team. Zuby Ejiofor also said postgame that his 14 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks wasn’t good enough.

• (7) UCLA 75, (10) UCF 71: Even though UCF (21-12) made the Bruins (24-11) sweat a bit at the end, UCLA made its free throws to seal the deal. Skyy Clark is sporting a new smile after this one, losing his tooth diving for a loose ball.

What’s next: There’s only two games in this region today, but both should feature awesome basketball. Can Louisville knock off Michigan State without Mikel Brown Jr.? Can physical and feisty TCU defeat a shorthanded Duke team? We’ll find out soon enough.

2. South Region: Florida shows its dominance

It should be a crime what Florida did to Prairie View A&M on Friday. This region also gave us one of the only “upsets” of the day.

Scores:

• (1) Florida 114, (16) Prairie View A&M 55: The Gators’ 59-point win is the second largest margin of victory in NCAA Tournament history, just behind Loyola Chicago’s 111-42 win over Tennessee Tech in 1963. A&M coach Byron Smith asked for help from above. Even Florida (26-7) walk on 7-foot-9 big man Olivier Rioux joined in on the fun with a late-game dunk. He also gave us this classic moment.

• (9) Iowa 67, (8) Clemson 61: Bennett Stirtz was inefficient (16 points on 4-of-17 shots), but Iowa was stout defensively and controlled the glass, outrebounding Clemson 40-27. The Hawkeyes (21-12) never trailed. Coach Ben McCollum has won at least one NCAA Tournament game at D-II or D-I in 11 of his 13 appearances.

What’s next: The whole region, besides Iowa and Florida, play today. VCU will look to keep its magic alive against Illinois, but it’ll be tough with the sheer size advantage the Illini possess. Houston-Texas A&M will be a fun in-state battle, but Vanderbilt and Nebraska might be THE game of the second round.

3. West Region: Braden Smith’s Historic Night

Every game in the west was decided by double-digit points. Not the best for viewing, but at least we saw some history.

Star turn: The all-time assists record now belongs to Braden Smith. The Purdue point guard dished out a dime to Trey Kaufman-Renn to pass Bobby Hurley, and then proceeded to drop 26 points and eight assists to lead the Boilermakers to a win. His record of 1,083 assists (and counting) probably won’t be broken for a long time. Here’s a cool visual of those dimes.

Scores:

• (1) Arizona 92, (16) Long Island 58: This is what a 1 vs. 16 game should look like. The Wildcats (33-2) jumped out to a 12-2 lead and never looked back, holding LIU (24-11) to 32.4% shooting and winning the rebound battle 52-31. The freshman trio of Brayden Burries, Koa Peat and Ivan Kharchenkov combined for 47 points and 22 rebounds.

• (2) Purdue 104, (15) Queens 71: The Boilermakers were clicking offensively and now have a slight advantage over Illinois for the most efficient offense of all-time. It helps when you have a player like Braden Smith. Trey Kaufman-Renn also played well with 25 points and nine rebounds.

• (7) Miami 80, (10) Missouri 66: The Hurricanes (26-8) didn’t get any favors having to play Missouri in Saint Louis, and it really did feel like a home game for the Tigers (20-13). But the Hurricanes played with poise and had a response for every Mizzou run. Malik Reneau was the best player on the court with 24 points, six rebounds and three assists. Dennis Gates is now 1-13 at Missouri in the month of March the last three sessons.

• (9) Utah State 86, (8) Villanova 76: Utah State (29-6) missed just two shots in the final 12:45 and went on a 15-3 run over the last four minutes to seal the deal. Kevin Willard went viral for saying he was going to fire his staff during a first half interview, and if it wasn’t obvious, he explained postgame it was just a joke.

Also with the Utah State win, the No. 9 seeds went 4-0 vs. the No. 8 seeds for the sixth time since 1985.

What’s next: We have two games today: one of the few remaining double-digit seeds, Texas, will look to pull off the upset against Gonzaga. Then we have High Point and Arkansas. That game is bound to be a track meet and one of the most fast-paced games we’ve seen all season.

4. Midwest Region: blowout central

Besides the craziness that unfolded in Kentucky-Santa Clara, it was chalk. And most games weren’t even close.

Star turn: Tennessee senior point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie went nuclear with 22 points and five triples in the first half against Miami OH. He ended up with 29 points and nine assists to lead the Vols.

Scores:

• (2) Iowa State 108, (15) Tennessee State 74: Iowa State (28-7) lost star forward Joshua Jefferson to an ankle sprain not even three minutes into the game, but that didn’t deter the Cyclones, as they set single-game program NCAA Tournament records for points in a game (108), points in a half (55) and assists (24). TJ Otzelberger said postgame the X-Rays on Jefferson’s ankle were negative.

• (3) Virginia 82, (14) Wright State 73: Jacari White was sensational off the bench for Virginia (30-5), scoring 26 points with six triples, including the dagger to put the Cavaliers up eight with 1:24 remaining. He didn’t seem to be affected by the “ballooned” basketballs. As for Wright State (23-12), it fought valiantly, but the Raiders ultimately couldn’t stop Virginia from picking up its first tournament win since 2019.

• (4) Alabama 90, (13) Hofstra 70: The Pride (24-11) played with pride early and led Alabama (24-9) by double-digits in the first half, but the Crimson Tide offense was ultimately too much for Hofstra. Alabama outscored Hofstra 53-35 in the second half and Labaron Philon tallied 29 points, eight rebounds and seven assists to lead the Alabama backcourt without Aden Holloway.

• (5) Texas Tech 91, (12) Akron 71: If you still think Texas Tech (23-10) can’t make a run without JT Toppin, just look to this performance. The Zips (29-6) have been a top-70 team on KenPom since late November, and the Red Raiders dismantled them. Freshman guard Jaylen Petty scored a team-high 24 points.

• (6) Tennessee 78, (11) Miami OH 56: The dream season for Miami University (32-2) came to an end. The RedHawks were simply outmatched physically, as the Vols were +17 on the boards and forced Miami into 16 turnovers, well above its season average. Still, it was a season to remember for Travis Steele, and he’s “very confident” the RedHawks will be back on this stage.

• (7) Kentucky 89, (10) Santa Clara 84

What’s next: Saint Louis and Michigan is the only Midwest game today. And boy is it a doozy. Josh Schertz and Dusty May have been friends for a long time and even share practice video. I’d imagine it’s an easy, yet weird scout for both staff’s.

The Round of 32 is HERE!

Dusty May squares off with longtime friend Josh Schertz. Nebraska and Vanderbilt’s historic seasons clash. High Point and Arkansas will have an electric pace. We have little bit of everything on deck today. Here’s the full slate:

Playing favorites

This is now the second-straight year all 1-4 seeds won in the first round, and we now have the fewest double-digit seeds in the Round of 32 since 2007. Two of those double-digit seeds are from the SEC. Maybe the Cinderella is dead after all.

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Links as you wait for upsets.

• ‘Drug transactions’ reportedly were found on Aden Holloway’s phone.

• This year’s First Four was the most watched ever, grossing 7.5 million viewers.

• Jon Scheyer is ‘hopeful’ Pat Ngongba will be available to play today.

• Georgia Tech officially announced Troy’s Scott Cross as its next coach.

• Ball State did the same after hiring of SMU assistant Chris Capko.

• Western Michigan will hire UTRGV coach Kahlil Fennell.

• FIU went with Daytona State coach Joey Cantens.

• Notable portal entrants: Elijah Strong (South Carolina), Adrian Myers (San Jose State), Jeremiah Johnson (Campbell), Cord Stansberry (Western Carolina), Micah Tucker (Georgia State), Rob Lee Jr. (Lamar), Corneilous Williams (North Alabama).

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