Round 2 Day 1 Update - Overtime Madness
Two overtime games (which were 2 of my 3 games to watch) highlighted the first day in the round of 32, as we saw an otherwise predictable day take place. Arizona held off a small Dayton threat- as it turns out, being down 17 at half isn't a good thing to do every game. Gonzaga just turned it up a notch over Kansas in the second half to make an incredible 9th straight sweet 16, don't bet against Mark Few! They certainly look like a team that could keep rolling next weekend. UNC, Iowa State, and Illinois all took care of business with relative ease. Which brings us to our headline games.
"Not A Cinderella" Oakland gave NC State all they could in an overtime thriller, but in the end, DJ Burns was too big for Oakland to stop. In true mid major fashion, Oakland's best two scorers in Trey Townsend and Jack Gohlke gave all they had, but NC State stopped those two when needed and pulled out the win. Credit NC State, an 11 seed in the sweet 16 is a great story, it just feels disappointing when everyone was pulling for Oakland. Tennessee and Texas was another fantastic game as Texas had a great second half push, but Tennessee did just enough to hang on and keep all the #1s and #2s alive. The real game of the night was Creighton vs Oregon, and it was worth staying up for in every way. A double overtime thriller, 14 lead changes, clutch shots, unexpected 3s coming from players with very few all year, and Creighton's Baylor Scheireman played an insane complete 50 minute game. In the end Creighton was the more well balanced team and the long game was better for them, and their matchup vs Tennessee should be a great one.
In our bracket, Joe "I do so much more work than everyone else" Van Note had an outstanding day getting all 8 games correct. Let's see if Infinite talks back to you with that on your resume. Rob and Jim were not far behind with a 7 of 8 day, only missing out on NC State. Rob takes the lead, and I'm sure nothing would satisfy him more to get revenge on my departure than to win this bracket. A pick with my heart, I was the only one who picked Dayton to advance, would have been nice... shoulda woulda coulda. Subplot of the overall bracket, the Beglane/Brennan bragging rights are all quite close, and today's games should be a more significant shake up.
Marquette just pulled off a great win over Colorado which is not included here, as usual that's in tomorrow's updates. There are a lot of Cinderella possibilities today- James Madison, Grand Canyon, and Yale. My games to watch are James Madison vs Duke, as I think the Dukes are going to play physical vs Duke, and as long as the refs let the kids play it should be a good one. Clemson Baylor are two close seeded teams that have the closest betting line of the day. and San Diego State vs Yale should be a close one as two slow paced, methodical teams go at it.
Enjoy the last day of all day basketball everyone!
Rory F Beglane
Founder of the 85 Expansion Bracket Challenge
Villanova Enthusiast
0 Time Bracket Winner